WALKTHROUGH: Pinto Unicorn
Hello Moonbeams,
I recently finished up this piece and have been getting a lot of comments on the unicorn's coat, as well as the veil over his head. Luckily, I took photos of that process specifically to share with you!
Surface: Gessobaord with two coats of Daniel Smith titanium white watercolor ground and one coat of QoR watercolor ground. This surface lifts very easily (meaning that paint can essentially rub off as I try to layer) so I have to be delicate with it. The final product once sprayed with varnish is extremely durable however.
Brushes: Pentel Aquash Waterbrush size small, Hwahong flat brushes sizes 1, 2, Hwahong round brush size 1 and Princeton Velvetouch round brush size 20/0 (my detail brush of choice)
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) for the flowers and Pearl Ex Pigments Aztec gold (for the patterns on the veil) and 24K gold leafed foil stars. I also used Koi white watercolor for any small white highlights.
I had originally planned this piece out digitally on my iPad. It is always interesting to see how much things change as I work through the concept in watercolour!
I transferred the drawing onto my painting surface using a projector and Derwent Graphitint pencil. I then painted the atmosphere and background of the piece before beginning the character.
For the markings on the unicorn's coat, I pre-wet the surface with clean water and then allowed my paint to flow into it in a loosely directed pattern. I used my shadow shade (made up of Prussian blue, ochre yellow and violet) for the colour.
At this stage, I was more concerned with the texture and natural movement of the paint rather than putting down any muscle or anatomy detail in and around the markings.
I continued painting the organic coat pattern. My main aim was for it to flow well over the body of the unicorn using the detailed under-sketch to think about how the markings could elegantly fit the anatomy.
One challenge here was that because I was working with a very light sketch created with a water soluble Graphitint pencil, the sketch itself was quickly disappearing beneath the paint and so for areas where the darker markings sat, I had to repaint the sketch lines with a dark saturation of my watercolour to make sure I could still somewhat see them under the larger washes of paint. You can see where I did that on the rib area of the unicorn in the photo on the left.
When it comes to painting over my lines while working on a surface that lifts paint so easily, I did not have to worry about making the lines too aesthetic or perfect because I knew I could blend them back into the paint when I needed to. If you are working on paper however, I would recommend being more intentional and delicate so that your messy lines do not become a permanent fixture.
By this point I had most of the body mapped out and it was time to decide on how to go about the head. Because this surface lifted so heavily, I was a little nervous that painting the transparent veil might be difficult...
I began the face and veil by first painting a deep layer of my shadow shade over the face itself, allowing it to gradate into a lighter value as it touched the unicorn's neck.
I also roughed in the flower crown on his head using a mixture of bright yellow, and a slight bit of shadow shade mixed with the yellow for the darker parts of the flowers.
I put down a slight wash of my shadow shade within the confines of the veil. I wanted to paint a very translucent black fabric that was so thin as to show the colour of the background in any areas where it had not gathered into layers.
I did not have a specific reference for the veil but I did search terms like "billowing fabric" and "black veil" to get some ideas of how the layering and shadows might interact.
Using a size 1 and 2 Hwahong flat brush, I brushed streaky layers of my Shadow Shade in the rough pattern of the fabric's movement.
Going over the flowers was particularly frightening. The wrong technique could cause them to lift away from the surface, destroying their details. When dealing with such a delicate surface, the key to painting over the top of something without ruining its detail is to use very little water. I was basically dry brushing over the flowers and facial area to keep it from blurring. By dry brushing I mean that I was using very little water and pigment in my flat brush.
I continued to add layers of shadow shade to the veil. My flat brushes are very old and worn out which made their strokes incredibly uneven. Something that worked in my favour because fabric has so much variation and wrinkles and my brushes aided me greatly in creating that effect.
I would also occasionally use my size 1 round brush to lift out small wrinkles and highlights in the veil. You can see some of those lifted detailed particularly around the unicorn's muzzle.
Finally, I went back over the unicorn's coat and added more anatomical detail. I deepened shadows where needed and rendered his muscle. I used the same shadow shade both on his dark markings and lighter areas, changing the paint saturation by adding more or less water where needed.
For the gold pattern, I used Pearl Ex Pigment Aztec Gold mixed with a bit of watercolor medium to help it stick. (normally I would mix it with gum arabic but my pup spilled mine) I painted it on with my 20/0 brush. I also added a few of my foil cut stars which I gold leafed in 24K gold.
The final touches were me lovingly detailing everything out from adding small wrinkles to the skin either by lifting away the paint or using a bit of white, adding highlights and finishing rendering out the body
I hope you enjoyed this process!
Be well~
Aria ☾
