Paint One Photo Two Ways: Watercolor & Gouache for Beginners

1. Intro: Hi, I'm Anna, a mixed media artist. Welcome to this evolving class. In this class, we will explore how to paint landscapes inspired by reference photos, not by copying them, but by interpreting them. We will start with one simple winter scene and paint it twice, once in gouache and once in watercolor. Over time, I will be adding more landscapes and photo based projects. This class will continue to grow and expand. There will be no pencil sketch and no fixed outline to follow. Instead, I will show you how to observe a reference photo and decide what's essential, simplify shapes, colors, and values, approach the same subject in different mediums and trust your intuition while painting. Each added project will follow the same idea, one photo, multiple interpretations, and a focus on process rather than done perfection. Whether you work in gouache, watercolor or both, this class is about building confidence and learning how to translate photos into expressive personal painting. Let's get started. 2. Watercolor background: Okay, so today we are going to paint with watercolors and first thing we will prepare is the background itself. So this is the final image we supposed to achieve. So first thing, we need to prepare our colors. Because we will be painting with wet on wet technique. I usually paint on not on 100% of cotton. That's why I need to have all colors made ready before I start to paint the background. This time, I'm painting on Renaissance sketchbook and it's 300 grams and Turcoton. I suppose there won't be a problem with fast drying, but just as usual, first, we will prepare the colors and then we will start paint. The one thing, I usually like to have border on my sketchbook. I will draw it with my pencil. Because sometimes I'd like to give the inscription or title to my work so I need the space to make it. This is the only preparation for now and let's choose our colors for our work. I have my palette ready and a scrap paper and let's mix some colors. First, we need a color for the sky. So I usually use steel color for that and I will mix in 30% ratio of 50 my colors. It's 50% of water and 50% of paint. I will use the steel from Roman Schmal color. I will place the exact numbers and exact names of these colors in the description of this class. For the snow, I usually like to paint with misty morning. It's also from Roman Schmal and I usually call it pigeon gray color because it looks like that, but this color is granulating one, so it will create beautiful effects on your work. And I mix this color in 50 50 ratio, so not very diluted because we were painting wet on wet so it will dilute itself on the background. When you look at that photo, you see that there is a bit of green gold in here, the green grass. So it reminds me of this color also from Roman Schmal and it's called green gold. I need just a touch of this color. I also prepare it on my palette, but I don't have it much in here because it's only in this area and it's just some details. It doesn't cover much of my work. The last color will be for this area where we have bushes and I will use Brown Ochre, I usually use red Ochre, but red Ochre is too much red for that work for me, and I wanted more brownish color. That's why I will use Brown Ochre instead. And I also mix it in 50 50 ratio. When I have my colors ready, I will put away my palette but not very far away from me because sometimes I my colors are ending and I need the color fast, or sometimes I just need the colors straight from the pan to be very solid. That's why I usually leave my palette just somewhere near me. Also, let's change the water. Let's wet the whole paper. To make it faster, I usually use a spray bottle for that. I will spray water on my paper and I will use wet brush to move that water. Okay. I have a lot of water this time. I see that I have a lot of bottles of water, for example, I don't want. Okay. Let's check on the photograph. You see that the sky is almost to the half of the image. I think even 60% the sky has, but we don't need to exactly paint like this. We can make the horizon line a bit higher. I will take my mop brush because it holds a lot of water and also it holds a lot of paint and I will start from my teal color, and I will start painting my skies oh, I have a bottle in here, and so I think I have too much even too much water. I'll paint something like that. When I have too much water this time, I spread generously. I want some areas to be darker. That's why I will place more pigment to these areas. I will reuse all of my pipment. I will clean my brush, make it a little dry over the dump brush. I'm trying to correct the edges Okay. I will take my till straight from the pen and I will add it in a few places to make my my clouds bit darker and perhaps I will just blend them. Next, we have in here this little green gold color. I want this area to be only slightly with the bluish tone because I don't like the effect when these two colors meet with each other. So there is not much in here of the blue and with the dump brush try to achieve a transition here. Next, I will take my brown. I will add it in here also on the green gold because I want to achieve this slightly transition. I know that this will dry light. That's why I will add more color in this area. To the bottom, I will paint with misty morning. I will place my Misty Morning in here. And I need to paint