How to create a glowing bottles still life

Welcome! This blog post features a guided tutorial of how to create a still life depicting glowing bottles!

This mixed media art project helps artists to build skills using contour LINE drawing techniques to render SYMMETRICAL bottles. Additionally, artists explore how bright, glowing COLORS can be used on a black background to create eye catching CONTRAST!

**HEY EDUCATORS! SCROLL BELOW FOR A READY-FOR-THE-CLASSROOM LESSON OF THIS PROJECT!**

STEP ONE:

Use pencil to lightly sketch out at least 3 different shaped cork bottles on black drawing paper. Use an elipse to draw the liquid inside. 

Once finished, outline the pencil with a white colored pencil. 

STEP TWO:

Using white acrylic paint, paint the ellipse on the top of the liquid, a glow line or circle down the middle of the liquid, and the details on the cork. 

*TIP* Add a little water to get the white paint flowing smoothly. 

STEP THREE:

Using a brush or your finger, fade out the white paint. Work quickly to complete this step before the paint dries! 

STEP FOUR:

Complete all the bottles. Then, add a little bit of white glow on the ground at the base of each bottle. 

STEP FIVE:

Once the white paint is fully dry, begin adding color with your choice of medium. A bright colored chalk pastel is used here. Layer heavily to achieve bold, glowing colors! 

With pastel, use your finger to blend and fade the color out into the black paper.

STEP SIX:

Explore adding glowing colors outside the bottle and on the bottom of the cork!

Next, choose another color to fill in the next bottle. Where colors overlap, mix the 2 colors to create a sense of translucence. 

STEP SEVEN:

Use brown or a color of your choice to fill in the cork.

STEP EIGHT:

Using a detailed paint brush and white paint, brighten up the edge of the contour line of the bottles and add bright white highlights. 

STEP NINE:

Consider adding additional details such as glowing “smoke,” stars, and more!  

You may also wish to color in the ground with another color.

STEP TEN:

You may wish to put creative labels on your bottles! Simply cut pieces of black paper and write the labels in a stylized fonts. A white gel pen or white colored pencils works great! Then glue onto your bottles.