Transcripts
1. Welcome to My Class!: [MUSIC] Hi, I'm Anastasia
[inaudible] and I'm a Russian nature illustrator and surface designer based in Italy. Illustrating natural
subjects allowed me to combine my two
biggest passions, nature and illustration and to transform it into a perfect
career opportunity. I create realistic
illustration of plants, mushrooms and animals and transform it into
educational posters, prints, stickers and more. Possibilities of natural history illustration
are endless. Just imagine that your
artwork can be transformed into a pattern for a
gift wear, or wallpaper, or fabric, can be
printed on a sticker, can be published in a book, or can become a unique
gift for someone you love. I think that the ability to represent a plant or an animal, that you saw with your own eyes, is priceless and allows us to connect with the natural
world on a deeper level. Exploring nature through
creative process also helps to relax and find inner
peace in this busy world. What makes me excited about natural history illustration is that it allows us to
keep our memories, but also gives us
power to attract people's attention to
nature conservation. If you want to pursue
a passion that unites nature and illustration, this class is for you. As a final project, you will create a realistic
watercolor painting of a fly agaric mushroom that you can use in your future projects. I will walk you
through my process of creating a realistic
illustration using multi-layered watercolor
technique that will allow you to create vibrant and realistic, three-dimensional
looking artworks. I will teach you how to
work with references, how to make a drawing
and how to bring it to life using watercolors. Before starting to paint, I will explain you how to choose right materials without
spending too much. I will explain you every
single step of the process, so you will be able to follow along even if you're
a complete beginner. If you're more advanced, I'm sure that you will discover
new tips and tricks and will improve your watercolor
skills in a fun way. I'm so glad that you
decided to join me. Let's get started. [MUSIC]
2. What is Natural History Illustration?: [MUSIC] First of all, what is natural
history illustration? Before the photography, illustration was the only
way to document new species. Natural history
illustration allows us to show not only the whole
plant or organism, but also its parts in far
greater detail than a photo. Although photography is an easy and accurate way
to represent species, it has its limitations
and cannot replace artist's eye and hand, and does not have the
same artistic value as an illustration. Nowadays, we can see natural history illustration
in encyclopedias, children books,
educational posters, informational boards in
natural parks and museums, and so much more. Realistic illustration
of natural subjects is also very popular
in surface design, packaging, fashion, and more. Why starting with the natural
history illustration? First of all, nature
is our best teacher. I used to study classical academical drawing and painting, and one of the first things
that students are facing, whether during these studies, are simple natural subjects
like plants and animals. Observing and replicating
natural elements is an important and necessary
step for every artist that wants to create any
kind of realistic artwork. It is also a good exercise
if you're more advanced. Even if you want to paint portraits or landscapes
in the future, I always suggest starting
from basic subjects, just like the one that we will
illustrate in this class. Working on a simple subject
will help you to understand the main principles
that you will be able to use in your more
complex artworks. In the next lesson, I will give you some
tips and ideas on how to find references and
how to make your own. See you there. [MUSIC]
3. How to Find References: [MUSIC] Let's talk
about references. If you want to create a realistic illustration
of a natural subject, you need to have a
reference to draw from. I mainly use these four
methods in my work. The first one is to
collect the object that I want to illustrate and
draw it from life. The second one is taking
a lot of pictures of the subject that I want to paint and use it as a reference. The third one is finding lots of images on the Internet and create my own interpretation
using multiple references. The fourth one is
finding paid or royalty-free references
on special websites. I love the experience
of painting from real objects or from
my own references. It makes my work feel
more personal and unique. I also feel more excited when I paint something
that I use to hold my own hands or that
I use to see with my own eyes rather than something that I
just saw on the internet. Painting from life also allows
you to better understand the object's structure
and shape and helps you to represent
it more accurately. If I don't have
the possibility to photograph the subject
that I want to illustrate, I usually create a Pinterest
board and put there lots of pictures of the subject
that I'm interested in. Using many references but not copying any particular
image allows me to create my own accurate and
detailed illustration without copying
someone else's work. For the final project, you can use my reference that I prepared for you or you can find inspiration in my Pinterest
folder that I created, especially for this class. You will find my reference, a link to my Pinterest board, as well as a list of
websites where you can find page or royalty-free references
in the class resources. In the next lesson, we will talk about
our supplies that you will need for this
course. See you there.
