Sketching your watercolor first can sometimes be a daunting task. Let me show you how you can create simple flowers, animals, and landscapes with basic drawings to get you started!
Let’s talk about it!
Getting Started with Watercolor Sketching
If you’re new to watercolor sketching, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
Choosing Your Materials
You want to have the correct materials in front of you to get you started in the right direction. Listed below are the basics that you will need:
- Watercolor paper: Look for paper that is specifically designed for watercolor painting. It should be thick enough to handle the water without buckling or warping.
- Sketching Paper: You can use blank printer paper.
- Pencil and Eraser: A 4H-2H for sketching directly on your watercolor paper as it is a lighter mark. For sketching on printer paper, any hardness will do, but you want it dark enough to see through when you transfer.
- Painter’s Tape: I suggest painter’s tape because there is less sticking to your watercolor paper to damage it when removed.
- Inspiration Image: If you are sketching from an image you saw, have the image in front of you to look make sure you are sketching basic highlights and shadow areas, etc.
Setting Up Your Workspace
Before you start, it’s important to set up your workspace. Here are some tips:
- Choose a well-lit area: You’ll want to be able to see what you are sketching.
- A Comfortable Area: You will want to make sure you are comfortable and able to focus.
- Arrange your materials: Make sure you have easy access to all of your materials.
You’re set up and ready to start sketching!
Laurie’s Watercolor Tip:
You will want to have a good eraser when you sketch. I prefer using putty rubber or a kneaded eraser.
Preliminary Sketching Techniques
Before starting your watercolor drawing, it’s important to spend some time sketching out your ideas and getting a feel for the watercolor you want to create. Here are some preliminary sketching techniques to help you get started:
Basic Shapes and Proportions
Begin by sketching out the basic shapes and proportions of your subject. This will help you get a sense of the overall picture and ensure that everything is in the right place. Use simple shapes like circles, squares, and triangles to block out the main elements of your drawing.
For example, if you are doing a floral piece, draw circles and ovals in spaces you want flowers. If doing a landscape, draw triangles for mountains or rectangles for homes, etc. Lay it out.
Once you have the basic shapes in place you are ready to start.
Light and Shadow Fundamentals
Light and shadow are essential elements of any watercolor drawing. To capture the interplay of light and shadow in your sketch, start by identifying the light source and the areas of your subject that will be in shadow.
Use hatching (slanted lines) and cross-hatching (criss-cross lines) techniques to create the illusion of depth and texture. I use this technique a lot when I do line and wash watercolors.
Remember, your preliminary sketch doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s simply a tool to help you plan out your watercolor and get a feel for the elements of your drawing. With practice, you’ll develop your sketching techniques and find what works best for you.
Now it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty of how to use those shapes and start sketching!
Every artist was first an amateur
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Sketching a Flower
Sketching a flower is fairly easy once you get the knack of it.
We will be practicing a simple flower. Start with a circle or oval, your choice. Inside the circle/oval, you will place a smaller circle/oval/disc.
Around that disc, you will then sketch your petals. Make sure you are touching the outer circle as close as possible.
Take note that you can change the whole perspective of the flower and place your center disc in different areas of the outer circle for a variety of looks to your flowers.
Once you have your flower created, you can erase the outer circle! Add a stem and leaves or you can leave them blank and just watercolor them in.
My challenge to you is to create a bouquet!
Sketching a Cat
For a fun practice, here is what you are going to do:
- Draw a circle, and get the feel of the circle by going around a few times to create the shape. Add some triangles for the ears.
- Add some detail by giving the illusion of fur and reshape the face to make it more realistic of a cat.
- Erase your outer circle and make a curved cross across the center of the face. This will give you an idea of there to put the nose and mouth.
- Add more detail with some more fur, eyes, and whiskers.
If you don’t want your pencil lines to be seen, lightly erase your finished sketch so you only see a slight hint of pencil. This will give you creative license to “paint outside the lines”.
It’s your painting, you make the call!
I found this excellent tutorial on how-to sketch a cat on YouTube! Check it out!
Sketching a Landscape
Whether it’s a seascape or landscape, it’s all the same principle.
Your horizon should, but doesn’t have to be, but I prefer, to have it below the center of the paper.
The landscape sketch below is of mountains, with a lake in the front, and a fence around the lake. In this sketch, I did not want a straight across line at the bottom of the mountains, because I wanted them to have character by the lake with little inlets to travel into. I made lines in the water to give the idea of the water flowing, but, you don’t have to include that in your sketch. You can paint them later with different shades of your water’s color. The same with the grasses in the front. You can omit them and paint them by hand.
On the seascape, I added some islands in the background but kept the horizon straight. I sketched those clouds in, but you don’t need to do that. We will learn in another post how to create clouds in the sky.
Notice the grasses in the front. I put them there, but if I was going to paint this, I would lightly erase those lines and add them in with watercolor instead. With that said, I could leave them in and make this a line and wash-style watercolor.
Transferring Your Sketch to Watercolor Paper
When it comes to watercolor painting, transferring your sketch to watercolor paper is an essential step. Here are some tips to help you with this process.
Sunny Window
This is easy peasy, lemon squeezy if you ask me! Most of us have a sunny window somewhere in our abode. Simply tape your sketch to the window, then tape your watercolor paper on top of that. Make sure you have the proper side of the watercolor paper facing the front. I use cold-pressed mainly, and know that one side is more textured and that is the front.
When tracing your image, use a light touch if you don’t want to see the pencil lines in your watercolor. Most watercolors, once placed over pencil lines, will not erase, or erase easily without damaging your paper. So take heed.
Tracing Paper
One way to transfer your sketch to watercolor paper is to use tracing paper. First, place the tracing paper over your sketch and trace the lines with a pencil. Then, flip the tracing paper over and place it on the watercolor paper. Use a pencil to trace over the lines again, pressing down firmly. This will transfer the sketch onto the watercolor paper.
You can also use carbon paper. Make sure you have your sketch adhered to your watercolor paper, because if it moves, it is very difficult to line it back up!
Freehand Transfer
If you prefer to freehand your sketch onto the watercolor paper, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First, lightly sketch the basic shapes and outlines of your subject with a pencil. Use a light touch to add details and shading.
No matter which method you choose, it’s important to use a light touch overall when sketching on watercolor paper. This will prevent the paper from becoming damaged or marked before you begin painting.
If you want more detail on transferring your drawing, I wrote a whole post dedicated to this very subject called, 5 Ways To Transfer Your Drawing To Your Watercolor Paper: Tips And Tricks.
laurie’s Watercolor Tip:
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Now that you have some tips and tricks for sketching, what are you going to create? I would love to see what you come up with!
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Stay Colorful, Stay Creative and HAVE FUN!
~Laurie
