Sometimes if the light is shining through a gap in the clouds, you get these gorgeous streaks of light being cast down; I’ve heard them called God Rays. Here’s a quick step-by-step of how I create them in Sai. You might be able to duplicate the blur with a Gaussian Blur filter if you don’t have a blur brush in your painting program.
Learn How to Paint Rain That Looks Real
Oil Paints
We will be using M. Graham Walnut Oil Paints for this tutorial. It is important to use oil paints because they will allow you to create the translucent look that is essential for painting rain. Also, oil paints have a longer drying time than other types of paint, so you will have more time to work with them.
Paper
We prefer US Art Supply Charcoal Paper Pad for this tutorial because it is a smooth paper that will not buckle when wet. Its size of 9 in. x 12 in. will give you plenty of room to work. It is also important to use paper that is darker in color so that the rain will show up better.
Brushes
We recommend Sable Kolinsky Watercolor Brushes for this tutorial. They are high-quality brushes that will give you the control you need to paint raindrops. You will need three sizes of brushes for this tutorial: small (size 0), medium (size 12), and large (size 20).
How to Paint Rain
First, mix a small amount of white paint with water to create a thin wash. Next, use the brush to dab on the wet wash in short strokes, making sure to overlap each stroke slightly. Keep adding more washes until you’ve achieved the desired effect. It’s best to work quickly as the paint will start to dry fairly quickly.
Getting Started
One of the best ways to start painting rain is to study how light reflects off of wet surfaces. When painting rain, it’s important to create the sense that the viewer is looking at a scene through a window or door, and not simply observing the rain as if it were happening in front of them.
One way to create this illusion is by using light and dark colors to represent different distances.
For example, you might use a light blue for objects that are near the viewer, and a darker blue for objects that are in the distance. You can also experiment with different brushstrokes to create texture and depth in your painting.
How to Paint Rain in Oil
1. Sketch Out Your Painting
Before you start painting, it’s always a good idea to sketch out your composition. This will help you plan the placement of your elements and get a feel for the overall design. For this rain painting, I wanted to keep things simple and focused on the rain itself. So I sketched out a few basic shapes to represent the raindrops falling from the sky. To make the drawing more interesting I decided to draw a girl with an umbrella in the center of the paper.
2. Paint the Background
Once you have your sketch, it’s time to start painting. Begin by painting the background color of your choice. I opted for a light brown to represent the sky.
You can use whatever color you like, just make sure it’s a light shade so that the raindrops will stand out.
3. Add the First Layer of Rain
Once the background is dry, it’s time to start adding the rain. For this first layer, I used a light blue color. This will represent the rain that is furthest away from us and falling at a slower rate. To paint the rain, simply dab your brush onto the canvas to create small dots. These can be any size, but I kept mine on the smaller side.
4. Paint the Girl With the Umbrella
Now that the first layer of rain is complete, it’s time to add the girl with the umbrella. I started by sketching out her basic shape with a pencil. Once I was happy with the sketch, I began painting her in red color. I used a small brush for the details and a larger brush for the overall shape.
When painting the umbrella, I wanted to create the illusion that it was wet from the rain.
To do this, I used a dark blue color for the shadowed areas and a light blue for the highlights. I also added some water droplets falling from the umbrella by painting small dots of white.
5. Add the Second Layer of Rain
Now it’s time to add the second layer of rain. For this layer, I used a darker blue color. This will represent the rain that is closer to us and falling at a faster rate. I also made the raindrops a little bit bigger.
To paint this layer, I again used the wet-on-wet technique.
I started by adding some of the darker blue paint to my palette and then adding water until it was the consistency of milk. Then I loaded my brush with paint and added it to the top of the painting, letting it flow down the page. I repeated this process until I was happy with the amount of rain in the painting. Then I set it aside to dry.
6. Add the Third Layer of Rain
For the third and final layer of rain, I used an even darker blue color. This represented the rain that was falling the fastest and was the closest to us. I added this paint in the same way as the previous two layers, using a small brush to create tiny lines. Once again, I tried to vary the thickness of the lines and keep them random.
I also kept the lines shorter on this layer since they would be closer to us than the rain in the background.
7. Add Some Mist
To add some mist to the painting, I used a very light blue color and a large brush. I added the paint in random areas around the rain, using gentle strokes. I wanted the mist to be subtle so I didn’t add too much of it.
8. Add Highlights
To add highlights to the rain, I used white paint and a small brush. I added the paint to the top of each raindrop, making sure not to cover up the previous layers of paint. I also added a few highlights to the mist for extra realism.
