Free PDF: Gouache Painting Exercises to Learn New Techniques

Practice different brushstrokes and mixing techniques to create textures and depth with this free exercise to paint an ice cream

If you want to paint vivid and expressive illustrations, gouache is the perfect medium. An opaque watercolor paint, gouache is ideal for creating textures, building layers for depth, and mixing vibrant colors.

Illustrator and author of Get Started with Gouache, Emma Block (@emma_block) uses gouache to capture scenes inspired by everyday life. In her Domestika course, Emma teaches you how to use a sketchbook to experiment with gouache techniques.

Here, she shares gouache painting practice exercises to create textures and depth. Learn how to paint with different colors, textures, and brushstrokes to draw an ice cream cone.

Tool and materials you’ll need for this exercise

- Heavyweight cartridge paper or sketchbook
- Pencil
- Medium square brush
- Medium round brush
- Small round brush
- Gouache paints

Download free gouache exercises for brushstroke and mixing techniques

In this practice exercise for beginners, Emma teaches you how to paint an ice cream step by step using various gouache techniques.

She explains how to experiment with brush sizes and strokes to create soft textures and depth. She also shares advice for mixing paint to create shadows, how to build layers, and more.

After clicking the button below, you’ll find a PDF titled Gouache Painting Exercises to Create Texture and Depth, by Emma Block, in the Downloads folder on your computer.

This resource will be available until August 26, 2022. To learn more gouache techniques, you can sign up for Emma Block’s course Gouache Techniques for Sketchbook Illustration. In the course, she will teach you how to combine expressive brushstrokes and vivid colors to create gouache illustrations in your sketchbook.

Learn more about painting with gouache

- Explore all of Domestika’s online gouache painting courses to learn new techniques for sketchbooking, children’s illustration, and lots more.

- Learn how to create atmospheric, layered scenes in Ruth Wilshaw’s course on painting landscapes with gouache.

- Follow this tutorial to make a gouache color card to experiment with light and dark shades for vivid illustrations.