Traditional painting general

[Anonymous No.2862175]

oils, acrylics,watercolor,gouache. if it's wet and does not have ctrl+z you can post it here. get in here boys.

[Anonymous No.2862176]

>>2862175
ok grandpa

[Anonymous No.2862183]

>>2862175
here's what I'm working on right now. got the shapes basically in place now time to start adjusting things...

[Anonymous No.2862427]

>>2862183
Why the double post hombre? No need for the clutter.

[Anonymous No.2862435]

>>2862183
What is your painting process like?

[Anonymous No.2862437]

>oils, acrylics,watercolor,gouache
what's your favourite and why?

[Anonymous No.2862833]

>>2862175

[Anonymous No.2862856]

>>2862176
post art no mercwip

[Anonymous No.2862862]

>>2862833
I was just about to post this.

[Anonymous No.2862879]

>>2862833

shouldn't it be a hot gril in the reflection

[Anonymous No.2862887]

Really just started learning oils.

[Anonymous No.2862891]

>>2862437
Watercolor because it's very mobile, does not slowly kill you, does not ruin brushes, and does not get moldy.

[Anonymous No.2862908]

Did this last night. I would like to get really good at gouache.

[Anonymous No.2862910]

>>2862908
Whoops, mobile is fucked.

[Anonymous No.2862912]

>>2862856

[Anonymous No.2862917]

>>2862891
it does get mold.

[Anonymous No.2863504]

>>2862910
Excellent work, anon

I struggle with gouache as I'm used to wc. It just seems weird & I can never get the fluidity of it right.

[Anonymous No.2863534]

>>2862437
Oils, looks gorgeous ( when done well) and feels good to use.

[Anonymous No.2863752]

>>2862437
I love the flow during wet & wet for watercolour. Most won't care for it, but paints with mica in it is just so pretty to watch move and settle. The boldness of acrylics is nice sometimes too

>>2862891
>>2862917
jej

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu5qKpkPbUo

[Anonymous No.2863919]

>>2863752
>Not using watercolors from tubes

[Anonymous No.2863924]

>>2863919
I am not the above poster but I recently switched from pans to tubes and what a difference! :D

[Anonymous No.2863946]

I showed a small amount of interest in art and now my aunt want me to paint her a butterfly.
Decided to use acrylic on a canvas and apparently it's not the right paint I've been told,why do I have to fuck up everything I do?

[Anonymous No.2864087]

>>2863919
The guy from the vid usually just uses tubes to refill his sets however he wants. That post reminded me of the "comparison" video Mijello made a while ago against their competition. It's gone from their channel, but it looks to be uploaded by someone else now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09dsj5UxAUk

[Anonymous No.2864148]

>>2862175
I tried oil a while ago, but I felt like I failed so bad to even understand how the media works.
First of all, the paint from these tubes is thick as fuck, I tried painting with them directly to canvas and they weren't malleable at all.
Should I have thined them with turpentine? I couldn't even figure out how am I supposed to be mixing them.

I tried searching for this sort of basic of the basic tutorials, but I couldn't find much to help me understand how I could get into painting. I had no confidence at all in what I was doing and gave up. Do you guys have any tips to share for this kind of beginner?

[Anonymous No.2864168]

>>2864148
What paints did you buy? I use W&N Artists, Schmincke Norma, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Maimeri Artisti, all work well straight out of the tube.

It might be an issue if you're buying expensive paint like Old Holand that's packed full of pigment with just enough binder for it to stay together. In that case you might want to add a small bit of linseed oil when you're mixing your paints.

You might also want to try an oil-primed canvas to see if you like the feel better, or adding a coat of oil primer or underpainting white to your acrylic-primed canvases.

[Anonymous No.2864171]

>>2864148
yeah you don't really want to use them straight from the tube. Turpentine is mostly just used for the sketch phase. Most people use Burnt umber since its neutral, with turpentine to sketch. After that you can use linseed, liquin, and others (look them up) with your paint. I mean you can use them as the paint alone but you're just gonna get shitty results. As the linseed and liquin make it so that your paint is easily to spread and allows for quicker dry time.

[Anonymous No.2864172]

Finished this today

[Anonymous No.2864176]

>>2864172
Is illastrat your role model?

[Anonymous No.2864178]

>>2864171
BS. There are plenty of paints that are fluid straight out of the tube, or even too oily - it's the case with a lot of student grade paints or even some artist-grades like Rembrandt. And no, adding more linseed oil doesn't shorten drying time, it does the exact opposite.

[Anonymous No.2864185]

>>2864178
most paints are thick out the tube, wtf are you talking about. Lul ask any professional painter if he paints straight outta the tube. You're right about the linseed oil though, then again i don't use that shit.

[Anonymous No.2864212]

Painted a dog statue 1hr. Then a pipe burst in my roof and dripped all over it. Acrylic, because I don't want messy oils out my studio. Acrylics at home.

[Anonymous No.2864230]

>>2864212
Something about the front paws makes them seem like they're not grounded. But besides that, I really enjoy this painting, reminds me of Jim Dine's Glyptotek drawings for some reason.

[Anonymous No.2864238]

>>2864176
Idk who that is, sorry

[Anonymous No.2864796]

>>2864168
>>2864171

Thanks, Anons. I bought my stuff from a cheap brand called Acrilex, probably really shitty, but it was the only one I could find.

How should I mix them? Is it ok if I put paint on a pallete and then wet them with this other stuff, or I should be properly mixing each of them in a separate pot to use like liquid paint?

[Anonymous No.2864800]

Know of any comprehensive oil painting tutorials for beginners? With all the color mixing stuff, tool explanations, etc. Preferably online.
I used to paint when I just began learning art as a child, but I moved on to pencil art and then more recently digital since I didn't have a good teacher.
I'm so envious of great oil painters.

[Anonymous No.2864824]

>>2864230
>Jim Dine's Glyptotek
Cheers, Thanks for the artist. Really cool.
Yeah, I think I dident use harsh enough shadows on the front paws and brought them out to far? I stupidly only brought home one brush so couldn't get any detail. I'll probably post again tonight. When Im back from studio.

[Anonymous No.2864848]

Tried acrylics, but it was not a rewarding experience. Will try again, tho.

[Anonymous No.2864850]

>>2864848
not bad. avoid black. Try mixing a blue with burnt umber.
Flowers are nice.

[Anonymous No.2864861]

should i start with gouache, oils, or acrylic ? Most of my work is done jeff watts style with charcoal pencil. Cost is important, don't have much money

[Anonymous No.2864867]

>>2864848
Acrylics aren't so nice to use, I recommend trying or oil or gouache, acrylics have a weird texture and dry very fast and it sucks to blend with them.

[Anonymous No.2864875]

>>2864867
They can be nice but you have to work diffrently.
One of my fav acrylic painters.
>HELEN VERHOEVEN

[Anonymous No.2865029]

>>2864850
thanks, I'll hold back on the black in the future
>>2864867
I have oils, too. But I haven't really figured out how to paint when the paint never dries.

[Taxidermism No.2865061]

>>2865029
Do you use linseed oil? It makes the drying time a lot quicker, but as in quick I mean a few days. Painting with oils is a process, work on one piece for a day or so, forget about it for 3, in the meantime you work on other stuff. It's almost better than painting with acrylic because often times you stumble upon something in one painting you'd like to add to another.

[Anonymous No.2865086]

>>2864172
P A I N T T H E W H I T E

[Anonymous No.2865088]

>>2862427
sorry.

[Anonymous No.2865090]

>>2865086
Why
You don't have to always paint everything to consider something finished

[Anonymous No.2865091]

>>2862435
paint in a general color/value for the shapes, then take each one and work the forms?? I'm a noob.

[Anonymous No.2865093]

>>2862910
you are doing quite well...

[Anonymous No.2865107]

>>2865090
you dont, but when the white is basically the focus, you kinda have to. especially when you paint some parts white but not the others

and those blurred brush strokes with barely any paint really make it look unfinished, they dont match with the rest of the painting. if they had the same amount of paint and expression as the other brush strokes I would've been ok with it. or even just white. I wouldve been ok with the dress all white, but trying to give it depth by making some weak strokes is a no-no (considering the rest of the painting)

its obvious the painter doesn't want to "waste" white paint

[Anonymous No.2865128]

>>2865107
While I see what you're trying to say and can recognize that if some parts of the piece were less cluttered I'd find that finishing the clothing would be more appropriate. However, I think, with the amount of detail that is in the body and background having more detail in the clothing would make the piece feel too cluttered and over finished. I say over finished in the sense that it would feel less impactful to look at an overtly detailed piece. Thank you for the feedback, btw, I do appreciate it

[Anonymous No.2865160]

>>2865061
>It makes the drying time a lot quicker
Pls stop with this meme. The oil binder is exactly the reason that the paint dries slowly, so why would adding MORE of the thing that needs a long time to dry make it dry faster? Oils dry by oxidation, they need to be exposed to oxygen. Adding more oil means there is more to oxidize, making the process slower.
More oil, less solvent = slower drying
More solvent, less oil = faster drying
Ofc this is a gross simplification and doesn't take into account the use of various resins and drying agents in fast-drying mediums, but it's true when dealing with pure oil or pure solvent.

[Anonymous No.2865206]

>>2865128
painting what's white white, doesnt add any detail. just makes it look finished
but w/e

[Anonymous No.2865245]

>>2865206
I agree you never want canvas showing.

[Anonymous No.2865635]

Tell me your opinions about watercolors and the color black. Favourite color mixes to achieve it, using it in your painting, etc

[Anonymous No.2865802]

>>2864861
forgot to add watercolor is an option too

[Anonymous No.2865865]

heres a study of eyes im working on. /beg/ the reference is the famous Rembrandt portrait.

[Anonymous No.2865867]

>>2865635
I avoid using black for the most part. makes a painting look very dull. better to mix a deep blue and burnt umber. plus there are no real blacks in life anyway. except on some synthetic things. better to take the expressionists approach and find the underlying colour in everything.

[Anonymous No.2866343]

I got a box of Winsor & Newton watercolors, 12 colors in a small box for 10 euros.
I'm really surprised how vibrant the colors are, definitely beats any watercolor I used when I still was a little kid and really makes it fun to use.

I'm not going to post anything yet, I've only done a little experimenting, see what the colors look like on paper, how they mix and I'm still a noob at drawing and painting anyway.

[Anonymous No.2866782]

>>2866343
I have bought winsor and newton in the past but was really unsatisfied. but as you say they are inexpensive. I personally like Schmincke's Norma range.

thats my work btw:>>2865865

[Anonymous No.2866830]

>>2865865
Try painting more thickly and decisively (apart from the underpainting), a glaze over textured paint is incredibly satisfying to do too and works well if you're trying to go for Rembrandt's style

[Anonymous No.2866838]

Trying to free my painting style up a bit. Still needs some resolving, but getting there.

Oil on canvas

[Anonymous No.2866852]

>>2866830
when you say glaze, do you mean a thin coat of paint on top of my final layer of 'painting'?
unfamiliar with the term.

[Anonymous No.2866855]

>>2866838
no a fan of your colours or technique really. some sections are good and you capture the light of the city, but other parts are hard to understand and I cant help but feel as though im just looking at paint.

[Anonymous No.2866864]

>>2866838
Love it, the reflection reminds me of a gerhard richer painting.

[Anonymous No.2866865]

>>2862910
Why did you write "Goauche" though ?
I understand typos on a keyboard, but in real life ????

[Anonymous No.2866868]

>>2866343
>12 colors in a small box for 10 euros
what the fuck
my box of 24 costed $110 USD
Even if you are talking about the Cotmans, that's still really cheap.

[Anonymous No.2866876]

>>2866855
Well it is a "painting"
but I'm not gonna resort to >muh style
I'll probably lay down some correcting glazes to make it read a bit better once this layer is semi dry
>>2866852
Simply apply a transparent layer of paint and it'll bring out the texture of the paint in really interesting ways, also gives the paint a "glow" to it

>>2866864
Thank you!

[Anonymous No.2866882]

>>2866876
transparent? so just a tiny amount of pigment.
and a single layer over an entire painting, or in specific places?

[Anonymous No.2866884]

>>2866864
But yeah, >>2866852
>>2866876
Listen to him.
It does feel, flat? maybe the lack of quiet colours or heavy blacks.

[Anonymous No.2866888]

>>2866882
no, oil paint pigments range from completely opaque (Titanium white) to transparent (Ultramarine blue and crimson red)

You mix the pigment with some medium and paint over the part your glazing and just experiment, its the best way to learn how to paint well

[Anonymous No.2866891]

>>2866882
>>2866888
*you're

Also just check out Turner and Rembrandt if you want examples of how other artists have approached it

[Anonymous No.2866915]

>>2866865
Cause I can't spell for shit

[Anonymous No.2867267]

>>2866782
Like I said, I'm still very unexperienced, I was just surprised that something like watercolor paint and also quite cheap could look this well.
I will probably try other brands in the future, I'll note down Schmincke for a time when I can justify paying more for painting materials.