4. Art Supplies: [MUSIC] In this lesson, I will cover all the materials that you will need
for this course. Fortunately, watercolor
is an affordable medium. Even if you're
just starting out, you don't have to worry about spending too much
on art supplies. That's why I also recommend this technique to
beginner artists. I will make a quick overview of all the tools that you
will need for this course. You will also find this list
in the class resources. First of all, watercolor paint, any professional brand
will work just fine. A set of 12th would
be a good start, but I recommend using
the one with 24 colors. I personally use
a Russian brand, Nevskaya Palitra White Nights. It is relatively cheap and
you can find it online, but feel free to use any kind of professional watercolor
brand you have. My favorite ones are
Winsor & Newton, Rembrandt, van Gogh,
Schmincke etc. Watercolor paint is available
in pants and tubes. Feel free to choose any of these two forms or combine both. We will need a few
shades of red for the [inaudible] Be sure that you have at least two
different threads. To make it easier for you we will use these two basic rents, like carmine and cadmium red, that you will find in almost
any basic watercolor set. I will also use Ruby, but if you don't
have it on hand, don't worry, this one
is completely optional. Brushes. You will need a few synthetic brushes
with a sharp tip. I've tried many brands, some more expensive
than the others. In my opinion, there is no significant
difference between them. Synthetic brushes wear out pretty quickly if
you use constantly. I replaced them often. I don't throw my own brushes. Instead, I use them to
apply masking fluid. For our flag Eric, I will use Tintoretto
Sintetico Marte brushes. They're very affordable
and are perfect for the type of painting
that we will be creating. I will use number 2 and 5. If you have a different
brand on hand, it will work out as well. We will also need
an old brush with a decently sharp tip that we will use to apply
masking fluid. Paper, the paper and watercolor is probably the only thing
that you cannot save on. The best will be a
300-gram weight, 100 percent cotton paper. Cotton paper behaves differently from the cellulose paper, and it is much more resistant. We need this resistance because we will apply several layers of watercolor paint and the
regular cellulose paper will hardly hold it. As for the grain or texture, the satin finish
would be the best, but fin texture
will work as well. My favorite brands are Arches
and Fabriano Artistico. We will also need some sheets of regular copy paper
or the sketches. You will also need a few pencils
Hb and H will work fine. Two types of erasers, normal harder eraser and a kneaded eraser,
which is softer. My favorite brands are
Koh-I-Noor and Faber Castell. Masking fluid I use
Winsor and Newton. Palette. Ceramic palette
would be the best. If you don't have one, you can use a regular
ceramic plate instead. I don't recommend using plastic
palettes for watercolor. A glass jar filled with water, tracing paper or
light pad if you have one to transfer our sketch
on watercolor paper. If you can't get
neither of both, you can also do
the same thing by using your window
during the daytime. Paper tape, which is optional. Paper towels, food fill. This one is completely optional, but I will show you a trick
that I use to protect my artworks from
accidental stains and color splashes. That's it. If you have everything ready, I will see you in the
next lesson where we will start drawing
our flag, Eric. Don't forget to choose
your reference or download one that I prepared for you
in the class resources. I will see you in
the next lesson.
5. How to Make a Pencil Sketch: [MUSIC] Prepare your
pencils because, in this lesson, we will start
to sketch our fly agaric. But first, let me
tell you something. Cotton watercolor paper
is quite delicate. It is expensive too. That's why instead of sketching directly on watercolor paper, we will use a regular copy
paper for this purpose, and then we'll transfer our
drawing on watercolor paper. In the drawing like
in the painting, we will go from
basic to detailed. It means that in the beginning, try not to get distracted by all the small details on the cap and on this
type of the mushroom, but get concentrated on the
basic shapes and proportions. First of all, choose
how do you want to position your fly
agaric on paper. I suggest putting it in
the center because it is going to be the only
subject that we will paint. To begin, I will make a
straight vertical line, then I will put some lines dividing
this type from the cap, then I start to define
some basic shapes. I'm not drawing the
final shape right away, but I'm building it gradually by making many short strokes. Then when I have the
rough shape that looks a bit pointy
at this stage, I smoothly transitions between the strokes and make the
shape look more round. If you're not satisfied with
the placement of your lines, feel free to erase and define the shape better. It's okay. Make sure to have these
three main sections of your mushroom; the cap, the stipe, and then the lower and more
round part of this stipe; the bulbous stipe base. When I draw, I already keep in mind where my light source is. In our case, the light comes
from the top left corner. I already outlined
the light area and also the shadow
area under the cap. When I'm satisfied with the
basic shape of the mushroom, I start to add details
like the details on the partial veil and the white spots on the
cap of our fly agaric. Try to follow the reference as close as you can when you do so. White spots are placed
irregularly on our mushroom. I will do the same on paper. Try to capture the shape
of individual spots. If you look at the reference, you can notice that the white spots are
not perfectly round, but sometimes have
irregular shapes. Try to capture this
in your drawing. You can also notice that
the spots in the center of the cap or bigger than the
ones on its lower part. Observe your reference
and try to make your drawing as
accurate as possible. You can give your drawing
an even more personal touch by adding some elements like
plants to your mushroom. I will add some lichens
