Winter Calm in Watercolors : A Snowman Using Two Colors

1. Introduction: Winter has a quiet calming beauty, soft light, gentle snowfall, and the moments of peaceful stillness. A snowman reflects warmth and simplicity, making it a perfect subject for a relaxing watercolor study. Hello, everyone. I'm Soma Karthik, a passionate artist and a mom, and welcome to my class Winter come in watercolors, a snowman using two colors. In this class, you will create a serene winter snowman scene using just two complimentary colors through limited palette, and simple techniques will focus on soft plans, textures, and tonal values, making particular approachable and enjoyable for all levels. I'll guide you step by step to create a beautiful winter snowman scene using four techniques, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, layering and dry brushing technique, and create a beautiful piece. So this class is perfect for beginners or anyone who wants a relaxing winter painting section. So I'm excited to have you share. Let's get chatted. 2. Class Supplies: I'll come back. In this section, let's quickly work over the materials we'll be needing for a class project. So first, I'll talk about the paper. So I'm going to use arches, 100% cotton, 300 Jasm 140, B, and I'm going to use the size of a postcard that is six by four. You can go with any size you want. And next, I'll talk about the brushes. So these are the four brushes we'll be using for the crass project. So first, these two brushes are from Zanat supplies. So I'll be using this flat brush for making the initial washes. And wetting the background. And this one, this one is size three by four flat brush. And this is also from Zen Nut supplies, and this is size eight round brush, and I'm going to use this round brush for wetting the snowman hat and the scarf and also before adding the shadows and also for the background of the snowman naturally. So I'll be using this brush. So next, I'll be using this brush for this note painting, stone. And this brush, this is from marine. It's size zero for adding the final details like twigs, eyes, nose and mouth and also splatting to snow. So next, you need two jars of water. For washing off your brushes. And these are the two colors you'll be using for entire painting, along with white watercolor paints or white gouache. First color is Prussian Blue. You can use Teel blue or Windsor blue. Any cool blue, and Pyl red light is the second color. So it's a warm red. So you can use any warm bread, like cadmium bread, any red you have or scarlet, pyrrol scarlet red. To these are the substitutes, and you need white gouache or white watercolor paints to splatter as a snow, and you need kitchen salt, powdered salt top for the snow effect of the snowman in the background. For the one like this and also below the snowman in the snow and you need a masking tape to keep your edges clean. And I'm going to use this wooden board to tape my paper. You can use any glass board or even cardboard. Make sure you don't wet it too much. And finally, you need a pencil and eraser to do your snowman sketch. And you need a palette. I'm going to use this ceramic palette to mix my paints. So These are the supplies you'll need, so grab your supplies, and I'll see you in the next section. 3. Complementary Colors: Hi, guys. Welcome back. So before starting our painting, let's understand complimentary colors. So complimentary colors are colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. So as you can see, here Pyl red light is a warm, bright red, whereas Prussian Blue is a cool, deep blue. So the nice thing about complimentary colors is that they don't look good when they sit side by side. And when we mix them together, it gives soft, beautiful, earthy tones like browns and muted grays. These two gray colors are best and good for adding shadows and also even other fine details like twigs here and the snowman, even the stone here and eye nose and mouth details like that. So complimentary colors help make the painting simple, balanced, and pleasing to your eyes. So you don't need to remember any color theory rules, just enjoy how these two colors work together naturally in a balanced way. So if you don't have these two colors, I already said, you can use windsor blue and even cadmium red light, or you can use ultramarine and Bon Sienna too. So these two, when mixed together, gives muted rich gray that's perfect for shadows. And also, you can use thalo blue. If you don't have Windsor blue or Prussian Blue, you can use thalo blue with Indian red. Or cadmium red, that will work too. So these are the swatches. I tried while planning for this class project. So I even tried other complimentary colors. I don't mean complimentary, but these two colors, see if I mixed in and cadmium red deep, I get bluish gray, not a gray. And when I mix arcois blue and Alyson crimson, I get dark purple and a dark magenta. So this one was better. So I went with this. So now you have a better idea of how complimentary colors works. So let's move on to the next lesson where we'll start to sketch our snowman. See you next section. 