Transcripts
1. Introduction: [MUSIC] Washes, not
just for laundry, they are essential for
watercolor painting. Hi, I'm Shelley, I'm Scottish painter and I
work mainly with watercolors. I like to create
other worldly things with a touch of whimsy. I love working with watercolor, but one of the things that used to fill me with dread was trying to get an even layer of
color across my page. In this class, I'm going to show you different
techniques for achieving this gorgeous effect and take the fear
off the process. It is the class I wish I had
had when I was starting out. You're going to learn
what a flat wash is, how to set yourself
up for success before you even
put brush to page, vintage and modern approaches to fill in your page
or shapes with color, how to leave unpainted spaces in an otherwise colorful page, and we're going to look at ways of working that
are right for you. Make choices based
on how you enjoy working rather than focusing on the single right
way to do it. By the end of this class, you will have developed
your own guidebook for creating beautiful
watercolor washes, describing the methods and materials that
work best for you. This class is for everyone. If you're new to watercolors, this is a great place to start. If you've been painting
for a little while now but struggled to
get that even tone, this will guide you
through a process for consistently getting
good washes of color. If you're an experienced artist, this can give you a
no pressure space to play with and explore
different wash techniques. Are you ready? Get
your supplies, and let's get started. [MUSIC]
2. Class Project: [MUSIC] Hello again. What are we going to
do in this class? We are going to make our own guidebooks to
creating flat washes. That's even blocks of
color with watercolors. We will explore different
ways of creating these flat washes from
traditional vintage methods to more modern
approaches before using these in ways you typically would when working
on a painting. The lessons are
arranged to draw on one another from an understanding of the role of gravity and wet edges to working
with water and drying time to
bring an element of control to this sometimes
unpredictable medium. Along the way, I'll
share what I've learned about working
with watercolors as well as offering
practical advice on how to get the best
out of your tools. You will need the
following materials for this class; some
watercolor paints, paper suitable for watercolor, so that's heavier paper usually around 300 grams
per square meter. You can use loose paper like
I'm doing, or a sketchbook. You'll need a pallet with wells. A ramekin or a cup
could work here too. You'll need your big brushes. Size matters than this. I'll be using a flat brush, but [inaudible]
brushes are fine too. You'll also need one or
two containers for water, masking tape, washi tape or
painter's tape is fine too. If you're using loose paper, you'll also need something
firm to tape your paper to. A bit of board or thick
cardboard would work for this. You'll need a paper
towel or a rag, a pencil, something
circular to draw around. I'm using the inside of my
masking tape and a paint pot. You might also want
a drawing tool like a hairdryer or a heat
gun to speed things up. The choices you make about
the paints, the brushes, and the paper you use will
result in a guidebook that's uniquely yours and I'd love it if you felt
willing to share. You can do this by adding a project to the
projects gallery. If you would like to share
what you've made on Instagram, please feel free to tag me so I can see what
you've made there too. I'm @shelleyskail. My aim for this
class is to give you the tools to lay down
color confidently. To find a way of working with this wild and wonderful paint
that you're comfortable with and can take
forward with you into your next
watercolor adventure. I hope you find this a fun
and enlightening class. If you've got any
questions, comments, or thoughts along the way, please post them up under
the discussion section. So are you ready for
your first lesson? Come join me there. [MUSIC]
3. Preparing Your Supplies: [MUSIC] Let's get our materials
ready to paint with. In each of the following
practical lessons, we'll need damp brushes, tape stein paper, and paint
that's ready to work with. Damp brushes will carry
the paint better than dry brushes because watercolor
is a water-based medium. Swish your brushes
around in the water for a moment and then
set them down at the side where we'll
come back to them. Whether you're using
loose or bound paper, tape around the edges. For loose paper taping it to
the board helps keep it in place but either way it
gives it neat edges. In all of these lessons will
need a little well of paint that's enough to cover the
space you're painting. Choose colors that
you love looking at. There's no right or wrong here. The exact amount of paint you'll need to mix
is tricky to say because it depends on the type and size of paper you have. But one of these
little Winsor & Newton introductory palette wells holds enough paint for my paper, which is around A5
half letter size. To get a well of paint, I either activate my pans by leaving a little
water on them or squeeze some paint out from the tube and then
mix it with water. We're going to need a
liquid consistency, we don't want it creamy. It needs to be much
more fluid than that. Once you've got your
materials prepared, come join me in the next lesson and we can start painting. [MUSIC]
4. The Vintage Flat Wash: [MUSIC] This is the
first approach to creating an even layer of color on the page I ever learned from my granny's
painting books. I don't see many people doing
this method anymore and it's not in the modern
painting books I've picked up. I think of this as a
vintage painting style. It uses gravity to keep a wet edge that allows us to cover the page without
getting drawing lines. It works best with watery mixes. Go grab your materials
and get them prepared. I'm using paint from a tube, but paint from a pan
works just as well. Once my paper is taped down, I use the roll of tape
to prop my board up. You can do the same
thing with a sketchbook. You don't need a
very steep angle. Just a little one
is enough to get the effect from gravity
that we need here as it will form a puddle or a river of paint
along the lower edge. Use a big brush. I'm using a half-inch flat
brush here to demonstrate, but typically I would use a larger brush
because I have them. Start at the top left or right, depending on which hand you use, then work in horizontal
lines across the page. Refill your brush at the
end of the line if needed, and then overlap the
previous line to ensure a smooth blend and avoid
drawing lines across the page. Repeat this process until you get to the
bottom of the page. At the bottom of the page, dry off your brush
so it's thirsty, and use it like a tiny sponge to soak up the excess paint. Once the paper and the
masking tape is dry, you can remove the tape. If your masking tape
starts to rip the paper, you can try removing it
at a 45-degree angle. If that still doesn't help, you can use a heat gun
or a hairdryer to melt the glue some more,
then try again. My paper had this really
interesting effect, which I think was to do with
the properties of the paper. I went back and used the same
technique and painted on the other side and it
produced a more even tone. This was the first time I'd
used this brand of paper, so I made myself a
note that it sometimes produces unpredictable
effects like this. Go ahead and make notes
of your own about what happened with your
vintage flat wash. I suggest include that
the paper was dry, the size and type
of brush you used, the name of the
paint and whether the brush was dry damper
wet to start with, and something about how
watery your paint was. Once you're done, take a quick snap
so that you can add it to your class project and then come join me in the next lesson. See
you there. [MUSIC]
5. The Modern Flat Wash: [MUSIC] The modern flat wash. This approach works to
create an even wash of color by extending
the paper's drying time. We do this by making the paper damp before we apply paint. The paper doesn't need props up, as gravity doesn't play much
of a role in this approach, but you can prop
up if you prefer. Go grab your materials
and get them prepared. I'm using paint from
a pan this time, but paint from the tube
works just as well. I'm reusing my masking
tape as it's still sticky. This time I'm using a
one-inch flat brush. I'm starting by wetting the entire surface
of the paper first. Ideally, I would have used
completely clean water, but here we are. Take your time to really work the water into the
fibers of the paper. This will help it
stay damp for longer. We want the paper wet, but not so wet that the
water looks like a puddle. As I tilt the paper
this way in that, I check that there
are no puddles running around the surface. If there were, I would use a thirsty brush to
soak some of them up. I continue with my
one-inch flat brush, and like before
start at the top, working in horizontal
lines across the page. I overlap each line to
ensure a smooth blend, sometimes going back and forth
and in other directions, to make sure there's a good
even coverage of paint. When I reach the bottom, I run my brush over the page to even out
the paint some more. Because the paper
was already wet, I can do this without
worrying about getting lines or uneven swipes of color. Then you can leave
your paper to dry or use a tool to
speed up the process. This will take much longer
than the first approach, because we thoroughly wet
the paper before painting. You can see I
misjudged my paper and left little fingerprints
in the damp paint. Once it's completely dry, you can remove the tape. Because my tape was
a little bit damp, it left a few patches of
