What's the best way to color: Tools Overview. And now the promised tricks! Dot patterns
Often site guests wonder how to paint anti-stress colors correctly. How to do this? Where can I see colored anti-stress coloring books?In this article we will talk about how to draw beautifully and easily.
And so we take a sheet of paper and pencils. There will be a lot of practice!
Let's go in order. And I suggest you start by warming up your arms. Not often, but it still happens to me that they don’t listen. This can also be called crooked hands or, simply put, hands growing from the wrong place. I think I'm not the only one. And I hope some of you find this useful.
In general, drawing helps me in such cases. The goal is to relax the hand, reconfigure it to the necessary movements and, of course, turn on our right hemisphere, which is responsible for creative abilities. By the way, if there are left-handers among you, then write. Statistics show that most creative people are left-handed. So, respond!
To warm up, I usually take a piece of paper or a notebook and draw various shapes, scribbles, squiggles, lines and strokes. Varying the angle of inclination and pressure. I try different positions of the hand. I use it like a sharpened pencil, so dull. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this exercise. In addition, these exercises act as an anti-stress for me.
Some people are worried about starting to color on their own because they are afraid of ruining the drawing. So this exercise will help you. Options for coloring anti-stress coloring pages after warming up can be seen here.
Color gradation
And now the color stretching. Perhaps the most common question is: how to stretch?
Stretching can be done in one tone. You can do several. Or you can even stretch the coloring to give the object volume. Let's sort things out in order.
Let's start with stretching in one color. This is a transition from a rich shade to a pale one and vice versa. Select a pencil and draw a line. And along this line we begin to draw squares. We start with the lightest pressure so that the light is as transparent as possible. Let's draw the next one. Slightly increase the pressure.
And so we continue until the color becomes completely solid, saturated, dark. The scheme is such that it all starts with light pressure. Just touching the surface of the paper, we move on to medium pressure and end with strong pressure on the rod.
Below we draw the next line and do the same thing, but without using squares.
This is a great exercise to help you better understand your material, your pencils. Understand where and in what case it is better to use one or another degree of pressure. Let's do the same exercise with several shades. Look at examples of coloring anti-stress coloring pages using gradation of shades.
For greater clarity, we will make a stretch using gray tones, first with squares, and then without them.
The essence of this exercise is to stretch from the lightest to the darkest. You can also practice this exercise with any other pencils. For example, let's choose purple and yellow. For the second option, red, orange, yellow. I really like this combination.
Let's try to do this exercise right away without squares using the example of coloring an anti-stress coloring book.
Creating a 3D Shape
Here we will also do color stretching with you, that is, make different saturations. Let's do this one with one pencil and several. In this exercise we will learn how to create the illusion of shape using color. Practice laps every day.
Let's draw several identical shapes. You can use a compass, a coin, or don’t bother and draw by hand. No precision required here. We will leave one circle empty so that we have something to compare with. In fact, you can only use one shade to indicate the shape of an object. The shape is determined by the rich tone. Alternatively, you can use a black or simple pencil with a graphite lead.
First, we draw the figure. Secondly, we determine the light source. Let's assume the light is coming from the top right. Let's then start from light to dark and also do not forget that there is a light spot at the place of direct light. The object should be filled with paint according to the shape of the object, that is, in this case we will go in a circle. And we continue to add saturation until it harms the figure and shape. The main thing to remember here is that as the light moves away, everything becomes richer and darker.
The same can be done with several colored pencils. We will also go from light to dark. In case of using several color solutions, we will use the technique of layering paints. There is one simple principle here - the stronger the pressure, the less opportunity there will be for layering. From this it follows that here we work very softly. We start with very light pressure. We leave a spot of light. From it begins to fill the light to the dark. We use very light pressure. And the more colors we use, the more complete the transition will be. See how beautiful this technique looks in the example of a painted anti-stress coloring book.
Why do you need a white pencil?
Now you are ready to start playing the truth! It wasn't put there by mistake. He's not superfluous at all. If you don’t have the simplest set, you will find a white pencil in the set and I think at least once you thought about the topic: why is it needed? Maybe he is still redundant?
