Modern Watercolor Techniques: Colors, Dreams, and Emotions
A course by Jean MallardIllustrator
A course by Jean Mallard, Illustrator
Discover meditative and relaxing painting techniques while learning to create your own colors in watercolor
Jean Mallard's paintings are an invitation to plunge into dreams, poetry, and meditation. Filled with an almost bewitching softness, they soothe the soul and have the power to transmit and engage emotion.
In this course, discover how the painter makes his own pigments to create illustrations with a dreamlike quality. Join Jean and learn to create a powerful and intimate watercolor painting.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 19 downloads
Inspiration
10 minutes, 57 seconds
Materials
6 minutes, 28 seconds
Handling the Brushes
10 minutes, 49 seconds
Stretching the Paper
7 minutes, 56 seconds
Color and Emotions
6 minutes, 43 seconds
Experimentation
15 minutes, 14 seconds
What's included in this course?
Jean Mallard starts off by telling you about his passion for painting, which goes back to his early childhood. He also walks you through his creative journey, from Naples to Paris.
Discover how to find inspiration wherever you go, then have a look at the materials you need for the course. Find out how to hold the brush and the basic movements involved in watercolor painting.
Next, it's all about color! Study some color theories by way of Hockney and Picasso, then get stuck in to the practical side of things, playing with shades and tones before learning how to make your own pigments.
Now it's time to create your own watercolor painting. Start by doing a sketch and paint from the background to the foreground, adding decorative elements and figures layer by layer. After working in some final details, your illustration is all set.
Learn how to scan it and make a few small touch-ups in Photoshop, if necessary. Finally, Jean gives you tips on how to frame and care for your art so that it stands the test of time.
What is this course's project?
Paint a watercolor illustration on a subject that is dear to you with homemade colors.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for expert artists as well as those who have never held a brush before.
Requirements and materials
For materials, you need a watercolor pan, brushes, a wooden board, pigments, and gum arabic.
Reviews
- 3 months ago
Great course especially for blending colors
- 3 months ago
Muy interesante ver como el artista consigue esas imágenes tan envolventes gracias al uso del color y los degradados.
- 3 months ago
Merci pour ce cours.
LES EXPLICATIONS SONT TRÈS CLAIRES ET FACILE Á SUIVRE. LE MONDE ONIRIQUE DE JEAN MALLARD ME FASCINE.
- daraboykoPLUS3 months ago
very interesting and well explained technics
- 3 months ago
Ich bin begeistert und kann es kaum erwarten zu beginnen. Die Materialen - Pigmente und Goma - muss ich bestellen und mich bis dahin in Geduld üben. Der Stil gefällt mir außerordentlich gut. Schon vom reinen Zuschauen hab ich Neues gelernt. Mal schauen, wie es mir praktisch damit gehen wird. Vielen Dank an Jean Mallard, er hat alle nötige Ruhe und erklärt sehr gut.
Books, record sleeves, movie posters, visual identities...he has already worked on a wide variety of projects and had the honor of winning the grand prize at the Bologna Children's Book Fair. He is currently exhibiting at the Slow Galerie in Paris.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Preparation
- Inspiration
- Materials
- Handling the Brushes
- Stretching the Paper
- U3
Color
- Color and Emotions
- Experimentation
- How to Make Your Own Colors
- U4
Making the Artwork
- The Sketch
- Creating Layer by Layer 1
- Creating Layer by Layer 2
- Creating Layer by Layer 3
- Bringing the Image to Life
- The Last details
- U5
What to Do With This Illustration?
- Digitization
- Preserving the Artwork
- FP
Final project
- Modern Watercolor Techniques: Colors, Dreams, and Emotions
What to expect from a Domestika course
Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
Certificates
PLUSIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
This course is mainly aimed at those with some prior drawing or watercolor experience, but it’s also accessible to motivated hobbyists eager to deepen their skills and explore new creative methods.
You’ll need watercolor paper, suitable brushes, pigments or pans, gum arabic, a support board, pencil, eraser, and optionally tools to make your own paints.
You’ll learn to create handmade paints, master washes, gradients, layering, texture creation, scene composition, explore transparency, and express emotions through color and brushwork.
Yes, the course offers hands-on modules on making handmade watercolor from natural pigments and gum arabic, plus mixing and safely using colors.
Yes, it includes specific techniques for drawing urban maps, detailed landscapes, on-site sketching, and composing richly detailed dreamlike scenes.
You’ll learn how to build emotional palettes, create color charts, select color schemes to match moods, layer paints, and harness color harmony in your illustrations.
Some basic drawing experience is recommended since the course covers intermediate techniques, but it also offers ways to quickly improve your sketching and composition skills.