How to draw a picture with watercolors. How to paint with acrylic paints on canvas, paper, tips

Hi all! You really asked me to publish watercolor painting lessons, and I thought for a long time where to find suitable material, because this topic is not new, and there is already a lot of different information on the Internet, so I decided not to invent it, but to use the materials foreign authors. This article is the first, but not the last. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful!

This article covers the basics you need to know to get started with watercolors. However, if you continue to scratch your head after reading, then please feel free to ask questions in the comments! I will be happy to answer you!

Before I started writing this article, I decided to do a little research on the Internet about painting. watercolor for beginners. This way, I reasoned, I wouldn’t miss a single moment and would write the best post. But good God... I've been painting with watercolors all my life, and the information I found on Google stunned me. After three too many overwhelming articles, I threw up my hands and decided that I would show you how I, personally, work with watercolors - and the adjective to my watercolor approach is “simple”.

Tools and materials

First, I want to talk about the materials and tools you will need. Of course, the most obvious tool would be a watercolor set.

I prefer the set from Greenleaf & Blueberry. It's a little pricey, but I love it! However, if you are just starting out, there is no need to invest in expensive kits.

Advice from the site:

Go to your nearest art store and buy art set watercolor paints, suitable for your price, the main thing is that it is not for children 😉

If you live in the outback, where it is difficult to find such a product, then you can order a set through an online store. So that you can get an idea of ​​the cost, I’m sending you examples of sets that are easy to find in our country:

Finally you will need pure water and fabric(I use an old dinner napkin) or paper towel to dry the brush.

Any glassware will do, I use an old mug.

Transparency of watercolor

The great thing about painting with watercolor is that you have complete control over the opacity of the paint. Watch how one color can change depending on the ratio of water and paint on the brush!

The picture on the left shows what a brush stroke looks like with a lot of water and a little paint. The illustration in the middle has a more equal ratio of water to paint. The picture on the right has more paint than water.

You may be thinking, “That's all well and good, but how can I control this water/paint ratio?” Before you do anything, apply a drop or two of water directly to the cuvettes you plan to use. This will wet the paint and make it ready to go. Then, you can do one of two things:

1. Use a palette
You can take a palette and mix three different shades of the same color on it. For the first color, use a brush to apply about eight drops of water into the indentation. Then, dip the still wet brush into the already moistened watercolor and transfer the color to the palette.

Apply about five drops of water into the second cavity. Again, dip your still wet brush into the watercolor and transfer the color into the water. Be sure to agitate the brush so that all the paint comes off! If this new color very similar to your first one, add more paint.

For the darkest shade, you will simply work directly with the paint from the pan, the shade should be very saturated.

2. We work directly from the watercolor set
You can use the concentration of water on your brush to control the shade of the paint. If you want a very light shade, wet your brush well with water and touch the tip of the brush to the paint. If, when transferring to paper, you find that the concentration of paint is too high, dip your brush in water again, and apply this water directly into the paint on the paper. The color will become more transparent! For midtones, you'll still be applying watercolor with a damp brush, but using more paint. For darker tones, I dab my brush with a tissue (it will still be damp, but not saturated) and then take the paint straight from the kit.

Mixing

The reason we looked into transparency is for mixing and overlaying colors. With different shades of the same color you can make any look come true. I'm going to show you how to turn a circle into a ball using watercolor blending and transparency:

1. First, draw a circle in the lightest shade.

2. Assume the light is at the top right as shown in the picture. Accordingly, the shadow will be in the lower left corner of the circle. To start painting the shadow, use your brush to pick your medium shade. Draw the shadow as if it is “hugging” a crescent-shaped circle, like this:

3. You can see that there is now a definite separation between the shadow and the highlight. To get rid of this difference and create a smooth transition, you need to mix the colors together - an easy task when painting with watercolors! To mix, submerge the brush in water to remove any remaining paint from the brush. Dry the brush to make sure all the paint is gone, then wet the brush bristles again with water. Then, place the brush on the separation between the shadow and the highlight and drag the middle shade with water, it will blur. Soon, you won't be able to tell where the mid-tone and light end and where the shadow begins!

4. Now it's time to add a dark shadow to bottom part circles. Apply a dark shade around the bottom of the sphere, as in the photo.

5. Mix the dark shade the same way you did with the middle shade, and voila!

6. You can add a drop shadow if you want. To do this, draw a thin line on the opposite side of the light below the sphere, like this:

Then, you need to draw out the color with a brush dipped in water until it disappears.

