Top 7 'Forest-Floor' Pigments and Inks to create for Wild-Crafted Watercolors on weekends - Goh Ling Yong
There's a special kind of magic that lives on the forest floor. It's in the damp, earthy scent after a rain, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the dappled light filtering through the canopy. For an artist, this world isn't just a place of inspiration; it's a treasure chest of raw materials, a natural palette waiting to be discovered. Imagine creating a painting where the deep, rich browns are literally made from the earth and trees you walked past. This is the heart of wild-crafting your own art supplies.
Making your own pigments and inks connects you to a tradition as old as art itself. Before convenient tubes and pans of color, artists were foragers, chemists, and alchemists, transforming soil, stones, plants, and nuts into a vibrant spectrum. This weekend project is more than just a DIY craft; it's a practice in mindfulness, sustainability, and storytelling. Each color you create holds the memory of a place, a season, and a moment of discovery.
Here on the Goh Ling Yong blog, we believe that creativity is woven into the fabric of our world. This guide will walk you through seven incredible pigments and inks you can forage from the forest floor. We’ll cover everything from finding the right materials to processing them into beautiful, earthy colors for your own set of wild-crafted watercolors. So, grab your walking shoes and a collection basket—let's go color hunting.
1. Rich Earth & Clay (Ochres, Siennas, and Umbers)
The most fundamental and ancient source of color is the very ground we walk on. Earth pigments—like yellow ochre, red sienna, and deep brown umber—are essentially colored clays and soils, rich in iron oxides. They are incredibly lightfast, meaning they won't fade over time, which is why 40,000-year-old cave paintings are still with us today. Finding these pigments is like a geological treasure hunt.
To start, look for places where the earth is exposed: eroded riverbanks, construction sites (ask for permission!), or upturned tree roots after a storm. You’re searching for soil that is distinctly colored—not the dark topsoil, but the clays underneath. Look for vibrant yellows, deep reds, and even purplish or greenish hues. Collect a small, respectful sample in a jar. A little goes a very long way, so always practice responsible foraging and never take more than you need.
Once you have your soil, the process of refining it is a meditative practice called levigation. First, crush the dried earth with a mortar and pestle or between two flat rocks until it's a fine powder. Mix this powder with plenty of water in a large jar and shake it vigorously. Let it settle for about a minute; the heavy sand and grit will sink first. Carefully pour the colored, cloudy water into a second jar, leaving the debris behind. Let this second jar sit undisturbed for several hours or overnight. The finest pigment particles will settle into a smooth layer at the bottom. Pour off the clear water on top, and you're left with a beautiful pigment paste. Let it dry completely, and then you can grind it into a fine powder, ready to be mixed with your watercolor binder.
2. Black Walnut Hulls (Deep, Permanent Brown-Black)
If you're seeking a powerful, deep, and staining brown that verges on black, look no further than the black walnut tree. The green, fleshy hulls surrounding the walnut shell contain potent tannins and a compound called juglone, which creates an incredibly rich and permanent ink. This is a classic foraged ink, beloved by artists from Rembrandt to modern-day calligraphers for its beautiful, velvety color.
The best time to forage for walnuts is in the late summer or early fall when they drop from the trees. You're looking for the whole fruit, with the green or browning hull still intact. A word of caution: Black walnut will stain everything—your hands, your clothes, your tools. Always wear sturdy waterproof gloves and work in an area you don't mind getting messy. Gather a handful of the hulls (you don't need the nut inside for the ink).
To make the ink, place the hulls in an old stainless steel or enamel pot (it will be stained permanently). Cover them with water and let them soak for a few days to a week, allowing them to ferment and rot. This process releases the darkest pigments. After soaking, gently simmer the mixture for a couple of hours. Don't boil it, as high heat can dull the color. The water will turn a deep, dark brown. Strain the liquid through a cheesecloth or an old t-shirt to remove all the solid bits. You can reduce the ink further by simmering it gently to achieve a more concentrated color. Add a few drops of rubbing alcohol or a whole clove as a preservative, and you'll have a bottle of gorgeous, historical ink.
3. Oak Galls (Permanent Iron Gall Ink)
This is a true piece of alchemy. Oak gall ink, also known as iron gall ink, was the standard writing ink in Europe for over a thousand years, used for everything from the Declaration of Independence to Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks. It’s made from a simple reaction between tannins from oak galls and iron salts. The resulting ink is a pale grey when first applied but oxidizes on the paper to a rich, waterproof black.
Oak galls are abnormal growths on oak trees, formed when a gall wasp lays an egg in the tree’s tissue. The tree forms a woody, spherical growth around the larva, which becomes incredibly rich in tannic acid. Look for these hard, round "oak apples" on the twigs and leaves of oak trees. The best ones are those that have a small exit hole, indicating the wasp has left and the gall is mature.
The process is surprisingly simple. Crush 4-5 oak galls into small pieces using a hammer (place them in a cloth bag first). Place the crushed galls in a glass jar and cover them with water (rainwater is ideal). Let them soak for a week, shaking the jar daily. Then, strain the tannic liquid. To make it into ink, you need an iron source. The traditional method uses ferrous sulfate, but a beautifully rustic version can be made by simply dropping a few rusty nails or a piece of steel wool into a separate jar of vinegar and letting it sit for a week. This creates iron acetate. Add a small amount of this iron solution to your tannin liquid, drop by drop. You'll see it magically transform into a dark, inky black right before your eyes.
