Transcripts
1. Welcome to Class!: Have you ever looked
at a painting and felt completely
transported to the scene? That's the magic of
atmospheric landscapes. And in this class, I'm going to show you how to create
them pleasing watercolor. Hi, I'm Elena, and
welcome to this class where we'll be diving into the world of
atmospheric landscapes. I've always been drawn to the beauty and
tranquility of nature, and I love capturing
that in my paintings. I've spent years
honing my techniques, specializing in landscapes that are infused with calm
and peacefulness. Excited to share my tips
and tricks with you, whether you're looking to deepen your painting
skills or just want to create something
relaxing and beautiful. But what exactly makes a
landscape atmospheric? It's all about capturing
a mood using light, color, and simplicity to
evoke feelings and emotions. Soft gradients, misty
skis and subtle details are what make these landscapes
feel serene and real. Not only is creating this
kind of art relaxing, but looking at
atmospheric landscapes can bring a sense
of peace and calm. They allow us to slow
down and get lost in a dream world where nature
feels like a quiet scape. In this class, you will
learn and practice essential what color techniques like
wet on wet, water control, blending, layering,
and how to achieve soft touches all key elements for creating that triamy
atmospheric look. By the end, you'll
be able to apply these techniques to any future Wat color
projects you work on. This class is perfect for intermediate painters
or beginners with some experience in Watco. I'll guide you through
every step from sketching to layering watches and
adding final details. Let's get started on this relaxing and
creative journey into atmospheric landscapes. In the next video, I'll
tell you more about how the class is structured and the final project.
See you there.
2. Class + Project Overview: Welcome back. In this class, we'll focus on mastering
the techniques behind creating atmospheric
landscapes using what colors. We'll start by going through the material that you'll
need for the class. Next, I'll explain what
granulating colors are and why they're perfect for creating atmospheric landscapes.
Don't worry. You don't need to have
any special colors, as I'll guide you on how to
mix such colors yourself. Then we'll go through some essential techniques
that are very useful when painting minimalistic and
atmospheric landscapes. We'll practice water control and painting diverse pine trees, essential skills for every
watercolor landscape artist. By the end of this class, you'll have a solid
understanding on how to create dreamy atmospheric pieces that leave a lasting impression. For your class project, you'll be creating your own minimalist atmospheric
landscape. You will apply the techniques we cover in the
lessons to create a dreamy what color painting of an atmospheric landscape that captures the feeling
of serenity and space. Don't forget to upload your
project to the class gallery, as I'll be offering feedback
on every submission. So we get started.
In the next video, we'll discuss the
materials. See you there.
3. Materials: I in this video, we'll go through the materials
you'll need for the class. I'll share what supplies I'm using and offer
some suggestions. Starting with the paper, I'll be using Sanders what four, 300 GSM, 100% cotton paper, which is one of my favorite. The brand doesn't matter
much as long as you use cotton paper and needs
at least 250 GSM. If you're not using
cotton paper, you can still follow along, but keep in mind that some techniques might
not work as well, and the final result
might differ. I'll tape the paper to a
plastic board using paper tape. A plastic board is ideal as it won't absorb moisture
from the paper, but any sturdy board will work. Need a pencil and an
eraser for the sketch. I'm using a kneaded eraser and a mechanical pencil
by fabric style. For brushes, I'll use this model or bag Mar to wet the paper. It's large and holds
a lot of pater, making it perfect
for this purpose. For larger areas like
the sky and mountains, I'll use Chinese
calligraphy brush, but you can use any large
brush you have available. For smaller elements
like pine trees, I'll use another Chinese
calligraphy brush. I bought both of
these on a express, so I don't know their brand. If you're curious, feel free
to message me on Instagram, and I'll find the links for you. For the tiniest details, I'll use this liner
by Jackson's, but any smile brush will do. As for the paints, I'll be using my large ceramic palette filled
with my favorite colors. The colors I'll use
today are nipples, yellow, transparent Pyl, orange, a azarin, Ventiena,
van Teck brown, ultramarine, viridian, or
pale green, and paints gray. If you don't have these
colors, don't worry. Here are some alternatives. You also need a palette for mixing your paints,
two jars of water, one forcing brushes, and
another for clean water, and a cotton or paper towel. I'll be using both, so gather your materials and let me in the next video
where I'll tell you more about gran latin
colors and white they're perfect for painting
atmospheric landscapes.
