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How to paint a Bee
in Watercolour

A lively bee painting using soft washes, layered colour and an expressive cocktail stick!. Perfect for practising texture, colour blending and creating fluffy detail 

Bumble Bee watercolour flatlay LR.jpeg.jpg

Materials

  • Watercolour paper, 300lb, Not pressed / Cold Pressed.  

  • Brushes: medium and small detail round brush brush

  • Cocktail Stick x 2

  • Kitchen towel

  • Water pot
     

Colours
  • Cad Yellow (mid yellow)

  • Orange (optional)

  • Burnt Sienna

  • Raw Umber (or burnt umber)

  • Ultra Marine blue

  • Crimson
     

Tip: Raw Umber + Ultra Marine Blue = almost black

Burnt Sienna + Ultra Marine Blue + water = grey

Ultra Marine Blue + crimson + yellow = desaturated purple

Adding a colour's compliment desaturates a colour (tones down the intensity of a colour).  E.g. adding a tiny amount of yellow to purple

Have your colour mixes ready and swatch them out

 

 

 

Bumblebee sketch_LR.jpg

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Step 1 – Draw/Trace and Eyes
 

Draw or trace your bee very lightly on the paper.  Minimal detail - just outlines

 

​Mix up a grey light grey and lightly fill in the eyes, leaving a white highlight
 

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Step 2 – Yellow and grey body bits
 
  • Reserving some white paper centrally (for highlights), wet the first yellow section lightly with clean water

  • Drop in warm yellows and allow them to spread naturally

  • Add burnt sienna at the top and bottom edges

  • Use a cocktail stick to lightly flick out some fine hairs all around the yellow section

  • Repeat for the remaining yellow section and the grey part at the bottom

  • Let this area dry before tackling the dark segments with the same method.  Remember to leave a little white gap (1mm) between yellow and black for now.  
     

Step 3 – Wings

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  • Keep the wings light and transparent

  • ​Add a little creamy burnt sienna where the wings join the body.  Use a clean brush  to lay down water ahead of this paint.  Push the water back into the burnt sienna to encourage it to gently bleed outward

  • Use a very diluted warm grey or yellow wash to fill in the top wings - leave some clear areas as wings are translucent

  • Add a few delicate vein lines using the cocktail stick or any handy pointy thing

    DRY

  • Repeat for the bottom wings but alter the colour slightly so it leans in a purple direction

    DRY

  • Once bottom wings are dry, add a cast shadow beneath the top wing, if needed
     

Step 4 – Legs & Antennae​
 
  • Use quick, confident, thin to thick brush marks for the leg segments

  • I like to pick up a light grey on my brush then dip the end in raw sienna.  This give me some interesting colour mixes on the legs

  • Keep legs slightly broken and expressive rather than heavily detailed.  I find the hairy ones a bit scary ha ha - but if you want to keep it authentic, flick out some hairs with the cocktail stick

  • Drop some additional colour in here and there if you need, but remember to keep some light areas too

  • Add the antennae with the tip of a fine brush

     

 
Step 5 - Details
 
  • Deepen the darkest areas around the body with creamier paint.  Remember to blend this out slightly by pushing water into the edges

  • Add a few splatters for energy and movement.  I used Schminke Aqua Bronze powder but you can also use white gouache mixed with yellow, watercolour pencil and sandpaper for pollen..

  • Optional: use tiny touches of white gouache for highlights if you lost yours and a fine liner for quick sketchy marks if needed

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Watercolour Tips

✔ Work from light to dark
✔ Let colours mingle naturally on the paper
✔ Keep some light areas
✔ Keep the wings soft, translucent and delicate
✔ Don’t overwork — freshness creates life and movement

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​I would love to see how you do,  tag me on instagram or facebook @kerryslackart

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