How to draw the night sky in watercolor, gouache, pencil

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The starry sky is amazing - twinkling stars, the milky way shimmering in different colors, the bright moon. At first it seems that it is unrealistic to depict all these details on a landscape sheet, but it is not difficult. To draw the night sky step by step, like professionals, it is enough to be guided by simple lessons.

Watercolor art supplies

For drawing, choose a desktop and prepare the necessary inventory. List of art tools:

• 280 A4 or A5 paper;
• watercolor set;
• painting tape;
• synthetic tassels 4 and 8;
• white gouache;
• toothbrush;
• palette;
• pencil;
• picture to draw;
• eraser;
• water.

Under the landscape sheet enclose rough paper or other canvas, because in the process the paint will be impregnated and possibly printed on the table.

Preparing black and blue shades of the sky, purple colors (ultramarine andcarmine), bright green and blue color variants. Red shades can be added to this color scheme if desired.

Watercolor painting technique

Tools are laid out at arm's length. The paper is glued to the substrate with adhesive tape so that it does not curl or move during operation. How to draw a night sky in watercolor step by step:

1. With a pencil with gray graphite, light sketches of the future picture are made. Draw a horizon line, designate stars, moon and other objects.
2. In this case, the wet painting technique will be used. In this way, smooth aesthetic transitions are achieved. The album sheet is smeared with water with a wide brush to the drawn horizontal line.
3. A brush dipped in blue in the palette is drawn over the paper from top to bottom, while the substrate is held vertically. This will create beautiful overflows. In the middle of the album sheet, light tones predominate, and dark tones along the edges. The image is left to dry for a while.
4. Brush4 draw elements. Objects in the sky are worked out with dark colors in the middle of the sheet. In darkened areas, light dots are drawn with white gouache - these are stars. The Milky Way is created using purple, green and blue, which are applied in layers, preferably wet.



5. There are no specific rules here, you just need to work out the layers in the correct sequence. Under the horizon, dark colors depict grass, rocks andsimilar objects. If there is a moon in the picture, then white highlights and lines are applied to the contours of the earth's details.
6. Stars are not the same size. Large celestial bodies are marked with a brush, while small ones are worked out using a special technique. The toothbrush is dipped in white gouache and the drawing is gently sprayed - the main thing is not to overdo it.

The rest of the elements, like shooting stars, are drawn with a white pen or watercolors.

Materials and tools for painting with gouache

There are different quality brushes and paints. For training, it is better to purchase at a cheap or average price. To work, you will need the following:

• cans of gouache paint in shades of purple, emerald green, blue, white, red;
• sheet of paper, cardboard, plywood;
• brushes small, medium and large - ear hair, kolinsky or synthetic, soft and elastic;
• plastic tablet or plywood for landscape sheet;
• plastic palette with multiple recesses;
• cloth for cleaning brushes from paint and water;
• pencil;
• Eraser.

After work, the tools must be washed.

Guache painting

If paper is used, then high density, as it will be processed by water. You can’t rush, it’s better to carefully study the original picture and focus on accurate redrawing. How to draw the night sky with gouache according to detailed instructions:

1. Paperfixed to the tablet with adhesive tape. It is necessary to initially determine whether ground details will be displayed.
2. Pencil work on the details of the sky and earth. You can not direct the lines too much, because it will be difficult to erase them. Mark the boundary of the horizon.
3. Light shades of blue are stirred in the palette and applied to paper with pre-treated water to the horizon. Dark colors are applied around the perimeter of the sheet. The paint should look like streaks with smooth transitions. Light shades of emerald green and purple can be applied.
4. With a thin brush strokes indicate the stars of white and blue. The moon is drawn with white gouache and a bright glow is applied around it.
5. Details of the ground landscape are marked with dark blue colors. It can be a forest, mountains or a field. Highlights are drawn on these elements, since the Moon shines on these objects and you cannot make them dark.

The image is corrected at the end. Craters are being worked out on the heavenly night star and painted in a light blue tone.

Required inventory

Drawing a night landscape with a pencil is not as easy as watercolor and gouache. However, the advantage is the minimum set of accessories:

• HB, B3 and B7 pencils;
• dense landscape sheet;
• nag eraser;
• lint cloth for mashing details;
• original picture to draw.

Don't put too much pressure on the pencil while drawing. The image is drawn with hatching.

Creating the night with a pencil

In the process of drawing, a piece of paper is placed under the arm so as not to stain the image. How to draw the night sky with a pencil using a simple technique:

1. Use the HB pencil to draw the contours of the forest and celestial objects.
2. The space between the stars is shaded with a B3 pencil, then shaded with a special matter.
3. Graphite B7 outlines dark elements and also blends.
4. Small celestial details are drawn with a light pencil - the moon and stars.
5. The forest is being worked with dark graphite.
6. At the end, glare is applied with an eraser by lightly and partially erasing the contours of objects on the ground.

The more layers in the picture, the more realistic it will be.