Autumn watercolours: How to capture fall

Capturing autumn watercolours is a great way to breathe life into your environment illustration and hone your technique. My aim as an artist is always to try and fit as much into the world of my illustrations as possible. Making art reminds me what I'm excited about in life and I want the world I'm creating to reflect that.

The idea for this workshop was sparked from walking in a park near my house. Noticing what you specifically find interesting about the world around you (in cities or nature, or other art) is helpful for any artist developing their taste and style. Think about what you appreciate in your favourite artist's work or the things you like looking at, and how your own taste and experiences come together to create something new. 

I like working with traditional line-art and watercolour to allow some exploratory spontaneity and unexpected looseness to the process, and then clean up the final image digitally for nit-picky detailing at the end of the process. Bouncing between traditional and digital tools gives me the best of both worlds, and make up for any difficulties inherent to either medium. Working traditionally for even part of the art process means I can sit at a different desk, easily move and tilt the painting board around to suit my drawing arm, and generally move a little differently than I do while working digitally day to day.

Now let's explore how you can capture autumn watercolours in your own environment. Don't forget to check out this list of watercolour techniques or our how to draw guides to further elevate your skills. Need new gear? See the best watercolour paints.

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX, the world's best-selling magazine for digital artists. Subscribe here.

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