I've got all the ocean vibes going on lately. Maybe because it's the summer here in the United States or maybe because I'm busy with my third book—Everyday Watercolor Oceans—set to release in 2022!

And since a lot of people commented that they wanted to see more animal tutorials, I'm kicking it off with this beautiful humpback whale. In the video, you'll learn how to sketch the while and then drop color with wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques and some white gouache for some added detail.

Music license acquired from Artlist

Contents

00:00 – Intro
01:03 – Explaining the whale sketch.
05:55 – The painting begins with the whale’s tail.
07:59 – Water control tip.
08:28 – Camera guy has something to say (gets weird quick).
08:52 – What to do if colors aren’t blending smoothly.
10:33 – Push or pull colors with WOW, like this…
11:20 – Approaching a fin, things to keep in mind…
12:37 – Dad joke, for anyone who likes those things.
13:22 – Headed towards the eye area.
15:05 – Getting lighter on the belly, under the mouth area
15:25 – Jenna’s fear of whales.
17:10 – Avoiding eye, blending, under-mouth line details.
18:00 – Humpback or Blue?
20:29 – First layer dry, now for details: eye, mouth, textures…
22:53 – Fun fact about the word “whale”
23:32 – Another area for the Rainey’s to brush up their studies…
24:21 – From AP Calc to *painful math pause*
25:36 – After going back and forth, Jenna changes her mind.
26:03 – White gouache details.
27:16 – “Very cosmic.”
27:58 – “Nothing too crazy.” *proceeds to go crazy*
28:56 – Closing thoughts.

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Related videos

The Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolor
Understanding Color Theory
Two Watercolor Techniques You Must Know
How to Set Up a Watercolor Palette
10 Tips to Improve Your Watercolor

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