Table of Contents
This set of watercolor farm animals gives you thirteen barnyard favorites, each one built from a few big simple shapes so you never have to start with a blank page and a pencil. Print the outline, transfer it to your watercolor paper against a sunny window or a light pad, or trace through with graphite transfer paper, then paint it with the finished example sitting next to you as a guide.
Every template keeps the subject centered with plenty of white paper around it, so the shapes stay easy to trace and easy to fill with calm, confident washes. Work through them in any order, mix a fresh cheerful palette for each one, and let the clean outline do the hard part while you focus on color.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Cow
Lay a pale cream wash over the whole body first and let it dry fully before anything else. Paint the black patches with a loaded round brush in one confident pass, keeping the edges soft by touching clean water just along one side of each shape. Add a warm pink to the nose and let it bleed gently into the cream. The one touch that finishes it is a thin grey shadow line under the belly, which plants the cow firmly on the page.
Palette: Ivory Black,Payne’s Grey,Cream,Quinacridone Pink
Pig
Mix a soft pink and sweep it across the whole body in one wet wash, leaving the belly slightly lighter by adding more water there. While it is still damp, drop a deeper rose into the ear and the curl of the tail so the color blends on its own. Let it dry, then add tiny warm circles for the nostrils. Finish with a faint grey shadow beneath the trotters to settle the pig onto the ground.
Palette: Opera Rose,Permanent Rose,Payne’s Grey,Burnt Sienna
Woolly Ewe
Keep the wool pure white by painting only its outer edge in pale grey, letting the brush bounce lightly so the line stays uneven like fluff. Paint the face, ears and legs in a soft warm grey, slightly darker where they meet the wool for contrast. Once dry, dot a few small grey curls scattered through the wool shape to suggest texture without overworking it. This loose dotting is the detail that reads as “woolly” from across the room, and this same soft-edge technique works well if you go on to try the watercolor sheep collection.
Palette: Payne’s Grey,Warm Grey,Titanium White,Burnt Umber
Hen
Wash the body in warm rust red, leaving a small white gap near the tail feathers for a highlight. While still damp, touch a deeper burnt orange along the back and tail so the colors merge softly into each other. Paint the comb and wattle in bright red once the body has dried, and the beak and legs in a clean orange. A few short curved lines flicked into the tail feathers with the brush tip give the hen her finished, feathery look.
Palette: Cadmium Red,Burnt Orange,Cadmium Yellow,Payne’s Grey
Rooster
Start with the body in warm golden brown and let it dry before adding the chest in a deeper rust. The tail is the star here, so paint each long feather separately in a different warm color, from orange through red to deep teal, keeping the brush fairly dry so the colors stay distinct rather than muddy. Paint the comb and wattle in bold red last. Transfer the tail feathers carefully since their curved tips are the thinnest part of the outline and easy to lose.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Cadmium Red,Cadmium Yellow,Teal Green
Try flicking a dry brush loaded with dark green along the longest tail feather for a touch of shine without extra drawing.
Goat
Leave the body mostly white, painting only soft grey shadows where the legs meet the belly and under the chin. Paint the patches of brown across the back and face in one loose wash, letting the edges stay a little uneven for a natural coat. The horns and hooves take a flat grey-brown once the body is dry. The small chin tuft, painted with just the brush tip in a quick upward flick, is what gives the goat its personality.
Palette: Raw Umber,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White,Burnt Sienna
Farm Pony
Wash the whole body in warm chestnut brown, keeping the lower legs untouched so they stay white for the socks. While the body is still damp, drop in a darker brown along the back and neck to add gentle shape without hard lines. Once dry, paint the mane and tail in a near-black brown with loose vertical strokes that follow the direction of the hair. Finish with a thin grey line along the white socks to separate them cleanly from the ground shadow.
Palette: Burnt Sienna,Van Dyke Brown,Titanium White,Payne’s Grey
If you enjoy getting the proportions right here, the horse heads in the horse pencil drawing guide are a good next step for practicing the face.
