3 Keys for Believable Depth in Watercolor Landscapes

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How do watercolor artists bring their landscapes to life, creating a convincing sense of open space and depth? What key principles and techniques should you always keep in mind to achieve realistic, well-balanced scenes?


Mastering the art of creating believable depth and distance is a game-changer for anyone painting landscapes or scenes.

The good news?

It’s easier than you think once you understand perspective and pair it with essential watercolor techniques like wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry.


In this blog post, we’ll dive into Aerial Perspective and three essential keys for achieving depth in your watercolor pieces, whether you’re painting landscapes or intricate, detailed scenes.

Let’s get started!
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What is Aerial Perspective?
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Aerial perspective, also known as atmospheric perspective, is an art technique used to create the illusion of depth in a scene by mimicking the way the atmosphere affects how we perceive objects over distance.

​As objects recede into the background, they appear:

1. Lighter in Value – Colors become paler or less intense.
2. Less Saturated – Colors lose their vividness and become more muted.
3. Cooler in Temperature – Distant elements often shift toward cooler hues like blues or grays.
4. Less Detailed – Texture and sharpness decrease as objects move farther away.

These effects occur naturally because of the scattering of light and particles in the atmosphere.

In certain instances, some of these things will not happen due to dramatic lighting and the local color of distant trees or elements, so you won't always find all four things happening at once. 
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This said, I always try to bring in at least a couple of these principles when creating landscapes or scenes. 

Watercolor landscape by Erika Lancaster.

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Key 1: Add Greater Detail to Closer Elements

To guide the viewer's eye and create a sense of depth, pay attention to the level of detail in your painting.

​Elements closer to the viewer (or in focal areas) should have more definition and finer details. For example:

• Foreground foliage can show individual leaves or textures.
• Buildings or structures can have sharper edges and clearer architectural details.
• Grasses or rocks might include visible textures and shadows.

In contrast, as objects recede into the background, details should become less defined. Distant mountains, trees, or buildings will appear softer, helping create the illusion of space.

Use wet-on-wet to achieve softer, diffused effects in background areas and wet-on-dry to achieve more defined detail in closer elements.
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Watercolor landscape by Erika Lancaster showing more detail in closer elements.

Key 2: Use Darker Values for Closer Elements

Value, or tone, plays a critical role in achieving depth. Closer elements in your composition should generally be darker, while distant areas appear lighter.

This technique mimics the way light interacts with particles in the atmosphere, scattering and softening distant objects.

Practical tips for implementing this:

• Foreground shadows can be bold and rich in tone, while distant shadows are lighter and less distinct.
• Layer washes strategically to deepen value in the areas closer to the viewer.
• Use dry brushing or glazing to add depth to foreground objects without overwhelming them.

Use less water and darker color mixtures when painting elements that are closer. 

Watercolor landscape by Erika Lancaster showing darker greens in closer trees and plants.

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Key 3: Warm Colors for Closer Elements, Cooler Colors for Farther Away Elements

Color temperature is another powerful tool to establish depth.

​Warm colors (like yellows, oranges, and reds) tend to come forward in a painting, while cool colors (like blues, purples, and greens) recede.

By adjusting the temperature of your palette, you can create a convincing sense of distance.

Here’s how to apply this effectively:

• Use warm hues for foreground objects, such as sunlit grasses, rocky textures, or tree trunks.
• Shift to cooler tones for background elements, like mountains, distant forests, or skies.
• Gradually transition from warm to cool hues to maintain harmony across the painting.​​

Add blue to colors and/or use more watered down color for elements that are farther away. 

Watercolor pencil landscape by Erika Lancaster showing a cooler green in faraway mountain.

​How to Practice These Keys

If these concepts are new to you, try breaking them down into smaller exercises:

1. Detail practice: Paint a simple scene twice, focusing on emphasizing foreground details in one and softening them in the other.
2. Value study: Create a monochromatic landscape using only one color to practice value changes from dark to light.
3. Color study: Experiment with warm and cool tones in a single scene to understand how they affect depth perception.
   
   

Interested in step by step painting tutorials where I explain how I bring in these key principles in landscapes? Access the tutorials for all the landscapes included here and much more for only $6 over on my Patreon!

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Have you tried these techniques in your paintings? Let me know how they’ve worked for you in the comments below.

​Thanks for reading and enjoy your art practice!

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