this line. I'm picking misty morning straight from my pant and I will draw this line while this is still wet. I just want this to blend with the rest. Also I would like to have this area where we have the bushes. With the rest of my misty morning, I will clean my brush, make it damp and with a damp brush, I will pick my brown orch straight from the pan and I will add it in here. We also have this color, this brown elements in here, but perhaps this will be too much. That's why I'm blending it with the rest water and paint on my palette and with the rest, I will add just the details somewhere in here. This is still wet. I would like to also give a darker line in here. I'm picking my brown straight from the pen. I will add this line in here. Wow, this flows very beautiful. I love the effect which created in here. This is all for that stage. We need to make it dry totally. You can use hair dryer if you want to speed up the process, or you can leave it to dry by itself and we will come back tomorrow. I will come back tomorrow with the pencils, colored pencils and we will do the rest. 3. Colored pencils which we will use: Okay. I think I will show you the colors which we will use during this class first and we will use it both on watercolor layer and on gouache layer. So it doesn't really matter which tutorial or which part of this class you're going to paint. I think it will be easier for you to prepare first these colors and then start to paint with me. First color is this one is Turquoise Blue from Luminance, so it's number 178. This is 178 Turquoise Blue. The second color is Cobalt Blue, genuine cobalt blue, 662 from Luminance, 662 Blue. Sorry. The fut color is French Gray, 10%, eight or two, another one is this one looks like green, but it's not green, it could be green, but it also could be olive brown and this name is also olive brown, one oh 39 Luminance olive. I have also medium brown and this is sepias 50%. And the last color from Luminance is Warm Earth Tone seven or one. And we also need dark brown. I don't have any from Luminance. I have one from ink tens, and this is it's not ink tens from Dervent. So I have Derwent Watercolor Chocolate 66. I wanted to buy ink tens, but I just missed the right page. On the webstore, I just didn't notice that I'm ordering not the one I wanted, but it's quite okay. I I think we should use the stuff we have in our home if I have this dark brown. The last thing, but it's not for everybody. If you don't have pan pastel, you don't have to use it. I bought one for tests and this is my first work on which I will use it. This pan pastel is dir light, yellow, extra dark. I will show you how it looks and I usually use it with my fingers. This color is similar like this olive brown, but I think it's one to warmer than olive brown. If I will place my color here, this one is with more yellowish tones, this one with olive brown is more with browns. But still, it's not necessary. If you don't have it, you still can draw or paint with me in this class. This is PanPastel. This is all let's start drawing. 4. Watercolor bg colored pencils details part 1: Okay, let's start drawing. I have my crayons, which I showed you in previous video with me. I won't be using anything except this. I have my reference photo near me, and let's begin. The easiest is to start with the fence. I will pick my Warm Earth 5% color. This is very light brown. Now I will start to draw this fence. Just like you see, the bigger is near us and the further it's away from us, it gets smaller. This is the line on which we will paint this fence. I'm starting to paint it we will add details with the next crayon in a moment. I know that this area is fairly visible, but yesterday I painted it with my Polish forks and this area was a bit lighter, so it's more visible, but don't worry, we will see how it goes. This is this. It has this and something like that. Then we have this and it gets smaller in my painting. Something like that. I'm drawing too high. That's why I correct my fence. Next, I'll take but I need to sharpen it. I'll take Sepia 50%, nine oh six, this is dark brown and we will draw the details on this fence. I'm drawing the shadow, some little marks on this fence. I forgot to draw this horizontal elements. I just look on the picture and see the details where I can add something we will draw this and I will draw them slightly. I don't want too much pressure with my crayon. That's why I'm taking my crayon very far away from the bottom and I'm trying to simply draw these lines and they shouldn't be straight. They should be just like this way uncertain moves. They are very delicate. We have our fence ready. Still, when you see on a reference picture, we have some shadow over here. For shadow, I will go back to mine 741, so it's warm 5% ton and I will with the side of my pencil, I will draw the shadow here. Again, I think I would like to add more blue to the shadow. I'll pick my 171 color, it's turquoise blue from luminance. Also with the side of this pencil, I will slightly add bluish tone to this shadow. I'm going forward with my crayon. Want also to draw the sides on an signs on the snow. I'll pick my French Gray 10%, eight or two, and I will draw. I usually start from this one. Just like you see on a reference picture, they are smaller when they are far away from us and they get bigger when they are next to us. If you're not sure, you can draw this very slight line and then next to the