And now we will look at the main ways to use white leads.
The simplest application:
- on colored paper,
- on top of coal
- a simple pencil.
But we will only analyze the application on colored paper. This is a simple material that everyone can find. In general, let’s use our imagination and try it out with anti-stress coloring books.
The following method of application is similar to the previous exercises. Used to simulate transition. They can be used to shade the applied layers, creating a smooth transition.
Mixing colors
But if we can shade the transition, then we can get a new color. For example, let's try to create orange. To do this, choose red and yellow. We apply a dark shade (red) as the bottom layer, and a lighter shade (we have yellow) on top. And now we can mix everything white. By the way, the key to this technique is to use light pressure.
Working with a sharpened tip and applying each layer evenly gives interesting effects. With a white pencil you can mute the saturation of the original shade and get halftones. In addition to everything, in this way we polish the surface, making the surface glossy. Anti-stress coloring pages painted this way look very beautiful. You can even hang them in a frame on the wall. White lead is very useful when depicting a luminous or wet surface.
In general, learn to think outside the box. This way you can achieve some very interesting effects and can find lots of other ways to use existing tools.
Dry and wet ways to use watercolor pencils
Telling you about the ways to use them is not easy, since there are two ways to use them: wet method and dry method. The dry method is exactly the method most often used by coloring lovers. The dry method is no different from painting. It’s just that watercolor pencils are brighter and more saturated than regular ones, but everything is fine. Try it and you will fall in love. Many people use it to work on anti-stress coloring books.
However, if a wet technique is used, the drawings begin to look like they were made with watercolors. To achieve this effect, you simply need to use damp paper or wet the area with a brush after applying the design. Despite all the apparent simplicity, you need to be very careful! Practice before using this technique on your day jobs. Because if you're not used to it, you might end up with dirt.
There are many fine techniques for working with watercolor pencils. But for now we will focus on using it to create transitions. Write in the comments which tools you prefer to color anti-stress coloring books: simple or watercolor. And would you like to learn more about the technique of working with them?
And now the promised tricks!
There are several techniques that are useful for those who often lack paints that are half a tone lighter or darker. Here we will need black, white and gray pencils. Black is used to make colors darker, white to make colors lighter, and gray to make colors more muted. And the main trick is that the dark should always be under the light. If you apply dark paint over light paint, mixing will not occur.
Also, do not press too hard on the lower layers in the polishing area.
If we wet the surface of the paper too quickly, the mixing result will not be stable.
Another very interesting technique that I learned about quite recently. To lighten the shade without inviting it, apply first a white and then a colored layer. It turns out to be a very interesting effect.
Applying strokes
There are a lot of options for strokes. They are needed in order to convey texture, thickness, directions and, in general, convey any desired intended effect.
Types of hatching
To determine which type of shading you like, you can imitate different textures by creating patterns of dots and dashes on paper. While a group of straight lines can give direction to the group, slightly curved lines convey a sense of movement. They help create texture and dimension to the design. Try combinations of different shading options and see what happens. This technique is very useful for coloring anti-stress coloring books. You can find options for finished works made with different types of strokes on our website.
Often, extraordinary techniques for decorating a room with your own hands become the main highlight of the entire interior. But here it is important to take into account the style and design of the room: futuristic objects are a very dubious decoration for an English-style living room, wooden pallets with inscriptions in the rhythm of Provence are not suitable for the interior of a high-tech kitchen, just as aluminum plates are unlikely to fit into an elegant Art Deco. When trying to create sophisticated eclecticism, you can easily make a mistake. It is very important to think through everything in advance, namely the location and fastening of decorative elements.
We invite you to consider interesting solutions for the room, in addition to paintings, posters and photos. However, let's not forget about them either.
Window as a decorative element of the interior
A window mounted into a wall, which serves as an interior partition, is a rather extraordinary method of dividing space. Such a solution will not only become the main decoration of two zones at the same time, but will also allow more natural light to pass from one room to another.
A window frame can also be an extraordinary independent art object. Hang it on the wall or place it on the console - this technique will radically transform the atmosphere, adding lightness and elegant charm to it.
