Watercolor paints. Production of watercolor paints

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Watercolor (French aquarelle - watery; Italian acquarello) - painting technique, which uses special watercolor paints that, when dissolved in water, form a transparent suspension of fine pigment and thereby allow creating the effect of lightness, airiness and subtle color transitions. Watercolor paints are usually applied to paper, which is often pre-moistened with water to achieve a special blurred stroke shape.

Watercolor painting came into use later than other types of painting; back in 1829, Montaber mentioned it only in passing, as an art that did not deserve serious attention. However, despite its late appearance, it is a short time has made such progress that it can compete with oil painting. Watercolor only became a strong and effective painting when they began to use transparent paints with retouching of shadows. Painting with water paints, but thick and opaque (painting, gouache) existed much earlier than transparent watercolors.

Watercolor is one of the poetic types of painting. A lyrical, full sketch or short story is often called a watercolor. They compare with her musical composition, enchanting with delicate transparent melodies. Watercolors can convey the serene blue of the sky, the lace of clouds, the veil of fog. It allows you to capture short-term natural phenomena.

But watercolors are also available for major works, graphic and pictorial, chamber, monumental, landscapes and still lifes, portraits and complex compositions.

A sheet of white grainy paper, a box of paints, a soft, obedient brush, water in a small vessel - that’s all > a watercolorist. Plus to this - a keen eye, a steady hand, knowledge of materials and mastery of the technique of this type of painting.

You can write on wet or dry paper immediately, in full color. You can work in a multi-layer technique, gradually refining the color state of each detail. Can be elected mixed media: go from the general to the detail or, conversely, from the detail to the general, whole. But in any case, it is impossible or almost impossible to correct a damaged place: watercolor cannot tolerate the slightest wear and tear, torture, or obscurity. Transparency and shine are given to it by paper, which should be white and clean. As a rule, a watercolorist does not need whitewash.

Back at the end of the 15th century, the outstanding master of the German Renaissance A. Gyor created many magnificent watercolors. These were landscapes, images of animals and plants.

But watercolor became fully established in European countries relatively recently - in the late 17th - early 18th centuries, English painters were among the first to appreciate it; in the 19th century, W. Turner, the singer of London fogs and foamy waves, gloomy rocks and sunlight, became especially famous for his watercolors .

In Russia of the century before last there were many outstanding watercolorists. K. P. Bryullov brought sheets with genre scenes, portraits and landscapes to filigree completion. A. A. Ivanov wrote simply and easily, combining lively, impeccable drawing with clean, rich colors.

P. A. Fedotov, I. N. Kramskoy, N. A. Yaroshenko, V. D. Polenov, I. E. Repin, V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, V. I. Surikov. each of them made a rich contribution to the Russian watercolor school.

Artists often use watercolor in combination with other materials: gouache, tempera, charcoal. But in this case, its main qualities are lost - saturation, transparency, luminosity, i.e. exactly what distinguishes watercolor from any other technique.

Gum arabic (from Latin gummi - gum and arabicus - Arabian) is a viscous transparent liquid secreted by some types of acacias. Belongs to a group of plant substances (colloids) that are highly soluble in water. In terms of its composition, gum arabic is not a chemically pure substance. It is a mixture of complex organic compounds consisting for the most part from glucoside-humic acids (for example, arabic acid and its calcium, magnesium and potassium salts). Used in production watercolor paints as an adhesive. After drying, it forms a transparent, brittle film that is not prone to cracking and is not hygroscopic.

Honey is a mixture of equal amounts of fructose and glucose with an admixture of water (16 - 18%), wax and a small amount of protein substances.

Molasses is a product obtained by saccharification (hydrolysis) of starch (mainly potato and maize) with dilute acids, followed by filtering and boiling the syrup to the desired consistency.

Glycerin is a thick, syrupy liquid that can be mixed with water in any proportion. Glycerin belongs to the group of trihydric alcohols. It is very hygroscopic and is added to the binder of watercolor paints to preserve them in a semi-dry state.

Pigments (from Latin pigmentum - paint), in chemistry - colored chemical compounds used in the form of fine powders for dyeing plastics, rubber, chemical fibers, and making paints. They are divided into organic and inorganic.

Theoretical part.

Composition and properties of paints.

Watercolor paints are prepared using water-soluble binders, mainly glues of vegetable origin, which is why they are called water paints. Paints for watercolor painting must have the following qualities.

Great transparency, because the whole beauty of the colorful tone when applied in a thin layer lies in this property. It works well with a damp brush and washes out easily. The paint layer should be easily washed off with water from the surface of the paper or primer.