4. Granulating Colors: In this video, I'll tell you more about granulating colors, how they can help
us when painting atmospheric minimalistic
landscapes and how to mix such colors yourself
if you not have any. Granulation, of course
in what colors, when the pigments
used for making the paint aren't finely ground. Larger heavier pigment particles settle visibly on the paper, creating a texture effect. This effect is often
desired in landscapes as it gives the illusion of
volume depth and texture. It often creates the
impression that you have painted an
entity of elements while in reality is
just a wash. Apart from being made with pigments
that have larger particles. So granulating paints contain two or more pigments
with different hues. These also tend to
separate on the paper, creating an even
more interesting and mesmerizing effect
where you can see the two distinct colors and large particles together in a single wash. Needless to say, paints like these
are super helpful when we want to paint fresh
atmospheric landscapes. Show you some of the gran latin greens from my collection, and then I'll show
you how you can make gran Latin colors yourself, starting with undersea
green by Daniel Smith. I haven't used it to so far, but you could already
see white would be perfect for painting landscapes. You can see hues of
blue, yellow and green. I imagine this would be
perfect for a landscape with lots of greens and
warm afternoon sunlight. The next one is forest
brown by Sminke. Not sure why they called it brown when it's
actually green, but you can see how beautifully separates to green,
brown and yellow. The next one is one of my
favorites desert green. It has a red and
green pigment in it, maybe not the best choice
for painting pine trees, for example, but definitely
an interesting color to have. The next one is Tundra
green, again, by Schminke. It has brown and
green pigment in it, and it's less bright and vibrant than the
previous colors. Next two colors are by the
polish brand Roman Small. I like them a lot. This one is olive green deep, and it has yellow, brown, green, and black pigments in it. You can see how rich this
such a glowing golden color. And the other one is aquarius green and same as
many of the colors. Above, it has blue, yellow, and brown
pigments in it. I like heat moodiness. But what to do if you
don't have any of these or any other similar
granulating paints? You can mix a granulating
color yourself by combining two or more colors that are made from
granulating pigment. Some of the most popular
are ultramarine, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, viridian, or pale green, cobbled blue, cerulean blue, raw amber, and mars black. So here I'm mixing ultramarine, burnt sienna, and
viridian green. Depending on the ratio
between the colors, it can be brownish, grayish, bluish, or greenish. This, for example, is a
beautiful moody green that I think would be
perfect for today's project. And now let's mix
Verdan and buntiena. So, it can be a bright
green like this one. Or a more natural and warm one. So play with the colors,
you already have experiment with the ratios and taste on
different papers if you can. Try adding non
granulating colors too, like yellow, for example. It's one process that will help you get to know
your colors better. And if you don't have any of the mentioned
colors, don't worry. You can still paint a
mesmerizing landscape. Let me show you a few super helpful techniques that you can practice before jumping on the final project. See
you in the next video.
5. Techniques: As we already discussed, one of the things we
need to do when painting an atmospheric landscape is to use or recreate the
feeling of light. As the light usually comes
from the sky or the sun, let's practice a
technique that can give us a soft
illuminated ging sky. Another reason why I want a soft instead of dramatic sky is because we're sticking to
the minimalistic approach. We won't be painting many
elements or details, so it doesn't make any sense
for the sky to be busy. We want it to be light so
that it contrasts nicely with the mountains and forest in our example of today's project. To paint such a sky, we need
to practice water control. Here I'm wetting the paper
in two separate areas. The one on the left,
I'll leave for now, and I'll use the
one on the right to show you how
we'll paint the sky. I'll use the following
color combination nipples, yellow, parle orange. And a little bit of a lazarin. Feel free to experiment
with your colors. You can go for a
more pinkish sky, for example, if this
is what you want. So we want the paper surface to be glistening when
applying the color. This will allow us
to move it around until we have the
perfect soft blend. Don't forget to leave white caps between the separate strokes. This will help us emphasize
the feeling flight. Oh. I'm rotating very gently the section on the left
because it is dried a bit. I'm just reactivating this
mix from the previous video. So this is how we paint the
mountains in the distance. So to create a fog mist, the blurry mountains
on the distance, all these elements of an
atmospheric landscape, we need the paper to be damp, not glistening, but still
keeping moisture in its fibers. The easiest way to guess the right moment
for that, I think, is when you're able to see
the texture of the paper, there is no sheen
on its surface. You see, in this case, we
still have soft edges, but the paint doesn't
spread as much. And this is also
the perfect moment to add some misty pins. I switched to my smaller
Chinese calligraphy brush, and I'm taking from the other mix from
the previous video. Testing first how the
paint is spreading. I just need a little
bit more water here. Dabbing on my towel
to get rid of the excess moisture and here's how we'll
paint the mich pines. You can be more precise
and take your time with each or you can just
just them like that. And for the one in
the foreground, we want to be more precise, so I'll use my liner. Starting with a line, and then we add some
branches on the sides. Do that again. So these are full, like, perfect Christmas
trees from a postcard, but you could also paint a more sparse tree with
just a few branches. Or maybe something in between. Notice that when
the paper is dry, the trees look more
dark and pronounced. I highly recommend practicing these techniques a few times. Paint a misty mountain, then add some trees
while the paper is wet. This way, you'll get a feel for the timing when to add to paint, when to wait, and when to stop. The more you practice,
the easier the trees will become and they
look more natural. So practice these techniques, and when you're ready, I'll be waiting for you in
the next video. Where we'll start sketching
our final project.
