A colloidal lithography method has been developed for patterning nonplanar surfaces. Hexagonal noncontiguously packed (HNCP) colloidal particles 127 nm-2.7 mu m in diameter were first formed at the air-water interface and then adsorbed onto a substrate coated with a layer of polymer adhesive similar to 17 nm thick. The adhesive layer plays the critical role of securing the order of the particles against the destructive lateral capillary force generated by a thin Film of water after the initial transfer of the particles from the air-water interface. The soft lithography method is robust and very simple to carry out It is applicable to a variety of surface curvatures and for both inorganic and organic colloidal particles.