White cottages with a lake view 🌲🏠🐟(Step-by-step guide - Week 30) (Patreon)

Hi!! 🤗

As I mentioned in the reference post, the pictures are quite dark. But that doesn't mean your illustrations have to be dark as well! I love to create bright and happy illustrations, so I chose to add a bit more contrast.

You will find my tips & step by step instructions from base layer to final illustrations below, together with the materials I used!

Tips

Here are some tips for this month's references:

Focus on the main subject: In these sketches, the red houses are the main focus point in the illustration. So make sure to add more details and more contrast to these houses. You can keep everything else a bit looser.

Simplify the trees: Instead of drawing individual leaves, think of trees as large organic shapes. You can create the suggestion of leaves by adding texture with a few darker scribbles.

Keep the background soft: The mountains or distant trees don't need many details. You can use lighter colors and softer scribbles to keep them in the background. If you add too many details, you will loose depth in your illustrations.

Let the water stay simple: Use mostly horizontal strokes for the water with only a few subtle reflections. The less you do, the more convincing it looks.

Enjoy the imperfections: Loose sketches look more lively because they're not too perfect. Focus on capturing the feeling and the colors of the place rather than every tiny detail.

White Cottage on an Island

I used the following Brush pens as a base layer:

Tombow 126 (Light olive)

Tombow 133 (Chartreuse, Light green)

Tombow 912 (Pale Cherry)

Tombow 553 (Mist purple)

Tombow 990 (Light Sand)

Tombow N89 (Warm Grey) NEW

Start with the rooftop of the house by using Light Sand while leaving some space for the chimney. Use Pale Cherry to draw the orange part of the chimney and Mist purple to draw the windows and door. Use warm grey to add some shading to the right of the house (this way you create more depth into your illustration).

Then use Light Olive to draw the bushes and trees around the house, on the island in the back and the greenery in the front. Use Light Green to draw the grass between the bushes and trees. Add some spots of Light sand in the grass around the house.

Use Mist Purple to create some shading in the water (not too much).

For the second layer, I used the following colored pencils:

Faber-Castell 157 (Dark Indigo)

Faber-Castell 278 (Chrome Oxide Green)

Faber-Castell 283 (Burnt Siena)

You can use chrome oxide green for all the greenery. You can vary in the amount of pressure to add a lighter shade or a darker shade of green. Use Burnt Siena for the rooftop, chimney and rocks. Use Dark Indigo for the water, windows and door. You can also use Dark Indigo to add some extra depth at the bottom of the roof.

Fisherman's cottage

I used the following Brush pens as a base layer:

Tombow 553 (Mist purple)

Ecoline 374 (Pink Beige)

Tombow 991 (Light Ocre)

Tombow 133 (Chartreuse, Light green)

Tombow 553 (Mist purple)

Tombow 990 (Light Sand)

Tombow 020 (Peach)

Start by drawing the rooftop with Light Sand. To make it a bit darker, add a second layer on top of the first one. Then, use Mist purple to draw the bench, door and window. Add a line of Light ochre at the top of the door and at the bottom of the window. Use Light Sand to add shading to the right side of the door and window (add a second layer here as well).

Use Light Green for the grass and Light Sand for the rocks. Use Peach and Light ochre for the grass in the front and only Peach for the land in the back. Use Light Ochre for the boat in front of the house. For the water you can use Mist Purple, add a thicker line at the borders and shores, add thinner lines for the rest of the lake.

Tips: Draw water more loose and imperfect, so you can see that the water moves.

For the second layer, I used the following colored pencils:

Faber-Castell 157 (Dark Indigo)

Faber-Castell 278 (Chrome Oxide Green)

Faber-Castell 188 (Sanguine)

Faber-Castell 283 (Burnt Siena)

Faber-Castell 120 (Ultramarine)

Faber-Castell 108 (Dark Cadmium Yellow)

Again, start with drawing the rooftop, chimney and details of the house and boat with Burnt Siena. Use Dark Indigo to draw the window and door. Use Chrome Oxide Green to add some details to the grass. Use Burnt Siena again to add details and shading to the rocks. Use Dark Cadmium Yellow for the grass and land in the back. Use Dark Indigo to create shading and details in the water of the lake. Use Burnt Siena to add some details to the land in the back.

Have fun with this week's references! Don't hesitate to ask me any questions or show your illustrations in the group chat 🤗

Celyn 🌸