Underpainting: The Best Way To Start A Painting

1. Introduction: Hello and thank you for joining me in this class. Today, I want to share with you one of the best ways to start your oil painting. Spoiler alert. It's an underpainting. I like to use an underpainting on many of my works. And there are so many reasons for you to at least try it as well. First of all, it's a great way to our count that blank canvas intimidation. Instead of staring at a white canvas, you can start bringing in some colors to them right away. Moreover, under painting can help you master your painting techniques to establish the composition, dark and light areas of the painting. It can have a significant effect on both your painting process and your finished work as well. And so today in this class, I will show you how easy it can be to start with underpainting. We will get started with the shortlist of tools and materials for your project. Next, you will learn more about underpainting, how scholars and medium for it. Finally, we will create a class project together. More about the project for this class you will learn in the next lesson. I think this class will be ideal both for beginners and for anyone who would like to explore underpainting technique and bring their painting to a new level. 2. Class Project: In this class, the project is to create a painting starting from an underpainting to finish. But don't worry, we will do it together. I will share the reference photo I will be using for the painting and you will find it in the resources. You can also use your own reference photo, whatever inspires you to create. As we will create an underpainting. First, we will decide on the colors to use for it. Then we will cover entire canvas with it. Next, it will be time for us to create monochromatic version of the future painting. And ones and Stan, google finally Layer local colors to a painting until it's complete. And as always, I want to remind you not to forget to share your project with me and your fellow students. I can't wait to see what you have to share with us. Once you're painting is complete, you can upload it in the class project. 3. Tools & Materials: Now that we know what the project for this class is, let us go over some tools and materials we will need to create it. Your final list of tools and materials you use in this class will depend on your personal preferences. For example, if you prefer working with acrylics rather than oils, then you'll list of materials feel slightly differ from mine, but that's okay. I'm going to share with you my shortlist of those and materials that I'm going to use in this class. Just in case if you want to follow me in this class step-by-step, and create the same painting as I am. If you are free to modify this list as you wish. As I have already mentioned in this class, I will be using oils. Now it's important to mention here that when you choose to create your painting with oils, you can use either oil paints or acrylics for your underpainting. Next on our list is the solvent to dilute the paint for your underpainting. Depending on which medium you will choose. There are a few things to keep in mind. For example, if you're using oil paints, like I am, first, you are generously do it in the paint with a solvent. Gets you a few using water mixable oil paint or acrylics. And you can simply thin it with water in such proportions that reminds you offer watercolor consistency. Next, I'm going to name just a few synthetic brushes and blunt knife to mix the paint. Finally, I chose to work on the small 20 by 20 centimeters wooden panel. Those are basically the supplies I will be using for this class. If you have any questions regarding art supplies or anything at all, feel free to ask me in the discussion section. 4. What is Underpainting: Now, first, let's figure out what an under bending actually is. Well, it's exactly what it sounds like an additional painting on the canvas. So basically, we apply a layer of paint to establish composition, structure, or values before applying color in network. In other words, It's an monochrome version of the final painting. And once it's finished, artists apply local colors on the underpainting. Which means those out through colors of the objects or a surface as seen in the typical daylight. So, for example, lemons are yellow, skies are blue, and grass is green. Those are local colors. Start with an underpainting in the first place. Well, there are several advantages of Staten your work with it. For example, you can use underpainting as a base layer. So you didn't have to stare at your violets blend Canvas. Or you can use your underpainting as an outline or a blueprint for your image that you intend to paint. And finally, under painting is a great way to build contrasts and tonal values into your work. You can create dark and light portions that will make those areas of the canvas lighter or darker once you apply and paint on top of it. What I really like about underpainting is that you can take it as far as you want and how and for what purpose you decide to use under painting is entirely up to you. You can stop on the first stage of creating an underpainting. When you send your canvas with one color, you can take it further and add blueprint on top of it. You can keep it as simple and as detailed as you want, depending on your skills and your final resulted, you want to achieve. That's what makes the under bending technique worth a try for an artist. Now that you know, basic understanding of what underpainting is, let's actually create one. 5. Imprimatura: Choosing Color: From the previous lessons, you already know that we create an underpainting in a few stages. The first one is imprimatur. Imprimatur or the first paint layer is basically a simple layer of color paint over the canvas. But its simplicity doesn't make it less important. Quite the contrary, this is the foundation that can affect the outcome of your entire artwork. The first step in layer in implementer is to choose a color for it. It's an important one as the color you choose will affect the overall mood and feeling of your painting. Which color to choose them. But it depends on your intention. For example, if you want your painting to be in code, you can create an underpainting in shades of blue. On the other hand, yellow ocher can make your painting too warm. So the initial underpainting color is a conscious choice that you must make before you start creating it. When the artists also use warm Earth colors like burnt sienna or umber. Those are perhaps some of the most popular colors to use for your paintings. But the color you choose for your underpainting comes from your intention and the mood of your painting or your reference photo. So your underpainting doesn't have to be neutral. You can also use vivid colors like pink or green, or wherever. I personally like to use bold colors that will pick through later in my painting. For example, in this class, I will be using this water as a reference for my painting. And I will be going with a vivid orange oil paint. It will bring, move warm to my bending. And it will also help me to create this sunset vibe by picking fruit in my painting. 