In this lesson, you’ll discover how simple and accessible watercolor highlights can be. You’ll master three beginner-friendly techniques — masking fluid, oil pastel, and dry-brush — and learn how to make light sparkle on the page, shape gentle waves, and paint water with confidence. Every step is easy to follow, and yes — absolutely anyone can do it.

Every step is easy to follow, and yes — absolutely anyone can do it. You’ll also explore how to mix natural, convincing colors, how to use the right amount of water, why proper drying time matters, and even how to tint your masking fluid for better visibility as you work.

How to Make Your Sketch

1. Redraw from the screen
   Look at the reference image on your screen and lightly redraw the main outlines onto your watercolor paper. Use an HB, B2, or B3 pencil for clean, soft lines that won’t show through the paint.

2. Trace directly from the screen
   Place your white watercolor paper over the screen — the light will make the outlines visible through the sheet. Use reference with name - step00.jpg
   Darken the room so the image appears clearer, and gently trace the main contours using an HB, B2, or B3 pencil. This gives you accurate outlines and a smooth starting point for your painting. Short instruction how to trace reference you can find on WikiHow platform.

Before you begin painting, study these reference photos carefully.
They show a yacht in strong backlight, where the sun sits behind the subject — creating dramatic contrasts, sparkling highlights on the water, and clear silhouettes.

Please pay attention to:

• Main contrasts — the bright reflections on the lake versus the darker yacht and mountains.

• Object sizes and proportions — mast height, hull length, thickness of ropes, position of buoys.

• Shapes of highlights — how the sun breaks into small sparkling dots on the water’s surface.

• Silhouettes — notice how most details become simplified because the light is behind the boat.

• Color temperature — warm golden light in the sky and reflections, cooler tones in the shadows.

• Edges — some parts appear sharp (mast, railing), while others dissolve into the light.

• Depth — mountains fade into lighter, softer tones as they move into the distance.

• Water movement — look at how small waves catch the light differently.

Once you learn the masking technique, you can use any other reference photo — or paint directly in plein air — applying the same principles of studying contrast, light direction, shapes, and reflections.

In this lesson, you’ll begin with applying masking for clean highlights, and build your first soft layer of color. From there, you’ll enrich the palette, add crisp details, shape gentle wave washes, refine the highlights.

In this stage, you’ll refine the mast and sharpen the yacht’s details, gently rub off the masking to reveal crisp highlights, and add small wave patterns that bring the lake surface to life. You’ll learn how to tint and enhance those highlights, deepen the water’s colors for stronger contrast, and guide the painting toward a vivid, polished final result.

Now take a moment to review the entire process from another point of view — a closer, side-angle look at the painting itself. This zoomed perspective lets you clearly observe how each layer sits on the paper, how the masking protects the brightest highlights, how the colors flow and settle, and how small strokes build the yacht’s details. You’ll see the water texture forming up close, the gentle blending of tones, and the final touches that bring the whole scene to life.

I’m truly grateful that you completed this lesson.
Please feel free to send me your finished paintings — I’ll be happy to look at them and offer advice.
Most importantly, enjoy the painting process. It opens your eyes and helps you see the world more vividly, in deeper color.