NOTE: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if a sale is made.

Supplies Overview

Click any image below to be taken to my favorite rock supply shops on Etsy!

Rock painting, thankfully, is a fairly “cheap” endeavor. Whether you are doing this for fun or for a business, the supplies needed for rock painting are generally not expensive. We can all be thankful for that!

Below is a list of what I always have in my workshop. Following this list are specific sources and links that I have never shared with people before! Yes, you are special!

  • Smooth rocks for painting

  • Acrylic paints in a variety of colors

  • Acrylic paint pens

  • Set of Stylus pens with different tip sizes

  • Paint brushes in a variety of sizes

  • Paint trays

  • Acrylic spray sealant

  • Paper Towels

  • Cups for holding water to rinse paint brushes

NOTE: When starting out, it’s always fun to look at general ROCK PAINTING SUPPLIES on Amazon (CLICK HERE to browse!).

 
 

Rocks

“What rocks should I use for rock painting?”

That’s easy! Just go in your backyard or local park and pick up some rocks! Right???

… WRONG!

It’s a mistake to think you can paint on any old rock. Well, correction… you actually can paint on any old rock, but it won’t always be pretty. And we are aiming for pretty, right? You want to take the next step from AMATEUR to PRO.

In this case, we DON’T want “any old rock.” We need to be a little choosy. Luckily for you, I have 5 years of trial and error under my belt, and I will share what I’ve learned with you!

When I first started rock painting as a hobby, I would be constantly on the lookout for rocks on the ground wherever I went. My husband recognized my “rock hungry” look. He would keep me in line by saying things like, “No, you can’t pick up that rock from that tree bed in the Target parking lot! That’s illegal!” or “I’m sure the neighbors don’t want to share their pebble flower beds with you!”

Sadly, I do not live near a natural source of rocks (river, lake, beach). I realized fairly quickly that I would need to shell out some money to BUY rocks. Believe me, I did not enjoy this idea. After all, rocks appear in nature all around us; why on earth should I BUY them? I got over that quickly. The gravel shards and craggy pebbles I picked up randomly were not good enough.

CRAFT STORES: I began my quest by looking in craft stores. There are small bags of rocks available at Michael’s and Hobby Lobby, but they are EXPENSIVE and I found that half of them cannot be used to paint on. I ended up having to toss many into my garden.

LANDSCAPE SUPPLY: Next, I tried using rocks meant for landscaping. This worked to a certain extent. I found that Mexican Beach Pebbles (available at Home Depot, Lowe’s, or WalMart) worked well, but here was the problem: I had to purchase these in large bags, and usually was only able to use about a fourth of a bag. The rest were broken or shaped strangely. This was a waste of money since, again, I had to toss most of it into my garden.

ONLINE STORES: I decided to see if my favorite shopping source, Amazon, had any rocks. I thought, “surely not, what about shipping costs?” Well, Amazon DOES have some sources for rocks for painting, and their selection is getting better and better now that rock painting has become a popular “craze.” Here are a few links to decent rocks (pay attention to information about size, because most offered on Amazon are small to medium):

ETSY: Etsy is a great source for high quality rocks to use for painting. In general, you can rest assured that the rocks are hand-picked and sorted by size. With Etsy, you normally receive exactly what is described. You can find a wide range of sizes, from pebbles to boulders, and some shops even offer free shipping! I used to keep my Etsy “rock source shops” a secret, but now I’m sharing these with you. YOU’RE WELCOME. Here are my favorites:

  • General Etsy Search for rocks: click for a large result of Etsy shops that sell rocks.

  • Capcouriers: Nice, smooth rocks with consistent sizing and super fast shipping.

  • BeachToMe: Great, clean beach rocks sorted by size.

  • JDSticksandStones (Oswego, NY): the owners of this shop collect smooth rocks from the Great Lakes in their area. These stones vary in size from 1 to 4.5 inches and are extremely smooth. They are perfect for memory rocks, mandalas, paperweights, and other larger designs. Shipments arrive quickly and the rocks are already cleaned; you just need to rinse them off, but no scrubbing required. Their customer service is excellent!

  • PNWCoastalCreations (Port Angeles, WA): These beach rocks from Washington State are flatter and slightly more coarse than the ones from the link above. They are perfect for Story Stones and pocket rocks because of their light weight and thin style. I have also used these to create magnets; since they are flat, it’s easy to attach magnets with crafting glue such as E6000. These rocks arrive in clean condition, and customer service is amazing.

  • SoupiesRocksCorner: A great source for Santorini stones (the sparkly white rocks from Greece).

You can’t go wrong shopping for ROCKS ON ETSY. The only caveat is that it can get expensive. However, since you will be able to use every stone you receive, there is no waste like there would be for bags of landscaping rocks.

