October 3, 2018 |

Watercolor Illustration - Draw a Story

Draw a Story is a Singapore-based creative studio that specializes in fashion and lifestyle illustrations. From Founder Mandy Lau:

"Just like most of you, I love a good story.

A great one has the power to move us, shape us or even change us forever. And the best ones are those that can also engage us visually, just like the narrative illustrations in our favourite picture books. They capture our imagination, have us totally immersed in the plot and let us identify with the characters.

This is what inspired me to start Draw A Story, a fashion and lifestyle illustration studio to help brands and people capture a moment and create memorable visual stories. That and the fact that I simply love to draw stylish people and beautiful things."

Mandy created this beautiful illustration, Moon Lady, on Strathmore 300 Series Watercolor paper. Mandy chose this paper, which is a 140lb. (300gsm) cold press sheet, for the traditional watercolor paper texture. She played with a wet on wet technique for the moon and a wet on dry technique for the blooms.

It's both soothing and informative to watch her process of making this beautiful piece come to life.

MOON PROCESS (wet on wet technique):

BLOOM PROCESS (wet on dry technique):

TIP: If you're going to give blooms like this a try, make sure you're doing it on a dry surface. If you're painting over a portion that is still wet, the watercolor will flow and you won't get crisp, clean lines. We also recommend practicing this technique on a scratch piece of paper to get a feel for it before trying it on your final piece. Mandy starts light, then adds pressure to the brush to increase the width of the leaf. Then she lets up and uses just the tip of the brush to finish it, all in one motion.

FULL PROCESS VIDEO: