Paint Realistic Autumn Leaves with These Simple Watercolour Tricks, by Karen Rice Art on YouTube. 20 min 33 s.
- Video length
- 20 min 33 s
- Time to do it
- 45 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Rest your 300gsm rough paper flat. Draw a simple leaf outline with an HB pencil, then mark the centre vein and two or three side veins lightly.
Mix separate puddles of lemon yellow, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, burnt sienna and cadmium red. Add water until each colour flows but still holds its strength.
Wet the inside of the leaf shape with clean water and a size 10 or 14 round brush. Keep the paper damp rather than shiny so colour stays inside the pencil line.
Drop yellow near the tip and burnt sienna or cadmium red near the stem. Tilt the paper a little and let the colours blend on their own.
Touch a little Prussian blue or Payne's grey into the shadow side while the wash is still damp. Use very little, as too much turns the leaf grey.
Drag a clean twig or the size 2 brush through the damp paint to draw thin veins. Wipe the twig between lines so the marks stay crisp.
Sprinkle a few grains of salt over the damp wash. Leave it until completely dry, then brush the salt off to reveal speckled texture.
Add small spots by flicking clean water or dilute paint from a brush. For fine dust, rub a watercolour pencil on sandpaper and blow the powder onto the paper.
Once everything is dry, sharpen the edges and add detail with watercolour pencils and the size 2 brush. Lift small highlights with a corner of kitchen towel.
Tips and common mistakes
Let each wash dry fully before adding the next one, or the colours turn muddy and the leaf loses its shape.
Keep the palette clean by rinsing the brush between every colour, especially before dipping into yellow.
Test salt and flicking on a scrap of the same paper first, since the effect changes with how wet the wash is.
Leave a few small gaps of bare paper along the leaf edge to suggest light hitting it.
Questions
Why do my leaf colours go muddy?
Too many colours mixed while the paper is still very wet, or a dirty brush, usually causes it. Rinse the brush often and let one layer dry before adding the next.
Which greens work for autumn leaves?
Warm greens such as Hooker's green light and viridian mixed with yellow ochre or burnt sienna sit well beside the yellows and reds. Add them sparingly so the leaf still reads as autumn colour.
Can I paint this without watercolour pencils?
Yes. A fine size 2 round brush and a twig will give you thin veins and detail on their own. The pencils just make sharp edges and dry texture easier.
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.
