How to Paint Delicate Leaf Veins | A Wet-on-Wet Watercolour Technique, by de Winton Paper Co. on YouTube. 7 min 24 s.
- Video length
- 7 min 24 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Tape a sheet of cold pressed watercolour paper to a board so it stays flat, then mix a light green and a darker green on your palette.
Paint the leaf shape with the light green and keep the wash wet and shiny, with no dry patches inside the shape.
Wait until the surface shine dulls a little but the paper is still damp. If water pools, lift the excess with a dry brush.
Load the small brush with the darker green mixed a little stronger, and blot it once so it is damp rather than dripping.
Touch the brush tip at the midrib and pull one light line toward the leaf edge, letting the paint bleed into the damp wash.
Add side veins at a shallow angle, spacing them unevenly and leaving some out so the leaf looks natural.
Stop touching an area as soon as the lines start to blur and spread. Reload the brush only when the veins fade away.
Leave each leaf to dry flat and untouched, then paint the next one with a different vein pattern and angle.
Tips and common mistakes
If the paper is too wet the veins flood and vanish, so let it dry a little longer than you think.
Use less water on the brush for veins than you used for the leaf wash, or the lines turn pale and washy.
Test the dampness on a scrap piece of the same paper before you commit to a finished leaf.
Vary vein direction and density between leaves, since identical patterns look stiff and printed.
Questions
How wet should the leaf be when I add the veins?
Damp but not glossy. The shine should have just dulled, so the paint still spreads a little but the lines hold their shape instead of flooding.
Why do my veins look hard and blotchy?
Usually the leaf wash has dried too far, or the vein brush is too wet. Work faster, use a drier brush and stop as soon as the line starts to spread.
Can I use this technique on hot pressed paper?
Yes, but the paint sits on the surface more, so veins spread less. Use a slightly wetter leaf wash and a lighter touch with the vein brush.
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.