6. Sketch: Okay, let's start.
In this video, we'll create the sketch
for our painting. While I'm taping the
sheet to my board, let me tell you how I chose this photo reference and why I decided on this
exact composition. Here's my initial
inspiration for this piece. A lot of things drew
me to this photo. I like the way the
sky lightens up at the top to create this
open air filling. Our brains automatically
complete unfinished visuals. So I think the sky works so well in this photo
because of that. The light area at
the top makes us subconsciously imagine
the rest of it. I also love the misty mountains. Those misty clouds create a sense of airiness
and coolness. We can imagine how
far the mountains stretch with different layers, each one more translucent. I like the rows of pines, but I wasn't fond of
the plain foreground. First, it fell a bit
boring and monotonous, and second, it's a paknes kind of blocked
damage from below. So I thought, what if there
was a lake down there? Add to the atmospheric
feeling by bringing lightness,
coolness, and openness. I played around
with mid journey, and if you're
interested in how to create your own
reference photos there, either using other references or starting from scratch,
I have a class on that. So I asked Mid Journey to create a similar landscape but
with a lake at the bottom, and after a few iterations, I got this one that
I liked a lot. Then I started thinking about
the crop and orientation. If we were to paint this
in landscape format, it wouldn't add anything to the visual interest compared
to portrait format. Ocheit format, we still have
the sweeping mountains, the rows of pine
trees and the lake, but without so many
repetitive elements. Plus, we have more space for
the sky and we can paint the mountains larger to further emphasize that
feeling of being there, the open sky, the
looming mountains. This is the reference photo
I'm going to use today. You'll notice I also
change the colors a bit, but feel free to use
whatever colors you like, or even use your own
photo reference. I'm starting by marking the lake using my
pencil for measurement. I'll leave a mark on both sides and in the middle and
then connect them. Next, I'll mark the
bank of the lake, that dark stripe just above it. Followed by some bushes. Then we'll add the pine trees, I'll mark them with
simple vertical lines, varying in height and distance. They shouldn't be evenly spaced. Now for the rows of mountains,
here's the closest one. A larger one here and two more at the top. We won't be adding more
because we want to maintain that sense of
space and vastness. That's it for the
sketch. I'll go over the pencil lines with an
eraser to lighten them. In the next video, we'll
start painting right away.
7. First Wash: Okay, let's start painting. I'm placing my ten beneath
my board to create a soap. This will help the
water and paint flow down and prevent puddling. Now I'll wet the entire sheet. As I said, in all my classes, this tape is crucial, and it's not enough to just
go over at once. You need to make sure the
paper absorbs the water. While it's soaking, I'll
prepare the colors. I'll squeeze some of
that benziena here. And here I'll mix naples
yellow with orange. This gives me this
soft peach hue, and I'll add a little
bit of a laser into it to make it more pinkish. I'll go over the paper
again with my brush to make sure the moisture
is evenly distributed, then start with the sky. I'm adding broad
struck to the sky, leaving some white gaps to add luminosity and airness
to the landscape. After rinsing my brush, I'll use it to soften some areas and create
a seamless transition. The mountains will
cover this part, but they'll be very
lighten or loosen. It's important to wipe
the sides of the paper as droplets can creep back into the painting, which
we want to avoid. I'm wiping my brush
and my napkin to make sure it doesn't have
much moisture in it, and I'll use it to fix some
areas like this one here. I'll leave some of
the paint here. And that's it for the sky. Try to paint it with
as few strokes as possible to keep it looking
light, fresh, and luminous. Next, I'll move on to the lake. We want to paint wet and white
to create soft reflection. I'm taking some paint gray. I make sure to press my brush
to my napkin to take off the excess moisture and I add some horizontal strokes
leaving some white space. Then I'll add more pains gray, ridian and burnt sienna to
get a muted moody cold green. I'll add the short vertical strokes under the white space, aligning them with the
pine tree positions. Notice I'm not using much
water because we want the paint to stay where we put it without
spreading too much. I take more pains gray Now, I wash my brush, wipe it very well and use it to spread the paint horizontally because that's
