It is only natural to find inspiration in the world around us. Since the beginning of time, humans have explored the natural world, combining it with their imagination to create art. From the ancient cave paintings of Lascaux, to towering cathedrals carved with animal faces, or manuscripts overflowing with twisting vines, artists captured the majesty of nature for ages to come. Look to the gardens beneath your feet, the sparkling skies above you and the flowing waters of the oceans to inspire fantastical costumes.
Painting the natural world is vital to create convincing paintings of faery creatures. From depicting their forest surroundings to their clothing—the fae world is full of minute details that often go unseen, except for those small enough to spot them.
Flowers containing five petals similar to a star shape are common. This crab-apple blossom can be divided into equal parts. There are endless variations of shapes, colors and overlapping forms.
The iris petal has an elaborate shape reminiscent of ruffles, with a furry yellow mane. Paint the main color with light Ultramarine Violet, deepest in the center and fading to white at the edge, and Quinacridone Violet at the top. Paint the thin veins with Dioxazine Purple. Depict the mane by painting dashes of Cadmium Orange over Cadmium Yellow.
Leaves and petals aren’t identical and don’t keep their shapes forever. Vary the shape and angle to avoid repetition when depicting foliage. Older blooms and leaves will dry out from the edges inward, curling and changing in color. Including a little imperfection looks more natural.
Lay down a base of Sap Green mixed with Cadmium Yellow, leaving space for the center vein. Glaze Viridian over each side and blend toward the edges. Detail the sections between each leaf with short strokes of Hooker’s Green.
Working wet-in-wet, paint a layer of Cadmium Yellow over the whole leaf. Then drop in bits of Cadmium Orange and Red at the tips and Sap Green at the base. When dry, paint in the veins with Cadmium Red and darken the tips and sections between veins by glazing with a lighter layer of red.
Fairies live among plants, so it’s only natural to take their clothing cues from their surroundings. Think about the shape of plants you look at, and what they might become. Be creative with alternate uses a fairy might have for stems, petals and leaves. Don’t be afraid to go out and take photos and collect samples to examine. Taking apart a flower and looking at the individual parts can be inspiring.
A tulip or daffodil turned upside down easily becomes a flared skirt, while other petals can be layered. Smaller bell-shaped flowers can be used as sleeves. Look for striking patterns of veins and coloring or petals with ruffled or fringed edges for a more exotic look.
For costumes with a more subdued palette of greens and browns, look to trees for inspiration. Observe how leaves often curl when dried or dead. Leaves are sturdier than petals, so they can be wrapped, curled and fastened around arms and legs. Thick tree bark might be armor, but curling birch bark is more flexible. A forest fairy might wear a crown of leaves and berries or a bodice made from one large leaf. Colorful autumn leaves can be striking.
A small leaf wraps around to create a foot covering, and an inner columbine petal makes a cute and delicate curly-toed slipper.
Examine your chosen plant and brainstorm uses for each part. This fuchsia already resembles a tiny fairy figure. The shape of the red outer petals easily becomes a dress, while the inner petals become a ruffly layered skirt. Her wings follow the shape of the red petals.
Look past fallen leaves on the forest floor and you may find things you didn’t know there. Tiny mushrooms, lichen, soft moss, acorns, pinecones, fallen berries and seedpods can all become fairy clothing. Acorns make excellent hats, and pinecones might be taken apart and used as shoulderpads or kneepads.
Fairy wings are inspired by real insect wings, which are often transparent. Learning how to paint glass-like wings through which you can see the background will create depth in your painting.
Draw the wings and outline with black ink. Using a lighter touch, sketch the plant stem and fairy’s back and hair behind the wings.
Shade the base of the wings with very light Ultramarine Violet Deep. Blend toward the center with clear water. Make the darkest color at the base.
Line the outer edge of the wings using Ultramarine Violet Deep and blend toward the center with clean water. Keep the center of the wings the lightest.
