In this post, you’ll learn to paint the infamous Grinch from Dr. Seuss’ book and 1966 movie classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas in this easy step-by-step acrylic painting tutorial.

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👉 Want to host a paint party with this tutorial? Here is exactly how you can set up a fun DIY paint party at home.

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The Grinch Acrylic Painting Supplies

• Tracing Paper
• Carbon Pencil
• Sketch Pencil
• 8.5″x11″ Canvas Paper

PAINTS

• Mars Black Acrylic Paint
• Primary Red Acrylic Paint
• Primary Yellow Acrylic Paint
• Primary Blue Acrylic Paint
• Titanium White Acrylic Paint

BRUSHES

• 3/4″ Flat Wash Brush
• #10 Flat Shader
• #10 Filbert Brush
• #0 Detail Round Brush

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The Grinch Acrylic Painting Steps

Follow these step-by-step instructions on how to paint your very own grouchy Grinch.

Step 1: Paint in the Background

Step 2: Trace in Your Grinch

Using your grinch stencil, place and trace onto your canvas paper. If you need directions on how to do this, read this helpful post on transferring stencils to paper.

Step 3: Color Block in the Grinch

With a combination of your flat wash, flat and filbert brush, color block in the different features of the grinch – I went with green for his face, yellow for his eyes, red for his pupils, red for his hat and snow suit, and white for the hat and coat trim. To make the color green, simply mix equal parts blue and yellow.

Step 4: Add in Detail Lines and Outline

With a detail round brush, load black paint onto your brush and outline the Grinch and his outfit. If you’re not comfortable using a brush, you can always use a sharpie or black marker. I went ahead and outlined the hat, trim, coat, and his face.

For his face, I added his wide smile, nose, and eyelashes from his eyes – among a few extra little details. I made sure to keep a reference picture of the Grinch nearby to make sure I was capturing all the facial details I wanted.

Step 5: Step back and Admire your Work

Mr. Grinch | Step by Step Christmas Painting Tutorial For Beginners