4. Background Washes: Welcome back. In this section, we are going to paint the snowman background using wet-on-wet technique. And I'm going to use only diluted mixture of brush and blue for the background. And as you can see, I have measured and taped my paper in the size of a postcard. It's six by six, actually. But I have left a space extra space here for doing these watches after we finish our painting. So this is a sketch. And also, I even have a thumbnail for a snowman. You can download it from the project and resource section. I have ged it there. So let's start. So I'm going to use my three by four inch wash brush. To wet the background area evenly, make sure it's not a puddle. Apply even coat. And don't wet the snowman body or hat. Only the background area. So now I'm going to use my siege on brush and drop the Brushian blue in the background. Let it spread naturally because we are using wet-on-wet technique, wet paint on a wet surface. So I'm just dropping the paints randomly. So while the layer is still wet, we are going to add some salt. You can either directly add like this or you can use your hand. Either way, it works. So let this dry completely. That's it. In the next lesson, we'll start to paint the body of the snowman. See you next section. 5. Snowman Body: O. Welcome back, guys. Now we are going to paint the snowman body. As you can see, this is my reference. So as the light comes from this side, the shadows will be on the right side, right. So here, it'll be darker and here it will be lighter. And also, we are going to paint this foregone retails of the snowman using the same diluted blue. And I had created this picture by mixing Persian blue, 80% and Pyl red light 20% to get this gray, I'll show you this watch. So I'm using my eight round brush. So this is the color. You should get. So we are going to use wet-on-dry method. So I'm going to use my paint directly on a wet paint on a dry surface. So first, I'm taking this gray mixture and starting to apply it on the right side. And then we'll smoothen it out. And then I will wash my brush and using my damp brush, I'm smoothening out the texture. See, you get such a smooth and nice blend. So I need more paint, so I'm mixing both colors red and blue. So you can drop some wet-on-wet to get a smooth blend and blend it in. So make sure you don't bet the button. And I can smooth all the other sides, but not the button. Make sure it's nice and dry. And here I'm going to drop the diluted version of blue. Just going over the line. And then I'm going to wash my brush and smoothen it out. It's that simple glass. So we'll wait for a few minutes so that we can paint the ground details of the snowman. So now I'm going to wet this layer. You can use wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry method. So I'm just adding diluted blue and gray. So I'm mixing both colors and then dropping it here on the ground of the snowman and also a lighter version of blue on this side, and more blue on the other side, more blue and gray, muted gray mixture on the other side so that a snowman looks more dimensional and soft. And also, I'm going to soften the edges like this and on either side, too, because it gives us a smooth plant. And here, I'm going to put the gray color for the snow details. The same color we used here. And if you're water spreading, you can even lift with your flat brush and smoothen it out. I'm just lifting here. This is lifting the paint. My layer is still wet. This is lifting technique. And while the lail is still wet, I'm going to again sprinkle some salt to get a subtle snow texture. You can, uh, wait for the layer to dry. And then in the next section, we'll start with the scarf, pom pom, and the hat for the snowman. See you there. 6. Snowman Hat and Scarf: Hi, everyone. In this section, we are going to paint the snowman hat and the scarf. Like this, we're going to use different tonal values of Prussian blue, starting with the light, then building layers gradually using medium tone, and then giving fine details using the darker shade. So we're going to build layers like this, and also we'll use a bit of dry brushing here for a scarf texture to make it interesting and also here a little bit. So let's start. So I'm going to use two brushes. This is size five brush from Minson Newton Foundation series and this is size eight from Gena supplies. So these are the two brushes I'm going to use. First, I'm going to start with a lighter tone for the scarf or the hat, whichever you can start. So I'm going to start with a lighter color, just going over my sketch. So your sketch is little important when you add paints like this and your sketch should be lighter, not darker so that it guides you throughout your painting. So I'm just filling my lighter color potion blue or the hat and the pompom on the top. And then using the same colour, I'm going to fill in my scarf. This is wet-on-dry wet paint on a dry surface. So