Beginner WATERCOLOR Fall Forest Landscape TUTORIAL | How to paint Autumn Trees and Foliage, by Kendra VanDruff Watercolors on YouTube. 32 min 39 s.
- Video length
- 32 min 39 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Tape or hold your cold press paper flat on the table. Keep a water jar and paper towel within reach so you can rinse and blot brushes quickly.
Load the size 16 round brush with water and lay a light wash across the sky area. Leave the lower half of the paper dry for the forest.
Mix Yellow with a little Orange on your palette. Paint soft autumn foliage shapes in the middle of the page, keeping edges loose and uneven.
Add Venetian Red and Burnt Umber to the warm mix for deeper leaves. Drop these darker tones into the still-damp yellow and orange shapes.
Mix Perylene Green with Burnt Umber for dark tree trunks and pine shapes. Use the size 6 brush to paint thin trunks and branches.
Paint distant trees first with pale Perylene Green and Davy's Gray. Then add nearer trees with stronger color so the scene gains depth.
Switch to the size 2 brush for small twigs and leaf clusters. Tap the brush tip to make broken foliage edges instead of solid blobs.
Add Davy's Gray to the ground area for shadow and a path. Keep the foreground wash light so the trees stay the focus.
Let the painting dry fully, then check for gaps. Add a few darker leaf clusters and trunk lines to finish the scene.
Tips and common mistakes
Test each mixed color on scrap paper before painting it on the scene, since watercolor dries lighter than it looks wet.
Keep the paper damp but not pooling with water, or the foliage colors will bleed into muddy brown.
Paint from light to dark and let each layer dry before adding stronger color on top.
Questions
Can I use different paint colors than the ones listed?
Yes. Any warm red, orange and yellow plus a dark green and a gray will give a similar autumn look. Test the mixes first so the greens don't turn muddy.
Do I need cold press paper for this painting?
Cold press paper is best because its texture suits loose foliage and washes. Rough paper also works, but smooth hot press paper makes soft edges harder.
How do I stop the trees from looking flat?
Paint the far trees pale and the near trees darker with sharper edges. Overlapping trunks and varied leaf sizes add depth.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