You might find it easier to understand the concept of blending/shading if you watch the video:

If you want more practice with blending and shaping, I'd recommend painting these shapes in different colors:

You could make the sphere green, the cube blue, etc. Drawing shapes like these helps you understand how to make things look three-dimensional. Yes, it can be a little boring... but so rewarding!

Mixing watercolors

To mix watercolors, you definitely need a palette, whether built into your kit or separate. The process of mixing colors is simple: apply one color to the palette and then add another color. Mix them together and you get a new color!

If you have a small selection of colors in a set, knowing how to mix will come in handy. There are many sources that tell you what colors to mix together to achieve the desired result.

If your mixed color dries in your palette, don't worry. You can re-wet it and it will be as good as new no matter how much time has passed.

IN modern world More and more newcomers are trying themselves in new things to find their calling. Many people stop at drawing, namely creating paintings with watercolor paint. Many people think that drawing is a very complex process that requires special knowledge and skills. But everything is much simpler, because anyone can paint with watercolors from scratch.
To learn more about watercolors and become a real artist after just a couple of classes, we recommend contacting a drawing school http://arhangelsk.videoforme.ru/designschool/drawing, there you can understand in more detail all the subtleties and nuances.

The process of creating a drawing using watercolor paint appeared a long time ago, it happened in China. Subsequently, it was this country that became the first manufacturer of a special canvas on which it was best to paint with watercolors. Although drawing was difficult back then, now it is a very easy and interesting process. Just open a search engine and study the materials yourself and look at examples.

What do you need to get started?

Before you learn how to paint with watercolors for beginners, you need to stock up certain tools And consumables:
- brushes;
- paper;
- paints.

Brushes are perhaps the main tool that will help you create masterpieces of art, read more about the history of brushes at the link https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_(%D0%B8%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82% D1%80%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82). They must be flexible, that is, after exposure they must take the same shape, they must absorb water well, and when drawing, the hairs must not be lost on the paper. Remember that real watercolor brushes have shorter handles than regular brushes.

High-quality paper is the key beautiful drawing. It’s not for nothing that they say that bad paper spoils the image. The situation is the same in watercolor painting. Therefore, it is extremely important to approach the choice of canvas especially carefully. The main characteristic density is considered. It should be above average, that is, the higher the density, the better. The paper should not delaminate, this indicates poor quality. A medium-grain and thick canvas is best, because you can draw anything on it.

The paints must be special - watercolors. Before starting work, it is definitely recommended to drop a little water on them to make it easier to draw with them. For beginners, paints in trays are suitable, and for those who are more confident in their abilities - in tubes.

Watercolor painting techniques for beginners

There are many ways and all kinds of techniques for beginners, but I would like to highlight the four most effective and useful:

Painting with a flat brush;

Gradient;

Watercolor glaze;

"Wet" technique.

Drawing with watercolors step by step for beginners, starts from theoretical knowledge:

Drawing with a flat brush allows a novice artist to depict any figure with absolutely the same and even color tone. To do this, you need to outline the desired figure with a simple pencil, then take a brush, dip it into the paint and draw a straight line along the drawing. Next, you should repeat these steps, but at the same time overlapping the previous end of the stroke, so that there are no accumulations of paint in the form of lines. Throughout the procedure, try to stick to the same paint tone.

IN artistic arts There is such a thing as a gradient. This is a special drawing technique in which you can get a smooth transition between dark and lighter tones, which makes it possible to depict beautiful background or iridescent objects. To begin with, you should take a suitable brush and dip it in a color that suits you, but always in the darkest shade. Next, we draw lines similar to the technique using a flat brush. With each subsequent application of new lines, you need to select lighter and lighter tones, and it is also necessary to overlap the lower border of the previous line.

A technique such as watercolor glaze requires a little ingenuity and imagination from the author. This technique allows you to depict landscape changes of different color scheme. It’s always worth starting from the sky, because it requires light colors. Then we begin drawing the mountains and slopes; to do this, take a yellow tint of paint and outline the contours of the mountains, sketching them sequentially. More high mountains can be painted green. You can also depict a river or waterfall by mixing a couple of blue shades, such as cobalt and ultramarine.