>>2866868
It was the cheapest box around a Cotman, pic related.
I've seen the 100+ euro boxes too but for now I'm satisfied with a presumably lower-grade set of colors that are fun to play around with.

[Anonymous No.2867301]

>>2864861
>>2865802
anyone?

[Anonymous No.2867308]

>>2867267
Michaels sells a Gumbacher 12 tube watercolor set that comes with two red sable brushes and pallet /case for 99$. (50$ with their coupons)

The quality is way better than the cotman paints. I bought that same travel cotman kit and switching to the grumbacher stuff with tubes vs the pans made a big difference.

They have the DR Ph Martin kits too if your more into illustration. (Its liquid watercolor that acts like ink)

[Anonymous No.2867311]

>>2867301
Acrylic or gouache is likely the easiest. (Acrylic being easier of the two) You don't have to worry about messing up and working light to dark back to front like in watercolor. And you can paint over things because it is opaque.

Give it a go.

[Anonymous No.2867312]

>>2867267
Daniel Smith tubes are likely the most common artist grade watercolor you see pros working with. The colors are great, and they come in larger tubes for around the same price as the other brands.

[Anonymous No.2867313]

[Anonymous No.2867317]

>>2867301
Watts recommends starting with gouache and then getting into oil when you're comfortable with painting. For his tiling method acrylic will likely dry too fast, and watercolor would be an entirely different approach to opaque paints. If you don't think you'll be using gouache you could jump straight to oils, if the cost doesn't leave you scared of 'wasting' it. Just don't buy shitty paints.

[Anonymous No.2867360]

>>2867308
I'm just starting out, so for now the cotman will do until I can actually work with the watercolor well.

>>2867312
I've seen Daniel Smith tubes in the same store where I bought the cotman box, I could buy some to see the difference myself.

Though the price of some paints really scares me, I simply can't afford a whole lot.
Or do the smaller and more expensive artist-grade tubes somehow last you longer?

[Anonymous No.2867467]

How in the world do I get better at painting in water color? My stuff looks like shit and I mess up regularly.

Pls halp

[Anonymous No.2867482]

>>2867313
Good fucking grief that's a weird one, even by chummy's standards.

[Anonymous No.2867493]

>>2867467
What don't you like about it?

[Anonymous No.2867553]

>>2867467
How long are you waiting in between shit? This thread's also still up, so go look to see if you find any help from those posts: >>2859007

>>2867360
The prices are in regards to the ingredients (read: pigment) used. But yet, artist grade usually means less filler in the product. While the Primatek watercolours are a marketing thing, there are some nice things in that line

[Anonymous No.2867558]

>>2867553
To clarify, Daniel Smith produces a "Primatek" set of watercolour paints made with minerals like turquoise and amethyst. I remember handprint site having some disdain over the Lapis Lazuli watercolour paint being so shitty. desu at the price, having the paint being basically ultramarine ash is fair enough.

Sites that sell the raw natural pigments as pure as possible are going to be super fucking expensive.

[Anonymous No.2867601]

>>2867360
>Though the price of some paints really scares me, I simply can't afford a whole lot.
Don't worry about buying it all at once. Just replace colors as you run out. If you have a daniel smith store near you, you can easily get free samples of paint by joining events.
There are also people who sell pans of it for under $10

[Anonymous No.2867617]

>>2865635
There is a lot of fuss about not using black in painting.
Mars black is a great watercolour black. But any will give lovely granulation, painting with black only in monochrome painting is very satisfying in WC.

[Anonymous No.2867634]

>>2867553
>>2867558
>>2867601
Thanks a lot for the useful info guys.
Right now I just need to make mileage then, if things work out I'll definitely go for more quality paints.
Heck, I might just go visit a local arts store soon since I do find the cotman box lacking in a neutral dark or greyish colour and I don't want to be mixing all the time when I'm trying to shade some colours a bit.

Also need a better, larger brush and maybe some decent paper too.
But all in all, I just need to work with it, I'll keep Daniel Smith in mind, since that is easily available for me. I mean, I can get everything online but I really prefer to go out and buy things at a store and maybe have a chat with the shopkeeper while I'm at it.

[Anonymous No.2867639]

>>2867634
>I don't want to be mixing all the time
Oops

[Anonymous No.2867669]

>>2867639
Don't get me wrong, I don't mind mixing at all but some colours are just convenient to have around.
I don't want to do unnecessary mixing.

[Anonymous No.2867770]

>>2867669
It can be a potential waste of resources if the convenience ends up being not what you want anymore. That issue is with tube paints more so than pans from what I've noticed before. It can be annoying sometimes with pre-made sets to mix all the time though. Even if you attempt to document paint mix ratios, some minute thing can always change it during real time mixing. It's still a good idea to get a better feel for what the provided watercolours will do for you, at least until you feel like you have the info you need.

Try to keep the pigment information from your set documented too. Knowing what you can do with the pigments you are using for your watercolour helps you to decide on what to do with desired convenience mixes. There's also the added bonus of manufacturers fucking around with formulas from time to time. All suppliers have their own quirks with naming the watercolours or whatever to suit their brand, so tell them to fuck off by using pigment codes to help filter through the names and shit. There are few exceptions where there won't be a pigment code to help, unfortunately. Daniel Smith has this with the Primatek set mentioned a while ago. I haven't checked every damn colour of theirs, but a few paints from that set I looked into are vague with the ingredients.

Speaking of DS, they've been slowly putting in a different formula for their non-15ml tubes of Quin. Gold. Art supply dudes have to pray to the automotive gods to keep their pigments around, but for DS the time is probably coming up soon for their remaining stock of single pigment QG. Some artist-grade suppliers like Mijello have also fucked around with formulas to suit their brand. Even a common colour like burnt sienna is just messed up - it used to be a single pigment (PR101 iicr) for them, then it got shifted into being a multi-pigment mix instead. Other manufacturers aren't as damming with that type of example as Mijello, still a pretty nasty thing to encounter.

[Anonymous No.2867774]

If you're strapped for cash, here are a few essential colours in WC will allow you to make skin tones, & many landscapes.
Burnt umber.
Ultramarine blue. Mixed with above makes great darks from black to lighter greys, and can be made to move the grey from warm to cool.
Yellow ochre.
Cad red, or light red. Light red & yellow ochre make excellent bases for skin tones.
Burnt sienna (W&N makes an excellent one) is very useful in landscapes.
Light red and Ultra blue make a muted purple, and are very useful for adding to skin mixes, or skies in landscapes.

I have probably every artists range, and I suggest you buy what you can afford. Daniel Smith is bloody expensive in the UK, for example. Most of their speciality colours I find I use very infrequently compared to the ones listed above.
Apart from cad red, all the other colours are cheap to purchase.

[Anonymous No.2867835]

>>2867774
Oh damn, great point. Some brands will fluctuate in price depending on area. Doesn't help that it will have an impact on pigments like cadmiums and cobalts. Shopping around online is your big friend - and not just on art supply stores. Scour eBay, Amazon, whatever & wherever. Craft stores are honestly the last resort. Those 50% off coupons just do not give that good of a discount when you look elsewhere for your shit.

Could always make your own watercolour paints too if you wanna go the cheaper route :v) some cosmetics places that offer raw ingredients will have some synthetic pigments that are used in painting to sell too. The ultramarine blue pigment I had lying around from such places pretty much was a dead on match for a tube of the same damn thing from DS. Could either work with powdered or liquid gum arabic, and whatever other things you want to add. There's plenty of recipes online with different tips and opinions on what to use.

I have found that the pigments from the makeup place were also easy to mix compared to pigments sold from art suppliers. Unsure if they had to make sure their suppliers kept it fine enough for cosmetic purposes. For the other pigments that have to be bought in the usual way, grinding can be an issue. Some YouTube video I saw a week ago had a "cheap" fix in using a glass cabochon (or some related decoration used for fish tanks) that's domed and/or flat on one side. Adhere the cabochon to some putty, put the ingredients on a porcelain plate or a tile, and grind away. Perhaps it isn't the best substitute to actually using a glass muller for grinding down the paint. There are probably better /diy/ solutions to that though.

[Anonymous No.2867889]

This has been really informative.
Now, how about brushes?

[Anonymous No.2867948]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkXCuyXVixA


>>2867889
You have a lot of options nowadays. Natural hair (usually sable [weasel] or squirrel), synthetics designed specifically for watercolour, and natural/synthetic mixed brushes. Synthetics have gotten better with how they can mimic natural hair's ability to hold fluid and keep its shape. Naturals are arguably the best at those, but they must be taken care of a bit better than the others. Shedding also happen a bit more with these types of brushes.

Water brushes are available to use too in case you have limited space and cannot carry much water & brush maintenance supplies during travel. They aren't that bad to use, but they most likely would be ranked lower than the synthetic mimic brushes. If you use your brush for more than just regular water, you might have to check the size of the brush feed to ensure that blockage doesn't happen or if you can make the feed "larger". Making a mix of a tiny bit of tube paint and water is a neat option for some quick colour to add to sketches. Please be aware of potential mold forming inside of the brush. After thoroughly cleaning out one of my affected ones, I'm currently testing to see how well a drop of clove oil in the wash mix will try to prolong mold growth.

Rounds are the most commonly used with all bristle types for WC, although a few do substitute it out for a smaller mop. There's also larger mops/wash brushes and flats for applying more even layers of paint. Round brushes can achieve most things on its own though once you get a hang of it.

If the brush is some shit that's aimed at all types of painting, it isn't the one you really want to use for WC. There are a few exceptions, such as a brand called "GraceArt". They make a 12 brush set (half rounds, half flats) which labels itself using "Golden Synthetic Hair". All things considered, it wasn't too shabby for a lower cost ($8 USD) set for beginners to use.

[Anonymous No.2868018]

>>2864212

[Anonymous No.2868022]

Can I make it as a lowbrow artist

[Anonymous No.2868148]

>>2862910
You're putting it on too wet, and doing too many passes. Should get dryer every pass if you have to layer. I can see the pilling. Get better paper. Nice color work though

[Anonymous No.2868159]

>>2867467
Right now it looks a bit 'colored in' because you just shaded everything with a darker version of the color. Try adding some of the blue you used for the sky into your shadows, and they'll look more natural.

Based on the way the pencil lines look, I also assume that this painting is tiny - paint larger, or the result will always look sloppy because you don't have the space to be precise with details, nor for free expressive brush strokes.

>>2867360
>Or do the smaller and more expensive artist-grade tubes somehow last you longer?

Kind of. Student grade paint keeps the price down by adding fillers, so you need to use much more of the paint to get a strong color.
Artist grade paint contains much more pigment, so a small amount can go a long way.

Another issue with student grade paint is that they usually have a very limited selection, there are certain pigments/colors you're just not going to find in a student grade range.

Do what >>2867601 suggests and build up your collection of professional paints slowly while practicing with your student grade - and keep your eyes peeled for good deals on more expensive paints.

>>2867770
Pretty sure DS primateks lack pigment information because the pigments just aren't listed in the index and therefore don't have a number.
Or do you mean the thing about them (probably) boosting some of the colors because real finely ground amethyst would be almost colorless?

Either way, primateks (as well as other ground gemstone paints) are really novelty pigments nowaydays, they can be fun to use , especially for adding textures, but I don't think they're relevant at all for a beginner.

[Anonymous No.2868163]

>>2867889
Like the other poster said, rounds are the most versatile.
I recommend synthetic brushes because they're inexpensive and hold up well to my abuse.
I got a set of three rounds and two washes of Princeton white taklon. The brown haired brushes are Daniel Smith, not so cheap, and not that much better (The travel ones are a bit more springy though).

When you are buying a round, make sure that the fibers actually come to a point. A way of telling is that the brush is (or almost) straight at the belly, but comes to a sharp point at the tip (concave when wet). If the tip is flat when the bush is dry or if the head is egg shaped when wet or with the brush glue stuff, don't buy it (Princeton natural camel is SHIT, don't get them).

[Anonymous No.2868187]

>>2867889
Like the others have said, synthetic rounds that are made specifically for watercolor are fine for a beginner.

Don't buy brush sets with a ton of brushes in them, you only need two or three good ones starting out. Don't buy them too close in size.
Number 8 and 12 is a recommendation you hear often, but you can adjust that of course if you want to paint larger or smaller.

Prices for synthetics can vary a lot, but the more expensive ones aren't always better. Some of it is personal preference as well, so you'll probably want to try a few different types later on.

