This has to be the easiest watercolor tutorial I’ve done till date. Although it looks all dainty and ethereal, the process is super simple. All this requires is some knowledge in blending.Learn to create a beautiful watercolor moon in today’s tutorial.

I really should have done a video on these moons because it’s so beautiful to see how water makes the paint dance. I blame the lack of proper video equipment coupled with the shortage of time. Well hopefully by the end of this year, investing in one super amazing camera that has video capturing properties is on my wish-list!

If you’re unsure about blending techniques in watercolor, please refer to the link below and come back. The post has chock full of information of different wet on wet techniques. You’ll love it!

WATERCOLOR BLENDING TECHNIQUES

You may also want to check my “Learn watercolors” series if you’re a newbie or if you just love figuring out fun, new techniques in watercolor.
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Materials required for DIY watercolor moon:-

• Watercolor paints- I love my Sennelier watercolor pan set
• Watercolor brush- I’ve used the Neptune quill brush in no.4 here
• Watercolor paper
• Finetec pearl colors

1.Single color watercolor moon

The whole idea is to paint-dab, paint-dab and then keep repeating the process until you’re happy. Breaking it down, draw a circle first. Paint a really light wash in the color of your choice. I love Payne’s Grey and I think it’s a great color for moons. While the paint is still wet, dab more color at random places. Remember that watercolor usually dries light, so go strong on the pigment.

Continue adding more paints by dabbing until you’re happy with the way it looks. Don’t worry about paint pooling or blooms forming because all this becomes part of the illustration. I waited for the paint to dry so that I can add specks of gold later. 

2.Two-tone watercolor moon

This follows the same principle as above, the only difference is the usage of two different colors. I used similar, warm shades of red and brown. For this watercolor moon, first lay down a wash of clear water.Dab a few spots of red and allow it to blend on it’s own.You’ll notice that it moves outwards which is what you’ll want.

Dab a few specks of brown and let it blend on its own as well. You’ll see that in this watercolor moon, the color is more concentrated on the centre and washed down on the outside. Similarly as above, I waited for the paint to dry so that I could add a few specks of silver.

I used Finetec pearl colors for the dots on the moons. Although not visible here, the sun makes it shine beautifully. You can skip this step and leave the moons without it. It looks great either way.

What do you think?

I hope this tutorial was super simple to follow and I hope you try this out. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments below. For those of you who love sharing on Instagram, tag me with #makeinkstruck and I’d love to have a peek. thanks once again for stopping by! You rock! x

About zakkiya @ inkstruck studio

Zakkiya is the creative blogger and founder of Inkstruck Studio. She’s a self taught artist who let go of her architecture profession to pursue her passion in art. Zakkiya likes to write detailed tutorials in watercolor, calligraphy, and hand lettering. She also teaches watercolor workshops occasionally in Doha where she’s based currently. Other passions include traveling, photography, and basketball.When she’s not working, you can find her cuddling and running around with her toddler boy.