June Whalesharks Paint Along
This month is World Ocean’s Month, so I chose one of my marine inspired patterns to paint. These whalesharks are one of the first patterns I created using Procreate and my Apple Pencil, so they’re pretty special to me. Videos of the paint along are available in my Instagram highlights.
Materials
For the whalesharks paint along you will need:
Print out of the design on watercolour paper (join my mailing list via the footer below to receive the design to print at home)
Pencil, ruler and scissors/craft knife/guillotine
Watercolours
1 fat and 2 thin paintbrushes (one of the thin ones is for the masking fluid)
Blotting paper
Water
Masking fluid
Eraser
White gel pen and/or white gouache paint
Watercolour paper
First I’d like to show you the paper that I used last month and the paper that I am using this month. For the May Butterflies I used 300gsm rough watercolour paper. For the June whalesharks I am using 300gsm cold press watercolour paper made of 50% cotton which has a much smoother surface.
When I printed off the design I accidentally skipped the borderless settings and it hasn’t printed centrally. Rather than wasting the paper, I am going to trim it using my guillotine. If you don’t have a guillotine, use a pencil and ruler to draw around the edge of the print and then cut it down to size, or use the pencil lines as a guide for where to paint up to.
Now you are ready to start!
Masking fluid
To keep the letters white, I am using a masking fluid. If you don’t have any, either be precise when painting around the letters, or paint them in a darker colour at the end. I do recommend using the masking fluid as it allows you to be more expressive with the background wash. Plus the wash will be quicker!
Using a fine paintbrush, paint with the fluid directly from the bottle onto the areas that you want to remain white. In this case it is the letters.
When you have finished painting with the masking fluid, be sure to rinse your brush immediately after so that the fluid doesn’t clog up the bristles. I suggest you don’t use your favourite brush in case it does get clogged up!
The masking fluid will dry with a sheen and will be slightly tacky to touch. It will also be a slightly different colour. When the time comes to take off the masking fluid it can be removed using an eraser.
The background wash
For the background wash I am using a size 8 round brush. I am using a mixture of 3 blues - Winsor and Newton French Ultramarine & Intense Blue and Art Philosophy Blue Fin.
Make sure the masking fluid is completely dry before you begin. If you’re not sure, wait til the next day to paint. You can paint directly over the masking fluid. Some paint will dry on top of the masking fluid but this is normal.
When you paint the background, mix up the shades and aim to paint a variety of those characteristic watercolour effects. Harsher lines are created when you paint a second layer on top of one that has already dried. The paint will fan out and bleed when dabs of a different colour or thicker paint are placed on wet areas. If the paint has dried in certain places and not others when you add a layer on top then you will get a combination of these effects.
Watercolours are perfect for watery scenes like this one!
When you add a lot of water to the paper, it will buckle. Don’t panic! If you are using high quality paper like the one I am using then it will become flat again as it dries. Mine almost curled in on itself! If you have left a white border around the egde, you can stick the paper down to the surface you are working on with washi/masking tape. Then when the paper buckles it won’t curl up so much.
Painting the whalesharks
For the whalesharks I have switched to a thinner paintbrush - I’m using a size 0 round brush.
Start by painting the top of the whaleshark. As you add more colour try mixing up the shades of blue as we did for the background. Once you have painted the top, add some water to the bottom and drag the paint down from the top to the belly and the fin. Then add more paint to the top and and let it bleed down. Add more paint to the front edge of the fin as well and leave the back of it paler. Add more paint until you are happy with the shading, bleeding and mottled effects.
Repeat for each whaleshark. It’s a lengthy process, but pop some relaxing music on or sit outside and listen to the birds and enjoy!
Removing the masking fluid
Once your painting is completely dry, it is time to remove the masking fluid. Using an eraser, lightly rub at masking fluid and it will come away from the page. You can peel it off with your fingers too. Be very gentle or you may tear the top layer of the paper.
Painting the rest of the whalesharks
Next we will paint where the whalesharks and the letters overlap. For this I have chosen a green colour from my Art Philoophy Currents set, called Carribbean Sea.
The little white spaces
The next thing to do is sort out the little white spaces. Not the ones that we deliberately left white with masking fluid, but where the masking fluid went a little over the edges of the letters and parts of the whalesharks and water that are meant to be blue, are white. This is so that the letters look smooth and have cleaner lines.
Paint a little blue into those spaces, dab the brush to dry it and then brush over the lines where the paint overlaps to even them out. You can even add extra paint on top and dab it over a larger area to create a more mottled effect and give more texture to the whalesharks.
A whalesharks fingerprint
The dotted white pattern on the back of a whaleshark is unique to each one of them - like our fingerprints. For these you can use either a white gel pen or a fine paintbrush and white gouache paint. Which ever you use, aim to be uneven so that they have those unique patterns.
Outlining the lettering
I decided that the letters fade into the background a little too much, so make them pop and easier to read, I am partially outlining them. Where the green parts of the letters and the blue whalesharks meet, outline them with either the white gel pen or the white gouache.
I hope you enjoyed June’s paint along. Take a look at my tutorials page for more opportunities to paint with me.
