# Moonlit Pines: build a geometric night landscape with Aquarell polygon selections

Language: en
Canonical: [Moonlit Pines: build a geometric night landscape with Aquarell polygon selections](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/>)
中文：[中文 HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/>)
English: [English HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/>)
Published: 2026-10-23T06:22:25+08:00
Modified: 2026-10-23T09:27:50+08:00
Author: Bison

Use polygon selections, fills and four layers in Aquarell on an iPhone Duo simulator to make snowy mountains, three pines, a moon, twelve stars and lake reflections. Includes a chaptered video, a five-colour palette and the native 1400×1000 PNG.

English translation of the [Chinese original](<https://allluckly.cn/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/>), translated on 2026-10-23. Original publication dates, attribution, code and version notes are retained.

[Video](<https://allluckly.cn/assets/videos/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo.mp4>)

[English steps](<https://allluckly.cn/assets/videos/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo.en.vtt>)

[中文步骤](<https://allluckly.cn/assets/videos/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo.zh-CN.vtt>)

[Poster](<https://allluckly.cn/assets/images/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo.png>)

On a 1400×1000 canvas, polygon selections and fills form mountains, snow, the near shore, three pines, a moon and three lake reflections. A 10 px brush adds twelve stars. Includes step-by-step iPhone Duo simulator views in Open, Partially Open, Closed and Open again.

Recorded in an iPhone Duo simulator using a local Aquarell build, 1.0.5 (1), with a Chinese interface. Selected drawing steps play at 1.2–2× speed; the finished PNG is shown for 2 seconds. The last 20 seconds are sampled simulator-window views of the folding steps, with waiting removed. No narration; English and Chinese subtitles are available. Store-version features and layouts may differ.

Watch by chapter

1. [00:00 Deep-blue background](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=0.0>)
2. [00:13 Polygon mountains](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=13.0>)
3. [00:28 Near shore and three pines](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=28.0>)
4. [01:19 Snow on the mountain](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=79.0>)
5. [01:30 Warm moon](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=90.0>)
6. [01:55 Three lake reflections](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=115.467>)
7. [02:39 Brush and twelve stars](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=159.633>)
8. [03:22 Final checks and PNG](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=202.6>)
9. [03:39 iPhone Duo open and folded](<https://allluckly.cn/en/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo/#t=219.6>)

I wanted a quiet night landscape: two small pines on the left, a taller one on the right, mountains across the middle and a moon in the upper-right sky. Rather than covering the lake in ripples, I placed just three bright reflections below the moon.

I settled on a flat, geometric approach. The mountains, snow, pine crowns and moon keep their angular edges: define each outline with a polygon selection, then fill with the current colour. The twelve small stars are separate marks made with a 10 px brush at 100% opacity.

This demonstration uses an **iPhone Duo simulator and a local Aquarell build, 1.0.5 (1)**. The instructions follow the build shown in the video; the App Store version may have a different interface.

![Native Aquarell export of Moonlit Pines: dark-blue sky, snowy mountains, three pines, an upper-right moon, twelve stars and three lake reflections](<https://allluckly.cn/assets/images/works/aquarell-moonlit-pines-duo.png>)

## Save the bright colours for the moon and snow

The canvas is **1400 × 1000 px**. This piece uses only five main colours:

| Use | HEX | Role in the composition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sky and lake base | `#101830` | A continuous deep-blue base for the whole picture |
| Distant mountains | `#486884` | Separate the mountains from the sky |
| Snowcap | `#B8CDDF` | Brighten the tallest central peak |
| Pines and near shore | `#080F1D` | Anchor the lower edge as a foreground silhouette |
| Moon, stars and lake reflections | `#FFF1CC` | Lead the eye to the upper right, then back to the water |

The colour panel accepts six-digit HEX values. For an eight-digit value, end with `FF` to keep the colour opaque. Edges are antialiased, so sample near the middle of a flat colour area.

The deep blue serves as both sky and lake base. The horizontal edge at the foot of the mountains helps establish the water. Warm white appears only in the moon, stars and reflections, while the snow is cooler; the two bright areas therefore remain distinct.

## Four layers: check which one is active

The piece keeps four layers. From bottom to top they contain the deep-blue base; the mountains; the pines and near shore; and the snow, moon, stars and reflections. Before every fill, check the active layer in the layer panel, then return to the canvas.

Set the background colour to `101830FF` and use Fill Layer to lay down the deep blue. The ending `FF` makes the colour itself opaque; it is separate from brush opacity. Check colour opacity again when switching to the mountain, snow, foreground and warm-white colours, so the previous transparency setting does not carry into the next shape.

In this local build, the background-fill path is **More → Settings → Layer Tools → Fill Layer**. The menu at the top of the layer panel mainly handles duplication, merging and grouping; it is not the background-fill entry point used here.

Use Selection for individual shapes. Fill Layer acts on the whole layer, while Fill in the selection panel acts on the selected region. Laying down the base before making local selections saves unnecessary rework.