I'm taking excess paint and then blending it in. So now I'm going to take my smaller brush size number five in a medium tone. I'm going to take the excess water and paint from your brush. If you have it, make sure it little bit darker than the previous version, and then I'm going to add the details of the hat. Wet-on-dry gives us crisp and clean edges. So for snowman, you are using wet-on-dry. And I'll do some wet techniques too. You'll see now. So these legs are still wet. It gives a smooth blend for our snowman hat. So I'm just outlining the snowman. Make sure you take the excess paint and you have more pigment on your breast and not more water. And then I'm going to use the same consistency paint, a lighter version, like this for the pom pom. Make sure you take the excess and see. My brush is almost dry, not wet. And then I'm going to take a even more darker version to make digest look prominent. And then I'll smoothen it out. So I'm doing softening edges on both side, actually. If you're comfortable with a smaller brush, you can go for it or you can do with your bigger brush too. I'm doing with my smaller brush. And then I'm going to add my darkest layer here. The bottom part of the snowman. See? Let the watercolor do its magic. And then here I'm taking a very thick consistency of mint and then shaping my hat. And then for the pompom, I'm going to just dab off my paints, take a thicker constancy. It's like dry brush, and then Well my pompom. And also, while the layer is still wet, you can add the textures like this one and make your Santa Not Santa. I mean, sorry. Snowman had little interesting. See, it gives a smooth blend. This one you can do while the air is still wet. And then it gives a nice texture for a snowman hat. You can blend the layers here, fit get dry and also smoothen the edges. And also, I'm going to do the same technique here. I think his calf is dry, so I'll make sure I add a darker layer, a little bit darker layer here and smooth my paint. And I'm going to apply my darker consistency here, make sure you take the excess. And then I'm going to add some crease details here to give depth to a snowman's scarf. And also, I'm following my sketch here and painting it. So to give the crease little more dimension, and then you can soften it. And you can just fill it here, fill it in here. And also a small line to differentiate the body and the snowman. So I'm taking even more darker constituency here and just adding it the details and also I'm going to use this lighter version here and blend the damp brush, Bill mall, the damp brush. And also, you can take a darker paint and make the grease, scarf titles even more prominent. And also, make sure you smoothen the edges so that it doesn't look different. And also with the darker paint, I'm going to use some dry brush. Make sure there is more paint and less water. Just few dry brush to make a snowman scarf interesting. And you can also pullo the paints. Just pullo the paints. And also, and little texture like this one, we are going to create with a lighter color, actually, not with the darker one. Make sure your paints in a right consistency, see? More pink and less water. And then and also, I'm going to make it dark towards the right side of the scar. And then and darker towards the body. Here and then smoothen it out. And then add the details of the scarf here like this. Just flicking at him like this. So let's wait till all their leg gets dry and one more final th before we finish it off or the pom pom. And one more final touch because as watercolor rise a little lighter, I want to give even more dimension to a snowman, so I'm adding more layers before finishing the hat. So that's it. Let's wait. In the next lesson, we'll start to paint other details like eyes, nose stigs and the buttons. See you there. 7. Snowman Details - Part 1: Hi, everyone. Welcome back. Now we are going to paint other details of the Snowman, like snowman twigs. You say, Earthy Brown and there's button details and the eye details and the nose details. With a color and mixture, as you can see, this is pyrol red. And this is a lighter version of Pyrool red. And this one I got by mixing this mixture, earthy brown, mixing 70% red and 25% blue. And this one is vice versa, Persian blue, 70% and 25% red. So I'm going to use this madne brush size zero to paint the twigs first. So let's start. So you can take the pictures away. I didn't take the pictures still. So you can take the pictures of the salt we created in the background area first. So just I'm drawing the tracks, tracing over my line. If you're comfortable, you don't want to sketch the twigs the starting. You can directly sketch it with your paint. So this brush has a very fine point. This is size zero from marine actually. You can use any fine line a small brush to do the twigs. So I'm just drawing the twigs of the snowman. Make sure your brush has fine point to get a clean thin line for your snowman. And now I'm going for the buttons. So I'm just starting with the darker color