The next, “Wet” technique, makes it possible to obtain beautiful and extraordinary landscapes and backgrounds. To do this, use a spray bottle to slightly wet the paper and remove excess drops with a rag or napkins. Then, as is customary, we draw the sky, for this we take a blue tint and apply it to paper as your fantasy and imagination require. It is recommended to paint subsequent items in bright and neutral tones, since this technique makes it possible to obtain unique images. The main thing is to apply a little imagination and be creative. After completing the drawing, give it a chance to dry, and then you can safely show it to your friends.

Tips for Beginners

The first thing to remember is to use only high-quality materials. This means high-quality brushes, paints and paper. It is not necessary to buy expensive brushes and equipment; it is enough to find good ones, even at a low price. The main thing to remember is that best drawings always those in which the soul is invested. Therefore, create with pleasure.

In contact with

IN Ancient Egypt They painted with a sharpened stick with a piece of camel hair at the end using paints from crushed earth. This was the first watercolor technique, which is already about four thousand years old. Since then watercolor painting became firmly established in Europe.

The word “watercolor” itself has the Latin root “aqua” - water. That's why main principle Watercolor painting techniques are the degree to which the paper is moistened. It is water that gives the transparency of paints, purity of color and allows you to see the texture of the paper.

The artist has a choice of existing watercolor painting techniques:

• dry watercolor (Italian watercolor);
• wet watercolor (English watercolor);
• combined (mixed) technique;
• watercolor on fragmentarily moistened paper.

Dry watercolor (Italian watercolor)

Acquarello - this word sounds musical to the ear. Layers of paint are applied (one if it is a single-layer watercolor) or several (if it is glaze) on a dry sheet of paper.

“Watercolor is the tender promise of oil,” and this technique is a direct confirmation of this.

The tonality of the paint is thicker, the colors are brighter, the strokes are visible as if the drawing was painted in oil. The main difficulty is that if the oil endures everything, the work can be corrected, but in watercolor it is almost impossible to make mistakes. The Italians even have the term “A la Prima”, that is, “in one go.” The picture is painted without stages. With pure, undiluted colors, you need to boldly capture the essence, make a sketch from life.

Steps of an artist using the watercolor-on-dry technique:

1. application outline drawing, shadow development;
2. watercolor in one layer, or glaze;
3. brush strokes are opaque, mosaic, precise;
4. avoid dirty deposits, high speed of work.

Who to learn Italian style from: Russian academic painting XIX century. For example, “Italian Landscape” by A.A. Ivanov, stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Watercolor on wet (English watercolor)

The French call this technique “working on water” (travailler dans l’eau, French).

A sheet of paper is generously moistened with water. In this technique main feature- unpredictability of the result. Even if the artist has correctly calculated the tone and color, the drawing may still change more than once before it takes its final form before it dries completely. The contours of objects in this technique are blurry, the lines smoothly flow into each other and are airy. A painting made using this technique is thought out and imagined by the viewer.

In his book How to Understand Watercolor, writer Tom Hoffmann said: “Painting in watercolor is a dialogue between the artist and the viewer, each with their own role. If only one person talks, the other one will get bored.”

Artist's steps in wet-on-watercolor technique:

1. adding water to paints;
2. mixing paint, it doesn’t matter where, on the palette or on the sheet;
3. wet the sheet generously, then smooth it so that there are no irregularities left;
4. remove excess water from the sheet with a piece of cotton wool so that it stops shining;
5. complete the drawing using extremely precise strokes;
6. drying the pattern for 2 hours;
7. development of foreground elements (if required).

Who to learn the English style from: the brilliant English painter William Turner. According to contemporaries, he created four drawings at once using this technique “with amazing, monstrous speed.”

From Russian artists an example is the drawing by Maximilian Messmacher “View of Cologne Cathedral”.

Mixed media watercolor

Many artists combine several drawing techniques in one work.

Combined (mixed) technique techniques:

1. put the first layer of paint on a wet sheet;
2. elaboration of plans, creation of the required degree of blur;
3. drying the drawing;
4. lay out the next layers of paint in stages;
5. elaboration of the middle and close plans.

Basic rule of technology: the paper is not wetted all over, but in the desired area (reserve); the pigment is applied to the surface from top to bottom.

The paper may become wet in patches. The artist himself decides which plan to work on, creating watercolor stains. Using a sponge, you need to remove excess water so that water does not seep into those areas that should remain dry according to the artist’s plan. Examples of combined techniques in the work of artist Konstantin Kuzema.