and leaves to the base and some pine needles
to the cap to make my mushroom look like it was just pulled out of the ground. When you're happy
with the drawing, you can outline it with a
pencil or with a black pen. At the end of this exercise, you should end up with a drawing that you're
satisfied with and will be ready to transfer it on your watercolor paper. Even if your mushroom
doesn't look exactly like on the
picture, it's okay. If you're a complete beginner, I don't have the
experience in sketching. I still recommend you
to try this method. The ability to draw is
essential even in painting, so try to practice
as much as you can. If you still have troubles
with finishing your drawing, but you want to paint
it with watercolor, I prepared you a ready-to-use
drawing that you can print out and transfer it
onto your watercolor paper. You will find it in
the class resources. Now, when you have your drawing, let's transfer it on
watercolor paper. [MUSIC]
6. Transferring Drawing on Watercolor Paper: [MUSIC] To be able to transfer your drawing
and watercolor paper, we can use one of
these three methods. The first one is by
using the light pad. When your light pad is on, put your drawing on it. You can fix it with
some paper tape. Then put your watercolor
sheet of paper on top. Position your watercolor
paper in the way that the outline drawing that you see through the paper
is in the middle. Outline the drawing. I don't recommend attaching the watercolor paper to the light pad with
the paper tape as we did before with the
sketch because sometimes the paper tape can damage the
watercolor paper surface. Instead just try to hold it
steadily with your hands. Try not to execute
too much pressure on the pencil when you're
outlining the drawing. If you press too hard, it can damage your paper. Keep in mind that your
outlines will seem to you less strong when you do so
because the light is on. When you're done and
you turn it off, you will see that
the outline you just made is much darker
than it seemed. The second method
I will show you is using the tracing paper. Take a sheet of
tracing paper and put a number 1 in the angle
on the front side, then flip it to the
other side and put the number 2 in the same
way you've done before. This way, you will have
a side 1 and a side 2. Put the tracing paper with the side 1 on top
of your drawing. You can fix both sheets on your table to prevent
it from moving. Then trace the drawing that you see on your tracing paper. Make sure not to miss any
parts of your drawing. When the transferring is done, put your original drawing aside, then take a piece of
a regular copy paper. Take your tracing sheet of
paper with the transfer drawing on it and flip
it to the side number 2. Outline the drawing
that you see through the paper on this side as well. When you're done, take your
watercolor sheet of paper, take the tracing paper and
flip it to the side number 1. Position it on top of
your watercolor sheet of paper so that both pieces
of paper match together. Stick the two sheets of paper on your table or hold it
with your hand steadily. Take a pencil and rub it everywhere you see the
outlines of the mushroom. Be sure not to press too hard because it can
damage the paper. Then take away the
tracing paper. As you can see,
your drawing is now transferred on your
watercolor paper. If some parts are missing
or are not very clear, go ahead and add the missing
parts with your pencil. The third method is very similar to the first
one with the light pad. The only difference
is that your source of light will be the daylight. Come to your window and stick your sketch with the
paper tape on it. Then, place your
watercolor sheet of paper on top and
hold it steadily. Now, you can trace your drawing just like you saw me
doing with the light pad. Now, we have our drawing. In the next lesson, I'll show you a quick tip
on how to protect your drawing from
accidental stains and splashes. See you there.
7. My Secret Tip!: [MUSIC] It used to happen
to me all the time. I'm at the point of finishing my watercolor
illustration and suddenly a drop of paint falls onto the perfect white
surface of my painting. Now, to avoid accidental stains and splashes on my
watercolor paintings, I often use this method to protect the white background
of my illustrations. Put your watercolor paper on a rigid support like
a piece of cardboard. Take a fluid-filled and
wrap your drawing with it. When you're done, take a pair
of manicure scissors and cut out the whole corresponding
to where your drawing is. Be careful of not accidentally damaging your paper
while doing this. Instead of using the fluid film, you can also place a sheet of tracing paper on
top of your drawing and cut out the area
that you will be working on with
manicure scissors. Now, all the white background of your drawing is protected. This method is optional, so feel free to use it or not. For the purpose of this class, I will leave the surface
of my drawing as it is. But if you want to be sure
of not having bad surprises, now you know what to do. In the next lesson, I will teach you how to
use masking fluid to mask some areas of your
painting. I will see you there.
8. How to Use Masking Fluid: [MUSIC] Masking fluid comes in very handy when your
subject is dark but has lots of small white details just like the cap
of our fly agaric. If you are more
skilled and you don't like or don't have
masking fluid, you can simply avoid white
scales while painting. It will make the
painting process a bit more long and tedious, but it's totally doable. I often use this
method when I work. But for the purpose
of this class, I will show you how
to use masking fluid, and it will also make our painting process much
quicker and smoother. I usually apply
masking fluid with an old brush that still
has quite a sharp tip. Take your masking fluid. First, shake the bottle, it will make the
liquid more uniform. Take a decent amount
of masking fluid with your brush and apply it
to the spots one by one. Try to be as accurate
and careful as you can. When you're done, put
your painting aside and let the masking
fluid dry completely. Meanwhile, we can start mixing some colors for our painting.
