Watercolor is an amazing technique for landscapes, especially those with a sea or river. It seems to be specially designed to convey transparency, play of light and subtle overflows, that is, what water attracts a person's eyes with. Of course, water in a glass, in a river or in the sea is drawn differently.
It is necessary
- - paper;
- - watercolor paints;
- - brush;
- - foam sponge or tampon;
- - water;
- - solid simple pencil.
Instructions
Step 1
For watercolor painting, a preliminary sketch is not necessary. If you are still not very confident in your capabilities, make a very light, barely noticeable sketch. For example, draw a horizon line if you are going to draw the sea. For a lake or river, sketch out the contours lightly. If you are going to draw a glass or a jug, sketch out the outlines and outline the surface of the water with a thin line. This will be an ellipse parallel to the bottom or top of the glass.
Step 2
Consider a clear glass of water. You will see that its glass, behind which there is water and where it is not, differ little in transparency from each other. But the contours of the objects seem to be somewhat different. The texture of the water is also visible on the surface - there may be subtle ripples. Trace the contours of the glass with a brush, in some not very bright color - pink, cream, bluish or grayish, depending on the lighting. The lightest part of it will be in the center, and darken the edges by overlaying several layers of watercolor of the same color. Tighten the lower part of the glass, where there is water, a little more. You can add a little different light paint. Do not be afraid that you will smear something. The beauty of watercolors lies precisely in the unexpected, but smooth transitions. On the surface of the water, make a few thin, light strokes parallel to the walls of the glass.
Step 3
It is more convenient to paint a large surface of water not with a brush, but with a foam sponge. Wet the entire area you are going to paint with it. For example, it can be the sea from the bottom of the sheet to the horizon. Then squeeze out the sponge and take the base color paint on it. The shade depends on what kind of sea you are drawing. For example, for the Baltic Sea, the main tone will be gray, and for the Black or Mediterranean Sea, greenish. "The sea in general" can be anything you like.
Step 4
The surface of the water is almost never perfectly calm. There are always waves on it, although they can be very small. Apply with a thin brush several intermittent wavy horizontal lines. Take the paint slightly darker than the main tone. Keep in mind that when drawing water, the same laws of perspective work as elsewhere. That is, the distance between the waves that are closer to the viewer will be greater than between those that you see in the distance. And the waves themselves near the shore or right at the side of the ship will be steeper. Draw the distant waves slightly wavy. At the very horizon, they almost merge with each other.
Step 5
Convey the play of light. Determine where the sun or moon is. Add some yellow, orange or silver to this part of the sea. The shape of the light spots depends entirely on your imagination. The edges of these spots should not be harsh, so use a brush to soften them.
Step 6
Draw a pond or lake according to the same principle as the sea. Only in this case it is necessary to mark the coastline. The waves will be parallel to it, not the bottom edge of the sheet. Do not forget that the trees and structures on the far shore seem very small, and the water near them is almost smooth.
Step 7
At the river, you need to convey the direction of the current. Sketch its outline. In the distance, it seems narrower than directly in front of you. Pour the surface of the water with foam rubber or a cotton swab in the same way as you did when drawing the sea. From the narrowest point, draw a few diverging dashed wavy lines with a thin brush. Smooth out their contours with a brush or swab. Mark shaded areas (such as shadows from trees) with a darker shade of the same color.
