Watercolor technique. watercolor techniques

Preview:

The study of technology watercolor painting

in art classes

Performed:

Gileva Olga Lazarevna

Novokuznetsk, 2013

Introduction ................................................ ................................................. ......3

1.1.Features of watercolor painting....................................................... .......5

1.2. History of watercolor technique …………………………………………7

1.3. Classification of watercolor techniques .................................................................. .....9

2.1. Learning watercolor techniques at school………………………………...22

2.2. Development of a lesson on the topic: “Watercolor painting. Warm and cold colors ................................................. ...27

Conclusion................................................. ...................................................33

Bibliography................................................ ....................................35

Application................................................. ...................................................36

Introduction

In the visual arts, there is a huge amount of a wide variety of materials. Some of them are used quite rarely, others, on the contrary, are known to everyone. Watercolors are among such well-known materials.

Watercolors are paints that use water as a solvent. They are environmentally friendly, do not require sophisticated equipment, and are easy to use. Therefore, watercolors are used for both children's and professional creativity.

Watercolor is usually done on paper, so it is often referred to as a graphic technique. At the same time, in terms of its pictorial possibilities, it is difficult not to attribute it to painting. The uniqueness of watercolor lies in its intermediate position between two extremely interesting types of fine art.

The most important feature of watercolor is its transparency. This property of the material allows you to convey the depth of space of the light-air environment, the variability and mobility of the surrounding world, the variety of color and tonal relationships.

At the same time, watercolor is a portable and fairly affordable material. It is convenient to use it both when working in nature and in a workshop.

Watercolor has a wide range of technical possibilities. Watercolor works can be built on the thinnest color transitions of a transparent paint layer or deep juicy color spots.

It can be used evenly colored or with unique streaks stain, different shapes colorful strokes and lines.

There is another feature of watercolor. She doesn't like corrections. And this requires the performer to master not only the technical methods of watercolor painting, but also the ability to draw confidently. That is why watercolor should be attributed to one of the most difficult painting techniques. Of course, the process of mastering the techniques of writing in watercolor requires serious and purposeful work.

The question arises about the advisability of studying watercolor painting at the initial stage of teaching fine arts. Answering it, you can give a lot of arguments both "for" and "against" the use of this material in order to teach children the fine arts.

Object of study: the process of teaching painting at the lessons of fine arts.

Subject of research: techniques of watercolor painting at the lessons of fine arts.

The purpose of the final qualifying work is to determine the need to study the technique of watercolor painting in the lessons of fine arts.

To achieve this goal, the following tasks should be solved:

Highlight the features of watercolor painting;
Consider the types of watercolor techniques;
To identify the features of the study of watercolor technique in the lessons of fine arts;
Develop a lesson on the topic: "Watercolor painting"

Research methods:

Analysis of psychological, pedagogical and special literature on the topic of final qualifying work.

Chapter 1. Theoretical foundations of watercolor painting technique

1.1. Features of watercolor painting

Watercolor paints were known in ancient Egypt, in ancient China and countries of the ancient world. For a long time, writing was considered by them to be only one of the components of a graphic drawing. Watercolor painting in its modern conception arose relatively recently: in late XVIII – early XIX centuries Then she gained independence and became one of the most difficult drawing techniques.

watercolor ( fr.Aquarelle - watery;ital. acquarello)- picturesquea technique that uses special watercolor paints, which, when dissolved in water, form a transparent suspension of fine pigment, and thereby create the effect of lightness, airiness and subtle color transitions. Watercolor combines the features of painting (the richness of tone, the construction of form and space with color) andcharts(active role paperin the construction of the image, the absence of a specific relief of the stroke, characteristic of the pictorial surface).

basisfor watercolor is usuallypaper, which is often pre-moistened with water to achieve a special blurred smear shape. For this, special frameworks can serve -erasers- on which the sheet is stretched. Thus, during writing, the paper can be moistened from below, or the paper is placed on a wetflannel. A simpler method is also possible: a pre-moistened sheet of watercolor paper, which absorbs moisture quite well, is placed onglass, at the same time, depending on how long a particular section of the pattern is worked out, the angle of inclination of the glass is chosen, but most often the glass lies horizontally. In accordance with one's own mannerisms, one can allow water to puddle on a sheet of paper or be deeply absorbed and create only a separate wet area. Paint in such cases plays differently, which creates the desired effect. In fact, this is precisely the most common modern understanding of watercolor technique. In addition, watercolors can be used to work with fills and dot-line techniques. It is for such techniques that stretching a sheet of paper on a tablet is used, as well as the so-called watercolor blocks.

The binder for watercolors are transparent vegetable adhesives that are easily water-soluble.gum arabic And dextrin. As plasticizerthey are injected with glycerin and inverted sugar, which retain moisture. Without this, the paints would easily dry out and become brittle. Another watercolor additive used tosurfactant- bull bile. It prevents paint from rolling into drops, making it easier to draw. For protection againstmoldantiseptic is injectedphenol.

According to experts of the 19th century, “for watercolor painting, either Bristol cardboard is used,whatman paperpaper, or torchon,brushessquirrel, marten, badger or ferrets. Monochromatic drawings are made either according to the Hubert method, usingsepia, or neutral. For colored watercolors, the most commonly used paints are as follows:gamboge, Indian yellow, yellowocher, terre de Siennanatural, the same burnt,cinnabar, carminegarance, lac-garance, burnt carmine, red ocher, Venetian red, Indian red,cobalt, ultramarine, prussian blue,indigo, neutral and sepia"

Working with watercolors in nature, from nature, requires speed and proven technique. At the same time, a vessel with clean water and a sponge should be at hand, which, as a rule, is involved in the process along with brushes. The quality of watercolor paper is very important for work, but the most expensive and best paper is not always available to beginners, and therefore it is quite possible to adapt to the existing one - so much so that even on the best, but unfamiliar paper, the result may be weaker.

Modern artists quite successfully use watercolor pencils, as well as other materials that allow you to “finish” watercolor, for example: pastel,wax crayons, gel ink, etc.

1.2. History of watercolor technique

Watercolor technique began to develop inChinaafter the invention of paper2nd century ad. IN XII- XIII centuriespaper became widespread in Europe, especially inSpain And Italy. The forerunner of watercolor technique in Europe was painting on wet plaster (fresco), which allowed obtaining similar effects.

In Europe, watercolor painting came into use later than other genera.painting. From top artistsrenaissanceleft a significant mark in watercolorDurer, whose "Hare" became a textbook work, then watercolors paid tributeAnthony van Dyck, Claude Lorrain And Giovanni Castiglione. However, these examples remained isolated until the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, so that even in1829Payo de Montaberin the "Complete Treatise on Painting" mentions watercolor in passing as an art that does not deserve serious attention.

At the same time, the technique using weakened contours and shading with a brush was widely used, especially in the 18th century, by participants in scientific and military expeditions to sketch archaeological and geological objects, plants, animals, and when coloring architectural and topographic plans: initially, Chineseink, then mascara with lacquer carmine,sepia, and then other water paints. IN mid-eighteenth century, drawing with water colors became a popular leisure activity for non-professionals: the distribution of this entertainment was especially facilitated by the publications published in the 1780s. and glorifying the beauty of the English hinterland travel diariesWilliam Gilpinwhich he supplied with his own illustrations. As a result, at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, the efforts of the firstPaula Sandby, then Thomas Girtinand finally, first of all,Joseph Turnerwatercolor turned into almost the most important species English painting - inthe Society of Watercolorists was founded (EnglishSociety of Painters in Water Colors).

In addition, the popularity of watercolor increased in connection with the spread in the second half of the 18th century. fashion forportrait miniature, is a genre that numerous amateur artists have successfully begun to master.

The innovations of Gertin, who began to use watercolor for large-format paintings, and Turner, who significantly enriched the watercolorist's arsenal of techniques, brought to life a further rise in English watercolor in the work of artists such as landscape painters.John Sell Cotman, Anthony Copley Fielding, Richard Parkes Bonington, David Cox, who wrote a lot of architectural structuresSamuel Prout, master of still lifesWilliam Henry Hunt, and Samuel Palmer, John Varley, John Frederick Lewis, Miles Burket Foster, Frederic Walkerand other masters. The role of watercolor in English fine art was reinforced by the writingsJohn Ruskinwho announced Turner major artist of his time.

In the middle of the 19th century, watercolor gained wide popularity also in the United States thanks to the work of artists such asWilliam Trost Richards, Thomas Moran, Thomas Eakins And Winslow Homer.

In France, the spread of watercolor painting was associated with namesFields Delaroche, Eugene Delacroix, Henri Joseph Arpinier, as well as masters of satirical drawingsHonore Daumier.

TO late XIX century, there was some revision of the attitude to watercolor, partly due to the fact that many of the new colors introduced into widespread use by watercolorists of the middle of the century turned out to be very short-lived, quickly fading. Nevertheless, at the turn of the century, watercolors paid tributePaul Signac And Paul Cezanne in France, Maurice Prendergast And John Singer Sargent in the US and then Wassily Kandinsky, Emil Nolde, Egon Schiele, Paul Klee And Raoul Dufy.

Watercolor painting in Russia reached an exceptional flowering in the last decades of the 19th and the first two decades of the 20th century. Of our contemporaries, in Russia at the end of the XX - early XXI centuries the most notable phenomena in the art of watercolor were a series of works by Sergei Andriyaka and the masters of his school (School of watercolor by Sergey Andriyaka), who seek to revive the technique, techniques, genres of Russian classical multi-layered watercolor.

1.3. Classification of watercolor techniques

There are many different ways to perform watercolor works. These methods can be identified and classified only conditionally, depending on certain factors (see Appendix 1).

Depending on the degree of paper moisture, one can distinguish such watercolor techniques as “wet work” (“English” watercolor) and “dry work” (“Italian” watercolor). An interesting effect is obtained by working on a fragmentary moistened sheet. In addition, combinations of these techniques can also be found.

The essence of the “wet work” technique is that the paint is applied to a sheet previously moistened with water. The degree of its moisture content depends on the creative intent of the artist, but usually they begin to work after the water on the paper ceases to “shine” in the light. With enough experience, you can control the moisture content of the sheet by hand. Depending on how filled with water the hair bundle of the brush, it is customary to conditionally distinguish between such methods of work as “wet-in-wet” and “dry-in-wet”.

Advantages of the wet technique: this way of working allows you to get light, transparent color shades with soft transitions.

Especially successfully this method is used in landscape painting. The main difficulty lies in the main advantage - this is the fluidity of watercolor. When applying paint by this method, the artist often depends on the vagaries of smears spreading over wet paper, which in the process of creativity can turn out far from what was originally intended. At the same time, it is almost impossible to correct only a single fragment without affecting the rest. In most cases, the rewritten section will be out of harmony with overall structure the rest of the canvas. Some soiling, dirt, etc. may appear. This way of working requires constant self-control, free use of the brush. Only considerable practice allows the artist to somehow predict the behavior of ink on wet paper and provide a sufficient level of control over its spreading. The painter must have a clear idea of what he wants and how he must solve the problem.

The A la Prima technique is a painting in a wet style, painted quickly, in one session, which creates unique effects of stains, overflows and overflows of paint.

Getting on the wet surface of the paper, the paint spreads over it in a unique way, making the picture light, airy, transparent, breathable. It is no coincidence that the work done in this technique is practically impossible to copy, since each stroke on a wet sheet is unique and unrepeatable. Combining various color combinations with a variety of tonal solutions, you can achieve amazing overflows and transitions between the subtlest shades. The a la prima method, since it does not involve multiple registrations, allows you to maintain maximum freshness and richness of colorful sounds.

Besides, added benefit This technique will save some time. As a rule, the work is written “in one breath” while the sheet is wet (which is 1-3 hours), although, if necessary, you can additionally wet the paper during the creative process. In quick sketches from nature and sketches, this method is indispensable. It is also appropriate when performing landscape studies, when fickle weather conditions oblige fast technique execution.

When writing, it is recommended to make mixtures of two, maximum of three colors. Excess paint, as a rule, leads to clouding, to a loss of freshness, brightness, color definition. You should not get carried away by the randomness of spots, each stroke is designed to meet its purpose - to be strictly consistent with the shape and pattern.

The advantage and at the same time the complexity of the A la Prima technique is that the image, which instantly appears on paper and fancifully blurs under the influence of the movement of water, cannot subsequently be subjected to any change. Each detail begins and ends in one step, all colors are taken at once in full force. Therefore, this method requires extraordinary concentration, sharp writing and an ideal sense of composition. Another inconvenience is the limited time frame for the execution of such a watercolor, since there is no possibility of leisurely work with breaks between painting sessions. The image is written almost non-stop and, as a rule, "with one touch", i.e. the brush, if possible, touches a separate part of the paper only once or twice, no longer returning to it. This allows you to maintain absolute transparency, lightness of watercolor, to avoid dirt in your work.

The “dry” work is that the paint is applied to a dry sheet of paper in one or two (single-layer watercolor) or several (glazing) layers, depending on the artist’s idea. This method allows you to provide good control over the flow of paint, tonality and shape of strokes.

Single-layer watercolor "dry". - the work is written in one layer on a dry sheet and, as a rule, in one or two touches. This keeps the color purity of the image. As needed, you can "include" paint of a different shade or color in the applied, but not yet dried layer.
The dry-on-dry one-coat method is more transparent and airy than glazing, but does not have the beauty of wet overflows achieved with the A la Prima technique. However, unlike the latter, it allows you to perform strokes without much difficulty. desired shape and tonality, to provide the necessary control over the paint.

The colors used in the work, in order to avoid the appearance of dirt, it is advisable to think over and prepare in advance, at the very beginning of the painting session, so that they can be applied to the sheet without hindrance.

It is convenient to work in this technique by outlining the contours of the drawing in advance, since there is no way to make adjustments with additional layers of paint. This method is well suited for graphic images, as strokes on dry paper retain their clarity. In addition, such a watercolor can be written both in one session and in several (with fragmentary work) with breaks as needed.

Another way of doing a single-layer watercolor - wet-on-dry, is that each stroke is applied next to the previous one, grabbing it while it is still wet. Thanks to this, a natural mixture of shades and a soft transition between them is formed. To enhance the color, you can pour the necessary paint with a brush into a smear that has not yet dried. You need to work fast enough to cover the entire sheet before the previously applied strokes dry out. This allows you to create beautiful painterly overflows, and the dry surface of the paper provides sufficient control over the fluidity and outlines of the strokes.

Multi-layer watercolor (glazing). - glazing is a method of applying watercolors with transparent strokes (as a rule, darker ones on top of lighter ones), one layer on top of another, while the bottom one should always be dry. Thus, the paint in different layers does not mix, but works through the light, and the color of each fragment is made up of the colors in its layers. When working in this technique, you can see the boundaries of strokes. But, since they are transparent, this does not spoil the painting, but gives it a peculiar texture. The strokes are done carefully so as not to damage or blur the already dried picturesque areas.

The main advantage of the multi-layer watercolor technique is the ability to create paintings in the style of realism, i.e. most accurately reproducing one or another fragment of the environment. Such works outwardly have a certain similarity, for example, with oil painting, however, unlike it, they retain the transparency and sonority of colors, despite the presence of several layers of paint.

Bright, fresh glazing paints give watercolor works a special sonority of color, lightness, tenderness and radiance of color.

Glazing is a technique of saturated colors, deep shadows filled with colorful reflections, a technique of soft airy planes and endless distances. Where the task is to achieve color intensity, multilayer reception is in first place.

When writing in this technique, the artist is relatively independent in terms of chronological framework: there is no need to rush, there is time to think without haste. The work on the picture can be divided into several sessions, depending on the possibilities, necessity and, in fact, the desire of the author. This is especially important when working with large format images, when it is possible to perform various fragments of the future picture separately from each other with their subsequent final merging.

Due to the fact that the glazing is carried out on dry paper, it is possible to achieve excellent control over the accuracy of strokes, which allows you to realize your plan to the maximum. By gradually applying one layer of watercolor after another, it is easier to choose the right shade for each element in the drawing and get the right color scheme.

Main criticism, directed at this technique, lies in the fact that, in contrast to the single-layer style of writing, which preserves the transparency of paints as much as possible, watercolor works made with glazing lose their airiness and resemble images in oil or gouache. However, if the glazing is applied thinly and transparently, then the light falling on the picture will be able to reach the paper and be reflected from it.

It should be noted that the multi-layered writing often hides the texture of paper and paints or the texture of semi-dry brush strokes on a granular sheet.

Like any watercolor painting, glazing involves very careful work - strokes must be placed carefully so as not to smear the lower, already dried, layers of paint. Because the perfect mistake can not always be corrected later without consequences. If paper and a fragment of the image allow, you can blur the bad place with a hard column previously moistened in clean water, then blot it with a napkin or cloth, and then, when everything dries, carefully restore the color.

Also, works can be performed in a combined (mixed) watercolor technique, when both wet and dry techniques are harmoniously combined in one picture. For example, the first layer of paint is placed on wet paper to create the desired blurring of the background (or/and separate fragments of the middle and foregrounds), and then, after the paper dries, additional layers of paint are placed successively while drawing the elements of the middle and foreground in detail. If desired, other combinations of raw writing and glazing are also used.

An interesting way to work on a fragmentary moistened sheet, when the latter is not completely wetted, but only in some specific places. A long stroke, covering both dry and wet areas of the paper, will take on a unique shape, combining, with its general continuity, clear contours in dry places with "spread" in wet ones. The tonality of such a smear will change accordingly in areas of the paper with different degrees of moisture.

According to the color palette used by the artist, it is conditionally possible to distinguish monochrome watercolor - grisaille, and multicolor - classical. In the latter, there is no limit on the number of colors used and their shades, while in grisaille, different tones of the same color are used, not counting the color of the paper. Most often, sepia is used and, less often, black, ocher.

Sometimes, in relation to watercolor works, one can also come across such a term as “dichrome”. As a rule, it is used extremely rarely and refers to those images in the creation of which not one, but two colors were used.