9. Mixing Colors: [MUSIC] Let's start
mixing colors. I usually don't mix all
the colors that I will not be using right
now, right away. But I prefer to mix some basic ones that I
will be using quite often. For example, the reds for
the cap of the fly agaric, as well as some light and
dark shades for its type. Put a decent amount of carmine, which is a cold
red, and cadmium, which is a warm red on two separate segments of your palate and
dilute it with water. Your reds are ready. Now add some ocher, cadmium yellow, and indigo
to the other segments. We will use these colors
to make two gray colors, one dark and one light, that we will be using to add shadow to this type
of our mushroom. To create my gray, I will use yellow ocher, some indigo and carmine red. Don't forget to add
some water to your mix. Each color that you add to
the mix is changing its hue. Try to play with proportions of each color to obtain
a uniform gray. If you don't have the exact
same colors I'm using, don't worry, you can use similar ones to obtain
a similar color. When you're done with
the dark gray color, you can mix a lighter gray that you can obtain
by adding a bit of water and yellow ocher
to your dark gray color. The last color that I will
prepare in advance is yellow. You will see later on
what we will use it for. I'm just adding some water to my cadmium yellow to
dilute it and it is ready. These colors are enough
to start our painting. In the next lesson, I will explain you the
method that we will use to create our realistic
flay agaric painting. See you. [MUSIC]
10. What is Multi-Layer Watercolor Technique?: [MUSIC] To create a
realistic watercolor, we will use a multi-layered
watercolor technique that will allow us to gradually build the color
and the volume of our fly agaric and make it
look three-dimensional. Multi-layered
technique means that we will apply several layers or washes of watercolor paint
one on top of the other. Because watercolor
is translucent, each watercolor layer
will add more depth and nuances of color and will allow us to obtain
a realistic result. But what are actually washes? A watercolor wash refers
to a layer of color that is semi-transparent applied
with diluted paint. Typically, washes are
applied over a large area of the painting to help to create backgrounds or build
layers of color. When you apply washes
one on top of the other, you have a multi-layer
watercolor technique. Since watercolor relies heavily on the ability to
build layers of paint, washes are vitally
important to learn. In the next lesson,
I will show you how to make a watercolor wash, and I'll show you the basic
watercolor techniques that we will use to
create our painting. [MUSIC]
11. Watercolor Painting Techniques: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we will talk about washes
and we'll practice some basic watercolor
techniques that will allow us to create a realistic
fly agaric painting. For this exercise, you will need a blank sheet of
watercolor paper. Watercolor, behaves differently
on different papers. So I recommend using the
same kind of paper for this exercise as the one you will be using for
your final painting. It will allow you to understand how your paper behaves exactly. A wash is a thin layer of paint applied uniformly
to a surface. To make a wash, dilute a color with water, load your medium brush
with a good amount of your mixed color and
make horizontal stroke. When you reach the edge, load your brush with your
color again and continue moving the paint down with
the same movement as before, but in the opposite direction. It is important to always have a good amount of
water on your brush, so that the paint that we're
pulling down is always wet. You should end up with a
uniform color surface, with no visible brushstrokes. We will use washes to give a uniform color to subjects
that we're painting. It's especially useful in
the first phase of painting. Now when you know
what is a wash, we can start to explore
other watercolor techniques. Let's talk about the
wet on dry technique. To try this technique,
mix a color, you can apply it to
your previous wash, make sure it's dry or to a
dry surface of your paper. The result will be a well-defined stroke
with crisp edges. In this case, the paint will go exactly where your
brush brings it to. This technique is very
good for small details, and every time you want to have more control over your paint. It is also nice when you want to create the effect of
separate strokes, like on the fur of the
squirrel, for example. It is also very handy
when you need to create different textures
with sharp edges, like on this egg illustration. If you want the edges of
your strokes to be smoother, you can do that by dipping your brush into the clear water, taking the excessive water
with your paper towel and smoothing out the edges of your strokes with
a soft movement. It is very handy
when you want to introduce a new color
to your illustration, but you want it to blend
nicely into previous layers, like I'm doing here
on the squirrel. Now let's try the wet
on wet technique. To produce this technique, wet an area of your
paper with clear water, then dip your brush
into a color mix and lightly touch the wet surface of your paper with the brush. You will see that the
pigment starts to bloom. If there is more pigment
than water on your brush, you will notice that
the paint expands less. This effect disappears
completely if your wet area or
its part got dry. This technique is very handy to build the basic volume
of your subjects, and I always use it when I apply the first layers of paint. It allows to create contrast between the light and
shadow instantly, like I'm doing here on
this whale illustration. It also helps to achieve a
beautiful painterly look. The next technique is dry brush. Take a dry or almost dry brush and
dip it into your paint. It's important to
have more paint than water on your brush to
achieve this technique, then make a stroke on
a dry piece of paper. The result will be a highly
textured mark that's great for making small
details or to add texture, just how I'm doing here on
this iris flower, for example. We will use this technique at the last stage of our painting. The last technique
we will use for our painting is lifting
off paint technique. Lifting watercolor
means to remove or erase watercolor from the
surface of a painting. You can use this
technique to lighten up certain areas of your painting or to correct some mistakes. Simply load your brush
with water and paint into the area where you want
the paint to be removed, then blot the area
with the paper towel. Each watercolor pigment and each watercolor paper reacts differently to this technique. Some colors are easier to
remove than the other ones. In the next lesson, we will start to apply first
washes to our fly agaric, and we'll understand
the basic principles of using light and
shadow in watercolor.
