Watercolor Painting: Explore Dry Brush Techniques

Watercolor Painting: Explore Dry Brush Techniques

“Here we are at the end of this journey together. Thank you for choosing my course and for giving me trust. I tried to share with you my modus operandi, my working method, which I hope from the heart can give you inspiration and can be integrated into your way of painting. Now you know the technique and materials, and you know how to paint wonderful trees with the dry brush technique. In this course, we focused on the grisaille as the first topic, which for me was a turning point to make watercolor more controllable and manageable—it gave me peace of mind! With time, you will be able to make the grisaille with less and less detail, but to start it's optimal to have a precise preparatory drawing. If you have already finished your illustration, now it's time to share it. But if not, don't worry! Take your time to finish it. I strongly suggest you choose your reference image consciously and make a unique project of your own. Here are the main steps to follow: First Draft and Composition Once you have chosen your subject, make small sketches to explore different compositions. Then, select one image.

The Grisaille Choose the size of your artwork and start working on the grisaille. Look closely at your photo reference to identify the maximum light and maximum darks. Basic Volumes Apply a first thin layer of color to create the main volumes, working with the principle of maximum light and maximum dark (already present in our underpainting). Textures and Detaills Identify the textures of which the tree is composed (leaves, trunk) and first do some tests to see how the brush works to reproduce and achieve those textures. Then, continue working on your painting by adding more layers to create texture and detail. The Landscape To complete the painting, add a background and surface, such as grass. First, figure out how to place the surface and then proceed with the same method to paint. For the background, study first a color palette that works with the atmosphere you want for the scene. Retouching and Glazing Finally, work on the finishing touches. You can add veils in some places to intensify the maximum darks and make the painting more intense. Emphasizing the shadows of the branches is a little trick to give more realism. I can't wait to see your watercolor painting! So don't forget to share your project in the forum. You can do so by clicking on "Create your project". Remember to share both the final result and the steps that have led you to it. It would be great if you showed a picture of each step and added a brief explanation about what you have done in each one. I will be more than happy to answer any of the questions you might have along the way! I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, participate in the forum, comment on others' work, and interact with the community. See you soon! Ciao! ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Congratulations, you have reached the end of our course. I hope you enjoyed your tree with watercolor technique. Now I want to review with you some key points about our course. Enjoy the journey. Try to do your best at every step and believe in the gradual growth. Don't forget to take pictures of your work step by step and see how you are improving your skills. Finally, I recommend you that work with photo references is important, but I recommend you to go outside with your sketchbooks and create and draw in nature with natural light. It was a great time and see you soon. Ciao, bye!”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Watercolor Painting: Explore Dry Brush Techniques

• Level: Beginner
• 98% positive reviews (49)
• 1766 students
• 4 units
• 15 lessons (2h 47m)
• 3 downloads

• Category

  Illustration

• Areas

  Botanical Illustration, Drawing, Fine Arts, Naturalistic Illustration, Painting, Watercolor Painting