Whimsical Gardens 🌱🌸✨ (Step-by-step guide - Week 32) (Patreon)

Hi!! 🤗

Lots of color this week! I just had so much fun drawing these two scenes! I decided that I wanted to use the references primarily as references and create my own little scenes. So maybe some things aren't exactly the same as in the references, but that is the point! They feel like little children's book illustrations now 🤗

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:

Draw your own version of the references: Use the reference as an idea, and create your own illustrations by adding an extra flowers, skipping a flower, adding an extra leaf, etc. Just play with it and have fun!

Use more colors than usual: Most of the time I try to draw with a limited color palette, but sometimes it's so much fun to use many colors in one illustration! It makes the illustration more whimsical as well 🥰

Keep the background soft: The grass, greenery or flowers in the background don't need details, keep them soft and blurry!

Create depth: When you think you are finished, look a second time at your illustration and see if there is enough depth in it. You can always add more by using Dark Indigo!

Enjoy the imperfections: Loose illustrations 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.

Mushroom life

I used the following Brush pens as a base layer:

Tombow 126 (Light olive)

Tombow 133 (Chartreuse, Light green)

Ecoline 374 (Pink Beige)

Tombow 603 (Periwinkle)

Tombow 991 (Light Ocre)

Tombow 772 (Dusty rose)

Just play around with these colors. Use Light green for lighter leafs and grass, and light olive for darker parts. Use Periwinkle for the blue flowers and Dusty rose for the red strawberries. Light ochre and pink beige can be used for the mushroom 🤗

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)

Faber-Castell 217 (Middle Cadmium Red)

Faber-Castell 133 (Magenta)

Faber-Castell 188 (Sanguine)

Try to vary in the amount of pressure you put on the paper when drawing. Use Chrome oxide green for all the leafs and other greenery. Use Burnt Siena for the mushroom and snails. Add a bit more purple to the flowers with magenta. You can add some more depth to the mushroom by using sanguine at the top and Dark indigo for the shadows.

Wooden flower fence

I used the following Brush pens as a base layer:

Tombow 020 (Peach)

Tombow 133 (Chartreuse, Light green)

Ecoline 374 (Pink Beige)

Tombow 603 (Periwinkle)

Tombow 991 (Light Ocre)

Tombow 772 (Dusty rose)

First, draw the fence with pink beige. Not too perfect lines, just make a little sketch. Then add all the flowers with Light Ochre, Dusty Rose, Periwinkle and Peach. Then use Light green for the grass and stems of the flowers. In the front you can just draw little lines that are pointing to the left corner of the paper. For the background you can just fill in the whole space with the same color.

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)

Faber-Castell 217 (Middle Cadmium Red)

Faber-Castell 133 (Magenta)

Faber-Castell 188 (Sanguine)

Faber-Castell 108 (Dark Cadmium Yellow)

Start by drawing all the flowers, just create little blobs of color and scribbles to make the suggestion of flowers. Then draw the grass and stems by drawing little stripes between the flowers with chrome oxide green. Leave the background as it is. Use Burnt Siena to create details in the fence. When you're finished you can use dark indigo to create a bit more depth in the fence by adding some lines to the bottom and left sides of the wooden poles.

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

Celyn 🌸