12. How to Create Volume Instantly: [MUSIC] In watercolor, if you're dark in
an area too much, it will be difficult
to brighten it up and almost impossible to
make it white again. That's why we will work
from light to dark. It means that we will
start working on the light areas and then
we'll add mid-tones, and only then at the end, we'll add the darkest details. We will darken the
shade areas gradually and not right away from the
first watercolor layer. This way, you will
have more control on your painting and won't have the fear of making a mistake. Before applying the
first layer of paint, I invite you to take
a look at the scheme. If you imagine a simplified
version of your mushroom, you will see that it
consists of a round cap, a cylindrical type, and
around bulbous part. As you can see,
on our reference, the left side of the mushroom is lighter than the right side. It happens because the light comes from the top left corner. It means that the
shadow area will be concentrated on the opposite
side on the right side. Light and shadow behave
differently on different shapes. For example, the light
and shadow on a round subject like on a sphere
will behave this way. It will behave differently
on a cylinder, for example, this is the exact same
way of how the light and shadow will behave on the different parts
of our mushroom. The shadow on the cap and on the bulbous part will be placed
exactly like on a sphere. It will be concentrated on
the right and lower sides. The shadow on this type
will be on the right side, all the way along this type, just like on a cylinder. The cap of the
mushroom also throws a shadow on the upper
part of its type. It means that this
area will be darker. If you create this contrast, you will see that your
mushroom instantly it starts to look real
and three-dimensional. With all these
principles in mind, let's start the practical
part and start to build the first layers
of our painting. We will use the wet-on-wet
technique at this stage, it will help us to obtain a soft transition between
light and shadow. Dip your brush in
clean water and cover all the surface of this
type with water uniformly, just like if we were
creating a wash, but without adding any
pigment to your water. Start from the top of this
type and gradually cover everything with water until you reach the lower side
of the bulbous part. Try to be as careful
as possible and not go beyond the limit of your pencil drawing
with your brush. When this type and
the bulbous part are uniformly
covered with water, dip your brush into the dark gray color that we've mixed for this type previously, start applying the paint on
the upper part of this type under the cap with short
gentle vertical strokes. Then put gray color
on the right side of this type all the way along until you reach
the partial veil. Leave the partial
veil white for now. If your paint starts to bloom, you can take off
the excess pigment by washing your brush
in clean water, drying it with your paper towel, and smoothing out the edges. It will help you to create an even more uniform transition between the light and
the shadow areas. Repeat this action
if you see that the paint starts
to expand again. When you're done with the upper and the right parts
of this type, let's work on the bulbous part. The light on this part will
behave like on a sphere, so we will apply the color
to the right side of the bulbous part and
on its downside. Try to avoid little pieces
of mass while painting. Then apply the gray paint
under the partial veil, smooth out the edges with the same method
we used before by lifting off the excessive paint with a dry and clean brush. Now, start applying even more gray color
to the lower side of the bulbous part
of the mushroom and also more on the right side. Then just like before, smooth out the edges
with your clean brush. If you want, you can apply even more gray
paint under the cap of your mushroom and smooth out the transitions
like we did before. By the end of this lesson, you should end up with a clear but soft transition between the light
and the shadow area. That's what will make our mushroom look
three-dimensional. See you've instantly created an illusion of a
three-dimensional object. In the next lesson, we will start to work on the cap of our mushroom.
See you there.
13. Painting the Cap: [MUSIC] Prepare your red colors because in this
lesson we will start painting the cap
of our fly agaric. We will use the wet-on-wet
technique to build the basic volume of the
cap of our mushroom. First of all, cover all the
surface of the cap with your yellow calming color
that we've mixed previously. Try to be careful and stay within the outlines
of your drawing. Because we've already
applied masking fluid, the color you apply now on the cap will not affect
our white spots. Just go on top of
them with the paint. If you're not using
masking fluid, try to avoid the white
spots while painting. When all of the
surface of the cap is uniformly covered
with yellow, wash your brush and
take the cadmium red, warm red that we've
mixed previously and apply it to the cap of the mushroom with the
circular movements. I'm starting from the right part of the mushroom because that's the shadow area and bring the color on the bottom
side of the cap. I'm doing so with short
strokes and gradually apply the red color everywhere
but on the highlight, which is situated on the
left side of the cap in the center and will look
like a yellow circle. If you see that the red
color starts to bloom too much and is affecting
the yellow highlight, just take it off using the same method by
washing your brush, cleaning it with
your paper towel, and smoothing out the edge with circular wiping movements. Then add even more
red carmine to the lower part of the cap
and on its right side, which are the shadow areas that are supposed to look more dark. You should end up
with a cap that is uniformly covered with red, but with a yellow highlight
on its central left side, your cap should also
be a bit darker on its bottom and right sides because these are
the shadow areas. Now, the whole mushroom
starts looking real. In the next lesson, we will
give even more details to the cap and we'll continue working on this type
of the mushroom.
14. Adding More Volume to the Cap & Stipe: [MUSIC] Let's start adding
volume to our mushroom. I will start with the cap and I will use the
wet-on-wet technique. If you see that your water is
getting dirty, replace it. Dip your brush
into the water and cover all the surface
of the cap with water. Now, take the carmine red, which is a cold red, and start to apply
it to the right side of the cap with
circular movements. I'm also putting the
paint on the lower side of the cap with short
and careful strokes. You see how the paint starts to blend with the rest
of our painting. Also, put some red carmine on the top and the left
sides of the mushroom. Make sure to preserve the yellow highlight that
we've created previously. Smooth out the edges and don't let the red paint affect it. Now, let this layer
dry completely. I will use the
hairdryer to do so, and we will add more
volume on the next layer. Now, take the cadmium red color, which is a warm red, and start applying