[Anonymous No.2868191]

>>2868163
>If the tip is flat when the bush is dry or if the head is egg shaped when wet or with the brush glue stuff, don't buy it
May be true for most synthetics, but not true for natural hairs. A dry sable brush may look like this, but it comes to a perfect point when wet.

[Anonymous No.2868414]

>>2862833
The drink should be orange with jizz in it

[Anonymous No.2868431]

>>2867313
this is shit. literally nothing good about it.

[Anonymous No.2868433]

>>2868022
this made me laugh. something very comical about those breasts. pick better subject matter. and your technique is bad

[Anonymous No.2869040]

>>2868159
>because the pigments just aren't listed in the index and therefore don't have a number
>Or do you mean the thing about them (probably) boosting some of the colors because real finely ground amethyst would be almost colorless?
You are correct.They are fine and well with adding a small amount of the real mineral into the formula, just so they can get away with "genuine material". I just want to find out more about what's really in those paints. After using "plain" mica powder and mixes including it, I can't help but think that some of those paints that shimmer, like the mentioned amethyst DS paint, contains that material in it. Fuchsite is a trickier one to tell what's really in it, since the mineral is related to muscovite. The granulation and muted colours are another thing with some of those paints, which could be achieved with less expensive paint if one really want to. Those paints are nice and all, but the above information is a bummer. A pro could be the cost and accessibility, at least when comparing it to sites that sell raw natural pigments.

>I don't think they're relevant at all for a beginner
I fucked up with it, sorry. Anon had mentioned looking at Daniel Smith watercolours in an earlier post and being put off by the price for some of their paints. Their catalog is huge, with the primateks and duochromes standing out in a different way compared to the cobalts, cadmiums, and quinacridones. I went off on the primateks, but the duochromes should get a bit of shit too. Please excuse my autism senpai. A lot of it is coming from working with cosmetic materials for a few years before getting back into painting. Knowing that some of these ingredients can be acquired elsewhere for a relatively lower cost, it's a shame that others don't take much advantage of it.

>>2868163
>>2868187
As far as synthetics go, what do you anons think about Princeton Neptune brushes?

[Anonymous No.2869130]

What oil colours do you people use and how much they usually cost? I was in Russia recently and bought some oil paint for 2 to 4 dollars. Is that cheap? I am only a student so I'm not as experienced. What is some goodier oil paint?

[Anonymous No.2869152]

>>2864875
Looks like reviewbrah

[Anonymous No.2869159]

[Anonymous No.2869194]

>>2869152
Not there yet desu

[Anonymous No.2869281]

>>2869040
I think the extreme granulation is the most interesting part of the primateks, it makes them very useful for adding textures over staining colors.

DS marketing strategies are kinda off-putting though. I'm sure a lot of the people who buy primateks would still do so if they were honest about some being mixtures. Purists are hardly the main target audience for novelty pigments, after all.
But like you said, accessibility is an advantage DS has, because you can actually find them in stores easily and they offer such a large range.

There are some smaller companies that make ready to use watercolor paints using some of the historic minerals at least.
Natural Pigments, Kremer Pigments and Pip Seymour come to mind. But you'll have a hard time finding those anywhere except on their websites, unless you really lucked out with your local art store.

>Anon had mentioned looking at Daniel Smith watercolours in an earlier post and being put off by the price for some of their paints.

Ah, I see what you mean now. I just assumed they were shocked by the prices for tiny tubes of paint in general.

>some of these ingredients can be acquired elsewhere for a relatively lower cost

Sounds Interesting, can you talk about that a bit? I'm only really familiar with raw pigment being a lot cheaper than paint.

[Anonymous No.2869363]

>>2869281
Some of their non-primateks are pretty damn cool with how they granulate - Lunar Black comes to mind. With how different companies manufacture paints, wonder if there are possible dupes (or close enough) to some of those primateks around. Would have to waste a lot of damn time getting information and looking at colour swatches for that though.

DS having over 200 colours of paint to offer is pretty insane, but I think the amount is lessened for their 5ml tubes and watercolour sticks. It is always a good idea for beginners of any medium to start out as small/basic as they want before fully committing to whatever. Saves a lot of headache if the medium ends up not being a good fit for the user.

As far as the last thing, it's mostly regarding synthetic pigments. Some of these "natural" cosmetics places will offer those types of pigments and powdered dyes, among other ingredients, for the consumer to truly make products on their own. These places don't want to fuck their consumers over by offering toxic shit on their face or in their soap, but their rules might be blurred if they offer nail polish supplies for sale too. As with a lot of things, you have to shop around and research before deciding on getting something from these shops. It's really an option only if you're considering using a lot of product. If you just use up a half-pan of paint once a year, it might not be as worth it to make the paint yourself. Switch the binder from gum arabic if you want to use the powdered pigment with acrylics or oils too.

cont.

[Anonymous No.2869397]

>>2869363
Sorry in advance if it sounds like I'm shilling the fuck out of this site. They just ended up having good prices for some stuff.

Pic related is an example of amount & price (USD) for one of the pigments they sell. I didn't pay attention much to constitution numbers until a year or so ago. I had e-mailed the site to ask them more about their pigments; the response wasn't very helpful outside of saying the CI was accurate for their items. Searching for "77007 pigment" will lead to information on PB29, so that was pretty great. This site for example has shit like manganese violet, prussian blue (which is sold out) phthalo blue (exact types is unknown though), various iron oxides, and a few others.

Aside from pigment powders, dye powders, & carmine, there are also items to be used strictly for soap or nail polishes (glitters, actual aluminum powder, glow-in-the-dark powders). In regards to pearlescent/iridescent and duochrome/shifting effects, they offer plain micas and plain shifting powders on top of the dozens of mica mixes in a "pre-finished" state for cosmetics.

Their sample sizes will alter depending on what you get. 6 grams is standard, but 2.5 grams will be for more expensive products. The real good shit is when it gets to the price for ounces. One ounce of UB is $3 & four ounces is $4.50. For other pigments, the price might not be so good when aiming for the four ounce size. While $22 could be a lot to hand over for four ounces of phthalo blue, $6 for one ounce sounds pretty good to me. Getting the other ingredients needed for the paint you want to fabricate & weigh the cost versus actual paints made by companies. /diy/'ing up something to grind the shit up & on if you'd like. Proper ventilation & a breathing mask while you make your paint please, since you're still dealing with chemical powders.

It is a lot of shit involved to making your own paints, but you need to consider your time & energy on top of the financial costs too.

[Anonymous No.2869399]

>>2869397
Ventilation while dealing with powdered substances in general*
Kind of don't want to breathe that shit in 2bh

[Anonymous No.2869402]

>>2862183
last night still life

[Anonymous No.2869405]

>>2869402
senpai what happened around the metal areas of the wheel?

[Anonymous No.2869447]

>>2869397
what if you took the pigment and mixed it into student grade watercolors?

[Anonymous No.2869462]

>>2869363
Lunar Black has insane granulation, but I have some trouble finding good uses for it. I'm not categorically against black pigments, but a lot of the time they do look more flat than a mixed neutral.

>It is always a good idea for beginners of any medium to start out as small/basic as they want before fully committing to whatever.

Agreed.

>If you just use up a half-pan of paint once a year, it might not be as worth it to make the paint yourself.

That's one of the two main reasons why I'm interested in making paint myself, actually - I use some colors so much that I feel like I have to buy new tubes all the time.
(The other reason is that I'm curious and want to experiment with some pigments that aren't commonly available as watercolors).


>>2869397
Definitely sounds interesting. Do you know if lightfastness is a problem with pigments sold for cosmetic use?
From what I understand ultramarine is never a problem, but for some other pigments lightfastness seems to vary from brand to brand. Makes me wonder if that comes down to quality, and I imagine lightfastness is not a huge concern for eyeshadows and the like since people don't wear them very long.

>Proper ventilation & a breathing mask while you make your paint please, since you're still dealing with chemical powders.

Thanks for pointing that out, I had read the part about the breathing mask + possibly gloves before, but I'm a bit confused about the ventilation.
I've seen people say to avoid any air movement to prevent powder from getting where you don't want it, but I'm not really sure how to reconcile the two.

[Anonymous No.2869482]

A study over an old canvas in oil. He still needs alot of work to tighten up the details but hes been a good learning experience. I kinda wish I could devote more time to doing art but work just takes over.

[Anonymous No.2869609]

>>2869447
what
I suppose it'd help even out the filler if you did that? Feel free to try if you want kek

>>2869462
>Lunar Black has insane granulation, but I have some trouble finding good uses for it.
Mixing it with other colours for landscape texturing is probably the best way to go with it. A user on WetCanvas did some comparison swatches between LB & Black Tourmaline Genuine.
http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8614027&postcount=54

>Do you know if lightfastness is a problem with pigments sold for cosmetic use?
Good question desu. The gist of it is that colorants have to be safe on human skin to be considered "cosmetic grade". There are still loads of questionable choices in that industry, but that's a different topic. I'm not sure if there are minute differences with other agencies, but the FDA is the one that companies in this country abide by. There might be extra processing to make sure that the colorant is non-toxic; there are specifics in what each dye/pigment needs to have limited. Ultramarine, for example, needs to have very little of: lead, arsenic, and mercury. It then gets into chemical stuff that I'm not smartened up on, so there's that.

The reply I received from the cosmetics site mentioned before basically said that the CIs will help identify ingredients in product. Then there are some pigment manufacturers that will advertise their product as OK to use in pretty much everything. A small handful of other artists cite using some of the products from their site for their own uses. At this point, I am inclined to believe that these pigments retain the same properties as the pigments from art suppliers. I need to really give these a lightfast test of my own, but I've been slacking with that on even the purchased paints from elsewhere.


For ventilation, I would assume most mean having air flow into the room just by having a window open. If it's a windy day, then it wouldn't be the best time to fabricate paint due to what you mentioned.

[Anonymous No.2869705]

I'm really only a beginner at painting but i enjoy it a lot more than not painting

[Anonymous No.2869825]

I'm working on getting my first set of tube watercolors, but I'm honestly not sure what the best way to choose colors is. I've been reading over the handprint site and looking at various palettes, but it's frankly overwhelming amounts of information.

I'd like to start with a small set of like 6 colors so I'm not overwhelmed with options, but which 6 to get? Any recommendations?

[Anonymous No.2869932]

>>2869825
A split primaries palette would be a good start if you don't know what colors you like or what you want to paint, and from then you can substitute the ones you don't use and/or add more convenience colors

Something like
Benzimidalone Yellow
Yellow Ochre
Permanent Madder Deep
Pyrrole Red
Ultramarine Deep
Phthalo Blue Green

Look at pigments used since color names may vary.

I'd also suggest at least a dark earth tone to mix neutrals with - a Burnt Sienna/Transparent Oxide Red, or Burnt Umber, and maybe a green to complement your cool red with - A Phthalo Green (blue shade) or Viridian.

[Anonymous No.2869959]

>>2867313
If you haven't already you should investigate Jean-Michelle Basquiat. seems like something you would like...

[Anonymous No.2869963]

>>2868018
very impressed with your shapes and colors. I just love this kind of style.

[Anonymous No.2869967]

>>2868022
probably. I like it. I'd say if you want to really make it as a lowbrow artist be a little more expressive with your colors. color contrast seems to really bring in the eye. and you can use that to your advantage artistically.

[Anonymous No.2869985]

>>2869405
damn didn't get total coverage there. the next one will be better. thanks!

[Anonymous No.2869986]

>>2869705
Wow! This is amazing anon! Do you have another works?

[Anonymous No.2870052]

>>2869986
Thank you kind anon, I do but I really am only a beginner and I'm only starting to improve so I won't post them. It means a lot that you actually like it though!

[Anonymous No.2870178]

>>2862175
ok so let me get this straight... values are More important than color?

[Anonymous No.2870180]

>>2864176
this is > than illustrat.

[Anonymous No.2870203]

Did this a couple of years ago at college.

[Anonymous No.2870442]

3-4 hour cast sketch from today. I'll post process if anyone is interested/can tell me how to do it better. I can manage relative value decent, but actually matching what I see accurately is out of reach.

>>2862887
Me too bud. I think what we both have to work on is stroke economy.

>>2869482
>kinda wish I could devote more time to doing art but work just takes over

I hear ya. I've got time to paint like 2-3x a month if I give up my social life.

[Anonymous No.2870452]

>>2869963
Thanks! Today's wasent so good. :(

[Anonymous No.2870467]

>>2870442
I mean I don't have the cast in front of me, but it looks to my eyes like the values are a little overstated. The darks seem a bit to dark, and the core shadows are put down as a thick hard very dark line. I suspect that the value shifts are more subtle. Even for a quick sketch like this you should get the essential main information down--the basic value relations are a part of this.

