Moody Autumn Forest with Watercolor

1. Welcome to the Class: Autumn is a season bursting with inspiration for artists. With its palette of warm reds, deep oranges and golden yellows, it presents artists with a rich canvas of colors, waiting to be discovered and celebrated. Join me in this class as we explore the magic of watercolor to pottery, a moody autumn forest scene, capturing the season's depth, warmth, and mystery in every breaststroke. Hello, friends. My name is AnanaNapil. I'm an artist, an art instructor, and an author. No matter what medium I'm working with, the changing seasons are always a source of endless inspiration. Autumn, in particular, is at the top of my list with its shifting colors, soft shadows and golden light. It provides a constant creative spark. Here's the beautiful painting we'll be working on in this class. You will learn techniques to paint warm colours, foggy tips, and quiet ambience of fall. In this class, we'll delve into the importance of tonal values using them to add depth and mo painting. You will also gain techniques you can carry into your future verticular landscapes to elevate your work. This class start with a look at essential materials, followed by a walk through of our color palette. So yeah, if you're craving a cozy creative escape, this class is just what you need. We'll paint a moody autumn forest together, embracing the calm and beauty of the season through watercolor. 2. Overview + Class Project: Hello, hello. Welcome back. So in this class, we'll focus on creating a gorgeous moody autumn forest. It's actually a quick one, and you can finish this in less than 30 minutes. We'll start by having a look at the materials, and then you'll have a look at the individual colors you will need for this painting. I will also talk about the alternate colors you can use if you don't have the exact same color I'm using here. With that, we are good to go. We can start with our project right away. The first thing we'll paint is the background. We'll create a foggy atmosphere. Then onto that, we will introduce some trees. We will first start with the background trees, and then we will go with the foreground trees. So yeah, that is it. That's a class project. It's a quick and easy painting, but a really beautiful one. It's a great project to learn about tonal values and how to incorporate them in your painting to create a depth. We will only need full colors for this entire painting. So yeah, without wasting any more time, let's get into the process. 3. Materials you'll need: So here's a painting that we're going to try. Now before we start, let's have a quick look at the materials you will need. I will start with the paper. So for any aticula painting, the paper holds a lot of importance, especially when we are trying Veron by technique. And here's a paper that I'm going to use. It is from arches. It's a cold press aticula paper, which is 140 L V, and it is 100% cotton waticula paper. Okay, so these specifications are really important. Try to go with any artist creed aticul paper, so that you get the best result. It doesn't need to be arches. It can be any artist create waticula paper. Now, this one is an A four paper, and here's the size I'm going with. It is just half of this paper, which means it is a five. I have composed the painting in a portrait orientation, but you can go with any size that you prefer. It can be a bit more bigger or smaller. Alright, so that's all about the people. Now let's have a look at the different colors and the brushes we will need. I will start with the brushes. So you will need one bigger brush to apply water onto the background. This one is a 1 " wash brush. You can use any bigger brush you have got. It just has to be clean when you're applying water onto the background. Now you will need round brushes, a bigger one preferably. I'll be using size number 12. If you're painting is smaller, you can go with eight or nine or any other size. And then you will need two other brushes, a medium size brush, and a smaller brush for fine detailing. The medium size brush is size number six, and the other one is size number two. So yeah, according to the size of your painting you're going with, you can choose your brushes. So basically, you will need a bigger brush to apply paint onto the background, then a medium size brush and a smaller size brush. Now coming to the colors, you will need four different colors for this entire painting. The first one is paints gray. Then you will need a brighter orange. I have taken brilliant orange here. Then you will need a yellowish orange and also some brown or bunsena. Okay, so these are the four colors you will need. All the four colors are from different brands. You can see the first one is from Rem Brand, then have Shin hen, art philosophy and Vigil Omission. The brand doesn't matter. Just go with any colors you have with you, which are nearly similar. In the next section, I will be showing you spatches of these colors. And also, I will talk about alternate colors, so be sure to check it out. Now, the next material you will need is a mixing palette. We don't need a lot of colors, so any palette will work. This one is a ceramic mixing palette. We just need some space to mix the colors. That's all. It can be plastic or ceramic or even a dinner plate. Now, the next thing you will need is a masking tape to fix