Quick Watercolor Tip: Light vs. Dark Colors
To create light colors, such as light red, add more water and use less pigment. To create dark, rich colors, such as dark blue, use more pigment and less water. You can also mix in a tiny amount of black to darken a color, but use it sparingly—black can quickly overpower the original color and make it look muddy. Add a little at a time until you achieve the shade you want.
Here’s a six-stage visual guide for painting your Christmas tree in watercolor. I’d recommend working from light washes to dark details, saving the bright reds, golds, and ribbons for later. The key is to let the tree stay loose and organic rather than painting every individual pine needle.
1. Light pencil sketch (Skip if you purchased one of our watercolor art kits)
- Draw a narrow triangle for the tree’s overall shape, with irregular branch edges.
- Add the star, ornament circles, looping garland, and three gift boxes.
- Keep pencil marks very light so they won’t show through the paint.
2. Pale Washes
- Wet the tree lightly, or work with a damp brush on dry paper.
- Apply a dilute mix of green and yellow.
- Leave the ornaments, star, garland beads, and gifts mostly white.
- Let the first layer dry completely.
3. Build the Greens
- Use a medium round brush with short, broken, outward strokes.
- Layer light green and dark green, leaving lighter gaps between branch groups.
- Add different green mixes or a little blue or black mixed with green for deep shadows.
- Avoid making a solid green triangle; let the branches vary naturally.
4. Ornaments and Garland
- Paint red baubles with red, adding darker red along the lower edges.
- Use yellow and brown for gold ornaments.
- Paint the garland beads individually with warm yellow and a touch of brown, leaving tiny
- white highlights.
- Add fine black or dark blue hanging strings after the circles dry.
5. Paint the Gifts & Star
- Use pale yellow for the cream-colored box and dark red for the red boxes.
- Paint ribbon bands and bows with confident strokes; leave white gaps for shine.
- Paint the star with yellow and light brown, preserving its brightest center.
- Allow each color to dry before adding the darker folds.
6. Add Final Details
- Add a few dark green branch accents and small twig tips.
- Deepen shadows beneath the ornaments, bows, and presents.
- Use a diluted warm brown wash for the ground shadow.
- Stop before every branch is outlined. The loose watercolor edges give the tree its charm.
Biggest tip: Paint the tree in three green values—light, medium, and dark. Let each layer dry before adding the next. That alone will give you much of the depth in the reference without having to paint every needle.