Japanese Inspired Watercolor Illustrations: Mixing Muted Colors

1. Muted Valentine Palette: If you love muted colors and are looking for a Valentine project, then this class is for you. Let us learn how to turn our bright pigments into its muted version, play with different color combinations and work on these lovely projects that can be turned into a card, bookmark, tag, or any customized project. Hi, I'm Bianca Lustre from Betangas Philippines, and one of my recent obsessions is color mixing. If you've been with me through my other classes, welcome back. And if this is your first time, hello, let's have fun with colors. We'll start off by designing our palette and getting inspiration online. Then we'll swatch and test our colors. I'll share with you alternative pigments you can use and how to mix the muted tones using primary colors only. We'll have a quick review on color theories to better understand why such combinations work and test out this palette with these abstract shape studies. To better apply what we have learned, we'll work on these Japanese inspired illustrations and use the palette that we designed. I'll provide you a scanned copy and line drawings through the class guide. Once you finish this class, you won't be held back by the pigments in your palette. You'll have the skills to mix custom muted colors for any reference photo you choose using the paints that you already have. So if you're ready to learn more, grab your materials, download the class guide, and I'll see you in the next video. 2. What We'll Do: Our goal for this class is simple. Use a muted palette for our Valentine projects. You have a few options in uploading your class project. You can either upload a swatch of your selected pigments as long as they are muted. You can share a photo of the three illustrations demonstrated here or go extra by applying the muted colors on your subject of choice. All of the materials list, swatches, alternative colors, abstract exercises, and scanned copy of projects can be found in the class guide. So please download that if you haven't already. Even though I work with watercolors primarily, I encourage you to use a medium that you're comfortable with. Maybe you prefer guash, watercolor pencils or colored pencils, markers, a simple graphite pencil, or even a pen. Once you're ready, I'll see you in the next video, and I'll share with you how to choose your own palette and get inspiration for your illustrations. 3. Finding Inspiration: One convenient way to get inspired in designing your own palette is by browsing through the web. For example, going through Google Images and searching muted Valentine palette will give you tons of ideas. As I scroll here, what caught my attention is the combination of reds, yellows, and purples, not the usual pink and green combination. Now that I have a base for my palette, the next thing that we can decide on is the subject of our illustration. Personally, I love Japanese related items. For example, wood block prints. The Great Wave of Kanagawa is one of my go tos, so I'll choose this. I also prefer cats over dogs, so this cat figurine works. And, of course, my day isn't complete without desserts. So let me browse some and pick what appeals to me the most. As you can see, the process is really personal, so you can do the same and choose your own references or follow and paint along. Now that we have some inspiration and a general idea on what we're going to create, let's start testing our colors and see if they work. 4. Alternative Colors: Here, you can see that I've substituted a brighter pink, orange and brown, but by adjusting them, we can still see that it's relatively close to our original palette. For our second palette, we have Opera, burnt sienna, Gambochnova, cerulean blue mixed with opera, and burnt umber. For the third one, I used coin red, light red, permanent yellow deep, palo blue, and Van **** brown. So don't get too constrained and worry. Oh, no, I don't have Venetian red or crimson lake. Switching them with other pigments from the same family works too. Now, let me show you how I adjusted the colors and make them muted or desaturated. To understand how this works, we need to revisit the color wheel. To make a muted or desaturated version of a color, all you have to do is mix a bit of its complimentary color. If you've joined any of my color mixing classes, you'll recall that complimentary colors sit opposite each other in the color wheel. So in this case, if you want a muted red or pink, just mix in a bit of green, and green is a product of mixing blue and yellow. Of course, you can use other pre mixed greens, too. As you can see here, just a tiny bit of green added to my pink already made a difference. Don't add too much, or it will muddy the color and create a neutral color instead. Of course, this can also be used as a substitute to brown. The same goes for yellow. If your yellow is too vibrant to your liking, add a bit of its compliment, which is purple and you will be able to tone it down. Next, let's try creating a muted version of orange. The compliment of orange is blue. Then let's mix in a bit of blue. This will immediately create a muted version of orange. Again, remember to add just a bit, or it will turn into brown instead. Now to mix brown, which we have already seen earlier, we can mix all of the primaries, and it will result in a neutral color. Let's see what kind of neutral shade the primaries will produce. Of course, depending on the pigments you use, the resulting colors will vary. If you have other pigments available to you, have fun experimenting, mixing and matching your primaries and once ready, see you in the next video for our first class project. 