paint on the white borders. You can mostly avoid
this by drawing the masking tape off
with a paper towel, which I started
to do after that. [NOISE] I can see
darker areas of pigment on this page
where the paint pooled in a depression
on the page, caused by warping
due to the wetness. This is pretty common with
the modern approach and adds an element of
randomness that can either be fun or frustrating, [LAUGHTER] depending
on your point of view. Placing my vintage and
modern flat washes next to each other makes it easier to see the differences, which I can then make a note of. Go ahead and make notes
of your own about what happened with your
modern flat wash. I suggest you include
that the paper was damp, and the same information
as previously, the size and type
of brush you use, the name of the paint, whether your brush was dry,
damp or wet to start with, and something about how
watery your paint was. At this point, it's also worth reflecting on the two
different processes, how you found them and if
you have any preferences. Once you're done,
take a quick snap so you can add it to
your class project, and then come join me in the next lesson. See
you there. [MUSIC]
6. Painting Washes Inside Shapes: [MUSIC] Learning to
create a flat layer of color inside a
shape that doesn't have taped off edges
is super useful for any other painting
you might want to do. It follows the exact
same principles as the first two lessons
but this time you need to be mindful of your edges. This needs a bit more
fine control with your brush and that is a skill that improves
with practice. I have a whole class to develop your brush control if
you're interested. So get your paints mix
ready and your brush damp. This time we don't
need to tape our pages down as we won't be
painting to the edges. Draw two circles, one to use with the
vintage approach and one for the modern. [NOISE] I just drew
around the inside of my masking tape roll as that
fit neatly on the page. I've gone back to my
half-inch flat as that seems the best
size for these shapes, bouncing the desire to
cover a large area with the paint and the need for more control on
the curved edges. I prop my board up as before to do the vintage
technique and then dive right in with painting horizontal-ish lines
while following the curve of the circle. As before, I overlap my lines to help blend and create a
solid block of color. I tidy up my edges
a little before removing the tape and moving
on to the modern approach. So they've got a flat
surface to work on. I wet the entire
surface of the circle, taking care with the edges
as wherever the water goes, the paint will too. Where I went out of the
circle with the water, I dry it off with a paper towel. Once I'm happy with the water, I move on to paint. Following the edges
of the shape, I make sure there's
an even coverage of paint within the shape. Is not important to paint in horizontal lines as gravity
isn't helping us here. We just need to focus on
getting an even coat of paint inside the shape and
being careful with the edges. [NOISE] I use a thirsty brush to soak up some of the excess water as it was starting to pull, then dry the second circle
off with my heat gun. The first circle is
already dried due to the faster drying time of
the vintage technique, so I don't need to
use the gun on that. As before I notice some differences in
my two flat washes. There's more texture
in the modern approach where the paint has pulled
and depressions in the paper. I can also see some very
slight horizontal lines in the vintage approach too, neither is right or wrong,
they're just different. Go ahead and make some
notes for yourself. I suggest you include
information about which shape had
dry and wet paper, the size of the brush you used, and anything else you notice
as you tried this out. Once you're done, take
a quick snap [NOISE] so you can add it into
your class projects and then come join me in the next lesson where
we're going to look at painting around the
shape and excluding it. I'll see you there. [MUSIC]
7. Painting Washes Around Shapes: [MUSIC] Learning to create
a flat layer of color that avoids a shape is also
a super useful skill, it's one I use frequently when making paintings where I
want a background color. Like the last lesson, it requires good brush
control and patience. It's also something that
will improve with practice. Again, I suggest starting with a simple shape like a circle
and working out from there. Although you can
follow along with me, I'm going to do a crescent moon. I'm making my own indigoish
color for this by mixing turquoise and
crimson from some tubes, you can use whatever color or
mixture of colors you like, just so long as you make
enough to cover your page. This time, I use a
paint pot to draw around as I wanted
a smaller shape. I then turn this
into a crescent moon but feel free to stick with
