The Common Pencil

Now that the word is out, there is no turning back: I made a YouTube video, let’s talk about the process!

Isn’t everyone’s first video a little awkward? Well, mine definitely is. I am learning to draw and paint, to film and edit, and to speak words to a camera, all at once. I chose to keep the process of making this video as basic as possible:

✼ Paint something
✼ Say something
✼ Put it together as good as I currently can
✼ Be proud of the energy that went into the work

That being said, I could have explained a little more about the painting process. I would like to do that now. 😀

It all started with a little landscape sketch. In this sketch, you can see a path in the foreground, woods to the left, a river in the middle, mountains in the distance, and a dragon in the sky.

I allowed my thoughts to wonder about what might be living in these woods. What, or.. who? With that mind, I went sketching. In the video, you can see how I started with a pencil sketch, only to erase it a few seconds later. After some attempts, I abandoned the sketching-part and went straight in with paint. Was this wise? Yeah, as long as you don’t go for hyper-realism, this is perfectly doable.

With watercolor paint, you will want to work from light to dark. Watercolor paint is see-through, meaning that you’ll be able to see what lies underneath, even when you go over it with a darker color. Painting light on top of something dark is not going to work with this medium. This is why people often start with the background, and work towards the foreground, painting from light to dark.

The rest of the painting process consisted of layering, dabbing with a small piece of kitchen towel, adding trees, rocks, a little river, and of course, making our main character, Bert the tree! Lastly I added some details with an ink liner, a white gel pen, and a palette knife. Scroll down if you want to see the result!  

My way of painting is still very experimental: I look up information in art books or on the internet. Then, I try to apply the newly found information as good as I can, while frowning over how watercolor paint really has a mind of its own. If you know how to control watercolor paint, contact me okay? XD

Thank you for reading and have a lovely day!  

Curious about how I painted this little one? Have a look at my very first video!