16 Easy Watercolor Flowers With Free Outline Templates for Beginners

Table of Contents

1. Simple Tulip
2. Five-Petal Daisy
3. Round Poppy
4. Cherry Blossom
5. Simple Rose Spiral
6. Forget-Me-Not, Drawn Large
7. Simple Sunflower Face
8. Simple Lily
9. Bell Flower
10. Simple Hibiscus
11. Simple Cosmos
12. Simple Lotus
13. Tiny Bouquet of Three Flowers
14. Simple Daffodil
15. Simple Zinnia
16. Simple Carnation
17. Frequently Asked Questions

These easy watercolor flowers give you sixteen fresh subjects to paint without sketching a single line yourself. Each one is built from a handful of big, closed shapes, a petal, a circle, a curve, so the outline is simple to trace and the painting goes on fast and forgiving.

Print the outline you want, then transfer it to watercolor paper by holding both against a sunny window or a light pad, or by slipping graphite transfer paper between them and tracing over the lines. Once the shapes are on your paper, keep the finished example beside you and follow it colour by colour.

Simple Tulip

Paint the cup shape with a light pink wash first, then drop a touch of deeper rose into the lower third while the paper is still damp so the colours blend softly at the base. Leave a thin sliver of white paper along one edge of the petal for light. Once dry, paint the stem and two leaves in a single sap green wash, pulling the brush upward in one smooth stroke for each leaf. The clean white gap between petal and stem is the touch that makes it read as finished rather than sketchy.

Palette: Permanent Rose,Cadmium Yellow Light,Sap Green

Five-Petal Daisy

Leave the petals mostly white and only brush a very pale grey-blue along the base of each one where it meets the centre, keeping the wash thin so the paper still glows through. Paint the round centre with a gold yellow wash, then while it is damp touch a little burnt orange into the lower edge for shape. A few short dry-brush lines radiating out from the centre across the petals give the daisy its finished, slightly textured look without any extra drawing.

Palette: Payne’s Grey,Gold Yellow,Burnt Sienna

Round Poppy

Wet each petal shape first with clean water, then drop in cadmium red and let it bloom to the edges on its own for that soft poppy glow. While still wet, touch a little black into the base of each petal where it meets the centre so the colour darkens naturally without a hard line. Once everything is dry, paint the small round centre in dark grey and dot a few short black stamens around it with the tip of a fine brush.

Palette: Cadmium Red,Ivory Black,Neutral Grey

Try a tiny flick of a dry brush loaded with black at the petal base for a softer, more natural shadow than a painted line.

Cherry Blossom

Paint each blossom with a very pale pink wash across all five petals at once, then while damp drop a slightly deeper pink into the centre of the flower so colour pools gently inward. Leave the small round buds as tiny unpainted or barely tinted shapes beside the open blooms for contrast. Paint the thin branch last in a grey-brown, using a fine brush and a light, steady hand since this is the one part of the picture that needs a careful, unhurried line.

Palette: Opera Pink,Quinacridone Rose,Sepia

Simple Rose Spiral

Start at the outer petals with a pale coral wash and work your way inward, adding a touch more pigment to the brush with each ring so the colour naturally deepens toward the centre of the spiral. Let each ring dry slightly before adding the next so the rings stay distinct rather than muddying together. A single thin highlight of plain water lifted along one outer petal before it dries completely gives the rose its soft, rounded finish.

Palette: Coral Red,Alizarin Crimson,Sap Green

Forget-Me-Not, Drawn Large

Since the flower is drawn large here, each petal gets its own light blue wash, painted one at a time so the colours stay soft and separate rather than bleeding together. Keep the yellow centre small and bright, painted last and kept inside its own circle so it stands out clearly against the blue. A faint ring of slightly deeper blue just around the yellow centre is the one small step that pulls the whole flower together.

Palette: Cerulean Blue,Cobalt Blue,Cadmium Yellow Light

Simple Sunflower Face

Paint all the petals with a warm gold wash first, then while a few are still damp add a touch of orange near the base of each one for gentle variety. The round centre takes a flat burnt umber wash, and once that is fully dry, stipple small dots of dark brown across it with the tip of the brush to suggest seeds. Keep the dots loose and uneven rather than lining them up, which is exactly what makes the centre look convincing.

Palette: Cadmium Yellow,Cadmium Orange,Burnt Umber

Simple Lily

Wash each petal with a pale peach-pink, leaving the very tip of each one almost white where the light would catch it. While the paint is still damp near the base of each petal, drop in a few tiny dots of deeper pink with the tip of the brush so they spread softly into little freckles. Paint the long curved stamens last in a thin golden line, finishing each with a small dark tip for the pollen.