the direction of the ripples. I'm touching very lightly since I don't want to disturb
the paint too much. Now for the mountains, I take some of
that Vernciena and I add it to the mix that
I used for the sky. And here, I'll add some vandik. And without washing my brush, I'll take some paint gray, too. So I have three separate mixes, all pretty transparent but still darker than the one
I use for the sky. I'm washing my brush and I'm touching the paper to
taste its moisture. It's not glistening,
but it feels cold to the touch so I can tell
there's moisture in it. I assume it's a good time
to paint the mountains. Meanwhile, I wipe my brush
very well I'm wiping the sides and waiting just a couple moments
more just to make sure. I'll start with
the lattice color. I'll taste how the paint is
spreading here in the corner. It doesn't spread
too much, but I still get a soft and hazy edge, which is exactly
what I'm going for. I'm now switching
to the next color and painting the middle
section of the mountain. I'll finish with
the darkest mix. With a clean down brush, I'll soften dage here. Now with my liner, I'll sprinkle some water
on the steel wet mountain. I also use it to make some lines and create
ridges on the mountain. So by using almost
the same color as the sky and very gently
darkening it towards the bottom, and also by adding some transparent effect with
the help of the splatters, we created this hazy effect. I think it adds a
lot to the painting and the overall
atmospheric feeling. After waiting a few moments, we can paint the next mountain. I take some entena,
some van Dak again. I add it here on the side. Then I add some paints gray. I mixed almost the same
colors, but a bit darker. This mountain is less illuminated
and it's closer to us, so we need to paint it
with thicker paint. I take some of that color here, testing my paper first. I'm switching to the
darker color now. I need more paint. Notice that I'm following the slope
of the mountain I'm not painting with vertical
or horizontal strokes. Before reaching the
pencil lines for the next row of mountains,
I'm washing my breast. I dab it on my towel and start making circular
strokes with it. The more water you use, the more it pushes the paint away, making the misty
effect more prominent. So we're basically
painting with water now. You can shape it
however you like. Once again, I'll use my liner to add some
texture to the mountain. So splatters. Okay, we managed to paint a lot
in just one sitting. Let's leave it to dry, and in the next video, we'll paint the next row of
mountains. See you there.
8. Creating Depth: My paper is dry and it's time
to paint the middle ground. I'll create a mouldy
green using viridian, burnt sienna and paint gray. Pre This mix provides acetyl granulation that enhances
the atmospheric feeling. You can also add ultramarine for its granulating properties. I'm going back and forth between the colors until I
get the desired chat. In the end, I add a touch of a laserine tone down the greens. The colour is dark and
moody, but not thick. We still want some transparency to show spaciousness
and create depth. I hold my brush vertically to imitate the peaks
of the pine trees. You can even spread the
bristles a bit for that effect. While painting the ridge, I keep an eye on the
bottom mirror to avoid hard edges as it dries. I dip the tip of my
brush into water and spread the paint to
soften the transition. We need to paint this quickly, so don't pay too much
attention on the details. Here I'm start things
about more water again to create
that misty effect. And let's finish the mountain. And now, it's mostly
water on my brush, together with a very diluted
version of that muted green. I drag that color down until I reach the pencil lines
that indicate the bushes. Let's mix the color for
the mountain on the left, idianPins gray,
and burnt sienna. But this time we want it to be more saturated and vibrant. First I'll splatter some water while the previous
area is still wet. I'll paint the mountain
in a similar manner. I take some paint gray, and I'll use it to add some darker spots here and
there, where it's still wet. If your paper has started
to dry, skip this step. And now, again,
using some water, I'll create the
misty cloud here. I see some patches that I see some patches
are still damp, so I'll take advantage and I'll add some
misty pine trees. Again, if your paper
has started to dry, no worries, just keep the step. So only wherever I
see damp patches, I add these pine trees. Otherwise, it will look too
prominent and unnatural. So on this side as well. I paint them above the mist and they kind of
disappear into it. I wish I was able to add more, but my paper is drying,
so I should stop. Leave it to dry and
in the next video we'll paint the front
row of pine trees.
