How to Paint Fairies : Resources for Painting Fairies

Learn how to paint fairies with this guide to fairy art books, resources, tips and tools! Are you inspired to paint fairies, but don't know where to start? Need some tips on honing your painting skills, or wondering how to draw faerie clothes or paint iridescent wings?

This lens puts together a wealth of resources that will help you learn how to draw fairies and how to paint fairies. I have used many of them myself when I self-taught myself to paint fairies using acrylics or watercolor pencils and inks.

Here you will find books on painting fairies, links to painting tips and advice, inspirational fairy art and artists to help you, and lots more besides! Learn how to capture human and inhuman forms, faerie worlds, the magnificent detail of nature and much more.

I will be adding to and updating this lens regularly so if you like it, bookmark and check back again soon!

Image copyright of author

This was the first book I bought on painting fairies. I have met Linda in person a couple of times and she is a wonderful, warm and fun lady, which comes across in her fairy painting books as she really tries to help the reader with all her tips and clear instructions.

If you are familiar with Linda's art, you will know that her paintings are beautifully intricate and really capture the essence of nature. Her fairies have amazing ragged wings, gossamer outfits and are usually entangled in a wild plethora of leaves, woodland wonders and vibrant flora and fauna.

The book teaches you the basics, from different paints and painting styles to types of paper and tools, before taking you step by step through each element of a fairy drawing - features, faces, bodies, clothes, hands, wings and so on.

Linda Ravenscroft - GREEN WOMAN - Decorative Fantasy Ceramic Wall Tile

Linda then teaches you how to paint these drawings, and provides various painting projects that teach you how to recreate the painting bit by bit.

Highly recommended!

This second book on painting fairies by Linda is equally excellent, especially if you have trouble with the details of paintings. It is one thing to be able to draw and paint a faerie, but you have to be able to give him or her a believable fantasy background too. Being nature spirits, fairies are usually found amongst woodland settings, trees, leaves, flowers and so on, which can be tricky to paint for beginners.

This book once again introduces the basics of painting, before moving onto techniques such as perspective and foreshortening. Linda then demonstrates coloured illustrations of fun fairy homes and neighbourhoods, before talking about techniques and how to apply them. She takes you step by step through leaves and foliage, trees, fruits and nuts, flowers, and even the really difficult things like airy feathers and fluffy dandelion clocks!

You are then taken through settings, from rainforests to standing stone circles, and a complete Midsummer Night's Dream painting, before the book ends with a lovely gallery of fairy paintings with notes.

Once again an invaluable book from Linda!

This is another beautiful fairy art book. Stephanie favours the more willowy, ethereal form, so if this is the style of faerie you want to paint, then this book is the one for you. As with Linda's books, she walks you through styles and techniques, and different elements of fairies from wings to clothing, will o' the wisps to pixies. As the title suggests, this only covers painting in watercolour.

As well as fairies, the book looks at angels and mermaids, so if you want to create other magical scenes, or incorporate a mixture, then this is another great reason to get this book. There are twenty step-by-step projects to help you hone and improve your enchanted art technique!

Once again this book begins with a look at techniques, as well as discussing character development for the subjects of your painting. There then follows a directory of fairies, from banshees and dark fairies to sylphs, water fairies and elves.

This is great if you want to explore different styles with your watercolour painting. There are countless illustrations of faerie art from all kinds of artists, as well as step-by-step projects from different artists, so you can have a go at creating paintings in a variety of styles, including fairies by Jessica Galbreth, Myrea Pettit, Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Linda Ravenscroft.

A host of faerie artistic delights!

If you want to paint fairies, then I expect you are already a fan of faerie art. It is worth studying the work of other fantasy artists, looking at how they draw and paint certain things. It can help to begin with by trying to emulate a certain artist's style, to practice techniques and seeing what works best for you. However, move on from this and find your own style, your own unique take on the faerie world. There are many works of faerie art out there that look like copy cat paintings of other more famous artists' styles, and I doubt people will want to buy that. When buying faerie art, I look for something unique in the style and the painting itself that appeals to me.

Carnivorous Bouquet Fairy Art Print gothic by strangeling

One artist whom I strongly recommend following, particularly if you want to paint in acrylics, is Jasmine Becket-Griffith (Strangeling). She paints daily and posts work-in-progress photos and posts about that progress live on her blog and Facebook fan page. She interacts with her fans and answers questions about her painting techniques. You can learn a lot from her, and if nothing else be completely inspired by her dedication and enthusiasm!

Below I have highlighted links to Jasmine's sites.

Many of the wonderful fairy artists have released sumptuous art books. These are excellent for inspiration!

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