line, draw the shadows. Remember, they should get bigger while they are moving towards us. This is the first root. There is the second root. For example, it will get something like that. And then we have this frutootF example, it goes something like that. And still, while we have this color, we should add some shadows, but with the side of our pencil to the snow. So they are just marks left on the snow. Let's go back for a moment to this color to the Warm Earth, 5% seven for one, but I will sharpen it. And I will add to some of these signs, a bit of color because I want the signs on the snow to have different shades, it's harder to achieve it with the pencils. That's why I'm adding a second layer with the second color on top of it. Not on all, just on a few. When you look at that reference picture, you see or notice that you have some grass looking through the snow here next to the fence. I will also make a suggestion that there is something looking through the snow. And here, I know that there are just marks and details, but the details do the work, we have some grass over here. Also with the same colors, I will try to imitate that in this area. Okay. 5. Watercolor bg colored pencils part 2: So let's move on to the main object of this piece, the tree. To paint it, I will use mostly Sepia 50%. This is my first choice. And when I draw the tree with that color, I will add details with this dark brown chocolate 66. First, let's start with the main shape. I think my tree will start somewhere in here. So I draw the shape very delicate. With the pencil. After that, let's see how the branches go. Mostly, they go for the left part and to the top. There's only one branch which goes to the right side and it turns to the left in this area. I think it will be easier to start from the bottom and start withdrawing this one. I think it goes something like that. Okay. When I see that the shape is correct, I'm pressing my pencil harder and I will also make it thicker. It has something here. For example, it will go like that and make this branch a little thicker, can correct my shade and we have some which goes. We will draw all the branches almost in the same way. Draw the main branches first. When we have main branch, just like you see on the reference picture, we have a lot of very delicate. No pressing hardly to the paper, I'm drawing this smaller branches starting from main ones. And there is a lot of them and they can end with even smaller branches at the end. This is my first part, let's to this side. I for now will draw this branch and make it thicker and perhaps I will sharpen my pencil. This has some Okay, and have some variety in the upper part. So for example in here. And also let's draw the light ones. There is a lot of them in here, and still we don't have to and need to draw all these main branches. Again, we have something in here which happens. I'm trying not to draw straight branches. And remember, the ink, the photo is only the reference. You can just go with the flow here. Okay, so I can color that in. I will do that. I will draw more branches going to the left side. We have some which goes like this, so they can cross each other. I have some in here, because there's a lot of empty space. That's why I would like to add another branch in this area. I think we're almost done with the tree, but it lacks something in this area. I want to draw this branch and we can draw it outside of our work, or we can draw it exactly how it is in here. It's something like that, and then it changed its direction, so it goes like this. This is my branch. And then it goes to that site and I Now it's time to use our dark brown. I will use just like I said before number 66 from the vent watercolor. So with this dark brown and we will add the shadow with this dark brown. We have the shadow on the left side of our tree. Okay. Sorry, I replaced my crayon and took 68 from Mondes because I couldn't just sharpen my chocolate color. This one is not as dark, but if you have this dark this kind of dark brown color, you should use it. I will draw with this one. I will add a shadow on the left side on my branches. Also, in this area, we have some shadow over here, so I'll draw it and also we have some shadow in here. Now, I want to add branches, these branches, which I have in here. I will do it with my three colors at the start. You can also use olive brown in here. For example, I will switch warm Earth to olive brown and first, I will draw this horizontal line. For example, my branches will start something in here with the site. I'm doing it with my side of my pencil. Then I will add the branch, the bushes where I seem the most. This is the darkest. This is the darkest on the picture, and we have some bushes in here. They will be just they don't have to be very sharp because they in the distance, we only see that there are some bushes. Then I will switch my color to Sepia still with the side of my pencil, I will draw this shadow. The areas where I see on a picture, it is the darkest. Again, draw some bushes. And again, let's take the darker brown and just in the simple places like here, I see that this is almost dark on the picture, and here it is almost dark in the picture and here. So I'm trying to mimic that on my illustration. So I will only add in these places these darker details. So for example, I will take once again olive brown, you know, because I see that they are just symmetrical and I don't want that. That's