Arts of Painting » Painting

Drybrushing and Scrubbing

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:00:27 +0000

So far you’ve been using paint that has been thinned to make it more fluid. This time you will be using very dry paint with a technique called drybrushing. It creates a rough, textured appearance because the paint is so dry and is used so sparingly that it doesn’t fully cover the canvas.
You can also drybrush to add a small layer of color to an already painted area to subtly change the look. I use this technique a lot in portraiture to add a hint of color to cheeks or a glisten of a highlight. I sometimes refer to this as rouging because you rub or scrub into the surface much like you would with makeup.

For this technique, use a sable or synthetic filbert or flat brush. Their shapes work well for both scrubbing
and drybrushing. Once the shape and foundation of the face are painted andfilled in, I drybrush in the small details of color and tone.

Drybrush to Add Glisten and Highlight
Lightly dip the edges of the bristles of whatever brush you’re using into full-strength paint. Wipe it back and forth on the palette to remove any excess, then lightly scrub the color onto the painting surface with short strokes. Because there is barely any paint on the brush, the paint will fade into what is already there.

Identifying brushes and strokes
Below painting has a lot of interesting qualities due to its range of colors and contrasting textures. Identify the type of brush used and which type of stroke created each area.
1. Feathers: Round brush, drybrushing with quick strokes for texture.
2. Swirled background: Flat brush, scrubbing with thinned, wet paint in a circular motion.
3. Facial highlights: Filbert or flat, a combination of the two techniques above. Drybrushing in a swirling motion to scrub the colors together like you would apply makeup.
4. Adornment: Round or liner brush, dotting or stippling where you use the very tip of your brush to create
small dots for details.

Shadding Elements

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:48:23 +0000

Shadding is one of important element, even its the foundation for any realistic rendering, regardless of the
medium, can be found in the five elements of shading a sphere. If you can create a believable and realistic depiction of a sphere (a ball on a table), the ability to render everything else is right at your fingertips.
If you’re asking why is the understanding of the sphere so important when drawing people and faces? Everything on the face is curved and rounded, and replicates the surface of the sphere.

1 Cast Shadow
This is the darkest tone on your drawing. It is always opposite the light source. In the case of the sphere, it is underneath, where the sphere meets the surface. This area is void of light because, as the sphere protrudes, it blocks light and casts a shadow.
2 Shadow Edge
This dark portion is not at the very edge of the object. It is opposite the light source where the sphere curves away from you.
3 Halftone
This is a medium value. It’s the area of the sphere that’s in neither direct light nor shadow.
4 Reflected Light
This is a light tone. Reflected light is always found along the edge of an object and separates the darkness of the shadow edge from the darkness of the cast shadow.
5 Full Light
This is the lightest area on the object, where the light source is hitting the sphere at full strength

Common brush – flat brush, a beginning

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:43:29 +0000

Flat brushes are most commonly used for applying large areas of color and for creating blended backgrounds. I’ve done this blending exercise with Prussian Blue and Titanium White. Try it again with different colors

1 Set aside a blob of Titanium White about the size of a quarter.

2 Add just a touch of Prussian Blue to the white.

3 Mix another blob of paint that is twice as dark as the first.

4 Dip your brush into the darker of the two blues you mixed in steps 2 and 3 Hold the brush flat against the canvas and evenly distribute the paint with long, sweeping strokes. Quickly go back and forth until the paint covers the canvas.

Don’t leave any of the white canvas showing through the paint. If your paint feels stiff and hard to move,
dip just the tip of the brush in the water and mix the paint until it is creamier.
Don’t add too much, or the paint will be too thin and appear transparent. you might like to get my paint the consistency of thick hand lotion.

5 When you have a wide stretch of dark blue, dip into the lighter blue and apply it to the canvas slightly below the first stripe using the same stroke. Stroke back and forth to quickly blend the two blues. Blend as evenly as possible. Use a clean, dry flat to further blend and soften. This blending takes practice.

To create a photographer’s type of background, you can add areas of light and dark and blend them together to create a mottled look. Scrub the paint together in a circular fashion to get the swirled look often seen in photographs.

Color scheme that represent object

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:32:08 +0000

The right color scheme is one that represents the subject, yet also adds interest for the viewer. Experiment to achieve the exact feel you want your painting to have. I’m particularly fond of complementary and monochromatic color schemes.

Complementary
Complementary colors, you’ll recall, are colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel.
When complements are used near each other, they contrast with and intensify each other. When complementary colors are mixed, they gray each other down. You can use this knowledge to darken a color without killing it. When darkening a color to paint shadows, for example, you may instinctively reach for black.
But black is a neutral color and will produce odd results in mixtures.
Instead, darken a light color with its complement.