This tutorial teaches how to paint a realistic lion’s face in watercolor using simple shapes, lines, and colors. The process begins with sketching the subject in pencil on watercolor paper, starting with basic shapes like circles, squares, and triangles. Light colors are added using the wet-on-wet technique, and the paint is then layered to build depth. Details are added, and final touches are added.
Lions are known for their prominent wild mane, which cannot be tamed. This tutorial is designed for both beginners and experienced artists, and includes a step-by-step guide that is clear, concise, and easy to follow. The tutorial is classified as advanced due to the various techniques involved.
Artist Sandra Strait also shows how to paint a lion in watercolor on a 4″ x 6″ (A6) Hahnemühle watercolour postcard. The process involves creating a realistic lion face using the wet-in-wet technique, which is a popular technique for creating realistic lion portraits.
In conclusion, painting a lion in watercolor can be a rewarding experience for both beginners and experienced artists. The tutorial provides a step-by-step guide for creating a realistic lion face using simple shapes, lines, and colors.
📹 Watercolor Lion Tutorial Step by Step
If you enjoy this video, please give it a and if you decide to try this painting for yourself, I’d love to see it! Just tag me on …
📹 Watercolor Lion • Time Lapse – Dylan Pierce
Follow along with Dylan’s full length Watercolor Tutorial and learn Dylan’s techniques and design process step by step at his …
Lol, it’s so true, so many times about halfway through a painting I’m like… wow this looks terrible where did I go wrong??? It’s good that you’re encouraging people to push past that point and add more layers. Love how this turned out, the white gouache whiskers really pushed it towards realistic at the end. Beautiful work as always Emily 😀
I’m glad you mentioned wanting to quit in the middle. I had an art project last semester that was due and I cried big girl tears at the hour 7 mark but I pushed thru and by hour 9 we were cruising again. Glad to know even experienced artists go through it too. I’be been perusal your articles and now it’s semester 2 and I wanted to paint a lion as part of my art project. im sooooo happy to find this article by you as the top result thank yooou!
This is amazing Emily! I was looking for a lion to paint in watercolors and this came up in my search. Thank you so much for your wonderful instructions and for sharing with us! I doubt It will come out this good since I am fairly new to watercolors. I am an acrylic and oil painter and I know watercolor painting is much harder than the other mediums IMO but I will give it my best shot.
Tomorrow is my Dad’s birthday and his fav animal is a lion so I decided to try this for him wish me luck! 🙃🤞 Edit: alright so I made this for him and he was SOOO happy!!! Especially since he’s a Leo ♌ at first when I gave it to him he thought I got it from a store but when I told him I did it he didn’t believe me 🤣 Tysm for this article!!! Also to the people who are gonna try to do this…. When I was like half way through the painting it looked horrible 💀 but you just have to trust the process and keep going cause it really is worth it!!
Wonderful…I want to try this in Gouche…but the Eyes of her painting are What says Lions to me! I used to say that if you get the eyes right on animal portrait then the rest is easy…been drawing since high school and painting since my 20’s…or longer! But I’m a Senior now and I’m trying revisit my painting love. Found out that it’s a but rusty…so this article really helps for my current Project! Thanks!
Wow.. this is really good.. and captures the main feature the muzzle of a.lion.. one mistake and the lion almost always look biting his own lip.. cartoony .. this one actually captures this feature exactly.. and water colours too.. thats too difficult to control.. really good…i am no artist but have an eye.. specially for lions.. tigers and wild animals in general.. most of the other pictures of lions i saw.. drwaings and paintings lack one thing.. they miss this most imp bit…
Best watercolor lion that I have seen! And I love lions, so I have seen a lot!!! I felt in love with this one, it is so beautiful AND a perfect blend between details and big strokes!!! I especially love the first layers, the wet on wet dispersion of color was majestically heart touching, but I seem not able to reproduce at all. I used Canson Watercolor Paper Pad, 30-Sheet, 9-Inch by 12-Inch, X-Large 300mg and wetted the surface with my blackvelvet 3/4 flat brush, but the first part of wetted (e.g left upper corner) becomes dry even before I finished wetting the whole paper (working on the right lower corner), and I did it fast. Keeping the whole paper wet at one specific time was already impossible let alone painting the burnt sienna onto the yellow ochre while it was still wet. I wetted until the paper starting to buckle, but it still dries up so fast before I have the chance to work on the wet on wet technique (which is the part I would love the most). Would you have any advice? Is it the climate where I live? It is true that some part of Canada is drier than other parts, but it isn’t the desert neither, lol. Is it the paper? I clicked on the link for arches watercolor paper, and waiting for their answer to know if they ship to where I live. Thanks a lot.
Beautiful!! I wanted to tell anyone reading this something really important. One day we are all going to stand before God. We have all lied, stolen, used God’s name in vain (omg), and done many more things that are against His law ( the Ten Commandments). He will judge us, and because we have all broken His law, we ALL deserve hell. We can’t just ask for forgiveness. Imagine you just committed a crime. You’re standing in front of a judge. The judge says that you will go to jail unless the fine is paid. If you say ” I’m a good person. I did this in the past, I’m really sorry. I won’t do it again.” The judge, if he’s a good judge, won’t say “Ok I’ll let you go because you only did it once” or “you do more good than bad”. He would say ” You should be sorry! Your good works have nothing to do with this. You broke the law, now you need to pay the price.” But because God loves us, He manifested Himself as a human, Jesus Christ, about two thousand years ago, lived without sinning, and died a terrible death He didn’t deserve because of us. Three days later He rose from the dead and one day He is coming back. We all deserve the ultimate punishment (hell). But God loves us so much that He took the punishment on Himself. We broke Gods law, Jesus paid the fine. If you repent from your sins ( sincerely apologize for breaking His law and turn away from doing it anymore) and trust in Him and Him only, your punishment will be paid for, you will get eternal life in heaven, and you will no longer go to hell.