To make the fairy’s wings appear transparent, paint the objects behind the fairy’s wings a lighter color. Using short strokes, apply color to the stem with Sap Green. Leave thin, white areas around the wing veins. Do the same with a mix of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna on the hair, making it lighter under the far wing. Use Cerulean Blue on her dress.
Using the same colors, add darker areas to the stem, hair and dress. Use short strokes to paint the darker spots on the stem between each wing section. Blend each spot with clear water toward the bottom. Do the same with the dress and areas between strands of hair.
With Ultramarine Violet Deep, shade the top of each section of the wings, blending the edges away. Be sure to leave a thin line along each vein unpainted. Use another layer over the darkest areas of the other colors.
Deepen the darkest areas of violet on the wings with Cerulean Blue and soften the edges with clean water.
A small fairy with a golden braid dances among the leaves of her favorite flower. The Creeping Bellflower, or Rampion Bellflower, is a common wildflower. Painting a simple background with two main colors will allow the fairy and her flower to be the stars.
Sketch the wildflowers and fairy in pencil. Use waterproof ink to outline the elements in the foreground. Mix Cobalt Violet and Cerulean Blue, then paint around the edges of the fairy and foreground flowers, and blend toward the paper edge. Leave the bottom section near the plants white. Wet the area around the figure and plants from top to bottom. Make a wash of light Cobalt Violet at the top and center. While still wet, drop in bits of darker Cobalt Violet and the mix of violet and blue at the top corners and sides. Sprinkle salt over the darkest areas while wet and let dry.
Paint a very diluted Sap Green around the central flowers and figure. Avoid the flowers, but paint lightly over the leaves and stem. Then paint a light wash of green on the bottom third of the background, blending upward.
Use Sap Green on the central stem. Mix with Cadmium Yellow for the leaves near the tip and over the background stems. Add more yellow on the smaller buds. Keep the background plants lighter than the central stem. Paint a mix of Sap Green and Viridian over the top side of the largest leaves and bottom half of the stem. Paint the underside of the leaves with the green and yellow mix.
Start with a wash of very light Ultramarine Violet on the blossoms, dress and shoes. Paint the darkest value at the tops of each bell (where the bell meets the stem). Blend the color out at the edges. Make a light wash of Ultramarine Violet over the dress and, while still wet, add more to the waistline and shoulders, blending downward. Paint the fairy’s wings with Phthalo Blue. Leave white around the outer edge. Glaze another layer near the base of the wings.
Shade the outside and inside of the bells and folds in her dress with Ultramarine Violet. Paint the dress so the folds resemble flower petals, placing the darkest value at the center of each section and blending out to the edges. Make the entire ribbon and her shoes darker. With Cerulean Blue, paint the sections between the veins on her wings. Darken with another layer of the same color by painting near the base and along the outer edges. Blend toward the center.
Glaze a layer of Quinacridone Violet between the veins at the outer half of the wings. Then outline the edges with Payne’s Gray, blending toward the center. Paint a very thin line of Lamp-Black around the edge and outline the outer edge of the veins.
Darken the folds on the fairy’s clothing and blossom shadows with a mix of Dioxazine Purple and Cobalt Blue. Begin adding very light shadows to the skin with a pale mix of Ultramarine Violet and Dioxazine Purple. Consider adding shadows beneath the skirt and sleeves, under the chin and hair, and along the left sides of the arms, legs and knees.
Paint the skin with a very diluted mix of Cadmium Yellow with a tiny bit of Quinacridone Red. Mix in more red and glaze lightly over the purple shadows previously added to the skirt and sleeves. Next, mix Burnt Sienna with a bit of Quinacridone Red. Use this to darken the deepest shadows. Add blush to the cheeks, knees, fingertips and nose with very light Quinacridone Red. Use light Yellow Ochre to paint a flat wash over the fairy’s hair.
Glaze a mix of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna over the hair between strands and sections of her braid.