[Anonymous No.2870530]

>>2869609
>Lunar Earth mixing swatches
I've actually seen those before and they look great, but somehow I don't think the same effect looks as good as part of an actual painting as it does in swatches. I may have to play around with that a bit more.

Thanks for answering my questions about cosmetic grade pigments/paint making. I really want to give this a try now, I just need to find some extra free time for it.

>I need to really give these a lightfast test of my own, but I've been slacking with that on even the purchased paints from elsewhere.

Same. Certain colors I don't worry about since I've never heard of anyone having issues with them, but I have quite a backlog of oranges, magentas and violets I want to test before doing too much with them.

[Anonymous No.2870533]

>>2869825
Handprint is hell to navigate imo, but there is a section where he actually suggests palettes. For some reason that part of the website is misleadingly labeled "palette paintings".

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/paletfs.html

From the way he talks about them, he clearly favours the secondary palette (listed under 6). I've made good experiences with that one as well before I even knew about handprint or what to call that sort of palette.

A secondary palette (under 4 or as suggested by >>2869932) is a solid choice as well. And I support the suggestion of adding an earth tone like burnt sienna or burnt umber - they're great for mixing neutrals with blues.

[Anonymous No.2870604]

>>2869963
Thanks, today's late night painting.

[Anonymous No.2870609]

Glad I left my toe in that picture looking real classy

[Anonymous No.2870612]

>>2870609
Almost as classy as the orange peel.

[Anonymous No.2870884]

>>2870612
Anon should paint his toes covered in orange peels now

[Anonymous No.2871066]

>>2869402
last night head study

[Anonymous No.2871074]

>>2870604
Also this is the oil painting I'm working on in studio.

[Anonymous No.2871195]

>>2870442
please post process I want to try this exercise too.

[Anonymous No.2871507]

Anybody got any real experience with guache and tempera?
I don't get it.

[Taxidermism No.2871517]

>>2871074
This is great, remind me a lot of Eric Fisch!

You should post some more complete works because I think your stuff is excellent. :)

[Anonymous No.2871530]

>>2871507
done a lil guache what's up? pic related.

[Anonymous No.2871545]

>>2871530
Since I'm an beginner I'm pretty confused.
Dou you have to mix your colors yourself with pigments and stuff?
What tools and stuff do you use?
What is the required equipment?
It is as versatile as watercolor and and oil?
What are the drawbacks?
Are there any guides?

[Anonymous No.2871549]

>>2871530
why would you paint a gross nigger?

[Anonymous No.2871567]

>>2865865
progressing
regressing

[Anonymous No.2871573]

>>2870467
>values are a little overstated
Yeah that's one of ghe biggest issues. I feel like I'd lose track of mixing to the correct values on my palette if I worked with subtler shifts. Any advice? Pic is the cast (from a slightly different angle)

[Anonymous No.2871575]

>>2870533
>>2869932
Thank you both! I went and looked into doing a primary or secondary palette, and ended up going with the secondary. It was pretty pricey, so I stuck with just the six secondaries and didn't add in any extra colors. I'll figure out how to use these and then build from it as necessary. Handprint dude seems to know what he's about, and he loves it, so it should work well enough.

[Anonymous No.2871577]

>>2871195
Take this with a grain of salt, i'm doing a poor rip-off of atelier style study

[Anonymous No.2871579]

>>2871577

[Anonymous No.2871580]

>>2871579

[Anonymous No.2871581]

>>2871580
After this is the one i posted yesterday.

[Anonymous No.2871585]

>>2871545
I started off with the primary colors (red, blue, yellow) a white a black and a brown. mix the colors to get the ones you want.
watercolor brushes and water is all you need I paint on watercolor paper
I use a tray to mix on, a jar for cleaning brushes, a spray bottle for adding clean water to the pallete and paper towels to make sure the brush is not too wet.
I don't know if it's as versatile as either oils or WC.
gouache re-activates when it gets wet. the upside to this is that you can go back in and rework things after it dries. the down side of this is that if you press too hard or scrub too much the paint underneath will come up and give you bad results.
no guides that I can recommend on the basics of using the paint. try to figure out how to get a gradient going and how to get a flat tone and start playing with mixing colors for starters. then its just painting, painting painting.
hope this helps

>>2871549
silence fool.

[Anonymous No.2871597]

>>2871577
thanks! 10/10 will try. I'll need to buy one of those facial feature casts.

[Anonymous No.2871615]

>>2871597
Thanks man. Also, either do it in a windowless room with a strong lamp, or, preferably, a room with a window facing away from the equator. Otherwise you'll tear your hair out.

[Anonymous No.2871654]

>>2871615
lucky for me I work during the day so I paint almost exclusively at night lol!

[Anonymous No.2871658]

>>2871517
Cheers hun, I have a website but a lot of stuff is missing/bad quality. Markbletcher dot com or follow my insta mbletcher, but that's for more personal stuff also. x

[Anonymous No.2871662]

>>2871585
>if you press too hard or scrub too much the paint underneath will come up and give you bad results.
like mixing the lower layer color with the one above
for example yellow layer + red layer it becomes orange which you don't want?
This has been very helpful, thanks!
Seems like it by far not as complicated as oil. I should try it out. But where I live it seems to be kind of a niche market between the two big names (watercolor and oil).

[Anonymous No.2871710]

>>2865160
Different anon here. My MH titanium white seems to dry faster when I've made it more workable with linseed oil.

[Anonymous No.2871824]

>>2871662
yes even if the layer beneath is completely dry paint over it with a LIGHT touch one stroke at a time between re loading the brush or it will mix with the paint underneath and can get very muddy!

[Anonymous No.2871825]

gouache/watercolor

[Anonymous No.2871829]

>>2871824
so you need detailed planning and there is not much room for mistakes
oh boy...

[Anonymous No.2871830]

Acrylics

[Anonymous No.2871836]

>>2871830
why did you choose Acrylics?

[Anonymous No.2871843]

>>2871836
I was just giving myself a break from inhaling turpentine that day.

[Anonymous No.2871877]

>>2871843
What excatly is turpentine used for?
Are there other benefits to Acrylics?

[Anonymous No.2871900]

>>2871877
>What excatly is turpentine used for?
Turpentine is solvent for oils. Oils can't be thinned or washed out with water like watercolors and acrylics, at least the oil paints that are not water-mixable can't.
I use water-mixable oils, so I use water in place of turpentine. It makes oils so much easier to use, but they are kind of controversial.

[Anonymous No.2871909]

>>2871877
It's basically what >>2871900 said.
Good thing about acrylics is that it dries fast. Bad thing about acrylics is that it dries fast. Even so, you can use a slow drying medium with it and it will take forever to dry as well. It has this "plasticky" look and feel to it that bothers me, but is pretty versatile and worth a try. It is a good media for sketches in my opinion.

[Anonymous No.2871911]

>>2871909
Also if you care about how long your stuff is going to last on this planet be careful since this is a new media and people are still unsure about its archival properties.

[Anonymous No.2872107]

>>2871829
not really just be CAREFUL when over painting

[Anonymous No.2872784]

>>2868022
stop being a child. nobody cares about conical painted titties. what with the internet

[Anonymous No.2872789]

made this last week.

[Anonymous No.2872792]

>>2872789
made these last night

[Anonymous No.2872967]

>>2872789
Heya,
I'll start with this badboy, first. I'm assuming this is acrylic? If I'm wrong tell me, anyway.
First of I can see you are concentrating and trying so this is all constructive, you have ability just not knowledge.
Form+Composition -
This is obviously from a photo, thats not bad, but this seems more like a copy then a painting. The pose is a bad one to choose, the straight on face is a boring angle and the lighting is from a really strange source, I dont know how he is standing like that?
Aswell, that background being both black and white makes it hard to get good tonal shifts, choose a nice midtone next time and have much less contrast, the letters are far too contrasted and jarring. they are more focal then the face. Try maybe a yellow ocre or raw umber mixed with white and washed over the canvas.
Paint+colour -
Stop using black, its not inherently bad but for beginners it can be a terrible crutch. Remove it from your pallet, if you must get a near black tone go for burnt sienna with a small amount of a cold dark blue. Dont shade with black or do shadows with black. Use colder, colours for shadows, try mix umber with a bit of red or yellow, or even mix yellow and red, and add a small amount of blue. (Be careful with this however as shop bought paints contain alot of pigments so the more the mix the duller the colours will get. if you do this try get a high quality blue like a windsor and newton artist quality to mix with the red and yellow if your too broke to afford all artist quality)
Dont also highlight with white, You will need to use alot of white to get the correct tone, but white always dulls colours and makes them chromatic, try adding a hot yellow (cadmium yellow or lemon yellow) to keep it a hot highlight.
The eyes and teeth are wrong,tehre is no pure black and white in life. Try looking at a picture and picking the blackest black and whitest white and see how subtle the colour changes in between are. Cont...

[Anonymous No.2872971]

>>2866864

Off Topic but Richter's blur paintings are amazing. His candle ones are too, but Sonic Youth ruined them for me

[Anonymous No.2872989]

>>2872967
.... If your having trouble with colour, try mixing a pallet of.
Darkest - Dark blue+Burnt umber
Dark - Burnt Umber
Mid - Burnt umber+white or Raw umber?
Light - Raw umber+white or yellow ochre +white
Lighest - White+little bit of umber/ochre
Wash the background with ochre then try work from dark to light slowly after making a drawing in umber/sienna.
Also, try seeing your figure as planes/surfaces. You have too many round fuzzy marks that seem lost, the right top eyelid you got it, I can see 3 or 4 planes moving across. Well done.
Brushes -
You seem to only have a small round brush?
and maybe one large flat brush? Get some more brushes, I can see a consistent line length with the small round around the nose,eyes and face, and the flat brush on the forhead (and cheeks/chin? unsure about that.) Acrylics dry fast so you need a real range.
Canvas -
I understand your practising but your canvas looks light shop bought shit. Get a heavy acrylic paper, slap two or 3 layers of acrylic gesso on and paint on that. I can see the terrible texture of the canvas. If you want to work cheap and not on paper, get some MDF, sand it, prime it, wait, (repeat prime and sand 3x) You'll get a nice texture a responsive surface. Make sure you sand and prime in a circular fashion so you don't get a directional texture.

[Anonymous No.2872997]

>>2872989
Finally, >>2872792
Theres alot less to say about these being black and white. Again, dont use black, use burnt umber or some other earth colour. Loosen up, stop with the hard lines. Avoid true black and true white.
The one on the right is much more sucessful. Again I can see your lack of range of brushes. The hair is semi successful as its much looser and the handling of the nose (while still butchered) has a more natural feel. The jaw on the bottom right even has a soft edge which is nice, (even though that is not how a jaw connects.)
Good luck!
If you want to look at an artist look at alice neel.
Shes kitch as fuck and outlines like a bitch, but do you see what I mean about the tonal shifts and planes of colour?

[Anonymous No.2873087]

Felt confident after the ear cast so I tried plein-air/nature painting for the first time. I figured it would come out bad, but not this bad.

[Anonymous No.2873143]

>>2873087
thumbnail looks pretty good tho

[Anonymous No.2873144]

I want to get good in drawing watercolor paintings such as pic related. Do you know any good tutorials or inspirational artists with that style? There are tons of watercolor artists but their paintings usually look very pale and too accurate.

Also do you know if there is a big difference between the Horadam and Akademie watercolors from Schmincke?

[Anonymous No.2873184]

>>2873087
It's nice. just Underworked. Very subtle.

[Anonymous No.2873231]

>>2873144
https://www.youtube.com/user/gurneyjourney

[Anonymous No.2873281]

>>2873144
Horadam is their artist-grade version of watercolours iicr.

[Anonymous No.2873836]

Been playing with watercolor a bit.
I have some thick paper but I cannot stop it from warping, even if I tape it down.
So either I need to work less wet or get proper watercolor paper, though the latter doesn't really suit my wallet, especially because I'm still too much of a beginner to really spend a whole lot on something like paper, I wouldn't be able to work confidently at all with it and thus slow the learning process because I'd be afraid to waste it (I know it's a bad habit).

So, are there any good ways to tackle this problem?
Or is it possible to somehow flatten paper after working on it with watercolor?
Also thinking about gluing the entire surface of the paper paper to a tougher, more rigid surface, like cardboard, plywood, or maybe something more water resistant like plastic.

Anyway, I also want to thank all the anons for filling this thread with lots of useful information.

[Anonymous No.2873844]

>>2873144
https://www.youtube.com/user/mattjabbar

[Anonymous No.2873849]

>>2873836
It is impossible to make a painting that doesn't warp even slightly, but if it annoys you, you should try stretching the paper first.
Google watercolor paper stretching.
Or, you can buy those expensive watercolor paper blocks.

