3 (More) Keys on How to Paint People with Watercolor

Adding figures to your watercolor paintings can be intimidating, and often I see students approach them with caution. In a previous video, I outlined 3 tips to help you add figures to your watercolor paintings. Today, I am going to add to this list.

Watch the video above for a step by step guide of this people-populated painting. And keep reading this blog for a detailed explanation of three more tips that will help you take on the challenge of adding people to your watercolor scenes!

How to Paint Figures in Watercolor

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3 New Helpful Tips to Paint People

As a follow-up to a blog and video I created previously, I am going to outline three more important tips that will help you paint figures in your watercolor scene. 

Give Each Figure a Feeling of Motion.

My first tip to painting dynamic, interesting figures is to give your people a feeling of motion. 

Whether they are leaning a certain way, appear to be communicating with one another, or express a certain feeling, make sure they are infused with life. If you create a scene where every figure is standing completely upright - rigid and straight, they are not going to look realistic or incorporated with the rest of your watercolor scene. 

Also, make sure that the people in your scene are all positioned in a unique and different way. It can look awkward if your figures are all situated in the same or similar way, so mix it up!

Incorporate Figures in Each Phase of the Painting.

Something I often see in student work is a white sort of halo - or outline - around a figure. This is an indication that the artist has worked the rest of the scene separately from the person in the scene. What happens is they leave the section where they want to include a figure completely blank through the first two washes of their painting. This results in a figure who is less realistic and less integrated into the scene as a whole.

I advise artists to incorporate their figures into each phase of their painting. 

Generally I paint in three washes: first my light values, then my middle values, and finally my darks. And when my scene includes figures, I consider them in each of these phases. Just as I do with the scene as a whole, I build up the colors as I go so that we include a range of values for a realistic and dynamic rendering of the people in my painting.

In my first wash, when I'm painting the light values, I paint light skin tones, and drop in a little bit of light color for the fabric of their clothes. 

In my second wash, I look for connections. As I complete this wash, I work to find connections between my figures and the rest of the scene. Every time I come up to a figure, I think about what value or what color on this figure can be tied into what else I'm painting around it.

My third wash is focused on darks and details. It is in this phase where I add definition and depth to my figures. 

Just like the rest of my painting, I want the people to have a full range of values and be fully immersed in the scene. This requires that I include them from the beginning and treat them like any other subject. 

Choose which Figures are in Focus and Add Detail Accordingly.

My third key is to identify what figures in your scene are most important. 

This is a concept that I come back to often: choose the focus of your scene and make wise choices throughout your painting process that highlight your main idea. It applies to figures as well. 

If you have more than one figure in your painting, you want to include variation between the people represented. Determine where your painting’s focus is, where the light is hitting. Then apply this to your figures too. Ask yourself - which figures need more detail? Which figures can be less descriptive?

Take note in these paintings the varying degrees of detail that I have added to figures. Notice how figures in the background, in general, receive less detail and contrast. There are some figures who are in shadow and I focus on their shape more than their color. 

Now some of these choices have to do with my personal style. There are some artists who might enunciate more details on more figures simply because that’s their preference. I tend to paint with the sensibility of an impressionist. Your tendencies and preferences will vary, but it will serve your painting well to identify the focal point and to make sure it stands out from the rest of the painting.  

What Were the Previous Three Tips on Painting People?

As I said before, I have a blog post with a similar theme that I wrote in February. This is a topic I return to because it is difficult, and it is one that I’m learning more about all the time. The keys outlined above are not the same as what I taught months ago, but they don’t replace the tips I offered in that video/blog. 

So let me quickly remind you of the key points in that previous lesson on how to paint people in watercolor:

• Think in terms of shapes when you paint people. Oftentimes, we are over-familiar with our subjects and end up painting the image in our head rather than your subject the way it appears in its real-life environment. Challenge yourself to disconnect your idea of a person with the actual shape you’re observing in real life. Paint this shape, leaving your assumptions behind.

• Take time to consider the proportion and placement of your figures in your drawing. Here are a couple guidelines to keep in mind as you place figures in your scene. Place people’s heads on the same plane/level (with some variation according to height and posture). Also, if figures are closer to the viewer, paint their heads slightly larger and extend their torso and legs further down.

• Add shadows to your figures to ground them in the scene. Without shadows, figures can appear to be floating in your scene. Attach shadows to their feet, make them look organic to the scene, and consider whether some figures might be completely in shadow. 

For full explanations of these three keys to painting people, visit the February blog about how to perfect the art of painting people.

Why Should I Paint People In My Watercolors?

I don’t include people in every one of my paintings, but they are a subject that adds a lot to a scene. For me, there are 4 essential reasons you may want to paint people in a landscape, cityscape, or interior:

• People Serve as a Scale in Your Painting. People are familiar subjects, and therefore your viewers have an instinctive concept of their size as it relates to everything else in your painting. In this way, they help orient the viewer to the rest of the watercolor scene. 
• People Suggest a Story. Art is all about expression, beauty, and meaning-making. And people have an important role to play in this because our brains are hard-wired to look for and react to a narrative. Adding figures and human interaction is a great way to connect with your viewer and garner interest in your painting. Take a look at the paintings  below. It’s common for your eye to go straight to the figures and ask questions. Where are they going? What is their relationship to one another? How do they feel? When you add figures to your painting, you’re posing questions like these to your viewer, which connects them more deeply to your painting. 
• People Enhances the Believability of a Watercolor Scene. Considering the same paintings (now above), think about the realism that these figures infuse into the watercolor. The proper, dancing postures on the bottom right add to the believability of this scene because they support the other elements we're seeing - the formal attire, the chandeliers, the fancy drapes. In this way, people can complement the atmosphere and particularities of the scene.
• People Bringe the Scene to Life. When people are added to a watercolor scene, they broaden its perspective. They have a unique way of representing the culture of a locale, the daily life of a particular place, or the mood of a scene. People are expressive in a way that no other aspect of a painting can be, and including them in your paintings will add vibrancy. 

Painting People You Love

In the demo that I am offering you today, I have painted anonymous figures. However, many artists want to honor people who they hold dear in their paintings and feel a certain amount of anxiety around this. They worry that they won’t “get them right” or that the painting won’t live up to the memories they hold close. 

I know this worry, and the only real advice is to paint through it. Maybe you won’t be happy with your first attempt… or your second. But every new subject you take on has its unique challenges. You can learn this just like you’ve learned to paint other subjects, and the only sure-fire path to disappointment is to not try.

One of my first paintings I did of my loved ones was of my wife hiking with my kids. I painted from a picture that I took of them when we were on vacation. The trick for me, in these early stages, was to paint them from behind. I was able to paint their likenesses without the worry that I wouldn’t capture their distinctive facial features that I love so much. 

Take it one step at a time and take time to reflect on the incremental steps toward improvement that you make. 

What 5 Steps Should You Take Before You Pick Up Your Brush?

Have you ever been really excited about a painting?

You get all set up. You find that right reference that you're excited about, and then it's time to go... but you feel lost. 

Maybe you're having a hard time achieving consistency. Some of your paintings turn out, some of your paintings don't turn out and you're not really sure why.

Well, I have a free resource that I want to offer you that will help with these exact problems: my Five Steps to Plan a Successful Watercolor Painting.

In this free lesson, I walk you through the crucial planning phase of your painting that will help you understand what you're going to paint first, second and third.

Planning is so important, especially in watercolor. This medium is harder to correct. It's so immediate. So having that plan is very important. After you sign up, I will send you a free PDF that you can have on your phone or print out. Then you can take a look at these crucial planning steps before you start each painting to ensure that you're thinking through these important things as you get started.

Download this PDF right now before you start your next painting.

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Painting People: Free, Full-length Watercolor Tutorial