I'm trying to continue to "loosen up" and just let things be blobs of color or light.
I'm still not good at it...ha ha.
But I'm going to KEEP trying.
I think I did okay with her hair just fading out into the background.
I was also trying to bring in other colors into her skin. Blues, greens, and such.
Skin, naturally, has many colors in it other than the obvious "skin" color.
Thoughts on how to do this?
Every time I add a new color...it either "sits" there (like the blue around her navel) or it blends in and muddies things.
The problem with watercolors is sometimes you have to have a lot of patience. To get washes of color to layer properly, you gotta wait for them to dry between each one. Try mixing in more water with the pigments and letting each layer dry before applying the next layer, and try soaking some color back up with a crumpled piece of paper towel or piece of natural sponge. You can get some nice textures that way, too. Watercolors "are supposed to be" light and watery (in a traditional sense of the medium, of course). Try using more water and layering multiple washes to get the deepness you want.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have been researching more watercolor stuff, watching youtube vids (amazing how many of the artists that do this are sounding british) and it's working in layers of washes a lot of times. Building up and starting with dark areas first, and building up to lights. What you're doing though looks hella tight, Scott. Don't beat yourself up. You're getting better and better with each stride. I think anyways.
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ReplyDeleteSilly spelling mistake...try this again:
ReplyDeleteThat's a pretty sweet Dejah, Scott.
The demos I've seen have all the colours ready to go at once, and then they work wet-in-wet.
Alternatively, you can manipulate isolated wet areas using a brush that's only slightly damp, or using a cloth or paper towel to blot.
You can also try a drybrush method, scumbling or dappling the dry paper with the tip of a stiff bristle brush and paint that is slightly dry. Gustave Moreau used to do this.
Wet-on-wet is good for this. At the risk of stating the obvious, I'd suggest avoiding opaque blues when painting skin tones.
ReplyDeletethe more water the better. try experimenting with masks (like rubber cement) to keep the "wet" out of areas you don't want it. You can rub/peel it off later to preserve white, and move on to paint that area. You might also try mixing the colors together on the palette to see if they blend well. Remember to mix cool colors with cool colors (so a purply blue with a deep red for example) and blend blend blend. t hen layer to get the look you want.
ReplyDeleteThanks all!
ReplyDeleteThis is all very helpful.
As always...trying is the best way to learn.
But I try never to underestimate the experience of others.
Nice!
ReplyDeleteDan Brereton uses watercolours very thick, almost as if they were oils. He gets very bright colors that way.
Cool! Wet on wet, what they said!
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