Watercolor Pheasant Tutorial - Loose watercolors with Realism

Hi everyone, it's Kylie from Painted Wing. In today's video, I'll be demonstrating how to paint a pheasant with watercolors. Here's a list of the materials I used. You don't need to use these exact colors though. Feel free to find similar colors or mix your own. And here's the reference image I used to create my painting. Once you get a sketch drawn, let's get started. I'll begin with the eyes. Using a small round brush and a medium yellow paint, paint the iris on dry paper. Leave the center of the eye white for now, where the pupil will be. While the eye dries, let's move to the beak. Apply a diluted layer of yellow ochre, then add a thin line of brown paint down the center. I'm using raw umber, but any brown will work. Add a little more brown around the upper edge of the beak and blend it into the yellow ochre. Then paint the lower beak with a lighter wash of yellow ochre. I add extra water to mine to keep the value light. Use a clean damp brush to soften and blend the colors together. The beak is fairly light, so try not to make the colors too dark. Next, let's paint the red patch on the pheasant's face. Using a bright red paint and a medium round brush, apply the color on the eye. Switch to a smaller brush when working around the tighter areas. While that dries, let's return to the beak. Make sure the first layer is completely dry before adding more paint. Using a saturated brown mixture, trace around the outer edges of the beak to create definition. Remember, less water will give you a darker, richer color. Add a little yellow ochre next to the brown and blend the colors together with a damp brush. Then darken the tip of the beak with more brown paint. Now let's move on to the head. Using a small round brush and either a saturated gray or black paint, begin outlining the head. Once the outline is complete, switch to a larger round brush to fill in the areas more quickly. Use a damp brush to spread the paint and create a smooth wash. Add more gray or black as needed to deepen the value. Next, we'll be adding a bright blue. I'm using Prussian blue for mine. You'll add this alongside the dark paint and gently blend the colors together. Then add a green paint. I'm using Cascade green and continue blending. Add a few more touches of black and blue throughout the wash to create variation and interest. I'm going to dry this layer slightly with a hairdryer. Once the surface is only lightly damp, dab in small amounts of clean water to create texture. After the head is dry, add another layer of black paint to the top of the head using a wet-on-dry technique. I also left some white over here. Now let's deepen the red facelift patch with a second layer of red paint. Concentrate the darkest reds around the eye. Along the white neck ring, add thin curved marks to suggest feathers. Next, return to the eye. Using a small brush with black or dark gray paint or a waterproof fine liner pen, outline the eye and paint the pupil. I'm using Micron pens because they're water resistant. Fill in the dark patch below the eye. Then use the same dark color to add a few more curved feather marks around the ring neck. Finish this area by adding small dark dots around the eye. Now let's move on to the body. We'll be painting this section loosely, so switch to a larger round brush. Begin by applying a small amount of water. Drop raw umber into the damp area, followed by a little gray to create darker values. Continue adding water throughout the body. I've tinted my water slightly with brown, so it's easier to see where I've applied it. Add yellow ochre throughout the body, then drop in more raw umber. Next, add burnt sienna to introduce those warm reddish-orange tones found in the pheasant's feathers. Do the legs at a line of Payne's gray, and scatter a few gray dots across the chest to suggest feathers. Add more gray or black beneath the neck to increase contrast and depth. At this stage, I'm moving around the painting fairly quickly to keep the wash wet. Feel free to slow down if you need more time. To make the body richer in color, add additional burnt sienna throughout the wash. Using a brush with a fine point and a very saturated paint mixture, pull out a few feather marks along the back of the pheasant. Notice how I drag the brush to create a loose feather texture. Add a few more feather strokes, then dab in dark gray or black paint for extra texture. While the wash is still damp, splatter or dab in a little clean water to create interesting water effects. These are called blooms. Add more gray to the selected areas to darken the body. Then introduce a little extra water to encourage blooms. Allow the paint to air dry or use a hairdryer. Once dry, use a fine brush and gray paint to suggest wing shapes with a few thin lines. I'm only adding a handful of marks to keep the painting loose and expressive. Now let's paint the tail. Start with a wash of yellow ochre and use long, quick brush strokes to create tail feathers. Add a very diluted brown wash. Next, add a line of dark gray and then drop in burnt sienna while the tail is still damp. I'm also adding a little more yellow ochre. While the tail remains wet, paint a few horizontal dark stripes. If you add this paint while it's too wet, they'll just dilute, so make sure it's just damp. Allow everything to dry completely. Once dry, add another layer of horizontal stripes using a wet-on-dry technique. These marks will appear sharper and more defined. Now let's add a few final details to the body. Paint several circular markings on the chest to suggest feather pattern. Next, paint the legs using the same colors we used throughout the body. I'm combining brown, burnt sienna, and a little yellow ochre. Before finishing the feet, let's add some abstract grass. Using sap green and a medium-sized brush, paint quick curved strokes along the bottom of the page. We want the pheasant to look as though it's peeking out of the grass. Add vertical grass blades of varying heights and thicknesses. While the wash is still wet, drop in additional green paint for some more texture. Once it's only lightly damp, add a little clean water to create blooms. Once the grass is dry, use a small round brush and dark gray paint to add the outline of a foot. This creates the impression that the pheasant is walking through the grass. Finish with a few extra blades of grass and the painting is complete. Thank you so much for watching! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have a wonderful rest of your day. Bye for now!