Watercolour Wonder: Your Weekly Plan

Dedicate just 5 hours each week to nurture your skills in watercolour, character design, and illustration. About 2.5 hours in pre-recorded lessons, a 1-hour live, and extra for completing projects. Each week, we’ll explore themes that are designed to inspire and elevate your abilities, helping you become more confident in your watercolour journey.

Module 1: Down the Rabbit Hole - An Introduction to Watercolour

• Start Date: October 28, 2024
• Live Q&A with Nina: November 1, 2024

Module 2: Alice - Character Design & Mixing Skin Tones

• Start Date: November 4, 2024
• Live Q&A with Nina: November 8, 2024

Module 3: The Queen’s Court - Designing a Cast of Characters & Playing Cards

• Start Date: November 11, 2024
• Live Q&A with Nina: November 15, 2024

Module 4: Page Design and Composition - The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

• Start Date: November 18, 2024
• Live Q&A with Nina: November 22, 2024

Final Wrap-Up: November 25, 2024

Your Journey Through Watercolour Wonder

In-depth and hands-on, Watercolour Wonder features a curriculum structured into four modules. Each module comprises five comprehensive lessons: an overview, design concepts, techniques and demonstrations and a final watercolour project. Each lesson builds upon the previous one, fostering a seamless progression of skills and boosting your confidence.

Dive into Colour Theory

Explore primary, secondary, and complementary colour theory while mastering the basics of colour mixing. You’ll discover the endless possibilities of watercolour using primary colours along with your new colour-mixing skills. Project: Designing and painting a series of “Down the Rabbit Hole” objects.

Getting to Know Alice

In this module, you’ll learn the fundamentals of character design techniques while mastering the art of mixing skin tones. From observation to inspiration, you’ll create your own unique rendition of Alice. Explore the proportions and placements of facial features, design a character map, capture Alice’s spirit through gesture, and experiment with various skin tones and washes along the way. Project: Design and paint your own unique Alice character.

The Art of Caricature Design and Watercolour

In this module, you’ll learn to use simple shapes to create a cast of characters, including the Queen of Hearts, the King of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat. You'll design and paint your very own set of Wonderland playing cards, bringing these iconic figures to life. Project: Design a series of Wonderland characters and paint them into your own set of Wonderland playing cards.

The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Composition and Page layout

In this module, you'll explore composition and design techniques, including the rule of thirds, hierarchy, symmetry, framing, and perspective. Progress from thumbnail sketches to a final, portfolio-worthy artwork, applying various watercolour techniques on a larger scale as you paint your interpretation of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Project: Create your very own Mad Hatter’s Tea Party watercolour masterpiece.

 Join me for our Weekly Lives, where I’ll answer your questions, offer live demonstrations, and share valuable insights to enhance your watercolour journey. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect and learn alongside fellow creatives! I will join you for a live call every Thursday, starting November 1st, 2024, from Adelaide, Australia.

Your Workbook

This comprehensive 67-page workbook is designed to complement the video lessons. Use it to help track your progress, reinforce key concepts, and enhance your learning experience. Click here to download the Intro chapter.

During the course, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with fellow artists in a private Facebook group, a supportive and creative space designed exclusively for Watercolour Wonder participants. Share your work, ask questions, receive feedback from Nina and your peers, and engage in discussions about techniques and challenges. Let’s encourage one another, celebrate our progress, and bring our watercolour visions to life together!

For those of you not interested in joining a Facebook group, I’ve got you covered! Each week, I will email all participants updates about the new module releases, provide links to content and live sessions, and showcase everyone’s progress.

Meet Nina

Nina Rycroft is an award-winning picture book illustrator and the host of the Watercolour Wonder 4-week live course. With a passion for watercolour that began with her first publication in 2000, Nina brings over two decades of experience to her teaching and art practice. In addition to being a published illustrator, she has a membership programme and offers an 8-week course in picture book illustration and a 4-week animal character design course. Nina is also a popular instructor on Skillshare, where she shares her expertise with aspiring artists around the world.

With an impressive portfolio boasting over a dozen published picture books, including notable titles such as Boom Bah! by Phil Cummings, No More Kisses by Margaret Wild, Good Dog Hank by Jackie French, and Pooka by Carol Chattaway (YABBA Award Winner, 2013), Nina has solidified her position as a respected figure in the industry.

As a self-taught illustrator, Nina understands the challenges and triumphs of the artistic journey. Her own experiences navigating the world of illustration have inspired her to create a supportive environment where fellow creatives can thrive. For more about Nina.

Frequently Asked Questions