Painting orange peonies and cherry blossoms in watercolour - Royal Talens

Painting an Emakimono

In this step-by-step plan, Merel shows you how she created this spread of different flowers in a sketchbook. As you can see, the drawing flows over into the next page. This style was inspired by Emakimono, traditional Japanese drawings created on horizontal scrolls. Let’s begin!

What you need View steps

What you need

Sakura sketchbook
Sakura Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box with 48 colours
Water colour brushes
Sakura Pigma Pen
Sakura mechanical pencil
Sakura Pen-Touch in gold and silver

Step 1

Loosely sketch your orange peonies on the left page. You may use a photo reference if you prefer. The sketch doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s about the suggestion of the shape of the flowers and individual leaves.

Step 2

Add some colour!

Use one of the orange shades of the Koi watercolours and lightly add this to the orange flowers in a wavy shape across the sketch. Don’t be afraid to paint outside of the lines! We want this painting to be flowy and organic.

Step 2 - Painting orange peonie and cherry blossoms in watercolour

Step 4 - Painting orange peonie and cherry blossoms in watercolour

Step 3-4

Use different colours to add dimension.

Add around three different shades of orange to yellow to your flowers. The tops of the flowers are lighter and brighter than the undersides, these should be deeper in colour. Paint in a playful way and have fun with it!

Use this same technique for the green leaves. Use different shades of green to add shading and lighter areas.

Step 5

Add your linework.

Once you are happy with the achieved colours and gradients, trace over your sketch lines using the Pigma Pen. This style is similar to traditional Japanese drawings, using hard contours and shadows. Let the drawing flow over a little bit onto the next page.

Step 5 - Painting orange peonie and cherry blossoms in watercolour

Step 6

Time for some shiny elements!

Embellish the edges using the gold Pen-Touch pen. This adds a royal touch to your work.

Step 7

Now add a sketch for the cherry blossom to the other page. Draw your sketch and make sure the lines are loosely drawn on the paper, not too hard and stiff.

Step 8

Add colour to the flowers. Select a light pink colour to fill in the flowers of the cherry blossom and use a darker shade in their cores while the paint is still wet to create a nice colour transition.

Step 9-10

Let's add some more detail.

Use some brown and green to colour in the branches and leaves. Try using different shades to create depth and shadow.

Use the Pigma Pen once more to line the contours of the flowers. Let the two drawings flow into each other, just like a Japanese Emakimono.

Step 10 - Painting orange peonie and cherry blossoms in watercolour

Step 11

Now add some shine to this part of the drawing. Pink and silver make a lovely combination. Use the Pen-Touch in silver to embellish the background behind the cherry blossoms.

Your flower watercolour painting

That completes your flower watercolour painting! We hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial. If you try something like this, please let us know by sharing it online using #RoyalTalens.

The flowers in this drawing depict the wonderful collaboration between these two companies: cherry blossom to represent Sakura and orange peonies for Royal Talens! Sakura is the Japanese word for cherry blossom, while orange is the national colour of the Netherlands and heavily incorporated into our brand as well. We can't think of a more fitting image!

Painting an Emakimono

What you need

Step 1

Step 2

Add some colour!

Step 3-4

Use different colours to add dimension.

Step 5

Add your linework.

Step 6

Time for some shiny elements!

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9-10

Let's add some more detail.

Step 11

Your flower watercolour painting

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Painting an Emakimono

What you need

Step 1

Step 2

Add some colour!

Step 3-4

Use different colours to add dimension.

Step 5

Add your linework.

Step 6

Time for some shiny elements!

Step 7

Step 8

Step 9-10

Let's add some more detail.

Step 11

Your flower watercolour painting

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