Here’s a free watercolor hedgehog template, a soft pencil outline in oak and maple leaves, plus easy tips for painting him.
Get the free hedgehog template 👇
Hedgehogs are the little garden visitors everyone hopes to see on an autumn evening, snuffling through the leaves before they settle down for the winter. And they’re one of the friendliest things you can paint in watercolor: a round body, a pointy nose, and a lot of loose, happy brushstrokes.
So here’s a free watercolor hedgehog template for you: a soft pencil outline of a hedgehog in oak and maple leaves, with a tiny toadstool beside him. Print it, paint it, and you’ve skipped the tricky drawing part.
Quick answer: this is a free printable hedgehog outline for watercolor, one A4 page (it prints on US Letter with “fit to page”), as a PDF plus a PNG. It’s free for personal use. Pop your email in the box at the top of this post and it’ll land in your inbox in a minute.
Then scroll down for an easy step-by-step way to paint him.
Table of Contents
Your Free Hedgehog Template
This is the free outline on the left. On the right is the same hedgehog painted loosely, so you can see where the color goes. The outline is light grey, so it disappears under your paint.
How to Paint a Watercolor Hedgehog, Step by Step
Quick answer: wash the whole body in a warm grey-brown, let it dry, flick darker strokes along the back for the spines, keep the face and tummy pale and sandy, then drop yellow ochre and russet into the wet leaves.
1. A pale first wash
Mix a watery warm grey-brown and wash it over the body, avoiding the face and tummy. Don’t worry about the spines yet. Let it dry completely.
2. Flick in the spines
Here’s the secret: don’t paint every spine. Load a small brush with a darker brown and flick short strokes along the back, all going the same way, more of them near the top and fewer towards the tummy. A few strokes are enough to make him look prickly.
3. A soft face
Paint the face and tummy in a pale sandy color, then add the nose and the eye in your darkest umber. Leave a tiny dot of white paper in the eye and he comes to life.
4. Wet-in-wet leaves
Wet one leaf at a time with a pale yellow ochre, then touch a little russet or red into one side and let them mix on the paper by themselves. Leave the toadstool white with a red cap, or keep it plain. That’s it.
Printing and Paper
Print at 100% on A4, or choose “fit to page” on US Letter. Watercolor paper is best for painting (I like a Canson XL watercolor pad for practice pieces like this); most home printers will take a lighter watercolor paper if you feed it one sheet at a time. If yours won’t, print on plain paper and trace the outline onto watercolor paper at a bright window. A pointed size 6 round brush is all you need for the spines.
Want more animals to paint after this one? My easy watercolor woodland animals post has ten more forest creatures to try, and there are lots of seasonal ideas in my fall watercolor ideas.
Want the Other 19? The Forest Animals Set
This hedgehog is one page from my Forest Animals set. The full set has 20 woodland animal outlines: a red fox, a tawny owl, a red squirrel, a rabbit, a roe deer fawn, a badger, a wood mouse, a barn owl, a brown hare, a sleeping fox, a dormouse, an otter, a stoat, a pine marten, a wild boar piglet, a beaver, a fox cub, a bat and more, plus the hedgehog.
Every outline comes with a loose painted reference, so you can see where the color goes, and a Colour Inspiration Card with five colors to mix. You get PDFs and PNG files.
It’s £14 (about $18) for the whole set.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the hedgehog template really free?
Yes. Pop your email in the box near the top of this post and the PDF comes straight to your inbox. You can also download it straight from the thank-you message.
What size is the hedgehog template?
It’s a full A4 portrait page (2480 × 3508 pixels, 300 dpi). It prints on US Letter too: just choose “fit to page”.
What colors do I need to paint a hedgehog?
A warm grey-brown for the spines, a pale sandy color for the face and tummy, a dark umber for the nose, eye and darkest spines, and a russet and a red for the leaves. That’s it.
Is the painted hedgehog reference included in the freebie?
No. The free download is the pencil outline. The painted reference and the Colour Inspiration Card for the hedgehog are part of the Forest Animals set, along with 19 more animals.
Final Thoughts
One hedgehog, one page, and a cozy half hour with your paints. Keep the spines loose and the face soft, and don’t worry if the leaves bloom and run. That’s the fun of it.
If you’d like the template, pop your email in at the top of the post and he’s yours.
For more painting ideas, come and find me on YouTube (subscribe here so you don’t miss the next one) and on Pinterest, where I save all my watercolor ideas.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase. I only recommend things I’d happily use myself.
You Might Also Like
- Watercolor Woodland Animals: 10 Easy Forest Creatures to Paint
- 40+ Fall Watercolor Ideas
- 30+ Easy Watercolor Ideas for Beginners
- 75+ Easy Things to Watercolor
Pin this for later!
Happy painting!
Dee x