'Shell' we paint a pretty urchin?

If you are a collector of 'finds' then you might just own a sea urchin shell. These delicate shells can be found in a variety of pretty pastel colours and in this tutorial you can decide which colours you would like to use and whether to paint just one or a whole page full!

To begin, you will decide upon the size you would like to paint your shell and create a rough outline. You will then use masking fluid to reserve the white of the paper as you recreate the distinctive patterns of dots and lines.

Once ready you will select your colour palette and apply it onto wet, allowing several colours to mix and merge on the surface of the paper.

Once your colours are complete you will add form by adding a soft shadow and then detail using a fine brush.

To finish I will show you how to add a strong cast shadow which will help the urchin to pop off the page!

If you enjoy painting this urchin shell, you might like to try my other shell tutorials and create a whole page of seaside 'finds' ~ this could also include feathers or pebbles.

Notice I have painted my urchin from above ~ but if you like the idea of painting them with a side view, or stacked like the ones at the top of this blog post ~ just adapt your drawing but use the same techniques to add the colour and detail to the shells!

To find out more about this tutorial take a look at the short video below:

If you're new to painting, this is a good tutorial to start with as you will discover some of the basic techniques of watercolour. It's also quite a quick tutorial as the drawing is very simple and there are only a few steps. This makes it a great one if you fancy creating a whole page of multi-coloured urchins or perhaps you could create a stylized design ~ just think about how you would change the sizes and colours.

Happy Painting!