Create a Tropical Scene: Paint with Watercolors for Beginners

1. Class intro: Hello everyone. My name is Ola. I am a professional artist, surface pattern designer, and online educator. I sell my art online on print on demand websites like Spoonflower and Society6. In this class, I'll take you on a journey to the Tropicals. We are going to create our own imaginary scene. We're going to explore colors and enjoy painting. In this class, you're going to learn how to mix colors on paper and how to choose your own color palette. You can download my scene sketch to work along with me, or you can create your own scene. If you want to try painting as an artist or just as an observer, so this class is for you. Let's get started. 2. Class Project and Resources: Your project is to create a watercolor tropical scene, using the different techniques and tips that you're going to learn with me in this class. I am providing you with the sketch I used in my scene, which you can download from the class Projects and Resources section. When you open Skillshare from a browser, not from the app. Open the browser, go to Projects and Resources. You will find the sketch here under Resources. Click on the name, Download, tap on this arrow to see your downloads. Click on the name to open the photo, then click on " Done ". Feel free to use your own sketch and your own color palette as well. Now, I'm going to draw my sketch to start painting. See you in the next lesson. 3. Materials You Will Need : Hi, students. For this purpose. 4. Flamingo: Wings And Body: [MUSIC] Our sketch is finished. Now we are ready for painting. I'm going to start with the flamingo, the hero of our scene. I'm going to use very warm shades of pink and mauve as I want to draw attention to the flamingo and make it very vibrant and juicy. I'm using my size 5 round brush to make some rose madder. I am adding water, but I don't want it to be a light wash. [MUSIC] We need to work as quickly as we can before our colors are dried. [MUSIC] I am giving the attention to the edges, and of course you can switch to a detail brush if you want more control. [MUSIC] Remember to load your brush with a good amount of water as it will be easier to spread your colors on paper. [MUSIC] I always like to mix my colors on paper as it makes my painting more interesting. I'm going to add mauve color to add a nice contrast to our flamingo. I'm switching to a size 1 round brush to more control. [MUSIC] I will make little dips here and there wherever I like. I end this dark mauve to the corners to add contrast and depth. [MUSIC] I don't prefer realistic art, so I paint with no rules at all. The only rule I have in my watercolor painting is to enjoy. [MUSIC] I will clean a small area in my palette so that you can see what I am doing easier. [MUSIC] Now, I am going to mix some dips of lemon yellow color to make the flamingo even more interesting. [MUSIC] I'm just touching the paper. I am going to do the same thing here. [MUSIC] I want this section to be more vibrant, so I'm adding more pink. [MUSIC] 5. Flamingo: Head and Neck : [MUSIC] Now let's continue our beautiful flamingo. I'm mixing rose madder again. [MUSIC] Remember to define your edges and also try not to paint over your sketch marks as it will be permanent in this case. I'm painting so close, but I'm doing my best not to paint over the sketch marks. [MUSIC] If you feel your paper is dry, just add some water to your brush. [MUSIC] Before the section is dried, let's add some fun. [MUSIC] I'm adding more color with my detail brush. [MUSIC] Some little drops of lemon yellow as well [MUSIC]. Back to rose madder and let's complete his hip. [MUSIC] I'm sorry guys my hand is covering the painting. [MUSIC] I like pink so much. I think I have pink shade here or there in every single painting I've done. But, of course, feel free to use your own preferred color palette. [MUSIC] I'm going to define these edges off camera to have more control, as I'm afraid my head will cover the painting and you won't be able to see anything. [MUSIC] Now, I'm going to wait for this section to dry a little bit as I don't want it to be soaking wet. [MUSIC] While we're waiting, let's paint the legs. So I will mix a gray color. [MUSIC] I'm mixing French ultramarine with some orange. [MUSIC] I want it to be a very light wash. [MUSIC] I'm painting with size 1 round brush. [MUSIC] Now back to the head, some lemon yellow. [MUSIC] Some mauve. [MUSIC] 6. Flamingo: Finishing : [MUSIC]. Now let's finish our flamingo [MUSIC]. I'm going to wet the paper with clean water as I want the colors to blend very softly in the beak [MUSIC]. Let's begin with a very light wash of lemon yellow. [MUSIC] some of rose madder. [MUSIC]. Finally, some of indigo [MUSIC]. I'm allowing the colors to blend and give us this beautiful gradient [MUSIC]. I'll use the same technique in the second part. [MUSIC]. First clean water. Make sure to leave a negative space between the two parts, as we don't want the colors to bleed [MUSIC]. We're going to use rose madder and indigo in this part [MUSIC]. Take your time and use a detail brush as it's a very small area [MUSIC]. Now moving to the last two parts of the flamingo, I am mixing a very light wash of rose madder. I'll add a big amount of water [MUSIC]. We needed only transparent with