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How to create watercolour art

How to create watercolour art
60 min Medium
HoneyDarko

An article by HoneyDarko

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Start with the cacti or other designs that you have chosen to be in the foreground when the piece is finished. Sketch the outline with a pencil and go over it with the pigment liner. Since this is only an outline, I use a pen with a narrow tip. Don't forget to rub out the pencil line once the ink is dry!

Place a transparent sheet over your designs - this will allow you to adjust the colour gradation of your background to match your designs. Now colour in areas on the sheet using the Marsgraphic Duo. Choose colours that will match the colour gradation. I've chosen purple, pink, red and yellow. Now spray a fine mist of water onto the ink (the best thing to use for this is a plant spray bottle).

Now - carefully - turn the sheet over so that the side with the wet ink is in contact with the paper. I find that using my fingers on the back of the sheet to smudge the ink carefully creates a lovely gradation of colours. You can decide for yourself whether to mix the colours a lot or just a little.

Next, remove the sheet quickly, lifting  from one side to the other. If any large drops of ink remain on the page, dab them dry using a paper towel.

As soon as the ink is dry, you can start colouring in your design. I use watercolour colour pencils for this. You can create lovely colour gradations here, too, by placing similar shades next to each other - for instance, dark and light green as for the cacti - and smudging them together using a damp paintbrush. Finally, I add a couple of points of light with the white pencil - these kind of highlights will make your work of art even more beautiful!

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Material overview

What you need

ProductArticle no.Quantity
Noris® aquarell 144 10 Watercolour pencil - Cardboard box containing 24 watercolour pencils in assorted colours and 1 paint brush 144 10NC24 1
pigment liner 308 Fineliner - STAEDTLER box containing 4 pigment liner black in assorted line widths (0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) 308 WP4 1

Additionally required:

transparent sheet, watercolor paper, plant spray bottle

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