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Festive Robins

How to Paint a Watercolour Robin (Beginner Friendly)
 

A gentle, splashy project using wet-in-wet colour and simple fine-line details.

What you'll need

  • Watercolour paper (140lb/300gsm is perfect).  We used 100% cotton paper in class

  • Watercolours: burnt umber, cadmium red, orange, paynes grey , pink (optional) & white gouache

  • Two brushes: a medium round brush and a small detail brush

  • Clean water + paper towel

  • Cocktail stick

  • Fine liner (or black pen) and a graphite pencil

  • Optional: scrap paper for testing colours

Prepare your colours

​
 

  • Add a pea sized amount of each colour to your palette

  • Use water to make a small side puddle of each colour.  All colours should be of a 'single cream' consistency, apart from the paynes grey , which needs to be watery.  Leave the white for now.​

    Have a look at the example below.  Note where the colours are.   There is less paint around the eye and its white turning to very light grey under the wing.  

    The eye, beak and legs will be done with pen or fine liner. The cocktail stick will add definition to the wing feathers.

​

These instructions look long. Once you've done 2 or 3, you'll whizz through these robins.

1 - Lightly Sketch the Robin

​​Keep it soft and simple:
 

  • Draw a round body — almost like a little berry.

  • Add a tiny head that curves neatly into the body.

  • Sketch in the beak, a small circle for the eye, and two spindly legs.
    Don't worry about perfection — this robin thrives on looseness
     

Or.... trace this

Simple robin for tracing.jpg

2. Wet the body shape

​​Keep it soft and simple:
 

Using your medium brush:
 

  • Fill the whole body and head shape with clean water.  Leave a little unwatered space around the eye (1-2mm), as the area around the eye will be light.

    You want an even shine, not puddles. This prepares the paper for that  soft-blended colour.  

    NB:  If you have too much water, spread it around, if there is still too much, use a clean thirsty brush to take some of it up.

3. Drop in the chest colour (wet-in-wet)

​​Keep it soft and simple:
 

While the paper is still glistening:
 

  • Load up a brush with cad red.  The paint should be of a 'single cream' consistency. Paint it along the left hand side of the body, in one continuous stroke.
     

  • Encourage the colour to bloom to the right — you can tilt the paper or gently tease the edges with your brush.
     

  • Add a hint of orange halfway between the start and the demarcation dots.  This adds warmth and variation.  
     

Let the pigments mingle on their own. This is where the magic happens. 

Remember we want to leave some white area on the right hand side.  If your paint strays into this area, push it back using a clean thirsty brush.  Or if things have really gone a bit wild, use a tissue

Step 1.jpg

4. Add the brown for the head and wings (still wet-in-wet)

  • Pick up a creamy brown and gently add it to the top of the head and along the back to create a wing shape.

  • Encourage it to cover the wing area.  You may need to add more brown if it looks too light.  

  • Use your cocktail stick to add some curved lines to indicate feathers

  • The colour will naturally feather into the red/orange, creating that soft, fluffy transition you can see in your reference.

    If things get too enthusiastic, dab with clean paper towel to soften.

  • Add a tiny amount of watery grey along the bottom of the robin, to define that edge,  you don't need much

5. Strengthen shadows while damp

  • When the shine starts to fade (damp stage rather than soaking wet):

  • Add another layer of slightly stronger brown on the wing area to hint at feather form.

  • Drop a tiny pop of deeper pink/red where the chest curves under.

  • This gives the robin some shape without sharp edges.

6. Let everything dry completely

  • Really truly dry — make a cup of tea dry or dry with a hairdryer
    .
    This ensures your details stay crisp rather than fuzzy.

7. Add fine details (dry on dry)

Eyes

  • Use your pencil to outline the little eye.

  • Fill most of it in, leaving a tiny white highlight for sparkle.

  • With a black pen or fine liner, fill in the eye, but just inside the graphite area and leave the white highlight as it is.

  • ​

Beak

  • Use a pencil to fill in the beak area

  • The beak is a soft grey/black rather than solid black.  Use the fine liner to darken that area, but don't make it 100% black .  A few clean strokes with fine liner will do.

  • Keep the beak tiny and neat, angled slightly downward.
     

Wings & head detail
 

  • Use a small brush with a touch of darker brown to add a couple of feather lines on the wing, but keep them minimal so the watery softness still shines through.
     

Legs

  • Draw two  legs in pen

  • Robins have huge feet!  I just do a small squiggle for them.  I like to make them delicate — like they’re just about holding up that plump little body.

8. Robin needs something to stand on

​
 

  • Use a dry brush technique to add some textured ground.  Maybe add a few splashes on the ground so he has something to eat.

  • Perhaps it's a snowy day - white splashes

  • Step back and admire your feathery friend!

  • Tag me on instagram or facebook,  I'd love to see your creations - @kerryslackart

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