Watercolor Painting: Pale Light - Making Of

Since Spica-san asked about how to paint "pale light," I tried painting it with transparent watercolors in my own way.

Spica-san's wonderful article is here ⬇️

Art supplies used
Paper... White Ibis cold press SM (because it's easy to layer colors)
Paints... Holbein Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Blue, Nightfall Blue, Kusakabe Caribbean Azure (Harmonia), Holbein Gouache Permanent White

In Spica-san's drawing, it's a sphinx, but since that's difficult, I used a dragon, which I'm more familiar with (lol). After refining the lines with colored pencils, I lighten them with a kneaded eraser.
The arrow indicates the light source. The setting is that it is bathed in moonlight and also emitting its own light.

After wetting the entire surface with water, I paint with Cerulean Blue. I darken the four corners with Nightfall Blue. I often use the technique of wetting the entire surface first because it creates beautiful gradients and the unexpected bleeding effects make it look mysterious, perhaps?

While the paper is still damp, I paint the dragon's shadows with Cobalt Blue and Caribbean Azure. It's okay if it goes outside the lines! With the spirit of "it'll work out somehow."

After letting it dry completely (I used a hair dryer), I paint the shaded parts of the dragon with Caribbean Azure. Leave the parts where the light hits unpainted.

I add highlights with gouache Permanent White. (If you don't like using gouache, please use masking fluid at the beginning.) I draw in the dragon's mouth, nose, and the figure with Nightfall Blue.

The key point of this painting is that I kept it unified with blue tones. If you use warm colors, they will stand out too much. (Cool colors are receding colors, while warm colors are advancing colors.) There is also the fact that it becomes difficult for humans to distinguish colors under moonlight.

★There is no single correct way to paint, so this is just my own method, and the reason I use granulating and separating colors is simply because I find them easy to use.

★I hope this is at least a little helpful.