According to the degree of humidity, it is possible to divide not only the working surface, but also the hair bundle of the brush during the painting session. Of course, this division is more than arbitrary, since, depending on the desires of the artist, the same brush can change the degree of moisture with each stroke. At the same time, we will single out the work with a dry (wrung out) brush, semi-dry and wet, since the strokes in these cases differ from each other.

A brushstroke with a pressed brush when writing "wet" provides less "fluidity", allows you to better maintain control over the paint applied to the sheet. When writing “in a dry way”, such a stroke can only partially cover the paper, “slipping” (especially for embossed paper, medium-grained and torchon), which is of particular interest for specific creative solutions.

Writing with a semi-dry brush is universal and well suited for writing on paper of varying degrees of moisture. Of course, each case will have its own characteristics. With a wet brush, they write, as a rule, “in a dry way”, since dotted strokes on the wet surface of the sheet give a strong “spreading” and are difficult to control. However, a wet brush is well suited for pouring, stretching, washes and other techniques when you want to keep as much water in the brush as possible. There are techniques when watercolor is mixed with other coloring materials, for example, with white (gouache), watercolor pencils, ink, pastels, etc. And, although the results are also very impressive, such techniques are not “clean”.

In the case of a combination of watercolors with pencils, the latter complement the translucency of colors with their bright and clear shades. With pencils, you can either emphasize some details of the pictorial image, making them clearer, sharper, or do all the work in mixed media, in which linear strokes, brush strokes and colorful stains are equally present.

Pastel doesn't work as well with watercolor as pencil does, but sometimes artists use pastel to apply pastel strokes on top of a finished watercolor hillshade.

Ink, both black and colored, can be used instead of watercolor. However, ink gives new possibilities and is usually used in brush washes or pen drawings. The combination of black ink drawing and abstract watercolor spots that merge and cross the boundaries of ink objects gives the work a fresh and original look.

The combination of watercolor and pen is very successful, for example, for book illustrations.

As a rule, whitewash (an opaque coloring material, such as gouache) in mixed media is used to "simplify" the painting process. Sometimes the "reserve" of individual places in the picture presents a certain difficulty, especially when these places are small and there are many of them. Therefore, some artists paint without it, and then “bleach” the right places with paint (for example, highlights on objects, snow, tree trunks, etc.).

When creating one work, it is also possible to combine different materials, for example, in addition to watercolor, white, ink and pastel are used in the process of painting, depending on the artist's creative intent. In watercolor, one can conditionally distinguish such writing techniques as: strokes, filling, washing, stretching, reserves, “pulling” paint, etc.

Strokes are perhaps one of the most common ways of writing in painting, by the nature of which it is easy to distinguish a dynamic drawing from a boring work. The brush filled with paint, in contact with the surface of the sheet, performs one or another movement, after which it breaks away from the paper, thereby completing the stroke. It can be dotted, linear, curly, clear, blurry, solid, broken, etc.

Filling - a technique performed in cases where it is required to cover a significant area of \u200b\u200bthe picture with one color or make smooth transitions between different colors. It is performed on paper tilted at an angle, as a rule, with long horizontal strokes with a large brush, so that each next stroke flows down and “captures” part of the previous one, thereby organically merging with it into one texture. If, after filling, there is excess coloring pigment, then they can be carefully removed with a wrung out brush or napkin.

Washing is a technique of watercolor painting, in which paint heavily diluted with water is used - they begin to write transparent layers with it, repeatedly passing through those places that should be darker. The overall tone of each of the sections of the image is ultimately achieved by repeated overlays of these layers, with each of them being applied only after the previous one has completely dried, so that the colors do not mix with each other. At the same time, it is not recommended to apply more than three layers of paint so that dirt does not appear. Therefore, most often the second registration enhances the colors of the halftones, and the third saturates the color of the shadows and introduces details. In fact, washing is a repeated pouring of one tone onto another with a solution of the same concentration. Most often, this technique is used by architects and designers, since an ordinary drawing does not give the viewer a visual representation of the shape and color of the building. In addition, working with color, the architect finds the best combination material for the perception of what was conceived, clarifies tonal relationships, achieves an expressive silhouette and volumetric solution of the project.

Gradient stretching is a series of successive strokes smoothly passing into each other, in which each subsequent one is lighter in tone than the previous one. In addition, sometimes a smooth transition from one color to another is also called.

Often in watercolor, a method such as "pulling" the paint is used. A clean, wrung-out brush is carefully applied to the still wet painting layer, the hair of which absorbs part of the pigment from the paper, making the tone of the stroke lighter in the right place. Best of all, the paint is drawn out when writing “wet”, as the surface is still wet and the pigment does not hold well. If the smear is already dry, it can be gently moistened with a clean wet brush, and then “pull” the paint to the desired tone. However, this method is less effective on dry paper.

The reserve is the part of the sheet that remains white during the painting process. A real watercolorist observes the rules of purity of this technique, refusing white. Therefore, the level of the artist's skill, among other things, is determined by the ability to perform a high-quality reservation technique. There are several main ways.

"Bypass" is the most complex and most "clean" redundancy technique. With such a letter, the artist leaves the necessary places of the picture not painted over, carefully “bypassing” them with a brush. The method is performed both "dry" and "wet". In the latter case, you need to keep in mind that the ink applied to wet paper spreads, so the reserve should be done with some "margin".

Often used such a method as a mechanical effect on the dried layer of paint. In the right places, it is scratched with a sharp object (for example, a razor) to the white surface of the sheet. However, such a technique requires a certain skill and violates the texture of the paper, which can eventually lead to negative consequences.

It is also possible to use various so-called "masking agents", which can be used at almost any stage of the development of the picture, preventing paint from getting into the areas covered by them.

With the help of these solutions, you can keep bright light accents, glare, splashes white, achieve a variety of effects with the overlay method, when masking is applied after the first wash of color is applied, and a second, darker shade is applied on top.

However, with such a reserve, sharp and contrasting borders are obtained between the paint layer and the protected area. Softening such transitions is not always successful, so it is better not to abuse the use of masking tools, using them only to create interesting and beautiful effects.

You can also create a preliminary drawing with wax crayons in the right places without covering large planes. Then moisten all the work with water and fill with paints on a still wet sheet. Places originally painted over with wax crayons will remain untouched by watercolor, because. Wax repels water.

Another way is to wash out the paint with a damp or wrung out brush. It is best done on a dry layer. However, it is no longer possible to achieve the initial whiteness of the paper, since part of the pigment still remains in the texture of the sheet. Instead of a brush, you can use a dry napkin, gently applying it to the specified places in the picture (for example, thus “creating” clouds in the sky), etc.

Sometimes there is such a technique as removing part of the semi-dry paint with a palette knife. However, it requires a certain skill and is used only in some particular solutions (for example, they can emphasize the outlines of mountains, stones, rocks, sea waves, trees, grass, etc. can be depicted).

Sometimes when creating watercolor works, some special effects are used. For example, salt crystals applied over a wet ink layer absorb some of the pigment, leaving unique stains on the paper, moving tonal transitions. With the help of salt, you can get a moving air environment in the picture, decorate the meadow with flowers, and the sky with stars.

Of particular interest is the watercolor, made on pre-crumpled paper, due to which the paint accumulates in a special way at the folds of the sheet, creating additional volume.

Tinting a sheet with black tea can contribute to the visual "aging" of the paper.

In some cases, applying the pigment to the sheet by spraying (for example, with a finger from a toothbrush) justifies itself. reproduce set tiny dots with an ordinary brush is quite difficult and long. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that the particles of the paint solution from the hard hair of the brush “scatter” almost uncontrollably, so this technique requires a certain skill.

An interesting effect is given by ordinary cling film, tightly applied to the still wet paint and then carefully removed from the sheet.

In addition to the main ones outlined, there are many other private techniques and ways of working with watercolors.

Thus, we can conclude that watercolor has wide technical capabilities. There are many different techniques for performing watercolor work. These methods can be distinguished and classified only conditionally, depending on certain factors. Each technique has a number of advantages and at the same time difficulties in execution.

Chapter 2

2.1. Learning watercolor techniques at school

In Fine Arts lessons, many teachers prefer to use gouache rather than watercolor in the educational process. Although there are teachers who are great lovers of watercolor and supporters of its widespread use in the educational process.

The most important argument for using watercolor is that watercolor is a more complex medium and, therefore, teaches children to do serious thoughtful creative activity. Watercolor contributes to the development of the skill of accurate work, develops the ability to see the finest color transitions, teaches a non-standard perception of the image of the surrounding reality, as well as its transmission.

In addition, in general, watercolor painting forms the elegance of perception of the world and the subtle spiritual organization of the young artist's personality.

Before you start working with watercolors, you need to properly prepare - at least minimally equipped workplace and buy the necessary supplies.

Workplace.

The ideal room for working with watercolors - as with most other materials - would be a bright room with good natural light during the day and competent, even artificial light in the evening. Curtains and blinds will help regulate the flow of daylight, and good lamps, including table lamps, will provide good lighting in the evening.

Watercolors work best on an easel or on a table that has a slope. On a flat surface, paint and water will accumulate in one place of the drawing, forming puddles. The table for working with watercolors should be large enough - we have to put on it not only a sheet of paper, but also all the tools that we may need in our work. This is a jar of water, paints, brushes, etc.

Water.

To work with watercolors, the most ordinary tap water is suitable. It should be poured into a jar - of course, you should not take glass jars for children, it is better to take a jar from green peas, coffee, olives, etc. The volume of the jar should be sufficient - about 250 ml. It is recommended to parents to buy "non-spill" jars. Practice shows that they are inconvenient in work: the volume of jars is small, so the water quickly becomes contaminated, it has to be changed more often - and it is difficult for a child to open a jar without spilling water.

Paints.

Watercolors are made from colored pigments of vegetable and animal origin, or artificial, and a binder, which consists of water with the addition of glycerin, honey and preservatives.

There are several types of watercolor paints:

Solid. Placed in plastic or porcelain containers. The paint is highly compressed, so it is not easy to saturate the brush with it.

Semi-soft. Available in the form of tiles with a high content of glycerin and honey, which makes them softer. These paints dissolve well in water and are widely used by professional artists.

Soft. They are available in tin tubes in the form of a paste.

Liquid. Most often used in book graphics. They have fairly saturated colors and are sold in glass bottles.

In the lessons, it is advised to use only semi-soft paints. It should be noted that there is no white in the box of paints. In watercolor painting, light colors are achieved by adding water; whitewash only gives a dirty tint.

Tassels.

There are many brushes for watercolor painting. The quality of a brush is determined by the hair. Brushes are:

Kolinsky

From the hair of a squirrel

From the hair of a mongoose

Ferrets

From doe hair

Synthetic.

Kolinsky brushes are considered professional, but for schoolchildren it is recommended to buy brushes from squirrel hair. They are ideal for working with watercolors. It is not difficult to check the quality of such a brush: you should wet the brush with water - it should “go by a hair”, that is, keep a sharp tip.

Pony brushes are not suitable for watercolor painting - they do not form the sharp tip necessary for working with watercolor.

The size of the watercolor brush is indicated by the number 00, 0, 1, 2, etc. The lower the number, the thinner the brush. At the lessons of fine arts, you can limit yourself to brushes No. 5 and No. 6.

Paper.

When practicing watercolor, the quality of the paper is crucial. In no case should you paint with watercolors on thin paper - writing, office, etc. Such paper warps even from a small amount of water and is completely unsuitable for watercolor. The paper must be thick enough.

Smooth paper (such as Whatman paper) is obtained by hot pressing, which gives it a special gloss. It is quite suitable for watercolors, but is intended mainly for professionals working with aniline dyes and airbrush. You can use it to perform a particularly delicate drawing, but this requires a lot of experience. With an excess of water, the contours are blurred, and the pattern is lost; if, on the contrary, there is not enough water, the watercolor dries too quickly, which leads to the appearance of so-called color breaks.

To work with watercolors, it is better to choose thick, grainy paper. This is sold in stationery stores - "Folder for watercolor", sheets of A3 format. This paper, rough to the touch, does not absorb ink too quickly, does not dull its color.

It can be noted that professional artists most often opt for coarse-grained paper. It is usually very expensive as it is made by hand.

There are many techniques for watercolor painting.

One of the first techniques that schoolchildren can learn is the “wet technique”, for example when drawing a picture based on patterns on glass. Writing a picture can be done in the form of an "artistic dictation": the child must moisten the entire sheet with water and draw under dictation. We paint a frosty morning, nature wakes up, so our paints whisper. Violet paint woke up first, it woke up blue. (The sheet should be damp enough for the colors to blend into one another and not remain in clear streaks.) But together they got bored, and they woke up the emerald and green (remember that the colors whisper). Our frosty window is ready. Then you will need to let the sheet dry so that the drawing does not spread. At the second stage of the lesson, a novice artist can be invited to become Frost and draw a flying fairy-tale bird on the window. Easily, without pressing hard on the brush, we first outline the head of the bird, the neck, the movement of its beautiful wings. You can write with fills, but unlike the background, you need to take less water and more paint. Do not forget to write the tail, the movement of large feathers. Then we add details - the beak, eyes, small feathers are carefully drawn. You can complement the work with other patterns, write frosty flowers, twigs, snowflakes.

The technique of painting with a brushstroke can be studied using the example of a still life. To feel the specifics of working with watercolor, you can first write a still life in one-color painting (grisaille). It can be made black or dark brown paint. Grisaille will help you master the technique of painting with strokes, without being distracted by the selection of colors and will allow you to find out how the paints will behave as they dry. Usually watercolor, drying, lightens by about one third of the original (raw) tone. Need to fulfill following conditions when writing a still life in this technique:

1. The smear should not be dry - there should not be strips of unpainted paper in it in the direction of the brush. But, if there is too much water on the brush, the paint flows down the paper in streams. The paint should lay down transparently even in the darkest places, the paper should shine through the paint.

2. While the smear is not dry, do not put smears next to it - smears should not merge in their raw form.

3. A smear after it has been laid cannot be repainted. You need to try to get into the right tone right away. If the smear is incorrect, it should not be corrected, but compensated in the course of further work due to neighboring strokes. You need to try to find as many color shades as possible - let there not be two identical strokes.

4. The first stroke should be placed in the darkest place - this will immediately set the tonal range of the still life.

5. At the beginning of work, you should not put more than two strokes on one subject. In this case, if one stroke is placed on the illuminated part of the object, the other stroke should be placed in the shadow of this object.

6. First, you should work in the middle of the picture, where the largest number of tone ratios neighbors, gradually coming to the edges of the image. When the first penetration is made, in which not a single stroke is placed close to another, then we return again to the middle of the sheet. Now we put the strokes of the second penetration close to the dried strokes of the first. With each passage of white paper between strokes, there is less and less until the entire space of the drawing is covered with strokes of paint. Glare on glossy surfaces will be left white.

7. A smear can be placed in the form in the same way as a stroke. On the borders of the form, it is better to put a stroke along the line - this will help save the drawing.

8. Light objects can easily be made too dark. They should be written when their surroundings are written - it is easier to get the right tone that way.

In grades 5-6, you can study the glazing technique, the development of the lesson will be presented in the next section.

. Lesson Development

Depending on the degree of paper moisture, we distinguish such watercolor techniques as "wet work"("English" watercolor) and "dry work"("Italian" watercolor). An interesting effect is obtained by working on a fragmentary moistened sheet. In addition, combinations of these techniques can also be found.

Wet work.

The essence of this technique is that the paint is applied to a sheet previously moistened with water. The degree of its moisture content depends on the creative intent of the artist, but usually they begin to work after the water on the paper ceases to “shine” in the light. With enough experience, you can control the moisture content of the sheet by hand. Depending on how filled with water the hair bundle of the brush, it is customary to conditionally distinguish between such methods of work as “wet-in-wet” and “dry-in-wet”.

Advantages of wet technique.
This way of working allows you to get light, transparent color shades with soft transitions. Especially successfully this method is used in landscape painting.

Difficulties in wet technology.
The main difficulty lies in the main advantage - this is the fluidity of watercolor. When applying paint by this method, the artist often depends on the vagaries of smears spreading over wet paper, which in the process of creativity can turn out far from what was originally intended. At the same time, it is almost impossible to correct only a single fragment without affecting the rest. In most cases, the rewritten section will be out of harmony with the general structure of the rest of the canvas. Some soiling, dirt, etc. may appear.
This way of working requires constant self-control, free use of the brush. Only considerable practice allows the artist to somehow predict the behavior of ink on wet paper and provide a sufficient level of control over its spreading. The painter must have a clear idea of what he wants and how he must solve the problem.

A la Prima technique.

This is a painting in a raw style, written quickly, in one session, which creates unique effects of streaks, overflows and overflows of paint.

Advantages of the A la Prima technique.
Getting on the wet surface of the paper, the paint spreads over it in a unique way, making the picture light, airy, transparent, breathable. It is no coincidence that the work done in this technique is practically impossible to copy, since each stroke on a wet sheet is unique and unrepeatable. Combining various color combinations with a variety of tonal solutions, you can achieve amazing overflows and transitions between the subtlest shades. The a la prima method, since it does not involve multiple registrations, allows you to maintain maximum freshness and richness of colorful sounds.
In addition, an additional advantage of this technique will be a certain time saving. As a rule, the work is written “in one breath” while the sheet is wet (which is 1-3 hours), although, if necessary, you can additionally wet the paper during the creative process. In quick sketches from nature and sketches, this method is indispensable. It is also appropriate when performing landscape sketches, when fickle weather conditions oblige a quick execution technique.
When writing, it is recommended to make mixtures of two, maximum of three colors. Excess paint, as a rule, leads to clouding, to a loss of freshness, brightness, color definition. Do not get carried away by the randomness of spots, each stroke is designed to meet its purpose - to be strictly consistent with the shape and pattern.