White Farm Duck
Keep the body pure white paper, adding only a pale blue-grey shadow along the underside and wing to suggest the curve of the feathers. Paint the beak and feet in bright orange while the paper is dry, so the edges stay crisp against the white. A single small grey dot for the eye finishes the face. The quiet trick that makes this duck look finished is restraint: the less you paint on the white body, the cleaner it reads.
Palette: Cadmium Orange,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White,Ivory Black
Donkey
Wash the body in a soft warm grey, leaving the muzzle and the area around the eyes lighter by adding extra water there. Once dry, paint the long ears in the same grey with darker tips, and add the dark stripe that runs along the spine and down through the tail in one steady brushstroke. A touch of pale cream on the muzzle and belly warms the whole animal up. This back stripe is the single detail that makes a donkey unmistakably a donkey rather than a pony.
Palette: Payne’s Grey,Warm Grey,Cream,Ivory Black
Goose
Leave the body white and work only the shadows, a thin pale grey along the underside of the curved neck and beneath the wing. The orange beak and feet go on once the body is dry so the color stays clean rather than bleeding into the white. A small grey knob at the base of the beak, if your outline includes one, adds a nice bit of character. Keep the neck curve smooth when you transfer it, since a wobble there changes the whole pose.
Palette: Cadmium Orange,Payne’s Grey,Titanium White,Ivory Black
Highland Cow
Wash the whole body in warm ginger-orange and let it dry completely. Build the shaggy coat by flicking a loaded brush outward from the body edge in short uneven strokes, using a slightly deeper rust so each stroke reads as a lock of hair rather than a flat patch. Paint the horns in pale cream with grey-brown tips once the coat is dry. The fringe of hair falling over the eyes, painted last in a few quick downward flicks, is what gives this cow its famous shaggy charm.
Palette: Burnt Orange,Burnt Sienna,Cream,Van Dyke Brown
Try a fan brush for the shaggy coat strokes instead of a round one, it lays down several hair-like lines in a single pass.
Lamb
Keep the wool body white, adding just a whisper of pale grey along its lower edge where it meets the ground shadow. Paint the face, ears and legs in a soft pink-grey, blending the color while damp so there are no hard edges on such a small animal. Once everything is dry, a few tiny grey dots scattered through the wool suggest soft curls without fussy detail. This is a gentle companion piece to the woolly ewe, and if you like painting young animals together the farm babies collection has more of them.
Palette: Titanium White,Warm Grey,Quinacridone Pink,Payne’s Grey
Chick
Mix a bright warm yellow and cover the whole round body in one smooth wash, adding a touch more pigment near the top of the head for gentle depth. While still slightly damp, soften the edge where the body meets the ground so there is no hard outline at the base. The beak and tiny feet go on in orange once everything is dry. A single small dark dot for the eye, placed slightly off-center, is enough to give this little shape all the personality it needs, and it pairs nicely with a quick look at more easy farm animal painting ideas if you want to keep going.
Palette: Cadmium Yellow,Cadmium Orange,Ivory Black,Burnt Sienna
What to Do Next
Pick one animal, print its outline, and transfer it to your paper tonight so it is ready to paint tomorrow. Work through the set in any order, keep a fresh palette for each one, and let the clean shapes carry the drawing while you enjoy the painting.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size should I print the outline templates?
Print them at standard letter or A4 size, which fits most watercolor pads and keeps the animal large enough to paint comfortably. Resize smaller only if you plan to paint on a postcard or small panel.
What paper works best for these watercolor farm animals?
Cold press watercolor paper around 140lb works well, since it handles washes and light blending without buckling. Smooth paper is fine too if you prefer tighter, flatter color with less texture.
How do I transfer the outline onto watercolor paper?
Tape the printed outline and your paper together against a sunny window or a light pad and trace the lines through in pencil. Graphite transfer paper slipped between the two sheets works just as well and suits thicker paper.
Can I use colored pencils or markers instead of watercolor?
Yes, every outline works just as well with colored pencils or markers if you prefer a drier medium. Build color in light layers with pencils for the softer blended look these animals have in watercolor.
Do I need to copy the palette colors exactly?
No, the palettes are a starting point rather than a rule, so swap in any colors you already own. Keeping the number of colors limited matters more than matching the exact shade.
Have any thoughts?
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