We’ll also need a pencil sketch to practice on

Just download and print this file on watercolor paper :)

To keep things fair, I also printed my sketch on a watercolor sheet (and then traced over it with a pencil) 👐

■ Practicing on a coloring sheet removes the fear of making mistakes
■ It allows you to try several times and see the difference
■ And lets you experiment with tools, materials, sizes, and techniques

I’m a designer. And it’s important for me to be able to draw outfits from my imagination! So we won’t be looking closely at references while drawing.

P.S. I copied this workshop from the course and was too lazy to remove the course-lesson mentions 😅

Just ignore them ❤️

Step 1. Paint all the skin areas with the base color

Mix orange with red and add a little bit of blue. The final skin tone depends on the proportions of the colors. Your shade might look slightly different — that’s perfectly fine. Create the tone that feels right to you

Just a reminder: we have a separate lesson on painting different skin tones (European, African, Asian, and others), which you can always revisit.

Step 2. Add a bit of purple to the base color to mute the shade
I usually paint only the main shadows cast by the head and clothing:

• Under the chin
• Near the cardigan
• From the sleeves
• From the skirt

I also added faint shadows from the collarbones.

❗ For this step, I use the same shade — I just load much less paint on the brush to create softer, less noticeable strokes. For those who find this part tricky: we have a detailed shading guide in a separate lesson

Step 3. Add a soft glow to the skin

Mix yellow and magenta, letting them melt together into a warm pastel peach.
Add a little more water — feel how the color softens, becoming light and tender on the paper

Step 4. Deepen the center line of the lips — especially in the corners — with a touch of burgundy pencil, letting the shape become clearer and more defined.
You can softly shade the upper lip too, making it a little darker (it always rests in shadow)

With a black gel pen, trace a single eyelash again (or with acrylic marker) if you wish to bring a subtle highlight

Small details like this breathe life into the face, adding quiet expression

You can draw a realistic face, a Disney-style face, or an anime face. These lessons are in the “Faces: Advanced Level” module

You can see the whole skin painting process here 👇
Watch how the tones flow together, how soft layers build depth and warmth with every brush movement

P.S. The camera turned off while I was working on the skin shadows — so that fragment is missing :D Just follow the steps above, and you’ll be able to recreate everything easily

Step 5. Add the base layer to the hair using a warm brown tone. Leave a few tiny gaps between the strands — little unpainted spaces that let the light breathe through

❗ These gaps aren’t required, but they bring a gentle rhythm and depth to the drawing, making it more alive

Step 6. Add the shadows. Mix a deeper shade by blending more brown into your base color — you can touch it with a bit of purple or even a little black. The exact mix doesn’t matter much. What matters is that it feels a tone darker, softer, more grounded

Gently place this color along the hair parting, on the sides of the head (above the ears) and down along the neck — this area always rests in shadow

Step 7. Use a brown pencil to define the outline

You can sketch a few loose strands around the main shape of the hair — this touch adds air and natural flow. With the same pencil, gently trace the edges of the face and skin

The full hair painting process is right here 👇
Follow each step slowly, and notice how the hair begins to breathe and shine with life.

Step 8. Paint the lemons and the glasses — lenses included — with a warm yellow tone. Let the color spread softly

Step 9. Mix a muted green shade and blend in a bit of the same warm yellow — this way, the lemons will feel whole and harmonious, connected by a shared tone of light. Add this color to the leaves on the cardigan, giving them soft depth and warmth

Then, tint the lenses of the glasses with a black gel pen

Step 10. Fill in the cardigan with a soft sky-blue shade

Move gently, section by section, flowing around the lemons with care. To keep the wash even, thin your paint a little more than usual — this way, it stays fluid and doesn’t dry before you finish the area around the lemons

And remember, this wash technique is a basic one — we explored it in detail in the dedicated lesson

Step 11. Add a touch of violet to the base tone — just enough to bring a gentle play of color

Lay soft shadows on the cardigan: along the folds, beneath the arm, and where the bag casts its shade. Then, deepen the knitted areas with a few delicate strokes, letting the texture quietly appear through subtle lines

Step 12. Blend a bit of sepia into the previous shade — or add a touch of black — to create a deeper, muted tone

Paint the darkest shadows of the cardigan, layering them gently inside the earlier ones. This soft overlap forms a natural gradient, giving the fabric quiet depth

Step 13. Outline the edges of the cardigan with a dark blue pencil

❗ You can also use other deep shades — gray, dark violet, or black. I used to outline with a fine gel pen, but the effect was sharper; the pencil keeps the lines softer and more natural

Finish by tracing the lemons and leaves with an olive-colored pencil — this gentle tone ties everything together, keeping the whole sketch warm and harmonious

Watch the cardigan come to life here 👇
Let your brush flow with the video — calm, steady, and light, like the fabric itself

Step 14. Mix a creamy yellow shade and cover the skirt with a smooth wash. Move the brush in a soft “snake-like” motion from side to side, letting the drop of watercolor glide gently across the fabric

❗ Since the color is quite watery, give the paper time to dry completely before moving on — wait until it lies flat again, calm and ready for the next layer

Step 15. Deepen the base tone into a soft brown shade

Start working with light, dotted brush movements, laying the paint in a transparent layer. The goal here is a gentle color transition — a smooth gradient that feels natural and warm, as if the fabric softly catches the light

Step 16. Continue building a soft shadow in the center, using the same gentle, dotted brush strokes

❗ Let some dots melt into each other while others stay distinct — this quiet irregularity makes the texture feel more natural and alive

Step 17. Add a soft shadow on the right side

❗ Notice the thin strip of the base color I left along the edges of the skirt — this gentle highlight is what gives the fabric its subtle, shimmering look, capturing the feel of a shimmering texture

Step 18. Add highlights over the base areas — along the center, between the folds, and on the sides of the skirt

Step 19. Deepen the tone by blending in a bit of gray and brown.
With gentle, dotted strokes, add the darkest shadows inside the previous layer — let them softly melt into the earlier tones

❗ Notice how in some places the dots merge together, while in others they stay separate — this contrast keeps the texture lively and natural

After adding the deeper shadows, I wanted to brighten the sparkle — so I placed a few more white dots with a white marker, letting the skirt glimmer just a little more

Step 20. Paint the lower part of the skirt with a soft gray tone — it’s a sheer fabric without lining, so keep the layer light and transparent

Then add small white dots to continue the highlights from above, letting the sparkle flow naturally through the delicate folds

Step 21. Outline the skirt along its edges with a brown colored pencil

Here you can watch the skirt texture come alive 👇

Step 22. Tint the bag with the same creamy shade

Let the color flow softly across the surface, keeping the tone light and smooth — as if the fabric quietly reflects the warmth of the skirt

Step 23. Add a soft shadow to the bag — underneath, in the center, and just below the decorative detail

❗ I’m not adding too much detail here; the goal is to keep the bag subtle, so it doesn’t steal attention from the rest of the illustration

Step 24. Tint the different parts of the sneakers with matching shades
Add small details with a white acrylic marker — just gentle touches to bring out the texture

Then outline everything softly with a gray pencil, letting the outlines stay delicate and calm

Here you can watch the full process of painting the accessories 👇

All done! 🎉

Paint with me step by step and share your work at @mariartjournal
I’ll cheer you on and gently suggest how to make your sketch even better