here. It's like, black, dark, gray. You got this by mixing more blue and less red, 75% blue and 25% red. So as the shadows on this side, I'm making this side darker. And then I'm wetting my brush and smoothening on the right side to get a soft blend, smooth blend. If it's too watery, make sure you take the excess paint from your excess water from your brush, and then do the step so you get a clean and smooth blend. And also, I want to make a lighter version and because the shadows on the right side, I want to make the buttons even more dimensional. So I'm just smoothening it out. I think my darker layers are a little bit light, so I'm going to make it even more darker here. See? That's look perfect. So now moving on to the faith, I'm going to use my size fib brush and make and taking a watery consistency of russian blue for the shadows and the snowman on this side. And you can use both colors lighter version of blue, and the gray muted gray we created, both colors. And then paint it like this on the right side, and then spot the net out. If you have a round brush, bigger brush with a fine point, you can use that, too. I'm using my same smaller brush, like I said previously. And also one more final touch here with a gray on the right side and with a blue too to make a snowman. Look dimensional. So make sure you smoothen it out your layers to get the nice texture. So now I have mixed a darker consistency of paint that is literally like black. It's the darkest gray for painting the eyes and the mouth of the snowman. So just I'm taking my round brush size zero and then going over the eye. Make sure it's pretty dark so that the snowman looks pleasing. The eyes are very important to bring a scene of the snowman to life. And also, there is one more step after this. After we add the nose details, I'm going to add little snow. And now for the mouth So let's wait for a few minutes because it's wed, so we don't want to smudge the nose, so let's wait. 8. Snowman Details - Part 2: So now I'm going to use my same size number, zero brush to paint the snowman nose. So I'm just going on the right side first. Bottom part of the snowman. And then washing main brush and smoothening it out. Leaving a white space, white white for the highlight, white gap for the highlight of the snowman nose. And also you can use this darker version of brown red and then add some wet-on-wet touch to give the soft and smooth blend to the snowman. Make sure you dab the excess water from your brush and then smoothen it out. And one more final touch for the ground texture. So I'm going to add some wet-on-wet technique, so I'm wetting my ground. And then taking that dark blue we mixed your ear and then giving some soft mixture, snow texture. We can use dry brush technique too, but I'm using wet-on-wet technique. And also, I'm going to use this white paint to splatter those snow falling texture for a snowman to bring the entire scene to life and also a lighter both white and lighter version of Russian blue. Both I'm going to splatter. First, I'm loading my size number zero brush with white. And then make sure you tap the excess paint from your brush though that it doesn't bleed too much, and then you can tap it with your hand. And you can use your size fi brush. I used earlier too. But first, I'm going to use this brush, and I'll show you the other one too. So just flattering some paint, and I'm going to use my size fib brush now to splatter because it's no falling texture for the scene, see? Or you can use another brush to tap your paint from your brush. Both either way works. Like this, I mean, so I'm using this brush to tap my bigger brush to tap like this. So either way it works, whichever is compatib for you. And also, I'm going to take the lighter blue colour and splatter it too. Lighter version of Prussian Blue, not a darker version or a medium tone, a lighter version to keep Manso snowman interesting. And one more final touch for the snow. I want more snow to create that falling snow. I'm adding no stitches here. And also want to add one dot for the snowman eye to make it pop out. That's the final touch. Then we can reveal the snowman in the next section. So I one more final touch before we wrap up. See? That's it. Let's wait for the layer to dry completely, and I'll see in the final section. 9. Conclusion: And with that, our winter snowman artwork is complete, everyone. Congratulations. I hope you enjoyed this. Calming and bigness friendly class and learn how much you can create with just your colors. As you can see, I watch the colors over here for your friends. And please don't forget to upload your projects in the projects and resource section of the class. I would be so happy to see your beautiful snowman and we can all enjoy your creativity. And if you enjoy this class, I would request you to review a review. It would help more students and artists find this class here on Skillshare. And thank you so much for painting along with me. Stay cozy, keep creating, and I'll see you in my next class. Take care.