why I want to create the illusion that this one is bigger. That's why I'm drawing with the lightest shade I had and with the side of my brush, the illusion that there is something more there more bushes in here. We have this space also to draw these bushes. Once again, with olive brown, let's shade the area where we will draw these bushes. This is the whole area and I want to mimic that and with the tip of my pencil draw some texture. Like the shadow or this grass which look through the snow in here, let's draw the bushes. Once again, I'll pick my Sepia 50%, just like before in here, let's add some more details and more bushes. In this area, I won't be adding the darker shade because they are murals and they don't look, they don't seem to be as dark as this ones on the background. I think I will see from my previous work. I think this is almost done. Perhaps I will take once again Turquoise Blue and draw with the side of the pencil. Some marks on the snow to create the different shades of shadow. Also on a few signs, I will add this color to make it cohesive. So the very last step and only for once who have the pan pastel and I showed you that I have dilt yellow extra dark. I will add the slight touch of this green on my work. But just like I said before, you don't have to do it if you don't have pan pastel. The work is already done, so it's not necessary step. I will add my green with my finger I'm here just to add more greenish this effect onto my work. But just like I said before, the work was already done so you don't have to do it if you don't it. That's all. I wonder how you felt with painting with watercolors and the crayons on it. In the next video, we will do the same study, but with paints with the gouache and the pencils. See you 6. Gouache background: Okay, right now, we will paint the same picture. But with the gouache paint, I have this Himi set with a double 36 colors. And we will use them. I just love this gouache set. It's very versatile. I will paint in mixed media pad. This one is 30 grams, 300 grams paper. It's mixed media, but it's not suitable for watercolors. I will test my gouache paints on it during this video. Okay. So I will test if this paper is suitable for gouache paints, but I think it will. So I have just colored pencil to make my area where I will be drawing my scene I suppose here I can test my colors. In this step, we will only paint the background with gouache. Just like with watercolors, we will wait until it dries and then come back with pencils with colored pencils. So I will use my brushes from the Himi set. I have number eight and number six, but I will mostly use this number eight. Just like before, we see on this picture that the sky is almost to the half of the picture is something below. But in my first brush painting, I left 50% for the sky for this part where there is this area where we have bushes. We will do similar. For this part, I definitely will be using sky blue color, so this is it. I will use white because we have some white they look almost grayish the clouds, but I will use white for that and I have titanium white and white and I will use titanium white. For that core bushes in this area where we have a bit of green, I won't be using green this time. I will use color Earth. I just love this color. I painted with it a few times, it's Earth yellow. This Earth yellow reminds me of natural senate. I will also use a touch of this brown sois Ochre, I suppose that is all when it comes to gouache paints. Let's start. I can just even draw a line where my for example, sky should end and it's in the middle of the square. First, I will paint my sky to the two thirds of the area. I want this part where we have bushes to be slightly larger than it is on my picture because we don't need to paint exactly how it is on this picture. I will switch right now between sky blue and titanium white. I will start with sky blue. I will just when I see that my brush is dry, I'm retting it slightly with water and I don't usually mix gouache colors because I have a variety of colors in my gouache set. That's why I don't need to mix them. I can go beyond this frame. I'll start with the sky blue. I have this area painted. And I will clean my brush. Clean it on paper towel because then I see if it is clear enough if the water which drains into my paper towel is white, not white translucent. I know that he don't have any rest of colors which I used before. Now I will perhaps rewet my brush and take my white to create this white clouds. And sometimes I just went with the dabbing motion. Sometimes I take more paint and place it with this thicker layer on the work places where I want this white to be more solid. For example, in the center of the clouds, we have more white color. Okay. It doesn't have to be perfect. We don't seek perfection here. Still, we can see and create this dry brush effect and it's also okay. I will rewrite my brush. And I will add just a touch of this blue in here, and then I will switch to Earth color. I go with this Earth color onto my blue because I want them to mix slightly. Of course, they won't mix the same as in watercolors because they are thicker, but still Now, I don't clean my brush between these two colors and because I want them to mix slightly on my paper and now I will take ocher and place it in here. I see on the marks that my brush is a little dry. And here I want this transition to white. That's why I will clean my brush