Palette: Naples Yellow,Quinacridone Rose,Burnt Sienna

Bell Flower

Paint each bell shape with a light violet wash, then drop a slightly deeper purple into the inside curve of the opening while the paper is still wet so the inside of the bell reads as a soft shadow. Let the colour fade out toward the top of each bell where it meets the stem. The curved stem and small leaves get one even green wash, and a thin white line left unpainted along the rim of each bell gives the flowers their rounded, open shape.

Palette: Dioxazine Violet,Lavender,Sap Green

Simple Hibiscus

Wash each broad petal in coral red, then while still damp pull a little deeper red from the centre outward along a few thin lines with a fine brush to suggest the natural veining without drawing it first. Let the petals dry fully before painting the long stamen that reaches out past the flower, finishing it with a small cluster of tiny yellow dots at the tip. This single reaching stamen is what gives the hibiscus its tropical, open character.

Palette: Cadmium Red,Opera Pink,Cadmium Yellow Light

For more flowers in this warm tropical mood, the hibiscus and orchid collection is worth a look.

Simple Cosmos

Keep the wash on each thin petal very light and slightly uneven, since cosmos petals look best a little translucent rather than fully solid. Paint the small flat centre in gold and let it dry completely before adding a ring of tiny dark dots around its edge. Because the petals are long and thin, take care when transferring this one so each petal tip stays sharp and separate rather than blurring into its neighbour.

Palette: Opera Pink,Cadmium Yellow Light,Burnt Umber

Simple Lotus

Start each petal from the base with a soft pink and pull the colour upward with a damp brush so it fades to near white at the tip, giving the layered petals their gentle glow. Let the inner, smaller petals dry before painting the outer ring so the layers stay distinct. The flat water shape beneath gets one pale blue-grey wash, and a few short curved white gaps left unpainted on its surface are enough to suggest gentle ripples.

Palette: Opera Pink,Quinacridone Rose,Payne’s Grey

Tiny Bouquet of Three Flowers

Paint each of the three flowers in its own colour first, the daisy in white and yellow, the round bloom in coral, the small bell flower in violet, keeping them well separated so the colours stay clean. Once all three are dry, paint the thin ribbon tie in one confident stroke of a warm colour that does not appear anywhere else in the bouquet, which is what makes the little bundle look pulled together rather than just three separate flowers side by side.

Palette: Cadmium Yellow Light,Coral Red,Dioxazine Violet

For more ideas on combining a few blooms loosely like this, see the loose watercolor flowers collection.

Simple Daffodil

Wash the six outer petals in a pale lemon yellow and let them dry fully before starting the centre trumpet, since the two shapes need to stay clearly separate. Paint the trumpet in a deeper gold, then while it is still damp touch a line of orange along its outer rim so the raised edge reads clearly against the flatter petals behind it. The stem gets one simple green stroke, straight and unhurried.

Palette: Lemon Yellow,Cadmium Orange,Sap Green

Simple Zinnia

Paint the outer ring of petals first in magenta, then once dry paint the inner, slightly smaller ring of petals in a lighter pink so the two layers stay visually distinct from each other. The small centre takes a flat yellow-green wash, finished with a few tiny dark dots once everything else is dry. Painting the layers one at a time, outer before inner, is the simple trick that keeps this flower from turning into a flat blob of colour.

Palette: Magenta,Opera Pink,Olive Green

Simple Carnation

Wash the whole ruffled petal shape in a soft red, then while it is still wet pull a fine, dry brush loaded with a touch more pigment in short choppy strokes from the centre outward to suggest the frilled edges without drawing each ruffle separately. Keep this part loose and quick rather than careful. Once dry, paint the straight stem and a single leaf in green, and the carnation is done.

Palette: Alizarin Crimson,Coral Red,Sap Green

A dry, splayed-out old brush works better than a fresh one for the choppy ruffle strokes, since the frayed bristles break the colour up naturally.

What to Do Next

Pick one flower, print its outline, and transfer it to your paper today: by the time the wash dries you will have a finished little painting worth pinning.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size should I print the outlines?

Print each outline at standard letter or A4 size, which fits most watercolor paper blocks and keeps the flower large enough to trace comfortably. Scale up slightly if you prefer a bigger centred subject.

What paper works best for these paintings?

Cold press watercolor paper of at least 140lb holds the washes well and resists buckling. Avoid thin printer paper, since wet washes will warp or tear it during painting.

How do I transfer the outline without a light pad?

Tape the printed outline and your watercolor paper together against a sunny window and trace the lines with a pencil, or slide graphite transfer paper between the two sheets and trace over the design with a pen.

Can I use coloured pencils or markers instead of watercolor?

Yes, every outline works just as well with coloured pencils or markers. Follow the same colour placement described for each flower and adjust pressure instead of water for softer or bolder areas.

Why are the outlines plain black lines with no shading?

Plain thin lines trace cleanly onto paper and leave every shading and blending decision to you while you paint, which keeps the outline flexible for any medium or palette you choose.