Easy Botanical Watercolor Leaves & Sun | Loose Painting for Beginners, by HuColors on YouTube. 8 min 9 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 9 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Tape your paper to a board or use a watercolor block so the sheet stays flat while it dries.
Mix three green puddles: a light yellow-green, a mid green and a deep blue-green. Keep each one weak and watery.
Load a medium round brush with the light green. Paint a loose leaf shape in one stroke, pressing down then lifting at the tip.
Add four to six leaves around the page, leaving gaps. Vary their size and direction so the arrangement looks natural.
While the leaves are still damp, drop in the darker greens near the stem. Let the colors bleed together instead of brushing them out.
Paint the sun with a clean brush and pale yellow. Add a touch of orange while the circle is wet so the edge softens.
Let everything dry completely, then add thin stems and a few vein lines with the small brush and dark green.
Step back and add one or two more leaves where the composition feels empty. Stop before the page gets crowded.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep your brush wetter than the paint for soft edges, and use less water when you want sharp leaf tips.
Test each green on scrap paper first, because watercolor dries lighter than it looks when wet.
Leave white paper between leaves; empty space is what makes a loose composition feel light.
Do not repaint a damp leaf. Let it dry and add a second layer if you need more depth.
Questions
Do I need to sketch the leaves first?
No. Start with simple one-stroke shapes and adjust the arrangement as you go. A light pencil guide is fine if it helps your confidence.
What paper should I use?
Use watercolor paper around 140 lb (300 gsm). Thin printer paper will buckle and the colors will not blend well.
How do I stop the leaves turning muddy?
Rinse the brush between colors and mix only two pigments at a time. Too much brushing on damp paper muddies the green.
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.