The next issue for the artist is to create layers of paint. There are single-layer and multi-layer techniques (glaze).

Single layer watercolor technique

To paraphrase the famous satirist, one careless move and best case scenario You will get graphics instead of watercolors. The paint is applied in one layer; adjustments cannot be made. The single-layer technique can be applied dry-on-dry or wet-on-dry.

Features of single-layer watercolor “dry on dry”:

• execution literally in one or two touches;
• it is necessary to outline the contours of the drawing in advance;
• select the colors to use for speed;
• for colorization, use shades only on a damp layer;
• more clarity and graphics, less overflow.

Features of watercolor in one layer “wet on dry”:

• more shimmer, less graphics and clarity;
• Apply strokes quickly, until dry, one after another;
• For colorization, have time to add paint when the smear has not yet dried.

The advantage of the single-layer technique is the creation of picturesque watercolor tints. On a dry sheet it is easier to control the fluidity and outline of the strokes. Contemporary artists They often conduct master classes and post videos on Youtube. You can see the technique of single-layer watercolor, for example, from watercolorist Igor Yurchenko.

Those who tirelessly improve their watercolor technique should master multilayer technique(glaze), in which famous craftsmen work.

Multilayer watercolor technique (glaze)

This watercolor technique can give the green light to creating realist paintings. Glaze - multilayer technique, applying watercolor with transparent strokes from lighter to darker, one layer on top of the other.

Features of multi-layer watercolor technique:

• realism of the image: the picture is in bright, rich colors;
• the bottom layer of light and transparent strokes must have time to dry before the next application;
• the boundaries of the strokes are visible;
• the paint does not mix in different layers;
• the strokes are done carefully, the plans are airy, the painting is in a soft style;
• You can divide the process into several sessions and complete a large canvas.

Watercolor works made with glaze become similar to oil or gouache painting. So that the work does not have such a disadvantage, you must be able to work with light, apply glazes subtly and accurately.

Sergei Andriyaka is considered an unsurpassed master of multi-layer watercolor. In addition to his creativity, the artist is actively involved in teaching; his and his students’ works are constantly exhibited.

“Oil painting is like driving a limousine, and watercolor is like driving a Ferrari.” Not the same respectability and security, but it’s really cool,” Croatian watercolorist Joseph Zbukvich wittily remarked. What is required to write good watercolor, or “a fun ride in a Ferrari” according to the artist? He answers: “Follow watercolors, or just paint.”

To draw you need brushes, paints, mastery of technology and special effects. You can paint with a dry (wrung out), semi-dry and wet brush (kolinor or squirrel brush).

Techniques in multilayer technology are also varied:

1. Strokes you need to do it according to the principle “the master’s work is afraid”, invent your own technique, making dotted, linear, blurry, curly, solid and intermittent strokes.
2. Fill covers most of the design with one color, used to provide smooth color transitions.
3. Washing- applying no more than three layers of paint, one on top of the other after drying, to enhance halftones, add details and shadows. This way the overall tone is achieved.
4. Gradient stretch- strokes smoothly transition into each other, each next one is lighter than the previous one. This is done with a rainbow transition of colors.
5. Pulling paint- a clean, dry brush makes the tone of the stroke lighter, passes over the paper, collecting excess pigment.
6. Reserve- that part of the sheet that is left white.

Types of reservation:

• « bypass“- the name speaks for itself, you need to carefully go around the right places with your brush. In wet watercolor you should leave it as a reserve more space due to paint leaks.
• mechanical impact: scratching, masking. Avoid damaging the paper with sharp objects and sharp contrasts. Additional materials: razor, wax crayons, etc.
• paint washing out with a dry cloth or wrung-out brush. You can use a palette knife if the paint is dry.

You can create watercolors using the grisaille (monochrome), dichrome (with ocher) and multi-color techniques.

