WATERCOLOR GALAXY CITYSCAPE DIY

Hi everyone! This is Torrie, from Fox & Hazel and I’m really excited to be sharing this easy and beautiful DIY watercolor galaxy cityscape tutorial with you! Painting a galaxy using watercolor paints is a lot easier than it looks, and because it’s so simple, it is one of my favorite ways to add an interesting background to paintings. This project is simple enough that either beginners or novices can do it – I promise! First, let’s look at the supplies we’ll need: {This post contains affiliate links. This means that I will earn a small percentage if you decide to buy from one of the links you click below.You will not be charged extra.}

Supplies:

• Cold pressed watercolor paper (I use Arches 140 lb Cold Press), cut to 5″ x 7″
• Watercolor paints (I’m using a Sakura Koi Field Set, and a bottle of Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Watercolor in Turquoise Blue)
• Masking fluid
• Black ink (I’m using Sumi ink, find something similar here)
• White acrylic paint (I recommend Golden Paints High Flow Acrylic in Titanium White)
• Salt
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Paintbrush, Round #3
• Painter’s tape
• Micron Pen, size #5
• Ruler & pencil (not shown)

Now that you have all your supplies, get yourself set up and let’s get painting!

Step One:

Draw out the cityscape using a ruler and light pencil marks. First, draw a horizontal line as your base, then freehand sketch some buildings in. Don’t worry about them being perfect – the more loose and free they are, the better.

Step TWO:

Tape over the base line using painter’s tape. This is the only tape I use for watercolor painting, as it keeps the paint out but is low tack so it doesn’t tear the paper when I remove it. Get your masking fluid out and fill in all the buildings with the fluid.  Let it try until it is no longer wet to the touch.

Step THREE:

Now the fun begins! First, we are going to create the background skies for our galaxy. Start off by laying down some water to get the page wet – you don’t need a lot! Just enough so our watercolors can flow freely. Next, using shades of blue from your watercolor set, start dabbing the paint around the page and pushing it to create natural flow. You want most of the sky blue, but you’ll also use pink, purple and green to add more depth and variety to the sky. Build up the color as you work the painting.  I also used the Turquoise Blue in Dr. Ph Martin’s Hydrus Watercolor to deepen the blues.

Step FOUR:

Using black ink (I am using sumi ink,) add a sparing amount of the ink to your night sky. Ink is very pigmented, so if you add too much to your painting it will over take it. One or two spots is more than enough. As you can see, I added just a little more than I wanted in mine!

Step FIVE:

Now using  the rubbing alcohol and a paintbrush, you will add small drops of the alcohol to your sky while the paint is still wet. It’ll push the paint and create lighter spots. Next, you can sprinkle a small amount of salt in different places on the wet paint. The salt soaks up the paint and creates a lovely texture once it’s dry. I accidentally did mine backwards, hence why the photos aren’t exact. It worked out okay, but the best way to do it is alcohol first, then salt.

Step SIX (is it really a step?):

Let everything dry! Once the painting is completely dry, brush away the salt. If you do this while it’s wet you’ll end up smudging the painting.

Step SEVEN:

Next, you’ll use the white acrylic to create stars on your lovely galaxy sky. I’m using fluid acrylic by Golden Paints, but you can use any white acrylic thinned with a bit of water.  Find some paper or clothes to cover the areas you don’t want paint on, and place it over the painting. I happened to have this scrap paper from a different project that fit perfectly. It was meant to be! Now you’ll use a paintbrush to splatter the white paint on to create the stars. You can also use silver or gold paint to add a bit of shimmer to the piece too! I wish I had thought of that before now.

Step EIGHT:

Thin down your white paint even more, and then add random small spot across the page sparingly. These are the base for some bigger stars. By watering down the paint, this creates a halo around the larger stars. Once these spots are dry, use pure white paint to add in the large stars.

Step NINE:

Once everything is dry, go ahead and use a small eraser to start pulling up the masking fluid. You can also just rub it to get it started. It’s super satisfying to pull up – like when you were a kid and covered your hand in white glue, then let it dry and pretended you were peeling off your skin? Yes, that kind of satisfying! Just be sure to not smudge any paint around the edges.

Step TEN:

Use the Micron, or any other fine point felt tip black pen, to add the details to the houses. Make them as whimsical as you want! You’re done! Now you have a wonderfully adorable watercolor galaxy night sky to frame. Or gift. Or stare at. No judgement here! If the paper is a bit warped, you can press it between a couple heavy books to help flatten it. Now it’s okay to just admire it… This post was contributed you by Torrie, from Fox & Hazel You can find more of her art work below:

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