Mom’s are most special aren’t they?And what is a better gift than something that is handmade by you.Take some time out of your busy schedule.Learn how to create a stunning illustration by following this tutorial on how to make watercolor typography art.
Don’t be intimidated by the fact that you’re seeing watercolor and typography in one sentence.A couple of months ago, I would probably have freaked out.That being said,it’s always nice to take up a challenge isn’t it?By following these step by step instructions, you can create wonderful watercolor typography as well.Plus if it’s a Mother’s Day inspired one,even more so.
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Materials you’ll need to make watercolor typography art are:-
Step 1: To make watercolor typography art, first ,we are going to draw a few guidelines using a pencil and T-square.The whole quote has to be approximately in the centre.So keep that in mind and start drawing the guidelines.Choose a quote of your choice.Here,I’ve used “Mom you are nothing short of extraordinary”.We have about 7 words that needs to be included.So dividing it,the quote fits in five lines.The first line contains “Mom”.The second line has “you are”.The third line contains “nothing”.The fourth and fifth have “short of” and “extraordinary” respectively.Since Mom is the most important word here,I decided to keep the width of the guideline about 1 cm.The spacing between all the lines are 0.5 cm.The middle three lines are 0.5 cm in width.And the last line is again 1 cm in width.
After finishing the guidelines,we need to start placing the letters.Draw a line vertically in the centre of the paper.Now all the letters will go to the left and right from the “centre-point”.(As shown below).Now since “Mom” is a three letter word,the “O” will get divided to the left and right of the centre-point.If it’s an even letter word of about 6 letters,then 3 letters will go to the right and 3 to the left.
I wrote the word “Mom” in bold serif letters.Make sure that all the letters are of equal width.I did this by eyeballing and approximately checking with a ruler.You can also look up one of the serif fonts in MS word or Photoshop and copy.
For the second line, I decided to put the words inside a small banner.You may choose not to use a banner or try a different style.In the third line,I decided to go cursive.The fourth and fifth letters are simple sans serif letters.The writing bit is complete.Now off to painting with watercolors.
Step 2: Before I started painting,I drew quick outlines of flowers and leaves.I did it as lightly as I could,so it’s difficult to see in the images.I’ve used peonies as the choice of flower here.Using “Alizarin Crimson Hue” from the W & N Cotman series, I painted a few petal layers.
Quick tip: Keep a soft tissue or paper towel nearby to dab excess product on the brush.
Continue painting the leaves and flowers around the letters.As always, change the direction and the hue of the leaves and flowers.
Step 3: Paint a few more flowers around the first line.Now we’re going to make the word “Mom”pop.Fill it inside with white gouache.Watercolor papers are generally not stark white.They have a bit of gray or yellow tint in them.Filling inside with white will make the letter pop more.We’re going to make the letters a bit more by dropping shadows.Using the same color as that of the peonies,drop shadows from the letters.I imagined that the sun is on my left hand size.So all the shadows drop on the right side of the letters.
Next, we’re going to fill in the banner with gray.I chose the color gray because I’m going to overlay with the lettering in white.I wrote the words “you are”using a white gel pen.If the pen lines are not clear enough,you can go over it once the ink has dried.If you have a steady hand,you can go over it with a liner brush using gouache.
Step 4:Go over the cursive word “nothing”using a detail brush and white gouache.After the paint dries,we’re going to paint the background of the surrounding areas.Continue painting flowers and leaves.
Complete the last two lines in simple sans serif font.I’ve used two variations of brown for the lettering.After waiting for the paint to dry, continue with the floral elements.
At this point, we need to make the word “nothing”pop a bit more.Following the similar technique as explained above for dropping shadows. Finish off with all the flowers and leaves in the background. And everything is dry,erase off the pencil marks.And there you go,the finished watercolor typography art.
Would you like to get this as a free printable?For all the busy bees, this could make a quick gift for you mom on Mother’s Day.All you need to do is click on the link below and it will take you to a subscribe page.You’ll not only be able to get this printable but also this cute bunny illustration as a freebie.For all the awesome people who have already subscribed,this will be sent to you in the monthly newsletter.
Quick note:This is a postcard sized printable in approximate size of 4″x6″.
DOWNLOAD MOTHER’S DAY FREE PRINTABLE
What do you think?
Did you find this post informative?Would you be able to make watercolor typography art using this tutorial?What is your favorite Mother’s Day quote?Let me know all about it in the comments below. If you have ideas for tutorials or anything specific you would love for me to create,let me know.You can email me at zakkiya@inkstruck.com.Also if you try creating this, tag with #makeinkstruck and I would love to see and repost.
Have a beautiful day and I’m so glad you’re here.Cheers!
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