your paper onto your table or onto a drawing board. This one is a very normal masking tape. It is half inch. You can go with washi tape or pinto tape or any tape that you normally use. Okay. The next thing you will need is two jars of water. One has to stay clean, and the other one is to rins off the paint from your brush. For wet on wet paintings like this, where we are trying to create a foggy atmosphere, we will need some clean water in between. So always be sure to have two jars of water. This way, you can have an uninterrupted painting process. Now coming to the next material, which is a paper towel. We will need a paper towel to lift off some paint from our painting and also to clean our brushes. Alright, so that summarize all the materials you will need for this painting session. If I have the same colors I'm using here, keep them ready on your palette, or I'll see you in the next section where we will discuss about the different colours you can use. Okay, so I'll see you there. 4. Color Palette: Already spoke about the colors we will need. So you will need pains grey, two different kind of oranges, a brighter orange, and a yellowish orange. Then also some brown or Ponzina. Okay, so these are the colors you will need for this painting. Now, I'm going to quickly swatch each of them. Then I will give you the alternate options if you don't have the exact same colors. Okay, so I'm going to start with Pains gray. This one is from a brand called Rembrandt. You can go with any pink grey have card. Okay. So that's a major color we will use for the background. We'll use different tonal values of pinks gray to create a depth in our painting. We will start with a lighter tone. Then we will keep on building the color. Okay. So that's the very first color we will need for this painting. If you don't have pinks grey, just get one. It's a good color to include in your color palette. This is the one I'll be using. It's from a brand called Rembrandt. Okay. So that's a color we will be using for the background. Next, you will need two different kind of oranges. First, you will need a brighter orange. This one is brilliant orange from Shinhan. It's a really bright and bold orange. I will swatch it out. See that? It's a really gorgeous color. I love to use this color for sunset skies, and it's that perfect autumn color. You can use any bright orange you have caught. It could be camium orange or cellular orange or any other orange. It doesn't need to be exactly the same. We just need a brighter orange, or you can also use vermilion. Okay. So that's the first orange we will need. I absolutely love this color. Let me show you the tube, so you will know my love for this color. Here it is. It is almost over. I need to get a new one. So this one is brilliant orange from Shinhan. Now the next color you will need is an yellowish orange. This one is from Megill Mission. It's, again, a beautiful color, which has a yellowish undertone. See that? So first, you will need a brighter orange. The easiest one would be ermelin if you don't have any other orange. Next, you will need an yellowish orange. It can be cadmium yellow, orange, or permanent yellow, orange or any other similar color. If you don't have a yellowish orange, it's easy to make. You will just need to add some yellow into any of the orange you have card. Here is the one. This one is from Megill mission. Alright. Now the last color you will need is brown. It can be brown or burn Sina. I'll be using brown. This one is from art philosophy. It is called permanent brown. If you have brown, I would recommend going with that. Only if you don't have any kind of brown, go with burn Sina. Burn Sina is a little yellowish and brown on the other hand, it's more reddish, and it will work well with oranges and yellows. Okay. So if you have brown, go with that. Otherwise, even burn ina will work. You can see the swatches here and you can see how well they are going together. I think it's a great autumn color palette. I'm hoping you all have pains gray, and like I said earlier, if you don't have any kind of bright orange, you can go with armilin. And if you don't have a yellowish orange, just add some yellow with armilin and you can create a similar color. In your mix, you will have to add more yellow and less orange. And then finally, you will need some brown or buncina. Okay, so those are the colors you will need for this gorgeous moody autumn forest. I think I didn't show you the brown watercolor tube. This is the one. It's from art philosophy, and it's called permanent Brown. It's a beautiful brown, and it's one of my favorites from art philosophy. Anyway, that's some rice, all the colors you will need for this gorgeous painting. Keep them ready, and let's give it a try. 5. Painting the Background: The very first step is to paint the background. So here is how the background is going to look like. We will start with some pink gray onto the sky. Then towards the bottom, we will introduce some oranges and browns. To paint the background, we will be using Varun wet technique, which means we'll apply a coat of water until enter a background first. And then we will gradually drop in all the colors. Alright, so let's begin with the background. There isn't actually any sketch required, but just for our understanding, we can add a rough line. Somewhere below the center of the paper, an