The complexities of the A la Prima technique.
The advantage and at the same time the difficulty here is that the image that instantly appears on paper and fancifully blurs under the action of the movement of water cannot subsequently be subjected to any change. Each detail begins and ends in one step, all colors are taken at once in full force. Therefore, this method requires extraordinary concentration, sharp writing and an ideal sense of composition.
Another inconvenience can be called the limited time frame for the execution of such a watercolor, since there is no possibility of leisurely work with breaks between painting sessions (including when writing a large-format painting, through the gradual execution of individual fragments). The image is written almost non-stop and, as a rule, "with one touch", i.e. the brush, if possible, touches a separate part of the paper only once or twice, no longer returning to it. This allows you to maintain absolute transparency, lightness of watercolor, to avoid dirt in your work.

Dry work.

It consists in the fact that the paint is applied to a dry sheet of paper in one or two (single-layer watercolor) or several (glazing) layers, depending on the artist's idea. This method allows you to provide good control over the flow of paint, tonality and shape of strokes.

Single-layer watercolor "dry".

As the name implies, in this case the work is written in one layer on a dry sheet and, as a rule, in one or two touches. This keeps the color purity of the image. As needed, you can "include" paint of a different shade or color in the applied, but not yet dried layer.

The dry-on-dry one-coat method is more transparent and airy than glazing, but does not have the beauty of wet overflows achieved with the A la Prima technique. However, unlike the latter, without any particular difficulties, it allows you to perform strokes of the desired shape and tone, to provide the necessary control over the paint.

The colors used in the work, in order to avoid the appearance of dirt and filthiness, it is advisable to think over and prepare in advance, at the very beginning of the painting session, so that they can be applied to the sheet without hindrance.
It is convenient to work in this technique by outlining the contours of the drawing in advance, since there is no way to make adjustments with additional layers of paint. This method is well suited for graphic images, as strokes on dry paper retain their clarity. In addition, such a watercolor can be written both in one session and in several (with fragmentary work) with breaks as needed.

Another way to perform a single-layer watercolor is wet-on-dry, lies in the fact that each stroke is applied next to the previous one, capturing it while it is still wet. Thanks to this, a natural mixture of shades and a soft transition between them is formed. To enhance the color, you can pour the necessary paint with a brush into a smear that has not yet dried. You need to work fast enough to cover the entire sheet before the previously applied strokes dry out. This allows you to create beautiful painterly overflows, and the dry surface of the paper provides sufficient control over the fluidity and outlines of the strokes.

Multi-layer watercolor (glazing).

Glazing is a method of applying watercolor with transparent strokes (as a rule, darker ones on top of lighter ones), one layer on top of another, while the bottom must always be dry. Thus, the paint in different layers does not mix, but works through the light, and the color of each fragment is made up of the colors in its layers. When working in this technique, you can see the boundaries of strokes. But, since they are transparent, this does not spoil the painting, but gives it a peculiar texture. The strokes are done carefully so as not to damage or blur the already dried picturesque areas.

Advantages of the multi-layered watercolor technique.
Perhaps the main advantage is the ability to create paintings in the style of realism, i. most accurately reproducing one or another fragment of the environment. Such works outwardly have a certain similarity, for example, with oil painting, however, unlike it, they retain transparency and sonority of colors, despite the presence of several layers of paint.
Bright, fresh glazing paints give watercolor works a special sonority of color, lightness, tenderness and radiance of color.
Glazing is a technique of saturated colors, deep shadows filled with colorful reflections, a technique of soft airy planes and endless distances. Where the task is to achieve color intensity, the multi-layer technique comes first.

Glazing is indispensable in shaded interiors and distant panorama plans. The softness of the chiaroscuro of the interior in calm diffused light with a multitude of all kinds of reflections and the complexity of the general pictorial state of the interior can only be conveyed by the glazing technique. In panoramic painting, where it is necessary to convey the most delicate aerial gradations of perspective plans, one cannot use body techniques; here you can achieve the goal only with the help of glazing.
When writing in this technique, the artist is relatively independent in terms of chronological framework: there is no need to rush, there is time to think without haste. The work on the picture can be divided into several sessions, depending on the possibilities, necessity and, in fact, the desire of the author. This is especially important when working with large format images, when it is possible to perform various fragments of the future picture separately from each other with their subsequent final merging.
Due to the fact that the glazing is carried out on dry paper, it is possible to achieve excellent control over the accuracy of strokes, which allows you to realize your plan to the maximum. By gradually applying one layer of watercolor after another, it is easier to choose the right shade for each element in the drawing and get the right color scheme.

The complexity of layered watercolor.
The main criticism directed at this technique is that, unlike the single-layer style of painting, which preserves the transparency of colors as much as possible, watercolor works made with glazing lose their airiness and resemble images in oil or gouache. However, if the glazing is applied thinly and transparently, then the light falling on the picture will be able to reach the paper and be reflected from it.

It is also worth noting that the multi-layered writing often hides the texture of paper and paints or the texture of semi-dry brush strokes on a granular sheet.
Like any watercolor painting, glazing involves very careful work - strokes must be laid carefully so as not to smear the lower, already dried, layers of paint. Because the perfect mistake can not always be corrected later without consequences. If paper and a fragment of the image allow, you can blur the bad place with a hard column previously moistened in clean water, then blot it with a napkin or cloth, and then, when everything dries, carefully restore the color.

Combined (mixed) watercolor technique.
In one picture, both the “wet” and “dry” techniques are harmoniously combined. For example, the first layer of paint is placed on wet paper to create the desired blurring of the background (or/and separate fragments of the middle and foregrounds), and then, after the paper dries, additional layers of paint are placed successively while drawing the elements of the middle and foreground in detail. If desired, other combinations of raw writing and glazing are also used.

Interesting way of working on a fragmentary moistened leaf, when the latter is not completely wetted, but only in some specific places. A long stroke, covering both dry and wet areas of the paper, will take on a unique shape, combining, with its general continuity, clear contours in dry places with "spread" in wet ones. The tonality of such a smear will change accordingly in areas of the paper with different degrees of moisture.

According to the color palette used by the artist, we will conditionally select a monochrome watercolor - grisaille, and multicolor - classic. In the latter, there is no limit on the number of colors used and their shades, while in grisaille, different tones of the same color are used, not counting the color of the paper. Most often, sepia is used and, less often, black, ocher.

According to the degree of humidity you can divide not only the work surface, but also the hair bundle of the brush during a painting session. Of course, this division is more than arbitrary, since, depending on the desires of the artist, the same brush can change the degree of moisture with each stroke. At the same time, we will single out the work with a dry (wrung out) brush, semi-dry and wet, since the strokes in these cases differ from each other.
A brushstroke with a pressed brush when writing "wet" provides less "fluidity", allows you to better maintain control over the paint applied to the sheet. When writing “in a dry way”, such a stroke can only partially cover the paper, “slipping” (especially for embossed paper, medium-grained and torchon), which is of particular interest for specific creative solutions.

Semi-dry brush writing versatile and well suited for writing on paper of varying degrees of humidity. Of course, each case will have its own characteristics. With a wet brush, they write, as a rule, “in a dry way”, since dotted strokes on the wet surface of the sheet give a strong “spreading” and are difficult to control. However, a wet brush is well suited for pouring, stretching, washes and other techniques when you want to keep as much water in the brush as possible.

There are techniques for watercolor mixed with other coloring materials, for example, with whitewash (gouache), watercolor pencils, ink, pastels, etc. And, although the results are also very impressive, such techniques are not “clean”.

In the case of a combination of watercolors with pencils, the latter complement the translucency of colors with their bright and clear shades. With pencils, you can either emphasize some details of the pictorial image, making them clearer, sharper, or do the whole work in mixed media, in which linear strokes, brush strokes and colorful stains are equally present.

Pastel doesn't work as well with watercolor as pencil does, but sometimes artists use pastel to apply pastel strokes on top of a finished watercolor hillshade.

ink, both black and color, can be used instead of watercolor. However, ink gives new possibilities and is usually used in brush washes or pen drawings. The combination of black ink drawing and abstract watercolor spots, merging and crossing the boundaries of ink objects, gives the work a fresh and original look. The combination of watercolor and pen is very successful, for example, for book illustrations.

Usually, whitewash(opaque coloring material, such as gouache) in mixed media are used to "simplify" the painting process. Sometimes the "reserve" of individual places in the picture presents a certain difficulty, especially when these places are small and there are many of them. Therefore, some artists paint without it, and then “bleach” the right places with paint (for example, highlights on objects, snow, tree trunks, etc.).
When creating one work, it is also possible to combine different materials, for example, in addition to watercolor, white, ink and pastel are used in the process of painting, depending on the artist's creative intent.