[Anonymous No.2873850]

>>2873836
Dunno
All I can say is use watercolor paper and use less water

[Anonymous No.2873851]

>>2873836
Buy rag paper and try sizing it.

[Anonymous No.2873860]

>>2873849
I'll look into stretching.
It's really the money that keeps me down right now.
Maybe I should just start putting money aside for drawing and painting materials.

>>2873851
I've never heard of that desu.

[Anonymous No.2873875]

>>2873836
I think you basically have to embrace that it will cost some money and buy some good watercolor paper. The heaviest non-watercolor paper I have is truly awful for watercolor, so I've finally committed and ordered some of the real shit. I get my paper from dickblick, it's the best prices I've been able to find so far. I got "Strathmore Ready Cut Watercolor Sheets" in 5x7 and 8x10 size to try out. I also got a pack of Bee Paper 100% cotton 6x9 sheets for about $16 on Amazon.

There are also Canson XL watercolor pads that are NOT cotton, but are watercolor weight. You can get 30 9x12 sheets for under $6 usually.

Something I've also done to save money on watercolor paper in the long run is get a lightbox. I do all my sketching on cheaper paper, and once I have finalized lines blocked in I can lightly trace them onto the watercolor paper and not have any erasing smudges.

Oh, and as for taping/stretching, I usually tape my sheet to a piece of cardboard. Tape all sides. I use a cheap roll of painter's tape. If you plan to use a lot of water you can stretch the sheet as well (as the other anon said, google it for a video).

If either of the paper types I try turn out to be shit, I'll report back.

[Anonymous No.2874606]

>>2873836
Just because a paper is thick - or even expensive, for that matter - doesn't mean it's suitable for watercolor.
You don't have to get the super expensive 100% cotton kind, some beginners find that hard to handle anyway, but do get something that actually says watercolor paper on the front. Doesn't really matter too much which one, the cheaper watercolor papers are all rather similar, but the Canson XL >>2873875 recommended isn't too bad and usually fairly affordable.
A lot of people like Canson Montval a lot, as far as inexpensive papers go, but it costs a bit more than the XL.

I know even the prices for these can seem like a lot if you aren't used to spending money on paper, but you're just not going to enjoy watercoloring without a paper that's actually made for it.

[Anonymous No.2874623]

>>2873875
Woah.... Please good human tell me how and where I can get a:
> 30 9x12 sheets for under $6 usually. (Canson XL)

That shit is like 50 bucks here at michael's. I have been buying the strathmore 300 series watercolor paper when it goes on sale for about 18 $ for 12 sheets. Arches is basically 100$ for a 20 sheet pack.

WC is so expensive haha


>Something I've also done to save money on watercolor paper in the long run is get a lightbox. I do all my sketching on cheaper paper, and once I have finalized lines blocked in I can lightly trace them onto the watercolor paper and not have any erasing smudges.

This is a good tip. Alternatively once I get the printer I have been lusting for (Epson Artisan 1430) I am going to just scan my cheap paper line work and then print it directly on WC paper and go from there. (Or light box it but I am in a no usable window basement, and don't have a box yet. Though I am sure I could make one)

[Anonymous No.2874689]

>>2870203
I like it a lot, Anon. Love the colors

[Anonymous No.2874721]

A little watercolor sketch I did today. Just used my phone camera so the image quality socks a little but I just wanted to share.

[Anonymous No.2874726]

>>2874721
Also I'm realizing the color is pretty washed out in the picture.

[Anonymous No.2874763]

>>2874721
Dude looks fairly decent, though his hands are a bit small and the one holding the pen doesn't read well because the fingerstips are as dark as the clothing. I get the impression that you're a lot better at drawing faces than any of the rest.
Candle holder is pretty sloppy. Background value is too light and doesn't get darker where it's further away from the light source but the guy does, so that doesn't work well together.

I do think you did a good job with the contrast on the man, especially the fabric - too many people don't go dark enough when using watercolor.

[Anonymous No.2874775]

Thread still alive? Pretty fuckn wet. 36"x48" oil, "Hunting Party Under Trees"

[Anonymous No.2874777]

>>2874775
Balls. Mobile. Fixed image

[Anonymous No.2874801]

>>2874763
Thanks for quality feedback. I'm brand new to any kind of painting so I'll keep what you mentioned in mind.

[Anonymous No.2874837]

very first thing I've ever done with watercolor that wasn't dollar store watercolors on notebook paper when I was 8. No idea what I'm doing but I'd like to get better.

[Anonymous No.2874904]

>>2873144
Maybe look at some of Peter Sheeler's videos, he basically just films himself doing watercolor works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGpUnnKSpn0

Not really instructional but I think you can learn a lot from observing.

[Anonymous No.2874916]

>>2874904
I love this guy's stuff, so simple but he just has such a mastery over these fast little landscapes and its really entertaining to watch him paint

[Anonymous No.2874918]

>>2874623
Amazon will have Canson XL watercolor for under $6 at times (You have to put it in your cart and watch it like a hawk for a good price. Use camelcamelcamel or any other site like it to see the usual price fluctuations). But after shopping on a few different art sites, DickBlick.com pretty much always comes out on top for paper prices. The Canson XL watercolor 30 sheet (9x12) is currently $4.99 on there. The downside of DickBlick is you have to pay shipping, but I save up my money and buy art supplies in bulk to get free shipping (usually $45).

[Anonymous No.2875027]

>>2874763
Started redoing it, I have to get some sleep for work so I'm taking a break but here is where I'm at right now. Does it look like I'm headed in the right direction?

[Anonymous No.2875028]

>>2875027
Forgot image, I'm a fuckhead>>2874763

[Anonymous No.2875097]

did this still life a while ago

[Anonymous No.2875105]

It is not ready besides the Background. It also looks darker in real.

[AL No.2875106]

Second hack at oil painting. Worth selling or trash can? I know nothing about art.

[Anonymous No.2875186]

>>2875106
trash

[Anonymous No.2875200]

>>2875106
What am I looking at?

[Anonymous No.2875210]

this is the best thread on IC right now...

[Anonymous No.2875339]

>>2862175
Heya, anyone make there own paints? buying a glass muller and slab. I found shop bought oils to be shit expensive and filled with filler and zinc white and shit.
Planning on making oils with linseed and pigment and adding a little beeswax dissolved in turps (about 2%). 1:3 parts (wax/turps)
Little worried about dropping so much money on this (about £200) being a broke student.

[Anonymous No.2875343]

>>2875339
Also, thinking about getting better canvas?
I'm going to stick with cotton, linen is too much.
Anyone tried halfchalk over simple acrylic Gesso primer? Ive heard its good but Im not sure its worth the effrot to simply buying sized canvas and priming it with acrylic gesso.

[Anonymous No.2875388]

>>2873849
Anon could always get a full sheet, cut it down to even sized pieces, clamp them down, and use acid-free glue to seal most of it to make their own block. Hot glue works as well as a quicker option, but I'm not familiar with it myself.

>>2873875
Strathmore's "Ready Cut" and Bee's lower cost watercolour sheets are pretty much interchangeable with each other. It's a decent enough cheap paper to practice how to handle 100% cotton papers. Strathmore also has another 500 series watercolour paper, that is supposed to be similar to the other artist grade brands of paper. It's hard to find at a good price, so I haven't gotten a chance to try that one.

>>2874623
Don't use Michaels or related craft stores for that kind of shit. Even with coupons, they are still overpriced compared to other vendors.

>>2874837
It is pretty much babby's first watercolour picture that everyone goes through, don't sweat it. Right now, you should focus on learning on what the watercolours you are using will do for you. Strathmore 300 series watercolour paper is a lot like rough from other brands instead of cold press. Keep that in mind if you feel like the paper texture is a bit of a problem for you.

[Anonymous No.2875397]

>>2875210
I agree. I'm very impressed about the amount of effortposting on this thread.

[Anonymous No.2875406]

>>2875339
There was discussion earlier in the thread about fabricating paint. Aside from the binder, most of that information should still apply. Have you tried to check out a hardware store, or similar places, for the glass slab? Those posts also mentioned muller substitutes, but honestly that is only a temporary & cheap fix. The lowest price I've seen for a glass muller was from kremer pigments ($33 USD), with other prices shooting up well above $50 USD.

[Anonymous No.2875409]

>>2875397
Me too, its almost as if traditional painters put in more sweat then digital artists...

[Anonymous No.2875416]

>>2875388
>Anon could always get a full sheet, cut it down to even sized pieces, clamp them down, and use acid-free glue to seal most of it to make their own block
hmm, I might try this myself

>Strathmore also has another 500 series watercolour paper
I've been using the 400 series and I've found that it's already pretty good and handles better than the hot press fabriano studio. It also doesn't gobble up paint like arches.

[Anonymous No.2875420]

>>2875416
Strathmore 400 series is probably the best of the cellulose/wood pulp papers desu

[Anonymous No.2875433]

There's still a few issues I know but I'm actually pretty happy with this.

[Anonymous No.2875435]

>>2875406
>>2875339
Oops, also the slab might need to be roughed up a bit, or sub'd out completely for something like marble or granite. I'm sure there could be other sources of information found, but here are some YT links. Hope they have some segments you can pick from there to help you out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cUDDQt7xfs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6DnfIIYXU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLHrajfsT0c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-VXS--592I

[Anonymous No.2875453]

>>2875435
Yeah, ive done a workshop in it. And mostly want to do it to reach a better purity of pigments.
I think according to the numbers it saves money on the long run but Im not sure if somehow artists quality paints are better? Im planning on droping £70 oh a decent slab and muller
http://www.turnersartshop.co.uk/glass-mixing-slab-6mm-4411-p.asp

http://www.turnersartshop.co.uk/professional-glass-muller-small-4412-p.asp

I estimated I can save £50/£100 per kilo on umber and around £100/£200 (depending on ratio of linseed+pigment) against standard Windsor and newton.
I'm just worried they might be shit. Im trying out my burnt umber+Ultramarine mix and Pure ultramrine in studio to see how it handles and so far it seems fine, if not better. It takes alot better to turps and seems to 'shine' slightly more. It even handles better on the brush.

[Anonymous No.2875454]

>>2875453
(that was ment to say (£100/£200) on ultramarine per kilo.)

[Anonymous No.2875470]

>>2874837
You seem to be drybrushing all of it.
Watercolors are meant to be wet, try not to use them like colored pencils, be bold and get that brush wet. Maybe try painting smaller at first so you don't run out of paint?

Anyways, I painted this quick thing to kind of show you some things you can try.
It's not amazing, but hopefully it still serves as a useful comparison. It was done with cheap watercolors (Koi field set ftw), so theoretically, you could do this.
The sky was painted wet into wet. I started by getting the sky area thoroughly wet with clear water while the blue was being prewetted. I then dipped my brush into the blue and dabbed it on the wet paper. You can see on the right, I dried my brush off before picking up some more paint, resulting in a more controlled and concentrated blob. I would've done it to the left side, but the paint had already begun to dry.
This isn't the only way to paint the sky. You could, for example, just paint a flat wash and avoid painting over clouds, or 'erase' areas using a paper towel. I just like wet into wet because of the soft/hard edge contrast it creates with the rest of the shapes.

I tried picking harmonious colors. I attempted this by mixing some of the blue I used for the sky into some sap green (I think yellowy greens are more natural, but it's just a personal bias). I also tried making the flowers more yellow to match the yellowy grass (fits okay but looks a little odd in retrospect).
I also wanted to emphasize the flowers, so I made the bark unsaturated.

Hot tip: Use other colors to add shadows. A cheap trick I like do is using straight blue on non-blue objects (I say 'blue' because I'm not sure what blue I used here. Cobalt?).
To add a bit of actual light science in here, blue skies make shadows blue. And color theory: repeating colors help to tie things together.
Normies love colorful shadows too, so no more of this "adding more of the same color to make shadows" nonsense.

Hope this helps a bit.

[Anonymous No.2875559]

>>2875453
Unless your pigment supplier is lying to you, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. Even less worry if the supplier is an art supply place who handles these kinds of things. You can always perform your own tests at home, or additionally research into what actual manufacturers are putting into their paints if you are really concerned with the pigment/end result of homemade paint.
Asked in the other post, but have you looked at non-art suppliers with some of your materials to see if it will help save you money?

A lot of other thoughts, but again, some of the shit from earlier in the thread could still be helpful to you. You just have to sift through it and apply it to your own situation.

>>2869397
>weigh the cost versus actual paints made by companies.
>It is a lot of shit involved to making your own paints, but you need to consider your time & energy on top of the financial costs too.