irregular line. This is just for us to understand where should we applying the orangish colors. So on the top, we'll go with gray, and at the bottom, we will go with orange and brown. Okay, so that's only sketch required. The rest we can add as we're painting. We'll be adding so many trees in the background, which doesn't really require any sketch. You can just go with any shape that you prefer. Okay. Now, make sure you have all the colors ready on your palette. We'll need paints gray, a bright orange, a lighter orange, and some brown. Those are the colors we'll need for this entire painting. So keep them ready on your palette before you start. We need all these colors for the background. Okay? Once you have the colors ready, you can start by applying a coat of water using any of your clean brush onto the entire background. I'm using a bigger white brush here. This one is 1 " brush. Go with any brush you have got, but make sure it's clean before you apply water onto the background. And also around your brush multiple times back and forth, just to be sure the coat of water is even. We don't need a pool of water. We only need a nice shiny coat. Okay, so make sure your paper is evenly wet. Alright, I will apply a little more. It's a bigger paper. Make sure all the areas are clearly wet. Alright, so my paper is evenly wet. Now I'm going to go with a bigger untre to apply paint onto the background. This one is size number 12, and I'm picking a lighter tone of Paint scrive first. Go with any bigger brush you have got a bigger untrush. Now I'm going to apply that lighter tone onto the background onto the upper part. Okay. In between, you can add a color which is slightly darker. So if you're going to create a moody background, the color can be a little different in between. It doesn't need to be the same tone throughout. Okay? If your brush is super watery, you can tab it on a paper towel and then add in the paint. Okay. My brush is a bit watery, so I'm tabbing that on a paper towel. And then I'm spreading the colors. Okay. So the background doesn't need to be a clean blend. It can have some different tonal values in between. At some places you can go for a lighter tone, and towards the bottom, you can introduce a medium tone. See that? I'm simply dropping in the paint onto that wet background, picking some more paint. It's more like a medium tone, and I'm adding that at the bottom. On the top, I have a lighter tone compared to the bottom. Okay, now, again, I'm spreading that. Just to give it a better finish. Okay, so this is how it has turned out. I will add a little more paint, then I will go at the bottom. So I'm going to go back with the paint's gray, more like a medium tone. Then I'm adding that in between. Just to create a mysterious foggy effect with the same color throughout, it won't have any depth. Okay. So I'm just adding some more paint at the bottom in a very rough messy way. Now I'm going to clean up my brush and I'm switching to orange. You can go with any orange first. Over here, I'm using my brighter orange. This one is brilliant orange, and I'm adding that at the bottom. Now I'm picking that yellowish orange. Again, adding that onto the wet background. So this one doesn't need to be a clean blend. You can drop in your colors however you want to. Before the background dries up, that's a major thing. It doesn't matter in which order you apply the paint or how you apply it. We are going to create a rough messy background, but we have to apply that while the background is still wet. So the colors will spread and smudge into each other automatically. That is the only thing we have to be careful about. Next I'm picking some brown, and I'm adding that at the bottom. You can see how messy the background is, but don't worry about it. Now for the rest, I think I will go with a smaller brush. This one is too big to add the textures. So I'm going to go with a smaller brush. This one is sized into six, and I'm going back with orange, dropping in that onto the wet background. I'm just adding some dotted pattern in a very random way. You can see the background is wet and they're spreading into the background. So just keep on adding those kind of dots onto the background, using those two different oranges and also brown. Next time I'm picking the brighter orange, and I'm doing the same step again. And after this, I will go with brown. So we need different tonal values of orange and brown in the background to create that autumn vibe. The only thing you have to be careful here is about the wetness of your background. So be a little quick and drop in all the colors onto your background while it's silo wet. And also using 100% cotton watercolor paper really helps a lot, especially when you're doing wet on wet technique. It will stay wet for a longer time compared to the sil lose paper or the student grade paper. So yeah, if you seeds on advancing your aticular skills, try to work on a good quality watercolor paper rather than a student grade one. This will really make a difference in your artwork. Anyway, now I'm dropping some brown onto the background. You can see they are quite messy, but don't worry about it. As I said earlier, just keep on adding some dots and things onto the background. See that? We're trying to create some texture here. It doesn't need to be perfect, and we have to use all those different