right now, see if it's clear enough on my paper towel. Perhaps I will even take away my paint on the paper towel. It's already dry, so I will wet my brush and say white. It's titanium white from the set, and I will add it in here. Again, I will switch to sky blue. It's okay if we have the marks on our paper, it's very okay. And here we have too much blue. That's why I will take titanium white and place it on my snow in here. So perhaps more white. Just like before, we need to mark this line. With my brush, I could even take this smaller one, but honestly, I don't like this number four. I just don't like the way it works. That's why I mostly don't use this brush. I usually paint everything with this number eight. I will take sky blue and mark our path on which we have a fence. Mo and on which the tree will be placed. This is very important line with wet brush, still, I can make this line to be not so much with sharp edges. I don't want this to sharp edge. Is to have sharp edges. And the same, we need this area and I will mark, I already have it, but still I can add more marks here. If you don't like that it's too much blue in here, you can still use white and correct that perhaps it goes too high. Gouache is quite forgiving painting. You can still correct mistakes. This one dries a little so perhaps we can add more white areas. Or we can add more blue to the colors. Okay. And I need more white to this part. Okay, this sharp motion. Okay. We need to leave it to dry. Of course, you can dry it with the hair dryer if you like. And after the drying stage, we will continue with pencils. See you then. 7. Gouache bg colored pencils details part 1: Okay. My background is dry and we will use the same color pencils we used for watercolor step. So 171 requires blue from Luminance 662 cupboard blue from Luminance. They are almost all except this dark brown from Derwent. All of these colors are from luminance, but I had to change this Derwent pencil for Mondeus 68 because I just couldn't sharpen this pencil. The last one, PanPastel I will use dilt yellow extra dark, but it's optional. It's not necessary. I just want to play around with it and to test it more. We will do the same as before, we will take this Warm Earth. I have my cats for everywhere. This is this color and we have this area where we mark where we will be drawing the fence. Just like before, let's start with drawing the fence. Remember, while going far away, this fence is getting smaller. So here then cut this part. Now I will say Sepia 50%, it looks like dark medium volume brown. Before, I will draw some details. This paper I thought it is better, but my pencil is sliding on it. I don't quite like this effect. I'm drawing right now the sides where we have a shadow. Once again, let's draw this cord. With the same technique we used in watercolor stage, I simply pick my brush far away because I don't want these lines to be very straight. We can also make some marks in here to indicate that it's This is something we didn't do in watercolor. But it is okay that we can translate the image differently. Now I will pick my number 662, so it's covered blue. I will draw this shadow which we have in here, in this area, just like before, we see some grass looking through the snow in this area and I will pick for that warm Earth five and I will just make some marks. Perhaps with the side of the brush with the side of the pencil, I will create some texture so we have a shadow and Also let's draw just like before, this marks on the snow. For example, first will build something like that. The second will be like that. This is this one. The last one goes beyond our illustration, beyond our border. Without pressing too hard with my pencil, I'm drawing this I think these are steps. Somebody steps on the loan. Still with my 662, I will just make some texture. Because when you look at that picture, you see that there is some shadow, but you don't exactly tell where, but they are there. I'm just creating Also, we have some grass over here. For example, we can also with the side of my ans create something like that and this grass looking through the snow. 8. Gouache bg colored pencils part 2: And I think we are going we're moving to the main subject of our pictures. Once again, it is the tree. I think I will start it somewhere in here because it's two elements away from this main part. I think it will start something in here. At the beginning, I slightly drew my tree and perhaps I will also color it in. Just like before, let's start with the branches. The easiest way is to start with this one, it's something like that, and it goes away and I will make it a bit thicker. Okay. Then we have this branch salts. It goes from that one and something. Something like that. Remember, it don't have to be perfect. I'm saying that because I see that I place it too high, it shouldn't bother you. Everyone makes mistakes, it's too high for me, but it's okay. Let's leave it that way. We have this branch, so it's something in here, which connects to this one. Okay. Just like before, I will go to this branch because it is easier for me. It's something like that. It has some arms of this branch. And we have a lot of going on here, for example. This tree definitely will be different than the one we painted on a watercolor background. And we have some branches going here. We also have a lot of going on in here. But when you see that picture, you see that this branch is the one