5. Testing the Colors: The first thing that we have to do when trying out a new combination is see if they work together. I like to swatch pigments closest to the reference palette side by side, following the rainbow pattern, RojebevRd, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. In this instance, starting with my pink, I chose Crimson Lake, followed by my orange, Venetian red. Yes, the name mentions red, but it looks orange. Then yellow. I chose yellow ochre. Purple, a combination of crimson lake and ultramarine blue. Of course, you can pick a ready mix of purple, too. But the reference palette seems to be missing something. Yes, we need something dark. You can either choose a darker version of any of the colors here. To make it simpler, I'll pick sepia or brown, a darker version of orange. Checking the color wheel, we'll see why this combination looks good. Pink or red, orange and yellow are placed next to each other, and they are called analogous colors. For additional contrast, we have purple, which is a complimentary color of yellow or the color that sits opposite yellow. This means you can also substitute purple with blue, which lies opposite orange or green, which is a compliment of red, and it will still look good. Now that we understand the theory behind this combination, let's do some exercises before the actual painting. Let's create abstract shapes. This one is not based on imagination. I looked around and found interesting shapes around me. Then I will simplify the shapes and fill them in with the colors that we swatched earlier. It's a great way to see if this combination will work without fully committing to it. Need to fuss around or get too technical. Just look around and see shapes that appeal to you. Our goal here is to see how these colors will turn out when placed side by side in varying sizes and shapes. I have done this for other colors, too. This one doesn't look so good, so I save time by testing out this combination first with abstract shapes rather than getting frustrated and working on a painting right away, only to find out that this palette won't work. So go ahead, look around you, find fun shapes to work with, and fill those up with your muted colors. In the next video, let's discuss what alternative colors you can use and how to mix them using primary colors only. 6. Project 1 - Lucky Cat: Let's start with this cute, lucky cat figuring or what's called ManekiNco. I folded a seven by ten watercolor paper in half and drew a simple sketch of this cat at the front. I have a mini study here where I tried painting it with a light brown base, and I kind of like the muted look on this one. So let's try and replicate it with some slight changes. Let's start off with a water mixture of yellow ochre and Venetian red. This is a lighter base compared to the mini study, and I like that it's close to a flesh or skin tone. Since this is a very light mixture, let us cover the whole illustration with this color. Once dry, it will look even lighter. At this stage, you don't need to worry too much about the tiny details like the bell, the marking, or its face. Just aim for an even coverage using a single shade. Then go ahead and mix a bit of sepia or any brown pigment to the yellow and red mixture to darken it a bit. Drop that color on some parts to add volume to this shape. Go for the left side of its body and arm and do the same thing on its face. Use this color for the contact shadow that its color and the ribbon are creating, as well as the gold coin that it is holding. Don't forget the ribbon at the bottom. Retouch if needed, and don't worry about copying exactly as I'm doing, okay? Relax and enjoy the process. While waiting for the other parts to dry, load your brush with purple. You can use a ready mix or a combination of your pink and blue and add a shadow below the Cat figurine. Then at this point, pause and analyze your painting. Has some parts started drying? If yes, then we can continue working on it. If not, then please be patient and allow the first layer to dry. In my case, this layer has dried fast. So I am loading my brush with a pink and a bit of yellow just enough to turn it into a reddish tone and color in the parts where red is needed. I'm going for its ears and the ribbon. Remember to go carefully around the bell and let's try our best to leave it out. Paper dries fast, so I will go for another layer of the same color just to make some parts even brighter and bolder. A good contrast for the pale base color. The ribbon really pops out when we add those shadows too. And don't forget to color in the ribbon at the bottom and do the same technique. Paint directly and add some shadows when it's dry. Now it's time to color in that gold coin. This coin was actually from the Edo period, and what's originally written on it has something to do about wishing for wealth and prosperity. But since we are using this cat as an inspiration for a Valentine card or generally a card for someone we care about, we will be replacing those characters. So don't worry about rewriting those complicated Kanji characters, okay? Add back Venetian red on our palette and use that to define the volume of the coin. I originally used Sepia in my mini study, but I think it looks too dull, so replacing it with brad gives it an extra vibrancy. Since we're using the yellow pigment, let's go ahead and paint the other parts where the same color is used, like this additional marking that I added on the cat. Paint a not so perfect circle for the marking and then proceed with his left ear and lastly, the bell. If you can negatively paint around the highlights on the bell and while it's wet, drop in some