An aged wooden frame with a large number of sections looks very colorful. It’s easy to make such a decorative item yourself at minimal cost.
A decorative window frame can not only serve as a decoration for a room, but also be a functional piece of furniture. So, mirrors with glazing like a window frame look quite interesting. A clear example is shown in the photo of the bedroom interior.
Door against the wall
In addition to windows, used old doors can become an unexpected decoration for the walls of a room. A sophisticated idea is to hang on them something obvious in traditional wall decoration, for example, paintings, panels, photographs.
Large scale panels
Decorating a room with a three-dimensional panel is an excellent opportunity to show your creative imagination. Here, try experimenting with textures, colors, materials and other components.
The dimensions of the decorative panel must be correlated with the square footage of the room and the load on all other walls. A large panel in a small room will look ridiculous: after all, its texture and color sometimes consume the space. Please note that panels and wallpaper are two different things! The larger the panel, the brighter its role in the home interior, the more neutral the adjacent walls should be.
Take a fresh look at ordinary material. An old metal sheet suspended on a chain will become an original and extraordinary backing for a poster or photographs.
Squares from sections of simple fiberboard, painted with stain and silver (by the way, you can safely use painting and stencils) will be beautiful in the form of panels. In this presentation, it will fit perfectly into the luxurious industrial loft style.
You can also easily decorate one of the living room walls with your own hands. The composition of impressive large-scale tiles captivates with its originality and simplicity. You can fantasize about this topic endlessly.
Look how the tic-tac-toe on the accent wall unobtrusively spreads its playful mood throughout the room.
Panels with 3D effect
A recent fashion trend for multi-dimensional decorative elements is rapidly gaining popularity. The 3D panels presented in the next photo literally attract the attention of others. Reasonable prices allow many to purchase such panels for decoration, while the texture and pattern can be chosen to suit your taste. There are many design options: engravings, plaster bas-reliefs, compositions from various multidimensional details.
Do not forget about the fragility of such products. Installing and transporting them is very difficult, but the visual result is worth it.
Decorating a room with shelves
Shelves in a room can serve not only as a functional piece of furniture, but also as a creative decoration in the room. It is important that the shelves contrast in color with the wall. Think carefully about how to fill them beautifully and harmoniously - half-empty shelves create a feeling of some imperfection in the interior. Excellent decorative contents will include candles and lamps, hourglasses, original book holders, and colorful ceramics.
An even greater decorative effect will be created by cute compact shelves of non-standard shapes (triangles, multifaceted cells, unnatural angles).
Posters and paintings
Decorating a room with paintings, photographs and posters is perhaps the most common decor today. In order for the result to live up to expectations, to look decent and unique, you need to carefully select the elements of fine art.
Show your imagination, choose a non-standard approach: frame herbariums of plants instead of painted still lifes, tin panels and retro-style posters instead of flowers on canvas, pencil sketches of animals instead of waterfalls and beaches.
If you still decide to purchase something unique, buy paintings at exhibitions, special sites or on trips abroad.
Photos can be designed in a completely non-standard way.
Unusual Attributes
Giant letters in inscriptions, quotes in posters, deer antlers - all these objects are so often found in interiors that today we would hardly like to see them again. But even from these seemingly familiar details you can create an original combination in your own way. You just need to interpret them skillfully.
So, for example, a composition of five medallions with deer antlers already looks unusual, and inscriptions made in a non-standard font and placed on atypical canvases (not in rectangular frames, but at least in a hexagon) are perceived completely differently.
More ideas for do-it-yourself room decor are presented in the bright selection in the photo.
Original decor from flowers and plants
Decorative details are an integral attribute of any interior. Cute little things made by hand retain the energy of their creator and serve as a source of pride.
Homemade trinkets create a warm and cozy atmosphere in the room and lift your spirits. Of course, you can buy decor in a store, but it’s much nicer to make it yourself.
Most importantly, all decorative elements must be combined with the style of the room as a whole. We should not forget about the color palette.