Watercolor paint, diluted with water, should lie smoothly on the paper and not form spots or dots. When exposed to direct sunlight, the paint must be lightfast and not change color. After drying, give a durable, non-cracking layer. Do not penetrate reverse side paper.

The main components of watercolor paint are dye and water, but there are other essential components. First of all, substances that bind paint to paper, such as gum arabic or wood glues - substances with increased stickiness. Next, you need viscous substances, they will prevent the paint from spreading over the paper, making it lie in an even layer; Honey, molasses, and glycerin are good for this. And the last addition is an antiseptic and disinfectant. After all, we are dealing with substances of plant origin, and they must be protected from the action of microorganisms (moldy fungi that will definitely want to feed on our paints).

Production of paints.

Watercolor paints are available in porcelain cups and tubes. The production technique for these types of paints is not fundamentally different and mainly goes through the following processing stages:

1) mixing the binder with the pigment;

2) grinding the mixture;

3) drying to a viscous consistency;

4) filling cups or tubes with paint;

5) packaging.

To mix pigments with a binder, mechanical mixers with a tilting body are usually used. For small quantities, batches are most often prepared by hand in metal enamel tanks using wooden spatulas. The binder is loaded into the mixer and the pigment is introduced in small portions in dry form or as an aqueous paste.

When grinding on a paint grinding machine, the pigment is thoroughly mixed with the binder into a homogeneous paint paste.

The ground paint is sent for drying in order to remove excess moisture and obtain a thick paste for packaging in cups or tubes.

The paste is dried in special drying chambers or on granite slabs at a temperature of 35 - 40° C.

After removing part of the water, the thickened paste is rolled out into ribbons 1 cm thick, cut into individual square pieces the size of the cuvette area and placed in a cup.

The paint is placed on top with a piece of cellophane and finally wrapped in foil and paper with a label. When producing watercolor paints in tubes, the tubes are filled with paste automatically by tube filling machines.

Features of watercolor paints.

Watercolor painting is transparent, clean and bright in tone, which is difficult to achieve through glazing with oil paints. In watercolor it is easier to achieve the finest shades and transitions. Watercolor paints are also used as underpainting for oil painting.

The shade of watercolor paints changes when drying - it becomes lighter. This change occurs from the evaporation of water, due to which the spaces between the pigment particles in the paint are filled with air, the paints reflect light much more. The difference in the refractive indices of air and water causes a change in the color of dried and fresh paint.

Strong dilution of paints with water when applied thinly to paper reduces the amount of binder, and the paint loses its tone and becomes less durable. When applying several layers of watercolor paint to one place, the result is oversaturation with the binder, and stains appear.

When covering paintings done with watercolors, it is very important that all paints are more or less evenly and in sufficient quantities saturated with a binder.

If individual parts of the paint layer contain an insufficient amount of glue, then the varnish, penetrating into the paint layer, creates a different environment for the pigment, not optically similar to the glue, and will greatly change its color. When the paints contain a sufficient amount of binder, then when varnished, their intensity and original shine will be restored.

Practical part.

Old books often contain names of exotic dyes: red sandalwood, quercitron, carmine, sepia, logwood. Some of these dyes are still used today, but in very small quantities, mainly for the preparation of artistic paints. After all, natural dyes with such beautiful names obtained from plants and animals, which is expensive and difficult. But natural dyes are very bright, durable, and lightfast.

It would be interesting to check. But how? The logum tree grows in South America, sandalwood - in South Asia, sepia is extracted from cuttlefish, carmine - from cochineal (tiny insects).

And yet you can get natural dyes even at home, even in middle lane our country is quite possible! And plants that are familiar to us contain coloring substances, even if they are not as persistent. Our ancestors often used them. We also tried to extract dyes from plants, and then made watercolor paints based on them.

All dyes were prepared in the same way: by grinding plants or any of their parts and obtaining concentrated decoctions by boiling them for a long time in water.

Very important note: for experiments we took only those plants that are allowed to be collected, and in no case used plants that were taken under protection.

Experiment 1. Preparation of red dye.

We got it from the stem of St. John's wort (the decoction was acidified with table vinegar). You can also use alder bark, which must be placed in water for several days, and then prepared as a decoction. Red dye can also be extracted from the roots of horse sorrel, but in this case it is necessary to add a little aluminum alum to the finished decoction - otherwise the color will be dull.