You can also combine coloring materials and create special effects:

• Mixing watercolors with whitewash, gouache, watercolor pencils, ink, pastel. This is no longer a pure technique, but a mixed one. What does this give? — clarity (pencils), shading (pastel), wash (ink), book illustrations(pen), reserve (white), linear strokes (watercolor pencils).
• Special effect " drawing on crumpled paper"gives an amazing effect of chiaroscuro on the folds of paper.
• Special effect with salt: salt crystals are applied to the drawing, and as a result of friction with the paper, fantastic stains appear. Suitable for drawing a starry sky or water meadow.
• Special effect " splashing“- this effect is familiar to all 1-2 year old toddlers. It turns out that the technique of splashing exists in painting, and you won’t be scolded for it. Using a toothbrush, apply tiny drops of paint. Suitable for writing the elements, storms, storms.
• Watercolor with tea: for the effect of “aging” paper, with a texture reminiscent of parchment. The leaf is tinted with tea leaves.
• A special effect with cling film: the film, moistened with paint, is sharply separated from the sheet of paper. The resulting stains are used as a background.

And again about the principle “the master’s work is afraid”: each artist can create his own, original techniques and techniques. Whether or not to share with others is his business, but every artist is responsible for the originality of his work. As the already mentioned watercolorist Joseph Zbukvic said: “Watercolor is the boss. I’m just her young assistant.”

There are never too many ideas for creativity, but if in creative process Children also participate - you must agree that it often becomes not only creative, but also exploratory. WITH simple techniques using watercolors, which will show us from a new side the properties of some ordinary items, introduces us today to Anastasia Borisova , blog author English4.me - English for me and my family. Anastasia’s blog is not only about language, but also about creativity, so today we are going on an excursion to creative storerooms and studying simple watercolor techniques and techniques.

There are so many creative and well-rounded mothers here on! And interesting finds await us at every step. Many mothers, seeing after any classes the incredible results of their 2-4 year old child- although not always as intended - they exclaim: “How original and simple! Where is this taught? Everyone wants to become a little bit of a sorceress for their children.

So, using the simplest techniques, in 15 minutes I painted a winter landscape, which my husband considered worthy of putting up for sale. 🙂

The best children's books

The non-standard use of materials and the variety of created effects give the child the feeling “I can!”, and allow the mother, who all her life thought that she couldn’t draw, to overcome the “I can’t draw” feeling.

Watercolor is a fluid and unruly thing. We will use precisely these not always convenient properties, creating “masterpieces” mainly “wet”.

1. Crayon resistance effect - manifestations of wax crayon

This is perhaps the most common technique. Using a wax crayon or a candle, a drawing or inscription is applied to a sheet of paper, and then painted over with watercolors. Using a white chalk or candle, you can write secret notes or greetings; yellow chalk creates a glow effect; bright blues, greens and pinks under dark watercolors - a neon effect. You can also combine this technique with rubbing. We put a textured backing under the sheet (whatever you can find at home) and rub it on top with the flat side of the chalk. If you do this carefully and place leaves or some kind of relief object, you get excellent prints.

2. Salt - salt over wet watercolor

By sprinkling salt on a still wet painted sheet, you can achieve interesting effects. Medium-coarse salt leaves “snowflakes” on the blue when dried. On a green background you will get translucent foliage. Fine extra salt dries almost completely. This way you can add texture to a road, a stone, or create a galaxy.

3. Blotting - bleaching paint.

By removing excess water and a layer of paint from the sheet with a dry napkin, you can draw winter spruce trees covered with snow or sea foam. You can get a pale moon or sun if you wrap a paper napkin around a tube from toilet paper and blot the watercolor sky. Even a drawing that has already dried can be corrected by sprinkling it with water and gently rubbing the desired area.

If you crumple a napkin and apply it to the blue sky, you will get very natural clouds.

A crumpled napkin also creates an interesting texture. Texture sheets can then be successfully used when creating collages.

4. Pressing - pushing

In the picture above you can see a clear inscription in dark letters (I ...). It was made on wet watercolor with the tip of a brush (the paint seems to flow into the depressed hollows). This way you can sign the drawing or add details. The same principle applies to placing a sheet of wet watercolor with a textured object on it under a press. It is best, of course, to print the leaves this way. But even feathers and a tree branch make a good decorative picture.

5. Splatter and spray

A toothbrush plus watercolors will help you make rain, snow, falling leaves, and depict the wind. It's fun to just splash different colors onto a dry sheet of paper. A moistened leaf will give a completely different effect. You will be able to watch how the droplets blur, merging with each other into a bizarre ornament.

You can spray around the stencil, or vice versa inside it. A consistently original result is guaranteed. Just don't forget to cover your workspace with newspapers; the paint will fly everywhere.

6. Masking tape - painting with masking tape

I was surprised to discover that the above-mentioned adhesive tape peels off from the paper several times, which means we use it as a basis for the stencil. You can tear it into uneven strips with your hands and draw a forest.

