
Learn to sketch and paint four loose, impressionistic street scenes in watercolor, with wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques, pencil sketches, and step-by-step demonstrations for beginners.
Choose textured paper, ideally cold press and 100% cotton, for wet-on-wet watercolor and dry brush effects, plus a simple palette of yellows, blues, earth tones, and white gouache.
Learn to simplify a street scene into basic shapes, separating the sky from the earth, using a horizon line and rectangular building blocks to plan a painting with perspective.
Master warm and cool color relationships, light and shadow, and maintain color consistency while applying light washes and diluted pigments in simple street scenes.
Identify shadows in the street scene and build depth with layered washes, using a dark cool tone mixed with brown and keeping to 3–6 colors for clarity.
Practice one colour watercolor painting by building a street scene with a single purple wash, focusing on light and shadow, tones, and simplified figures.
Start by drawing the head, add a rectangular torso and arms, then position legs and group figures with overlaps, hair placement, and head tilt to show direction and proportion.
Practice painting figures in watercolor by dropping in simple shapes for heads and bodies, adding shadows and varied poses, using reference photos, and building confidence through quick, expressive figure studies.
learn to paint a city street in watercolor by blocking in the road, hills, and buildings, simplifying cars to boxes, and applying light washes with yellow ochre and cerulean blue.
Mix a large mid value to establish shadows across city street buildings, cars, and trees, using a round brush and dry brushing for dark, atmospheric details.
Create a quiet street watercolor by contrasting a dark, looming sky with simple box-like buildings, using warm washes and soft edges to reveal light.
Master large left-to-right shadows across the page by mixing purple with a touch of brown and applying a 50/50 paint-to-water wash. Refine edges with selective highlights and dry brush details.
Observe San Francisco's light and shadow on a corner store scene, plan the painting by noting sun from the right and above and the resulting shadow patterns.
Learn to render shadows and dark tones in a watercolor street scene by building depth with blue windows, trees, figures, and cars using dry brush and gouache highlights.
Explore painting a Swiss street scene in watercolor, focusing on light and shadows, with shapes for buildings, figures, and cars, and a warm and cool color wash to create contrast.
Learn to render a Switzerland street scene in watercolor by shaping large purply shadow forms, cutting around figures and buildings to create warm contrast and negative shapes.
Sketch and paint a watercolor simple street scene, using freehand pencil plans and tracing templates, then finish with the watercolor steps shown in the class demonstrations.
Welcome to Simple Street Scenes in Watercolor. In this course, I will show you how to sketch and paint four different street scenes in a loose and impressionistic style. I run through all the techniques I'm using such as wet-in-wet and wet-in-dry. I'll also show you how to simplify and sketch a street scene in pencil.
This course is aimed toward beginners with 4 full street scene demonstrations which I'll help guide you through step-by-step. There are scans, drawing, and tracing templates included for each demonstration to help you transfer your drawing over quickly and easily.
In this course, I narrate my demonstrations in real-time. I explain every technique I use in the context of the painting, such as layering into wet areas to paint skies, trees and buildings. I'll share what materials you'll need, and which ones I use and recommend. If you have some brushes, watercolour paints, and paper, then you're set to go.
So join me in this course - let's create some beautiful watercolour street scenes that you can be proud of!
Bonus Workshop: Marketplace Scene Included!
In this course, I will cover basics such as:
How to draw and compose your painting - these lessons are placed at the beginning of each demonstration to show you how I sketch in basic details. I will show you how to place the horizon line, and how to quickly and accurately sketch in the reference photo. I will also talk about how I use my sketch to plan out the steps of my watercolour painting afterwards.
How to use complementary colours to create vibrancy and interest in your watercolour paintings.
How to paint skies, roads, figures, trees, and buildings in a soft and loose manner, using a combination of wet-in-wet and wet-in-dry techniques. I'll show you how and when to wet your watercolour paper to obtain particular results such as the appearance of soft clouds, and when to paint in more rigid and accurate shapes once the paper has dried.
The importance of timing in watercolours and when to use different brushes.
Assignment:
Your course project is to sketch and paint a watercolour street scene! This can be a scene featured in one of the course demonstration videos or based on one of your own photographs or scenes you've observed outside.
You can also refer to the scanned drawing/painting templates attached below which will allow you to trace the drawings if you choose to do so. I recommend drawing each scene free hand. Drawing is an important step in improving your painting skills. This provides you with an opportunity to compose and plan your painting. Complete your drawing lightly and loosely in pencil so that it won't show through in the final painting. This is especially important for background details such as buildings. Once you've finished the drawing, use the watercolour steps and processes included in the course demonstrations to complete your painting.
Materials:
Use any normal or mechanical pencil, watercolour paper, and brushes you have available. I recommend:
Mechanical pencil (0.5mm)
100% cotton watercolour paper or sketchbook
Student or artist-grade watercolour paints (primary colours only + white gouache)
Watercolour Brushes - mop brush and a variety of round brushes.
Getting Started:
Review the exercises and theory videos first. Then follow along with the course demonstrations. There are 4 different street scene demonstrations that you can draw and paint from. You can also download the tracing templates to transfer over your drawing. Remember to watch the video on 'Materials Required' to help you obtain similar results and effects. Always use the best materials you can afford.
As an additional challenge, research some free reference photo websites and find a reference photo you would like to paint. Using the steps and processes included in this course, create your own unique watercolour street scene painting.
Sharing Your Work:
Once you've finished, share your final painting and progress shots with the course by uploading them to the "Q&A and discussions" section on Udemy. I'll provide you with constructive feedback on your painting if you ask. If you have any questions or need more tips, please let me know. I'm happy to help.