Use Art Supplies
People often go to a museum to look upon beautiful pieces of art. You may think 'How did that person do that?' Here's a few ways you could create beautiful art of your own.
Contents
Steps
Paints
- Pick the kind of paint you want to use. Watercolor paints are painted on watercolor paper and then wet with water and a brush. Oil paints are painted on canvas or linen. Acrylic, tempera, and gouache paints are good for beginners because they are easy to move on the paper and dry quickly.
- Pour some of the paint onto a palette (you can use a plastic plate, but a glass one is recommended because it is easier to clean.) It's better to mix colours than use paint directly out of the container, especially if you don't have access to many colours. If you are unsure how to mix colours and what will be the result, use a color wheel for help. They come in a variety of sizes and are a very useful tool.
- Take a paintbrush and paint the picture you want. If painting from a photograph, it should be your own photo or you will need to get permission from the photographer before using his/her work. Either use a new paint brush or dip it in water when you want to use a new color. Keep in mind that there are many kinds of paintbrushes, and not all brushes are created equal.
- It may help to sketch your painting first.
- Commonly used with paintbrushes, although for effects used with plastic utensils and scrapers.
Colored Pencils
- Pick the color you want in a specific area.
- Hold it like a regular pencil.
- Start by coloring lightly with a base color, then add lighter and darker colors to show highlight and shadows (this will make the object look three-dimensional). Color in opposite directions to hide your pencil lines; however, don't smear the pencil to hide the lines because it looks very unprofessional, as does coloring flat and not mixing colors.. Using complementary colors (colors opposite on the color wheel) will dull down a color if it is too bright.
- Color with the side of the pencil if your filling in a big area, the tip if you're coloring a small area.
- It helps to sketch it first.
Watercolor Pencils
- Sketch your drawing. Use a light watercolor pencil (like a light blue or gray) to do this; if you use a regular pencil, it will show.
- Take the watercolor pencil you want to use.
- Draw a few lines in the area you are using the color in. It is recommended that you use at least two colors together to mix them. As with colored pencils, use different colors to show highlight and shadows.
- Take a wet paintbrush and paint with water over the area.
- The less water you use, the darker the color will be.
Markers
- Sketch your picture.
- Hold the marker like a pencil.
- Color in the same direction.
- It looks neater if you make one line across, instead of making a few smaller ones.
Oil Pastels
- Hold an oil pastel like you would a crayon.
- To make an Impressionist picture (like the work of Monet or Seurat), repeatedly strike the paper with the oil pastels, using a reference picture to figure out which colors to use where. The closer together the marks are, the more the color will show, and colors can be mixed by putting dots of different colors close together(Art teachers typically say to use at least five different colors for each object in the picture).
- Oil pastels can also be used to do something called resistance, which is when you outline something and then paint over it and the oil pastel shows up.
- Try oil pastels on a canvas paper pad and then use turpentine with a brush to soften them. You can manipulate the color and turn it into a soft looking oil painting. Don't overdo it though, or it will turn into a muddy mess. Less is more.
Charcoal
- Lightly sketch what you want to draw using vine charcoal. Once this is done, start adding more detail and shade as you would with pencil. However, unlike with pencil, it is perfectly acceptable to use your hands or blending stumps to move the charcoal around the paper.
- Once your picture is done, spray it with a fixative; otherwise it's going to make a big mess and get ruined.
Ink
- Draw the image in pencil first.
- Outline the pencil with black pen.
- It is recommended that you use an ink bottle and wooden pen with metallic point instead of normal ball-point pen because sometimes in order to get thicker lines you might want to use a brush dipped in ink instead of a pen.
- Shade the image in. There are several methods of doing that. The easiest one is getting gray shades is mixing the ink with water. However, it is recommended that you make different shades of gray using dots. Just plot random dots where you are going to begin shading (depends on virtual point of light, or sun). Dots should be little far apart so you get lighter gray. As you move towards the darker side, decrease the distance between the dots until you get a solid black color. You can also dip the brush in ink and shade darkest sides with it.
Chalk Pastels
- Sketch what you want to paint.
- It is recommended to do your sketch with a hard pastel or a pastel pencil. Draw lightly.
- It is also recommended to use a pastel paper to do your painting on. Wallis paper is like a very fine sandpaper and the tooth of the paper holds the pastels. It gives you rich colors and the ability to manipulate and blend them.
- Begin painting with the pastels.
- It is recommended that you use hard pastels first. Save the soft pastels for the finishing touches. Like icing on a cake. Because of the tooth of Wallis paper and other papers like it, using the hard pastels first will be beneficial and will keep you from using up your expensive soft pastels too quickly.
- The more pastel you put in an area...the darker it will be.
- It is also recommended that you wear rubber gloves and do your blending with your gloved finger. This to keep from getting sore fingers if you are using Wallis paper or a paper like it. It's like trying to sand off your fingerprints. Ouch!
Tips
- Practice and paint or draw a lot. Experiment and just have fun.
- If you sketch first, you will know what you want to draw where.
- With charcoal, it is better to use newsprint or charcoal paper than regular drawing paper.
- You can use different size paint brushes to create different effects. Or different size palette knives as well, will give you different effects.
- Note that all rules are completely breakable. These are guidelines for getting started; when you get better, you can make your own style of using them.
Warnings
- Paints can be messy, and most are permanent.
- Pastel dust flies and can be breathed in. Place a tray of aluminum foil under your painting and in the tray of your easel to catch the dust. Avoid pounding your painting to release loose pastel dust. It'll send it into the air.