4. Acorns & Acorn Caps (Warm, Earthy Browns)
While walnut gets all the attention for dark browns, the humble acorn is a fantastic source for a range of softer, warmer, earth-toned inks. All parts of the acorn contain tannins, but the caps are particularly easy to work with and yield a lovely, reliable color. This is a perfect beginner's project, especially in autumn when the forest floor is littered with them.
Gather a good handful of acorn caps. The process is a simple water extraction, much like making a strong tea. Place the caps in a non-reactive pot, cover them with water, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it gently bubble away for at least an hour, or until the water has taken on a rich, brown color. The longer you simmer and the more you reduce the liquid, the darker and more concentrated your ink will be.
Once you’re happy with the color, let it cool and strain it through a fine-mesh sieve or cloth to remove all the cap pieces. You can experiment to modify the color. Adding a pinch of baking soda (an alkali) can shift the brown towards a warmer, reddish tone, while adding a bit of your iron solution (from the oak gall project) will "sadden" the color, pushing it towards a cooler, darker grey-brown. As a forager and artist, Goh Ling Yong often speaks about how these simple modifications allow you to create an entire palette from a single source material, truly personalizing your art.
5. Pine Cones (Rich Sepia Tones)
When you think of pine cones, you might not immediately think of ink, but these woody structures are another wonderful source of tannins that can be boiled down into a beautiful, warm, sepia-toned brown. The color is reminiscent of vintage photographs and adds a lovely, nostalgic quality to sketches and paintings. Different species of pine will yield slightly different shades, so it’s worth experimenting with what’s available in your local woodlands.
For this ink, you’ll want to collect mature but still tightly closed pine cones, as they hold the most concentrated color. Young, green cones also work well. Gather a small bag full—the more you use, the darker your final ink will be. The process is very similar to making acorn cap ink and is a great activity for a crisp autumn afternoon.
Place your pine cones in a pot, cover them with water, and simmer them for several hours. You’ll need to be patient with this one; the color releases slowly. As the water level reduces, you can top it up to continue the extraction process. After a few hours, the water will be a fragrant, richly colored liquid. Strain it carefully to remove any debris. For a thicker, more paint-like consistency, continue to simmer the strained liquid gently until it has reduced to your desired strength. This pine cone ink is a wonderful, aromatic addition to your collection of wild-crafted watercolors.
6. Decomposing Wood & Leaf Litter (Vandyke Brown)
This is perhaps the most "forest-floor" pigment of them all. Vandyke Brown is a historical pigment named after the Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck, who favored its deep, transparent brown hue. The original pigment was made from peat or soil rich in decayed organic matter. You can create your own version from the very humus that nourishes the forest. This pigment is literally the color of decomposition and rebirth.
To find this color, you need to look for deeply rotted, crumbly wood or rich, dark pockets of leaf mold in the forest. You’re searching for material that has broken down so much it feels like soft, damp soil. It should have a deep, chocolatey-brown color. Collect a small amount of this material, again being mindful of the forest ecosystem and taking only what is freely available.
The process is one of steeping and filtering. Mix your collected material with water in a jar and let it sit for several days, shaking it periodically. The water-soluble humic substances will leach out, creating a liquid that looks like black coffee. Strain this liquid through a cloth multiple times to remove all the solid particles. What you're left with is a beautiful, transparent brown dye or ink. To turn it into a pigment for watercolor, you can either evaporate all the water to get a dry powder or use the concentrated liquid directly with your watercolor binder. The resulting color is deep, moody, and full of character.
7. Soot or Charcoal (Carbon Black)
Finally, we have the ultimate black pigment: carbon. Lamp black or carbon black is one of the oldest and most lightfast pigments known to humanity. It’s made from pure carbon, usually collected as soot. On the forest floor, you can find this in the form of charcoal from old campfires or by making it yourself. This creates a deep, neutral, and opaque black that is a staple in any watercolor palette.
The easiest way to get this pigment is to carefully collect charcoal from a thoroughly extinguished and cold campfire (always practice fire safety). Look for pieces of wood that have been turned into pure, brittle charcoal. Alternatively, you can make your own by placing small willow or grapevine twigs in a metal tin with a tiny hole poked in the lid, and then placing that tin in a hot fire. The wood will bake without oxygen, turning into perfect charcoal sticks.
Once you have your charcoal, the work begins. You need to grind it into an exceptionally fine powder. Use a mortar and pestle or a glass muller on a glass slab. This takes time and patience. The finer you grind the powder, the smoother and more intense your final paint will be. You will know it's ready when the powder feels like flour and no longer gritty. This fine black powder can then be slowly mixed with your gum arabic binder to create a wonderfully intense, homemade black watercolor.
Your Wild-Crafted Journey Begins
Stepping into the world of wild-crafted watercolors is about more than just making paint. It's about slowing down, observing the world around you with an artist's eye, and creating with intention. The seven pigments and inks we've explored are just the beginning. The forest floor is a vast and varied studio, offering new colors and textures with every season.
The process is a reward in itself—the quiet walk, the patient grinding, the magical moment a color appears in your jar. The paints you create will be unlike any you can buy, each one imbued with the spirit of the place where it was found.
Now it's your turn. Start with one of these projects this weekend. Choose the one that speaks to you most, gather your materials responsibly, and embrace the experimentation. We would absolutely love to see what you create. Share your foraged colors and artwork on social media and tag us, or leave a comment below describing your own pigment-hunting adventures
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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