Looking for an easy watercolor ghost tutorial to create fun Halloween art this spooky season? You’re in the right place!
In this simple post, I show how to paint a watercolor ghost. Spoiler alert: it’s easy and anyone can do it!
Let’s get right into it. š
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Watercolor Ghost Tutorial
For this easy ghost painting tutorial, you need watercolor paint, watercolor paper, and a pen.
Watercolor Ghost Supplies
Any watercolor paper will do. I used a Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.
I use Micron Pens for the face details, but any pen is fine. Pens aren’t necessary in this tutorial, you can also use paint instead. I like using a pen so I have more control when drawing the face.
Step 1- Choose Color
You can pick any color for this ghost tutorial. I’m using Daniel Smith’s “Lunar Blue” because it’s a great ghost color in my opinion.
This ghost painting will only require one color, but don’t let that stop you from experimenting and adding other colors. š
Step 2- Paint An Upside Down “U”
Paint a “U” upside down to start the ghost shape. No need for it to be perfect! You’ll want to have more water on your brush than paint so the first layer is light.
Step 3- Pull The Color Down To Create a Ghost Shape
Without grabbing any more paint, wet your brush and pull the paint down into a ghost shape. I brought the color down and created a whispy unperfect bottom.
Step 4- Let Dry
Let the ghost shape dry before moving on to the next step.
Step 5- Paint Lines Then Blend Out
Grab more paint of your chosen color and create some curves and lines at the bottom of the ghost. You’ll want to grab enough paint to make it darker than the first wash you put down.
Once you paint some lines, clean off your brush, wet it, and blend it out. Was there a rhyme or reason to the lines I put down? No. I did some curves to indicate the fabric of the ghost sheet and blended them out.
I stopped the lines about halfway on the ghost. You could bring them up a little further as well.
The point of this is just to create some depth to the ghost. You can 100% make this way more detailed. Adding lines and blending them gives the illusion of depth without overdoing it.
Let this dry after you blend out the lines. Feel free to repeat this process to create darker lines if you want more contrast.
This is a basic watercolor ghost so I just did one set of lines to keep it simple.
Step 6- Draw Face
Time to add some cute ghost faces!
Draw eyes, mouths, rosy cheeks, whatever you want!
Halloween Art Tutorial
There are endless ghost art ideas. You can experiment with different colors for the ghosts, unique faces, accessories, and more!
There is no right way to paint a ghost. Follow this tutorial and add your own unique flair to your painted ghosts.
Watercolor paint is great for this because the end result is so unexpected and whimsical. It seriously does the work for you.
Let me know if you have any questions and feel free to share your painting experience below. š
Thanks for reading!
-Amanda
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