Watercolour Background

Today I want to share an easy tutorial for creating simple backgrounds with water-based inks and a brush. These backgrounds are a great foundation for outdoor scenes and work well behind fussy cut characters and animals.

Firstly, make sure you're using water-based inks. Check the packaging or product label or do a test on a scrap piece of paper. If the colour moves or runs when you add water, then it is water based. Solvents, oils and alcohols are unsuitable for this technique as they don't react with water.

Prepare a background panel by cutting out your card stock or paper in whatever shape you desire. I've used a stitched oval die to cut my panel.

Lay down some of the water-based ink on a non-porous surface. I generally use an acrylic block but you could use a non-stick mat, glass board or even a piece of plastic packaging.

Dilute the green ink with water to create a puddle of colour. The more water you add, the lighter the green will be. You can increase the intensity by adding further layers of colour, allowing each layer to dry between applications.

Brush the green ink onto your card stock leaving the edges uneven, which will help to give the impression of a grassy meadow. If you wish, you can create a hill or slope by changing the shape of the green area.

Repeat the process with blue ink to create a "sky". Leaving some streaks will give the impression of clouds.

Once your panel is completely dry, pick up some more green ink on your brush. You don't need to dilute the colour as much this time so don't add too much water. Use the tip of the brush to add little clumps of grass, which are formed by grouping short lines of varying sizes. Place them randomly around the panel.

If you wish, you could add little spots of yellow or pink above some of the grass clumps to give the impression of little flowers.

Stamps: