Watercolor Painting Techniques
- Soft Edge: Using 2 colors, create a soft edge. 2 strips of color put down so that they barely touch. The colors will merge together creating a soft edge.
- Crisp Edge: On a dry sheet of watercolor paper, lay down 1 strip of color, let it dry. Then do a second strip of color and notice they won't blend. Use more paint than water for thicker paint.
- Wet on Wet free edge: Lay down a strip of color and then another color under it. Before the paint is dry, clean out your brush and on each edge, blend it out with water.
- Flat Wash: Continuous tone/ value. Mix up your intense color in your palette to get a puddle. You will go line by line across quickly so that you keep a drip, you may have to re-dip for more paint to keep it all one continuous value.
- Graduated Wash: Color will fade as the wash continues. You will mix an intense color in your palette, start going line by line with a drip, then you will add more water to your puddle to make it lighter. Towards the end you will have more water than paint.
- Variagated Wash: Using 3 colors, lay down a band of color then clean out your brush and get a 2nd color laying down next to first, Do the same with the 3rd color.
- Create Value: You will made 4 bands of color using more paint in your puddle for first strip and each strip you will add more water.
- Wet on Wet: First you will lay down water on your paper and before it dries, you will drop in different colors and notice how the colors organically blend.
- Drip: To create drips you must mix enough water with your paint and lean your brush against the paper that is held a little upright . Push your brush against the paper to create a drip shape.
- Wax Resist: Using a white crayon, draw something on a dry clean surface, lay down your watercolor and see how the wax resists the paint leaving the drawing showing through.
- Brush strokes: Practice dipping a flat dry brush into paint for dry brush techniques, try both sides of brush. Then practice using a round brush and pushing it against the paper to change the stroke shape.
- Lifting: Lay down a wash of color. While its still wet, use a dry brush to make shapes and see how the paint comes off.
- Salt: Lay down a wash of color, while the paint is still wet, add a bit of salt to create an interesting texture. You can rub it off when the paint is dry.
- Splattering: Flat brush works best, make a puddle of paint and face the brush towards the paper and flick it.
- Plastic Wrap: Lay down a flat wash, when the paint is still dry, crinkle up your plastic wrap and push against paint to create an interesting texture.
- Water Drop: Lay down a wash of color , let it dry a bit, then drop water and see what happens.
- Wet on Dry: Paint a wash of a color, let it dry completely. Then paint a shape over it using a little water and paint. Your edges should be crisp.
- Blended Wash: Using one primary color, start your wash with 2 strips, then under it use another primary color or secondary. A 3rd color should form in between them when they mix.
Video of Ms. O'Brien doing WORKSHEET 1 (DAY 1)
Video of Ms. O'Brien Doing Worksheet (Day 2)
VIdeo of Ms. O'Brien painting a Galaxy
WORKSHEET 1
WORKSHEET 2
Watercolor Wheel Setup Day 1 Video
Watercolor Wheel Day 2 Video
Examples
Acrylic painting techniques
- Dry Brush: No water on brush, very minimal paint. See the texture it creates...
- Sgraffito: Paint a layer of paint, let it dry, then paint another layer and when wet, scratch designs.
- Wet n Wet: Wet surface then drop wet paint onto surface. See how paint moves around by itself similar to watercolor.
- Glazing: Paint an undercoat and let dry. Then mix up a new coat of color that is watered down so you can still see the undercoat.
- Combing: Basically this is using a knife to mix the paint on the canvas.
- Sponge technique : Premix your colors on your palette and then using a sponge or paper towel, dab and mix the paint on the surface.
- Drip technique: Water down your paint and hold the paper upright so the paint moves down the paper.
- Splatters: Wet a bristle brush with Wet paint and flick back your brush away from your paper
- Scumbling: Work in a circular motion light over dark.
- Masking: Use painters tape to create clean edges and shapes
- Soft Edge: Paint a strip of color and using a dry brush you will blend out the hard edge.
- Hard Edge: Paint in lines and shapes with enough paint and water so your edges are crisp.
VIDEO of Ms. O'Brien doing worksheet
Worksheet