Watercolor Winter Illustrations

1. Intro: When it's cold and gray outside, we need creativity especially strongly. Today we will create cozy and even a little bit magical winter illustrations. The process of creating them is not just drawing, it is a story. About forest characters or about you, it is an opportunity to create a Stop Motion video for your social networks and Christmas cards for your friends. Yes, we will paint with watercolor, but besides it, we will need scissors, glue, and even a thread with a needle. I'm [inaudible] watercolor lover and I'll show you three step-by-step processes and tell many ways you can change these illustrations to make them as personal as possible. The ideas from this class will bring something fresh and unusual in your own projects. Any skill level is able to do it. We assure you can manage with it. So let's get started and do magic. 2. Stuff Needed: So guys, a few words about the stuff we need. Paper, I draw on a 100 percent cotton paper. We need a few sheets, not very large size like these, and a couple of sheets of plain paper for additional items. Watercolor paints, professional or amateur, the ones that you have. Brushes, some of your favorites, not very large. A small fled brushes useful for one of the illustrations, but it's not necessary. Pencil, white gel pen, lake liner. Pallet, I use ceramic plates and a plastic pallet. Masking fluid for water color, we will use it only for one illustration. Also we need scissors, medium-sized, and small manicure crones for details. Even a needle and thread. A beautiful Thread. Two containers with water, one is for washing brush, the other is for wetting a paper. Paper napkins. Glue. Any glue that is suitable for paper. Tape to attach a sheet of paper to a tablet. A tablet is something solid much and flat, slightly larger than the size of the illustrations like this. I think that's all about this stuff. 3. Winter Forest: Well, let's start drawing. I want to draw a winter forest and something interesting will happen in this forest. I start with framing our painting area. This frame will create an interesting effect, the illustration will look like a postcard. This line separate the snow from the forest. The forest is into the ground. This node drift is here, a big tree will be here. I draw it sketch. I need a light transparent gray tone with plenty of water. Something gray like this. Make a little to this solution, such bottle on the ballot. You'll be able to take it many times. I cover the area inside that overall with this tone and let the paper dry. The second layer, I'm using the same tone , but put it only where the forest will be. A water-guard becomes light after drying. There's no drift remains lightly tainted and the forest has a darker tone. Paper has dry up and I begin to draw trees that are far from us. That tone of these trees are lie tone of the same as I use for the background. It is transparent and watering. I draw them significantly without going into details. Just create the feeling that there are a lot of trees. Done. Now let the paint dry up. Look. The trees have become lighter and that's actually what we need. Next, I draw the trees which located a little closer to us. I make the tone a little darker, but do not overdo it. It shouldn't be very dark. This tone will go be okay. The good news is the fact that you cannot be afraid to make a mistake with the shape or the trees, because trees can have any shape. Just tried to make the lines live and free. No need to control the line too much. I make the bottom edges blurred, it seems to me it is monitored. Branches and tweaks, each time to the nearest tree. I prepared the rich tone to paint it. I can draw the branches endlessly, but I will stop at this stage. Let it be a snowy day in the forest. Add gouache, I add quite a lot of water inside and mix it carefully. You know we will have to show the substance inside the jug in the video. I hope we manage with it and you understand what I'm talking about. The brush is well moistened with paint. A magic moment let it snow. This scenario is ready, the winter forest where fluffy snow falls quietly and everything, what you only can imagine can happen in the foreground. Maybe there are animals, maybe is [inaudible] , a snow man, or a child in a headed hat and this is a blue showing his cheeks, anything you wish. In my forest, a fox is running and beautiful. I take a separate sheet of the paper and draw at the ground suitable to my fox. I wait till it dried up and draw the running funny fox. I need a small scissors to cut all her thin legs, ears, and nose. Gently remove extra pencil lines using a softer razor and add some details. The fox is done and she is running through the forest. Look, the folks go beyond the oval frame, it make the illustration more dynamic. I think there is an interesting effect, but that's not all hares live in my forest, and it seems to me they are in love. You know you can make a font stop-motion video by creating this illustration. It is very simple. All you need is your mobile phone and one of the main free animation and apps, and you will get a little fun and likes on your social