Fresh, Practical Examples of 3 Examples of Using Watercolor Pencils for Underpainting

Three Core Examples of Using Watercolor Pencils for Underpainting

Let’s get straight to the paint water. When people ask for examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting, they usually mean, “Show me what this looks like in real projects.” So we’ll start with three big, practical scenarios you can actually try this week: a landscape, a portrait, and a still life.

Example 1: Soft Sunrise Landscape Underpainting

Imagine a simple sunrise scene: a low horizon, a glowing sky, and some distant trees. This is one of the best examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting because it shows off how fast you can block in light and atmosphere.

Start with a light sketch in graphite. Then pick three to five watercolor pencil colors: a pale yellow, a soft pink or peach, a light sky blue, and a muted green. Keep the pressure gentle; think whisper, not shout.

Lightly shade the sky area with yellow near the horizon, blending into pink, then blue higher up. In the land area, add a pale wash of green and a touch of cool blue in the shadow areas. Don’t worry about details yet—this is all about big shapes and value.

Activate the color with a damp (not dripping) brush, working from light to dark. This first wash becomes your underpainting. Once dry, you can:

• Glaze over with traditional watercolor to deepen the sky and add clouds.
• Layer more watercolor pencil on top for tree textures and grass.
• Keep the underpainting soft so it glows through later layers.

This landscape is a clean, clear example of how an underpainting keeps your light source consistent. When you’re tempted to overwork the sky later, that first watercolor pencil layer quietly reminds you where the light lives.

Example 2: Portrait Underpainting for Skin Tones

Portraits scare a lot of beginners, mostly because skin tones are unforgiving. This is where another of our examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting really shines.

Instead of jumping straight into full color, start with a subtle underpainting in watercolor pencil using:

• A soft yellow ochre or light peach for midtones.
• A cool light blue or lavender for shadows.
• A very pale pink for cheeks, nose, and lips.

Block in the main planes of the face: forehead, nose bridge, cheeks, chin, and neck. You’re not drawing eyelashes yet; you’re mapping light and shadow.

Activate the pencil with a small round brush, again moving from light to dark. Let it dry completely. Now you have a gentle color roadmap underneath.

On top of this, you can:

• Glaze transparent watercolor skin tones, letting the underpainting unify the colors.
• Add dry watercolor pencil for hair strands, eyebrows, and finer features.
• Deepen shadows carefully, knowing your base values are already in place.

This portrait setup is one of the best examples of how watercolor pencil underpainting helps prevent “chalky” or flat skin. The cool shadow underpainting gives depth, while the warm midtone layer keeps the face lively.

Example 3: Still Life with Strong Value Underpainting

For the third of our examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting, picture a simple still life: a mug, an apple, and a folded cloth on a table.

Here, you’ll focus on value (light and dark) more than color. Choose a limited set of watercolor pencils: a cool gray, a warm brown, and maybe a muted blue.

Lightly hatch in your darkest shadow shapes: under the mug, behind the apple, in the folds of the cloth. Add midtone shading on the sides of objects opposite the light source. Keep the brightest highlights almost untouched.

Activate with water to melt those pencil marks into smooth shapes. Let it dry. Now you have a toned underpainting that acts like a black-and-white photo underneath your color.

When you layer color on top—whether with watercolor, more watercolor pencil, or even regular colored pencil—the values are already working. This still life is a strong example of using watercolor pencils to solve the hardest part of painting (values) before you get distracted by color.

More Real Examples of Using Watercolor Pencils for Underpainting

Those three core setups are just the starting point. If you want more real-world examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting, here are additional ways artists are using them in 2024–2025.

Urban Sketching: Fast Underpainting on the Go

Urban sketchers love anything portable, and watercolor pencils are basically tailor-made for that. A common example of underpainting here is a quick value map for buildings and streets.

You might lightly block in the shadow sides of buildings with a cool gray-blue pencil, then add a warm ochre under sunlit walls. After a quick sweep with a water brush, you’ve got an instant underpainting that:

• Separates light and shadow.
• Suggests perspective and depth.
• Saves time when the light is changing fast.

Then you can layer sketchy pen lines and more pencil color on top, letting that first wash act like a quiet guide.

Botanical Studies: Gentle Color Planning

Another of the best examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting shows up in botanical art. When you’re painting leaves, petals, and stems, it’s easy to overdo the greens and lose subtle color shifts.

Try this: lightly shade a flower’s petals with a pale yellow or soft pink watercolor pencil, and the leaf areas with a very light blue-green. Activate with water to get a smooth, pale wash.

Now, when you go in with deeper reds, magentas, or greens, that underpainting gives you:

• A sense of translucency in petals.
• Cooler, more natural-looking greens in foliage.
• A built-in color harmony because your base layer ties everything together.

This kind of botanical study is a great example of how underpainting can keep your colors from getting muddy or flat.

Mixed Media: Underpainting for Colored Pencil Finishes

In 2024–2025, you see more artists blending watercolor pencils with traditional colored pencils to save time and reduce hand strain. A popular example of this technique:

Use watercolor pencils only for the underpainting—blocking in all your big color areas and values—then finish the piece in wax- or oil-based colored pencil.