Anything turns out great geometric compositions. You can even cut out something more detailed into the thickness of the tape, like the houses in the first photo. The main thing is that this stencil does not need to be additionally secured and held, and the likelihood of paint getting under it is not high if the edges are smoothed well.

7. Foam painting - drawing with foam

Fun and beautiful texture all rolled into one. In a container you need to mix water, a little liquid soap and a lot of paint. We hand the child a straw and allow him to blow bubbles. As soon as the tall hat grows, we apply paper to it. In this case, it is better to undress the child completely, so that it will be easier to wash later.

8. Alcohol and citric acid - alcohol and citric acid

Both liquids seem to “move apart” and “eat away” the paint. A drop of alcohol gives a fish eye effect, and its volatility can create additional areolas around the eye, similar to a halo around the sun. Very unusual.

Lemon juice spreads well over fresh watercolors, but has no effect on dried ones. It spreads quite a lot on its own, so it’s important not to overdo it. IN ideal you get these “furry” blots. After drying, they can be turned into monsters or something else by adding arms, legs, eyes.

9. Stamping - stamping

In my opinion, it is better to work with stamps with thicker paints - gouache, acrylic. You can use whatever is at hand, as well as cut stamps out of potatoes, imprint cut vegetables, etc. Watercolor is good for creating textures. We take a napkin, dip it in paint and leave marks that are quite similar to stones, for example.

10. Plastic cling wrap - cling film

Did you know that film can also draw? It is enough to lay it on wet watercolor and move it around. The result is ice crystals or other kinds of abstractions.

If you make one large, even “window” framed by wrinkles, then after the paint dries you will see, say, a lake or wormwood. In the photo it even looks like it turned out to be a rose.

11. Blowing

Another technique for drawing with a tube. And again you need to blow, but now as hard as possible, driving a drop of paint along the sheet. As a result, you will get intricate trees or just funny weirdos, or perhaps hair for a pre-drawn character.

If you want, you can let the paint flow on its own wherever it wants. Just turn the sheet over vertically and then play around with your child, this is what it looks like.

12. Light table - light table

Or a window, in other words. 🙂 This technique is not for kids, but mom can create a gallery of children’s portraits if she wants. All relatives will be provided with gifts for the year ahead. In childhood, I think everyone “combined” pictures by placing the original with a white sheet of paper against the window. What if you take a photo? In photo editors, you need to ensure that there are 2 colors left - black and white (posterize function).

Then there are several options for action. You can paint over all the white areas with wax crayon or a candle, and then go over with watercolors. It turns out interesting, but not very clean, because it’s quite difficult to track where the chalk went.

You can simply outline all the white spots with a pencil, and then carefully fill in the rest with paint. It's not as long or as difficult as it seems. Just a little patience and accuracy, and you will have 3-4 portraits during your children's nap.

If you decide to put things on stream, then it is better to purchase reserve liquid for watercolor paper in hobby markets. We apply it with a brush on white, go over it with watercolors on top, and then remove the reserve, like a film from a sheet. Fast, clean, original.

With the advent of acrylic paints, the world saw a new reality. Acrylic quickly gained popularity in the most different areas: painting, interior design, beauty. They paint nails with acrylic and paint pictures. What is good about this polymer material?

Acrylic paints are water-based and do not require any special thinners. The paints do not turn yellow and do not cause allergies. They simultaneously have the properties of watercolor and oil. Check out the amazing paintings of Justin Geoffrey, who uses acrylic to create three-dimensional paintings!

Like any other technique, acrylic has its own characteristics.

When working with acrylic you can use various techniques and successfully combine them in one picture. In general, a painted picture acrylic paints may be indistinguishable from watercolor or oil. It also happens that certain picture has its own unique and inimitable color rendition, which is almost impossible to replicate with other techniques.

Learning to paint with acrylic is not difficult, especially if you are already familiar with oil or watercolor. But you need to keep in mind that acrylic dries very quickly. For example, while you are enthusiastically waving your brush, you may be “disappointed” in the palette in the form of dried paints. However, already while “swinging” the brush you will see how the paint is already drying. Therefore, for some this is a clear advantage over other paints, but for others it is a complete inconvenience. But you just need to act correctly. So.

What is the best way to organize a workplace for an artist?