9. Add Shadows
To add shadows, I used a dark blue color and a small brush. I added the paint to the bottom of each raindrop, making sure not to cover up the previous layers of paint. I also added a few shadows to the mist for extra realism.
10. Let It Dry and Enjoy Your Painting!
Once you’ve added all the layers of paint, let your painting dry completely. Then step back and enjoy your handiwork! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to paint rain in oil.
How Do I Background? 1/2
Apr 14, 2020
Hello guys! Many people have commented on the
Jun 7, 2020
Hi guys! Since the new version of dA has now
Jan 13, 2022
It is with enormous sadness that we announce the passing of the artist known here as Vaemi, early Sunday morning (GMT), after a three year battle with cancer. A kind and gentle person, they possessed incredible talent, which revealed itself through a range of creative outlets. Although we did not know all the ins and outs of the wolfbear/Toko group, we know that being part of it brought them immense pleasure, and that they made friends here, who were very much valued, even up to the end. Arista, in needlefelt form, and sitting here on the desk, tells me that she hopes one day the wolfbears will look up at the night sky to see a new star, guiding them on their adventures, and shining with all the brilliance of the spirit of Vaemi. Thank you to one and all, who brought Vaemi so much joy. Cynthia (mother)
Not quite the Christmas I expected.
Dec 28, 2021
Hi guys! I hope everyone has had a great Christmas. Mine was a real rollercoaster. On the 20th I went into the Cancer Centre expecting a routine blood transfusion, but it turned out my Potassium levels had dropped so low they were potentially affecting my heart rhythm. So I was immediately transferred to A&E. (And a 15-hour wait in Majors for a bed – the strain on the NHS right now is crazy.) I spent the week bouncing between departments of the hospital. At one point I was actually discharged and got all the way home, only to find out it was the result of a miscommunication and I needed to come back (through A&E again. those trolleys in Majors are so uncomfortable.) I had a lot of transfusions of Potassium, Phosphate and Magnesium. Not the hardest treatment to endure by far- but it meant I spent pretty much the whole five days lying in bed, not always able to move easily because of all the tubes and wires from the IV and monitor. My body got so stiff that I could barely take
Re the Snowfall Card Exchange
Dec 17, 2021
When the Snowfall Card Exchange was announced, I was so excited – I had a list of people in my head I wanted to make something for, to thank them for their friendship and support, both of my art and me personally. But, oh. My health. It ruined this plan, as it so often does. The last couple months, my health has not been so good. I feel like I’ve spent as much time in hospital as out, having several short courses of radiotherapy to my head and pelvis. I’m becoming anaemic on a regular basis again, and need frequent transfusions. Then there’s the tests and scans and chemo, of course. And even when I’m home, I spend so much time on the phone to medical people, having home visits, or emailing about appointment dates and prescriptions. It never ends. It’s impossible to establish a steady sleeping and eating schedule in all of this; so my weight has dropped drastically, my body is weak and shaky, and I’ve had some very shaky days emotionally, too. (Though mostly I’m just so, so
Steps for painting falling rain
‘Let it Rain’ 11×14 pastel ©Karen Margulis available $295
I am back from a blog break. I didn’t intend to be away for so long but one thing after another kept me busy with non-art activities. But I am back on track and I even have a half organized studio! More on that later. Even though family has kept me busy I have still been painting and sharing with my Patreon group. This month our focus is on the sky and clouds. I am sharing demos and tips for painting sunsets and stormy skies! I took some great sky reference photos on our June trip and it has been so much fun to revisit them in new paintings.
The painting I am sharing today is our Patreon Monday step by step demo. It is 11×14 on gray Pastelmat paper. I always forget how much I enjoy the way Pastelmat grabs the pastel. I find I make my marks in a different and more direct way. perfect for stormy skies.
In the Patreon demo I share a step by step photo breakdown of each step of the painting process but I wanted to go into more detail about how I painted the rain falling from the clouds.
- I started by painting the dark rain cloud with a few dark value blue pastels.
- Next I painted the lighter value dull gray violet and light blue in the sky area under the dark cloud.
- The rain is a middle dark value. I want to suggest the look of dark rain bands falling from the cloud so I use a middle dark blue gray pastel moon its side and make a wide vertical mark from the cloud base to the ground.
- I use a very light touch on the first pass so I get a whisper of rain. I go back for another pass but vary the pressure on the stick so that some areas of the rain band are a bit darker.
- To finish the illusion I use the sharp edge of a light blue Nupastel to make a few linear ‘rain’ marks.
- I do go back into the rain with more of the sky color. I want to make sure the rain looks like a thin veil. I need to be able to see through the rain.