9. Painting the Foreground: Let's paint some pantries. I switch those smaller brush, and I'll mix dark green this time thicker
and more saturated. A mixing viridian, Bncena, ultramarine, pins
gray, and azarin. Since I'm right handed, I'll start from the
left and move right. I'll paint the first pine tree like we practiced in
the techniques video. When I get closer to the bushes, I'll take some water
with my large brush and blur digest to make the tree
disappear into the mist. I'm continuing with
the next tree. And then the next varying the
color intensity for each. One tree may have more partiena while another
has more ultramarine. M the tallest tree will have the darkest, more detail to paint, since it's the closest to us. I'll just quiz on burn Tiena
here because I'm out of it. And again, here below, I'll just add some water
to create a misty effect, making sure I dab it on my towel first to
avoid adding too much. And here, I'll start adding some spots which
just burnt sienna. I have it in my sky,
so I think it's a nice way to add a
pop of color here, and at the same time
suggesting more elements, some complexity, some
aliveness in the foreground. Reating this white strip, we needed to be wet to
create that blurred effect. And I continue with
the pine trees. I'll speed up this part a bit, as to not bore you with
the repetitive process. You can always use
the speed settings of the video to slow it
down if you want. While painting the pine trees, remember to keep them
mazy and diverse. So taller, some smaller,
spaced unevenly. You can even tilt a
few trees to decide. If you have trouble
painting diverse trees, you can change your brush
every now and then. Different brushes produce
different strokes, especially if you
use different sizes. And I sometimes go back to add darker spots
for more contrast. I take some napples now. You can use just
yellow or orange. I add it to my mix here. I use that to fill in that white strip that
we kept white so far. Try to paint it even
and a bit macy. I'll take more naples now and I'll drop
it here and there. I'll add some spots
with Van **** too. You can Bertiena again or some other brand or maybe
ultramarine or pens gray. The idea is to make it look diverse without painting
every separate leaf. No mix Naples, Barcena virgen. Maybe even some orange. I get this complex green,
and I'll add it here. And now let's make it darker by adding some van
**** or paint gray. You see how thick it is. We want it to be very dark. And now for the part that
is just next to the water, I'll just use Man dike. Here you can use paper tape or ruler to help you paint a perfectly straight
line if you want. But I think some irregularities
will make it more real. We can splatter some water here. And finally, I switch to my larger bridge to
soften dig here. Just like that, leaving
some speckles of white for a more
interesting effect. I drag that water down to cover the entire
area of the water. And if needed, you can now
enhance the reflections. I add on paints
create to this mix. I repeat what I did
in the beginning, adding some vertical strokes. Maybe even adding some pains
create to make it darker. And same as I did
before, I wash my brush, wipe it, and then making some very light horizontal
strokes with it. H I see now that I have this big
chunk of paint here, so I'll spread it.
Some messy strokes. I think some spots
with van dike. Okay, I got distracted.
Let's stop here. We are almost done
in the next video. We'll add some small
details. Sell there. Mm.
10. Final Touches: Our painting is almost complete, but we just need to add a few more details to
make it more interesting. I'm going to add on birds. I'll be using my liner brush and some thick van **** brown. Use your smallest
brush for the birds, and remember to keep them small, they should correspond to
the size of the pine trees. Here's how I paint the birds. I use a simple, slightly
smashed V shape, making it a bit thicker in the middle and
thinner at the ends. You can also paint
upside down Vs to show the birds in
different stages of flight. It I'm closer to the pines. I think Birt always brings
more life to scene. Feel free to add as many
or as few as you like, vary their sizes, and
space them unevenly, just like we did
with the pine trees. Now, I'll add some final
details to the foreground. First, I'll platter, a
bit of naples yellow. Next, I'll add some
Van **** brown. Finally, I'll place
a few small spots of Van **** as
finishing touches. And that's it, guys. We are ready. This
is the final piece, and I love how it turned out. I really like the luminosity and spaciousness
in the upper part, and the stato suggested
details in the foreground. Let's wrap up the class
in the next video.
11. Wrapping Up the Class: Congratulations. You've made
it to the end of the class. Thank you so much
for joining me on this journey of painting
atmospheric landscapes. I hope you enjoyed
experimenting with what color techniques
and discovering the power of soft
aerial painting. We covered a lot in this class from blending colors to
creating those dreamy, misty effects that make painting
feel calm and inviting. There is one thing I
hope you take from this class is the ability to use simplicity and subtle details to create mood and
emotion in your art. Don't forget to upload your finished project
to the class gallery, so I can take a look
and give you feedback. I love seeing how each of you interpret the projects
in your own way. Also, feel free to follow me here on Skillshare
for more classes like this and connect with
me on social media where I share more tips,
tricks, and inspiration. Thanks again for taking part, and I'll see you
in the next class.
Elina Zhelyazkova, Watercolor Artist
