Watercolor Halloween Cards

SUPPLIES & TOOLS:

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors Sketchers' Pocket Box
• Using the following colors in the set:
• Cadmium Yellow
• Cadmium Red Pale Hue
• Alizarin Crimson
• Ultramarine Blue
• Intense Blue
• Viridian Hue
• Sap Green
• Yellow Ochre
• Winsor & Newton Cotman #2 Round Brush
• Winsor & Newton Cotman #2 Round Brush
• 9"x 12" Cold Press Watercolor Paper (trim sheet to have one 8x 10 piece)
• Ceramic or Plastic Watercolor Palette Well (10 wells needed)
• Glass of Water
• Graphite Pencil
• Optional: Butter Knife (only needed if scoring of paper is desired to create folded greeting card), Ruler (only needed if scoring of paper is desired to create folded greeting card)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare Work Surface. Cover your work surface with a disposable covering and fill a glass or cup with water.
2. Cut Watercolour Paper. To create postcard-style cards, cut two sheets of watercolour paper to have three pieces that measure 5x 7 in size.
3. If folded greeting cards are desired, cut three sheets of watercolor paper to have three pieces that measure 10x 7 in size. When folded, the cards will measure 5x 7 in size. When opened, they will be 10x 7 in size.
4. Score Backside of Watercolour Paper. If folded greeting cards are being created, complete this step. If postcard-style cards are being created, move on to step 4. With a graphite pencil and working on the back side of the watercolor paper, draw a small dot marking the 5" mark on the middle of the paper and on each long side of the paper. Then, using a ruler and the graphite pencil, draw a horizontal line to connect the three dots to mark the middle of the paper where the greeting card will be folded in half. Place a ruler along the line, and while pressing down on the ruler with one hand and using the other hand to control the butter knife, use the non-sharp side of a butter knife and moderate pressure to score the paper by running it along one side of the paper to the other. This will create a nicer looking fold line when the project is finished, but do not fold the paper along the scored line now. This will happen at the very end to make it easier to work on top of the paper.
5. Transfer Outline. If folded greeting cards are being created, transfer the outlines to the right half of each sheet of paper, making sure to transfer the outline on the right side of the paper since the scoring mark was created on the wrong side. Freehand draw the outline using a graphite pencil using the provided outline as a guide. The outlines can also be transferred onto the working paper by using a Lightbox or a well-lit window. For the Happy Halloween pumpkin card, do not yet draw or transfer the lettering. Only draw or transfer the pumpkin outline, as the pumpkin portion of this card will be painted on first and the paint will make it difficult to see the lettering. The lettering for this card will be drawn or transferred immediately before it is painted on.
6. Mix Seven Paint Colors in Watercolor Palette. To mix the 7 colors with the same paint to water ratio, use a #4 brush as if it were a spoon. Place 3 scoops of water into 7 wells on the artist palette. Mix the following colors into those wells until you have an equal paint to water ratio for each color:
• Yellow: Cadmium Yellow only
• Orange: Cadmium Red Pale Hue only
• Purple: Equal parts Alizarin Crimson and Ultramarine
• Black: Equal parts Intense Blue and Cadmium Red Pale Hue (Tip: mix both colors until they cancel each other out and create black. If the paint looks too orange, add more blue; if the paint mixture looks too blue, add more orange)
• Dark Green: Viridian Hue only
• Light Green: Sap Green only
• Yellow-Ochre: Yellow Ochre only
7. Paint First Layer for Each Card. Be Scary Card: Paint on the lettering. Work one letter at a time as you complete this step, as it will help to paint on small sections of each letter at a time, versus trying to continuously paint on each letter as if you were writing with a pencil. Using the #2 brush, paint the bottom of each letter using Yellow. While the paint is still wet, paint Orange to the top half of each letter. This is called a "wet into wet" technique. Allow the two colors to organically merge into each other where they meet. This will great a transitional yellow-orange hue on the middle of each letter.
8. Hocus Pocus Card: Paint on the lettering in this step using the same brush and breaking up each letter into sections just as with the Be Scary card. For the Hocus Pocus lettering, paint on each letter using Black.
9. Happy Halloween Card: Paint on the stem of the pumpkin using the same brush and technique as with the Be Scary card. Paint on the bottom half of the stem using Light Green, and paint on the top half using Dark Green. Just as with the Be Scary lettering, allow the two colors to organically merge where they meet.
10. Paint Second Layer for Each Card. Be Scary Card: Paint on the spider using the #2 brush and the color Purple.
11. Hocus Pocus Card: Use the #2 brush. Paint on little stars all around the Hocus Pocus lettering. To create large stars, paint on a small diamond, and then draw an intersecting vertical and horizontal line through the diamond. To create small stars, paint small crosses using an intersecting horizontal and vertical line. Then, paint on the buckles on the witch's boots using Yellow Ochre. Finally, paint on the green stripes of the stockings using Dark Green.
12. Happy Halloween Card: Paint the pumpkin in this step using the #4 brush. Work one stripe on the pumpkin at a time. To begin, apply an even layer of clean water to one entire stripe. Then, use a "drop in" technique. Place the brush in the Yellow paint, and then holding the brush straight up and down above the paper, drop on random small dots all throughout the top half of the stripe. Blooms will form as the paint merges into the water on the paper, and as the paint settles and merges into the paper, varying values of yellow will form. While the water that was first applied and the yellow paint are still wet, drop in Orange to the bottom half of the same stripe using the same technique as with the Yellow paint. Be sure to apply some Orange over the Yellow so that a yellow-orange hue will be created. Adjustments can be made by adding more Yellow or more Orange. Repeat this process to the other pumpkin stripes.
13. Paint Third Layer for Each Card. Be Scary Card: Paint on the spider web using the #2 brush and Black. Be careful as you apply this color to maintain a consistent thickness with your brush strokes.
14. Hocus Pocus Card: Paint on the orange stripes on the stockings using the Orange paint and the #2 brush. Then, paint on the witch's boots using Purple and the #2 brush. Finally, paint on the witch's skirt using Black and the #4 brush.
15. Happy Halloween Card: When the pumpkin is fully dry, transfer the lettering. Center the lettering over the pumpkin. Freehand draw the lettering using the outline as a guide for placement or use a Lightbox or well-lit window to trace it. After drawing or transferring the outline, paint on the lettering. Work one letter at a time as you paint on the lettering, as it will help to paint on small sections of each letter at a time, versus trying to continuously paint on each letter as if you were writing with a pencil. Use the #2 brush and Black to paint on the lettering for this card.
16. Allow the paint to fully dry. Complete the next step if folded greeting cards are being created.
17. Fold Cards. If folded greeting cards are being created, it is now time to fold along the scoring line that was made in step 3 to create a folded greeting card that is 5x 7 in size.