WALKTHROUGH: Go Home
EDITING ARIA FROM 2025: I apologize for how small the images in this walkthrough are. When it was first created on my old Patreon, you could right-click to view them larger but that was no longer the case when I retrieved them for this re-upload. I hope it’s still helpful for some despite the issue! <3
Hello Moonbeams,
Here is a process overview of a completed piece from my Voices of Neon collection called Go Home.
Surface: 300LB cold press watercolor paper with 1 coat of Daniel Smith Titanium white watercolor ground and 1 topcoat of QoR watercolor ground.
Brushes: Pentel Aquash Waterbrush size small, Hwahong flat brushes in various sizes, Hwahong round brush size 1 and 2, Princeton Velvetouch round brush size 20/0 (my detail brush of choice) and Princeton Velvetouch size 0
Paint: My Shadow Shade mixture of Daniel Smith Prussian Blue, Daniel Smith Burgundy Yellow Ochre, Daniel Smith Carbazole violet, as well as bright yellow (unknown brand), Daniel Smith Carmine, Daniel Smith Manganese Blue, Pearl Ex pigments Aztec Gold and 24K gold leafed foil moon and stars. I also used Koi white watercolor for any small white highlights.
I began this piece by preparing my 300lb cold press watercolor paper with a coat of Daniel Smith watercolour ground in Titanium white and a topcoat of QoR watercolour ground. I get asked a lot why I used two types of ground and it really is just a personal preference. I like the texture and absorbency of Daniel Smith but I like the way colour sits on QoR
I then began painting gradients of Carbazole violet and Ochre yellow onto the background of the piece. I added a bit of Manganese blue paint and gold pigment to the piece as well as salt to create the starry sky texture.
While the sky was drying, I used a size 3 flat brush to roughly paint in the snowy field at the bottom of the piece using more violet, Ochre yellow, and a bit of Prussian blue.
As I finished roughing in the snowdrifts, I also took the edge of my flat brush with a bit of clean water and blended and blurred the snow drifts together, occasionally lifting out highlights to create little hills.
I also lifted away sections of paint to loosely form the clouds. I did this by using my waterbrush and gently scrubbing at the dry paint, then using a paper towel to blot of the excess which gave the clouds a soft, cottony look.
I outlined the house using my Cool shadow shade (my version of black) and began painting in some utility lines.
I painted the cabin with a brown I got from mixing the violet and Ochre yellow. The eye and window was painted with a mix of Bright yellow and carmine. I used my size 1 and size 20/0 brushes to paint the little wood beams onto the cabin.
At this stage, I also begin to further define some of the background such as the mountains which I added more shadows and detail to, as well as the clouds.
I added white highlights to the mountains by lifting away paint with some clean water on an old round brush and blotting up the excess with a paper towel. I also used a bit of white watercolour for the more delicate whites. I used a bit of watercolour ground and white watercolor in the clouds for their highlights.
For the stag, I put down a wash of my Cool shadow shade and gradually built up the shadows and details. I added a bit more violet to the inside legs. I kept the paint subtly transparent to give him a ghostly feeling.
The antlers were created by painting on a highly saturated wash of Bright yellow and Carmine. I used more Bright yellow at their center and used a mix of the yellow and Carmine to create the redish orange I used around the outside of the antlers. Although watercolour is transparent, if you paint with a high enough saturation, you can sometimes get it to be opaque enough to show up on dark surfaces which is how I was able to get it to stand out around the antlers.
I painted the words in using white watercolour ground and then used the same technique I had used for them on the antlers. Throughout this process I was frequently blending the paint using a bit of clean water on my size 1 brush to keep everything feeling soft and glowing.
I finalized the details on the stag such as the small highlights and fur using a mix of my size 1 and 20/0 brushes. I made sure to regularly work other colours from the background into his coat because I really like when my character is reflective of their surroundings.
The final piece was framed in an antique Italian frame with glass. It is largely about connection with oneself and how difficult it can be to find a place of belonging, if you do not first make a home for yourself internally.
I hope you enjoyed this mini walkthrough!
~Aria ☾