networks. The decorator frame around the picture, I like it painted just because. Draw the fox, it is a little bit better to do it because the process of making up stories is exciting. Do you agree with me? 4. Winter in the City: The second illustration will be about winter in the city. The overall frame, as in the previous lesson, this is an additional unify factor for all our illustrations. I will draw this small town with a big melancholic and sad mood without bright colors, at least in the beginning. How's this? You can draw the house you live, all of the favorite buildings of your city, the house of France whom you'll present this illustration, or just invent of the houses. This is your city and only you know what it will be. The pencil sketch is ready, and I define colors for my city. Let the main gray color will be the same as the first illustration. Some houses I make very bright. To make beautiful without visible brushstrokes just velvet the area with grain of water carefully, but without bundles on the paper surface. Then add color. The paint will run beautifully but will not go beyond the boundaries of the wetted area. Add darker tone under the roof. It convenient to draw windows with a flat brush of a suitable size. But if you haven't it don't worry and to use any brush. The tone of paint is rather dark, in some places lighter, in places darker. The windows are ready. I take a thin brush with a dark tone and add details. You can use a black marker for this, and white gouache small details and the window frames. I take the black liner and draw very fine details. Places for flowers there in tendering tone. Electric wires. It is a gray overcast city. There is no life in it. There is no light in the windows. But what if someone really brave, decided to add colors to this city? Warm, bright colors. Then light came on the windows. Glue it and add details. It's warm inside of the houses and it's snowing outside. What about your city? 5. Gift Wrapping: [MUSIC] Do you like to wrap the gifts? I really enjoy it. This is a very beautiful process, so I decided to draw it. I start with the oval frame at the previous time, and then draw things that usually lies on my desk when I wrap the gifts. There is a filled twig, a round garland, the gift in the center of the illustration. Another one. Scissors. Draw exactly yours so you could recognize them. I need the masking fluid to protect the white spots where the lights will be. An important point, be sure to wait 'til the masking fluid is completely dry before continue painting. Sometimes, it takes time, and you have time to drink a cup of tea for example. I thoroughly wet the paper with clean water. I need a very dilute gray tone. I just want to slightly tint the image area. Next, put drops of warm yellow where lights bubble will be. Yellow is transparent and watery, easily spreads to wet paper. I remove excess pigment using this quick brush and leave it to dry. In the meantime, I'm going to create the wrapping paper. Backgrounds from the previous illustration will be useful for it. I want a polka dots paper. Leave it to dry and return to the main illustration. There isn't any green in the color scheme of my illustration, so I use gray-blue for drawing this twig. Scissors. Okay, for the remove the masking drops, there are white spots where our light bubbles are. I better redraw garlands there. Everyone knows that cats decorate any picture, so I also will have the cat in my illustration. Does your cat help you pack gifts? Of course, you can draw something unique; hands of your child to your own hands, a cup of tea, Christmas decoration, anything. Draw what you like to place on your illustration. Meanwhile, the wrapping paper has dried up, and ready to use. I want to make gift tags of dark color. You can write the names of your loved people there, and you can also use the piece of real wrapping paper and attach the card with this illustration to your gift. The wrapping paper will be thrown, but your card will remain for a long time. Time to remember a needle and thread 'cause my gift has a real ribbon. There is a beautiful decorated frame. The illustration is ready. Look what I've got. 6. Project Time: Friends, that's all for today. I hope you enjoyed the class, and inspired to draw your vintage illustrations. Please, feel free to share them. Show your illustrations in the tab your project, and in your social networks. Tag me, I'm [inaudible]. Of course, I will be happy for your feedback on this class. Thank you for watching. Goodbye. 