Experiment 2. Obtaining blue dye

This color was obtained from the roots of elecampane (it, like St. John's wort, belongs to medicinal herbs). To do this, the roots were first kept (2-3 hours) in ammonia - an aqueous solution of ammonia. Blue dye can also be obtained from larkspur flowers and bird buckwheat roots.

Experiment 3. Obtaining yellow and brown dye

When decoction of dry peel onions We obtained brown dye of different shades, from almost yellow to dark brown (the result depends on the boiling time). Another source of such dye is dry joster bark.

Experiment 4. Obtaining black dye

The black pigment is obtained from a decoction of berries and roots of the crow. But we got it different, more in a simple way: added iron sulfate to one of the previously obtained decoctions. Almost all of our decoctions contain tannins such as tannin. And in the presence of ferrous salts they turn black.

After we stocked up on a sufficient amount of thick multi-colored decoctions, we began making watercolor paints. Instead of gum arabic, we used cherry gum as an adhesive, a sap on the trunks that can be collected directly from the trees. True, such glue is difficult to dissolve in water, but to speed up the process we added a little acid.

For paint of each color, 5-7 ml of an adhesive solution of approximately 50% concentration was prepared. Mixed it with an equal amount of honey, added a little glycerin. A 5% solution of phenol (carbolic acid) was used as an antiseptic. You need very little of this substance, literally a few drops.

All components of the future paint were mixed. The paint base is ready, only the most important thing is missing - the dye. We added it last in the form of a thick decoction, taking about the same amount as we got the base for the paint.

That's the whole procedure. The paint we got was not hard, like they sell in stores. However, artists use semi-liquid watercolor paints in tubes that are similar in consistency.

Light, as if airy, color lines, apparent translucency of the composition - this effect is achieved when using the watercolor technique.

To prepare watercolor paints, you can use mineral, aniline and vegetable paints. Aniline dyes are rarely used, since, when absorbed into the paper, they stain it through and through, as a result of which they cannot be washed off the drawing and weaken the tone. They also do not wash off from the brush.

Watercolor paints are available in porcelain cups and tubes. The production technique for these types of paints is not fundamentally different and basically goes through the following processing stages: 1) mixing the binder with the pigment; 2) grinding the mixture; 3) drying to a viscous consistency; 4) filling cups or tubes with paint; 5) packaging.

To mix pigments with a binder, mechanical mixers with a tilting body are usually used. For small quantities, batches are most often prepared by hand in megalic enamel tanks using wooden spatulas. The binder is loaded into the mixer and the pigment is introduced in small portions in dry form or as an aqueous paste. Grinding of watercolor paints is carried out on three-roller paint grinding machines. Due to the sensitivity of some paints to iron, it is recommended to use rollers made of granite or porphyry, and replace the steel skiving knife with a wooden one.

When grinding on a paint grinding machine, the pigment is thoroughly mixed with the binder into a homogeneous paint paste.

The quality and quantity of grinding depends on the wettability of the pigments, the viscosity of the binder, the degree of grinding and hardness of the pigments, the rotation speed of the shafts and the amount of their clamping.

Coarsely dispersed pigment requires additional grinding, which deteriorates the quality of the paint, contaminating it with materials when the rollers are worn and metal dust from the knife. To eliminate this, it is not recommended to grind the paste more than 4-5 times. To grind watercolor paints, you need to have separate paint grinders for a group of pigments that are more or less similar in shade. One machine is for white paints, another machine is for dark brown and black, a third machine grinds yellow, orange and red, and a fourth machine grinds green, blue and violet.

When switching to grinding another paint, it is necessary to thoroughly rinse and clean the machine shafts.

In the production of watercolor pastes, diluted solutions of binders are usually used, since when using thick solutions during grinding, a homogeneous paint paste is not achieved, and the pigment is not sufficiently saturated with the binder.

The ground paint is sent for drying in order to remove excess moisture and obtain a thick paste for packaging in cups or tubes. The paste is dried in special drying chambers or on granite slabs at a temperature of 35-40° C. After removing part of the water, the thickened paste is rolled into ribbons 1 cm thick, cut into separate square pieces the size of the cuvette area and placed in a cup. The paint is placed on top with a sheet of cellophane and finally wrapped in foil and paper with a label. When producing watercolor paints in tubes, the tubes are filled with paste automatically by tube filling machines.

Watercolor paints in cups are convenient to use; they are easy to take on a brush and retain a semi-dry consistency for a long time. The disadvantage of these paints is that they are easily contaminated with a brush when preparing mixtures; in addition, when performing large works, rubbing paints with a brush in a cup provides little paint material and takes a lot of time.

