Watercolor:
Watercolor originated during the European Renaissance. Early watercolor paintings were mainly used for sketches and exercises. In eighteenth-century England, watercolor truly became an independent genre. Therefore, Britain is often called: "the home of watercolor painting". When watercolor painting was introduced to my country in the late Qing Dynasty, it first settled in the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Therefore, Jiangsu is known as the "Hometown of Watercolor Painting".
Watercolor painting has many similarities with my country’s traditional ink painting, so it is deeply loved by the masses! People like to compare watercolor painting to charming light music. With its brisk rhythm, beautiful melody, and unique The water color fully expresses the painter's passion and feelings for society and nature, which is refreshing and refreshing. Watercolor painting can give people a unique sense of beauty, mainly due to the artistic language of blending water and color, which has a simple, fresh, moist and brisk charm.
The first step in learning watercolor painting:
Preparation of tools:
1. Easel: You can use a chair with a backrest as an easel, which can also be used to recline , can also be placed flat to facilitate water control in the painting.
2. Drawing paper: Watercolor painting has relatively high requirements on drawing paper. It is best to use special watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is divided into two types: coarse grain and fine grain. Coarse grained paper is more suitable for dry painting, while fine grained paper is more suitable for wet painting.
3. Paint brushes: One large, medium and small shading pen and watercolor pen are enough. Of course, you can also choose or make your own brushes according to the needs of the picture. It is generally required that the brush can store water, be elastic, and be suitable for painting, writing, ticking, and dotting.
4. Pigments: Imported pigments include "Windsor" and "Newton" brands, but the prices are higher. The domestic "Mari" brand has better quality and cheaper price. Use black as little as possible as it can easily smear the picture.
5. Color palette box: Warm and cold colors can be placed separately.
6. Palette knife: Used to scrape out bright areas or apply special effects during the painting process.
7. Small bucket: used to hold water-washing pens. The water should be kept clear to give full play to the transparent effect of watercolor colors.
8. Pencils: 1-6B pencils are acceptable, mainly depending on each person’s drawing habits. Beginners can use a harder pencil for drafting.
The second step in learning watercolor painting:
(1) Outline draft:
Use a pencil to lightly draft on the mounted paper, paying attention to the composition. arrangement. For larger pictures and more realistic works, you must strive to have accurate shapes when drafting. (Delicate and precise outlines help to express the object vividly when coloring and writing.) However, you must avoid excessive use of the eraser to prevent damage to the paper surface. . To do this well, we must pay attention to the training of basic sketching skills.
(2) Brush techniques for painting watercolors:
Dry brush, wet brush, hook brush, sweep brush, smear brush, dot, place brush, drag brush, pause brush, etc. wait. The use of these brushwork techniques has a great relationship with the water content. In addition, the speed, direction and angle of the brushstrokes will produce various changes. Appropriate use can enrich one's expressive ability.
(3) Water control in watercolor painting:
1. What is the blending of water and color? The blending of water and color requires water and color to be closely combined to complement each other to express the object. We cannot pursue water content one-sidedly or play with water and neglect the shaping of object shape.
2. Watercolor background processing: The background image of watercolor painting can be summarized and concise, and its brushstrokes should be large and unruly, appearing ethereal and elegant. Helps create the mood of the picture and set off the foreground.
3. The charm of water in the picture: Successful watercolor painting requires the picture to be rich in the charm of water. That is: transparent, moist, ethereal, flowing and other charming visual effects.
4. Transparency of the picture: Transparency is the greatest language feature of watercolor painting. Learn to make reasonable use of the dilution effect of water to express the transparency of colors on the screen.
5. Master the time of using the pen: In watercolor painting, you need to use the water color of the previous stroke before it is dry to infiltrate, connect and overlap colors to produce a certain effect. The time of using the pen is particularly important. For example, when you are deeply sculpting, you can wait a while for the second stroke to let the moisture on the paper dry before you start writing. There is a lot of moisture on the paper, so you can write faster with a pen!
6. Influence of seasons and climate: In spring and rainy days, the air is moist and the water evaporates slowly. In autumn, on sunny days, the air is dry and the water evaporates quickly. Painting outdoors is windy and sunny, and the water evaporates quickly.
Therefore, it is necessary to practice water control on the picture according to different seasons and climates to gain experience.
7. Problems with poor water control: Too little water will make the picture look dry, dry, stagnant, and boring, and lose the characteristics of watercolor. Too much water makes it difficult to control the water color flowing everywhere, which is not conducive to shaping the body.
(4) Understand and master some simple color knowledge:
1. The addition of the three primary colors: red + yellow = orange, yellow + blue = green, red + blue = purple
The addition of three secondary colors can produce different grays) Do not use black in the deepest part of the picture, you can use cooked ocher and ultramarine to modulate it.
2. Five groups of similar colors based on the five psychological primary colors: yellow: light yellow, medium yellow, earthy yellow, orange yellow.
Red categories: vermilion, bright red, rose red, earthy red. Blue categories: lake blue, phthalocyanine blue, ultramarine blue, plain blue.
Green categories: light green, grass green, emerald green, olive green. Purple categories: red purple, violet blue, blue purple, rose purple.
3. Reasonable use of gray: Gray can well set off high-purity colors. The gray in the distance should be light and cold, while the gray near should be warm and deep.
4. The main characteristics of watercolor color mixing: mainly relying on water dilution to achieve the purpose of improving brightness. In order to maintain the transparency of the color, repeat colors should be used as little as possible. Two-color mixtures are more transparent than three-color mixtures.
