The next stage was filling bigger shapes. I blocked all leaves and treated them as one shape. Because of the first combined, all leaves have similar hue, even if I added various colors on other watercolor layers later. I painted wet on wet using a lot of water, and a few similar hues to fill a shape.
Lost and found
A great way to add details to your elements, but still leave it a bit undefined is using a pen on a not completely dry watercolor layer. I painted some details with the darker contour on pines. The lines stayed sharp where the first layer was dry, but the pigment spilled out on wet. It created interesting ‘lost and found’ texture. You can guess that there is pine but thank s to undefined lines and blurs, it isn’t a stiff, obvious drawing. I love this technique! It is worth to experiment with it, not only with watercolors.
Long live the watercolors!
After a half year of iPad phase (it had started with this decision), I finally got back to one of my favorite mediums.
Winter wreath is a commissioned illustration designed as Christmas card piece.
I have never taken part in any watercolor courses so everything I know about it, I learned myself or while watching how other artist work.
It is a long process of trials, experiments, and mistakes. But so satisfying!
Sometimes breaking the rules gives unexpected effects! Unfortunately, commissioned illustration with a short deadline, definitely isn’t a proper opportunity for watercolor explorations. That is why in such cases I stick to my usual watercolor process.
And today I will show you, how it looks like.
I will mention my tools in a short because I don’t consider myself as an expert in this theme. I don’t know components of paints or watercolor papers, and to be honest, I am not interested in it. I want to know what I can do on hot press, and for what job cold press is better. Which paint set suits me the best or which mediums works well together. Most of the answers to these questions I have found myself. And that is what I know:
- I like to use 270 -300 gms papers.
- I prefer to use the hot press papers, without strong texture, for detailed illustration.
- When I paint on a big size, or landscape theme – I will use the cold press, with interesting, visible texture.
- It is definitely worth to buy good quality watercolors with saturated, clear transparent colors! The cheaper ones also can do the job, but it is very likely, you will end up with muddy colors and discouragement. I use Saint Petersburg for years (“White Nights”, 24 colors), Kuretake Gansai Tambi (36 colors) and single pans of Winsor & Newton. I am happy with them, so I didn’t use another.
- I like to join color watercolors with watercolor pencils. They are soft, but not grainy. Sometimes I dilute them with water and sometimes not. Usually, I use them for finishing touches.
- I love ecolines (liquid watercolors). Their colors are more saturated and vivid than watercolors in pans.
- When it comes to watercolor related media, I use mainly masking fluid. It really stinks. But does the job especially when I use it with special rubber, sharply pointed brush, which is so much easier to clean than normal brushes.
- When I am going to use a lot of water ( usually, I do) I have always paper towels near me. They have saved not one illustration from being ruined.
- My favorite brushes are a small one, flat from Ikea, flat squirrel brushes for watercolors (Restaurohouse) for filling big spaces. For details: aqua brush Pentel, Petit Gris Pur Winsor & Newton, and recently bought, Kuretake Menso.
- I also love to use a pen with copperplate nib for details
- Sometimes, at the end of the process, I use gouache, watercolor pencils, and Sakura Gelly Roll white pen.
And commonly, that is it.
The sketch
I start with a sketch very often, but in the case of commissions – it is a rule.
It is the best way to set up composition, main elements and color palette, but also the best moment to show a client what I am going to do. The client can give feedback and ask for a correction on phase when they are very easy and quick to make. It is so much easier to make them now when we spent on the sketch only a few minutes than when the illustration is done and took as many hours. Sometimes I need to make a lot of sketches (in the case of commissions the number of sketches is specified), sometimes I go with the first one if it satisfies me.
I drew my sketch Adobe Sketch, using my iPad Pro 2017. My iPad is always near, and I use it not only for sketches (more in my post). I tried to show watercolor feel in it.
The important thing is, to not allow the sketch phase last too long. There is no point of making too complicated sketches. It is better to make a few, rough ones, than one very neat and detailed. I treat sketches more like a direction, in which I am going to go with my illustration, than a ready map.
Watercolors are not a ruler and a pencil. It is worth to let them surprise you.
Accidental splashes and bleeds can add a lot of charm. So be watchful! Try to change your potential mistakes into advantages.
A sketch will make you feel more secure. A blank sheet of paper isn’t so dreadful anymore. You will compose the space more successfully, and your color palette will be under control.
Sketches are an interesting theme! Definitely worth of a separate post.
Transferring the sketch to a paper
Most of the time I draw everything from the beginning, but this time I helped myself with very professional tools:
– I used a plate to draw a regular circle (I lost my calipers somewhere)
– I used my iPad as a lightbox. I was content how the shape of the bird looked like, and I wanted to save some time.
For transferring your sketch you can use lightbox, a computer screen or … a window.
I drew a more detailed sketch on watercolor paper with a 2b mechanical pencil. I was more into details but still drawing only shapes. I didn’t apply any shadows. It will be the task for watercolors.
The masking fluid
I covered small elements with masking fluid, only in the area, which I was going to paint with wide strokes at the end of the work.
I started with fruits which I covered with contrasting, orange and red colors.
Summer & Winter Landscape Acrylic Painting Tutorial｜Satisfying | Warm Summer And Winter Scene |
paintingsuppliesstore 2022-01-03T20:18:34-05:00
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Winter Watercolor Scene (A Step by Step Tutorial)
Last week we had our first snowfall. Well… It was more like frozen rain! But it was enough to get me in the mood to paint a winter watercolor scene, which I’d like to share with you below. If you’d like to follow along then you can download my sketch template and transfer it to watercolor paper.
I’ll go over various watercolor techniques and some art theory, and do my best to explain the steps I took to create this snowy scene!
By the way, the snow didn’t last very long.
