CMU School of Drama


Thursday, August 02, 2018

10 Watercolor Techniques Every Painter Should Know

mymodernmet.com: Watercolor painting has long been a favorite medium of expression for enthusiasts and professional artists alike. Although you only need a brush and pigments to get started, watercolor is a material with many creative possibilities.

3 comments:

DeKlyen said...

I have to say that painting is not my strong suit unless we are talking about a simple floor texturing or distress techniques. But I am always trying to find new techniques to try and ideas to test out. This article was perfect for me to get an insight into this specific medium. Some of the ideas were really foreign to me, especially using salt as a way to soak up color, while others were more familiar from working with clay. But I realized most importantly that these concepts would have been very helpful when working the markers for Basic Design. The markers were water based and used water to basically turn them into watercolors. At first, it seemed simple - add water, get paint. However, being watercolors, the medium was much harder to control than once thought. Thus, the struggle of the markers ignited. Now after reading this article and watching the videos, the biggest hardships could have been avoided a little bit more. It really goes to show the power of simple researching can have.

Mitchell Jacobs said...

I use watercolor a lot for designing costumes, but I had never really considered the different techniques I was utilizing. I do a lot of "wash" watercolors but I still struggle with maintaining a consistent color and texture. I also consistently have problems with things getting stuck in the water and creating bumps or bubbles. Though it is easy to start with watercolor, doing it well can be a bit of a challenge, especially when trying to do more exact images. I have a special pen that I use for harsh lines that is supposed to trap the water on either side and prevent it from spreading, but even that doesn't work sometimes. Still, I think I will try some of these strategies when I get home, because being able to use different techniques will definitely help me create more texture and realistic images for costume concept art. Wash doesn't always convey the material that I want, which can get in the way of the overall design. Though I am more specifically a costumer, I think that watercolor can be a useful tool for any designer because it tends to be less expensive, more forgiving to new artists, and also has great potential once you are comfortable with the medium.

Yma Hernandez-Theisen said...

I bought a watercolor kit a while back, but never really got too much use out of it. Another failed attempt to steer away from mostly just using pencil, I have been starting to use colored pens and markers but have been wanting to venture into a different type of medium. I think I’m more interested in using gouache or acrylic because they would fit better with the kind of stuff I like to create, but I do want to explore more and use what I bought to good use. I definitely found the additional supplies they recommended such as table salt and a sewing needle, it will definitely help me reach what I want to get out of watercolor. I will definitely have to practice some swatches and explore different texture I can create before actually use it. Last year I remember experimenting and getting one result I liked a bit, adding a bit more structure into my exploring I will definitely get more consistent results.