Glaze the flowers and fairy’s dress: Paint over the lighter parts with diluted Quinacridone Violet. Glaze over the darker areas and folds (the parts that were previously painted with the darkest purple) with Cerulean Blue.
Add detailed strands of hair with Yellow Ochre mixed with Burnt Sienna. For the darker strands, use more Burnt Sienna mixed with Raw Umber (for best results, mix a bit more Burnt Sienna and a bit less Raw Umber).
Shade the central flower stem with a mix of Sap Green and Hooker’s Green. Paint the outer edges of the stalk, being careful to leave a sliver of lighter color in the center. Paint the top sides of the large leaves at the bottom while leaving the vein in the center. Shade the background stems and leaves with a lighter Sap Green. Add light shadows on the background blossoms and buds with Ultramarine Violet.
Paint faint background leaves and stems at the bottom of the image using Sap Green. Blend leaves toward the bottom. Darken the central stem and add details to leaves with Hooker’s Green. Mix Hooker’s Green with Dioxazine Purple for the darkest shadows on the leaves and stems. Add shadows under the fairy’s knees with pale Quinacridone Red and darken her shoes and ribbon with Payne’s Gray.
Trees always make good backdrops for fantasy paintings, whether it’s a dark forest or a single sapling in a dewy field. Twisting branches can become forest spirits and dryads.
Trees can convey a wide variety of atmospheres—a solemn and stout old oak evoking timeless stability, a gnarled and leafless trunk erupting from the ground like dark magic lightning, a jolly old uncle willow with a giant mop of leaves. There are endless options for finding the tone you want your background to set.
Though many trees grow straight like the first tree, it’s not a very interesting drawing. Draw asymmetrical forms for a more engaging composition or to draw the viewer’s eye.
Painting every leaf on a tree can be tedious, so make a few detailed leaves in the foreground. To give the impression of full foliage, hold a round brush sideways and make short downward strokes, varying the colors from light to dark.
Birch bark is smooth and papery with a horizontal pattern of short gray and black streaks. Darker black diamond-shaped areas appear where branches sprout. Use very pale Payne’s Gray to give the trunk form. Paint short light gray strokes across the tree. Use a dry brush to paint darker marks with Payne’s Gray or Lamp black. Where the bark peels away, paint the exposed layer with very light Burnt Sienna.
A pattern of separate scale-like sections is common on pines. Paint the base color with Burnt Sienna and drop in some spots of Payne’s Gray while it’s still wet. Outline a series of rough, elongated shapes vertically with Burnt Umber and Sepia. To give the bark a rough texture, drybrush more Burnt Sienna in a few patches.
A simple way to add depth to a forest scene is to paint shadow branches behind the main elements. Paint the silhouettes of branches or trees in the distance with a paler color than on the close trees. Paint wet-on-dry for sharp lines and wet-in-wet for a less-focused background.
Combining the individual techniques for painting trees and foliage will allow you to create an enchanting forest setting.
Sketch the trunk and fairy. Outline the foreground elements with ink while leaving the background tree in pencil. Paint Sap Green around the tree. Paint very pale Sap Green over the trunk, but avoid the fairy and the moth.
Paint a little bit of light Yellow Ochre around the fairy and the moth. Then mix Cobalt Blue with Sap Green to deepen the background color. Use a light hand on the tree in the distance to distinguish it from the background.
Paint the small areas between branches. Paint a light layer of Payne’s Gray over the rocks and ground.
Use Cobalt Blue to outline the background tree and darken the area around it. Use a very light mix of Cobalt Blue and Sap Green to begin painting bark texture on the primary tree. Darken the rock with more Payne’s Gray and drop in a few spots of clear water for texture.
Paint the central tree with Burnt Umber, and add more Yellow Ochre around the fairy and the moth. Paint the main leaves in Sap Green.
Paint the outline of distant foliage behind the base of the main tree with a mix of Cobalt Blue and Hooker’s Green. Blend the color so it fades toward the bottom. Paint thin shadow trees and branches with the same color.
