How to Create Watercolour Pencil Cherries: Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you haven't already, check out our Complete Beginner's Guide to Watercolour Pencils, which will give you all the tips and tricks you need to master this versatile art tool.

What You’ll Need

To create your cherries, you'll need:

• Castle Arts 120 Piece Watercolour Pencil Set in Zip Up Case
  
• Watercolour paper - you could use the A5 watercolour sketchpad that comes with our zip case pencil set, or explore our sketchbooks for more watercolour paper.
• A small round watercolour brush
• A graphite pencil 2H/H/B
• Paper towels to blot brushes
• A scrap piece of paper
• Fresh tap water in an old glass, tin, or jar
• Optional: white gel pen

Step 1

Begin by sketching a rough outline of the cherries, keeping the pencil pressure light as it will show through the more opaque layers.

Next, pick out the colours you think you'll be needing and swatch your pencil palette on a separate piece of paper. Add water to the swatch so you have an accurate representation of the colours when wetted. You might want to add water to half of the swatch so you can see how the colours look both dry and wet. 

Step 2

Add a layer of dry pencil to the cherries. I used a mix of colours including 023, 015, and 123.

Stick to a few colours to begin with to prevent any muddiness - you can always add more colours as you layer! Be conscious of keeping highlights clear of pencil to keep these areas light, letting the white of the paper shine through.

Think about the pressure you apply with the pencil - more pressure equals more colour payoff, producing a richer colour.

Step 3

Wet your paintbrush and blend the pencil. Blot the paintbrush after wetting so you have more control over the spread of colour. Use soft sweeping motions with the brush to blend the pencil marks in. You’ll notice it now resembles watercolour paint!

Step 4

To add vibrancy to the colours, try adding dry pencil over the wet layer you have just blended out. You can use the brush to further blend if you'd like to. The pencil will feel softer on the paper and will glide through the water.

Step 5

Build up the layers of pencil to add saturation to the colours. Allow layers to dry and repeat the above steps.

Focus on specific shapes and highlights you can see. As the surface is reflective, we will be able to see more of the background highlighted on the skin of the cherry. Add some shadows to the side of the cherry where they meet in the middle, and the proximity shadow at the bottom. I used pencils 086 and 039 for the deepest values of the cherries. 

Expert tip

To add smaller sections of colour, wet your brush and blot off the excess water. Wipe the brush directly onto the nib of the pencil and apply the pigment to your painting.

Step 6

Repeat steps 1-5 with the second cherry. Remember to draw what you see, as both cherries will have different highlights. This will enhance the realism in your painting. I used a 020 pencil to create a light pink value for highlights that weren’t white.

Step 7

Focus on the details of the cherries to show the texture of the fruit. Add some little dots to make it look as though you could grab them off the paper! If you have gone over your highlights, you can always use a white gel pen to pop them back in.

Step 8

Now, let’s focus on the stems. Using different shades of green and yellow, add a darker side and a lighter side. I used pencils 130, 002, and 055.

Step 9

Let’s add some gravity to our painting and add some shadows. The cherries are close, so the shadow is deeper in the middle. I used a mix of 163 and 068. I added some red 015 in the shadow under the cherries, as the surface is white and will reflect the colour.

And there we have it! Some realistic cherries using watercolour pencils.

We hope you enjoyed this watercolour pencil tutorial and feel inspired to keep experimenting! We'd love to see your creations – upload your artwork to our Gallery or tag us on Instagram @castleartsofficial and use #castlearts.