Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hi, welcome to my first Skillshare class in creating Realistic Florals in watercolor. My name is Patricia, and I am an Industrial Designer. And a watercolor visual artists. At an aside from the Philippines My art revolves around Florals and Gold. Because for me, Florals symbolizes life, joy, and new beginnings. While Gold symbolizes strength, courage, and wisdom. I have loved creating watercolor illustration and since I was in high school. And after College, I decided in different Art Exhibits online. Just this 2020, I have sold almost All artworks, including doing personal commissions for different clients. Today I want to give back and teach you on how to create this realistic floral artworks. This is a great way to practice your creativity, given if you only use the basics in watercolor. I will teach you the process of sketching three different florals and we will combine them together into one frame. Then we will add depth and gradient to our Artwork. This will make our florals look realistic. I will also teach you on how you will choose your colors. In our last lesson, I will guide you and how you will apply your gold leaf to your artwork. You can also use this in your personal style. This class is for everyone. If you're a beginner, you will surely create a beautiful floral artworks by the end of this class. Without further ado, let's get started.
2. Materials: If you're here with me thank you, thank you so much for choosing this class with me. To start our project, we need to get our materials ready. First, of course, we have our watercolor paper. I always use 300 GSM because it is more professional to use. And I always use the hot press, By the way we have two types of watercolor paper, the hot press and cold press. The hot press watercolor paper has a smoother texture. It is more like a normal bond paper. While the cold press has a bumpier or rougher texture. Both are fine as long as it is acid free. And it is important to choose in good-quality watercolor paper, because some peel off, when you add too much water. And for me, Cold Press watercolor paper spreads the water faster and it is harder to control the water, so I always use hot press. Next is our watercolor palette, of course, I use this for almost three years now. So it doesn't matter what type of watercolor you will use, Next is our Gold leaf, I only use an Imitation Gold Leaf. Then to apply our Gold leaf, we need some Gilding Adhesive. In our last lesson, I will discuss it more further on how to apply Gold leaf. Then of course we need some Brushes. Watercolor brushes and a fine tip for details. And some pencils, eraser, a tissue roll. next lesson we will be finding our references to start our project.
3. Inspirations and References: Hi, welcome. In this lesson, we will be talking about on finding our references. Personally, I like to take photos outside whenever have the time and sketch them in in my sketch pad. I always try to find some time, finding some references outside because it will also develop my creative skills and ideas are maybe along the way you can find your own style. You can go outside your garden, then collect some flowers that interests you, then arrange them in a plate. I always tend to do that. That way you can connect more to the nature and help you find beauty in small details. For now, my go to site is Pinterest, I always go to pinterest, and find some inspiration and creative new ideas. It is a popular site to collect images and you can even make your own board like this one. I tend to be saved to photos that I like and use it in my artworks. I found these three images to help us visualize our object. Now that we have our materials ready and our references, We can now sketch our florals in our watercolor paper.
4. Sketch a Rose: Now that we have our materials and our references ready, we can start sketching. Flower is a beautiful subject to practice your sketching. First, I always find the center of First I always find the center of my surface so that the outcome of my artwork is symmetrical. I want to work faster, so what I do to find the center is I grab a piece of paper. Then fold until the end of my watercolor paper, like so, Then fold it again in half to see the center. then I will just mark it with my pencil here. I don't want too many lines on my paper, so I will just put a very small line just to guide me where the center is. Now that you know where the center is, Draw three big circles in the center of our paper, his will be my guide for the flowers to show. Top tip: When sketching your florals into one frame, use the Rules of Third. this will make it look clean. Keep in mind that the Artwork must be visually appealing And have an asymmetric composition. Balance the Artwork by applying the Rules of third and the focus must be in the center and the subject. Now that we know the placement of the flowers, Ensure that there are centered lines in each. Then we will be drawing a bud or U-shape on our top circle. On our first circle, we will be making a rose. Just to guide you on the direction of our flower, draw a 45 degree line, to create a folded petals. Draw a collar like outline. I know that this video is to fast so try to follow and just pause this video and continue your work process by process. Now that we have our base outlines in the inner part of the rose, draw a bigger folded petal outside, it is more like a moon shape and add some roughness on the edges. Draw your second petal and overlap it with your first one. Now that you know how to create your rose, Just keep in mind that the overlapping petals must appear. Again, Add some folds and roughness Eventually clean and erase your first guidelines. I always use a kneading eraser because it doesn’t leave any dirt and I can use it over and over again. I really recommend this eraser. Start your way now and continue to draw the center of your rose by creating again overlapping petals. Be sure to create it smaller. Now that we have finished Rose, I will just clean the Guidelines again and sharpen it so that we can see it clearer. Up Next we will be sketching another flower, everyone's favorite flower, peony flowers.