Dot leaves around the top, using Hooker’s Green, to make a mass of foliage. While wet, drop in spots of Sap Green.
Create shadows on the main tree with darker Burnt Umber. Add deeper crevices in the bark by using Burnt Umber mixed with Cobalt Blue.
Add depth to the top foliage by dotting some darker spots with Hooker’s Green mixed with Cobalt Blue. With Sap Green add details to the front leaves and dot more around them.
Finish by adding shadows to the fairy and the moth with very light Burnt Sienna, and paint a few rough spots of Payne’s Gray over the large rock.
In Greek mythology, dryads are female tree spirits, who live in forests and are fond of oak trees. Hamadryads live in or are connected to a particular tree. They are quite shy and do not stray far from their trees. A wood nymph may take the appearance of a young maiden or share the form of her tree.
The straight-growing birch, colored in stark black and white, creates a striking contrast to the colorful leaves around it. As well as their distinctive look, birch trees have a long history of association with spring and new life, often used as the maypole on May Day. The Tree Spirit dons the same autumn colors with clothing that echoes that birch paper bark and seedpod shapes.
Paint very pale Yellow Ochre over most of the background, but leave some white space for distant tree trunks. Mix in a little Burnt Sienna and paint the top and bottom of the composition between the trees.
Wet the top between the trees and drop in a mix of Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna between the branches where you want leaves. Continue to leave some unpainted white space for distant tree trunks. Add a little Quinacridone Red to the mix in a few random spots.
Paint between the trees midway to the bottom with a lighter mix of Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre, and paint the overall shapes for the trees in the distance on the bottom left.
Paint the ground at the bottom right corner with a mix of Sap Green and Yellow Ochre. While wet, drop in Yellow Ochre at the top edge and Cerulean Blue and Dioxazine Purple at the bottom edge. To paint the small background trees, paint the areas between the trunks with another layer of Yellow Ochre. While still wet, drop the Sap Green and Yellow Ochre mix in the treetops for a mottled look. For variation, randomly add a little Hooker’s Green in the lighter green areas just painted.
Paint the foliage at the top with the Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna mix. Leave some spots open to indicate spaces between leaves. Use clean water to soften some of the edges. Working wet-in-wet, mix in a little Quinacridone Violet with the previous color for darker foliage. Paint with varying colors, using the darkest around the branches and leaves.
Add more light Yellow Ochre around the middle section of the background and between the trees.
Mix Sap Green with Cerulean Blue and paint the uneven texture on the ground by painting round rock shapes and then softening the edges with water. Then paint the same color on the background trees, making the most intense color in the center.
Bring the background colors in from around the trees to shade each trunk. Paint along the sides of the trunks, with darker shadows along the left side. Use Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna near the top and greens and blues toward the bottom. Paint along the length and leave a white space for backlighting along the right side. Use the same colors to shade the birch bark on her skirt and sleeves.
Add more foliage to the top by dabbing a few layers of various mixes of Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Violet and Cadmium Red. Then add more shadows to the background forest with Sap Green mixed with Cerulean Blue.
Glaze Payne’s Gray over the shadows on the tree trunks with short sideways strokes. Do a heavier coat at the bottom of each tree. Deepen the shadows with Cerulean Blue mixed with Dioxazine Purple. Add in Sap Green for the areas on your left.
Use Sap Green mixed with Cerulean Blue to deepen the color on the background foliage.
Paint shadows on her skin using light Dioxazine Purple. Mix in a little bit of Sap Green for the darker parts of the shadows.
Paint Yellow Ochre over her skirt, then mix in a little Sap Green at the top and Burnt Sienna near the bottom. Color her hair and bodice with Yellow Ochre.
(A bit about shadowing: shadows usually fall on the opposite edges of objects from the location of your light source. In this case the light is coming from the top right, so most shadows will be along the left edges of the figure and the tree trunks.)