From a technological point of view, the production of watercolors in cups inevitably involves the introduction of a number of additional operations: manual placement in cups, wrapping in foil, drying the paste, etc.

Paints in tubes are much more convenient: they do not get dirty, they are easily mixed with water without prolonged rubbing and provide a large amount of paint material. You can use less concentrated glue solutions, which makes it possible to better clean gum from foreign mechanical impurities. Watercolor with a thinner consistency is more convenient to grind on paint grinding machines and the paste is easier to pack into tubes.

The disadvantages of paints in tubes include: a tendency to thicken due to drying or the action of pigments (especially those poorly purified from water-soluble salts) on binders, transforming them into an insoluble state and making them unfit for use.

Hardening of the emerald green paste often occurs, which almost always contains boric acid, which coagulates gum arabic. To eliminate this drawback, emerald green must be well freed from boric acid and rubbed not with gum arabic, but with dextrin.

Strontian yellow, chromium oxide and chromium yellow also gel due to the interaction of chromic acid salts and dichromates with gum. Dextrin must also be added to the binder of these paints.

Gelatinization is also observed in watercolor paints, which contain finely dispersed pigments with high adsorption capacity, mainly of organic origin, for example, krapplak.

Pigments with a high specific gravity and poorly wetted by the binder sometimes separate from the binder, and the ink paste separates. When the metal of the tube and the pigment interact, the shade of the paint may change. Watercolor painting is transparent, clean and bright in tone, which is difficult to achieve through glazing with oil paints. In watercolor it is easier to achieve the finest shades and transitions. Watercolor paints are also used as underpainting for oil painting.

When covering paintings done with watercolors, it is very important that all paints are more or less evenly and in sufficient quantities saturated with a binder.

When the paints contain a sufficient amount of binder, then when varnished, their intensity and original shine will be restored.

For a uniform and uniform coating, the paper should not be held horizontally, but at a slight angle, so that the paints slowly flow down.

Chapter 14. Pastel, drawing materials and brushes

The word pasta means dough. This is the appearance of the pastel mass before being molded into pencils.

Pastel is a type of drawing done with colored pencils.

At first, mainly sketches for paintings were made with colored pencils, and then at a later time, pastel acquired independent significance and was used by outstanding artists.

Pastel, in contrast to watercolor, does not have transparent paints, since it is prepared with a very small amount of binder in order to form the pigment into rimless pencil sticks for more convenient rubbing of paint and better adhesion of the powder to the surface.

To prepare pastels, use weak solutions of tragacanth adhesives, gum arabic, dextrin, gelatin, sugar, soap, honey, strongly diluted with emulsion tempera, especially wax, milk, malt decoction, oat glue, etc. Gelatin is used in solutions no higher than 3%.

Gum arabic (above 2%) forms a hard crust on the surface of pencils and makes paints brittle.

The flexibility of paints can be increased by adding honey, candy and glycerin.

Skim milk, weak solutions of soap, honey and highly diluted tempera emulsions are used mainly for kaolin and zinc white pencils due to their very weak astringent force. Oatmeal glue and malt decoction are used for pigments that tend to harden, such as krapplak, Paris blue and cadmium red.

To prepare different pencils, depending on the quality of the pigment, different binders are needed.

Some pigments form dense pencils without a binder. Pencils made with gypsum or kaolin require very little binder. Tracanthus is considered one of the best binders for colored pencils.

Gum tragacanth refers to substances released when certain plants are injured.

Tragant gum is colorless or slightly colored, swells very strongly in water and is used as a binder for many purposes.

Colored pencils are made in three grades: hard, semi-hard and soft, which depends on the properties and quality of the binder and on the admixtures of various substances that give them softness.

Let us list the requirements for colored pencils: color according to the standard; the pencil should not crumble or break; have sufficient light resistance and are easy to shade; adheres well to a primed surface; have an intensely pure color and give the design a matte-velvety appearance; It's easy to write on paper without slipping.

Of the pigments used in pastels, only durable and light-resistant ones are used, i.e., those that are included in oil paints, and finely dispersed ones, as for watercolors.

The following are used as white pigments: kaolin, melted chalk, gypsum, light spar, talc, etc.

Due to the easy changeability of gypsum and kaolin when fixed with fixatives, it is recommended to use them in a mixture with zinc white in a ratio of 1: 1 or 2: 1.

Zinc or titanium white as covering pigments are quite suitable.

The binder for colored pencils usually consists of glue and water and is a solution of weak concentration no higher than 3%.

