PJL
07-01-2001, 11:04 PM
Well folks.. You will probably regret this, but after much pressure I have capitulated. Here is a step by step of painting using watercolour pencils....
Preparation.
I used Arches cold pressed block for this project. I strech the paper on a drawing board rather than use it on the block.
This is so I can level the drawing board on my work bench. leveling the board is very important, because we are going to spray lots of water on the painting, and if the board is not level, it will run.
I level the board with a spirit level. I prop up the corners with plastic modelling clay. Once the board is level I tape it in place with Masking tape.
Step 1.
Sketch the outline of the figure. I use yellow ochre prismacolor pencil to do this. The yellow doesn't intrude into the final work like pencil does. The drawback is that you start to lose the lines during the painting, but hopefull we will have enough definition in paint by then.
Step 2.
A very light wash of lemon yellow is applied to the whole paper.Blot out the hilite areas of the figure with tissue paper while the wash is still wet so that the original white shows through. First time I did this I used masking fluid, but it creates hard edges that I didn't like. Wash some background colour in around the figure. This is mainly so we can see the figure outline later on when we start applying watercolour pencil. We are now ready to get to work. This is what it looks like. (you will have to forgive the photo's... I did this at night and the photos were taken under artificial light, so the colors aren't exact... you should get the idea though)
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure1.jpg
Step 3.
This is where we start using the pencils. I use Derwent watercolours which seem pretty good. I would really like to find
another brand that is softer. The derwents are a bit hard. I use them as if I was shading...not the tips, but at an angle of about 30 degrees. This is early in the painting, so we dont add a lot of colour.. that will build up as we go. I started with Naples yellow for the figure, and added some background colours.... This is what it looks like so far. I have included a close up of the face to give you an idea of the pencil work... notice that its not too defined. The water brings it together.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure2.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure3.jpg
The first time I tried to post this, I lost everything when it told me I had too many images (Scott... Why didn't it tell me that in the image preview instead of cutting my cobblers off when I had finished :))
Anyway.. This is part one.. more to follow..
Preparation.
I used Arches cold pressed block for this project. I strech the paper on a drawing board rather than use it on the block.
This is so I can level the drawing board on my work bench. leveling the board is very important, because we are going to spray lots of water on the painting, and if the board is not level, it will run.
I level the board with a spirit level. I prop up the corners with plastic modelling clay. Once the board is level I tape it in place with Masking tape.
Step 1.
Sketch the outline of the figure. I use yellow ochre prismacolor pencil to do this. The yellow doesn't intrude into the final work like pencil does. The drawback is that you start to lose the lines during the painting, but hopefull we will have enough definition in paint by then.
Step 2.
A very light wash of lemon yellow is applied to the whole paper.Blot out the hilite areas of the figure with tissue paper while the wash is still wet so that the original white shows through. First time I did this I used masking fluid, but it creates hard edges that I didn't like. Wash some background colour in around the figure. This is mainly so we can see the figure outline later on when we start applying watercolour pencil. We are now ready to get to work. This is what it looks like. (you will have to forgive the photo's... I did this at night and the photos were taken under artificial light, so the colors aren't exact... you should get the idea though)
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure1.jpg
Step 3.
This is where we start using the pencils. I use Derwent watercolours which seem pretty good. I would really like to find
another brand that is softer. The derwents are a bit hard. I use them as if I was shading...not the tips, but at an angle of about 30 degrees. This is early in the painting, so we dont add a lot of colour.. that will build up as we go. I started with Naples yellow for the figure, and added some background colours.... This is what it looks like so far. I have included a close up of the face to give you an idea of the pencil work... notice that its not too defined. The water brings it together.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure2.jpg
http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/01-Jul-2001/Figure3.jpg
The first time I tried to post this, I lost everything when it told me I had too many images (Scott... Why didn't it tell me that in the image preview instead of cutting my cobblers off when I had finished :))
Anyway.. This is part one.. more to follow..