Painting Butterflies in a Composition

Enjoy painting butterflies with a step-by-step watercolor tutorial.

These beautiful white butterflies with prominent black veins are residents in the United Kingdom. Their name denotes their appearance, Black-veined White Butterflies.

Several of them made a nice composition with purple thistle flowers.

This butterflies-and-flowers lesson is one part of my butterfly tutorial collection. See Paint a Butterfly for more butterfly painting projects.

Painting butterflies with watercolor.Black-veined Butterflies
Painting butterflies with watercolor.Black-veined Butterflies

Painting Your Butterflies

Get Ready for Painting

Get your supplies ready and transfer a drawing to your painting surface.

What Do You Paint Watercolor On?

Watercolor may be done on watercolor paper, watercolor canvas or Aquabord.

This butterfly painting is on Aquabord made by Ampersand.

What Colors Will You Use?

Brushes used for this painting.Artist's brushes
  • New Gamboge Yellow (use any warm yellow)
  • Phthalocyanine Blue (called Phthalo Blue for short)
  • Quinacridone Violet (a red violet)
  • Dioxazine Purple / Ultramarine Violet (a blue violet)

Brushes: 2 small rounds, extended needle-point brush, 1/2" angle, and 1 1/2" wash brush (not in the photo)

Draw the Butterflies

These are the reference photos I used. You don't have to use my composition; you certainly can design your own. Refer to the composition page for tips.

Butterfly reference photo-1Black-veined White Butterflies
Butterfly reference photo-2Black-veined White Butterfly
Apply masking fluid to the areas you want to keep white on your butterfly painting.Apply masking fluid

Lightly pencil a drawing on the painting surface.

Apply art masking fluid around the butterflies to keep them white.

Also, put some masking on the flowers and leaves in places for highlights.

Use a separate brush for the masking fluid.

Don't use your watercolor brushes for applying the masking fluid (frisket). If it stays in the brush very long, it is very hard to get out.

After applying the frisket, wash the brush thoroughly with some dish detergent.

Find out more about how to draw butterflies.

Start with the Background

After the frisket is dry - paint in the background around the butterflies and flowers.

Start with Phthalo Blue and a soft wash brush in the upper left corner.

The background gets lighter to the right-side and down the painting. You may add a bit of yellow on the right side for the warmth.

About half-way down start adding in some of the flower colors for variety and unity. Darken the values at the bottom to help ground the painting.

Wash in the background from the top down.Wash brush for the larger spaces

Start the background darker at the top using Phthalo Blue and paint lighter going down.

Use a smaller brush in the smaller background spaces.Smaller brush for tight spaces

Use a smaller brush and a variety of colors coordinating with the flower colors toward the bottom.

Painting the Flowers

Paint the flowers before the bodies and legs of the butterflies because they sit on the flowers.

Paint the warm violet in the light areas and cool violets in the shadows.Paint warm and cool violets.

Use a small round brush to roughly lay in the flower colors.

Use the warm, reddish violet on the top of the flower that receives more light.

Use the blue-violet away from the light.

Vary the intensity of the colors by using more or less water. 

Let the colors flow together.

The green color in the flower is the masking fluid showing.



Remove the masking a finish the flower petals.Remove masking - paint more petals.

After the flower color is dry, remove the masking fluid from the flower.

Now paint some individual petals with a small round brush.

Use variations of light and dark violets.

Leave white spaces for highlights and sparkle.

There are additional ways to save the white of the watercolor paper.

The Green Flower Parts

Paint the green parts of the thistle flowers.Paint the green flower parts.

Paint the calyx, sepals and stems of the flowers. 

Mix your greens from blue and yellow and use purple to dull the greens when desired.

Mix a lighter green for the side toward the light - add more yellow.

Away from the light darken the green by adding more blue.

If your green color looks too garish - add a bit of violet to dull it down.

The Leaves

You may want to paint the leaves with more or less detail. 

Paint the leaves and stems.Paint the leaves with variety

It's up to the artist's individual preference.

After all the details on the butterflies and flowers, the leaves give the eye a more restful place.

Mix dark and light greens the way you did for the green parts of the flowers.

The same as above - paint the leaves with a variety of greens. The leaves toward the light will have more yellow.

The shadow side of the leaves and stems are a darker, duller green.

Now We Get to Paint the Butterflies!

First remove the masking.

First make sure all the paint around the butterfly wings is completely dry.

Then remove the masking from their wings.

The masking is rubber cement and it comes off pretty easy.

You may use a dry finger to rub it off.

Or use a Pick-Up Rubber Cement Eraser, as shown in the photo.

Remove the dry masking fluid.Remove the masking

Butterfly Wings

Paint the highlight and shadow color on the wings of the butterfly.Shade the wings

Shade the butterfly's wings before painting the veins.

Mix yellow and violet to make a gray. 

(Sorry - I turned the painting upside-down to make it easier to paint the overlapping wing.) 

Put yellow on the top outer edges of the wings.

Keep in mind that butterflies have four wings. Paint the gray where the wings attach to the body and where they overlap.

The warm yellow brings the wing forward from the gray on the wing behind it.

Paint the Veins

Mix a black by using yellow, blue-violet and blue for painting the veins.

You may use any small round brush, a liner, or a needle-point brush for the veins.

I was anxious to paint the veins (first photo). I forgot about shading and didn't use a good brush for me. So, some of the veins were too thick.

To correct the mistake, I used a damp brush (flat angle) to pick up the extra paint before it dried. 

Paint the veins on the butterfly wings.Painting the first butterfly's veins with a round brush; they got too thick.

On the first butterfly, I forgot to do shading before the veins. After the veins dried, I went back and shaded.

Paint the veins on the next butterfly.The next one, I switched to a needle-point brush, so much better.

Painting involves learning as we go. This butterfly got shaded before painting the veins - so much easier.

Paint the Butterfly Bodies

Paint the bodies of the butterflies.Paint the butterfly's body

Butterflies have three body parts.

They have a head with two antennae, a thorax with six legs and four wings attached to the thorax and an abdomen.

Lighten the same color you mixed for the veins with a bit more water.

The body will be lighter toward the light source.

The butterfly's legs go out over the flower petals because the butterfly is standing on the flower.

Final Adjustments

Adjust any details you see and your painting is finished.Complete Your Painting

Look around your butterfly painting and see what you might want to touch up.

Value contrast is what really make a painting sparkle!

You may add more darks at this time, if you feel the painting needs it.

Do it whatever suits your taste. You have an artist's license for painting butterflies.

No two paintings will ever look the same. Each painting is an individual.

Every individual artist will do their paintings in their own style.

Get information about finding your art style.

Butterflies Are a Joy to Paint!

Looking for more ways to paint butterflies? Visit Paint a Butterfly to see the full butterfly tutorial collection.

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