Anyone can paint this fool proof Easter card with a cute bunny. It is a great way to begin painting watercolor. Just follow along step by step for a delightful original water card in under an hour.

Downloads for Easter Bunny Card

Card size outline and reference photo.

Suggested Colors:

Any colors – just be sure to keep the background lighter in value than the bunny or egg.

Painting Steps

Step 1 – Draw or trace your outline onto your watercolor paper.

Use graphite paper to trace the outline if you like – pay attention to the eyes. They can be open (like the painted card) or shut (just a line) like the photo.

Step 2 – Paint the background.

• Wet the background with clean water.
• Mix two thick green washes – a bit of light, yellow green, and a bit of darker green (you can add blue, black or purple to darken your green).
• Paint light green behind the bunny and egg, then add in some of the darker green while the first wash is still wet.

Step 3 – (Optional) Add Salt for Texture

While your background is still damp, but starting to dry (when the shine goes off the surface), sprinkle on ordinary table salt. Let this sit for about ten minutes.

Nothing Happened? If the wash was too wet or too dry, you won’t see any effect. Salt absorbs a tiny bit of water and creates a small spot, like you see in the photo to the right.

Step 4 – Paint the foreground grass.

While the background is drying, paint the foreground grass with the darker green mix. Draw some taller grasses in front of the egg and bunny, but keep it shorter under the bunny’s mouth.

Step 5 – Add Shading to the Egg

• Mix a grey – black watered down, or mix blue and brown, or use a tube gray.
• Wet the egg with clean water.
• Paint the egg shading – darker gray at the bottom going gradually to the light paper at the top of the egg.
• Dry.

Step 6 – Paint Color on the Egg on Top of the Shading

• Paint your egg any color like, very light at the top and darker (more paint) towards the bottom. Then dry.
• You can add strips or dots of color but a plain colored egg always looks great.

Step 7 – Paint the Bunny.

Paint the bunny black, leaving a thin line of white paper around the edge of the eye and between the forehead and the ears.

Eyes – You can just draw a line for the eyes if you like. The bunny in the reference photo was sleeping!

Paint the area under the bunny’s muzzle with light gray.

Mouth/Nose. Add a thin pink line for the nose and mouth. If desired, add a very watery pink to the top of the nose and cheeks.

Whiskers? If you want whiskers, draw them on with a pencil first, to be sure you like them. Then you can go over them with a black or white ink pen.

Step 8 – Finishing Touches for Easy Watercolor Bunny

Use opaque white to touch up the white of the bunny and put a small dot of white in each eye.

Salt – Brush any remaining salt off into the trash can.

Card Stock – I paint my cards on scrap pieces of watercolor paper and glue them to the front of cards. I like Strathmore Creative Cards and Envelopes. (affiliate link)