Well, everyone understands that a well-organized place has a positive effect on the creative process. Convenient workplace allows you not only to work comfortably, but also to save money. To organize your workplace, we recommend following simple rules that will help you concentrate well on work:

• Diffused and even lighting
• the most optimal for work;
• Make sure that the lighting of the canvas plane and the model does not change sharply during the day;
• The light on the canvas should fall from the left;
• Do not allow sharp differences in lighting between nature and the canvas;
• Artificial light should not blind the artist.

Important!
Keep in mind that when painting with artificial lighting, shades of paint on canvas may change due to exposure to incandescent lamps.

What is needed for painting?

You will need: A canvas stretcher, a tablet or an easel, any surface for painting, masking tape, a spray bottle, a set of acrylic paints (main range 6-8 colors), art brushes, water, a moistened palette, acrylic thinner and a palette knife.

Canvases. The good news is that for acrylic painting You can use any surface, but no matter what you choose, it needs to be primed, except for white watercolor paper.
To make the surface white, use acrylic emulsion. You can also use dark acrylic paint, which can give the work the desired contrast.

Brushes. As you know, there are natural and synthetic brushes. This is of course individual, but for convenience, it all depends on how diluted the acrylic is:
If the paints are diluted, I recommend brushes made of kolinsky, oxhair, sable or synthetic.
If the paint is thick (impasto technique), use hard brushes made of sable, bristles, or combined with synthetic fiber. It is appropriate to use a palette knife.
Squirrel is suitable for filling large surfaces.

Advice: Don't use hot water- acrylic from it can harden at the base of the hair tuft of the brush.

You can use sponges to apply strokes and create textures, as is done in watercolor painting.

Basic principles of acrylic painting

So, we must definitely take into account that acrylic dries quickly, so there is no time for “fussing around”. The best and easiest way to start your painting with diluted acrylic is with the “wet on” technique. Only a sheet of watercolor paper must first be moistened with warm water and stretched on the tablet, securing the wet edges with masking tape.

You can also paint with diluted acrylic paints on a dry base, but for this it is still better to moisten it. It will be much more convenient for you to paint if you take two brushes, the first to actually apply the paint, and the second (clean or wet) to remove excess, smooth out contours, correct defects and soften color transitions.

In painting, you can add more depth, shine and expressiveness if you paint a picture using the layer-by-layer glaze method. It consists in the fact that first you need to apply thick paints as an underpainting. Afterwards you can paint already diluted, but it is very important to wait until each layer has completely dried.

In acrylic painting you can also use the impasto technique, as if working in oil. Fortunately, this allows for the remarkable hiding power and thickness of the paints in an undiluted state.
You can do the underpainting with acrylic and complete the painting with oil.

Important nuances

1. When working with acrylic in a pasty manner, it happens that the result does not justify itself, such as the effect of oil, even if the acrylic is glossy.
2. Theoretically, you can rewrite over dried layers many times, but with some paints there are problems, so you have to scrape the paint down to the base.
3. There are acrylic paints that are not highly transparent. Therefore, with such paints the glaze technique may be ineffective.
4. In general, you need to develop individual techniques through trial and error, then acrylic will “sparkle” in your hands!

When you need to smoothly mix several colors on a canvas, the quick drying of acrylic often gets in the way, so there are a few tricky things that will increase its drying time:

1. Soak your brushes in water overnight. This will allow you not to waste precious moisture from the paint when dry brushes quickly suck it up;
2. Before applying paint to the canvas, spray it with water using a spray bottle (the main thing is not to overdo it!);
3. Spray the canvas a little and often while working;
4. Use special additives that slow down the drying of acrylic paints (oils).

The palette also needs moisture! But for this moment there is one trick:

Use a special palette with moistened foam rubber placed at the bottom.

You can make such a palette yourself. To do this, select any flat container with a lid, in which place a layer of wet wipes or toilet paper (moistened) at the bottom. Make sure that there is not too much water; the napkins or paper should not become limp. Level the surface and cover it with a sheet of thick and smooth tracing paper. It will become an incomparable palette for your colors.

In conclusion: how to make a palette

Finally, it would be worth highlighting one convenient and profitable way, for which you only need a thick sheet of plastic or cardboard (A4). Place a clean transparent file on it, and it can be used as a palette. A dirty file is simply thrown away, and the dense base can serve for a very long time. Agree - cheap and cheerful!