tonal values. Next I'm dropping some orange. I will also need to make the bottom part a bit more darker compared to the top. So once I'm done with this, I will mix some pinks gray with brown and I will introduce some more darker tones. Maybe I will do that in some time. For now, I'm going to go back with pinks gray. I'm using a medium tone, and I'm adding that over here. I'm doing this only on the right side. The left, I'm going to leave it as it is. So just to create a definition here, I'm adding some more pink gray onto the background. Go with a medium tone. It has to be a bit darker than the color you have used for the background, and add that onto your background. See that? So these are those plants or trees in the background. Go with the medium tune and just apply that right over that orange area. Focus mostly on the right side or the left, whichever side you like, or maybe you can add them throughout. You can see how it is getting defined when we are adding the landscape in the background. You can clearly define the top part and the bottom part. Yeah. Let's add a bit more. I'm picking more paints gray. That looks really dark. Maybe I will just much that into the background. Because when the background dries, it will look a little lighter. So maybe this color is fine. By the time it dries out, it will be one tone lighter. So I think this looks okay. The major element in this painting is the background. Only if you use the right tonal values in your background, you'll be able to create that moody atmospheric effect. So these tonal values are really important. Use a tonal value, and you can see the way how it defined the entire background. See that? So right above the orange part, you can introduce some paints gray, more like a medium tone, and I'm adding that only on the right, not on the left. Okay. I will add a little more paint. And then I will proceed with the ground. We haven't added the darker tones. We have only used some medium tones. Next, we have to add some darker tones at the bottom. Okay, so let's go the darker tone. First, I will go the darker tone of Brown itself. Then I will add a little of paints gray along with that, and then I will introduce some more darker tones. So it's again, some dots and some patterns. It doesn't have any particular shape or size or anything. I'm just adding some dots onto the background, and they're spreading a little. See that? So we just need to create some texture. There has to be some brown, some orange, some lighter tone, everything in the background to get the right result. I will pick some orange asp and I'm adding some tots closer to the horizon line. Okay. So technically, it is just some dots. It doesn't have any shape or size or anything. You can simply keep on adding some dots onto your background, while it is still wet, you can see how beautiful it has turned out, so you can keep on adding more and more textures onto the background until you're happy with the result. I want to add a bit more darker tones at the bottom, so I'm picking some brown, and I'm going to mix that with pinks gray to create a darker brown. Okay. Now I'm going to add similar kind of patterns at the bottom. So only at the bottom, I want to introduce more darker tones. On the top, I want that lighter orange and the medium tone of orange. So just at the bottom, I'm adding some dots and some patterns. Okay. So that's how it has turned out. Maybe at the bottom, we can add some orangish patterns. They are not looking very prominent. So I'm going to clean my brush, and I'm going to pick that brighter orange. This one is brilliant orange, and I'm adding that onto the background. And along with that, I'm smudging some of the brownish pattern tsp. At some places, I feel they are a bit too much. So while I'm adding these patterns, I'm also smudging some of the brown patterns at the bottom. We are nearly done with the background. Now, just in case if you want to introduce more patterns, you could do that. Or if you're happy with the background, you can leave it for drying. I'm just adding a few more brownish patterns at the bottom, especially onto the left side. The right side is looking pretty good. Okay, so that is it. That's our background. I'm really happy with the colors and the textures we have got here. I hope you are happy with your background, too. Anyway, now let's leave it for drying before we go to the next step. 6. Adding Background Trees: Alright, so the background has dried completely. Next, we're going to go with the second task, which is adding the trees onto the background. And for this step, we're going to go with Pains gray. Pains gray is the only color we will need, and we'll use different tonal values to create the depth in our background. Okay. So I'm going to start with a really light tone of pains gray. I'm taking a little of Pains gray with my smaller brush, and I'm going to add enough water. Okay. Now let's turn that into a lighter tone. Also keep a paper towel next to you. Now, let's start adding the first tree onto the background. Be sure the tonal value is really light. Maybe you can try it on a scrap piece of paper, and you can be sure the color is really light. I'm picking enough of paint on my brush. This one is size number six un brush. Go with any of your smaller or medium size brush. Now, let's add the first tree. You can add them wherever you want to. It