A note from Chris Mason about his inspiration for this project: WATERCOLOR JELLYFISH came from a simple search of “watercolor jellyfish” – I found the image of a jellyfish, at the time I did not know who the artist was but loved the image and the idea that it was more stylized and allowed for a lot of creative freedom.
A little something about Francee Greer.
The owner and creator of Francee's World, printable wall art for every room in your home or office. I am inspired by the world around me, which includes my 2 beautiful children, my wonderful husband, 9 dogs, 1 cat (my cat has since passed away but she was an awesome 21 years old) and the busy metropolitan city I live in Beverly Hills, California.
Watercolor Jellyfish Vocabulary
Stylized - depicted in a mannered and nonrealistic style
Free flowing - moving in a continuous, steady stream
Wash technique - semi-transparent layer of color, created by using a large amount of water and little paint
Transparent - allowing light to pass through so that objects behind can be seen
Spatter - cover with drops or spots of something
Jellyfish Video
Link to clip of Jellyfish live cam
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxamvCOV1-2QnalI3ozPUyo6ElWuXUC_z1?si=dgIB4li4E9NanHTy
Parts of a Jellyfish
Student examples
Project supplies
Pencil
Black Fine Point Sharpie
White Paper
Watercolor Paint Brush
Watercolors
Water Cup
Toothbrush
Paper Towel
Watercolor Jellyfish
Let’s get started
Paper in vertical
Find center and place a dot
Move up and draw an arch with your pencil, it should be about the size of a fist.
Enclose the bottom of the arch with a slight curve.
From the bottom center draw a curvy snake-like line downward. (this is a guide for the tentacles)
You are done with your pencil. We will be drawing the details with our sharpie.
(The idea here is to NOT to over-think about what you are doing, to loosen up and let it just happen)
Doodle ideas
Let’s start doodling
Using your extra fine point sharpie start drawing in the jellyfish details.
Making swirls, curls and a variety of different organic shapes. Start with the head, then move down to the tentacles.
We are not drawing a realistic jellyfish, get creative with your lines and designs, repeat patterns and shapes. Some solid black shapes are a good contrast.
Once you are finished and happy with your sharpie lines, you are ready to paint.
Time for watercolor
Using your watercolors, mixing in the open lid/tray, mix your colors using the water,
more water makes the colors more transparent, we are painting in a WASH technique,
this is what we want. (the sharpie lines should show through)
Remember we want to see brush strokes. We are not painting in the whole jellyfish
We are not painting the jellyfish completely, using your watercolors as a wash thinner is better
Once you are happy with your colors, allowing different colors to mix together is fine
Let’s use the toothbrush!
As a final step, mix up a color, feel free to mix ALL the colors you used together, or chose one (green or blue).
Extra water may be necessary. Use your toothbrush, dip it in the watercolor tray, get the bristles fully coated.
Hold it in your hand with the bristles up, using your index finger to flick paint.
Point the toothbrush down and flick with your finger.
(test it on a scrap piece of paper first if need be)
Spatter paint with the toothbrush over your jellyfish. (less is more).
Once you are done, sign your name with the sharpie. Congrats on your beautiful and unique jellyfish!