The third step in learning watercolor painting
(1) Light color painting method: You can get started with watercolor painting from the light color painting method. The so-called pastel painting method is to first use pencils and other tools to draw the outline of the object or draw light and shade, and then paint with thin and transparent watercolor. Pastel painting methods are divided into: pencil pastel, pen pastel, and charcoal pastel.
(2) Basic techniques of watercolor painting:
1. Dry painting method: Dry painting method means that after the first coat of color is completely dry, the second and third coats are applied . Using the dry painting method, due to the overlapping of layers, a rich layering effect will be produced, making the object of expression clear, real and in-depth. This method is good at expressing light and shadow effects. However, when painting, the brush strokes are still required to be full of water and moist to prevent the colors from drying out and becoming dead. Dry painting methods are generally divided into "dry joining method" and "overlapping color method".
2. Wet painting method: The wet painting method means that the paper is always wet during the painting process. If some parts are dry, you can wet it before painting. The wet painting method is a basic and important painting method of watercolor. The penetration, halo and dripping of water color can make the color achieve a very natural, soft and moist effect, which fully reflects the characteristics of transparent, smooth and light watercolor painting. It is difficult and difficult for beginners to master. Its shortcoming is that it is difficult to describe the object in depth at multiple levels. Wet painting methods can generally be divided into "wet paper method", "wet bonding method", "penetration method" and "splashed ink method".
(3) Essentials of color sketching:
1. Concept.
2. Selection of tool materials.
3. Composition.
4. Color.
5. Screen adjustment.
(4) Special techniques of watercolor painting: (it can enrich the expressive power of watercolor and promote the innovation and development of watercolor painting art.)
1. Sprinkling salt method: taking advantage of the color When the drawing paper is still wet, sprinkle salt on it. When the salt melts, it will melt the color and produce a snowflake-like texture when it dries. The darker the color of the picture, the stronger the effect.
2. Waxing method: lightly apply wax (candle sticks, crayons, oil pastels, rubber water, etc.) on the areas where the background color and white space need to be left on the picture. The gestures of waxing using this method should not be too heavy, and the dotting, tracing, painting and smearing should be varied.
3. Precipitation method: Some watercolor colors will precipitate after drying. This requires sufficient water when painting to allow the small particles in the color to flow and settle on the paper. This method is easier to achieve with lighter colors. Such as: dark blue, ocher and other colors.
4. Suction and washing method: On fine-grained watercolor paper, when the color is still wet, use rice paper, sponge, tissue paper, clean pen, etc. to suck up the color to express smoke, clouds, waves, etc.
5. Sanding method: Use fine sandpaper to gently polish the dry picture to obtain a vivid and natural effect.
6. Knife scraping method: You can use a palette knife or knife to scrape out lines such as branches and ship cables before the watercolor color is dry.
7. Washing method: Use a pen dipped in water to clean the color of the picture, which will make the color of the picture lighter and thinner.
8. Printing and dyeing method: use different fabrics (such as coarse and fine linen), crumpled paper, etc., dip the color on white paper or a wet color layer, print, press, and pat , rub to produce special effects.
9. Water dripping method: When the color layer of the picture is still wet, spray, sprinkle or drip water on it. The water droplets will wash away the color and produce a spotty effect. This method can be used to express rain scenes.
Beginners should not blindly pursue the special effects of watercolor painting, but should pay attention to mastering the basic techniques. Only by mastering the basic techniques and skillfully applying the above special techniques will they understand their functions.
(5) Artistic processing of watercolor painting:
1. Tone and artistic conception.
2. A unique feeling.
3. Color echo.
4. Change and unity.
5. The beauty of light.
6. Poetry and painting.
7. The rhythm of music.
8. Contrast of color blocks, etc.
(6) Improve one’s own accomplishments in all aspects:
Pursue skills outside painting: you can learn from calligraphy, Chinese painting , oil painting, literature, music, drama, movies and other aspects to absorb nutrients and enrich your own picture taste. Gouache painting, as a type of Western painting, was gradually introduced into my country along with oil painting and watercolor painting at the beginning of the last century. It uses water as a solvent to mix colors, which is very similar to watercolor painting. Some gouache paintings use more water and are painted very thin, which are very similar to watercolor paintings; while some gouache paintings that are painted thickly and cover a lot are very similar to the painting process of oil paintings. . Many decorative paintings, design (including architectural) renderings, promotional posters, advertising paintings, etc. are all done with gouache. Because gouache painting does not have specific requirements for paper or cloth like watercolor painting and oil painting, it has low paper requirements and simple materials and tools, so it is easy to carry and flexible to use. There are many types of pigments available for gouache painting. The colors are bright and clear, easy to modify, strong in expression, and diverse in methods. It can be painted thinly or thickly; it can be realistic or decorative; it is an independent type of painting. The method also has the characteristics of watercolor painting and oil painting.
I will introduce to you the key points of gouache still life painting. Because the light source of still life is relatively fixed and is not affected by the outside world, it is convenient for long-term observation and painting, and it is easy to modify when painting.
It is easier to master color knowledge through the study of gouache painting. Basically, we will introduce the methods of gouache landscapes and gouache figures in detail later. Gouache painting can be continuously adjusted and modified to finally achieve the desired effect. Use larger brush strokes to draw the overall still life, and appropriately use pointillism to make people feel the flowing and active atmosphere of light and color. Gouache painting gives people a bright and fresh feeling. It can use fine characterization techniques to show the different textures of objects. It can be seen that it also has the characteristics of oil painting techniques.