Which is a shame because I like snow! (Hopefully there’s more to come)
How to Paint a Winter Scene in Watercolor
Before painting this winter view I explored a couple of factors that I think are important to the success of a painting. The first is composition, and the second is color harmony.
Composition
The inspiration for this painting came from a photo, but the disposition didn’t quite fit what I wanted. So I decided to modify the position of the boy in the photo to make him a stronger focal point.
To do this I applied a composition rule known as the “rule of thirds”. The sheet is divided into thirds using imaginary lines. Anything which falls on one of these lines reinforces the presence of that object in the overall composition. Better still if something falls at the intersection of two imaginary lines !
Following this idea I placed the body of the boy along one of these vertical lines, and the face is centered at the intersection of two lines. I made the format vertical rather than horizontal, and flipped the photo so that the boy was still facing into the scene.
Another useful composition trick is to make use of contrast. The human eye is often drawn to the point of highest contrast in an image. By painting the figure of the boy using relatively dark values, and placing the head and shoulders against a bright background, this helps reinforce the center of interest of the composition.
Color Harmony
This painting uses one of my favorite color combinations – blue and orange.
In color theory, this association of colors is known as “complementary”.
Complementary colors are any two colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. This kind of color relationship is said to be more dynamic and visually interesting.
Blue is the dominant color in the scene. Because blue is a “cool” color, this fits well with the winter theme of the painting.
Step by Step Winter Watercolor
Try this painting for yourself ! Click the button below to download the worksheet for this painting.
Step 1:
After sketching the figure onto watercolor paper I started by adding some details to the face and hands. I painted using a range of flesh tones, starting with the lightest color and progressively adding some darker toned hues. Be careful to leave the white paper untouched for the eyes and teeth. I’ll strengthen these features later but this allows me to establish an underpainting.
Underpainting is a common practice in watercolor painting where you apply an initial layer of color. Because watercolors are transparent this provides a base for subsequent layers of paint.
Step 2:
Next I added the bright orange colors for the boy’s cap and sweater. I used the same bright orange for the falling leaf. Together with the muted orange flesh colors, this adds the orange counterpoint of the complementary color scheme.
Step 3:
The following step was to start painting the “underpainting” for the blue coat. Notice that I leave a lot of white highlights at this stage. Some of these shapes will become bright highlights and others will be toned down by successive layers of paint, but it’s important to reserve the white paper early in the process.
The painting technique I use is wet-on-dry, where wet paint is applied directly to the dry paper, but I’m also creating smooth variegated washes by dabbing in some stronger blues into the wet paint. Use the stronger valued color in the places you expect to be in shade. This method helps create more visual interest to your watercolor washes.
Step 4:
Use the same process to continue painting the rest of the coat, leaving white highlight shapes as you go. After painting the blue hood, I also added some more orange to the cap, which I let bleed into the wet blue wash. It’s great fun watching colors blend this way and it creates some more visual interest!
Step 5:
For the bottom left part of the coat I had some more fun! Before painting the coat I wet the background segment of the paper with clear water. The blue pigment for the coat blends into the background beautifully. This creates a transition between the subject and the background where the edges blur because the color and value of both is similar. This “blurring of edges” is often referred to as “lost and found edges”.
Step 6:
Use the same technique to paint the legs. Here I used a more pronounced blue color.
Step 7:
Before you go any further let your painting dry completely (time to go grab a coffee!).
I used masking fluid and a toothbrush to splatter some dots over the painting. This is to protect the paper underneath and give the impression of snowflakes for our wintery painting. You can apply this to both the background and the boy figure as well – any dots of masking fluid on the boy’s coat will remain a lighter value and give an impression of snow.
Step 8:
The next stage is to add some more detail to the coat and legs. This is done with a wet on dry technique. My objective here is to deepen the values in the places that need shading and shadows. As you can see, this wet on dry technique produces shapes with crisp edges. This is a style that I particularly like (if you wanted a smoother transition you need to blend the edges, or use a wet on wet technique).
Note that you do not need to use a strong mix of paint here. Even a week mixture of paint will result in a darker shape. When you paint over a dry wash of watercolor in this way you automatically build up the values (that is make them darker). This is a technique known as “glazing” and it’s one of my favorite painting methods.
Step 9:
Now your going to work on the background. To do this I use a wet on wet technique (wet paint applied to dampened paper). Begin by dampening the whole background with clean water. The tricky part is leaving the figure of the boy and the leaf dry.
Use a smaller brush around detailed shapes such as the leaf and the upraised hand.
Step 10:
While the surface is still wet you can now start dabbing in some blue paint to create a blurred background. The aim is to leave a “halo” of white around the figure of the boy and his head. Start with a week mix of blue and don’t hesitate to tilt the paper to move the pigments around on the surface to make a smooth gradient of color.
When you’re happy with the first wet in wet layer you can start charging in some stronger paint to darken the wash. Try to make the background progressively darker towards the edges.
Step 11:
When you’re happy with the background leave it to dry completely. Then use a kneaded eraser to remove the masking fluid from the paper surface.
Step 12:
For the next step you’ll need some white gouache. This is to add a final effect of snowflakes over the painting. Why am I using gouache rather than white watercolor? Well… Gouche is more opaque than watercolor. This is because the pigments in gouache are larger plus contain additives like calcium carbonate to make the paint less transparent. But it can be dissolved in water just like watercolors. I’m using Winsor and Newton’s permanent white gouache (find it on Amazon) because it has a pure white color appearance.
Final step:
Dilute the gouche with some water. Make a mix which is not too thick and not too weak.
Next load a brush with white paint (I’m using a flat synthetic brush held edge on). Now flick the brush to add splatters of white to your painting! I found the best technique is to flick the brush vertically downwards and stop the motion suddenly.