Glaze a light mix of Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red over her skin. Paint diluted Yellow Ochre mixed with Burnt Sienna in the folds on the bottom half. Dab this color in spots over her bodice, then shade the top and the leaves on her belt and head with Yellow Ochre. Use the same color to darken her hair while leaving space for highlights. Mix in a little Quinacridone Red and paint around the bottom edge of the skirt. Blend toward the center with water.
Glaze light Cadmium Red over her skin, following the painted shadows. Use pale Quinacridone Red for the pinker areas like her cheeks.
Add darker values between locks of her hair with Burnt Sienna, and mix in Burnt Umber for the color at the ends and in the deepest shadows.
Paint a mix of Sap Green and Yellow Ochre at the top of her skirt. Use varying mixes of Burnt Sienna, Quinacridone Red and Quinacridone Violet to deepen the folds at the bottom. While the paint colors vary, since they are all being added to generally the same area, they will mix together.
Add shadows to the birch bark on her dress and sleeves with pale Sap Green and Yellow Ochre. Add a little Cerulean Blue for the upper sleeves and leaves on her belt. Then glaze Payne’s Gray over the birch bark pieces.
Shade the leaf shapes on her bodice with Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna. Outline the edges with Sap Green mixed with Cerulean Blue, then Burnt Sienna again.
Drybrush the bark texture on the tree trunks with Payne’s Gray. Follow the rounded contour of the trunk. Paint Burnt Sienna where the bark has peeled back. Paint Yellow Ochre over the close-up leaves in the treetops.
Drybrush darker Payne’s Gray over the bark on the trees and her dress. Then use White Gouache to add highlights to her eyes and sections of her bodice.
Water can take on nearly any shape and mood imaginable. It may be silent and calm, or gently ripple and roll. But it can also relentlessly crash or pound, an unstoppable force carving the landscape to its whim. Learning to paint water is instrumental for painting mermaids, undines and water fae, as well as a variety of background scenes.
Paint a flat wash of Phthalo Blue.
While the base color is still wet, paint a pattern of shadows with Cobalt Blue.
After the last layer has dried, darken some of the shadows with Cerulean Blue.
To create a wave, paint the base color in pale Phthalo Blue. Leave whitecaps at the peak.
Glaze another layer of Phthalo Blue, leaving a few more highlights.
Mix Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Blue to add more shadows.
Paint the base color with light Phthalo Blue. Leave the top of the wave white and paint around the jagged curled edge. Use masking on this part if you need to.
Use Cerulean Blue to add shadows to the wave along the top edge and bands curving inward. Blend the color toward the bottom. Darken the space between the tendrils on the wave tip.
Add more shadows within the darker bands with Cerulean Blue. Build up the darkest shadows with Cobalt Blue.
Mermaids adorn themselves with strands of pearls, shells and wave-worn sea glass. A world of iridescent colors and sparkling highlights can be found inside the chalky, durable exterior of a seashell. Create a single pearl, then use the same technique used for an individual pearl to paint a string of several.
A pearl can display the same rainbow colors of the shell it came from or be more subtle. The most-prized ocean pearls are round and white, although other colors exist. Freshwater pearls come in many irregular shapes. Use many glazes to create a spherical shape, but make sure some of each pure color and shape shows through.
Water drops are fun to paint and are always a part of a mermaid’s surroundings.
Water spirits have captivated the world for thousands of years. Stories of half-human, half-fish creatures who live underwater in oceans and streams abound in many cultures, with mermaids being the most well known.
Studying where the fins commonly attach on a fish can help you to decide where to place them on a mermaid. Even though a mermaid’s tail starts at the waist, you can add fins to the upper body to draw it all together.
While there are many variations, most fins and flippers follow a similar shape. What do you want to portray: sharp and spiky or soft and flowing? Traditionally, mermaid tails have been portrayed flipper-like to most resemble feet. Don’t hesitate to consult educational videos to see underwater creatures in motion.
