It’s a Jungle Out There (Includes Watercolor Tutorial)

Hello, there, and welcome to a new week of stamping!  I need several cards for children so today I’ve used two stamps, quite old, from CTMH before they were even called CTMH.  They were D.O.T.S. then.  These stamps have never lost their appeal for me and so they remain in my collection.

I stamped the jungle foliage first, then masked the lower part of it and stamped the gorilla.  It’s watercolored with Tombow markers on 90 lb hot press watercolor paper.  After I finished this card I decided it was more fitting for a big kid, such as myself (ahem), so I made a second card and documented the watercolor steps.

What I like most about watercoloring with markers of any kind is the measure of control I have with them.  What I like most about Tombow Markers in particular is how the color stays true no matter how much you work them.  Green doesn’t become brown, black doesn’t become purple.  The shade will become lighter as you add more water, but the tone of the color remains intact.

I didn’t document the colors I used on the card above, but for the second card (scroll all the way down) I used these markers:

Start out with a little of the lighter green and pull it into the image with a wet brush:

It will look like this:

Add more:

Blend.  Note how the shading on the lower edge of the leaf is perhaps a little too defined:

This is when I like to color in a little more ink while the paper is still damp.  The blending is very smooth on wet paper.  Be gentle with your marker tip when doing this.  Don’t scrub back and forth.  A light scribble, a touch here and there.  When your marker tip gets wet, the color will give out, but the flow will return.  After you apply color with the marker, dab it with a wet brush to smooth the edge.  The color will blend and bleed immediately.  You want to smooth the edge, but not necessarily pull more color into your image, so use a clean wet brush to brush into, or toward the ink.  Remember, when you lift the brush it will have picked up some of the extra color, so swish the brush in your water again between each stroke.  Adding more ink:

Preliminary results (before finishing with the darkest shading):

Looks pretty good, but one thing that will really make your watercolored image come alive is the deep shading or contrast.  Add it wherever a shadow would naturally fall.  Add it to recessed areas.  The closer an object is to another, the more distinct the shadow will be.  Don’t be afraid to let that line be a little bit sharp.  In the following image, using the darker green marker, I drew a thin line along the foremost leaf edges and softened that shadow line only slightly by touching with a wet brush.  Compare the more deeply shaded results:

The gorilla (second card) is done in shades of gray, with black used only for the deepest shading.  Cute:

Cuter:

Cutest:

Here’s the finished card with the images cut out and arranged on DCWV Animal Crackers designer paper:

I popped up the leaves for dimension.  The sentiment (It’s a jungle out there) was cut from the paper.  Can you tell I had a ton of fun with these cards?  I hope the folks in the learning stages find this information helpful.  I’ll try to share more info in the future.  Got to run!  Have a wonderful day!

Comments

[Tammy Hair]

Beautiful cards Leslie. Thanks for the tutorial, I am intimidated by watercolors and your tutorial just might help.

[bonnie weiss]

That is really one of the cutest images and cards that I have seen in a while. That gorilla is just too funny! Your tutorial is well written and can be easily followed and your success with the watercolouring technique is amazing. Thanks for the post Leslie ... your creations usually make me smile but this one actually made me laugh ... I love it!

[Mary R.]

Wow, Leslie! Great tutorial. I am always afraid of watercoloring so I use reinkers and a blender pen. You may have encouraged me into trying this again! Thanks for the inspiration!

[Colleen Dietrich]

I always marvel at your coloring, Leslie. You do SUCH beautiful work!

[Jerri Kay]

Totally adorable Leslie, love both your cards!

[Beth Greco]

Fabulous easy to follow tutorial Leslie!! Both cards are so cute. One question for you. What type of water colour paper is your favourite?
Beth Greco (abgreco@globalserve.net)

[Cindy H.]

These cards are soooo cute!! tfs

[Michelle R]

Oh Leslie, you KNOW I love it when you watercolor! You do it so beautifully, and this tutorial is just perfect! I get a lot of questions from customers about what to do with Tombow Markers. I'm going to send them HERE! :)

[velta]

What fun Leslie...I can tell you had a good time coloring this funny, adorable image! TFS!!

[Doris]

Thanks for the tutorial. I'm so happy to see a technique using markers that I already have. Your card turned out great!

[Conniecrafter]

Both are terrific cards, do love the first one more, like you said good for an older person :) neat seeing how you came about your coloring!

[Amy Sheffer]

Oh my, Leslie! Phenomenal coloring, and I always love your how-to's -- so helpful! Gorgeous designs, too! The Origins paper and burlap ribbon are perfect on the first, and I adore the fun papers and cool sentiment on the second!

[bensarmom]

Leslie I've always envied you and your coloring. Thanks for the tutorial, I'll try it again. Your card is just darling.

[Lenoria]

Leslie, thank you for the laugh! The first card was so funny and I absolutely love it (I guess it's the kid in me). Also thank you for the tutorial on watercoloring. I haven't used my Tombows in a while and I definitely need a refresher course. I hope you have a wonderful day.

[Dawn Burnworth]

This is amazing Leslie... I haven't seen you watercolor in awhile...The contrast of color here is perfect. I don't have any Tombows but have been practicing with watercolor pencils.. great cards and a fabulous tutorial..

[Carol]

OMGOSH! Leslie, you have totally blown me away with both of these cards! Your coloring is out of this world fabulous!

[Stacy aka Twinshappy SCS]

Both of these are adorable Leslie. Love the images to boot. Your tutorial is awesome... as is your coloring always!

[nancy littrell]

Oh My Leslie...just too cute! Love your watercolor tutorial. You make it look so easy, but you know personally how I struggle with watercoloring, but always worth the effort. TFS

[Glenda]

Thanks so much for the tutorial. I definitely picked up a few tips! Love the cute card!

[Susan (rainy)]

SERIOUSLY fabulous coloring, Leslie. The shading and highlighting is absolute perfection.. true works of art.

[Elena]

Oh, your cards are so adorable! And your watercoloring is the best!!! Thank you so much for sharing wonderful tutorial, Leslie!

[Lynette]

These are both "WOW!" Thanks so much for the tutorial, too!

[yogi]

wonderful. Cute kids card. Nice tut too.

[ChristineCreations]

Seriously Leslie you are awesome! I love your coloring on both of these fun cards! Amazing!

[Denise (peanutbee)]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWZA!! Your coloring ROCKS and I love that wooden leaf on the first one. Great tutorial, too.

[Coach Drawstring Bags]

Thanks so very much for posting these, they are excellent! So bummed I missed what looks like a truly unique evening.

[Rose Ann]

Oh goodness, Leslie...they are both adorable!! Your coloring is fabulous in both!! Thank you for the step-by-step for the second card!! You make it look easy. ;)

[jean wilson]

Thank you so much for this tutorial! I am uneasy about coloring and this gave me encouragment to try! Thanks so much! I need to get your blog now too! :)

[Danielle]

I am not visiting often enough if I missed this one too! These cards are so cute! That gorilla is adorable and your coloring is amazing! I don't have Tombow markers and I use SU reinkers, but maybe I need them to get these kind of results. Play time!

[Cheryl Lea]

This card was so awesome in your 2011 review, I just had to look up the post, and what luck...a tutorial, too! I wish you were my neighbor so I could run over and watch you work. This is so amazing!