a circle if you prefer. I propped my board up as before and then start
in the same way as the first lesson on the
vintage flat wash approach. Once I get to the moon, I carefully work
around the edges. Because I have to split
my horizontal line, I work as quickly as I can
while still being careful to avoid letting the side I'm
not working on dry out. Once I reach a place I
think is good to stop, somewhere where I can have a good damp edge that will stay wet when I work
on the other side, then I go back to the
first side and work on it to bring it down
to the same level. Once they're both
at the same level, I can continue with my horizontal overlapping
lines until I'm finished. You can leave this to dry or dry it while you work on
the modern approach. Check you've got enough
paint mixed up and if not get some more ready then
sketch out your shape. I'm making a mirror image
of the first crescent moon, as I thought that would
be cute but again, you can stick with a
circle if you prefer. I use my one-inch flat brush to thoroughly wet everywhere
apart from the moon. I take particular
care with the edges as the paint will go
wherever the water is. Because my board doesn't
need to be propped up, I'm free to turn it
around to whatever way is easiest for me to get the brush into where
it needs to go. Once the paper is good and damp, I liberally apply
paint to the paper, then carefully work it
in towards my moon. I take extra care with
the shape outline. I also add in more paint
if I think it looks patchy in places and
then let it dry. As before I noticed some differences in
my two flat washers. There's more texture
in the modern approach where the paint has pulled
in depressions in the paper. I can see some horizontal
lines in the vintage approach. Like before, neither is right or wrong, they're
just different. So go ahead and make
some notes for yourself. I suggest you include
information about whether the paper was wet or dry and
the size of brush you used and anything else you noticed
as you tried this out. Once you're done, take
a quick snap so you can add it to your class
project and then come join me in the next
lesson where we talk about your guidebook. I'll
see you there [MUSIC]
8. Your Guidebook: [MUSIC] Hello again.
In this lesson, we're going to talk a bit
about your guidebook. Whether these are pages in a sketchbook or loose
sheets of paper, these are your notes and a
record of your learning. My guidebook is
scattered through a couple of sketchbooks
and these pages. I find them so helpful to look back and check how I
got different effects. Maybe your guidebook will be a bit more
organized than mine. I invite you to try these
exercises again and get curious about what
will happen if you use a different brush or color, or what would happen
on different paper, or if you used a different
amount of water, [NOISE] and make
notes about what you did on those pages
once they're dry. Then review all your annotated
pages and add anything else to your notes that you think will be helpful
to future you. They will look back and
thank past you for that. Now we're just about finished. Come join me in the last lesson for some final thoughts. [MUSIC]
9. Final Thoughts: [MUSIC] Hey, you painted.
[NOISE] Well done. [MUSIC] Thank you for joining me as we made our own guidebooks to create saying flat
washes of color. We've tried out both vintage
and modern approaches to creating these washes, and then taking them
a step further by working inside and
around shapes. Along the way, we've
made notes for ourselves so we
can look back and understand what we
enjoyed, and anything we might like to try a little
differently next time. What I would really
like for you to take away from this class
is that although watercolor can feel like a
wildly unpredictable medium, with a little knowledge
and practice, it is something you can
work with confidently to create beautiful and
satisfying pieces. If you feel like
sharing your guidebook, I'd love to see it. You can post it in the
class project gallery, and if you'd like to stop by
there and leave a kind word for other people's projects
that would be really nice. If you enjoy sharing
things to Instagram, feel free to tag me there, I'd love to see what you create. If you want to find out when
I release another class, you can follow me here. There should be a little
green follow link up there. If you click on My name, that will take you
to my profile, which has my other
classes on it. As a follow-on to this class, I suggest my classes on
dispersion and layering. If you could leave a review for this class that would
be super-helpful. It can flag to other potential students what
kind of a class this is, and if it's the thing they
might be interested in to. Thank you again
for joining me to learn, and practice flat washes. I hope you've enjoyed this time and I'll see you in one of my
other classes soon. [MUSIC]
Shelley Skail, Artist, Illustrator, friendly nerd