The tablecloth, decorative pillows, and bedspreads must be in harmony in tone with the rug, walls, and curtains. Otherwise, everything will be too colorful and tasteless.
Properly selected decor can radically change the atmosphere of a room.
Textile
Original textile details can become the highlight of your interior. In addition to tablecloths, napkins and curtains, you can use pillows decorated with lace or fur for decoration.
Various panels, paintings
This is the easiest way to decorate a room. After all, there is nothing easier than hanging several paintings and frames with photographs on the walls or placing your favorite drawings on a shelf.
Nowadays, paintings made of genuine leather and voluminous wall compositions are in fashion.
You can create an unusual panel with your own hands from a variety of interesting pictures depicting landscapes, still lifes or sculptures. Such a thing will certainly attract the attention of guests.
Frames for photographs and drawings can also be decorated. There are many ways: you can use beads, crystals, beads, molded elements, decoupage.
Items embroidered with threads and beads
Today it is very popular to use various embroideries made with one’s own hand or left over from grandmothers and great-grandmothers when decorating the interior. They look especially wonderful on decorative pillows, tablecloths and homemade napkins.
Bead embroidery looks very impressive. You can also decorate furniture, dishes, mirrors, and window cornices with beads.
Beaded beads make funny wicker figures and bracelets. Curtains can be decorated with threads of different sizes of beads.
Candles
The candle has long symbolized the hearth. Arranged candles create a warm homely atmosphere. A wide vase with dried plants, paper flowers, pebbles and a candle in the center will look charming.
Various interesting containers and glasses can serve as a candlestick. You can put shells and pebbles in them, fill them with water, and a candle will sway on top.
A stand for candles can be made from a piece of wood; just drill out suitable holes in it.
Another original idea would be to place a candle in a glass filled with coffee beans.
Note!
Vases
Both floor and table vases will perfectly complement any setting. You can get by with one vase or use several, differing in shape and size.
They can contain bouquets of fresh or dried flowers, branches, bamboo, and various artificial decorative elements.
The vases themselves can have a smooth or textured surface, be matte or shiny.
If you are not satisfied with the appearance of the porcelain product, you can safely paint it with special paints and decorate it with beads and rhinestones. With a little effort, you can create a real masterpiece.
Knitted items
You can add warmth to a room with pillows, rugs, bedspreads, napkins and tablecloths knitted using various techniques. Knitted items create an atmosphere of home comfort.
Houseplants
You can choose a variety of unusual indoor flowers and plants to decorate your interior. Different flower arrangements will have a calming effect.
Note!
You can even allocate a separate part of the room for potted plants. It would be a great idea to use hanging flowers.
How to decorate a room for a birthday
A birthday is a special holiday and it requires appropriate decor.
Thematic vinyl stickers and, of course, balloons are perfect as decorative elements. Let's look at the latter in more detail.
Decorating the birthday boy’s room with balloons has already become a tradition. Balloons add a touch of fun and celebration to the atmosphere.
They can be hung individually, in groups, made into garlands, fountains, funny figures and much more.
Note!
To decorate a room, you can use both regular and helium balloons.
An interesting idea would be a surprise ball with sweets or streamers inside. Below are photos of different ideas on how to beautifully decorate a room for a birthday.
We hope that this article has fully answered the question of how you can decorate a room, and from all the tips given in it, you can choose something useful for yourself.
Photo of how to decorate a room with your own hands
Due to the fact that I began to receive many requests to create a lesson after posting one image I painted, I finally decided to tear off my butt and write one! I'm really flattered by so many requests as I didn't think my Photoshop coloring technique was that appealing, but I think it's always interesting to learn how other artists create their work... anyway, I hope you find this tutorial interesting .
My first step was to draw a clear outline. I scanned the image I had at high resolution (pixel size 2389x3508), cleaned it up a little using the function Brightness/Contrast (Brightness/ contrast), which you will find here: Image - Correction - Brightness/Contrast(Image - Adjustments - Brightness/ Contrast). Adjusting the position of the sliders of this function will make the dark areas darker and the light areas brighter... Very useful for those who sketch very sloppily, like me...
