Illustrating the Natural World with Watercolor and Charcoal
A course by Sarah Stokes , Artist
Learn to illustrate the beauty of nature through expressive brushstrokes and charcoal techniques to create a vibrant scene of a wild meadow
Learn to illustrate the beauty of nature through expressive brushstrokes and charcoal techniques to create a vibrant scene of a wild meadow
The natural world is the perfect combination of the tranquil stillness of plants and the mesmerizing movement of bumblebees and birds. For this reason, artist Sarah Stokes gets lost in her wildlife artwork and has inspired collaborations with clients like Bloomsbury Press, DeMontfort Fine Art, and Pyramid International.
In this online course, Sarah teaches you how to use charcoal and watercolors to create naturalist illustrations. Learn how to capture the perfect mix of loose lines, vibrant colors, and expressive brushstrokes with Sarah as your guide.
This is Sarah’s fourth Domestika course. In her first course, she focuses on
illustrating birds with watercolor . In her second course, she expands on charcoal portraiture and creating atmosphere . You can see all of her courses here.
What will you learn in this online course?
22 lessons & 26 downloads
- 100% positive reviews (344)
- 13,225 students
- 22 lessons (4h 37m)
- 26 additional resources (14 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: English
- English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Sarah illustrates a wildflower meadow scene with summer flowers and bumblebees using expressive watercolor techniques. But you are free to paint a scene of your choice featuring flowers, grass, and wildlife that inspire you.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for artists of all levels who are interested in illustrating the natural world with watercolors, especially those who have taken a previous course with Sarah.
Requirements and materials
Working knowledge of gridding or tracing is beneficial for the initial exercises.
In terms of materials, you need:
⦁standard charcoal
⦁watercolor
⦁gold leaf materials
⦁watercolor pencils
⦁inks
⦁granulation fluid
⦁paper
⦁general stationary
Reviews
A course by Sarah Stokes
Sarah Stokes is a self-taught artist from the Midlands region in England, a place where she finds inspiration and creates work that is full of life. From a young age, Sarah has always been her happiest when painting and drawing, using her creativity to build a successful business career before deciding to return to what she loved most.
She has created artwork for bands, restaurants, breweries, and schools, as well as giftware for clients like Enesco. Her work is exhibited in Whitewall Galleries, Clarendon Fine Art, and several independent galleries. Sarah’s prints can also be found worldwide in places like Next, Wayfair, and on Amazon.
Content
-
U1
Introduction
-
About Me
-
Influences
-
-
U2
Tools and Techniques
-
Materials
-
Creating Values and Textures with Charcoal 1
-
Creating Values and Textures with Charcoal 2
-
Creating Values and Textures with Charcoal 3
-
How to Apply Gold Leaf
-
-
U3
Watercolour Techniques
-
Painting Foliage 1
-
Painting Foliage 2
-
Painting a Cornflower
-
Painting Poppies
-
Painting White Daisies
-
Painting White Daisies: An Alternative Method 1
-
Painting White Daisies: An Alternative Method 2
-
Painting Bumblebees in Flight 1
-
Painting Bumblebees in Flight 2
-
-
U4
Painting the Meadow Landscape
-
Composing the Piece
-
The First Layer
-
The Second Layer
-
The Third Layer 1
-
The Third Layer 2
-
The Fourth Layer
-
-
FP
Final project
-
Illustrating the Natural World with Watercolor and Charcoal
-
What to expect from a Domestika course
-
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
-
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
-
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
-
Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
-
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
-
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
-
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
-
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.
All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.
The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.
You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.
blossom1975
PlusMeine gute! You get so much information, tips and techniques in this course!
I have to watch again and practise a lot to get everything Sarah offers you, out of this course. Also, she speakes softly but clear, and very to the point. I really enjoyed this one. Well, to be honest, you really get 2 courses for the price of one: Charcoal ánd watercolor. And a bit of gold leaf as well. :-)
Thanks so much Sarah, you really inspired me to paint more loose and expressive.
Kind regards, Annelies
maaikecameron
Love Sarah, she explains so good,
i love the course i learned watercolour first time and i am so proud i hopen for my certificate but got covid so my trial monyh went by thats such a shame.
But 100% good cours
judithlernerm
PlusShara es una maestra maravillosa. He tomado dos cursos con ella que han iluminado mi proyecto creativo. Felicitaciones y Gracias.
View translation
Hide translation
chiks
this course allowed me to paint in a way that had previously scared me. The teacher is very kind and gentle. :)
mylenebouchez
I really enjoyed this course. Every detail of the process is showed, so it will be easier to apply the same process. I love the drawing with charcoal. I'm eager to train to realise the same kind of drawings. Thanks a lot to Sarah Stokes. Lots of love :-)