A Mid-Century Winter Wonderland

We've always been fans of Little Golden Books, Mary Blair, and the classic mid-century illustration painting aesthetic.

In this video, our good friend Brad Woodard from the creative agency, Brave the Woods is going to show us how to create a cozy winter landscape with mid-century warmth.

Brad will be using the Woodland Wonderland Brush & Tutorial Pack for Procreate. This pack was specifically designed to give illustrators the tools they need to capture that classic mid-century gouache illustration style seen by artists like Mary Blair and Charley Harper.

If you're working in Photoshop, you can grab the Woodland Wonderland Brush and Tutorial Pack for Photoshop.

Can't watch the video? Here's what's covered

Step 1. Start with a base layer

If you look at children's book illustrations from the Mid-Century, many of them have a base layer of color to add depth and contrast to what was laid on top. Here, Brad uses a mid-toned blue to act as a background.

Step 2. Block out your shapes

Mid-Century designers and artists often used bold, solid shapes to create the bulk of their images. When creating a landscape, experiment with using geometric and natural shapes in combination to bring a bit of modernism to your design. Don't forget to establish a background, mid-ground, and foreground by alternating the size and color of your shapes.

Step 3. Add details

Once you have your major shapes blocked out, it's time to add some details! Try choosing a thinner brush with a different texture than what you used in your shapes. This will help differentiate forms and help build a visual interest to your design.

Step 4. Texture

Your final step will be to add some texture to your artwork! The brushes included in Woodland Wonderland all have some texture to them, but you can get even more out of them by varying the amount of pressure you apply when using them. Experiment with using lighter and harder pressure to see what textural elements you like best!