To prepare the solution, weigh 3 g of tragacanthum and pour into 100 cm3 warm water and leave alone for 8-10 hours.

The contents are then heated until a paste forms.

If the pigment requires a smaller bond, for example, ocher, sienna (containing alumina), then a 3% gum solution is diluted with water by half and three times by volume.

The amount of binder for pigments is established in each individual case experimentally on the basis of preliminary tests, since pigments with the same name often have different properties.

Preparing pencils

The pigment powder is washed with water in a mortar into a stiff dough and then a binder solution is added

The paste is dried a little in the air so that it can be molded into pencils. The dough should not be too dehydrated so that it does not crumble or stick.

The slightly dehydrated dough is rolled out in your hands or between two glasses (pressing too hard is not recommended).

You can also obtain pencils by pressing them in sleeves, as well as in metal tubes.

Often the mass is pressed in the form of a thin “sausage” through the matrix of a screw press; For these purposes, you can easily adapt an ordinary small meat grinder.

The tone scale is obtained by diluting with white fillers.

The pigment in the dough is divided into two parts: one part is the original full tone, filler and glue solution are added to the other half, then mixed and again divided into two parts. This operation is repeated up to 10 times, obtaining pencils of many shades containing various quantities filler.

Some pastel pencils, such as emerald green, glide across the paper; this deficiency is eliminated by adding talc or calcium stearate to the dough.

Dry pencils should be hygroscopic and easily absorb moisture.

If the pencils turn out to be too hard, then they must be crushed again, mixed with water and the binder removed, and then add a little skim milk or a very diluted solution of soap or oatmeal glue.

Pencils are dried on paper at a low temperature of 20-40° C.

There are many different types of paints in the world, for the most different types activities. For example, there are paints that are used in construction work, there are paints used in industry. But there are paints that are intended for artistic work. First of all, these are, of course, paints for painting. But there are other types of creativity. For example, batik. Batik is an artistic painting on fabric that uses special paints. You can also mention enamels for painting porcelain, pottery, etc.

As you can see, there are really many varieties of paints. But despite all the diversity, most colors have one thing in common. Any paints (except powder) consist of pigment And binder. A pigment is a coloring substance in powder form that is the basis of any paint. A binder is an adhesive substance that holds microscopic particles of pigment together and with the base on which the paint is applied. In addition to the binder and pigment, of course, other substances can be added to paints, for example, an antiseptic. The antiseptic prevents the development of mold and bacteria in the paint layer. However, pigment and binder are the main components of paints.

The name and type of paint may depend on what substances act in their role. This is especially true for artistic paints. Color pigments come in two main types: pigments natural origin and synthetic. Among natural ones, there are pigments that are obtained from plants, insects, sea mollusks, natural minerals, various types clays, etc. For example, ultramarine (blue color) was previously produced from a natural mineral - lapis lazuli or lapis lazuli. And the burgundy pigment was obtained from sea mollusks even before our era. This dye is called purple. In the past, it was used to dye fabrics that were very expensive due to the high cost of Tyrian purple itself. Today, in addition to natural pigments, artificial ones are also used in the production of paints. As for binders, they can also be either natural or artificial. For example, acrylic paints are made on the basis of polyacrylates, and artistic oil paints for painting are made on the basis of vegetable oil.

IN fine arts Artists use five main types of artistic paints: watercolor, gouache, oil, tempera and acrylic.

Watercolor paints. The binder for watercolor paints includes two main components - dextrin and gum arabic (Senegalese acacia resin). Also, ox bile is added to watercolors, which improves the bond of paint to paper. Honey can also be added to watercolors, which enhances the color saturation and gives the paint plasticity. In the watercolor paint industry, once all the ingredients are mixed, the resulting viscous mass is ground and dried until it is hard enough for the paint to be packaged. In painting, artists dilute watercolors with water, working with a translucent solution. Therefore, watercolor paints must be transparent. For this purpose, they use finely ground pigment, i.e. very small particles of coloring powder and more of a binder.

Gouache paints. The composition of gouache paints is similar to the composition of watercolors. This is a coloring pigment, gum arabic, dextrin, gum, ox bile, antiseptic. But gouache is an opaque paint that is applied to paper in impasto strokes. Therefore, in addition to the main coloring pigment, a small amount of white is added to the paint. This makes the gouache opaque, i.e. gives it covering properties. Also, for this purpose, less binder and more pigment are added to gouache.

Oil paints. For gluing pigment particles into oil paints a binder is used based on compacted oil (for example, linseed, walnut, etc.), soft resins (mastic, dammara), and beeswax.