## Set the mountain rhythm with one polygon

The first mountain shape uses a **ten-point polygon selection**. Start low on the left, pass through the left peak, the taller central peak and two rises on the right, then close along the foot of the mountains. Fill the completed selection with the current mountain colour, `#486884`.

A polygon selection lets you inspect the outline before adding colour. The peaks need not be evenly spaced in height: the middle peak is tallest, the left is lower and the right valley dips again. One flat colour can still describe an undulating mountain profile.

To follow this composition, put the highest peak about two-fifths of the way across the canvas and leave enough sky around the upper-right moon. Keep a stable, horizontal base so you do not need a separate line to explain the shore.

Open Layer Tools → Selection → Polygon → Draw Selection. Tap each corner on the canvas, then finish. With a valid selection, reopen the selection panel and choose Fill under Selection Actions. Set the selection mode to Replace before the next shape so it does not reuse the previous region. After finishing, use Deselect in the selection panel to inspect the actual colour.

## One snowcap gives the mountain a direction

Use `#B8CDDF` for the snow. Extend it to either side of the tallest peak, with several turns along the lower edge to make an asymmetric snow line.

Keeping snow on the central high peak concentrates the main shape. A piece of mountain colour pushes upward into the lower edge, stopping the snow from becoming a neat little triangle pasted onto the summit.

Think of the snow as folded paper laid against the peak. Follow the mountain along the upper edge, then vary the width below. Detailed rock textures can wait; get a readable silhouette first.

## Frame the scene with three pines

Use `#080F1D` throughout the foreground. Keep two smaller pines on the left and a taller one on the right, then join their bases with a gently uneven near-shore silhouette.

The crowns are geometric outlines too. Keep the top narrow, extend wider branches lower down, then turn back towards the trunk. Tap a selection around the branch corners, close it and fill to make each pine silhouette.

The two left pines differ in height, and the tall right pine does not touch the far-right edge. The open lake between them leaves room for reflections. Even imagined in black and white, the side trees, central peak and upper-right moon remain readable as separate parts.

The shore only needs to connect the tree bases and anchor the lower edge. Keep it dark rather than adding another bright area at the bottom.

## An angular moon, twelve stars and three reflections

The moon uses the same warm white as the stars, `#FFF1CC`, with visible polygon corners. It sits in the upper right, noticeably larger than the stars and offset from the central snow peak.

Before adding stars, use Deselect in the selection panel and confirm that no local selection or selection overlay remains. Otherwise, brush marks may be clipped to the old region and the on-screen colour may be harder to judge.

There are **twelve stars** in the finished sky, each placed with a **10 px brush at 100% opacity**. They are not evenly scattered: spacing varies around the moon, on the left and above the mountains. The empty sky is part of the composition.

Add only three reflections on the water. They widen from top to bottom, roughly below the moon, while keeping long, angular silhouettes. Draw each separately, like three narrow strips of bright paper laid over the deep-blue lake.

Three reflections are enough to suggest water. More detail would fill the quietest central area, so I stopped there.

## Check the native PNG for missing edges

Choose PNG in Share & Export and keep the size at **1400 × 1000 px**. The finished image on this page comes directly from that app export. Keep the editable project in Aquarell for further changes to trees, colour and layers; use PNG for the blog and sharing.

After export, zoom in on three things: the snow-to-mountain boundary, the thinnest pine trunks and the small stars. In a narrow webpage column, the browser shrinks 10 px stars until they look tiny or intermittent. That is different from missing export content.

Then zoom back out and check that the moon, snow peak and reflections lead the eye through the whole picture.

## Check iPhone Duo open, partially open and closed

After finishing the piece, use the bottom of Device Hub to switch through **Open → Partially Open → Closed → Open**. The end of the video shows these four actual states as sampled simulator-window views, with waiting removed.

First inspect the full composition while open, then observe the canvas and toolbar positions when partially open, and finally check the more compact closed view. A brief black screen can appear during a switch. Wait for the app to return before touching the canvas.

In this local build, the Closed state still kept a large canvas view, obscuring part of the moon’s upper edge. Reopening made the whole landscape visible again. If a closed view is incomplete, return to Open to check the composition and compare the native PNG above; a partial outer-screen view alone does not show that an artwork edge is missing.

Device state and canvas pixels are separate: the original and exported image stay at **1400 × 1000 px**. A viewport change only changes how much is visible at that moment.

## What to try next

For your own version, change one thing first: move the moon to the left or replace the tall right pine with a shorter group. Keep the five main colours and generous sky space so the effect of the composition change is easy to compare.

For more app practice, try the [three-layer workflow](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-three-layer-workflow/>), [limited-palette exercise](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-limited-palette/>) and [colouring inside a selection](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-selection-local-color/>). For export pixels versus webpage display size, see [checking a blurry export](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-export-blur-check/>).