In watercolor, one can conditionally distinguish such writing techniques as: strokes, filling, washing, stretching, reserves, “pulling” paint, etc.
smears- this is perhaps one of the most common ways of writing in painting, by the nature of which it is easy to distinguish a dynamic drawing from a boring work. The brush filled with paint, in contact with the surface of the sheet, performs one or another movement, after which it breaks away from the paper, thereby completing the stroke. It can be dotted, linear, curly, clear, blurry, solid, broken, etc.
fill- a technique performed in cases where it is required to cover a large area of the picture with one color or make smooth transitions between different colors. It is performed on paper tilted at an angle, as a rule, with long horizontal strokes with a large brush, so that each next stroke flows down and “captures” part of the previous one, thereby organically merging with it into one texture. If, after filling, there is excess coloring pigment, then they can be carefully removed with a wrung out brush or napkin.
laundering- a technique of watercolor painting, in which paint heavily diluted with water is used - they begin to paint transparent layers with it, repeatedly passing through those places that should be darker. The overall tone of each of the sections of the image is ultimately achieved by repeated overlays of these layers, with each of them being applied only after the previous one has completely dried, so that the colors do not mix with each other. At the same time, it is not recommended to apply more than three layers of paint so that dirt does not appear. Therefore, most often the second registration enhances the colors of the halftones, and the third saturates the color of the shadows and introduces details. In fact, washing is a repeated pouring of one tone onto another with a solution of the same concentration. Most often, this technique is used by architects and designers, since an ordinary drawing does not give the viewer a visual representation of the shape and color of the building. In addition, working with color, the architect finds the best combination of material for the perception of what was conceived, clarifies tonal relationships, and achieves an expressive silhouette and volumetric solution of the project.

gradient stretch- a series of successive strokes smoothly passing into each other, in which each subsequent one is lighter in tone than the previous one. In addition, sometimes a smooth transition from one color to another is also called.
Often in watercolor, a method such as "pulling" the paint will be used. A clean, wrung-out brush is carefully applied to the still wet painting layer, the hair of which absorbs part of the pigment from the paper, making the tone of the stroke lighter in the right place. Best of all, the paint is drawn out when writing “wet”, as the surface is still wet and the pigment does not hold well. If the smear is already dry, it can be gently moistened with a clean wet brush, and then “pull” the paint to the desired tone. However, this method is less effective on dry paper.

Reservation- this is the part of the sheet that remains white during the painting process. A real watercolorist observes the rules of purity of this technique, refusing white. Therefore, the level of the artist's skill, among other things, is determined by the ability to perform a high-quality reservation technique. There are several main ways.
"Walking"- the most complex and most "clean" reservation technique. With such a letter, the artist leaves the necessary places of the picture not painted over, carefully “bypassing” them with a brush. The method is performed both "dry" and "wet". In the latter case, you need to keep in mind that the ink applied to wet paper spreads, so the reserve should be done with some "margin".
The method often used is mechanical impact on a dry layer of paint. In the right places, it is scratched with a sharp object (for example, a razor) to the white surface of the sheet. However, such a technique requires a certain skill and violates the texture of the paper, which can eventually lead to negative consequences.
It is also possible to use various so-called "masking agents", which can be used at almost any stage of the development of the picture, preventing paint from getting into the areas covered by them.
With the help of these solutions, you can keep bright light accents, glare, splashes white, achieve a variety of effects with the overlay method, when masking is applied after the first wash of color is applied, and a second, darker shade is applied on top.
However, with such a reserve, sharp and contrasting borders are obtained between the paint layer and the protected area. Softening such transitions is not always successful, so it is better not to abuse the use of masking tools, using them only to create interesting and beautiful effects.

Another way is in paint washout wet or wrung out brush. It is best done on a dry layer. However, it is no longer possible to achieve the initial whiteness of the paper, since part of the pigment still remains in the texture of the sheet. Instead of a brush, you can use a dry napkin, gently applying it to the specified places in the picture (for example, thus “creating” clouds in the sky), etc.
Sometimes there is such a technique as removing part of the semi-dry paint with a palette knife. However, it requires a certain skill and is used only in some particular solutions (for example, they can emphasize the outlines of mountains, stones, rocks, sea waves, trees, grass, etc. can be depicted).

Sometimes when creating watercolor works, some special effects.
For example, salt crystals applied over a wet ink layer absorb some of the pigment, leaving unique stains on the paper, moving tonal transitions. With the help of salt, you can get a moving air environment in the picture, decorate the meadow with flowers, and the sky with stars.

Of particular interest is the watercolor, made on pre-crumpled paper, due to which the paint accumulates in a special way at the folds of the sheet, creating additional volume.

Toning leaf with black tea can contribute to the visual "aging" of the paper.

In some cases, it is justified to apply the pigment to the sheet by splashing(for example, a finger from a toothbrush), because to reproduce many tiny dots with a regular brush is quite difficult and time consuming. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that the particles of the paint solution from the hard hair of the brush “scatter” almost uncontrollably, so this technique requires a certain skill.

An interesting effect is given by the usual cling film, firmly attached to the still wet paint and then carefully removed from the sheet.

In conclusion, I would like to note that, in addition to the main ones outlined, there are many other private techniques and ways of working with watercolors.

Watercolor paints are one of the most beloved by artists. Firstly, watercolor has a lot of different techniques, and secondly, it can be used to create beautiful drawing even if you can't draw at all.

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

1. Painting with a flat brush

Step 1

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

Choose a darker shade (it's easier to see) and starting from the top left corner, brush down on 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 the brush again with paint.

Start the next stroke from the bottom edge of the first one, try to cover the buildup of paint that formed from the bottom of the first stroke.

Hint 1: If the buildup of paint in the first stroke has not flowed 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 uncontrolled flows of paint. Therefore, try to work faster or have something like a rag or sponge handy to quickly remove drops.

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 off" the beginning of the layer and make it even.

Hint 4: If you want to flatten the end edge of the layer, then at the end of the stroke, pause and brush up and then down as you would with the start edge.

Hint 5: If the stroke is broken, then immediately fill the brush with paint and re-swipe it.

Step 4

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

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

Hint 7: If your strokes break even if the brush is full of paint, then you are using too thick paper, or the paper is too rough. If you come across such paper, then sprinkle water on it, 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 any remaining water from it. Carefully pick up the clots of paint remaining from the bottom with a brush final touch, but don't take too much paint or you'll discolour your drawing.

To create more texture in your drawing, leave it to dry at an angle. So the paint will take on a more interesting look.

Gradient

Step 1

Draw a square or rectangle. Then dip your brush into the darker shade of paint (it's on the palette to mix) and gently stroke the brush.

Step 2

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

Then draw a new stroke, overlapping lower part the previous one. Notice that left side 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 the stroke breaks or does not go as smoothly as you would like, quickly refill the brush with paint and repeat the layer.

Step 4

Rinse the brush with clean water, dry it and pick up any remaining paint.

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

watercolor glaze

Step 1

This technique requires improvisation and imagination. For example, we will draw an impromptu landscape.

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

Step 2

We draw clouds of dark pink color and we start to draw a mountain yellow. We will also mark the lower part of the figure 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: let each layer 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, use Orange color. With it, we will create the coast in the foreground and shade the sky.

Hint 2: if you have drops of excess paint, rinse and dry the brush as you did in the previous techniques, and pick up drops with it.

Step 5

Please note that the images show different brushes for painting. You can use the ones you have available.

Take a dark blue color and shade the top of the mountain with it, changing the pressure on the brush and turning it around 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.

We will wash the brush and pick up the yellow color, with which we will add visual details to our shores.

Step 7

After the paint has dried, shade the bubbles in the waterfall with purple. So 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 crowns, but you can draw as you like.

Step 9

In brown we will depict tree trunks. Also with the help of blue we will shade the water and the sky a little more. Then, using pink, blue and green, paint the grass in the foreground.

Step 10

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

If you look closely, you can see how each layer interacts with each other. A darker shade has more power, but when the colors overlap, 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 on the paper, you should get a satin effect.

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

Step 3

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

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, make a few wide strokes, leaving room for the stones.

As the paper dries, the strokes become less and less blurry.

Step 6

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

Step 7

After adding the trees, let's try to add texture to them. To do this, use a darker shade of green to set the accents.

Step 8

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

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

Step 9

We will place accents to diversify the drawing. Using a crimson hue, we depict several floral elements in the foreground. Let the crimson flow as it wants. Then, using a dry brush, remove the color from the middle of the spots.

Step 10

Then, drip 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. If you overdo it with blurs and colors, you will end up with a messy drawing.

This technique gives a little strange, but interesting result. A drawing made in this technique has a hypnotizing effect.

Dry brush drawing

Step 1

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

Let's start with a pencil sketch. After that, roughly mark the sky, moving the brush over the surface of the paper.

Step 2

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

Then, by mixing mauve with blue, 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 coast on the background part of the image and let the painting dry again.

Step 4

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

Step 5

Then, using shades of orange, draw autumn landscape by painting the background trees.

Step 6

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

Also, by 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 mark the shapes of the trees in orange.

Step 7

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

Step 8

When painting a lake, change the pressure on the 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 the grass in the background.

Step 10

Let's add some details to the foreground.

We will also darken the lake a bit by adding a blue tint. And also shade the sky with the same color.

We remove moisture

This technique will require several sponges. It is suitable for the image of clouds, soft light. And it can also control the behavior of colors.

Sponges

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

Avoid rubbing the paper with the sponge, and if you do, be very careful not to damage the paper.

Paper towels

With their help, you can create clearer highlights. But paper towels absorb a huge amount of paint very quickly. Therefore, they can absorb fresh paint completely.

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 pattern using this technique. To do this, rinse thoroughly and wring out the brush. With it, 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 fingers or other parts of the body. The skin can also absorb moisture.

Discoloration of dried paint

Brushes for watercolor paint

Use clean water and a cloth, wet the desired areas, gently rub the pattern and remove 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 from the desired area. But it is worth noting that this method can damage the paper, so control yourself.

