watercolour leaf design…. try sketching some organic shapes… leaves! look at real leaves to...
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Watercolour Leaf Design…
Try sketching some Organic Shapes…
Leaves!• Look at real leaves to observe the shape or
outline;• Think about what kind of line will help you
draw the shape (Curvy? Angular?);• Practice sketching the basic shape of different
leaves on newsprint or in your sketchbook;• Include some detail, such as lines to show the
veins in the leaf.
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Planning Your Design…
Choose one leaf ‘style’ from your sketches, to use in your watercolour design.
Lightly draw your leaf shape using pencil onto watercolour paper, and remember to try:
• Vary the SIZE (large, medium, small…)• OVERLAP• OFF-THE-PAGE• Use of space… Balance the design
Next, trace over your leaf shapes with a waterproof marker.
This is just part of a leaf design to show the black outline…
Introducing Watercolour• A watery medium (the Prang ‘pan’ watercolours
require lots of water to be added!)• Watercolour brush – holds lots of water! (Tip: Hold
the paint brush just like your pencil in your printing hand!)
• Watercolour is transparent (can see through layers!)
Try a small ‘wet-on-wet’ sample first to practice the technique…
Wet-on-Wet Technique1. Wet the paper/shape (use clean water!);
2. Apply the first colour to fill in part of one leaf shape. (Wash = even area of watery colour);
3. Apply a second colour (wash) to fill in any remaining areas of the leaf shape.
TIPS… Use the brush to guide the paint; when the two wet colours touch, they will ‘run’ together, creating interesting blends. … Know when to stop and let the paint blend end and work its magic! (Don’t
‘over mix’!)
Wet-on-Wet Technique
After a practice/sample, start filling in each leaf shape using the wet-on-wet technique.
TIP: Work around the page so that one leaf has time to dry BEFORE you paint any leaves touching it so the paint doesn’t run.
Wet-on-Wet Samples
Watercolour Leaf Design
• Paint each leaf shape using the ‘wet-on-wet’ technqiue
• Limit colours: 2 colours per leaf works well for wet-on-wet
• Use imaginative colour combinations if you’d like!
• Next day… Paint the background using only 2-3 colours with the wet-on-wet technique