Final Note: If you are lucky enough to live near a source of smooth, flat rocks from a beach, river, or lake, YOU ROCK! Go out a grab some! Then share some with the rest of us. ;-)

 

Acrylic Paints

 

Paint Pens

Acrylic paint pens work really well on rocks. The colors are slightly more vibrant than regular acrylic paint, and they are easy to use. The only drawback is that certain colors require more than one coat or else you will see the rock surface beneath.

  • Uni Posca Paint Marker Pens: My favorite brand of acrylic paint pen. I have tried many, but these are by far the best. They have NO SMELL and have vibrant colors. This is a set of colors, but there are many other colors to choose from. They are sometimes shipped form overseas, so plan your projects ahead of time. Be sure to order the EXTRA FINE tips for detail work. They are not extremely fine but work well for most things. Get the pens with bigger tips to cover larger surface areas.

  • Uni Posca Mixed Marker Tips (Black): A collection of black paint markers with different size tips.

  • Uni Posca Extra Fine Black Marker Pen: This is the pen I use for outlining my designs once I have painted a rock and the paint is dry.

  • Artistro Black Paint Pens (Black): These pens are great for detail work.

  • Artistro Paint Pens Set: This is a set with multiple colors and fine tips.

  • FLYMAX Black Acrylic Paint Pen: These fine-tipped pens are also great for final details and outlining.

NOTE: For extra-fine details, acrylic paint pens don’t work very well because the flow of paint is too fast. Instead, use MICRON pens with very fine tips. These tend to dry out quickly so I don’t use them very much. They will smear if you try to seal your work with a brush-on sealant. This is why I recommend a spray sealant.

 

Ball Stylus Pens (Dotting Tools)

These unique pens are topped with a steel ball on either end. Originally designed as tools for embossing, these handy “pens” have become popular in the rock painting community. They can be used to create evenly-sized dots or successions of dots that ascend or descend in size. In other words, they are perfect for Mandala Art.

I use ball stylus pens for MORE than Mandalas, though. I use them to embellish my rocks with tiny dots, and I use them for certain designs such as stars, flowers, and more. They are also handy for drawing fine lines, filling in small details with paint, or creating texture.

These usually come in sets, and each pen has two sizes of ball tips (one on each end). I got my set on Amazon. (Click here to see the set.)

 

Paint Brushes and Paint Trays

I don’t spend a lot of money on top-quality paint brushes. We are working solid, non-absorbant canvas (a rock!), so you basically need a set of brushes from fine to thick. For some things you will need a fine-tipped brush that does not hold much paint. For larger surfaces, you will need rounded brushes you can “load” with paint. You can get a variety at craft stores.

I use these inexpensive paint trays that are easy to rinse clean.

Sealant

 

You will want to seal your painted rocks with a coating that protects it from scratches and from exposure. Acrylic paints are water-based, which means they can be washed away with water. Think: heavy rainfall on a rock you’ve hidden outside. It’s only a matter of time before the paint begins to wash away. Garden stones and markers absolutely need a water-resistant sealant.

As with many of my supplies, I spent a lot of time (and money!) finding the best sealant for my rocks. Many people will recommend Mod Podge. I do NOT use it! It takes forever to dry and sometimes remains sticky indefinitely. It’s also not waterproof. Others recommend a brush-on sealant. This only works with true acrylic paints. If you used any type of acrylic marker, brushing on a sealant will cause your artwork to smear!

There is nothing worse than created a Painted Rock Masterpiece only to have it ruined by a bad sealant! Go with a SPRAY-on Sealant instead!

I use a SPRAY sealant that comes in a gloss or a matte finish (it’s up to you whether you want your rocks to be glossy or not). This sealant is labeled as a “clear, protective, non-yellowing, waterproof coating which provides permanent protection to all painted finishes.” “Nuff said.

You simply spray several coats on the rocks in a sweeping motion, waiting 15 minutes or so between coats. Easy peasy!

NOTE: You must be sure to find a well-ventilated area to use this spray sealant. The vapors can be harmful. Wear a protective mask over your mouth, nose, and eyes.

Extra Stuff

Just a couple more things to mark off your Supply Checklist:

  • Paper towels: You will need these. Like, a lot! Not only for spills but also to wipe the ball stylus pens clean. I use paper towels to dry paint brushes after I rinse them during a painting session.

  • Cups for water: Have an old plastic cup full of water on your workspace while you paint. Swirl your brushes in the cup to rinse, then dry with a paper towel. Or dunk your used brushes in the water and leave them there until you have time to properly clean them.

  • Coffee: Ha! Just kidding. I guess not everyone requires a cappuccino while they are being creative…