Tempera paints. The binder of tempera paints is an emulsion, i.e. a mixture of substances insoluble with each other. Hence the name "Tempera" (from the Latin temperare, meaning "to combine" or "to mix"). There are four main types of tempera paints: casein-oil, egg, wax-oil, polyvinyl acetate. From these names it is clear what the binder of each type of tempera paint consists of. It can be casein, oil, egg yolk, wax, PVA. But while oil or egg yolk are well-known components of paints, not everyone knows about casein. Casein is a glue that is obtained from milk, or more precisely from cottage cheese. Casein glue is used in combination with oil to make casein-oil tempera.

Acrylic paints. The pigment of these paints is mixed with a polyacrylate binder. This binder is not natural, but is created artificially. Acrylic paints have appeared relatively recently and have a number of interesting features.

This is the composition of the paints. Therefore, when you take up your brushes and start creating, remember what difficult path every tube of paint has gone through before ending up on your palette.

Watercolor paints are one of the most loved by artists. Firstly, watercolor has a lot of different techniques, and secondly, with its help you can create beautiful drawing, even if you don’t know how to draw at all.

These techniques will help beginners learn how to draw, and professionals will refresh their memory and find inspiration and ideas.

1. Painting with a flat brush

Step 1

Draw a square or rectangle to mark the start and end of the layer.

Select a darker shade (it's easier to see) and starting in the top left corner, touch your brush to the paper and gently draw a straight line all the way to the top right corner.

But: Left-handers should draw from the right corner to the left.

Step 2

Fill your brush with paint again.

Start the next stroke from the bottom edge of the first, trying to cover the accumulation of paint that has formed at the bottom of the first stroke.

Hint 1: If the buildup of paint in the first stroke does not flow completely into the second, then increase the angle of your easel to help the paint flow freely.

Hint 2: By increasing the angle of inclination, you also increase the chances of getting uncontrollable paint flows. So try to work faster or have something like a rag or sponge on hand to quickly clean up spills.

Step 3

Repeat the previous step, also trying to cover the accumulation of paint in the top stroke.

Hint 3: You can use the flat edge of the brush to “cut” the beginning of the layer and make it even.

Hint 4: If you want to smooth out the end edge of a layer, then at the end of the stroke, pause and move the brush up and then down as you would with the beginning edge.

Hint 5: If the stroke turns out to be intermittent, then immediately fill the brush with paint and re-stroke it.

Step 4

Repeat the previous steps until the very end. Try to stick to the same paint tone.

Hint 6: You won't believe how different the behavior of brushes, paints and paper can be between different brands. Usually, more expensive and popular brands make your job easier by providing high quality products.

Hint 7: If your strokes are choppy even though your brush is full of paint, you are using paper that is too thick or the paper is too rough in texture. If you come across such paper, spray it with water, blot it with a clean sponge and let it dry. This will make the surface more receptive to your paint.

Step 5

Rinse the brush and squeeze out all remaining water from it. Use your brush to carefully pick up any clumps of paint left on the bottom. finishing touch, but don't take too much paint or you will discolor your drawing.

To create more texture in your design, let it dry at an angle. This will give the paint a more interesting look.

Gradient

Step 1

Draw a square or rectangle. Then dip your brush into a darker shade of paint (mix on your palette) and carefully brush over the stroke.

Step 2

Dry your brush with a sponge or paper towel and dip it again in a lighter shade.

Then draw a new stroke, overlapping the bottom of the previous one. Notice that the left side of the layer has already merged with the previous stroke. Let gravity do its thing.

Step 3

Rinse the brush again and dry it. And then refill the brush with paint and make another stroke. Repeat this process until the very end.

Hint 1: If your stroke breaks or doesn't go on as smoothly as you'd like, quickly refill your brush with paint and repeat the coat.

Step 4

Rinse your brush clean water, wipe it off and pick up any remaining paint.

Hint 2: Try this technique when working with different colors and creating interesting transitions.

Watercolor glaze

Step 1

This technique requires improvisation and imagination. Using the example, we will draw an improvised landscape.

First we paint the sky and river with blue paint. We will separate the paint with a small amount of water, this will be a waterfall.

Step 2

Draw the clouds in dark pink and start drawing the mountain in yellow. We will also mark the bottom part of the picture in yellow.

The example uses light and transparent tones so you can see how the layers interact.

Step 3

By mixing cobalt blue and ultramarine blue, we will paint the horizon of the mountain and shade the small yellow slope.