[Anonymous No.2875649]

>>2875433
Big improvement compared to the earlier version, keep it up anon.

[Anonymous No.2875943]

Just made a painting/study trying to master some basic watercolor skills. The main focus this time was creating a nice flat wash around complex shapes. Oh man did I fuck up. Some things I did wrong. I used only a size 4 and 2 round brush for everything. I now realize they didn't hold enough paint... I should have also used a filbert or something too. To make matters worse some of it was a mix of water color paint and others were doc PH martian's Hydrus concentrated watercolor. (which I have now learned behaves VERY differently than I expected.) It is particularly difficult to make washes with unless you water it down. Even further certain colors have different consistencies.


I had really neat quasi perspective lines but then went over them with brush pen and completely lost any quality they had before. (I should have taken a picture of the line art first but fucked up there too)

*Sigh* as soon as the painting is dry I will upload a picture of it for you to have a good chuckle over.

I do feel I learned a bit, but keeping the water bead going is almost feels impossible with this many shapes to work around. I am embarrassed to say I think I spent close to 3 hours making this too. Its only about 5"X11". I used the Strathmore 300 series watercolor paper.

It kept feeling like the paint and pigment was sinking in too much so I went back over it and of course that fucks things up worse because it either added more color or lifted it. Just not a good time.

tl;dr Perfectly flat washes are harder than they seem when working around things. Pic will be posted shortly.

[Anonymous No.2875960]

>>2875943
Here is the offending painting.

[Anonymous No.2875975]

>>2875470
>>2874837
Interesting, I did exactly the same thing, as I was practicing trees a few days ago.
For those that remember, or are willing to scroll up a bit, I'm the guy who bought a cheap Winsor & Newton box for 10 euros, I also bought a better brush a couple of days ago, I'm really happy with that.

Anyway, I tried a similar sketch, multiple times, still not quite happy though as I often work too impatiently and I feel like I went over some spots way too often with the brush.
The first is at the top and the last at the bottom, I only used 3 colours, burnt umber, ultramarine and viridian hue.
Though I'm not quite happy with the decision of the green, as viridian hue is quite blueish I think it would've been better if I used sap green.

All in all, it was fun, I'm really enjoying this way of painting, it really forces you to think things through and carefully apply it to the paper.

[Anonymous No.2875998]

>>2875975
Also, what would be the best way to transfer these paintings to the digital world?
In the previous post was a picture taken with my potato phone camera, I have also scanned it and that is included with this post.
The colours appear very different, though the scanned version does look more like the original.

[Anonymous No.2876067]

>>2869397
>>2875559
Me>>2875453
I don't know How I missed this post. But looking at those pigments they dont look milled and the quality is debatable. I was talking to a professional gallery represented painter and he reccomded this as the standard of good quality pigments.
This is where I am getting my prices from.
https://www.cornelissen.com/pigments-gums-and-resins/artists-quality-pigments-yellows.html
Very respected art dealer in london.
I've bought two bags so far, cheap and great quality. I can show the paints I have made in comparision to shop bought if anyone is interested? (no beeswax in my paint yet. Just linseed+pigment.)

[Anonymous No.2876069]

>>2875975
In terms of composition, the second one is the best because the cloud's shape leads the viewers eye towards the tree and the tree leans towards the clouds.

Here's a video on the topic of greens that might be helpful to you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0uFVw3B-us

[Anonymous No.2876076]

>>2876069
Thanks, that video is really interesting, I'm going to have to try that.
He makes it seem so easy and loose, I fear that I'm not intuitive enough and want to stick to the lines and shapes I've thought out beforehand.
That's definitely something I need to work on.

[Anonymous No.2876087]

>>2876076
I think when practicing watercolor it's important to not be afraid to mess up. A lot comes down to using the right amount of water and having good timing, so failing and figuring out what not to do is essential.
When I started out, my paintings were horribly inconsistent in quality because sometimes I got lucky and othertimes, not so much. So don't let that discourage you, you'll figure it out eventually if you keep at it.

[Anonymous No.2876101]

>>2876087
I think I can overcome it, I have a lot of fun with watercolor right now so even if I do mess up, it doesn't frustrate me too much, I really do my best to see every mistake as a learning opportunity.

[Anonymous No.2876156]

>>2875943
>>2875960
It's still pretty impressive that you were able to make a decent section of wash with tiny-ass brushes. But yeah, you might want some larger brushes, maybe even a mop brush.
I know that struggle with maintaining the pool of paint. Usually if I start running out of paint, I just add water to the remaining paint, resorting to a graded wash instead.
I heard that wetting the area beforehand can also help with making a flat wash.

About the colors, you should test them on paper before you use them. Watercolors tend to dry lighter as well.

[Anonymous No.2876349]

>>2876067
>they dont look milled
Ignore the plastic spoon in the bag; red pigment is the "cosmetic-grade" one, yellow pigment is from Williamsburg (art supplier). If anything (& because of the industry it is for), the CG pigment could be considered to be "too smooth". The Williamsburg pigment is gritty enough, and needs to be properly grinded down with a muller or some /diy/ equivalent.

>and the quality is debatable
I don't know about that. Non-toxic products are needed in that industry, as those colorants are going to be used on skin (eyelids, lips, etc). The extra step of getting nasty shit out (varies per pigment) is why CG pigment is labeled the way it is. It probably helps that these are mostly synthetics being processed too.

It was probably in the other posts earlier, but I have a lot of this shit leftover from cosmetics work from years ago along with a shitton of mica products. I might as well make use of them as best as I could. They worked well enough as resin colorants, and are working so far for watercolour. Lightfast tests are only a few days in, so I have to wait for a long time to see what happens with that. I'll try to get some other picture swatches up of what I have from the handmade shit. I don't have many manufacturer-made versions of the pigments to help compare, which I kind of want to check out eventually. PR101 was pretty surprising to me when I swatched that one out.

>professional recommending professional products
It really makes me think. Seriously, it's not much of a surprise to get a response like that. If it sounds like I am advocating using these as total replacements, my apologies. It is really up to one's own judgement after testing & getting the information they need before choosing what will be comfortable to use. I would just recommend to shop around, as you'll never know what quality item you'll find at a decent price - this goes for a lot of things though.

As an aside, that site you linked to has PB33 for sale fuggg

[Anonymous No.2876362]

>>2876349
I have to wait a while for it to be fully dry, and I have other shit to do. However, here's a quickie for PB29. Sennelier French Ultramarine Blue has PV15 included in that paint; my handwriting isn't very clear to see it.

[Anonymous No.2876390]

wip

[Anonymous No.2876443]

>>2876390
What medium, acrylic?

[Anonymous No.2876462]

>>2876443
Oils

[Anonymous No.2876525]

>>2876362
Wow, from tests like these I can always see how shit and watery W&N are. You seem to have a greater background then me in this.Its hard to tell from the photo but while the home made has a deeper colour the selliner has a "richness" too it? But I will definetly have to look into that sight because the prices are fantastic. Since being a student Id really take a slight dip in "excellance" if it accounts to a huge saving and still looks "good."
I'd love to talk more my knowledge on pigment is limited and I really want to learn more.
Can add on steam or just email?

[Anonymous No.2876706]

>>2876525
Sorry about the quality, senpai. Ran around during the day, and unfortunately with the sun down I'll have to wait before trying to get another one taken (and adjust size in an image editor).

>Wow, from tests like these I can always see how shit and watery W&N are
The Winsor & Newton paint seemed like it granulated better than the others. Is it because of the ox gall content in their watercolour that turns you off to that brand?

>the selliner has a "richness" too it
When that paint is fresh, it is pretty lively. It is another brand aside from M. Graham that is known to have honey in its mix. I cannot say for sure if that is the reason though, as I have no experience with that other brand to see if it was similar. Mind of Watercolor linked earlier in >>2876069 uses M. Graham as their favourite, so maybe it could help to translate how that sort of paint works/looks.

You definitely do not want to be wasting money while you are doing the school thing, but please consider absolutely every aspect of making the type of paint you want vs buying it outright. Would it even be more cost effective vs a "cheaper" artist grade paint, for example? Safety is to also be accounted for; you don't want these fine powders going into anyone's body, or your own.

Quite honestly, I don't know if I have much knowledge left aside from shit posted here. There's always handprint, janeblundellart, wetcanvas, and other sites for much more detailed pigment information. I forget if that artist's site is only aimed at one medium only though. YouTube is a decent information source too, after you dig through the bullshit of course.

[Anonymous No.2876813]

>>2875960
So I went to a local art store today and wanted to get a larger flat brush for washes. I bought this 3/4 synthetic blue squirrel for 20 bucks and it is HORRIBLE! Like totally useless.Its like painting with a floppy stick.

I am so upset. I was so energized all day and for some reason this totally took the wind out of my sail :(

Should I try and take it back or what can I do/ what should I save up for next ?

I even used brush cleaner so it shouldn't be sizing or anything right?

The brush is a H. J. Kazan Gold Series 300B 3/4

(In the picture I included the brush bristles just go to whatever shape and then stay there. In the included picture the brush is held sideways and the bristles are sticking up that way after completing a stroke. Defying gravity. :( :( )

[Anonymous No.2876822]

Yo I'm trying to get into oils after working with acrylics for 8 years or so and I want a good Ultramarine Blue. Is 'French Ultramarine' a good choice?

[Anonymous No.2876838]

>>2876822
Ultramarine Deep (or French Ultramarine) is your standard ultramarine blue, a little deeper and warmer than Ultramarine Light, but tbqh you're not likely to notice the difference unless you're comparing both.

Rembrandt's Ultramarine Deep is slightly oily but it's the nicest shade of it I've found desu.

[Anonymous No.2876854]

>>2876838
Okay neat! I'm used to mixing Ultramarine Blue with Burnt Umber for a nice chromatic dark rather than using tube blacks so I wanted to make sure that French Ultramarine was acceptable

[Anonymous No.2876886]

>>2876813
Squirrel brushes are supposed to be very soft and malleable.
Next time, look for the keywords: synthetic, nylon/taklon, snap/spring. And ask to test out the brush beforehand if it is expensive.
Return the brush if you can.

It's easy to find cheap brushes that hold well. I've been using taklon brushes. They are very firm, cheap, and don't shed like crazy. I got some big princeton snap brushes for really cheap in a buy one get two sale which are pretty nice.

[Anonymous No.2876911]

>>2876886
I get that they are supposed to be soft. But this is like plastic. The bristles bend and then just stay that way. That doesn't seem right.

Next time I will go for a different kind.

What are some good synthetic brushes for flat washes?

[Anonymous No.2876963]

>>2876911
I've never used squirrel, so I can't tell you if that behaviour is normal or not (though for some fibers it's normal not to snap back into shape), but "feels like plastic" sounds like you might not have washed out the glue properly that is used to keep the bristles in shape in the store? Make sure to use cold water, some fibers don't take well to being washed too hot.

[Anonymous No.2876965]

>>2876911
It is softer even when considering it is for watercolour; you can't be pushing down on it so hard. Where the fuck did you find this? I don't see that brand name on Blick or Jerry's, but on some (presumably) mom & pop site called "bijansartstudio". Was that the place? Actually though, that site lists the brush as a 100% synthetic. The other synthetic that mimics squirrel hair is Princeton Neptune. I can tell you that they are most definitely not on the level of softness of even a blended squirrel/synthetic brush. They still have some amount of softness, but can get back to its shape with little effort.

You probably got the shit end of the stick though with the brand.

[Anonymous No.2876966]

>>2876911
real squirrel brush works that way, I have 3 of them real stuff. you sacrifice point for water carrying capacity.

[Anonymous No.2877016]

>>2876965
>>2876966
>>2876963
I got it at a local art store Blue Island Print co. I could have just got a sapphire or gumbacher academy but no I had to go with the odd ball :(

http://artstore.islandblue.com/collections/watercolour-brushes

They don't actually list the brush on their store. Being in Canada and living on an island mean I usually just go for what is local when it comes to supplies, but there is really no reason not to just order brushes online beyond that I can't feel them and decide if I like them in store.

From the sounds of it I would be better served by a basically gold tacklon kind of deal. I want a good point, and snap.

[Anonymous No.2877386]

An afternoon's work.

[Anonymous No.2877443]

>>2877386
Do you use any medium, or paint srtaight from tube?
What kind of bristles? Support/basecoat?

Love it, though it's hard to tell what it is. is it a succulent? With just a little more tight detail in a couple spots this would be top tier.

[Anonymous No.2877445]

>>2877443
Just read the filename, IAVD

[Anonymous No.2877457]

>>2877016
Guess you really ended up unlucky, sorry anon. Did you get any feedback from staff at the store you went to about it? How about finding any others who might use those brushes?
As long as the synthetic you go for is specifically made to use for watercolours, you should hopefully be okay next time. Are you able to find a way to re-purpose that current brush so it won't be a total waste of your time/money?