doesn't need to be in the same shape or the same location. For now, I'm just adding the tree trunk. We can add the branches later. Now, I have made the color lighter, and I'm going to continue the shape onto the top. I'm also dabbing off the paint from the bottom to give it a foggy look. I will add the second one. So first add the shape onto the top, pick some water and make it lighter. Now towards the bottom, pick your paper towel and just lift off some paint. By doing this, the bottom part will look a little foggy. See that? You don't need to add any extra details there. So that's how we're going to add the trees. This is the first set of trees. Using a similar tonal value, you can add in as many trees as you want. So just like I said earlier, for now, I'm just adding the tree trunk. Once we are done, adding the tree trunks, we can add the branches. Be careful about the tonal value. That looks a bit dark. Till it's dark. Alright. This looks fine. So go the similar tonal value. This is the first set of trees. For the next set, we can make it a bit more darker. So to create a depth and a sense of distance in your painting, we'll have to play with different tonal values of paints gray. This is the first tonal value. For the next one, we can make it one tone darker. Okay, so add new trees however you want to and wherever you want to. For now, the only thing you have to be careful is the tonal value. Go with the similar tonal value and add in as many trees as you want. I think I have added enough of trees. I will add one more. Then I will start to add the branches. Okay, so those are the trees with the first tonal value of pains gray. Now on the same, I'm going to add some branches. Then I will go the second round. So I'm picking the same tonal value of pains gray again to add the branches. Now in a very random way, I'm adding some branches onto these trays. Add them however you like. Try to go the smaller brush or a brush with a pointed tip. Don't make it too thick and prominent. See that? I'm using the same tonal value, and I'm adding some branches onto those tree trunk. So we have to create a density in the background by introducing these branches. Otherwise, it will look quite plain and empty. For the next set of trees as well, we're going to do the same technique. We will start with the tree trunk. Then onto them, we will introduce some branches. The only difference would be they will be a little more darker compared to these trees. Okay, so this one is done. Now I'm going to go with the second tonal value I'm picking more plains gray. Now the next set of trees can be a bit more bigger. The ones we added earlier were too thin. I'm going to add two or three trees onto the right and also onto the left. I'm going to leave the center acts. Okay. So go with the medium tone of pin screen and add in your tree. As I said earlier, this can be a little more thicker than the previous one. That's a tonal value I'm going with, and I'm adding the tree trunk. Then we can add some branches onto this. Once you have added the tree, grab a paper towel and dab off some paint from the bottom. So over here, we have a medium tone in the background. We already have added some landscape. These trees and that background color is almost the same tonal value, so they will nicely blend into the background. You don't need to show the roots or any other details. They will go very well with the background. Okay, so that's the first tree. Now I will add a branch onto this, a thicker branch, and then we can go the next tree. So you can see here we have some trees in the background using a lighter tone. They are thin. They are not detailed. Now for these trees, we are going to add a very light texture, not a lot. So once you're done adding the tree trunk, you can pick a slightly darker tone of pink gray, and then you can simply add some lines onto the tree to introduce some texture. They are very gentle textures. It should not be too prominent. So go the medium tone when you're adding the textures as well. See that? So that's our first tree. In a similar way, I'm going to add few more trees. I think on this side, I will add two more, and then to at the left, I will add one or two. So I'm picking the seam tronal value, and I'm adding the tree trunk. So go with a nice shape to make it look more natural. Don't just go with a straight line. Now add in some branches. Onto this, I'm not going to add any texture. I will add another one onto the right, using a medium tune again. If it's too dark, add some water and make it lighter. And when you have the tree trunk, grab a paper towel and lift off some paint from the bottom. See that? This way, you don't need to show any other details. The bottom part will nicely go with the background. That's a trick. Okay. So we have three trees on the right side. Now, I'm going to add another one on the left. You can compose your painting however you like. I'm going to add the next tree on the left, just like I said. If you want to add more, you could do that. I'm going to stop with the next one. Then we will go with the final round of trees. That was a bit dark. So I have added some water, and I have made it lighter. Now I'm going to go with a nice shape. Go with such irregular shapes when you're adding the trees. This will add a lot of beauty to your painting. It will make them look realistic. So towards