How to Paint Cute Owl Nails for Fall

There are a lot of owl nails out there, but these little guys are still ridiculously cute for fall. The whole design is basically circles, feathers and one tiny beak.

What you need

• Brown nail polish
• Yellow-green polish (or yellow or gold)
• White polish
• Black polish
• Orange polish
• A dotting tool, sewing-pin head or toothpick
• A small striping brush
• Clear top coat

How to paint owl nails

The step-by-step images below are AI-generated illustrations based on our original owl nail design. The original photo tutorial is included below.

1. Start with a brown nail. Paint the nail brown and let the base dry.

   

2. Make two big eye circles. Dot two yellow-green circles right next to each other. Yellow or gold polish works, too. Let them dry before adding the next layer.

   

3. Add the feather details. Use a thin brush and white polish to add tiny feather marks around the face and two little eyebrows.

   

4. Build the eyes. Add a smaller white circle inside each yellow-green one. Once those are dry, add a tiny black pupil to each eye.

   

5. Add the beak. Paint a small orange triangle just below and between the eyes.

   

6. Seal it. Let all the details dry, then gently finish with clear top coat.

   

Make them feel more like fall

Pair one owl accent nail with cream, rust, deep beet red or olive green. You keep the original little owl face without needing to hand-paint ten of them.

For more fall-tastic nails, check out these 60 Thanksgiving nail art ideas and our football nails.