The next thing I did was create a new layer to overlay the background color. Since my sketch is still on the bottom layer, I changed the settings ( approx. Blend Mode (Blendingmode)) my new layer on Multiplication (Multiply) , so I can still see it even after filling it with whatever color I want.
I chose a dark purple for the background and mixed it in with some light purple at the bottom left so I could have some fun with the lighting. After I was done with the purple mess, I merged the layers by right-clicking on the top layer and selecting Merge (MergeDown). Now you should have one layer left to work with (I'm too simple to work with many layers).
The next step was the actual coloring! I sketched out a very simple palette and started painting the base color with a regular brush (70% Opacity (Opacity) and 70% Hardness (Flow)). It looks terrible, but I promise it will get better!
At first I only work on the face, it's just my favorite part (not counting the belly). So I pick the colors I like and start working with the shadows. In the end, I'm starting to hate this process and get angry, so I get tired of this drawing, and I go play Mario Kart, lose and turn into an emo for a couple of days.
The next thing I did was add more shadows, adding darker colors and blending them. To mix colors in Photoshop, I simply lower the level Opacity (Opacity) brushes (brush) (in this case, values of 40% were used opacity (opacity) and 50% stiffness (flow) ). I also used pipette (eyedrop) to take a sample of the shadow color from the palette that I already created earlier (Alt hotkey - hold it down and click on the place where you want to take the sample).
We continue mixing colors and shading, I added some more colors to my palette as they were too soft. I just mixed them together during the coloring process. I paint over everything I did before many times, then you will see.
The face was too dark, so I brightened it up a little, then used airbrush (airbrush) I added some red and pink tones to her lips and cheeks. The airbrush is very soft (softer than a regular painting tool), which is why I like to use it when I need to do something light, like lips or blush.
The airbrush is in instrument settings (toolpresets) for a regular brush as you see in the image below.
I also added some color to the eyes and started shaping and detailing them... I re-did them a million times until I got what you see now.
I softened her face even more with an airbrush and added a fun purple glow. I zoomed out the image to make sure I liked everything about the face... And I didn’t like it. Her eyes were too far apart, making her face appear too wide. So I adjusted her eyes and finished them off, adding highlights and more colors to them. I also adjusted her lips because her smile looked a little tense.
After I was done (I was tired of) working on her face, I started painting the rest of her body, mixing different colors like I did before. True, now I take shadow samples from the face, since I changed the colors during the drawing process.
We set lights and shadows to give and maintain a believable light source.
After I've established the base colors, I soften her skin and start adding purple shadows again. For those who may have noticed me grinning at the purple lighting, it's because I actually hate the color purple, but for some reason I like coloring with it at the moment... Oh well, moving on.
Once I'm done with her skin (I say finished for now because I'm tired of all this painting, but maybe I'll come back and change some things here because I'm not really happy with the result), I start marking The main colors of her outerwear are hot pink! Yes! It's girly!
I continued to paint her clothes the same way I did her skin - establishing base colors and then softening them. I also decided to add purple highlights here, so I made them brighter. I also brightened up the color of her lipstick so it would go better with her clothes, and the same goes for her eye shadow. I really want pink to dominate this image!
After I added color to her lipstick and eye shadow, I went with a hot pink with a hint of opacity (opacity) and painted them for them. Mixed it well with the rest of the colors that were already present, then took the tool Dodge(brightener) With range (range) Sveta (highlights) and gave a vibration to the colors which makes the lips and eyes attractive and shiny.
For the pearl necklace, I first chose the darkest color, then added highlights to it, using a brush to lay down the base highlights, then used the tool Clarifier (Dodge) at the last stage to make the pearls more shiny. I also added a very light purple highlight to the bottom of each pearl.
After I finished the necklace, I started working on the finer details: the stone on her collar was painted using the same method as the pearls, and the same was used for the silver setting on the collar. For the lace I used a small brush with opacity (opacity) 80%.
The piercing is also fun to work with, the main image doesn't show the details, so I showed it here. It was painted the same way as the pearls - dark colors first and then highlights added, I used a very small brush as the piercing itself is tiny. I also added shadows to make the piercing shimmer, don't forget about them!!