Hint 1: allow each layer to dry. You can use a hair dryer to speed up this process. Keep it at least 25-30 cm away, turn on the cool setting and set the hair dryer to the lightest air flow. No steam or hot air!

Step 4

To shade and add interesting colors, we use Orange color. With its help we will create shores on foreground and shade the sky.

Hint 2: If you get droplets of excess paint, rinse and dry your brush as you did in the previous techniques, and pick up the droplets with it.

Step 5

Please note that the images show different paint brushes. You can use the ones you have on hand.

Take a dark blue color and use it to highlight the top of the mountain, varying the pressure on the brush and turning it to create an interesting texture.

Step 6

Using the same blue color, let's play with the waterfall by drawing some circles. Sometimes visual clichés become your friends.

Rinse the brush and pick up yellow, we will add visual details to our shores.

Step 7

After the paint has dried, shade the bubbles in the waterfall with a shade purple. This way we will make them more interesting.

Step 8

We need to link some elements and add trees. In the example, we used round templates for the crowns, but you can draw as you like.

Step 9

We will use brown color to depict tree trunks. We will also use blue to shade the water and sky a little more. Then, using pink, blue and green, we will paint the grass in the foreground.

Step 10

Use a mixture of pink and red to add the final details. Our trees are now bearing fruit, and several fruits lie under them.

If you look closely, you can see how each layer interacts with each other. The darker shade has great strength, but when the colors overlap each other, they create an interesting and beautiful combination.

“Wet” technique

Step 1

Wet the paper with water

Step 2

Blot the paper with a clean sponge, removing excess water. Try to achieve an even distribution of moisture throughout the paper, you should get a satin effect.

If the paper is shiny, it means it is too wet, blot it again.

Step 3

We will draw the landscape again. Let's start, of course, from the sky. Using this technique, it is easier to draw the background first, then moving on to the foreground objects.

Step 4

We continue to draw the sky until we start to like it. The strokes will blur, creating an interesting effect.

Step 5

Now let's move on to the grass in the foreground. Using green color, let's make a few broad strokes, leaving room for the stones.

As the paper dries, the strokes blur less and less.

Step 6

Let's add forms. To do this, we use different shades of green and draw trees on the horizon.

Step 7

Having added the trees, let's try to add texture to them. To do this, use a darker shade of green to create accents.

Step 8

Add stones using grey colour. We filled in the gaps in the foreground with this color, leaving some gaps.

Try to use either dark or cool shades. Using both dark and cool shades will create visual dissonance.

Step 9

Let's place accents to diversify the design. Using a crimson tint, we will depict several floral elements in the foreground. Let the crimson flow as it pleases. Then, using a dry brush, remove the color from the middle of the spots.

Step 10

Then drop clean water into the center of these spots to allow them to blend into the grass.

The hardest part about this technique is knowing when to stop. Overdoing it with blurs and colors will result in a messy drawing.

This technique gives a slightly strange but interesting result. A drawing made using this technique has a hypnotizing effect.

Dry brush painting

Step 1

We think the name of the technique speaks for itself. We will need to put paint on the brush, blot it from excess liquid with a paper towel or sponge, and then paint.

First, let's make a pencil sketch. After this, we roughly outline the sky by moving the brush over the surface of the paper.

Step 2

Let's draw green trees on the horizon, outlining what would later become our lake.

Then, mixing purple and blue, we will draw the first layer of the tree trunk.

Step 3

Let the drawing dry and add some elements: the reflection of a tree in the lake and the flow of water.

Mixing green and blue, shade the shore in the background of the image and let the drawing dry again.

Step 4

Mix an intense blue with ultramarine and paint a layer on the tree trunk to create shadows and bark texture.

Step 5

Then, using shades of orange, we will depict autumn landscape, painting over the background trees.

Step 6

Having finished with the previous step, use a light orange tint to depict the reflection of the trees in the water.

Also, mixing gray with blue, we will place dark accents on the trees.

We will also add trees on the other side of the horizon. Let's denote the tree shapes in orange.

Step 7

Let's take care of the water. We use dark green and brown to achieve desired color. And with wave-like movements we will draw the water in the lake.

Step 8

When painting a lake, change the pressure on your brush to add texture.

Clue: if the brush is too wet, the paint will look flat. Dry the brush to intensify the colors.

Step 9

Let's add some grass under the tree, using the same color as for the grass in the background.

Step 10

Let's add some details to the foreground.

We will also darken the lake a little by adding a blue tint. We’ll also shade the sky with the same color.