[Anonymous No.2877473]

>>2877443
It's oils, with brushes, and yeah the subject's a succulent, I'm going to be painting a lot more of them, for a project. This was just a rough first go, only took 3 hours.

[Anonymous No.2877474]

>>2877443
I was going to consider it finished but I'm willing to make some minor alterations (I hate labouring at pieces like Brian does), what details would you suggest?

[Anonymous No.2877514]

>>2867467
Find a cheap book at a used book store, it will explain some techniques that you may not do on your own, you can them try them and use them as you see fit

it's like putting tools in your tool shed, now you have more tools (techniques) for what you are working on

[Anonymous No.2877777]

I'll post this here because my method is to do a mock up in blender for perspective and lighting then put it into oil, I would like opinions on the following:

1) What do you think of the overall concept? It's meant to be the entrance into a castle, the implication being that they jumped over the broken bridge and left some of their torches in the holders before entering.
2) What kind of stone should I render the walls in? I was thinking sandstone because it would create a nice warm effect, but I was also considering concrete to make it look more drab

[Anonymous No.2877780]

>>2877777
Nice quints

>the implication being that they jumped over the broken bridge and left some of their torches in the holders before entering
I would not have guess that from looking at the image

[Anonymous No.2877836]

>>2877457
That is the feeling I am left with at the moment. To people at the store were not very helpful. He basically told me I don't need a sable brush for washes and that it is over kill. Then started point out cheap flat brushes. I told him I have some W&N series 7 at home and can appreciate a quality brush (because I have found it is better just to buckle down and get a good one than mess around with 6 different cheaper ones till you find the one you want. Often spending more in the long rung trying to get the nice one.)

Anyway I have found that if I REALLY soak the brush and make my strokes lightly holding the handle vertical it actually will work ok. But the amount of paint I am going to go through this way/the opacity of the wash could be an issue. I am going to do more experiments later. I have some pieces planned for tonight that I might try the brush with to lay down an initial sky wash or something.


>>2877514
https://www.amazon.ca/Complete-Watercolorists-Essential-Notebook-experimentation/dp/1440309051

This book is pretty helpful. Though a lot of the art is sort of "mall art" like the author does explain fundamentals but most of his work seems very much like he just created a more elaborate form of symbol painting.

I can't accurately reproduce everything in the book yet though so I should not judge.

If you look you can likely find it online.

[Anonymous No.2877844]

>>2877777
>2) What kind of stone should I render the walls in?

If you can manage it i think marble in an otherwise dark bridge crossing with the shadowed crosses would be cool.

I would also have just thought the torches were there. The broken bridge isn't really reading well from the render but you can figure that out in 2D.

[Anonymous No.2877868]

>>2877777
>do a mock up in blender for perspective and lighting then put it into oil
That's actually a pretty good idea.

[Anonymous No.2879071]

One of my last two oils.
I can't get on with canvas.

[Anonymous No.2879073]

And the other one.
On board this time.

[Anonymous No.2879161]

One of my favorites

[Anonymous No.2879173]

One i did last year acrylic

[Anonymous No.2879185]

>>2879071
>>2879073
Both show fantastic use of colour, if a little lacking in detail, though this may just be an artefact of the picture.

>>2879161
I really like it.

>>2879173
Very nice, looks very sellable.

[Anonymous No.2879194]

>>2879173
this would look great on a huge canvas

[Anonymous No.2879449]

I have no experience with acrylics but just like van gogh style wat think

[Anonymous No.2879607]

>>2879449
Brush strokes could be longer, and the sky could perhaps be a little less turbulent, but you have really got the style, keep it up, nice work.

[Anonymous No.2879678]

>>2879449
you really need to use different sized brushes and different lenght brush strokes for this style. the green part is so confusing, zero sense of depth

[Anonymous No.2879703]

>>2876069
Tried to stick with a limited palette, again and now trying to mix greens like demonstrated in the video, it's fun, I do feel more in control in terms of light and darkness.

But damn, this is so hard, the unforgiving nature of watercolour is really difficult to handle as an ultranoob like myself.
I really feel like I'm not going to make it, I wanted to paint today but my head just felt so empty and out of energy.

[Anonymous No.2879705]

How did grimshaw

-paint moonlit clouds? interrupted radial gradient?

-paint details like brickwork, muddy ground?

allegedly he worked really quickly. How the fuck can one paint mud like that really quickly?

[Anonymous No.2879719]

>>2879705
He literally photo bashed. At least at times.
see near the end of this article.

https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/atkinson-grimshaw-mystery-in-the-moonlight/

[Anonymous No.2879727]

I'll try again with that knowledge much thanks

[Anonymous No.2879729]

>>2862912
Finish it!

[Anonymous No.2879989]

>>2879703
There are brands of paint that do not contain certain ingredients (such as ox gall) in order to help reduce the flow. While it isn't total control compared to other mediums, it is an option that exists without completely abandoning watercolour entirely. Holbein comes to mind as one such company. I have heard the same thing be applied to some other eastern brands, but I haven't tried anything else outside of that one to see if they share the same properties.

You have some neat stuff here, like those hard-edged shadows off that fence in the upper right sketch. Just have to loosen yourself up a bit & go with it - you aren't going to get immediately used to it. Don't worry too much about it, else you'll be stressed when you don't need to be.

[Anonymous No.2880020]

>>2879989
Thanks, I was a bit bothered but I really don't want to abandon watercolour.
I guess most of my frustration comes from not quite understanding how the paint flows and how I can control it.
So, I'm going to do some more basic stuff, flat washes, smooth transitions and other tests, back to simple shapes and shading.

Also been reading Handprint and it's so densely packed with information, I'm having a difficult time filtering out things that I'm not quite ready for.
I find the Mind of Watercolour videos quite helpful though.

[Anonymous No.2880109]

>>2880020
I just started out with watercolor yesterday and it went really well (for a first try). I think watching a bunch of Peter Sheeler videos helped me to get a grasp of the overall process of painting with watercolor. Someone linked one in thread already, but here's a link to one that I really enjoyed. Just watch how he approaches it and try to apply it to your own images.

https://youtu.be/ZWMvGOR2v3U

Good luck, anon!

[Anonymous No.2880187]

>>2879719
but what techniques did he use? Layering? Special brushes? Mediums? Brush motions?

[Anonymous No.2880375]

>>2880109
This video was helpful. I am planning on doing some simple WC in that style this week now! I will post them here.

[Anonymous No.2880427]

Newfag questions regarding this board

1. What is the general mood here? About 20 percent of people seem to be unnecessarily snarky and cruel and the other 80 percent seem decent enough

2. How long do threads last for? The ones I am used to seem to last for about an hour but these seem to go on for days

[Anonymous No.2880585]

>>2880427
Lurk more than you post. Post work, be humble, curious and accept critique.

This thread is unusually kind. We're vicious, but it's mostly just a filter to keep your average low-skill circle-jerkers too intimidated to shit the place up. Getting better requires honesty, and that feels cruel if you can't see your own mistakes yet. Don't come here for ass-pats, come for honesty to genuine cruelty. When people stop shitting on you, you can trust that you're actually making progress. Not so on tumblr, DA, Reddit, etc.

Most threads with any substance last a week. Don't start a thread for your own work until you've posted in beginner/draw/trad threads and had critique a couple times. Read the sticky, it's not a meme.

Thanks for asking.

[Anonymous No.2880725]

>>2879449
So i really appreciate the critique and realized how undefined it was. I think its still messy and i will work more with brush stroke sizes but I redid pretty much the entire thing to be more like what I initially envisioned and not just a big blob

[Anonymous No.2880728]

>>2880725
Looks miles better, well done, I'm jealous.

[Anonymous No.2880736]

>>2879071
>>2879073
NICE

[Anonymous No.2880880]

>>2880109
Yeah, I was also the one that posted that video, I find them really inspiring.

[Anonymous No.2881040]

>>2879703
>>2880020

This already looks 100% better than the previous thing you posted, so there's no reason to feel discouraged.

Watercolor is not as unpredictable or as unforgiving as it might seem now, once you have a few months of painting experience under your belt you'll be able to predict how the paints behave and how to fix mistakes.

Doing some basic exercises to figure out different techniques is a good idea, I recommend adding a color mixing chart to the list, and to look up tutorials on and experiment with lifting paint, since that's a great way save a painting if you fuck up.

Handprint is a great source of information that can be hard to come by otherwise, but it's not very beginner friendly.
Paint more than you read. The information on there will become relevant eventually.

[Anonymous No.2882192]

Pallet knife figure study.
Happy with some of the color relationships but unhappy with only having 3 hours to work on it with the model

[Anonymous No.2882236]

>>2882192
Values do the work, color gets the glory.

Your values are garbagio.

[Anonymous No.2882286]

>>2881040
Gee anon, you're making me blush.
Been doing some simple stuff the past two days, I don't have much time but I try to spend at least an hour every day on this.
One thing I immediately realised when doing flat washes was how useful gravity and working at an angle is, I usually draw and paint on flat surfaces because I don't have a proper workplace but I can still tilt my paper or canvas and let gravity do the work, it's a lot of fun.
Also tried doing some smooth transitions but that is a bit more difficult since you need to pay more attention to balancing out the water and pigment as you go.

Will try to make some colour wheels and stuff like that today and post some results later, since I haven't had time to scan in anything.

Anyway, the flat washes exercises are a good boost for motivation, since it's not that difficult but the results are very satisfying.

[Anonymous No.2883193]

>>2882192
Work with more confidence. Don't dab along to get the right shape, make a bold mark, then use a subsequent mark to "cut away" what you need to.

[Anonymous No.2883625]

>>2882286
As I said, here's some stuff I did the past few days, I really don't practice as much as I would like but I try to paint at least every single day.

Anyway, I find it really interesting how you can use gravity to get the result you want with watercolor.
How you let the water drag across the paper to create a smooth and even colour was quite mindblowing.
Gradients are still a bit difficult, I also paint outside the lines way more than I want to admit.
But these are fun exercises nonetheless.

[Anonymous No.2883626]

>>2883625
Also tried making some colour wheels with the very limited palette I have available (still the W&N cotman box), I'm really quite happy with it.
Though balancing out the colours for these wheels is also really difficult but I fear that this is one of those things that comes with time, like you gotta develop a sixth sense for "reading" colours.
So that's how I'm going to approach it in the future, just practice and make more of these.

For the following days, I want to make a few more of those wheels and practice gradients a bit more and hopefully, if I can get my figure drawing on par, I can combine it with more substantial drawings and do some actual paintting.

I also hope that by posting my progress here, others will too find joy in learning watercolour or other traditional painting techniques.

[Anonymous No.2883858]

Kind of learned that mica has its own pigment number (PW20), but a lot of different "colours" of mica fall into the category too. It's a bit weird to see gold, silver, shifting micas, etc., all lumped together.

>>2883625
>>2883626
That's the spirit, anon!

For gradients, you could always try wet-into-wet techniques: wet the page first, grab some colour, then work it into the tone you'd like. Lifting colour should be something to practice though too. With that, the paint information is important to get to know - staining paints (like pthalo blue) will be harder to get off the page compared to a paint that is less likely to stain (like manganese violet). You also want to be careful on your brush during lifting too, but that goes hand-in-hand with brush care altogether.

Which W&N Cotman set is it again, the 12 half-pan one? It uses hues mostly, but it's still good to know the pigment info. I'm trying to look it up myself, so:

>Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue (PY175, PY65)
>Cadmium Yellow Hue (PY97, PY65)
>Cadmium Red Pale Hue (PY65, PR255)
>Alizarin Crimson Hue (PR206)
>Ultramarine (PB29)
>Cobalt Blue Hue (PB29, PW5)
>Sap Green ( PY139, PG36, PR101)
>Viridian Hue (PG7)
>Yellow Ochre (PY42)
>Burnt Sienna (PR101)
>Burnt Umber (PBr7, PY42)
>Chinese White (PW5)

Use shit like handprint & Color of Art Pigment Database to check up on the rest of the info. IRL shit distracting me from continuing this; good luck.

[Anonymous No.2883897]

>>2883858
What exactly is the problem with lifting that I have to be careful about?
I am quite careful with my brush, it's my only one right now and I don't want to waste it being to careless or too violent.

As for the paint, it is indeed the 12 half-pan Cotman box.
You're almost right on the colours, off by a few, here's the list I've gotten from the side of each pan:
>Lemon Yellow Hue
>Cadmium Yellow Hue
>Cadmium Red Pale Hue
>Alizarin Crimson Hue
>Ultramarine
>Intense Blue
>Viridian Hue
>Sap Green
>Yellow Ochre
>Burnt Sienna
>Burnt Umber
>Chinese White

As for the numbers, there's two numbers on each pan and none of them seem to match what you've posted, for example:
Cadmium Yellow Hue:
0301109
KD181093828

I have no idea what they mean or how I can use this info to my advantage just yet.

