Pink Watercolor Butterfly

Want to paint a dreamy pink butterfly with watercolors? Then this tutorial is for you. We'll start with a quick sketch on our watercolor paper and then paint it with pretty hues of pink and purple watercolors.

Sketch

Use a photo as a reference for your butterfly or draw from memory. Sketch it lightly on watercolor paper directly or transfer it by using a lightbox.

Start with a light layer

Mix pink watercolor with a touch of brown or a bit of purple. For the first layer you will want to add a lot of water so you can paint a light layer onto the sketch.

Add shading

While the first layer is still wet you can add shading by painting a darker layer onto the outer edge of the wings. Repeat these steps on the bottom wings as well.

Add details

Once your first layer is completely dry you can add details by painting a pattern the wings. Use a small brush with a light pink and make really thin strokes.

Finish the painting

Finish your painting by filling in the body of the butterfly and the antennae.

Splash paint

As a final step you can add a splash of paint to give it a nice effect and make it unique. You can also paint these with a small brush if you are not comfortable splashing paint on your butterfly.

Materials

Hahnemuhle watercolor paper

Da Vinci paint brushes no. 1 & 4

2H pencil

Kohinoor Kneaded Eraser

Alizarin Crimson 004

Burnt Umber 076

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Watch the step-by-step video tutorial

Join the Bloom Creatives membership to watch the step-by-step video tutorial. We have a library full of online art classes that will teach you how to draw and paint Botanics with watercolor.

 


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The Bloom Creatives is a membership for artists who want to learn the basics of watercolors & drawing in our easy to follow art classes.

New art classes each month

New content is added each month so you'll always have something new to create. Each month we add new art classes for drawing and painting and a monthly art challenge.
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