Now is a great time to paint loose watercolor butterflies and then add details with a fine line pen and some paint pens, and voila, some really great looking butterflies to use in so many ways are born! They'd be great as cake toppers, gift tags, collage elements, or as a wall hanging or mobile, the options are endless! While I plan to add antenae depending on how these butterflies will be used (if I use them in collage I'll draw the antennae, and if used as is I'll glue wire antennae to the back) you can decided what works for you, though of course cutting out very fine antennae is not recommended. What is recommended is to get out a bunch of watercolor paper, make some butterfly stencils of your own in a bunch of sizes, and make this a family project! LIttle ones can certainly enjoy adding color to the shapes using the wet on wet watercolor technique, and then even add details with tiny pom poms or other collage elements. Lets do it!
Do look at some butterfly photos or illustrations so you have some inspiration for how to add the details!
You'll Need:
- watercolor or mixed media paper
- watercolors
- a pencil
- a butterfly reference photo or several
- fine black pen and paint pens for details
How To:
- Draw outlines of butterflies on paper, consider making stencils so you can make many in less time and allow for little ones to participate as well!
- Fill in the butterfly shape with lots of clean water, flood it!
- Starting at the edges of the butterfly, add color by simply dropping color into the water and watching it spread! Do leave some white (more than I did?) and after the butterflies have dried you might want to go in again with more watercolor for definition or vividness. The main thing is to not move the paper as the pools of paint will run.
- Cut out your shapes, fixing anything that needs fixing.
- Add details with a fine line black pen and paint pens or any mixed media you like. A white gel pen can also be great.
- Make a bunch!
Above: I took this photo late at night, and you can see that my "art" isn't exactly lovely here, but looks great after adding the mixed media details, so don't sweat it!
