In this full process tutorial I paint a simple horse standing out in a grassy field, using a reference photo by Ave Calvar Martinez from Pexels. I keep the approach beginner-friendly and focus on building the painting in clear stages—starting with a simple drawing, then blocking in the big shapes, and finally tightening up a few key details so the horse reads well without getting overworked. The goal is a clean, straightforward painting you can actually finish, not a hyper-detailed study. I work with a small, practical palette: Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green, Payne’s Gray, Raw Umber, Ultramarine Blue, and a touch of White. Most of the “horse” is really about getting the value structure right—warm browns for the body, cooler darks for the shadow shapes, and a few crisp accents to separate legs, mane, and face. For the field, I keep the greens simple and let the washes do the heavy lifting, then add just enough variation to suggest grass and distance. If you’ve been wanting to paint animals in watercolour but felt intimidated, this one is a great place to start.