it to the bottom and right sides of the cap where
the shadow is concentrated. Also, apply a bit on the top
and the left sides, again, avoiding the yellow highlight, smooth out the edges
with our usual method. Now, take the carmine red again, which is a cold red, and apply it to the
bottom side of the cap, just like you see me doing. You can also add it to the
right side of the cap with the same circular movements
like we were doing before. I'm also adding a bit of it on the left side to outline the edge of the cap
of the mushroom. As usual, smooth out
the edges if needed. Let's start working
on this type. Add more dark gray color under the cap and on the right
side of this type. I'm doing it using the
wet-on-dry technique. Shadow will be
concentrated under the cap and especially
on its right side. That's where I apply my grade paint that
we've previously mixed. Then smooth out the edges
by washing your brush, drying it with your paper towel, and taking off the excess paint. Add more shadow
along this type on its right side with the
short vertical strokes. Now smooth out the
edges on the left side, which is close to the light, and also lift off some paint from the extreme
right part of the stem. The core shadow should be
concentrated in this area. So by lightening up the
extreme right side, we will make our mushroom look even more
three-dimensional. I'm also lifting off a bit
of paint from my light area. Now, add even more shadow under the cap of the mushroom using
the wet-on-dry technique. When you're done
applying the paint, you can smooth out the edges
with our usual method. Now, add even more shadow on the lower part of this type, just on top of the partial veil. Now let's start adding
details to the partial veil. Our partial veil is
composed of two layers. I'm basically
painting two veils. I'm outlining the edge
of the top veil to give the impression that
it is three-dimensional. I'm doing so by using the
wet-on-dry technique. I'm not smoothing out the edges because I want this
contrast to be clear. Now with the short
vertical strokes using the tip of my brush, I'm adding shadow to the
right side of the lower veil. Now with the same
dark gray color, outline the edge of
the bottom veil, making the edges of
our veils darker, will make them look more three-dimensional and will
create more contrast. Add even more shadow
under the top veil using the wet-on-dry
technique and short strokes. You can smooth out the edges or even leave these
strokes if you like. Now, let's add even more
volume to the bulbous part. We will do so with the
wet-on-wet technique. Cover all the bulbous
part with water. Then take your light gray
color and add more ocre to it. You should end up with a
light yellowish color. Apply this color to the
shadow area of the mushroom. Adding this color will
add more interest to this type and it
will help us to make this type look less uniform. Now take the dark gray color and apply it to the bottom
side of the bulbous part. Makes sure that
your paper surface is still wet when you do so. Then add even more dark
gray to the right side on the area where a piece of mass is touching
the bulbous part. It will help us to
give the idea of the shadow created by the moss. I will add even more
details to the bulbous part and put this little shadow
area under the partial veil, I then smooth it with
our usual method, smooth out the
transitions if needed. My paper is still wet, so I can add even more shadow to the bottom side
of the bulbous part. If your paper is already dry, you can do the same thing with
the wet-on-dry technique. I'm adding even more shadow on the right side of the bulbous
part and under the veil. Smooth out the edges for
the uniform transition. Be careful of not letting
your paint affect too much the light area
of the bulbous part. Now, the host type looks more
detailed and interesting. In the next lesson, we will increase the
saturation of the cap, and we'll look more on the
stem and on the partial veil. [MUSIC]
15. Adding Details: [MUSIC] Let's start to add
more details to our mushroom. I will use ruby to increase
the saturation of the cap. If you don't have this color, you can use carmine instead. I'm applying the color
on the shadow area of the cap with the
wet-on-dry technique. As usual, I'm avoiding
the yellow highlight. I'm smoothing out the edges with my usual method by
washing my brush, cleaning it with my paper towel, and smoothing out the edge
with the circular movements. I apply even more ruby on
the lower part of the cap. Then I mix a new color by
using carmine and indigo. If you don't have indigo, you can use any
other blue you have, you should end up with
a dark purple color. Apply this new color to the extreme right side of the
cap and on this lower part. I'm doing it with the
wet-on-wet technique because the previous layer that
I applied is still wet. I apply some dark color also to the lower left side and even
more to the right side. As usual, I smooth out the transition to make
this new color blends seamlessly with other layers of paint that we've
previously created. I'm done with the cap for now. So I apply some dark gray
color that I've mixed previously to outline the
shadow under the cap. I'm doing it with the tip of my brush using the
wet-on-dry technique. No need to smooth the
edges in this case because I want this
contrast to be very neat. Now, let's work on
the partial veil. I want partial
veil to look wavy, so I'm making these thin strokes to give the idea that there are folds and breaks and that the surface of the
veil is not uniform. I'm also underlying the edge of the veil with a dark
gray color to give the idea that the veil
is not completely flat but has a
certain thickness. I'm continuing
making these thin, short vertical
strokes and all of the surface of the
upper partial veil. I'm working with the very tip of my brush and trying
to be very careful. I'm starting to work on the lower veil using
the same method by adding some short
vertical strokes using the wet-on-dry technique. I'm not smoothing out
the edges because I want the strokes to
be clean and visible. Now, if you want, you can add even more dark
gray color under the cap of the mushrooms if you want to
have more contrast there. Now I'm outlining the left side of the mushroom with
the dark gray color. I then smooth out the edge to seamlessly blend it into
our previous layers. Repeat this action if
needed for better result. Now I'm adding even
more shadow under the cap of the mushroom using
the wet-on-dry technique, I'm making some
long vertical lines along this type of
the mushroom to give the idea that it is not uniform but has little cracks
and imperfections. I then smooth out the
edge of the shadow under the cap with
our usual method. If you want, you can add even
more contrast to the veil. I underline the edge of the lower veil with
the dark gray color. This will add even more
details to the veil and create a nice contrast and visually separate the veil
from this type. Now when all of the areas of our mushroom look realistic,
in the next lesson, let's increase
saturation by adding more watercolor layers on some areas at our
painting. See you there.
