Painting a Side Profile Study: Loose Watercolor Portrait Fan Art

Sunlit Manhwa-Inspired Profile Portrait Study in Watercolor (Loose + Realistic Proportions) Hi, I’m Valerie Englehart, and in this video I paint a watercolor profile portrait study inspired by a Korean manhwa, translating a comic-style royal character, Shuraka (“the Exalted Sun”), into my own loose style with realistic proportions. I build a warm first wash with quinacridone gold and Aussie red gold to make him feel bathed in sunlight, experiment with light green shadows, and lift highlights with a paper towel and brush at the damp stage. I block in bold turban and outfit shapes wet-into-wet using a dark called Cosmic Sound (similar to indigo or Payne’s gray), connect shapes so they fuse softly, and embrace blooms, cauliflowers, and dry-brush texture for a dreamy, glimpsed effect. After it dries, I add edges, jewelry, filigree, beads with white ink, and Aztec Gold accents, reflect on an “oops” about unintentionally lightening a person-of-color character, and recommend "Blossoms of the White Night" by Brothers Without a Tomorrow. Want to see more? Sign up to my email newsletter for a subscriber-only narrated watercolor lesson with downloadable line art and reference image and a cheat sheet for painting bold watercolor: https://valerieenglehart.myflodesk.co... Follow me on Instagram: @valerie.englehart 00:00 Sunlit Portrait Setup 00:44 First Wash Face 02:02 Bold Shadows And Blush 02:33 Turban Shapes Wet 04:15 Outfit Blocks Texture 05:25 Lifting And Values 07:37 Dry Details Begin 08:22 Gold Filigree Patterns 09:34 Color Choice Reflection 11:33 Beads Eye Finishing 16:10 Manhwa Recommendation 17:13 Final Reveal Outro #loosewatercolor #watercolorpainting #watercolorportrait