Have you ever wanted to draw a greenhouse illustration, but weren’t sure where to start? Well you’re in the right place, so let’s grow! (instead of “let’s go!” Did you get it??)
Hey everyone, Katie here from Studio Katie. I love being outside in my garden, and while I don’t have a big greenhouse (goals!), I do like planting flowers and veggies, or just sitting by my flower bed, sketching and enjoying nature.
Today I want to show you how I created this greenhouse illustration with a really fun and easy technique using a washi tape resist!
How to Draw a Greenhouse:
Supplies:
- Mixed Media or Watercolor Sketchbook
- Tombow Dual Brush Pens, I used the following colors: 992, 912, 947, 933, 026, 131, 126, 177, 436, & 879
- Thin Washi Tape
- Tombow Blending Palette + Water & Paint Brush
- Tombow MONO Drawing Pencil
Step one:
Create a grid for your greenhouse using the washi tape.Greenhouses are usually made up of glass panels, so we’re going to make our white borders by using the washi tape as a resist – we’ll peel it away during the last step!
Step two:
Fill in your greenhouse with a light wash of Dual Brush Pen color 131 by applying the marker ink to the blending palette (literally just scribbling the marker on the laminated surface) and picking up the color with a damp paintbrush before applying it to the paper.
Because the greenhouse frame will be white (underneath the washi tape), we need to fill the inside of our greenhouse in with at least a light wash of color. So I’m using the pale green for this.
Step three:
Once the background is dry, Lightly sketch your plants into the greenhouse! The more the better, and if they overlap the washi tape, great! We want to really fill it with plants!!
Step four:
Next we’re going to color in our plants. I like to use the Dual Brush Pens like watercolors by applying the ink to the blending palette first and then picking up the ink with the paint brush and then painting with them. I find this gives them really soft colors and blend, and I like the overall watercolor feel of the piece.
And if I want bold lines or darker areas, I can use the bullet tip of the marker or apply the marker directly to the paper! The Dual Brush Pens are so versatile, because you can use them like regular markers with either the brush tip or bullet tip, or use them indirectly on the blending palette, etc!
Step five:
Keep going until you’ve completely filled in your greenhouse. You could do all tropical plants, or cacti, or vegetables or all flowers, whatever you enjoy! I’m loving this warm 70s-inspired color palette for this greenhouse.
I also filled in the background outside of the greenhouse with a light wash of Dual Brush Pen color 346 to contrast against the white greenhouse frame. Next, make sure your paint is completely dry!
Step six:
Remove the washi tape to reveal the resist & final greenhouse!!
And that’s it! I might turn this piece into a greeting card to send to a friend, I hope you loved learning how to draw a greenhouse with me!
If you’re looking for more fun Spring projects, check out these from the Tombow blog: