Don’t Paint Bushes Like This! Do THIS Instead | Watercolor Do’s & Don’ts | Tutorial For Beginners, by PAINT N CRAFT (with Avi & San) on YouTube. 2 min 19 s.
- Video length
- 2 min 19 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Mix two greens on your palette. Keep one light and warm with extra yellow, and one darker and cooler with more blue. Load the brush without flooding it.
Dab the light green where the bush should sit, using the side of the brush. Make a loose cluster of separate marks instead of one solid shape.
Add the darker green on the lower and shadow side of the cluster. Press and lift the brush so each mark has a soft top and a firm base.
Leave small gaps of bare paper inside the bush. Those gaps read as light hitting the leaves and stop the shape turning into a flat blob.
Vary the size of your dabs. A few larger marks at the base and smaller, tighter ones at the top make the bush look grown rather than stamped.
Break the outline. Let a few dabs poke out past the main shape and leave the edges ragged, since real foliage never has a clean border.
Add a few darker accents in the deepest hollows once the first layer is touch dry. Keep them few, and do not go over the same spot again and again.
Let the bush dry fully before painting grass or a tree trunk next to it. Wet green next to wet brown will bleed into a muddy patch.
Tips and common mistakes
Never outline a bush with a hard line, because it instantly looks like a cartoon shrub.
Test your green on scrap paper first so you catch a muddy mix before it reaches the painting.
Keep the brush drier than you think, since too much water makes the dabs spread and lose their shape.
Place bushes at different heights and widths so the row does not look like a hedge.
Questions
Why do my watercolor bushes turn into one green blob?
You are probably painting one solid shape with the same wet mix. Use separate dabs, vary the green, and leave small gaps of paper showing.
How many greens do I need for a bush?
Two is enough for a beginner. One light warm green and one darker cooler green gives you light, mid tone and shadow.
Can I paint bushes over a wet sky?
Wait until the sky is touch dry. Painting foliage into a wet wash makes the edges soft and the colors bleed together.
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.