7. Bonus: Angel with Silver Wings: One winter day I went to make sketches at the ethnographic museum. I made some sketches, and then I was attracted by the exposition dedicated to Lithuanian vintage Christmas toys. They are incredibly beautiful. Take a look. [MUSIC] I quickly sketched it. After a while, I returned to this sketch in order to create illustrations of angels for participation in the exhibition. I was really inspired by this vintage choice. In this video, I want to share with you the process of creating an angel. I simplified it as much as possible so everyone can create such an angel for themselves or as a gift. What do we need for these? Watercolor paper. I have a square paper, but you can use a greeting card format or an old frame, I will show you different options later. We also need a shiny paper. I have a takeaway container. I think it's also convenient to use a shiny paper off chocolate by packaging. This is a good reason to treat yourself, go out and buy a chocolate bar exclusively for creative purpose. Watercolor. Let me show you what colors I use. I have two shades of gray, Payne's gray, [MUSIC] and Marengo. You can use any other shades of gray, or even a completely different color scheme to your test. Next, I need skin color, for this I use a mixture of mocha and sienna natural. [MUSIC] Together they give a beautiful shade that I often used to paint in skill. You choose from color you have of course. I start by drawing the face and arms of my angel. I took a separate piece of paper, not the one on which the illustration will be another. I'm drawing a banana shape like these, these will be the hands, I suggest not to draw fingers because it is difficult to cut them out, and draw hands like mittens. [MUSIC] Oval, it is about in the middle, this is the head, [MUSIC] ear, [MUSIC] hair flattened because my angel is flying, I put the file with the template in the materials to this class, so it would be convenient for you to look at it when you draw your angel. [MUSIC] Eyes, nose, mouth, ready. Now I decrease the intensity of the pencil lines so they don't show up under the paint layer. [MUSIC] I pick up a ton of the skin. [MUSIC] My angel wears a white clothes. Therefore, I will leave it intact. [MUSIC] Here is a Marengo gray shade. I stop because it is important that the gray color does not spread onto the face at the border or the hair. The paper has not dry yet. [MUSIC] The paper is dry, let's continue. The shape of the hair can be slightly corrected when I will cut it out. [MUSIC] In order to draw the eyes, I use a well sharpened pencil. If you don't have a colored pencil that matches the column, use a simple pencil, it is fine too. [MUSIC] I paint the nose with white gouache. [MUSIC] Well, since my brush has white gouache, I will add details to the hair. [MUSIC] Separate strands. [MUSIC] Done, now I take this scissors and carefully cut out my angel. [MUSIC] When cutting hair, I can slightly correct its shape, make the strengths more elegant and thinner. [MUSIC] This part is ready, [MUSIC] my little angel is flying, [MUSIC] and the dress will flatten the back., it will be in such a drop shape. [MUSIC] Now I will make the background and leave this droplet intact. For the background, I'm using Payne's gray. [MUSIC] I live a frame on the sides. I like the way it looks like. [MUSIC] Add another shade of gray. [MUSIC] It's great to make this edge soft without the sharp border. Oops, this is not necessary. But if you did it, then it's okay. Until the watercolor is dry, everything can be fixed. Background is ready. I'll leave it to dry. The background is dry, and I can put the angel and see what happens. Of course, wings are needed here. I need shiny paper to make them. I really like the unusual shape of the wings. All of that wing touch and show that I was inspired by. They are hairy and branched. I tried to do the same. [MUSIC] I am not sure if my line of the shiny surface is visible on the video, but when I cut out the wings, their shape will definitely be clear for you. You can also see it on the template. It is in the attached materials. Cut it out. I'll probably leave the cutting process behind the scenes so as not to waste your time. See See what I got. So gentle and delicate. It remains only to glue it. Now I will show that the shape of this illustration can be not only square but for example, oval in the style of pictures from the [inaudible] illustrations class. You can initially draw not a square background, but such an oval. The central fits perfectly into an oval shape. If the wings will be made larger so they go beyond the frame, it will look great. Or you can make the illustration to fit a post-cut size. It might look like this. See, it looks good in the rectangle too. I think all the element can already be glued. I start with the wings so as not to be mistaken with their place. I only apply glue to the base of the wings. I leave the feathers intact. In this case, they will be slightly recede from the background creating volume. I glue this detail well over the entire surface. The illustration is almost done. I just need to add the final touches. [MUSIC] I take gosh and paint small decorative dots. You can use a white gel pen and a white acrylic marker for this, whatever you want. Well, it's done. The illustration consists of three layers. The first plane is the face and hands, and a second plane is the wings, and the third plane is the dress. This creates a sense of volume. Silver of the wings, silver of the hair, and the background color also give an interesting effect. They are similar in color but different in texture. It's interesting to look at, play of slides, I really enjoy it. I hope you do too. I'm waiting for your Angeles, I'm sure each other then will have it's own flavor and character. [MUSIC]