Watercolor Illustration: Painting Realistic Wildlife
A course by Ella Sienna , Watercolor Artist
Learn how to paint realistic wildlife illustrations with watercolor by exploring a variety of techniques to create layers, texture, depth, and more
- Best seller
- 99% positive reviews (98)
- 4902 students
- Audio: English, English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
Learn how to paint realistic wildlife illustrations with watercolor by exploring a variety of techniques to create layers, texture, depth, and more
Ella is a watercolor artist who has worked with top companies like Chantecaille, Soho House, The National Trust, and Sarah Flint. She is drawn to the natural world and its infinite variety, filling her desk with illustrations of botanicals, insects, and wild creatures. Ella's attention to detail is what brings her artwork to life, and she is excited to share with her techniques with you in this course.
In this online course, you'll learn how to paint realistic wildlife illustrations with watercolor. Ella will guide you through the basics, teaching you how to mix colors and master brush and water control techniques. You'll learn how to tackle animal textures, including fur, hair, horns, scales, and skin, and how to make the best drawing possible for a painting you can be proud of.
What will you learn in this online course?
18 lessons & 30 downloads
- 99% positive reviews (98)
- 4902 students
- 18 lessons (4h 6m)
- 30 additional resources (12 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English, English
- English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Illustrate a realistic animal portrait. Ella paints a giraffe, but you are free to paint what you wish.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is perfect for confident watercolor beginners.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is necessary, but it's always helpful.
In terms of materials, you need watercolor paint, brushes, a palette, watercolor paper, a pencil, and eraser.
Reviews
A course by Ella Sienna
Ella Sienna is a London-based watercolor artist, paint-maker, and event stationery designer with over two decades of experience. Her artistic style is heavily influenced by the natural world, and she enjoys painting animals, blossoming botanicals, and iridescent insects. The artist's paintings are characterized by their use of vibrant, jewel-toned colors and a focus on intricate details.
Having established herself as a professional watercolor artist, she has collaborated with several clients, including Chantecaille, Soho House, and the National Trust. In addition to her work as a watercolor artist, she also operates an event stationery company, creating botanical invitations with intricate details.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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About Me
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Influences
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U2
Basic Watercolour Techniques and Materials
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The Materials
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Mixing Colours: How to Avoid Mud
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Water and Brush Control 1
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Water and Brush Control 2
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Animal Textures: Feathers and Fur
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Animal Textures: Horns, Scales, and Skin 1
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Animal Textures: Horns, Scales, and Skin 2
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Basics of Sketching
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U3
Creating Wildlife Portraits with Watercolours
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Transferring the Drawing to Watercolour Paper
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The Base Layer
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The Shadows
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Hair and Texture
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The Spots
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Highlights and Finishing Touches
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U4
Final Advice
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How to Photograph Your Paintings
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How to Fix Almost Every Watercolour Mistake
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FP
Final project
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Watercolor Illustration of Realistic Wildlife
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
joseacm1
hermoso
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marlene.gonzalez.s
Recién comenzando el curso, realmente era lo que esperaba, me encanta la forma y técnicas de esta excelente artista, lo recomiendo!!
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princesitatj
Tengo muchas ganas de poner en practica todo lo enseñado...me fascina la naturaleza y los colores que posee
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raquelina
muy interesante
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chrisc37
The course leader is bright and encouraging. An excellent course to learn the basics of painting animals in watercolour!