Removing moisture

This technique will require several sponges. It is suitable for depicting clouds, soft light. It can also control the behavior of paints.

Sponges

Makeup sponges are best. They absorb well and give an interesting effect.

Try not to rub the sponge on the paper, and if you do, do it very carefully so as not to damage the paper.

Paper towels

With their help you can create sharper highlights. But paper towels absorb very quickly great amount paints. Therefore, they can completely absorb fresh paint.

Paper towels can come in handy if you make a mistake. Then you can quickly remove the paint.

Dry brush

You can use a dry brush to create a design using this technique. To do this, rinse thoroughly and squeeze out the brush. With its help you can create clear lines.

Other methods:

You can spray water where you want to remove the paint and then soak it up with a sponge.
Use different fabrics to add texture
You can use your fingers or other body parts. Skin can also absorb moisture.

Discoloration of dried paint

Watercolor brushes

Use clean water and a cloth, wet the desired areas, gently rub the drawing and remove the moisture with a dry brush. This method allows you to control the areas you lighten.

Brushes for oil or acrylic paint

Stiff bristles allow you to quickly scrape paint off the desired area. But it is worth noting that this method can damage the paper, so control yourself.

Here, just like in the first method, you first need to wet the area and then brush it on.

Spray and towel

Take a spray bottle and spray the desired area, and then apply a paper towel to it. This method leaves large light spots and gives an interesting effect.

Sandpaper

It is very rarely used, as it can damage the paper. It's best used at the end to add texture. You don't need water for this method, just rub the design where you want it.

Blades and knives

Can be used to highlight small areas and create crisp lines. This method is also very risky as it can damage the paper.

Sponges

You can also use sponges. Wet the desired area and dry it with a sponge.

In this article you will learn how to mix colors And how to create your own palette.

In order to get pure colors in your work, you need to know which colors from your set mix well and which ones create mud. For this we will create color palette. It takes a while, but it's a great tip for newbies and it will really help you figure out how to get the color you want.

Here is the palette I ended up with:

You will need the following materials:

Large sheet of watercolor paper
Long ruler
Pencil
Watercolor paints
Brush
Water container

Preparation: first you need to estimate how much various colors watercolor paint you have. Using a pencil and ruler, you need to draw 1-inch squares, the number of lengths and heights should match the number of colors you have. After this you can start making the mesh.

I have 13 colors, so I marked 13 squares along the top of the sheet and 13 along the left side.

Horizontal row: we number the squares from left to right.
Vertical row: we number the squares from top to bottom.

Don't forget to leave some empty space on the right side of the paper - to the right of the grid. You will use this space to list your colors.

I have circled the first three numbers on the top and sides of the picture below.

On the right side, assign each number a different color and list them all vertically. This is the legend for mixing colors.

The number of each color will match the numbers on the grid - on the top and left side.

Now let's get to the fun part... to mixing! For this palette, we will not mix more than two colors at a time. Its essence is to mix two colors in equal quantities to obtain all possible combinations.

Row 1

Start with the #1 color on your list. In my case, it's cobalt violet. This color will go into the lettering square with #1 on the top and #1 on the left side. You don't need to mix it as it is the same color for both sides. Just apply this color to the square.
On the square directly to the right of the first one - the one with #2 on the top side - you will mix the second color from your list with color #1 - since it is on the same row (row #1 on the left). I mixed equal amounts of phthalocyanine blue and cobalt violet.
Next we move even more to the right, to square No. 3. Mix your third color with the first, and then to the right, fill each square in the correct combination according to the numbers on the grid. This way your first row will be all variations of each color mixed with the first color.
Make sure to mix equal amounts of each color with equal amounts of water for each square. Also allow each square to dry for a while to prevent them from bumping into each other. Use a hair dryer if you are impatient.

Row 2

Once your first row is ready, start filling out the second. You don't need to mix color #1 with color #2 because you already did that in the first row. So start with the second field - in my case it was blue phthalocyanine.

Mix blue phthalocyanine with the corresponding color for each square.

In this manner, fill each square with the corresponding colors for each row until your palette is complete! The first squares of each row repeat the mixture from the previous one, so leave them blank.

You will end up with a triangle - like in my palette below. It's very exciting to look at all the shades and compare them. So many flowers! This palette even looks like a piece of abstract art!

This color palette shows:

Transparency, translucency or opacity of colors;
What color is obtained by mixing the other two;
Colors that become muddy or dull when mixed.

I hope this sophisticated palette will be of use to you in the future. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments! See you again!