16. Taking off Masking Fluid: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we will be adding even more
details to our painting. I use the dark gray mix
that I've previously created and I'm adding
some cadmium yellow to it. I will darken the shadow area of the bulbous part of
the style by adding the paint under the partial veil and on the right side
of the bulbous part. I smooth out the edges
with our usual method. Let this layer dry completely
before applying a new one, then mix a new color. You can do it by adding some blue to your previous color mix. I want to have more contrast on the lower part
of the mushroom. I apply the shadow by following the round shape of
the bulbous part with my brush strokes. I then smooth out the edges
with a clean dry brush to make the shadow blend seamlessly into the
previous layers. I add even more small details to the partial veil and to
this type of the mushroom. I work with the tip of my brush and make short strokes and lines with the same dark color that I was using for
the bulbous part. I place my strokes irregularly endeavor write them in
thickness and shape. I outline the right
side of this type, tried to be careful
when you do so, your lines should be very thin. I also put more shadow on the upper part of this
type under the cap, I use an even darker color to create a shadow inside the cab. This area should be one of the darkest in our painting and making it dark will instantly make our
mushroom look real. I add even more details
to the bulbous part. Again, I'm working
with the very tip of my brush and create more
layers of partial veil. It will make the bulbous
part look more interesting. I leave some strokes as they
are and I smooth other ones, if they seem a bit too bold, I switch from one part
of the mushroom to the other one and add
details gradually. I make even more tiny strokes on the stipe and
another bulbous part. Be careful of not overworking your
painting at this stage. Try not to cover the
white highlight too much. I add even more details
to the left side of the bulbous part with dark blue mixed that I've used previously. I make one more layer
of the same color on the right side of
the bulbous part for even more contrast, especially on the bottom
side of the mushroom. As usual, I smooth out the
edges with my clean dry brush. It's time to paint the leaves on the left
side of the stipe. To do so, I mixed my
cadmium yellow with some cadmium red to create
a light orange color. I add a bit more cadmium red to my mix to paint
the second leaf. I will continue adding
more details to the stipe in the next lesson. Now it's time to take
off the masking fluid. To do so first of all, make sure that your
painting is completely dry. To take off masking fluid, I gently rub my finger
against masking fluid, push the masking fluid inside
the cap and not outside. This way, you will
have less chance to smudge the red
paint and stain your white background
when you're taking off masking fluid from
the middle of the cap, tried to remain within the area of the cap
with your finger. Otherwise, you can stain your background
with the red paint. If you've accidentally stained the background while removing
masking fluid, no worries. You can erase the stains with your eraser like
you see me doing. This method works on Arches
Cotton Watercolor Paper, but may not work on the
other paper brands. Try to be delicate with
your paper while erasing. Then I redraw some lines that
I've lost after removing masking fluid and erasing some imperfections
of the background. I do so with my pencil. As you can see, I've
lost some lines of the white dots on the
cap of the mushroom, so I restore them. I like to have a clear drawing
before moving forward. When all of the parts of the cap are free up
the masking fluid, we can start adding
final details. [MUSIC]
17. Last Details of the Cap: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we will finish our
painting by adding some final touches that will really make our painting pop. Let's start from the cap. Mix a gray color. You can use the same dark
gray color that we used for this type and dilute it with water to make it a bit brighter. White spots on the cap are not flat and have a certain volume. That's why to make our mushroom
look even more realistic, we will create a light
and shadow effect on each spot using
our gray color. When you do so, remember that our light source comes
from the top-left corner. Place the shadows accordingly to the direction of the light. The spots that are placed in the central area of the cap
will be more illuminated, especially on their left side. That's why I put the shadow
on the right side and leave the white highlight
on the left side untouched. The spots on the lower part
of the cap are in the shadow. That's why I make them darker. If you look at our reference, you can see some yellow hues on the white spots of the cap, so I add some cadmium
yellow to some of the spots to make them
look more interesting. I continue creating
the light and shadow effect on
the white spots. Don't forget to leave the white highlight
on the left side of the spots that are placed in the central and upper
parts of the cap. Because our white spots
are three-dimensional, they cast a shadow on the cap. I preparing a dark
red color that I will be using to darken
some areas of the cap. I mix some carmine with indigo to obtain
the color I want. I want to create
more contrast on the lower side of the cap so I paint between the white spots. I work with the very tip
of my brush and try to be very careful and paint
around the white spots. Then I wash my brush, and with a small
amount of water on it, I cover the lower part
of the cap to make this part look more
united and uniform. This is the shadow
area of the cap, so it means that the white spots should
not be too bright there. I put the dark gray color on the right side of the spots
to imitate a cast shadow. This will make our mushroom look more three-dimensional and real. If you feel that the shadow
is a bit too strong, you can lift off
the excess paint by using your clean paper towel. I continue to apply
the shadow around the white spots using the
tip of my small brush. Again, I'm trying to
be very careful of not accidentally covering
the white spots with paint. I'm adding some shadow
on the left side of the cap and make the
outline a bit more dark. I smooth out the edge to make the transition look seamless. I add more shadow on the
bottom right side of the cap using my dark mix because this is the darkest
area of the cap. Then I mix an even
darker red color by adding more indigo to the
existing dark red mix. I also add some cadmium red. I apply small touches of this dark color on the
lower edge of the cap. This will make the
contrast between light and shadow
even more obvious. It will also help us to make
the cap look more round. I also apply it
to the right side to create more contrast. I then smoothly transition
with my clean dry brush. I want to increase the
saturation of the cap just a bit more so
I will add ruby, but you can use carmine instead. I apply a bit of
ruby on the left and on the right side of the
cap for more contrast. I'm not touching
the highlight of the cap because I want it to remain lighter than the
other areas of the cap. In the next lesson, we will add final details to the stipe, and we'll add some
charming details like moss and little leaves
to our illustration. I can't wait to see you there.
