Your Set Up

Workshop Replay:

How to Paint a Deer Workshop


Academy members CLICK HERE to share the progress of your art and get feedback in the Community Forum.


Level of Difficulty: Intermediate to Advanced

Drawing: The drawing for this composition will need to be completed ahead of time. Because the drawing is the hardest part of this project I'm offering 3 ways to help:

  • You can choose not to draw and trace the downloadable template from the drawing section.
  • You can follow the drawing video instructions found in the next section to help guide you while you draw.
  • You can watch the replay of the bonus drawing workshop where I help walk you through how to draw the composition and use comparative measuring.

MASKING: Make sure to mask the first layer prior to the start of the painting workshop.

Workspace: Have everything set up so that you are ready to draw and paint. I will paint on 10"x. 8" 300 lb hot press Arches watercolor paper. You can choose to make your painting any size you want. If you choose to paint on 140 lb paper I recommend painting on a block or stretching and stapling your paper to a board before the workshop begins.

Colors I plan to use:

  • Cadmium Lemon Yellow
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Alizarin Crimson
  • Cerulean Blue
  • Burnt Sienna
  • Sepia
  • Payne's Gray
  • Hooker's Green
  • Sap Green

I'm also going to use Winsor & Newton watercolor paints, but you don't have to. You can substitute the colors above for similar colors in your palette. They don't have to be the same colors.

Tools & Materials:

  • Pencil & eraser
  • Masking Fluid
  • Round brushes (I plan to use size: 1, 2, 4, and 10)
  • Mop brush
  • Scrap Paper
  • Paper towels

Optional: Hair Dryer


HEPFUL TIPS: I teach the foundation to drawing in: The Fundamentals of Drawing course. The skills taught in this course prepare you for drawing your designs in the live workshops.

I also teach the foundation to watercolors in: Watercolor Painting for Beginners course, which also prepares you for painting in the live workshops. Check out this course to learn how to set up your workspace, prep your paper, and familiarize yourself with the different watercolor techniques.

👉 Going through these courses first will help tremendously when doing a workshop!