just a hint of color. [MUSIC]. Then just drop a few little bits of yellow on this area while it's still wet [MUSIC] and light wash of indigo to define the edge [MUSIC]. I am going to do the same thing here [MUSIC]. At this point, our flamingo is completely finished. [MUSIC] 7. Leaves: Mixing Colors : [MUSIC] As our flamingo is completely finished, let's go ahead and work on another section. The next step is going to be filling in these leaves. I am mixing this viridian green and some French ultramarine. [MUSIC] I am using size 5 brush as it will be easier to fill in this large area. [MUSIC] Take your time defining the edges. If you need more control, you can switch to a detail brush. [MUSIC] As you see, I am working with no source photo at all. The only rule is to explore colors and enjoy painting. [MUSIC] We don't want our leaves to be boring, so let's add some fun drops of lemon yellow. [MUSIC] For adding depth, I need to use some darker shades. So let's add a little bit of indigo. [MUSIC] For the smaller leaf, I'm using the same mix but with more water as I want these leaves to be lighter. Remember, in watercolors, more water equals lighter color. [MUSIC] I'm almost adding just water to the color existing on the paper. [MUSIC] Now a few drops of the concentrated mix to have different shades in my painting. [MUSIC] 8. Leaves :Finishing : [MUSIC] In this lesson, we're going to continue painting our leaves. Now, the first part of the small leaf is still very wet, so I'll give it some time to dry a little bit before adding more colors. In this time, I'm going to paint the second part of the big leaf. I'm using the same mix of radiant green and French ultramarine with just a touch of turquoise to add a variety of colors to our painting and make it more interesting. [MUSIC] Take your time in this area as it's very small and, of course, it's a good idea to switch to a detail brush here. [MUSIC] I'll leave it to dry a little bit. Now we can add some fun colors to the small leaf. I will begin with indigo to add a nice contrast. [MUSIC] Some lemon yellow, only a few drops. We don't need more. [MUSIC] I'll do the same in this part. [MUSIC] Now to the last part, as before, I am going to use the same mix of colors with more water to be lighter. [MUSIC] I am using a bigger brush to add the water. [MUSIC] Now we can define the edges with a smaller brush. [MUSIC] I think a few drops of cobalt blue here and there will be nice. [MUSIC] Yes, I like it. I'll add a little more to the first leaf as well. [MUSIC] I think it's more bluish than I want, so I am going to add some of this mix, to make it more green. [MUSIC] Yeah, perfect. [MUSIC] 9. Flower: We're almost there. In this lesson, we're going to paint the flower and finish our beautiful tropical scene. Let's begin with French ultramarine medium wash to paint some of the flowers petals. Let's add indigo for this part where the petals are connected to the flower. I am trying to create a balance between the petals colors, as I am going to add more colors later. Let's try and move here. I like to add unexpected colors to some petals as I don't want it to be a boring painting. Let's paint some petals in indigo. I am using the same mix that we use in painting our leaves to create harmony between the leaves and the flower. Let's add some rose madder petals to create harmony with the flamingo as well. If needed define the edges with a detailed brush. Of course, it's okay to make mistakes so don't panic. I am going to complete all the remaining petals. We finished the petals, so let's paint the stem. I am mixing viridian green and indigo. For the leaves I'm going to mix viridian green and French ultramarine. I am going to paint half of the leaves with this mix and for the rest I'll use the same mix but I'll make it lighter by adding more water. [MUSIC] Now, let's add some interesting colors to our leaves. I am going to finish the rest and see you in the next lesson. 10. Final Thoughts : We did it, my friends. Congratulations on finishing your own watercolor tropical scene. Don't forget to outline the flamingo's eye with a fine line pen [MUSIC]. You can go ahead and erase out all the pencil marks now. Feel free to explore and try different color palettes [MUSIC]. You can hang your painting on a wall in your house to enjoy it, or you can take your creativity to the next level. If you want to learn how to digitize your painting so you can upload it on print-on-demand websites, check out my other Skillshare class, modern watercolor motifs for surface pattern design from then to Procreate. In this class, I'll show you the scan settings I use, how have to remove background and editing colors in Procreate. Even more, you can learn how to turn your painting into a professional pattern. Thank you so much for joining me. I hope you enjoyed this class. Please leave a review. It means a lot to me. If you have any questions or comments about the class, feel free to post it in the class discussion. Follow me here on Skillshare to be the first to know as soon as I launch my next class. You can also follow me on Instagram @ola_al_hamedy to see my paintings and designs. Don't forget to upload your final painting to the project gallery. If you share it on social media, please tag me. Thanks again. See you in my next class [MUSIC].