Painting a portrait in watercolor is one of the most interesting subjects for artistic creation. But it is never a simple process and it can take a lot of time to practice and perfect your skills. This tutorial will show you one of the ways to paint portraits in watercolor.
Watercolor portrait painting may not be an easy job. but there are the following steps to help you on your way. In this tutorial, I share the process of painting a portrait of an old man from using layering techniques from the whole to the details of the painting.
Suggested content
Watercolor portrait tutorial: How to Paint an Old Man Portrait
Because, if you don’t understand the structure of the element you want to paint.
Photo Reference
You are not a slave to the reference photo, so you don’t need to copy it exactly. Make artistic decisions throughout the painting process.
Painting a portrait in Watercolor Paints
Make a Line Drawing
If you wonder what kind of watercolor paper I use, my answer is Arches rough 300gsm. To me, its performance is superior to watercolor portrait painting that I have not found in other brands. Maybe its price is quite expensive,
but it’s totally worth it.
- Prized Paper - The long fibers in Arches natural white 100% cotton watercolor paper...
- Superior Strength - A cylinder mold process distributes cotton fibers evenly to provide...
The sketch is the foundation of the work, it helps us to define the outer perimeter and the details we want to build inside. I use a 2B pencil to sketch on Arches Watercolor paper . Before applying the first layer of color, we have to make sure the drawing is clean.
Applying the first layer
By using a flat brush soaked in water, I moisten the entire area to be painted before applying the first layer of color. Specifically here is entire the face of the character. Next, apply a light wash of  Permanent Yellow Light into this area, don’t worry when the pigments go outside the pencil sketch contours.
Because I want to get loose, I add the facial middle tone while the paper is wet to suggest the core shadow. By using several colors: Red orange, Lilac, and Lavender. I drop these colors on wet paper and blend them together with a brush. Note, move the brush according to the structure of muscles and bones.
Applying the second layer
Waiting for the paper to dry, I wet the paper again and start applying the second layer. Reusing the colors in the step above, I continue to deepen the values of the color. Besides, suggest the first few slight details of the eyes, nose, and mouth and wrinkles.
Why do I have to wait for the paper to dry? because I don’t want the second layer to wash out the first one, it’s already shaped. In addition, these 2 layers of color are mixed together to create a dull color mixture. Mixing too many colors in one application will make their mixture less pure.
Paint the Hat
Moving to the top, I work with the old cloth hat. Greenish Yellow, Yellow Orches, Olive Green, Compose Violet are the colors that I used.
Applying the third layer
Paint the third layer of the portrait, the same way as the second layer. Wait for the paper to dry and re-wet it. Reuse the colors that you applied to the second layer, but thicker and darker.
Next, when the paper is a bit dry, I go into detail so that the wrinkles appear more clearly. Of course, the eyes are also painted in more detail.
Refine the details of face
Remember not to lose large shapes as you refine the details.
Paint the shirt of Watercolor portrait painting
I use cool colors for the shirt to contrast with the warm color of the face. The colors used here are Horizon Blue, Lavender, Naples Yellow, Compose Violet, and a touch of Raw Sienna.
The character’s shirt is secondary, I will paint it not too detailed. And its simplicity will enhance the beauty of the face, which I want to reach the heart of the viewer.
Finishing the last details of Watercolor portrait painting
Use Titanium White with a rigger Brush to define the beards that have turned silver and add the strong shine highlight of white on the iris.
Finished watercolor portrait painting
I want the painting to stand out against the white background of the paper so I do not add the background for this watercolor painting. This is really just a personal choice, please add if you want.
If you found this watercolor portrait tutorial helpful? Let me know what you think in the comments below. I’ll be back with another watercolor portrait tutorial soon.