Hello to all. I am going to share a fun and easy tutorial on how to color with the new Spectrum Aqua water-based markers. There are various ways to apply watercolor to an image.
For this sweet Bebunni ‘Birthday Gerbera’ image I have mostly used the ‘Wet-in-Wet Technique’. Water is applied to the image and then a layer of color is added using a damp paintbrush.
Stamp your image onto the watercolor card of your choice.
For this tutorial I have used Versafine Ink, which gives a fine, sharp outline, Crafter’s Companion Watercolor Card (available in the UK) and the sweet Bebunni Birthday Gerbera stamp.
Paint a light coat of water over your Bebunni fur. Do not over wet your image at this point.
Apply some watercolor ink from your Spectrum Aqua marker (Slate) onto a stamp block or a paint palette and add extra water with your paintbrush to spread out and thin the color.
The color pigment in the Spectrum Aqua markers is quite intense and will dilute well, as shown in the picture.
For this image I have used a small paintbrush with a fine point.
Pick up your color (Slate) with your paintbrush and apply the first layer of paint to your image.
Use a small amount of extra water to blend out any lines and produce a smooth flow of color. This is called the ‘Edge Softing Technique’.
The Slate color is used to create areas of shade on the image.
Apply Spectrum Aqua marker (Slate) to your stamping block or paint palette from you pen.
Do not dilute this. Instead, pick up with your paintbrush and add further shading to image where required. This layer creates contrast and definition, areas of light and shade.
Wet your paintbrush and lightly blend color layers so that no harsh lines are visible. If your image becomes too wet, you can lightly dab with a piece of kitchen/paper towel.
Be aware, that if your image is wet, the kitchen/paper towel will also blend out some of your color layer. Allow your Bebunni fur to dry.
Using your Spectrum Aqua (Peach) marker apply color to the block , blend lightly with your paintbrush and water.
Apply paint with your paintbrush to the ear area as show and the cheek of the image.
Use your paintbrush, dipped lightly in water, to paint out any harsh lines.
Apply (Peach) to nose of Bebunni directly from your Spectrum Aqua marker.
Apply (Yellow) to your block or palette directly from your Spectrum Aqua marker, dilute with your paintbrush which has been lightly dipped in water and apply directly to the center of the flower image to create an area of deep color.
This is called ‘Dry Brush Technique’.
Add (Gold) to the center of the flower for detail and a small layer of (Fawn) for definition. Apply the (Fawn) directly from the marker.
Allow your flower center to dry.
Add a light layer of water to the petals of your flower, using your paintbrush. Apply (Peach) Spectrum Aqua marker to your stamping block or paint palette and spread out pigment with a small amount of water from your paintbrush.
Paint flower petals.
Add further layers of (Blossom) and (Rose Pink) Spectrum Aqua markers, using the same technique, to create color definition in the petals as shown.
Color the stem of your image and grass area using the same technique. The Spectrum Aqua markers used are (Lime) and (Bud Green).
Use your stamp block or paint palette to blend a small amount of (Bud Green) and a very slight touch of (Scarlet), to darken the grass area.
Mix with your paintbrush, which has been lightly dipped in water and apply to the image.
Use the (Evergreen) Spectrum Aqua marker to apply fine grass detail using the fine nib of the marker. Allow grass area to dry.
Create your sky by applying a light wash of water to your image. Using (Teal) Spectrum Aqua marker apply paint to stamp block, pick up with your damp paintbrush and color sky.
Use clean kitchen/paper towel roll to remove areas of color and create the cloud effect.
This is the ‘Color Lift’ technique.
This is the finished painting mounted onto a front stepper card. I had lots of fun creating this tutorial. These techniques are new to me and I am so enjoying learning watercoloring techniques with you.
I hope you like my creation and found this tutorial useful.
Tutorial credit: Laine Webb
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