How to paint animals in line and wash - koala bear

Line and wash is a speedy and fun way of painting the animals and pets which are important in your life. Whether you start with watercolour first or pen, you can capture their personality and character. Here I am painting a gorgeous Koala and starting with very loose watercolour. Just a few lines of pen start to bring order out of the chaos.

We are trying for more than a coloured in drawing or an outlined painting, but want the ink and watercolour to bring their best qualities to our painting.

NOTE: Since doing this I have had it pointed out that 1. A koala is not a bear - I know that they are marsupials, but it is their colloquial name, so tough 2. They don’t have whiskers. My reference looked like they did and I emphasised them as I like whiskers. Oops, apparently they were long facial hairs. Sadly I can’t undo them, so ‘live and learn’ and if they offend you, sorry. DON’T GIVE YOUR WHISKERS! 😆

You can find the reference on Pixabay, so there are no copyright issues: https://pixabay.com/photos/koala-mars... and I will put it on the community tab of this channel too. In a couple of weeks (5 March 2023), I am going to paint this koala on my Etchr sketch book cover, so if you want to see that please take a look here:    • Painting the cover of my sketchbook in wat...  .

I am using Bockingford watercolour paper, black fineliners and watercolour. All the details are in the film captions.

If you fancy painting a kangaroo, starting with watercolour, do take a look here:    • Painting animals in line and wash - kangaroo   and search across my channel for racoons , a Great Dane, an elephant and rhino....

If you like line and wash you might be interested in my latest book called 'Line and Wash Painting', which was published in January 2022 by The Crowood Press (www.crowood.com) and if you want more in depth training please check out my line and wash course over at www.lizchadertonstudio.co.uk. I have also written 'Painting Animals in Watercolour, so you might like that too.

This is the link to The Book Depository (not affiliate) which does free worldwide shipping out of the UK: https://www.bookdepository.com/Line-W...

I release a film each week here on YouTube sharing a waterolour tip or technique, usually at 2pm. So please like and subscribe and hit the notification bell. If you have a topic your would like me to make a film about, please leave your suggestion in the comments.

I also run a facebook group which is a lovely place to meet artists from around the world, share your ideas and tips and show your work. You are welcome to join us here: www.facebook.com/groups/watercolourstudiowithlizchaderton/

#lizchaderton #lineandwash #koala