Start with a line of scalloped shapes along the width of the tail. Draw the next line slightly offset from the first. Shade the center where the next row of scales overlaps. Be sure to draw rows of scales following the curve of the body rather than a straight line.
Paint Viridian over the tail, making it darker toward the edges. Paint pale Viridian over the tail fin.
Dot Cerulean Blue along the edges and over most of the right side.
Mix Viridian and Cerulean Blue and paint small rounded scales across the lighter part of the tail. Paint thin lines across the tail fin.
As the golden light of dawn touches the world, a siren plays a melody to the swirling gulls. Formed of water and mother of pearl, her dress flows like water back into the sea from where she has come.
Paint light Raw Sienna over much of the picture including the rocks. Switch to smaller brushes to paint around tighter edges. Paint this area from top to bottom, lighter to more concentrated. Fill in the siren’s hair with a light Raw Sienna as well.
When dry, paint a light Cerulean Blue over the top part of the image, leaving white space for clouds and avoiding the birds.
Paint more Cerulean Blue over the top, around the siren and inside the harp. Paint around the small corners and birds, then blend out the edges. Bring some of the blue sky down into the yellow. Darken some of the Raw Sienna around the bottom.
Glaze light Raw Sienna and light Quinacridone Red over the shell shapes on the right and the rocks near her feet, one at a time. When the rocks are dry, glaze Quinacridone Violet over some of the rocks near the center, leaving lighter color around the outer edges. Mix a diluted Cobalt Blue and Dioxazine Purple, and paint around the upper edge of the rocks under the siren’s skirt. Blend the color out toward the bottom.
Glaze a pale Cerulean Blue over the right side of the upper sky to make some of the clouds recede. Then do the same over the central area with pale Raw Sienna and Quinacridone Red toward the horizon. Darken some of the areas between the clouds with the same colors. Paint the distant islands with light Quinacridone Violet. Paint the water with light Cerulean Blue along the bottom edge of the rocks, leaving some white space between. Paint faint rocks showing through the water with Quinacridone Violet.
Begin shading stone with varying mixes of Cobalt Blue and Dioxazine Purple, adding in Payne’s Gray for darker areas. Paint Quinacridone Violet plus a little Cobalt Blue along the pinker edges of the outcrop. Glaze some Raw Sienna over the shell on its right-side edges and the left edges of the rocks. Shade the center of the right-side shell with light Quinacridone Violet, and then darken the distant islands.
Deepen the color of the water with Cerulean Blue.
Indicate the shadows on the siren’s skin with Dioxazine Purple, adding a little Cobalt Blue for deeper shadows. Begin painting her skirt with very light Phthalo Blue, leaving white highlights to resemble flowing water. Fill in her hair with Raw Sienna around the edges and add Burnt Sienna in the center while wet.
Glaze her skin with Raw Sienna, painting darker over the purple shadows. Paint her hair with a layer of Burnt Sienna. Continue building up the skirt color with Phthalo Blue. Paint a touch of it on the top of her bodice.
Make a pale mix of Cadmium Yellow and a touch of Quinacridone Red, then begin shading her bodice and the pearly shells in her hair and on the harp. Paint very lightly and leave plenty of white highlights. Paint the gold trim and harp with Raw Sienna again, leaving plenty of white spots.
Glaze the siren’s skin with Brown Madder. Then glaze Quinacridone Red over some areas like elbows, wrists, shoulders and cheeks. Outline her eyes with extra Brown Madder, then paint them with Raw Umber and Payne’s Gray. Deepen her hair color with Burnt Sienna.
Glaze the pearly areas on her bodice and shells with pale Quinacridone Red, but allow some of the previous yellow to show. Paint the center stone in her necklace with light Cobalt Blue. Darken parts of the gold trim and harp with more Raw Sienna.
