1. The initial sketch

This tutorial was done for my friend who wanted me to show him how to colour with watercolours. Here is some details of my own particular method.

Firstly I drew a quick sketch (30 mins) from a photo I took of a famous building called the dolls house which is in Warwick.

2. The first colour wash

The key with watercolour painting is to start very light and gradually build the colours up. I basically lay down a rough colour with very little shade on all areas of the picture.

If you put too much colour down either dry your brush and use it to suck the paint off the paper, or add more water to spread the colour out.

Let each colour dry before adding more on top.

3. second colour wash

The second wash basically adds more colour into the scene and I start to paint in some shaded areas. I tend to try to mix any colour I use from my paint set with some other colour else the colour start to look rather childlike.

4. third colour wash

With most of the colours laid down I start shading some areas with darker colours. You have to remember to be careful with watercolours, you can add colour but you can't get rid of it once it is down.

Also colour choice is very important, if you want shadows I don't tend to use black, its looks better to add some dark blue or brown.

5. Final details

With most of the work done I then just try to add a bit of shade to the darker areas to make the image more 3 dimensional.

I also find it's difficult to know where to stop as you can add too much colour to an image.

Click here for the full size image.