5. Sketch a Peony Flower: For our peony flower, Use a cup shape outline. then draw the base of the pollen. If you notice, Peonies’ petals are curved And being C-shape, Draw folds on every edge of its petal. If you're having a hard time visualizing peonies, you can always go back friends, and copy the petals. Continue adding petals and make sure that the direction of the petals are at the center. Again, make sure that the petals are overlapping. I will give you some guidelines that you can download on sketching your florals to make it easier for you. So don't worry. The template will also guide you on how you will create your flowers. And you can just sketch them in your water color paper. Repeat the process and sketch another peony in the left side. Remember to angle it, same as the right side but reflected. Remember to keep your paper as clean as possible. Add some leaves. Make it a little wavy and folded too. up next, Textures and Gradients
6. Textures and Gradients: In this lesson, we will be talking about applying shadows and gradient to our Artwork. this will be a clearer way to know how to make our florals look realistic. I made some then the exercises that you can download for you to practice methods that we will be doing. In this part. We will create leaves different tones. Same as in the side of the petal. with the use of basic watercolor techniques just to familiarize you with handling and controlling your brush, water, and pigment. Now to create a successful watercolor leaves, we will be using earth colored tones, which are green, brown, yellow, and black. You can also use a darker shade of blue if you don't want to use black, I like to use the wet flat wash technique. In this technique, you will lay your pigment on top of a wet surface. This method will make it easier for you to mix and add gradient effect on your color, while creating depth in the flower. Start by loading up your brush with water. and lay it evenly in your sketch. our paper needs to be glistening with water. and a good way to check it is to look at it from a table level with your eyes. If you have covered the whole surface. You can load your brush now with pigment. Make sure to color your subject first in lighter colors or with a little bit of pigment, because later we will be adding some textures to it. Notice that our leaves become more realistic because of the colors, continuing to add earth tone gradients. Don’t be afraid to put colors and experiment, In that way, it will be easier for you to choose your own colors.. We will just wait for the leaves to dry. And now for the petals. We will also be using the wet on wet technique. Again, wet the area of the petal then load your brush with pigment of your choice. Now, to create a gradient in the petal. Just dab your brush on the wet surface. And you will notice that the spreads over the area. Make sure it to apply a very small amount of pigment all over the petal and add more pigment to the area that has a greater shadow or color. As it dries, you will notice that it creates an outline itself on their edges. You can also use different colors like using a mix of yellow and orange. Once the surface is completely dry, we will be using layering, In Layering technique. you will lay another color on top of your dry pigmented surface. This is a great way to add more details. Load up your brush again with your dark color. hen add lines and dots using a thin or detailed brush. I like to create the veins lighter. To do this, apply the pigment leaving the veins dry. If you can’t seem to visualize the veins of the leaves, you can draw the veins first then avoid it when you apply colors. Now to create the textures of the petal, Load up your brush with a little bit more pigment with the petal’s color. create lines to add texture like this. Add pigment on the side of the fold to create a shadow illusion of the folds of the petal. Work your way and practice the wet flat wash technique and layering. Now that you know how to use the basics in watercolor to create textures and gradients. It’s time to apply it to the whole flower. Again, wet the surface with water, but I like to add just a little pigment so that I can work faster. Then dab a harder pigment on the inner side to make it look deeper. Top tip: Dry the other areas first before coloring the part beside it so that it will create an outline. Use black to create a shadow but be careful and try to just add little by little so that you can still control it and don’t mess it up. Again, wait for the wet areas to dry first, and continue your way to add pigments with the other that still doesn’t have colors. In this technique. your petals will create a colored outline itself, As you can see as it dries, some pigments are drying in the corners of the wet surface. Once you get this, you can start finishing your florals. hen the finished floral should look like this. Up next! We will Apply Gold leaf to make it extra!
7. Applying Gold Leaf: Welcome to our last lesson in today's class. if you haven’t finished your watercolors yet, You can pause this video and continue your artwork. and make sure that your artwork is completely dry before continuing this lesson. Now that we have finished creating our beautiful florals, I will now guide you on how to apply Gold leaf To our Artwork But first, how will you design Gold leaf on an Artwork? The Ideas are endless, Don't be afraid to try something new. It doesn't matter if it's just a splash of Gold in there. or touch up in your artwork. You can even make it as a background of your subject. Try to be creative. nd decide on what design you will apply in your artwork. But everything you do from gold leaf, it will definitely become eye-catching. Now that we have finished our artwork and we can now start applying Gold leaf. It's time to gather all the materials we need, First our Gold Leaf, our Gilding Adhesive, and some paint brushes to apply our Gold Leaf. Then we also need a clean water. First, prepare your surface Make sure that it is clean and doesn’t have any dust so that it is not bumpy. We will be using a nylon brush to apply our adhesive. because nylon brushes are easy to clean, even if the adhesive has dried out in your brush. Then apply the adhesive to the area that you will cover. Leave the adhesive for at least 30 minutes or until tacky. Once you feel that the adhesive is tacky, You can apply your gold leaf very carefully. Gold leaf is very thin, literally like air. so if you have sweaty hands, I recommend to use tweezers or any application tool if you have sweaty hands. After you have finished applying gold leaf. And you are sure that you have covered all the areas that you want to be covered, leave it at rest for at least a whole day, just to make sure that the adhesive has dried completely. Keep it in a safe place that no one will touch it. After that you can now brush off the excess with a smooth brush and make sure to save the excess gold leaf for your next artwork! Then forget to sign your work.
8. Final Thoughts: If you made it this far, you must have finished our class projects. Thank you. Thank you so much for choosing this class with me and I'm so excited to see your creations in our project gallery I hope you have learned so much in this class from finding your inspirations to the nature, sketching your flowers by using an outline, And making it look realistic with the basics of watercolors. Gold leaf is simply amazing because it gives the artwork a sophisticated look and elegance in every artwork. If you have any questions or suggestions in our class, Share it with us and I will do my best to answer it all. And any suggestions in our next class is highly appreciated. And always remember to create the Passion.
Patricia Guinto, Watercolor Artist