Mix Phthalo Blue plus Cobalt Blue to glaze the top of her skirt, then darken the wrinkles and the water flowing down the rocks. Glaze a touch of the blue mix over the center top of her bodice.
Continue to build the colors on the pearly areas with Phthalo Blue. Make sure some of the previous colors show through. Darken the center pendant with Cobalt Blue.
Create some deeper shadows on the harp and gold trim with Burnt Sienna plus Raw Sienna. Then glaze light Cadmium Yellow over the lighter spots. Pick out some deeper shadows between strands in her hair with Burnt Sienna plus Sepia.
Deepen some of the folds in her skirt with Cobalt Blue and Dioxazine Purple.
Alternately glaze Quinacridone Red and a mix of Quinacridone Red and Phthalo Blue over the pearly parts of her bodice, harp and hair. When dry, glaze some very pale Cadmium Yellow and Viridian separately over some of the lighter spots. Outline the pattern on the top of her bodice with Cobalt Blue. Finally, glaze a little Dioxazine Purple over some of the darker shadows on the harp.
Shade the birds by bringing in some of the background colors like Raw Sienna and Cerulean Blue. Paint the tips of their wings with Cerulean Blue.
Shade the central parts of the rocky outcrop with Payne’s Gray plus a little Dioxazine Purple and Cobalt Blue. Shade the outer edges and rocks showing through the water with Quinacridone Violet plus Cobalt Blue. Then glaze Quinacridone Violet over the right edge of the rocks.
Add another layer of shading to the stone with mixes of Payne’s Gray, Cobalt Blue and Dioxazine Purple, then add small cracks. Add deeper shadows to some of the stone that’s underwater, then the lower edges and trailing bits of her skirt where it overlaps. Darken the ocean water at the bottom with light Cerulean Blue.
Paint the birds’ wing tips with Payne’s Gray, painting lighter toward the center. Shade the bodies with pale Payne’s Gray.
Add more shadows on her skin with Brown Madder.
Use White Gouache to add small highlights to the pearls and pearlescent areas of her dress, jewelry and harp. Add a few lighter feathers on the wings with White Gouache. Paint a few more lines and highlights on the lighter parts of her skirt to create a watery pattern. Paint some small drops to the right of her feet. Then add the white pattern on the surface of the water below.
Finally, spatter some white mist over the background by tapping the brush handle, but avoid spattering the figure.
When the moon is full and wispy clouds hover nearby, the edges catch the moonlight and create a dramatic, bright outline.
Lightly sketch a circle for the moon. Mix Cerulean Blue and a little Dioxazine Purple, then lay down the background color, beginning with the outline of the moon. Drop in more color while still wet to create the cloud texture.
Use Cerulean Blue plus a little Dioxazine Purple to paint the edges of the cloud forms. Immediately blend inward while still wet and leave a lighter circle around the moon.
Wet the clouds and drop in a mix of Cerulean Blue and Payne’s Gray to darken parts of the background. Add a tiny bit of Dioxazine Purple in the areas where the clouds meet the background.
Paint between the clouds with a Cerulean Blue plus Payne’s Gray. Darken along the edges, then soften with clean water.
Add shadows in the clouds, then blend the edges to make sure they are soft. Leave wispy light areas. Darken the edges of the sky with Payne’s Gray and some Cerulean Blue. Blend the edges.
Using White Gouache, add highlights along the edges of the clouds closest to the moon. Use the white to paint inside the edges of the moon.
Sparkling stars are what makes the night sky so magical. There is more than one good way to paint stars, so you can pick the technique you like best. Stars come in a variety of colors and brightnesses and can flow together as galaxies or the arc of the Milky Way.
To create a glow around stars, you can paint successively darker glazes around a white shape, leaving the lighter areas closest to the star. Or lift up darker paint around your star with a wet brush.