6. Imprimatura: Preparing The Paint: Once you decide on the color to use for improvement Tura, you can finally prepare the paint for it in the tools and materials lesson, I have already mentioned that we will have to prepare the bank for the initial layer of underpainting by using solvents or water. That depends on the medium you're using for your underpainting. Once again, if you're using regular oils, you dilute it with wild spirit. Or in case if you are using water mixable oil paint or acrylics, then you simply diluted with water. The resulting mix should be solved, but not watery in such proportions that remind you of watercolor consistency. Keep in mind that oil paint can be applied over acrylics, but not in the other direction. Because acrylics, water-based medium, which makes it unstable on top of oil paints. Once our paints consistency is where we need it to be. We spread the color thinly over the entire painting surface. There shouldn't be too much paint on the surface. So try not to overload the brush with the paint and apply the colors as friendly as possible. So together, just like that, we have created the initial layer of our underpainting, which was also called imprimatur. Some artists stop at this step. So can you I encourage you to take your painting further with me. For that, I will see you in the next lesson. 7. Creating Ouline: Now we can take the next step on our anti painting by creating a monochromatic sketch of the whole work. Not only this step will help you to play with the composition of your painting, but it also will allow you to create light and dark values within the painting. Depending on how detailed you want to monochronic sketch to be. You can either use one or several values of color. For example, if you chose to create an underpainting in shades of blue. And to want it to be detailed, you can use a very pale blue in the areas that we wanted to light as values. Mid-tone blue there you want to have me zoom values and very dark blue there you want the dark as well as in your painting. Or you can use just one value of color and leave the details for the next stage of the painting. That's exactly what I will be doing in this class. And so I'm creating a sketch with burnt sienna color. I've decided to use just one value, mostly because I want my painting to be loose. And also because I'm working on this small canvas. So it's more important for me to define the composition. The darkest values in the painting. If you're a beginner, using just one color might be the best way for you to start your underpainting with less chance for you to get stuck on smaller details. As I developed my underpainting sketch from the reference photo, I start with horizon line first and next we mark where the flowers and the grass will be. Of course later as we proceed with the painting, we'll be able to modify the composition. It allows us to play with composition within the landscape before we start applying local recolor. Once we have developed underpainting sketch, we can finally apply more local colors on top of it. I will see you in the next lesson. 8. Adding Colors: Sky: Once our underpainting is complete, the color and development begins. Now you can choose to paint on the wet onto painting, or you can allow your underpainting to dry entirely before working further. I personally prefer painting on earth bound painting as it allows me to create smooth transition and an interesting color blend. I like my paintings. Start applying thin layers of transparent colors over the underpainting to complete it. Using transparent colors or in other words, glazes. Because they're allow much of the anti painting colors to show through. Because the particles of transparent veins settled on the canvas in a way that allows light to pass between them. This allows light to go through the paint layers and bounce back, creating a certain luminosity of color while allowing to see all the colors. This luminosity of color rule would not be possible with a puck paints because with opec paint, light cannot pass through the top layer. The underpainting is completely covered with thick paint. You can choose between transparent and APAC coat colors depending on the effect. And then what you want to create a new painting and where you want your underpainting to show through or not. I haven't been using both of those colors as I want my underpainting to pick fruit in certain areas of my painting. And in other areas, I have wanted to have more density and even texture. How can you tell if oil paint is transparent or not? It's easy. Just look at your paint tubes. The symbol used to show the transparency of an empty square. To show APAC colors, the squares are colored in. 9. Adding Colors: Field: Just like that, we proceed on layering of colors over there, underpainting to complete the painting. And now it's time to work on the field area. Same as we do with this guy. We start on applying the transparent colors. Here. I want to start by developing the background colors on the field. As I will paint more flowers and grass on top of it. I'm going to layer some random spots of transparent shapes of green. And I will also make sure not to cover the entire area of the band live in the underpainting to show through the background area is complete. It's time to pay progress. For that, I will use darker values of green APAC paint to start building more depth and density to the painting. Just like that, we keep on adding more details to the painting. As we are applying the local color on top of the underpainting. It can also make some corrections if needed. For example, if you want to improve with a composition of your underpainting, you want to change the shapes or simply to add more details. Now it's perfect time to do it. 10. Final Details: At this stage, our painting is beginning to look close to completion. On this last stage, we can add some last details and texture. In my case, some followers. This is also, I begin to use thicker paint to make the flowers the highlights of the whole painting. Even though I'm using fully opaque white paint for the flowers. The paint blend with the layers underneath, which creates more coherent book. Once we finish adding the farmers to the painting, we can continue to add in last small details until we are satisfied with it. As you do it, be careful not to overload your painting with details as we still want those underpainting colors to show through. Just like that in this finished painting weekend, see the orange under painting color beacon for row in the sky, and grass and flowers in the field. Low spots of orange tie everything together into one complete painting. 11. Final Thoughts: Congrats on completing this class. Together, we have discovered the best way to start the painting. You have learned about underpainting, how to choose colors and middle for it. And of course, the significant effect it has on both your painting process and your finished work as well. Moreover, we talked about the difference between transparent and opaque colors and what a local color is. Finally, together, we have created our class project from start to finish. Thinking about project. Once you finish it, don't forget to share it with us. I can't wait to see your results. Also, I would love to hear your thoughts on starting your work with an underpainting. Feel free to share your thoughts on that in the discussion. Help you to overcome blank and less intimidation. We'll use this technique again in your next paintings. I wanted to thank you all again for joining me in this class. And I will see you next time. 12. Special Thanks & More!: I hope you had fun discovering all the perks of starting your work with an underpainting. And you will consider implementing this approach into your painting process. There are a few more classes there. I'm starting my work with an antibiotic. So you're welcome to check them out as well. 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