Watercolour Tips

by Ian King

Overview

Packed full of tips for the aspiring watercolorist, this guide's handy format makes it ideal for quick reference either in the studio or out in the field. Contents include essential tips on all the basic watercolor techniques; helpful advice on sketching and drawing; guidelines on painting skies, backgrounds, foregrounds, the main subject, trees, details, and shadows; clear and straightforward step-by-step instructions for painting a complete landscape in 7 easy stages; tips on painting water in various forms; and adding people to a painting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780007177080
Publisher:	HarperCollins UK
Publication date:	04/28/2004
Series:	Collins Gem
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	7.44(w) x 6.38(h) x 0.44(d)

Table of Contents

	About the Author	6
	Introduction	8
Part 1	Getting Started	10
	Materials	12
	Paints	13
	Brushes	16
	Other equipment	18
	Paper	20
	Techniques	24
	Mixing a basic wash	24
	Mixing a two-colour wash	26
	Wet and damp washes	28
	Reservoir technique	29
	Etching	30
	Dry brush technique	30
	Credit card technique	31
	Lifting out	32
	Masking fluid technique	33
	Candle wax technique	33
	Brushwork	34
	Mixing colours	36
	Try a little exercise	38
	Sketching and Planning	40
	Sketching equipment	41
	Enlarging sketches	42
	Perspective	44
	Working from photographs	48
	Learning to look	50
	Planning your painting	52
	The focal plane	56
Part 2	The Seven Stages	58
	The Basic Stages	60
Stage 1	The sky	64
Stage 2	The background	66
Stage 3	The foreground	68
Stage 4	The main subject	70
Stage 5	The trees	72
Stage 6	The details	74
Stage 7	The shadows	76
	Painting Skies	78
	Basic techniques	79
	Shadows in clouds	81
	Creating mood	82
	Morning and evening skies	84
	Dramatic light	86
	Painting different skies	88
	Painting Backgrounds	92
	Creating transparency	93
	Flat and hilly landscapes	94
	Distant buildings	96
	Woodland backgrounds	98
	Mountains and hills	100
	Background weather	102
	Painting Foregrounds	104
	Two approaches	105
	Using the middle distance	106
	Embellishing foregrounds	108
	Pebbles	110
	Reeds and grasses	112
	Other foreground features	114
	The Main Subject	116
	Landscapes	117
	Buildings	120
	Archways	122
	Painting Trees	124
	Placing trees	124
	Painting distant trees	126
	Painting woodland trees	128
	Different types of tree	130
	Seasonal trees	132
	Adding the Details	136
	Light and shadows	137
	Bricks and stone	138
	Windows	140
	Doorways	142
	Textures and materials	144
	Other ways to add details	146
	Creating Shadows	148
	Placing shadows	149
	Shadows in landscapes	150
	Changing direction	152
	Other types of shadow	154
Part 3	The Next Step	156
	Painting Water	158
	How best to paint it	159
	Painting the water or not?	160
	Reflections in still water	162
	Painting puddles	164
	Painting rivers	166
	Streams and waterfalls	168
	Creating waves and sea	170
	Painting boats	174
	Distant boats	176
	Figures in Painting	178
	Creating simple figures	179
	Using figures to show scale	182
	Figures in a landscape	184
	The dynamic effect	186
	Figures in perspective	188
	Index	190