Because colored pencil alone can be slow to build up, that watercolor pencil underpainting gives you:

• Instant midtone coverage.
• A smoother base so you use fewer heavy layers.
• More energy left in your hand and wrist for details.

If you’re curious about hand and wrist health when doing repetitive tasks like drawing, organizations such as the National Institutes of Health and Mayo Clinic share research and tips on ergonomics and overuse injuries. It’s not art-specific, but the principles apply directly to long drawing sessions.

How to Choose Colors for Underpainting (With Real Examples)

Picking underpainting colors can feel mysterious, but it doesn’t have to. Think in terms of temperature (warm vs. cool) and value (light vs. dark), and use simple examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting as your guide.

For warm light, cool shadows:

• Landscape example: warm yellow under sunlit fields, cool blue-violet in tree shadows.
• Portrait example: warm peach in midtones, cool blue-gray in cheek and neck shadows.
• Still life example: warm brown under tabletop, cool gray in cast shadows.

For cool light, warm shadows:

• Snow scene example: cool blue under sunlit snow, warm violet-brown in tree shadows.
• Night street example: cool blue-green under streetlights, warm reddish-brown in deep doorways.

As you test different combinations, you’re building your own library of examples of what works and what doesn’t. That’s how your style quietly develops.

If you’d like to read more on color and perception, universities such as Harvard often share accessible articles on how we see color and light, which can give you fresh ideas for underpainting choices.

Step-by-Step Flow: Turning Underpainting into a Finished Piece

Let’s tie one of our earlier examples together so you can see the whole flow.

Take the sunrise landscape again:

You sketch loosely, lay down your watercolor pencil underpainting in soft yellows, pinks, and blues, then activate with water. Once dry, you:

• Add a second layer of watercolor pencil in the darker parts of the clouds and tree line.
• Use a slightly wetter brush to blend those into the first underpainting, keeping edges soft.
• Switch to dry pencil for crisp tree branches or fence posts.
• Maybe add a final glaze of traditional watercolor over the sky to unify everything.

By the end, the underpainting isn’t screaming for attention—but it’s doing a lot of quiet heavy lifting. This is one of the clearest examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting where the first layer sets the mood, the light, and the atmosphere.

Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

As you try your own examples of watercolor pencil underpainting, a few hiccups are normal.

Too dark, too fast: If your underpainting is darker than you meant, let it dry and lift gently with a damp, clean brush or a paper towel. On the next piece, test colors in a margin first.

Streaky washes: Use a softer brush and slightly more water when you activate the pencil. Work in small sections so the paper doesn’t dry mid-stroke.

Muddy color: Pick a limited palette for your underpainting—three to five pencils at most. If you’re layering many different hues, keep warm colors and cool colors from mixing too aggressively in the same wet area.

Paper buckling: Use heavier watercolor paper (140 lb / 300 gsm or more) and tape it down. Basic guidance on paper and moisture handling echoes general craft and material safety advice you’ll see from sites such as USA.gov, which often stress using materials as intended and in well-ventilated spaces.

Each time you correct a mistake, you’re adding to your own mental list of best examples of what to do next time.

FAQ: Examples of Using Watercolor Pencils for Underpainting

Q: Can you give a simple example of using watercolor pencils for underpainting in a quick sketch?
Yes. For a five-minute coffee cup sketch, lightly shade one side of the cup with a cool gray watercolor pencil, the shadow on the table with a muted blue, and the lit side with a very pale yellow. Activate with water, let it dry for a minute, then add pen lines and a bit more dry pencil. That tiny study is one of the easiest examples of watercolor pencil underpainting you can practice daily.

Q: Do I always have to activate watercolor pencils with water for underpainting?
No. Some artists use a very light dry layer as a kind of tinted drawing, then only activate certain areas. One of the best examples of this is a portrait where only the shadow planes are activated, leaving the rest as dry pencil texture.

Q: Can I mix watercolor pencil underpainting with markers or ink?
Yes, as long as your ink or markers are waterproof once dry. Many mixed media artists do a watercolor pencil underpainting, activate it, let it dry completely, then add waterproof fineliners or brush pens on top. Try a still life as a test example of this combo.

Q: Are there examples of watercolor pencil underpainting being used in professional illustration?
Absolutely. While many illustrators keep their process private, the layered look you see in editorial and children’s book art often comes from some kind of underpainting—sometimes in watercolor pencil, sometimes in traditional watercolor. The concept is the same: a first layer sets the values and atmosphere.

Q: How many layers can I build over a watercolor pencil underpainting?
As many as your paper can handle. Heavier watercolor paper can take multiple wet and dry layers. Start with lighter underpainting layers and build slowly; this gives you more control and more opportunities to create your own examples of successful finishes.

If you treat these projects as experiments rather than tests, you’ll quickly build your own set of examples of 3 examples of using watercolor pencils for underpainting that feel natural and personal. The more you play, the more that first quiet layer becomes your secret confidence booster under every painting.