the bottom, I have made it a little lighter. Now with my paper towel, I'm lifting off some paint. I think I lifted off too much paint. I will need to add a little more. Okay, so that's my third tree. Now onto this, I will add some branches. I'm still using my size number six round brush. Once I'm done adding this branch, I think I will go with a smaller brush, which can be size number two or any other smaller brush, or maybe a detailing brush or a liner brush. Using that, I will add the remaining branches. Okay, so I'm cleaning this brush and I'm keeping it aside, and this is my size number two round brush. I'm picking the same color again. But it became a bit dark, adding some water, making it lighter. Okay, so with that tonal value, I'm going to add some branches, some really thin delicate branches. You can add as many branches as you want. The more branches, the more beautiful your painting will be. So go with any of your smaller brush or a brush with a pointed tip and keep on adding as many branches as you can. I cannot tell you how much I allow the way this painting is progressing. That moody, mysterious effect is really beautiful. I hope you guys are enjoying it as well. Now for the branches asphll go with an irregular shape. Don't add them in the same way. Add them onto all direction. Okay, and add plenty of them using a smaller brush. The more thin and delicate they are, the more beautiful your painting will be. So keep that in mind. Don't add thicker and bolder branches. So the brush I'm using here is size number two round brush. It's not a detailing brush. It's a wonderful brush, and I have been using it for a couple of years now. It's from silver brush. But if you have a liner brush or a detailing brush, even that will work. Okay, I'm going to add a few more branches, then we can call it done. Now we have one more set of trees to add, which is the foreground trees. So let's quickly finish this off, and let's go to the final set of trees. I really hope you guys are enjoying the process and loving what you're creating. It's a beautiful painting that anyone can create if you put a little of attention. Okay, so that is the background. I will just add few texture here. And with that, I will call it done. Alright, so here we are. These are the trees we have added, and they're looking really beautiful. Now let's leave it for drying. 7. Adding Foreground Trees: All right, so we have the background ready. Our next task is to add the foreground trees. This is the best part about this painting. So these trees are going to define the background and the foreground. All right, so let's begin. And for this, I'm going to go with a slightly darker tone of paints gray. I'm going to start with the first tree. I will add that on the left side. Before you start adding the trees, make sure your background has dried completely. This one has dried. Okay, so let's add the tree. I'm going to add the first tree over here, starting from this side and making it a nice irregular shape, and I'm taking that to the top. Okay. So go with an irregular shape to make it look more beautiful. I think the color can be a bit brownish. So into pains gray, I'm adding some brown, and that's a color I'm going to continue with. See that? So whether you're using burned ina or brown, just add a bit of pains green to it and go with a dull brown for your fgrowd trees and also go with an irregular shape. Don't make it a straight line. Now I'm filling that shape. It can be a thicker tree. This one is in the foreground. All right. So that's a basic shape. Now onto this, we can add in some branches. Alright, I'm really happy with the shape of the tree. It looks really nice. Now in a similar way, I will be adding some trees on the other side as well. But before that, I will add a few branches onto this, some thicker branches. For the smaller ones, I will go with a smaller brush. The one I used earlier, size number two. I think the smaller branches I will add later. For now, I will continue with the other two trees. So I'm going to go with the same color. Mix of paints gray and brown, and I'm adding the second tree over here. On this side, I will add two. See that. So that's our second tree. Go with a similar thickness. If you warm, you can make it a bit more thicker. You can already see the difference these two trees made. Now, the painting has a depth. Earlier, it was quite plain. It didn't have any depth. Now, I'm going to grab a paper towel and I'm lifting off some paint from the bottom. Okay. Now onto this, I will add few branches, some thicker branches, using the same color. I will add one onto the left side, and one more onto the right, maybe towards the top. As I said earlier, you can go with as many trees as you want. Just because I'm adding three doesn't mean you have to go with three. You can go with four or five or even two. Okay, so the second tree is in. Now I'm going to add one more towards the right side. This one, I will go with an irregular shape. I'm adding that onto the right side like this. Okay. Now dapping off some paint from the bottom. And then I will add some branches onto this. So the major part about this painting is creating a background. That's where you bring in the whole effect and mood of this painting. Then onto that, you have to add the trees using different tonal values of paints gray. So once you have the