How to Paint a Watercolor Bunny

How to paint a watercolor bunny

There is something about animals that has always inspired me. One of the first animals I ever drew was my dog sleeping soundly on our front step. Shortly after drawing her, I suddenly wanted to try other animals and give each and every one of them personalities just like my lazy, sleepy dog. One thing led to the next, and soon I was creating a menagerie of animals. Which has led us to this moment – today we are going to be painting Frank the Bunny and learning some crucial watercolor skills as we paint.

Now, Frank I have to say is a peculiar little bun who has a bit of an addiction when it comes to his sweet yet dark cup of Joe. He can also be a bit temperamental at times – and a bit unpredictable in his moods. If that still doesn’t scare you away – then make sure to grab your free drawing of Frank the bunny below!

GRAB FRANK THE BUNNY DRAWING HERE FOR FREE

Before we begin…

Three crucial watercolor skills

If you missed it, make sure to check out my last video before starting this tutorial. This video is a quick review of the three crucial watercolor basic skills you have to know in order to paint with watercolor. If you would like to check out the post on this topic, click the link below.

Those three skills – mixing your paint-to-water ratios, moving the bead of paint across the page, and blending colors with a dabbing technique – are exactly what we’ll be using on Frank, so it’s worth a quick watch first if you’re new here.

This is probably the funniest painting I’ve done in a while! Here’s a quick snap of what the final painting looks like. Below is the video tutorial as well as a step-by-step walkthrough of the painting. Enjoy!

Finished watercolor painting of Frank the coffee-loving bunny in his sleeping cap

How to paint Frank the bunny, step by step

Frank is moody, loves his coffee, and is a little unpredictable – but painting him is a great way to put all three crucial watercolor skills into practice. Here’s the process I use in the video below.

Step 1: Mix and paint Frank’s body

Start by mixing a milky consistency of grayish purple. I use a deep gray (I like PH Martin’s black matte ink, but any dark watercolor works) and slowly tint it with a bit of Windsor violet. Once that color is mixed, paint Frank’s entire body, starting from his ears and working all the way down to his toes – this is crucial skill number two, moving your bead of paint continuously in one direction. Paint the little puffs of steam from his coffee cup and his back ear at the same time. Let his body dry thoroughly, then add a second, lightly tinted layer of gray to his fluffy tail.

Step 2: Paint the sleeping cap

Mix a milky consistency of purple using Windsor violet and a touch of French ultramarine, and paint Frank’s entire sleeping cap this color. Once it’s down, bring in crucial skill number three – blending by dabbing. Mix a blue (I use PH Martin’s Radiant Line Ultra Blue, but any French ultramarine or blue you have works) into an inky consistency, and dab it into the shadow sections of the cap while the purple still has its wet shimmer. Let the hat dry thoroughly before moving on.

Step 3: Paint the coffee cup

Mix a milky consistency of yellow ochre and paint Frank’s entire coffee cup, leaving the far right edge white – that’s where the highlight will stay. While it’s still slightly wet, take a little burnt umber and dab it onto the shadow edge of the cup, again using the dabbing blend technique. Let it dry completely before continuing. This is the step where patience matters most: painting over a section before it’s fully dry is one of the most common beginner mistakes, and it causes backruns where colors bleed into each other unintentionally. Letting each layer dry fully before the next one goes down is what keeps your edges crisp.

Step 4: Add shadow and depth

Mix a milky consistency of deep purple (Windsor violet, or any purple you like) and paint the back edge of the sleeping cap where the shadow sits. While it still has that shimmer, dab in some French ultramarine blue so the two colors mingle and create a soft shadow under the cap. Thin the same purple down further, tint it with a touch of blue, and paint the little fluff ball on the cap. With a watered-down yellow ochre, paint the top and bottom of the coffee cup for an ice-cream-like color shift. While those sections dry, pick up the watery purple-gray from Frank’s body and paint two of the steam puffs for a bit of depth.

Once everything is dry, mix a fresh yellow ochre and glaze it over the entire middle section of the coffee cup, including the white area you left earlier. Because you’re layering over dry paint, the previously white area will pick up an airy tint while the already-painted areas deepen slightly – an easy way to build shadow and depth on a single object.

Step 5: Final details

For the last details, add shading to Frank’s backside, back, and the back of his head using the gray already mixed on your palette, then soften the edge with water. Dilute a little shell pink (or any pink you have) into a pastel and paint the inside of his ears. This is a good place to add your own creative touch – I gave Frank stripes on his cap using a light glaze of deep purple, but you can use any pattern you like.

Finish with white details: I use Copic white ink to add dots to Frank’s tail and the insides of his ears, and to correct the highlight lines on the right edge of his coffee cup. Last, I use a Sakura Micron 005 ink pen to sharpen his nose, eyes, and any pencil lines that faded during painting, which gives the illustration a bit more pop.