18. Last Details of the Stipe: [MUSIC] Now let's
work on this type. I mix green with a bit of yellow to obtain a
light green color. I start to paint the moss. I make short irregular strokes with the tip of my small brush. I start from the upper part of the moss and I gradually add details to the moss until it reach the point where
it touches this type. I then start to paint the moss on the right
side of this type. As previously, I start from top of the moss with a
light green color. As you can see, my strokes are irregular and some are
even crossing each other to create an illusion that some pieces of moss overlap. I add a darker green
color and then let it mix with the light green to create
a nice color graduation. I'm starting to paint
the fourth moss and add some details to other pieces of moss with a dark green color, then it makes a
line brown color. You can do so by mixing
some orange with okra. I start painting the leaf. I then smooth the edges to make the transition
less visible. I'm adding some tiny
details to the cap of the mushroom with
a dark red color. I accentuate shadows and make
the outline a bit darker. I don't touch the central
part of the cap too much and add dark details on the lower
and right sides of the cap. When I see that this
type is completely dry, I cover the bulbous part of
this type with clear water. I use my medium brush to do so. I avoid the moss and make
sure that the rest of the bulbous part is uniformly
covered with water. I will use the
wet-on-wet technique. Mix a very dark color. You can do so by
mixing some indigo, carmine, and green. I start to paint
using the tip of my brush with long thin strokes. I also add some
strokes on the stem of the mushroom to
imitate pine needles. Now, I want to add even more contrast to
this type so I mixed almost black color by adding even more indigo to
the previous mix. I continue adding more
thin, irregular strokes. Some of them go even beyond
the surface of this type. I do it on purpose to
imitate some pieces of pine needles and mud attached
to the bulbous part. It will also make my mushroom
look even more interesting. Don't forget to change
the thickness, direction, and size of the
strokes to create a more spontaneous
and organic look. Painting all these natural
imperfections will make our mushroom look like it was just pulled out of the ground. This is the fun part
of the painting. Just relax and make some irregular strokes that
go in different directions. Watercolor will do
the rest for you. As you can see, the
paint starts to bloom and create some
interesting effects. Try not to cover all the surface of the bulbous part with black. We still want to see some
white in some parts of it. I will add even more details
to the cap of the mushroom. I add some pine needles
that are stuck to the cap. I do so with the same dark
color and make very thin, long strokes using
my small brush. I continue working on
this type once it's dry. I add some black spots to
imitate mud by making lots of irregular dots with
my small brush then I add even more dark green
details to the moss. I add some dark strokes
here and there, but not putting too much dark. I want to keep the
previous layers visible. Then I add even more dark
strokes to this type. I work on dry surface so the strokes will not
bloom anymore and it will look darker than the previous strokes created with the wet-on-wet technique. I take a lighter gray color and add some details to
the partial veil. This color should be
significantly lighter than the one that we
were using for the mud. I'm making the outlines
a bit more dark, but only in some spots. I also make the lower
outline of the cap even more dark by using
a dark red color. I continue adding small
details to the bulbous part. I use very thin, short strokes. I want to add just a
bit more shadow to the right side of
the bulbous part. I'm doing so with the
same gray color and then I smooth out the edges
with our usual method. I'm adding some details
to the leaves with dark gray color and then
add some brown to it. I put more dark brown
on the leaf to imitate shadow but leave the light
highlight untouched. I mix an even darker
brown color and make the outline of the upper leaf more clear and add
some details to it. For example, I can show
that it has some veins. I add just a few more
darker strokes to the bulbous part with the
wet-on-dry technique. As you can see, the strokes
are very dark and clear. I put some strokes, even on the moss, to be united with
the bulbous part. I add some more tiny dots
to the bulbous part, but also to the style and the partial veil with
dark gray color. I'm adding just a few more
touches of dark green color to the moss and I think that the fly agaric looks finished now. Our painting is ready. It's time to put your signature. This is one of the most
satisfying parts for me. Our mushroom is ready and
looks three-dimensional, saturated, and realistic. It's always a bit magical to transform a white sheet
of paper into an artwork. I think we did a great job and I hope you enjoyed
painting with me. Don't forget to upload
your paintings to the project section
of the class. I cannot wait to see
what you've created.
19. What You Will Learn in my Next Class: [MUSIC] Here we have it. I hope you feel more
comfortable in painting basic natural subjects
like mushrooms. I hope you will start to use these skills in
your personal work. Now you will know exactly what are the steps that you need to take to create a natural history
illustration from scratch. Even if you choose a
different subject, the basic rules that I
explained in this class, will help you to
achieve a good result. You can use your natural
history illustrations in so many ways. You can even transform it
into a sticker or a pattern. Just imagine that you can make
your own custom giftware, wallpaper, stationery, and so much more using
your own illustrations. In my next course, I will
teach you how to adjust your natural history
illustrations digitally using photoshop, and I will show you a
step-by-step process of how to make your own
unique vanilla stickers. I really hope you will
join me in my next class. We will have so much fun. Thank you so much.
See you there. Bye, bye. [MUSIC]
Natura Illustrata, Anastasiia - Watercolor artist