background ready, the rest will just fall into place. Alright, so that's my third tree. I'm just giving it a better shape. And then I will add some thicker branches. Okay, so the last tree is also in. Now let's add some textures onto these trees and then also some branches. And for that, I'm using my smaller brush. I'm going with the same color. It's slightly darker. And I'm going to add a hole here and also some lines and some textures onto the tree using a taker tone. Same I will do onto this one as well. So it is just some lines and some dots and some textures. You don't need to add a lot, just a few lines and some shapes to create a wood like texture. Okay. So onto this, I'm just adding some lines over here as well. I will add a few lines. If you paint this too watery, dab it on a paper towel, and then you can continue adding these lines. We only need some light texture. We don't need a lot. Okay, so that is it. Those are our trees. Now, all do the same using a smaller brush, I'm going to add some teeny tiny branches. That's our next task. You can add the branches however you like and wherever you want to. Go with an irregular shape to make it look more natural and realistic. That's the only thing. Other than that, they can be however you like. I'm adding the first one here. These branches will look more beautiful if they are thin and also if you go for an irregular shape. So if you can try to go the smaller brush, the one I'm using here is size number two. You can go the detailing brush or a liner brush or any other brush you're comfortable with and add in the branches, however you like. Okay, so just take a look around and add in plenty of branches until you feel the background has become quite thick and dense. If you don't add any branches, the painting will look quite empty. So try to fill in all the gaps. Adding these branches are quite time consuming, but they are very important for our painting. If you don't add these branches, your trees will look boring. So don't skip this step. If you are bored and if you want to take a break in between, that's totally fine. You can come back and add them later. Anyway, I'm going to quickly go ahead and add in some more branches. I think I will add one over here next to this hole, and there's a lot of space over here. So adding one branch over here will fill in all those gaps. After I'm done adding these branches, I will need to add some more texture on the trays. The texture I added earlier was on a wet background, and they're not really visible. So maybe we can add a little more. I already have some paint on my brush, and I'm defining this whole first. Same over here. We have another one on this side. Next, I will dab it on a paper towel, and then I will add some lines and some dry textures onto the tree. These are the ones in the foreground. So adding some textures will make a difference. They don't need to be super prominent. Just go the same tuna value. If there's a lot of paint on your brush, tap it on a paper towel, and then add some dry lines onto these trees. Okay, so this will bring in that wood like texture. And that's all we need. We need to do this only for the fground trees. In my case, I have three trees over here. You will have to do this for all the trees you have in the foreground, or whether it's two or one or four. Looking at the painting now, I feel like the background could have been a bit more darker. I could have introduced some more darker tones of paint screen in between, but I'm still happy with the result. I love the fog effect we have created here. Next, I'm going to go back with the branches. I'm going to add as many as I can. I'm adding one here. So wherever you feel there's a lot of gap in between, you can add the branches over there. You can add them however you want to. Go with some irregular lines to make it look more natural. Don't add them in the same way. Okay, and also try to go with a smaller brush or a detailing brush or a liner brush. Now, I'm going to go with one last round of branches. I will add some onto this side and maybe a few more in between. And that's going to be the final step. With that, we'll be done with our painting. Okay, so let's do this. And there you go with that. We are done with our moody autumn forest. 8. Wrap Up + Thank you : Alright, my dear friends. So here is our painting. I really like the way it has turned out, especially the color palette and the mood we have achieved here. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you haven't tried it yet, do give it a try. It's a wonderful painting, and I'm very sure you will get a beautiful result. Anyway, now it's time to peel of the masking tape. Uh oh, I didn't get a clean border there. I was hoping for a clean border. Never mind. I will use some white quash, and I will fix it. I'm not really sure why only on one side, there is some paint. The rest of the border looks fine. Away here is our gorgeous, moody autumn forest. Beautiful ride. I think it's a color palette. The painting is quite simple. There isn't a lot of details or elements, but I think the colors are bringing out that autumn vibe. If you have tried this painting, do upload your project onto the Project Gallery. I would love to see them. And if you enjoy this class, do leave a review. It will help me a lot as a teacher. Alright, so thank you so much for joining and happy painting.