Your light source is important, especially for night scenes with glowing lights. Notice how the sphere directly in front of the light is mostly in shadow. Photographers refer to the hour before sunset as magic hour, where edge lighting and rich, warm color variances help bring many ordinary subjects to life. Light also bounces off objects when they are lit, making them into mild, colored light sources for things nearby. All of these effects can be used to add warmth and detail to your subjects.
The warm lighting just before sunset, when the sun is low in the sky, lights up the edges of the subject with a golden glow.
A celestial maiden dances through the night sky, bearing a starlight lamp. Her clothing is inspired by belly-dance costumes, while star and moon shapes adorn her hair and bodice. The sections of her belt show the phases of the moon.
The limited color palette of blues and violets makes a tranquil scene and allows the golden light to stand out in the composition.
Paint around the figure with light Dioxazine Purple. Create cloud shapes by painting the edge of the cloud and softening the edge with water. Keep the area you are painting wet to allow the paint to flow randomly and form the misty cloud effect. Darken the areas between the clouds. Using Cadmium Yellow, paint a light circle around the lamp and then blend the edges out.
Paint very pale Cadmium Yellow around the lamp to indicate reflected light on her veil. Paint Cerulean Blue over her veil, but leave a glow around the lamp. Blend the edges closest to the lamplight.
Painting wet-in-wet, add a light Cerulean Blue over the background, using the deepest color in the shadows. Mix Payne’s Gray and Cobalt Blue, then darken the shadows between the clouds.
Paint Cerulean Blue over most of the background wet-in-wet, allowing paint to flow organically. Deepen the shadows in the clouds. Deepen the Cerulean Blue on the cloak. Paint very pale Cerulean Blue over her skirt and light Dioxazine Purple on her top.
Paint shadows on the figure’s skin using Dioxazine Purple and Cobalt Blue. Use deeper color away from the lamplight. Leave a sliver of space on her far side to indicate backlighting.
Add shadows to her skirt using light Dioxazine Purple. Use a second layer for shadows on the deepest folds.
Glaze a very pale mix of Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red over all of her skin. Use less water to deepen the color in the shadows and allow to dry. Paint over the darkest shadows with a very light Cadmium Red. Paint the base layer of her hair with a mix of Cobalt Blue and Payne’s Gray.
When mixing the colors for the sky, you will end up with a lot of variations of the mixes in your palette. Use these wherever you feel they fit or for shadows. Don’t worry about the exact colors as much as the values.
Glaze a light layer of Cerulean Blue over the skirt, darkest away from the light, then deepen the shadows in the folds.
Glaze a mix of Cobalt Blue and Dioxazine Purple over the bottom and top of the cloak, leaving it lighter in the center around the lamp.
Using the same color, pick out irregular shapes in the clouds and darken the areas between. Then glaze another layer of Cobalt Blue and Payne’s Gray over her hair.
Darken the shadows on her skirt with Payne’s Gray and Cobalt Blue. Glaze over the top and bottom ends with the same color and add a little Dioxazine Purple in some spots. Then deepen the shadows in the folds.
If you want a dark background but have a hard time placing the final layers of paint, try using a dry-brush technique to slowly build up the darkest values without disturbing the existing color.
Darken the deepest folds in the bottom of the cloak with a Lamp Black glaze.
Use a light mix of Cerulean Blue and Payne’s Gray to indicate the shadows on the silver jewelry and belt. Dab small spots in the round sections of the belt to mimic the texture of the moon, and then paint Payne’s Gray on each to represent the night sky. Paint the lamp with Payne’s Gray as well, using a deeper color at the top and bottom.
Add balance to the composition by darkening the sky in the top right corner. Glaze Cerulean Blue, then a mix of Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue and Payne’s Gray over the darkest areas.
This step could have been done earlier, but sometimes a painting doesn’t come together in the correct order.
Spatter White Gouache around the lamp, the bottom of the cloak and over the sky at the top of the painting. Use a no. 0 or smaller brush to dot white stars in her hair and in the darkest folds of the cloak. Add more around the lamp and as a highlight on the jewelry and belt.