[Anonymous No.2883921]

>>2883897
Potential damage to the paper. You can get more leeway with some brands of watercolour papers, but it is still not good to end up overworking a spot.

Product information must has been from an alternate version sold via Amazon. W&N site didn't help much aside from provide pigment numbers for each (Cotman) colour. Lemon Yellow Hue is PY175, and Intense Blue is PB15. Does the set not list the pigment numbers anywhere? Those are much more important to identify pigments than those obscure product numbers. It'd be different if those two you provided were similar to constitution numbers with searching to get more information. Those product numbers don't even offer anything helpful in a search engine, if at all.

http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/waterfs.html
http://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html

Like I said in the other post, you search on those sites & look up the properties of the pigment(s) you'll be working with and how they'll perform for you (lift, staining, transparency/opacity, permanence). As far as the mixed pigment paints go, you'll probably have to look up that specific product itself for information elsewhere.

[Anonymous No.2883925]

>>2883921
Oops
>As far as the mixed pigment paints go, you'll probably have to look up that specific product itself for information elsewhere.
Only saying that due to having to do that exactly or try to add up what each pigment does and how it has an effect on the blend

[Anonymous No.2883932]

opinions? thoughts? crits?

[Anonymous No.2883992]

>>2883897
Basically, there is an index that gives numbers to pigments. The same pigment behaves the same regardless of which company you buy it from (oddball exceptions aside), so you can tell a lot about how your paint will behave if you know the pigment that has been used.
If you have the number (always starts with a p for pigment), you can look up information about the pigment's properties online, like how easy it lifts, if it granulates (texture), and so on.

For example, ultramarine blue lifts more easily than the other blue in your set, so if you want to create clouds by lifting paint, ultramarine is a better choice for painting the sky.
On the other hand, if you want to have a very smooth area without any texture, or build up lots of layers without having to worry about messing up the previous layer, then your intense blue will be better.

Artist quality paint has the pigment information on the packaging and on the company website. Some companies do the same for their student grade paints, but those are often only found online. These tables are usually in the "download" section.

With all that said... I painted for months before I even knew about handprint, so if this sounds like more information than you can handle right now, don't let it worry you too much either.
Just keep in mind that it's normal for different colors to behave differently, and then once you want to know something specific, you can look it up.

[Anonymous No.2884016]

>>2883897
>>2883992

Just to clarify: the reason why painters often have to rely on pigment numbers instead of just color names is that companies like to get a little bit more creative with their names than they should. Or they name paints made with modern pigments after historic ones because of marketing.

[Anonymous No.2884046]

>>2883992
>The same pigment behaves the same regardless of which company you buy it from (oddball exceptions aside)
Ultramarine (PB29) & synthetic red oxide (PR101) come to mind. That's crazy that some of the more "common" palette colours used by many different places can have a lot of variance. Adding that on to companies fuckin' around with the little things for brand awareness is just a huge confusing mess.

>I painted for months before I even knew about handprint, so if this sounds like more information than you can handle right now, don't let it worry you too much either.
Yes, this... knowing some things here & there about how a medium performs helps in the learning process. However, researching ingredients much more in-depth is probably an activity more suited for non-beginners/non-hobbyists

[Anonymous No.2884183]

>>2883921
>Does the set not list the pigment numbers anywhere?
Nowhere at all, it only came with a booklet that provided all the abailable cotman colours but that didn't have any numbers either.

>>2883921
>>2883992
>>2884016
I understand it a bit now, it's all a bit more logical than I thought, names are merely useful for easily identifying paints but kinda useless if you are very specific in the kind of colour you want.
I definitely noticed some big differences between colours, especially the Ultramarine and Intense Blue, I take it that it's important to note these little differences and qualities in paints down, for better understanding how each paint and pigment works and is best suitable for a job.

'Paint more than you read' makes more and more sense the more I read.
I just hope I don't become a pigment snob in the future.

[Anonymous No.2884281]

>>2884183
>I just hope I don't become a pigment snob in the future.
Fuck, there's a bunch of colours that I still like that are considered by most as piss poor for various reasons. Some of the questionable colours that uses dyes like Opera are still very pretty to me. There's also painting something with the intent to reproduce; selling the copies as prints rather than the original. I'd reckon that it isn't too much of an issue in that regard.

It gets into a bad situation when original paintings are involved. Other variables exists within that, and it's not so easy to give quick thoughts like the above. Those who are in the field of art restoration might have stronger opinions about it.

[Anonymous No.2884661]

>>2884183
>I definitely noticed some big differences between colours, especially the Ultramarine and Intense Blue, I take it that it's important to note these little differences and qualities in paints down, for better understanding how each paint and pigment works and is best suitable for a job.

Yes. Pigments show their unique attributes very strongly in watercolor, I think that's part of what makes it so unpredictable to a beginner. When you have more experience you'll be able to use that to your advantage and it becomes one of the mediums strengths.

>I just hope I don't become a pigment snob in the future.

Oddly enough, many watercolorists really enjoy that side of the medium. Probably why handprint exists - that guy just got real excited about the chemical properties of paint.

[Anonymous No.2884673]

>>2884046
I think mineral pigments are the most likely to vary in behaviour. Probably because of differences between synthetic and natural versions, and differences between natural versions depending on where they were dug up (different impurities?).
Imo, Pbr7 is actually one of the worst offenders in this, they may all be earth tones, but having three of the most used colors go under the same pigment number is hella confusing.

I haven't seen a lot of variety in ultramarine blues though, only weird ones I can think of are genuine Lapis Lazuli paints, and that's probably because they use low quality stones - a really high quality natural ultramarine wouldn't be very different from a synthetic one, just extremely expensive.

[Anonymous No.2885136]

>>2884673
Oh yeah, the siennas & umbers and a lot of other shit from that pigment being cooked up in different ways. I like burnt sienna, and raw umber is okay, but admittedly I don't pay much attention to other versions of the pigment. That one was a real touchy subject to some here: http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1415269.html

As far as PB29, its hard for me to see those minute differences. I'm sure it will show up better in mixes, like using a green shade vs a red shade ultramarine - the paint on its own is another story. PR101 was a lot more drastic from what I've used from it so far; both with the wet paints and the colour after drying.

It would be nice to someday get an assortment of natural colorants to use. The closest thing to that I've gotten to use was carmine; it was an ok sort of red I guess. Not very vegan-friendly to those who give a shit about that, and is closer to dyes than pigments. Out of all of them, I'd like to try actual Lapis paint someday. Fra Angelico maybe not so much, because of what you mentioned. The damn price being so high (but understandable as to why) and honestly because synthetic ultramarine is cheap as fuck if I wanted the colour to be bright. Ultramarine Ash or a lesser grade would be fun, though the DS primatek is the most affordable version & is already a complete watercolour. Azurite and chrysocolla pigments look nice too, maybe some other shit featured on masterpigments or kremerpigments.
The more toxic items might be of concern, especially raw pigment versions. I get reminded of that shit with green potatoes & apple seeds where one would have to consume a fuckton of it before feeling the effects of the toxin. I get it though; it depends on the living situation and the health of everyone around. Even with a full on ventilated face mask, the work area having proper ventilation itself, and keeping others away from the work area, it still might not be enough to those around to really be considered "safe".

[Anonymous No.2885142]

RIP thread, you were fun.

[Anonymous No.2885168]

>>2885142
Well, it's not quite dead yet but I wouldn't mind continuing this discussion as it's been very useful for me.

Anyway, did more colour wheels today, decided to play a bit with the layout too.
I was a bit impatient with the one on the left but it's not big deal, it's only practice after all.
I also notice that I tend to use way more pigment than I should as I'm trying to 'find' the right mix and then forget to thin it out a bit, which becomes clear on the inner circle on the right wheel.
Overall, quite satisfied, just trying out different combinations and see what it produces is really interesting.

[Anonymous No.2885261]

>>2885136
I like raw sienna, the first time I used it I was really surprised by how transparent it is. Before that, I kind of assumed all earth tones were on the opaque or semi-opaque side of things.
As for wet canvas, I haven't been around there that much. Seems like some users really know their stuff, but others sound like they just really like reading and talking about watercolor and don't have much actual experience painting.

I tried carmine myself a while ago. I really liked the pure color, but it didn't mix well at all.
I've also tried genuine Lapis Lazuli, Azurite and Malachite. The Lapis had a pretty muted color, but it was also so pale that I needed way too much paint to do anything with it, so I don't feel like it's worth the money.
Azurite and Malachite were a bit stronger, but still far from powerful mixers. Azurite's color isn't that unusual, but Malachite is quite unique imo.

I'm really curious about genuine Vermillion and it's not even that hard to find as a watercolor, but I haven't hat much luck finding information on the toxicity. It's always either "omg toxic" fear mongering from people who don't know what they're talking about, incredibly vague, or safety sheets about the raw pigment (which is of course more dangerous than a paint).

[Anonymous No.2885274]

>>2885168
Yeah, this was a surprisingly good thread, I hope we can repeat that.

>I also notice that I tend to use way more pigment than I should as I'm trying to 'find' the right mix

That's part of why I suggested to practice mixing. It helps you figure out what ratios give you the results you want, so you can mix the right color more quickly on the fly when doing an actual painting. Most people have an okay understanding of color theory in, well, theory, but applying it is always a bit of a different beast.

[Anonymous No.2885412]

>>2885274
Exactly my findings with these experiments.
I know that I can make all colours with just red, blue and yellow.
I know blue and yellow makes a green for example but knowing how the hues and pigments in your paints behave is a whole different thing.
You can mix a whole lot of greens with Lemon Yellow and Ultramarine but now try to get that one particular colour right away, that's quite a challenge but worthwhile to pursue, I'm wasting a lot of paint right now trying to get the right mix, that's not something I want to be doing when I get my hands on more expensive and high-quality paints.

Another bonus you get by doing this is that your everyday surroundings will appear more vibrant as you pay more attention to the shades and hues in the colours of the world around you.
At least, that's how I'm experiencing this.

[Anonymous No.2885513]

>>2885261
Some pigment places are nice enough to list if a mineral is containing lead/mercury/copper at the very least for their warning about the item. Would this link help you out though with vermilion?
http://www.masterpigments.com/categories/pigments/cinnabar-pigments.html

>Cinnabar is considered to be toxic because it contains mercury. Despite its toxicity, cinnabar has history in being used in traditional Chinese medicine. However it should be handled very carefully in a dry form or in a medium.

>>2885412
>>2885274
desu I'm really liking the triad of quin. rose, pthalo blue g.s., and hansa yellow medium for bright mixes. I'd want to make a more muted triad with some PR101 variant, but unsure of the other colours I should use. I'm leaning towards quin. gold for the "yellow", but could swap it out with yellow ochre for example. Cerulean Chromium might be the blue choice, but I'm not as sure as the other choices above.

[Anonymous No.2885521]

>>2885412
>Another bonus you get by doing this is that your everyday surroundings will appear more vibrant as you pay more attention to the shades and hues in the colours of the world around you.
Most definitely! I can't explain it so well myself, but analyzing things as shapes and colour becomes a faster process the more you fiddle around with art and colour as a whole.
This video is an example; might not be the best, but still:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTAL5naE9tI

[Anonymous No.2886215]

>>2885513
Not really, unfortunately, but thank you for looking it up, anon.
I know that cinnabar contains mercury, what I'm trying to find out is what that actually means in practice. Is it like cadmium or manganese pigments where the metal is technically fairly toxic but it doesn't really matter too much if you're just buying a ready to use watercolor paint, or would I have to take special precautions when painting with it? Could I still pour brush washing water down the drain or would that be a terrible idea? That's the kind of thing I've been trying and failing to find out.


For a muted blue, I really like PB60 indantherene blue, it has a nice value range. It's fairly warm though, so in combination with an earthy yellow, your greens would be limited.

[Anonymous No.2886276]

>>2885521
Definitely true.
I've noticed with enough time I can even forcefully shift my perception of colors. Nothing too dramatic like making reds green or anything. But subtle shifts usually stemming from the shadows and then flowing through the highlights etc.
really makes life more interesting but it is draining

[Anonymous No.2886499]

>>2862910
looks like Jake Gyllenhaal

[Anonymous No.2886501]

>>2864148
https://www.youtube.com/user/LenaDanya

I really like this painter, she also explains how to use oil.

[Anonymous No.2886699]

I painted 7 studies in 48 hours. Little 7x5's.
Here's one of them