The last thing I had to do was color my hair, I just hate coloring it in Photoshop for some reason. It takes up so much of my time. Oh, anyway, I started by applying the base colors like I always like to do, but of course, mentally I understand that the texture of the hair is different, so I try to replicate it like real hair would look like.
Then I set the base shadows and started smoothing them out (this is the part I hate about doing hair, it takes so long).
Once her hair was smooth enough I started adding highlights using a brush with opacity (opacity) 20%. Keeping the position of the hair and its individual strands in mind, I begin to lighten it. For the ears and tail I did the same since she has ears like a cat and the tail has the same texture. Because I used a smaller brush for the ears, they look fluffier.
I added some bright highlights and then some purple lighting. I've scaled the image down to make sure everything is nicely rendered, and I'm making sure that the fur is a little smooth, which is what I was going for, so I'm adding some more detail to her top and skirt and adding some cute little clips and ties to her hair to make it look make her more attractive.
The last thing I did was fix some things that still irritated me (her hair and hands). I also added some sparkles to the background to fill it out a bit.
After adding some little purple highlights I was finally done! I more or less liked the result, perhaps because I liked all the girly colors that I used in the work, in any case, I was forced to use purple this time.
Anyway, I hope this tutorial has given you an idea of how you can color in Photoshop! I can’t say exactly how long this work took me... I didn’t sit on it continuously, but I think it was somewhere around 4 hours...
“Anyone can become an artist!” - today this motto is more relevant than ever. Yes, don’t be surprised, nowadays anyone can feel like the inventive Leonardo da Vinci or the expressive Van Gogh. After all, in the past, in order to paint your own canvas, you had to study at an art school for years or, at a minimum, complete expensive drawing courses. And everyone, regardless of gender and age, can create their own still life, portrait or landscape in just 3-5 days - just like a real master exhibiting in famous galleries.
What is the reason for this phenomenon? In paintings by numbers, which are gaining more and more popularity in the 21st century. After all, they allow anyone who craves it to unleash their creative potential, even without sufficient experience or free time.
We draw according to the “all inclusive” principle
What’s especially nice is that any set for home painting already includes everything you need: numbered jars of paints, one or more brushes, instructions, a check sheet for checking shades, divided into sectors and marked with numbers on cardboard or canvas with a stretcher, varnish mixture and wall fastenings for the finished painting. You can start creating right away! But first, you should choose the desired basis for the picture and get acquainted with life hacks for coloring.
Cardboard vs canvas
Experienced paint-by-numbers believe that it is worth starting with cardboard. After all, this material is very cheap, but at the same time it is able to absorb excess paint applied to it, which is important for beginning artists. But cardboard does not give the paintings the texture and “realness” that canvas gives: slightly rough to the touch, already primed and stretched on a real stretcher. The canvas, in turn, is available with a monochrome numbered outline or a colored one. The latter type of canvas is suitable even for elderly and visually impaired people, as well as children, because... coloring becomes intuitive. It’s better to start with small formats and clear subjects: animals, fish, birds, landscapes, nature or flowers. But you should move on to drawing people, angels, icons or complex architectural structures after mastering the basic techniques of number painting.
With or without rules?
Of course, contemporary art has long ceased to have clear do’s and don’ts, and the rules of modern art exist solely to be broken. But for this you need to know them at least a little, and therefore, before you start unpacking the treasured box with canvas and paints, it is worth studying online encyclopedias in order to learn or refresh your memory of the concepts of light and shadow, line and shading, perspective and plane, front and background, color separation and contrast...
And if you are still a beginner and do not have experience in creating paintings by numbers, then it is better to strictly follow the instructions that are in each set. And when you master the basic techniques of this type of painting, you can already develop a wealth of your own techniques and tricks. Moreover, there are not so many basic techniques that significantly facilitate drawing.
"Magnificent Four" methods of coloring pictures by numbers
There are 4 principles for painting a canvas. You will remember them without difficulty, because they are unusually logical and functional; they are already suggested to anyone who draws by common sense and convenience.