Here, just as in the first method, you must first moisten the area, and then process it with a brush.

Spray and towel

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

Sandpaper

Very rarely used, as it can damage the paper. It is best used at the end to add texture. You don't need water for this method, just rub the drawing in the right place.

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.

1. Rinsing the brush

Paint can be removed from the brush by lightly tapping it on the bottom of a container of water. This will wash out most of the paint. To wash off dark paint before working with light paint, tap harder with the brush. Then the brush should be rinsed in another container with clean water.

2. Pick up a full brush of paint

That is, to collect maximum paint on the brush. Swipe the brush over the soaked paint and lift. If there is residue running off the tip, you've got a full brush. Remove excess by running one tip along the rim of the container.

3. Pick up a paint brush

The difference from the previous technique is that in order to remove excess paint, it is necessary to draw several times along the rim of the container.

4. Blotting the brush

Swipe the paint brush over the folded paper towel. Also, with a paper towel, you can remove excess moisture or paint from the picture.

5. Light brush blotting

It is necessary to touch the tip of the brush to the fabric or paper towel. Light blotting can also be used to indicate the degree of pressure applied with a paper towel to the drawing when removing excess paint or moisture.

6. Complete removal of moisture from the brush

Touch the paper towel first with one side of the brush, and then with the other. This will remove all the moisture without removing the paint.

Seemingly simple tricks. But, you see, sometimes just such elementary knowledge is not enough to translate your fantasy on paper.

How to remove excess ink from paper

But it is much more difficult to remove excess paint from paper. Especially when you consider that in watercolor there is no white paint that can cover up errors. However, there are several ways to remove excess ink from paper.

Removing paint with a brush

You will need a clean, damp brush and a clean, damp cloth. With a wet brush, lightly dampen the area on the paper where you want to remove the paint layer. Wipe the brush on the cloth, blot the paper with the brush again. If necessary, moisten the brush again and repeat the procedure (this way you will remove more paint).

If you want to “draw” thin, lighter lines on the paint, use the wet brush tip of the brush. Give it the desired pointed shape. Draw a line in short strokes, and wipe the brush with a damp cloth.

scraping paint

This technique is suitable for removing paint that has already dried. You need a stiff brush and a dry cloth. Dried paint can be removed with the tip of a brush. To do this, slightly moisten the brush and tap it on the side of the water can. With continuous strokes with the tip of the brush, clean the desired area in the drawing. Rinse the brush. If necessary, the procedure can be deleted.

You can use the flat side of the brush to more evenly scrape off the paint. The method is the same. You can remove paint with continuous downward strokes, or you can also use side-to-side overlapping strokes. But you need to move the brush in one direction, otherwise the paint will again fall on the already cleaned areas.

Blotting the paint with a cloth

This is a very simple way to lighten up an area that has just been painted over. In addition, the fabric can add texture to the pattern. And the degree to which the paint will wash off depends on how wet the paper is and how hard you press the fabric. With wet paper and strong pressure with a cloth, the paint can be lightened quite strongly. To change the stiffness of the fabric, you can wrinkle it. The same advice can be given if you are going to add texture to the pattern with the help of fabric.

watercolor techniques

Dry brush technique

This is a very creative way to create interesting structure drawing. The essence of this technique is in. That more pigment is applied to paper than water. This technique looks especially beautiful on textured watercolor paper with a coarse texture.

Pick up paint on the brush, and then blot the brush with a towel. Sweep the brush across the paper without applying too much pressure. Use only the side of the bristles. To increase the contrast, dry the drawing, and then repeat the procedure again. A round brush with a small tip works best for this technique. So that you can draw a line with just a light touch on the paper. "Shaggy" brushes will not work: the drawing will be too sloppy.

Technique "raw"

This technique is versatile and popular. The paint is applied to a moistened surface, which allows you to create an original effect of a soft blurred background. Apply water to the area you plan to paint over. As soon as the water is slightly absorbed and no longer shiny, start adding paint. On top of the paint, you can add water again to enhance the effect.

In this technique, it is better to use one color or the colors of one colors. Do not forget that the effect of mixing in watercolor is created not by the simultaneous application of paints, but by the imposition of colors. So before you enter new color, wait. Until the previous layer dries. In general, test the paint on a separate piece of paper to avoid mistakes and surprises.

Salt technique

This technique allows you to create beautiful pattern textures. The size of the salt crystals determines how large and large-scale the pattern will be. First, paint over the part of the drawing where you want to create the texture. Wait until the paper is no longer shiny with water. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the painted surface. The paper must be dried, and the salt should be gently swept away with a paper towel. Experiment on a separate sheet of paper (the same paper you plan to paint on) to determine how dry the paper is and the size of the salt crystals needed to get the best effect.

Sponge use

The sponge will help you create interesting textures, as well as give airiness and lightness to the painted foliage and trees. You will need a sea sponge. Immerse it in water and wring out, repeat several times until the sponge is completely saturated with moisture. Wrap the sponge in a paper towel and gently roll it in your hands until it's just damp.

Now the sponge can be lowered into the paint. You need to touch the sponge to the paper lightly so as not to spoil the texture. After applying the paint, blot the sponge with a damp paper towel.
It is advisable to repeat the procedure several times to completely remove the paint from the sponge. Now the sponge can be lowered into the next paint and continue working. Well, do not forget that, usually, they start with light tones, gradually moving to dark ones.

A sea sponge works best for this technique. But if it was not possible to get a sea sponge, after some preparation an ordinary household sponge will do. A new dry sponge should be cut into squares 2 * 2 centimeters. Rinse the pieces several times. To wash out of them all possible industrial pollution. Squeeze the squares and roll them up in a paper towel. Round one of the corners of the square by pinching off a piece of sponge. Now try out the sponge by dipping it in the paint and placing it on the paper. If you don't like the print, pinch off more pieces of the sponge until you're happy with the result.

Graduated Wash

This technique is often used in watercolor to depict the sky. The hue goes from bright and saturated at the top to the lightest at the horizon line. Apply the paint from one edge of the paper to the other, fill the brush with water and quickly mix it with the paint on the paper. The paint also needs to be blurred from one edge to the other. Fill your brush with water again and do the next level of washes. Thus, it is necessary to paint over the entire necessary area. excess water blot with brush and paper.

But you can not only make a smooth transition from a saturated shade to a lighter one, but also make transitions between colors. For example, in the image of the same sky, which, as you know, is not always uniformly blue. Take two shades of paint, one lighter and one darker. Apply a drop first pure water, then pick up a light shade of paint on the brush and start painting over the surface until you reach the edge. Rinse your brush. Pick up a light shade again and start painting in the other direction. The procedure must be repeated until the desired area is painted over with a light shade. Now let's move on to the dark color. Do everything exactly the same. Blot off the excess paint, place the drawing at an angle, and continue to blot out the excess paint. Thus, the shades themselves blend.

Spray technique

The splatter technique will help you create the effect of depth and texture in your drawing. For this technique, you can use either a rigid watercolor brush, or a toothbrush. The effect will be about the same. Dilute the medium-dark paint on the palette, touch it with the entire bristle of the toothbrush. Turn the brush upside down and hold it over the area of the design you want to work on. Slowly run your thumb along the bristles to spray. The procedure can be repeated several times before the paint runs out. You can direct the spray by turning the toothbrush.

Why is it worth using dark or medium shades of paint for this technique? Simply, light shades, and even diluted with water, will not give the desired effect. If you spray on a damp surface, you will get a slight blur effect. And so that splashes do not fall on that part of the picture where they should not be, cover it with paper towels or special adhesive tape.

A little about watercolor terms

1. Sizing. This is a special substance that is applied to watercolor paper on one or both sides during production. It allows you to slow down the absorption of paint and water, and also prevents any unwanted spread. Thanks to sizing, you can get bright saturated colors and filled areas with smooth edges.

Whether the paper has been sized is hard to see with the naked eye. It is also impossible to determine by eye whether there is enough substance and whether it is evenly applied to the surface. Due to flaws in the application, either white spots may appear in the drawing (if there is a lot of sizing), or roughness (if there is no sizing and the paper is blurred with water). But you can try to redistribute the sizing yourself, if you moisten the surface of the paper and walk over it with a large synthetic brush with a lot of cold water.

2. Watercolor drop. This is the amount of paint or water stretched over a specific area on a piece of paper. The sheet must have a certain angle of inclination relative to the horizontal surface.

3. Controlled wash. Accurate and even application of watercolor using the wash method or graduation. Work is also carried out on a slightly inclined surface for better flow of colors.

4. Uncontrolled blur. Paint or water is applied with a flat brush to paper. In this case, strokes can be multidirectional, and the surface of the paper can be dry or wet.

5. Transition. This is a smooth transition from one color to another with the help of water.

6. Wet shine. This is the shine of the paper surface that has not yet dried, when the paint or water has not yet been absorbed and continues to shine. In some techniques, it is important to maintain a wet sheen to achieve the desired effect. The intensity of the gloss indicates the degree of moisture in the watercolor.