red at the center for additional volume. Next, let's retouch the ribbon and add some shadows. We can mix the pink and red pigments together to make it look even darker. Now, let's introduce Sepia or Brown to our palette and use that for the darker parts of the cat like his right ear or the ear to our right hand side. You'll notice that I'm also speeding up some parts of the demo since I trust that you observe what we're doing. We're just directly painting and coloring in parts where a specific shade goes. Next, retouch the shadows using red this time. Go over the same areas like the left arm, the left side of the body, the left side of the face, and the conduct shadows that the ribbon and coin create. What's different here is I am softening the edges a bit. After painting the shadows, I will rinse my brush, tap the excess water on my rag, and lightly go over the edges of the shadow shapes so they won't end up with hard edges. Now it's time for the details. Using red, I will paint some of its claws. Use the same color for its nose and mouth. In real time, you'll notice that I go slower on these details. So take as much time as you need. For the eyes, let's switch to sepia again and use that same color for its whiskers and the additional marking. The lost touch is the most fun part. Write whatever you want on the gold coin and on the cat's body. I am writing some words of endearment but changing the font, so it still looks like a Japanese character. You can also add some jubise if you prefer. This is your card, so own it and design it as you like. And finally, add some message at the bottom bit since you have so much space in there. If you know calligraphy, then show off your skills. But for me, I went for a simple font, my own handwriting and wrote a simple message. So cute. See you in the next video for another card design. 7. Project 2 - Kanagawa Wave: Another iconic Japanese artwork, the great wave of Kanagawa by Hawksi. Let's simplify this woodblock print and change the colors a bit to match our muted palette. We'll start off by preparing a pale pink and purple mixture. Grab a bigger brush and wet the sky area with clean water. Then switch to a smaller one once you reach the waves. Making sure that the paper is evenly wet, start painting from the top with pale pink. Leave out a white shape for the clouds, and then switch to purple as we reach the waves. No need to rinse your brush. Again, this blending will only work with a wet on wet technique. So make sure that your colors are prepared. The paper is wet enough to allow the pigments to blend smoothly and work relatively fast before the paper starts to dry. For this to work, it also means that we have to really simplify the wave and ignore those tiny water splashes. For additional texture, you can also splatter water over the background area. This won't be too obvious, but it adds a bit of complexity and makes this piece more interesting. L eave the skite dry and let's work on the waves at the bottom part. We'll start off with a pale yellow wash and paint the waves. Leave out some white for the sea foam for additional contrast. As you can see, the water splashes in this part are simplified, too. If not, then we'll need to spend so much time negatively painting around them, which might take away the joy of doing this loosely, and the result will be a stiffly painted card. So don't worry too much about the details. You can also refer to my outline drawing in the class guide for reference. Continue doing this until you cover the darker parts of the waves. Once you reach the top part, make sure that the background has dried already, or the yellow will bleed through the purple color and create unwanted blues. Switch to a pointed tip brush if needed, as you navigate through the narrow areas of the wave. The bottom part here has fairly dried. So let's load our brush with pink this time and paint a stripe pattern that we see on the wave. Don't bother too much where to place this color. As long as you can achieve an alternating yellow and pink pattern, that would do. But I suggest that you follow the direction of the wave to make it look more like the original wood block print. Do the same for the upper wave. I'm really excited about this project. I can't wait to send this card to my family and friends, and I hope you feel the same about handmade artwork. They are just so special. So now let's work on the shadows of the sea foam and use a pale purple color. More water in the mixture. You can also refer back to the original Kanagawa wave reference to help you decide where to place the shadows. But again, don't worry too much in creating an exact replica. What matters most here is that the card is handmade, which is personally, I find it rare to receive one in this modern era. Go over the mountain in the background, too. That's the famous Mount Fuji for you. Add shadows using the purple mixture. Once the pink layer has dried, we can add a glaze of purple and do it alternately to create more visual interest. What's left here is going over the stripe pattern once more if you find them too pale, like what I'm doing here. And once it's done, you can mark this as completed. Or if you want more challenge, add some outlines using a brush. I am making the waves more pronounced by defining them using the tip of my brush loaded with darker red violet mixture. If you prefer mixed media, you can also use markers, watercolor or colored pencil, or even a regular pen. Anything to make the waves stand out more. And just like what we did with the first card, we can add a message and even include our loved one's name to make it extra special. Now, let's paint some sweet treats in the next video. 