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Luminous Watercolor Florals Kraft Card Tutorial
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There’s just something about watercolor florals on kraft paper! The paint’s semi-transparent quality dries beautifully on the paper to result in an elegant piece. Today, I’ll show you how to use watercolors to make a lovely “thank you” card.
If you’re looking for a tasteful way to say “thank you”, try making this lovely watercolor florals card. It features kraft paper, pretty watercolor, and lettering that complements the card’s floral motif. (Watercolor beginners rejoice: this tutorial is suitable for any skill level!)
1. Gather Your Supplies
Before you get started making this watercolor florals card, you’ll need a few key supplies. You can find a list with links below the photo.
- Watercolor palette with green, orange, and red tones
- 5″ x 7″ (~12.7 cm x 17.75 cm) blank kraft greeting card
- Finetec Arabic Gold pan
- Bleed Proof White Ink (or white paint)
- Blunt art syringe (to moisten watercolors, optional) + art water
- Size 000 paintbrush + Size 1 paintbrush
- Pencil + ruler or straight edge
- Straight pen fitted with Nikko G nib
2. Make a Pencil Draft
First, use a ruler or a straight edge to make two sets of horizontal guidelines. The guidelines in each set should be about 7/8″ (~2.25 cm) apart, and the sets should have about 1/8″ (~0.3 cm) of space between them. Once you’ve got those guidelines, use George Style lettering to write “THANK YOU”.
Try to center “THANK” at the top and “YOU” at the bottom. It helps to write the “A” in the center first, then “TH” and “NK”. Then, write the “O” and “Y”, then “U”. Now, work on using your pencil to draw a flower garden motif. The garden should include roses, tulips, branches, and leaves.
Please feel free to use the photo below as a reference for your own pencil draft!
Notice that most of the florals are concentrated at the bottom of the card. A couple of curved branches help to fill up the top. 3. Add Watercolor
Next, use your size 1 paintbrush and a pale green tone to fill in any long, thin leaves in your motif. Use the size 000 paintbrush to paint delicate stems.
I used Hooker’s Green from the Winsor & Newton Cotman palette to paint these leaves. Then, use a red tone and an orange tone to paint any large flowers. Use a dark green and a bit of brown to start filling in large leaves.
I used Winsor & Newton‘s Alizaron Crimson for the rose and Cadmium Orange for the tulips. For the leaves, I used a combination of Viridian and Burnt Umber. Finish up this step by filling in remaining leaves with a light green tone. Then, use your size 000 paintbrush and a burgundy tone to fill in any thyme-like branches. Finally, use Bleed Proof White ink to paint any small flowers.
I used Sap Green and Indian Red to complete the watercolor portion of my card. 4. Fill In the Lettering
Now, use your Bleed Proof White ink (or white acrylic paint) and your size 1 paintbrush to fill in any thick strokes in your lettering.
5. Use a Dip Pen to Add Accents
At this point, you’ll use the watercolor calligraphy technique to load dark green watercolor onto your Nikko G nib. Use the green watercolor to outline the large leaves and stems on the card.
I used Hooker’s Green to draw the outlines shown here. Then, use that same green tone to outline around your lettering.
Once the watercolor outlines have dried, load some Arabic gold watercolor onto your nib. Use your dip pen and the gold watercolor to outline your flowers. Then, use the size 000 paintbrush to add a few random collections of gold dots, which will give the piece some dimension and interest.
Enjoy!
Once all of the paint has dried, your watercolor florals card is ready to be enjoyed. Send it in a pretty envelope — if you have the time, mail art is always appropriate — and prepare for a delighted recipient!
I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial, which is perfect for a beautiful end of summer day. Thanks very much for reading!
Warmly,
