How to Make Objects Look 3D in Watercolors

Praxisnahes Kursprojekt

For your class project, you’ll create a simple watercolor study of four basic shapes like sphere, cone, cylinder, and cube. You will learn how to make them look three-dimensional using watercolor techniques and the form principle.

Follow along with the step-by-step demos in class, or feel free to choose your own color palette to add a personal touch. The focus of this project is understanding how terminator, core shadow, cast shadow, and highlight work together to create the illusion of depth in watercolor. Which is the foundation of painting anything realistically.

You’ll be practicing how to:

• Apply the form principle to turn flat shapes into solid forms

• Use terminator, core shadow, cast shadow, and highlights to define volume

• Build up dimension with layering and gradients

• Observing all parts of form principles for realism

• Understand how different shapes interact with light

We’ll bring these skills together in a clean, structured composition. A mini form study using pencil drawing that helps build your confidence and observation skills and knows how form works. 

To get started:

• Grab your watercolor supplies—paper, brushes, water, and basic colors

• Lightly sketch the four forms (or use the provided reference image) - Feel free to use your own reference

• Follow the class demos closely, watching how each layer changes the form

• Focus on how the water and pigment interact to shape light and volume

• Don’t aim for perfection—the goal is to see and feel the form on paper

Once you’re done, share your project in the project section! You can also post progress shots or warm-up practice. I’d love to see your work and offer feedback. I’ll provide helpful tips, gentle critiques, and paintovers for anyone who wants extra support.

Please find the reference image for this class attached below.

Happy painting!