8. Project 3 - Sweet Treats: Time to paint something sweet. This time, we'll create four mini paintings in one card. Of course, you're free to paint only one dessert or take the challenge and paint along. I find that using a masking tape is a must for this layout. Let's start off by painting the background color of each food illustration. Yellow for the first one. And since the topping has a bit of yellow on it, I'll cover that part with a background color, too. Now for this cold dessert, I'll use purple and cover the bowl as well. Next, mixing more water with my venetian red and covering the background and shadow area of the mini pancakes. For the last one, which looks like a rabbit shaped mochi, use a pale wash of pink and go over the shadowed areas, too. You can look for other cute Japanese desserts, and I assure you there are tons to choose from. Pick ones that appeal to you the most and use our muted palette. Going back to our first illustration, I mixed my Venetian red and crimson or pink plus red for the base color. Paint the whole shape directly, and for additional texture, use this cumbling technique where you repeatedly dab the tip of your brush on the paper. I'm also doing it wet on wet. For the cold dessert, which looks like ice shavings, cover the top bit with a light pink color. Add more water to the mixture and leave this to dry. Going back to the pancakes, use a light yellow color for the base while leaving out this shape at the top for the butter. Add some shadows while still wet. Mix the remaining Venetian red and sepia and drop it on the shapes while wet. Let the colors blend. Now for the bunny, I will mix yellow and pink and add more water for the base color. We can also reinforce the shadow by painting it wet on wet with pink color. Now, you'll observe that since we're working on multiple mini illustrations at the same time, it only makes sense to work on them alternately rather than waiting for one layer to dry and working on the same illustration at a time. So going back to the first dessert, color in the slices of fruit at the top with red. Add shadows to build the volume. You can also use the tip of your fingers and tap to spread the colors and add texture. It's a bit messy, but it's fun. Add back sepia and use that for the base. If you find this too doll, you can also mix a bit of pink with your brown. Drop darker red colors on the fruit and retouch the texture if needed. For the cold dessert, load your brush with darker pink. This means more pigment than water, and negatively paint around the toppings. Add some texture on the ball with a purple mixture and soften the edges if needed. Retouch the bowl with another glaze of purple if it turns out pale. Build up the volume by repeatedly adding another layer of paint. Mix pink and yellow to achieve red and color in the fruit at the top. Eave this to dry and let's add the darker parts on our pancakes. Using a stronger Venetian red mixture or other muted orange pigment, define the darker parts in the pancakes like the top, the divisions, the syrup that overflowed. And use a lighter version of that color for the base of the pancake. Tap your finger for additional texture and keep adjusting as you see fit. With the yellow pigment, paint the butter at the top and use that to add some of the overflowing syrup. Retouch with another glaze of the orange pigment and from time to time, add sepia to for contrast. Loading back yellow to my brush to redefine the zero. The process is almost the same. Just add more and more layers if the painting still looks pale. Now that the first illustration has dried, the colors look lighter. So if the same happens to you, you can always add another layer of paint. Let us do the same for the second sweet treat. And I'll keep referencing and checking my mini study for reference. Redefine the shadows with a light pink mixture, then drop a darker version of that for the contact shadow of the toppings. Retouch as needed. Now it's time for the bonnies Color in the ears with pink and soften the other side for contrast. Use the same color for the blush on its cheek and do the same thing on the other bonny behind it. The next steps would be final retouching as we observe which part seems dull or light, which parts need more texture or vibrancy and which parts need some details. Enjoy this step, and I hope you're having fun as much as I enjoyed creating these cards. I'm smiling to myself as I think of my family and friends who will receive these cards. Anything handmade is highly appreciated these days. So be proud of your work and look forward to the happy faces that they will create. Have fun adding details, and I'll see you in the next video, and let's discuss what you can do from here. 9. What to do From Here: But good job in completing this class. How do you feel about your mixing skills? Did you like the muted palette? If you'd like to continue using this combination, then go ahead and try other card designs. But don't forget to upload your project first, okay? And if you have spare time, a class review will help me improve my future classes too. If there's one key takeaway from this class, that is swatching is never a waste of time. It is your most valuable preparation. By exploring color combinations first, you don't just hone your mixing skills. You build the exact knowledge needed to choose the right pigments for any subject with confidence. So if you want to learn more about color mixing, I have other classes where you'll have lots of opportunities to mix and discover different color combinations. Looking forward to seeing you in my other classes, and together, let's make this world a little bit more colorful with our artwork.