which starts from here, it starts from here and goes like that. We have this branch which is something like that. Then it turn out and goes Okay. Let's do some more over here because this part is too empty, perhaps I will sharpen my pencil. We also have the texture from the quash. Perhaps it's not very easy to draw on it. The last main branch with this one. Right now I'm I start to add these little branches. Just like before, without pressing too hard, I will draw the smaller branches, a lot of smaller branches. These branches just make a crowd in here. Drawing branches is very relaxing because you have to paint a lot of them. You have to draw a lot of them and they are just easy to draw. You can even switch off your thinking and inner critic These branches are even overlapping each other drew a lot of them because there is a crowd of branches, crowd of this small branches. I think that is enough and that's all. Right now, I'm switching to the darker brown. It should be this chocolate color, but just like I said, I couldn't sharpen it. That's why I will use this one Mandi 68 and I will a shadow on my tree. Left when you see on picture, you see that the left side is in shadow and I noticed it just right now that the right side have a bit of discolor warm Earth on the right side. We can at some strokes on the right side of our branches and make the left side darker to create this illusion that this tree is not flat. Well, it should be even darker color than I have. But sometimes you have to use it what you have. I don't like the way the drawing with pencils fits on this paper. But overall, I just like the effect which we achieved. I don't know, perhaps I should draw two or three more works with the pencils on this paper to make up my opinion about it. Strange feeling. The way that I felt about painting with wash and it was fine. It was very fine with painting with uh on this paper. But the crayons, I don't quite like. Let's move on just like before to this area where we have bushes. Similar like yesterday before, we will start with warm Earth, 5% and I will just mark the area where we have bushes. I don't have to have any obvious shape. Also, let's draw this. We have some grass looking through the snow in this area. I will just make some marks over here and let's create the bush. I with the side of my pencilon not pressing very hard. If I want the layer to be darker, I simply drew over that layer a few times. Let's switch to Sepia, 50% from luminans 96 and just like before, let's throw some bushes over here. They are in the distance so they don't have to be um visible in all its form. They could only create an illusion that there is something out there. And with the side of my brush, I want to create some the same, let's draw some bushes over here. Perhaps I did it too much. I mean, that I supposed to make it a bit lighter, but let's leave it that way. Sometimes you just draw to learn something. For example, that you shouldn't do something. It's also okay. The last thing with the darkest brown. Let's add more contrast in this area. My dark brown is not very dark. Sorry for that. I'm trying my best, but this one didn't work as I wanted. But it's also okay. You learn from every work you do. I think the more the most you learn from the ones which didn't turnout how you want it exactly. Let's finish this part and it's optional step. I will use this pun pastel and I mostly use it with my finger. This is first time when I test the pen pastel on this paper. I don't know exactly how it will work. I'm adding this green shade to this part where we have bushes. But just like I said before, it's optional, you don't have to do it. The work is also fine without the step. Okay. Well, I think it works quite well on paper. And the final touches for our work, I will take my lighter blue so Turquoise Blue, and I will add the marks here on the snow let's take French Gray percent and also add the shadow. Once again, the second layer on the shadow. And on the steps on the left side of the steps to create more like shadowing here. So I think this is all I think I like the effect which we achieved. This is my first work on a different paper. It is talents sketchbook and it has a different paper than this one. This is a very smooth paper and this one is also smooth, but the pencils don't slide as much on this paper on this one. I hope you enjoy this painting, and I think this class will grow. I think I will add some more videos with other pictures where we will be painting them with watercolors and the same project twice, just for you to see which of these two techniques you like better or maybe you like both. See you in the wrap up video. 9. Outro: Thank you so much for painting along with me. I hope this class showed you that working from photos can be flexible, intuitive, and creative, and that the same reference can lead to very different results depending on the medium and your choices. This class will continue to grow with new landscapes and photo based projects added over time. Feel free to come back whenever a new lesson appears. I'd love for you to upload your project to the class gallery, whether it is one painting or several and share your interpretations of the reference. If you enjoy this approach, you can also explore my other classes where we focus on intuitive painting, simplifying complex subjects, and working with different materials. Thank you for being here and I will see you in the next lesson.