Fairy, Angel, Spiritual and Fantasy Art by Carmen Keys

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Watercolor ACEO Tutorial

It's time for another tutorial! This is another one featuring art cards, but all in watercolor -- my techniques have changed a bit since my last art card tutorial.

Sorry for the fuzzy quality on some of these, I was using my digital camera to save time!

So I decided to try something a little different for me. I put in the shadows first with a Cobalt Blue/Sepia mix. Was trying to approximate Payne's Gray since I don't have any.

Next we break out the Quinacridone Rose and get some rosy cheeks and other skin! I wanted the wings to look sort of pale and iridescent, so I slopped some Rose on them, too. On the orchid I dropped in a little yellow while it was still wet.

Now for the Raw Sienna. I think this is the most useful color I have in my palette, it works great for skin tones and all manner of things. Again, slopped it kind of randomly on the wings. Notice I am doing the same thing with the hair (Rose and Raw Sienna) because I want it to really shimmer.

More hair fun! I used *Burnt* Sienna on one fairy, which makes a rockin' auburn hair color, and Sepia/Cobalt Blue on the orchid fairy. Notice again I dropped in other colors while the main hair color was still wet, for that shimmery effect.

Here I went in with more Raw Sienna on the skin, and darkened the facial features a bit with a teeny bit of Burnt Umber. I also mixed up some Burnt Umber/Sepia to darken the hair shadows on the auburn fairy, and straight Sepia to darken the shadows on the orchid fairy.

More face work. Deepened the Rose on the cheeks and lips (and auburn girl got some Burnt Sienna on her mouth as well). Did the fire thorn berries with a Burnt Sienna/Cadmium Orange/Winsor Red mix, with a plain water blended highlight. More Rose and yellow on the orchid, and the same with the orchid fairy's shirt --- Quinacridone Rose with yellow and the fire thorn mix I just mentioned dropped in while wet.
Okay, now I can show you the finished pieces!

All done! I did more general darkening of shadows, and put several washes of various colors around the edges of the paper blended with clear water to the middle. With a glaze of Raw Sienna over the whole background. Ms. Orchid also got my little sparklies in her hair --- first I made a very fuzzy, diffused white circular area with a white colored pencil, then put a dot of pure white acrylic in the middle with a tiny brush. I put a bit of the white acrylic on her lips and eyes too, to make them sparkle.

Here is Ms. Fire Thorn! Pyracantha technically, and I made her for the EBSQ Pyracantha art show. 'Fraid I did kind of a lot more to this without photographing it, but I'll do my best to describe. Her shirt I did with Hooker's Green and a little Cobalt Blue and Rose dropped in while wet. I used the green as dark as it could be, especially around the fire thorn plant. Her sleeves got a very pale wash of the same in the shadow areas, with some very pale Burnt Sienna as well. The leaves I did with varying mixes of Hooker's Green and Cadmium Yellow Light (which is like lemon yellow). The berries got a bit of Winsor Red to darken the undersides. Skin tone shadows got deepened with more Raw Sienna and Quin. Rose, background got a wash of Raw Sienna (which I also put in the wings to make them see-through), and the wings got a glaze of Quin. Rose over that. I decided to up the contrast around the wings so they would come out from the background more, so I put some Burnt Sienna around them, blended out with clear water. Some people have asked me how I get the smooth transitions in my watercolor, and that is how --- blend everything out with clear water at the edges, getting rid of the hard edges that otherwise form as the watercolor dries. Lastly we add the sparklies as I described above!!

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	Main Page \| Mailing List \| Payment & Shipping \| Contact Watercolor ACEO Tutorial It's time for another tutorial! This is another one featuring art cards, but all in watercolor -- my techniques have changed a bit since my last art card tutorial. Sorry for the fuzzy quality on some of these, I was using my digital camera to save time! So I decided to try something a little different for me. I put in the shadows first with a Cobalt Blue/Sepia mix. Was trying to approximate Payne's Gray since I don't have any. Next we break out the Quinacridone Rose and get some rosy cheeks and other skin! I wanted the wings to look sort of pale and iridescent, so I slopped some Rose on them, too. On the orchid I dropped in a little yellow while it was still wet. Now for the Raw Sienna. I think this is the most useful color I have in my palette, it works great for skin tones and all manner of things. Again, slopped it kind of randomly on the wings. Notice I am doing the same thing with the hair (Rose and Raw Sienna) because I want it to really shimmer. More hair fun! I used Burnt Sienna on one fairy, which makes a rockin' auburn hair color, and Sepia/Cobalt Blue on the orchid fairy. Notice again I dropped in other colors while the main hair color was still wet, for that shimmery effect. Here I went in with more Raw Sienna on the skin, and darkened the facial features a bit with a teeny bit of Burnt Umber. I also mixed up some Burnt Umber/Sepia to darken the hair shadows on the auburn fairy, and straight Sepia to darken the shadows on the orchid fairy. More face work. Deepened the Rose on the cheeks and lips (and auburn girl got some Burnt Sienna on her mouth as well). Did the fire thorn berries with a Burnt Sienna/Cadmium Orange/Winsor Red mix, with a plain water blended highlight. More Rose and yellow on the orchid, and the same with the orchid fairy's shirt --- Quinacridone Rose with yellow and the fire thorn mix I just mentioned dropped in while wet. Okay, now I can show you the finished pieces! All done! I did more general darkening of shadows, and put several washes of various colors around the edges of the paper blended with clear water to the middle. With a glaze of Raw Sienna over the whole background. Ms. Orchid also got my little sparklies in her hair --- first I made a very fuzzy, diffused white circular area with a white colored pencil, then put a dot of pure white acrylic in the middle with a tiny brush. I put a bit of the white acrylic on her lips and eyes too, to make them sparkle. Here is Ms. Fire Thorn! Pyracantha technically, and I made her for the EBSQ Pyracantha art show. 'Fraid I did kind of a lot more to this without photographing it, but I'll do my best to describe. Her shirt I did with Hooker's Green and a little Cobalt Blue and Rose dropped in while wet. I used the green as dark as it could be, especially around the fire thorn plant. Her sleeves got a very pale wash of the same in the shadow areas, with some very pale Burnt Sienna as well. The leaves I did with varying mixes of Hooker's Green and Cadmium Yellow Light (which is like lemon yellow). The berries got a bit of Winsor Red to darken the undersides. Skin tone shadows got deepened with more Raw Sienna and Quin. Rose, background got a wash of Raw Sienna (which I also put in the wings to make them see-through), and the wings got a glaze of Quin. Rose over that. I decided to up the contrast around the wings so they would come out from the background more, so I put some Burnt Sienna around them, blended out with clear water. Some people have asked me how I get the smooth transitions in my watercolor, and that is how --- blend everything out with clear water at the edges, getting rid of the hard edges that otherwise form as the watercolor dries. Lastly we add the sparklies as I described above!!
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