Draw Place Blog

Sky is a funny thing – it’s ever changing, taking on countless shapes and colours, and playing different roles in paintings too – it can be your magnificent lead, or a humble extra.

Today we are here to teach you how to paint a beautiful sky and clouds using watercolours with a simple, step by step guide.

But first, we have some useful tips to share:

1. Use multiple colours in your sky. Don’t limit yourself to blues – use reds and yellows as well to help balance the warm and cool tones.
2. When using the “wet on wet” technique to paint clouds, keep in mind that the colours will lighten as they dry.
3. Keep in mind that the closer you go to the horizon, the warmer and lighter the sky appears to be.
4. Don’t forget about perspective when painting clouds and other three-dimensional objects and add highlights and shadows to match the direction the light is coming from. 
5. The clouds will look more realistic if you combine sharp and soft contours. 

Now let’s get to work!

Step 1

Wet the paper and wait for it to absorb some of the water. A wet but not glossy surface is ideal.

Now use some yellow (diluted with water) to make a few large brush strokes outlining the position of the clouds. Drawing them with a pencil would have been probably easier, but the empty canvas leaves a lot of space for improvisation. If you do decide to outline them in pencil, try to keep the lines as light as possible.

You can also use watercolour pencils to outline the clouds – this way, any lines you draw will disappear as soon as you cover them with paint.

Step 2

Grab some cobalt blue and start filling in the space above the clouds. Use the flat edge of the brush to keep the strokes light and natural. 

Pay attention to your paper – if it’s too dry, the result will look too hard and sharp. Don’t worry, however – you can always use a wet brush to soften things and blur any sharp transitions.

Step 3

Continue painting the blue sky, moving under the clouds and using more diluted paint to represent the shapes of clouds far away on the horizon.

Step 4.
Now, while the paper is still wet where the clouds are, you can add some shadows with a few light strokes, mixing cobalt blue and cadmium red together to achieve a darker, purplish shade.

Step 5.

Keep adding shadows and softening the outlines using the flat side of the brush. Use swift, broad strokes to cover the remaining sky areas with a mix of cobalt blue and Naples yellow.

Step 6.
Once the sky is finished, add some details to the foreground to make the painting look finished and complete.

That’s it – just look at that pretty landscape painting you just made! If you enjoyed the process and want to learn more about drawing and painting landscapes and nature, we invite you to join our landscape painting course and see what you can do with coloured pencils, pastels, watercolours, and oil paints!

Painting on fabric is a great way to breathe new life to an old, plain t-shirt, boring tank top, or any other piece of clothing! Mastering this technique will allow you to easily transfer your ideas to any fabric and create unique pieces for your wardrobe or your home décor. Follow our tutorial to learn how to create your drawing, transfer it to any fabric, and bring it to life!

Fabric paints

Acrylic, polymer-based paints are the best choice for fabric painting. Their pigments don’t actually go through the fabric – instead, they coat with a “protective layer”, making the fabric structure denser and less elastic. 

Paint will make any fabric vibrant, colourful, and unique. Acrylics have an added bonus here – they are waterproof!

Why choose acrylics

Acrylics really are the best choice for painting on fabric – if you don’t believe us, just look at how popular they are among enthusiasts and professionals alike. So what makes them so great?

– Wide range and availability
– Safety and ease of use
– Option to use water to dilute them
– Water resistance, detergent resistance

Acrylics are also easy to mix, allowing the artist to experiment with new, original shades. Setting a layer of acrylic paint is easy as well – all you need is a warm (not too hot!) iron.

Acrylics can be used on clothes, but also shoes, purses, or other items – for instance, you can decorate your own umbrella!

Paint manufacturers usually indicate what types of fabric are suitable for use with the paint:

If the package says “silk”, the pigment is designed for painting on soft, thin fabrics like silk, batiste or chiffon. 

A label that reads “Textile” means you can paint on denser fabric, leather, velvet, and suede. 

On a dense fabric, an acrylic stencil can look very nice as well, with the fabric’s density allowing for clearly defined edges and vibrant colours.

Preparation
Before you start painting, take time to prepare your fabric properly and carefully by submerging it into cold water for about an hour and then slightly stretching it. Rinse with clean water, then let your fabric dry and finish preparations by ironing it.

If you are using a thin fabric like silk or batiste, stretch it on a wooden frame and let it dry completely. If you want to work on a piece of clothing it is best to separate the layers (like front and back) with a piece of cardboard or thick paper.

Painting techniques
There are certain rules you should keep in mind when applying the paint:

Make sure to put an impermeable foil or wax paper under the fabric you are painting on to protect your desk (or whatever surface you are using to work).
If you are using a stencil or pattern, work the way you would with a colouring picture for children. The only difference is that when applying acrylics in layers, you need to wait for the previous layer to dry completely before adding the next one.
Apply light colours first, then move on to darker shades.
Stick to these simple rules and create your own amazing acrylic-decorated fabric that will last through repeated washing! Find some awesome inspiration and dive right into it. Good luck! 😊

Creativity and creative thinking have become quite the buzz words recently. But what do they even mean, and can you train yourself to improve them? Many believe that creativity and things like hard work, self-organization, and order simply can’t coexist. However, they are quite wrong – creative thinkers are experienced, versatile, and skilled people, and to become such a person requires hard work, dedication, and responsibility. Therefore, creativity combines thinking, skills, experience, an open mind, and the ability to learn regardless of age or context. 

Creativity means an open mind and open heart, something everyone can practice and improve with the right exercises and tools, keeping in mind that every exercise should help you get rid of narrow-mindedness and change your normal way of thinking. Here are some of our favourite exercises to develop creativity.

1.Grab an everyday item and try to come up with as many non-standard uses for it as you can. Let’s take a spoon, for instance. It’s a great utensil for sure, but it could also become a lamp, an art piece, or a marker for your vegetable patch.

2. Shake it up from time to time and try doing things differently! For instance, if you are used to having lunch at the same place every day, try a different restaurant for a change.

3. Try a different cuisine, walk home using a different route than you normally would, etc. Our life is full of small habits that trap us in our little boxes, if you think about it, so try opening this box of yours and stepping out and beyond it.

4. If you are facing any kind of a problem, don’t try solving it the usual way. People often tend to have the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” mentality, but it was Einstein who said that madness is doing the same thing expecting different results. So next time you have to tackle a problem, don’t start working on a solution until you can come up with at least one alternative approach.

5. Engaging in any sort of creative activity is obviously a wonderful way to develop your creative thinking. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you enjoy it. You can draw, write poetry, compose song lyrics, or perhaps learn to play an instrument. The important thing is that getting great at whatever you choose is not the point – the point is to experience something new, to gain a new perspective, to help your brain start working differently. Because what is creativity if not a disruption of thinking and customary habits, actions, thoughts, and life flow?

6. Travelling or starting a new sport are also great for creativity. The general rule is that any new place or circumstance will greatly broaden your horizons and enhance your creativity. Just make sure to always travel with an open mind and open heart so you don’t miss anything new and exciting!

7. Work on your associative thinking and teach your brain to make dots between seemingly incoherent concepts to improve your memory and train your brain’s skill to combine different things. Not everyone is capable of making such associations right away, so use these tips and methods to work on your creativity, teach your brain to push boundaries and limits, question things and come up with unique solutions.

By the way, getting into drawing is also an amazing way to amp your creativity 😊 At Draw Planet, we have a wide selection of courses covering anything from classic drawing and painting all the way to computer graphics, so everyone can find something they like. Come join us and grow through your art!