Artist's Problem: Blur Mistakes

Sometimes things go wrong, and when washed out, unnecessary stripes and color spots form on the surface. Especially often such problems arise for those who have just begun to master the technique. Fortunately, although problematic, but still, blur problems can be removed.

Problems

1. There was no watercolor drop, and the top fill dried too quickly.

2. The brush was pressed too hard, so the paint lay unevenly.

3. The entire surface was painted in one go. and the wash paint dried too quickly.

4. Excess paint after washing was not removed, so defects remained on the surface, similar to small bubbles.

5. Too small watercolor drop that dried up quickly. When adding paint, the color is too saturated and the effect of bubbles is obtained.

6. The watercolor drop was not enough when stretching, and when a new drop is added, a transition is noticeable.

7. The brush after rinsing is not too thoroughly blotted of moisture before removing paint residue. Consequently, the paint layer was washed out.

How to avoid and eliminate

1. Be sure to create a watercolor blob before painting over the area.

2. Do not apply too much pressure to the brush when painting. Make neat light strokes.

3. Shorten the distance between strokes, do not stretch too long. Pick up paint on the brush more often.

4. Always remove excess paint after washing.

5. Make sure the volume of the watercolor drop is sufficient and there is enough moisture for the wash.

6. Pick up paint as needed to maintain the watercolor drop.

7. It is not necessary to rinse the brush at the end of the wash before removing paint residue. It is enough just to get the brush wet.

This is not all you need to know in order to comprehend all the subtleties of watercolor drawing. But already these tips will help you learn some tricks and avoid possible mistakes. Successful experiments!

Basic techniques in watercolor. How to apply?

Have a great Thursday! Today we have a topic about the basic techniques in watercolor. And the most interesting at the end of the article)) Well, the main techniques.

Here I can say that they are painfully known to everyone, but I can’t skip this topic and not cover it))

In my works, I mainly use the wet technique, plus a dry technique for the main elements (we will talk about this later), sometimes fillings and even less often glazing, which are more like a multi-layered watercolor technique, but still I will highlight them separately.

So, let's get started))

the most common and one of the main pouring technique. It is carried out on a dry surface due to a large brush with a lot of water and paint. There are fills monochrome And gradient when one color changes to another. Fill can be as for large space, and for a small object of a complex shape, where a uniform flow / transition of color without layers is necessary. (sky, sea, illuminated and shadow parts of buildings, etc.)

It is due to the filling that watercolor lightness is manifested, since it is performed in one layer and at the same time it can be multi-colored (i.e. there is no need to get color by layering many strokes, thereby complicating the work)

gradient 2-3 color fills are most often used in the sky to show the color change towards the horizon (sunrise/sunset blue sky takes on yellowish and pinkish hues towards the horizon) You can also add large quantity colors in the fill alternately (5 ... 6) will no longer be very harmonious, but we will talk about color with you in the next issues.

Such a change of colors is achieved texture, realism, volume of shadow areas. It turns out that you change the fill color without much hesitation (within the selected colors for work) and you can get diverse, heterogeneous areas that the eye will complete other objects. It turns out a kind of imitation and realism at the same time. If the shadow, for example, you will have a uniform color, it will be flat. Therefore, for any shadow areas, I use a gradient.

What is the best way to fill? For it you will need a large squirrel brush, preferably with a French mount. We will talk in detail about brushes in a week in one topic to fit everything. It is important to remember that on different paper all techniques and techniques will look different. Somewhere the filling lays down evenly, but somewhere it does not. Therefore, it is worth choosing paper also based on whether you need or do not need some kind of effect. Below in the photo the same techniques are performed on different paper.

Next is my favorite technique raw. It can be applied both separately - all work is done in a raw way, and for the first layer and objects in aerial perspective (work above), but more on that later))

We talked a lot about the wet technique in #harmless_tips part 2 paper, how to work with it on various papers and in topic 3 about moistening the sheet. Therefore, I will not dwell on it, the most important thing here is that due to it we can get objects with blurry contours, as if in "out of focus"

Further, not everything is very unambiguous, since something is tricks, but something technique, but whatever you call it, these points still apply to dry work and should not be confused. Therefore, I divided in a similar way (for a simpler perception) the technique in a dry way can be

in one layer - "a la prima"
multilayer
glazing

In general, technology a la prima any work can be called (wet, jellied and dry) but in one layer, or in the minimum number of layers. This technique is the most airy, but not everyone can achieve realism in it. When we work in one layer in a dry way, we must immediately guess the tone and dial required amount paint, if this does not work out and you need to add a couple more strokes on top, then this is no longer a la prima, but a classic multilayer watercolor

multilayer is the one that is taught in special universities. Due to it, you can achieve maximum realism, since an unlimited number of strokes of paint are superimposed on the object, starting with subtones, reflexes and ending with bright and dark areas in tone. With this technique, you can get the greatest realism in portraits when a bluish-violet undertone is applied and there are already beige-red shadows on it and you get the feeling of "peeping through" the layer, as if blue veins under the skin. But, as a digression, since I touched on the topic of the face, then in general it does not have a beige-pink color, and different zones have a different undertone from green to purple (if you are interested, I will talk about this in a separate issue.)

Let's get back to layered watercolor. For a beginner or self-taught, oddly enough, it may turn out to be the most difficult! Although often considered to be the opposite, they say that such put smears and put. But no, here you need to be well versed in tone and color, and if used incorrectly, most often you can learn dirt and pellets on paper.

An important note here is that I don’t mean that the technique is crudely light, and even more so a la prima, in any technique it will not be possible to achieve accuracy, lightness and skill in a couple of months, but I often see how beginners try multilayer watercolor , tortured, get dirt and disappointed.

That's why, my advice is here

try reduce the number of layers , let it be unsaid what tortured.
try think over Your layer
master gradient fills, which make life easier just by creating color transitions in one layer.

Then you will definitely understand with paint, paper, basics and your work will be lungs, and multi-layered watercolors, portraits in this technique, etc. will turn out not dirty, but thoughtful. I am based on personal experience, since I myself do not have a classical academic education. In any case, I understand that there may be disagreements, but this method helped me personally.

In summary: layered watercolor is not a very simple technique, it also needs to be approached meaningfully, then there will be no dirt.

Now let's talk about glazing. They are used mainly in botanical illustration.

I am not an expert in it, but I know that to give hyperrealism there can be up to 50-70 layers. But you can apply glazing in any other technology, including case, if you didn’t get the tone right away, but the layer itself turned out beautiful and you don’t want to overlap it.

Glazing is a translucent layer of one or more shades, thanks to which you can gain tone, but not close the previous layer. In fact, this is one of the techniques of multi-layer technology, just the layer should be transparent and "fade away". The trick is to not see the edges of this layer, so it is always blurred with clean water. Below I show an example of glazing, through which the previous layer appears, preserving all tone relationships.

There is one more technique (well, in general there are many more, but not all of them are used), which I want to highlight here - this is flush.

It is rarely used, but I even found an old job with it. Here the point is to draw objects keeping them in tone, and then wash off the top layer of paint with a wet brush or under running water, then the entire drawn part is lightened, the color is muted, but the tone ratios are preserved. Can be used for distant objects, used to be used for objects in aerial perspective, now most watercolorists use a wet technique for this, which does not damage the paper as much as washes.

The background behind the girl is made with a wash

And so we come to interesting moment. Well, actually, there are a lot of tricks, well, so what to do with them? When to apply which?

I will now, of course, generalize. Of course, there are exceptions, but even 80-90% of my work is done this way.

to start you choose the main object the one you are talking about. Any picture should tell about something, otherwise there is no point in drawing. It could be one or a group of objects the main ones for you.Choose.Remember. As a rule, these are either the darkest or the lightest objects in tone;)
now you have to choose objects next in importance, which are important, but not very important)) 1...10 objects, but don't choose everything, there should still be something left;) Chosen. Remembered. These objects are usually medium in tone.
well, what left, usually somewhere far away, sky, distant background, etc.: non-essential objects. Found them and remembered.

When did you do this work? it can be either in the head or as a tone sketch) then everything will fall into place for you. Look, let's go from the end:

what the least important You are drawing raw or big fill, these objects go into aerial perspective (when distant objects, out of focus, have blurry edges)
what medium importance you can draw or raw but with a richer tone and add details, or multi-color and complex fill and also add details.
And, finally what is most important you will have the clearest outline, because this subject is in focus, you tell the viewer about it. So it fits right here. dry work(a la prima, multi-layered or glazed - it's up to you)

The girl above illustrates this moment well and simply (the long-range plan is with a wash or wet, the middle plan is with a multi-color fill, the girl is clearly multi-layered watercolor)

It is important to remember that it is not necessary, it will be a long / medium and near shot. If the main object for you is in the middle (in the work below, this is the house in the middle), then it makes sense to defocus the distant plan, and fill the near one with a fill.

It is necessary to start from the idea.

Thus, by combining techniques with the mind, focusing the viewer's eye on the main thing, you get meaningful work, and even if technically, you still have room to grow (everyone has;) that is the most important - this is the story, feelings, thoughts that you convey to the viewer.

creative success!

The next issue will be on Thursday for technical reasons, but it may be mini bonus issue I will share photos of my work on Instagram