As the leaves change and the air turns crisp, autumn paints the world in cozy hues. It's the season for snuggling into warm sweaters, discovering the charm of pumpkins and mushrooms, and finding inspiration in the art of nature's transformation. In this blog, by Paper Den, we will step-by-step explain how to create an autumn inspired Gouache artwork!
This illustration will be made on an A5 piece of paper.
Step 1
Start by making your lead pencil under drawing. Make a selection of the line drawings from the PDF and draw each element on your paper with a lead pencil.
If you are not confident drawing freehand you can use tracing paper. Lay the tracing paper over the PDF print and trace over each of the drawings you want to use with a hard lead pencil. Turn the tracing paper over and using a soft lead pencil lightly shade over the back of the drawings you just made. Turn the tracing paper over again and using a hard lead pencil draw over the lines once again, pressing hard enough to transfer the line drawings on to the paper. By moving the tracing paper around you can decide where you want to place each element of your illustration.
If the pencils lines are too dark, you may want to softly erase them so that they are almost invisible.
Now the fun starts!
Step 2
In step one, you have essentially made yourself a colouring page. So now the fun starts! Put out a few dots of gouache on your mixing palette that you want to use. Paint each element of your illustration with a layer of gouache. You may have to mix some colours to get the autumn/winter colours you want. Try repeating colours in different parts of the illustration so that it becomes more of a whole. Wait until the paint is completely dry before going on the next step.
Finishing details
Step 3
Finish your illustration by adding details with coloured pencils. You can use shading and small lines or stripes. The flower and leave stems are just simple lines for example. A white pencil works well when making texture on a knitted sweater.