From light to dark
By painting over white, yellow, blue or pink areas at the very beginning, you will avoid accidental marks. After all, it is much easier to erase or cover up a pastel shade with another color than a bright or dark color.
If you color all the large details of the picture at the very beginning, then you will not only avoid the blunders and blots mentioned above, but you will also be able to correctly arrange the nuances and draw small details, put the right strokes and highlights. This way it will be easier to compare the “small things” with the main semantic spots of the picture: you must admit, by painting over the vase and the three largest buds in it, it will be easier for you to place medium-sized flowers and leaves of the bouquet next to each other.
Moving in this direction, you will definitely not smear the design already applied on the edge with your shirt sleeve or elbow. As a rule, it is in the middle of the picture that classical artists place the main image, be it a hut in a pastoral landscape or a bowl of fruit in a delicious still life.
How to hold a brush and make strokes?
The brush is easiest and most comfortable to hold in the same way as you hold a ballpoint pen. Your hand should have support. This is enough so that you do not get tired, and the picture turns out neat. To begin with, you should master the usual strokes: just try to paint over each numbered fragment as evenly as possible, making smooth movements with the brush from left to right (if you are right-handed), applying paint in an equal layer of thickness, without going beyond the outline.
Once you've mastered this, you can experiment with layer thickness, shading, and even dot painting if your artistic vision calls for it. For example, if you need to draw a heavy rain cloud saturated with water. After all, its lower part is rough and dark, which is well conveyed by small ripples of dots, and threads of rain descend below, which are easiest to imitate with short oblique strokes.
Bright mix: how to mix paints correctly?
As a rule, the paints in a set are already mixed, which is why there are so many numbers in it, because each of them means a certain shade, which sometimes differs only by a fraction of a tone from the previous one. If during the painting process you run out of the desired color, you can easily mix it yourself from existing paints. Usually, light tones run out first, because there are usually more light spots in a picture than dark ones, and therefore you just need to slightly dilute with white the tone that is closest in shade to what you need. It is best to do this on a palette or a sheet of cardboard, and not directly in a jar, so as not to accidentally spoil the entire mass of paint.
Effective and impressive: blurring the boundaries
This is amazing, but with just two techniques - creating clear or blurred boundaries - you can give the picture depth, expressiveness, and a professional look. To understand in which area you should make the clearest possible outline, and where you should slightly blur the edges, just carefully examine these places on the sample reproduction.
This is shine: 3 unique types of varnish
When the painting is ready, you will probably want to give it a gloss and protect it from dust, cracking and fading by covering it with a transparent protective base.
Matte Acrylic varnish is good because it dries unusually quickly and also gives the paints additional brightness. Literally a couple of 6-8 hours after covering the painting, you will be able to proudly hang it on the wall and invite your family and friends to your own vernissage.
Gloss, as the name implies, gives the image a special shine and smoothness. This is a plus if you want to smooth out some roughness, but a minus if you want to emphasize volume. The aforementioned matte finish does a better job of imparting texture.
Craquelure truly magical: it allows you to nobly age a completely new painting in a matter of moments, covering the surface with a network of intricate cobweb cracks, turning a newly created portrait or landscape into an elegant antique.
Auxiliary materials
Before starting work, you should cover the table with newspaper or film, install bright but not glaring lighting, and also stock up on toothpicks and cotton swabs. The former will help you draw even the thinnest lines, while the latter will be useful for promptly removing excess paint or correcting a bad stroke. You may also need a set of brushes of the best quality and different diameters, a palette and even an easel if you are going to paint outdoors or in the country.
Don't forget to place a sippy cup of water and disposable napkins on the table. But don’t rush to open all the cans of paint right away: acrylic thickens quickly, so open them step by step, number by number.
Frame for a man-made masterpiece: choosing the ideal frame
Acrylic perfectly imitates classic oil paint, and therefore it is worthwhile to decorate the finished painting with dignity. A textured, slightly recessed and gilded or silver-plated frame in the Baroque style: with fine ligature, vignettes or vines will suit almost any subject. After all, then the image will acquire the proper volume and become a worthy decoration for your home art gallery!
