STEP BY STEP - Watercolor portrait studies 🎨 + Steps, references and materials 🖌

Hi Everyone! ✨ 

Unfortunately I started April with an illness. I'm in bed most of the time because I feel very weak but sometimes I feel a little bit better so I managed to paint two watercolor studies 😊 

During the 100 Heads Challenge, I realized that I really enjoyed using watercolors. However, the sketchbook paper in which I did the challenge was not good for this technique - it bent and peeled a lot. So I bought a sketchbook specifically for my watercolor studies and I'm very happy with the purchase.

MATERIALS:

🧡 SKETCHBOOK: Sketchbook Ivory - Viviva Colors - cream, 19 x 19 cm, 240 g, 32 sheets (it comes also with thicker paper and different formats) - LINK 📎 

🧡 PENCIL: Mechanical pencil MONO Graph - Tombow - 0,5 mm with HB lead - LINK  📎 It worked great because it was easy to erase without damaging the paper 👌 

🧡 BRUSHES:

- Mop, synthetic bristles, 113 series brush - Roman Szmal - large - LINK 📎📎

- Mop, synthetic bristles, 113 series brush - Roman Szmal - small - LINK 📎

My absolute favorites - synthetic brushes from Roman Szmal. They work like a natural hair brushes without harming animals 🐿 , they don't loose their hair, they're very precise and look so awesome 😎  

- Flat, mixed bristles, Watercolor Resable brush, 500H series - Holbein - no. 6 - LINK 📎 - I used it to sprinkle freckles on my characters' skin 😊 

🧡 PAINTS:

- Liquid watercolor Ecoline in bottle - Talens - Pink Beige 374, 30 ml - LINK 📎 

- Liquid watercolor Ecoline in bottle - Talens - Vermilion 311, 30 ml - LINK  📎 

- Gansai Paints - Choosing Keeping Retro Watercolor Set, 1960's - LINK  📎 

- White Nights pastel watercolor set - LINK 📎  

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🖌  PROCESS OF PAINTING:

1. Reference photo and a pencil sketch

2. Beige skin (Ecoline 374) and more liquified beige for the skin in the light:

3. Mint background (White Nights) and redness of the skin (Ecoline 311) plus the hair with a few mixed colors

4. Lilac eyes (White nights) and darker values of the skin:

5. Freckles sprinkled with the flat brush and details painted with a tiny one

6. Some additional hues added to the background - finished piece

7. Second reference and a pencil sketch

8. This time I decided to start painting with cool, violet/blue shadows

9. ... and then add warm, peach tones in the lights. Then I added also darker values of the hair

10. Details with a tiny brush and light orange background 

This study was much faster and I think I preferred this process. It stayed more fresh and I like that the pencil is visible under the painting 👌 

That's all for today, I need to rest now 😅

Take care! 🧡

Gaby