50+ Watercolor Jungle Painting Inspiration Ideas Tips & Tutorials [Art Scene Examples]

Below are 50+ watercolor jungle painting ideas. These ideas are intended to provide you inspiration for your own watercolor jungle painting. After the photos, I have included a list of watercolor jungle painting tips for beginners and five watercolor jungle tutorial videos for you to learn from.

Watercolor Jungle Art Inspiration Ideas

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Watercolor Jungle Painting Tips for Beginners

• Light Washes – Begin your jungle scene with light washes to establish the basic colors and tones. This technique allows for a gradual build-up of vibrant jungle hues and prevents over-saturation in the early stages of the painting.

• Simplified Shapes – My advice when you start is to use simple shapes to represent the lush foliage, twisting vines, and tree trunks. Simplifying these shapes helps capture the essence of the dense jungle without getting lost in intricate details.

• Light and Shadow – Pay attention to how light filters through the jungle canopy and casts shadows on the undergrowth. Understanding this adds depth and realism to your scene.

• Perspective – Remember to convey the depth of the jungle by scaling elements – distant trees and plants should be smaller and less detailed, becoming larger and more defined in the foreground.

• Adding Life – I always like to use real life elements like birds, small animals, or a distant figure exploring the jungle to help bring life to the painting. It also provides a sense of scale to the painting.

• Texture – Experiment with techniques like dabbing and dry brushing to represent the diverse textures of the jungle, from leafy underbrush to rough tree bark.

• Sketching – It’s helpful for beginners to start with a rough sketch to map out key elements like large trees, dense bushes, and paths or clearings. This guides your painting and ensures a balanced composition.

• Wet on Wet – Employ the wet on wet technique for creating soft, blurred backgrounds like distant foliage or a hazy stormy sky, enhancing the sense of depth in your jungle painting.

Watercolor Jungle Tutorials for Beginners

Below are five watercolor jungle painting tutorials so you can follow along and learn:

Watercolor Jungle Tutorial 1 – This tutorial is for beginner learning on how to paint different kinds of trees, which can be very useful in your watercolor jungle scene. This tutorial demonstrates how to paint three simple trees shapes – oval, cone, and elongated – using various shades of green and brown. Click here to view.

Watercolor Jungle Tutorial 2 – This tutorial showcases the painting of a vibrant watercolor landscape titled “The Sunny Road,” highlighting the interplay of light and shadow on natural elements. Techniques taught include detailed color application and capturing light effects on various jungle elements. Click here to view.

Watercolor Jungle Tutorial 3 – This video features a loose watercolor demonstration of trees and foliage, utilizing sponge work and inspired by backlit trees at the edge of a field. The tutorial emphasizes experimental techniques for achieving loose effects and texture in watercolor foliage that can be useful in your watercolor jungle scene. Click here to view.

Watercolor Jungle Tutorial 4 – This tutorial focuses on creating layers of foliage in watercolor, demonstrated through a Cambodian jungle scene. Key techniques include using cerulean blue and yellow for underwash, negative painting for foliage layers, and creating depth without overpainting. Click here to view.

Watercolor Jungle Tutorial 5 – This video guides viewers through painting a colorful jungle scene, with an emphasis on creating a bright, sunny center using oranges and yellows. The tutorial highlights layering techniques for foliage and achieving a glowing effect in the painting. Click here to view.