A guide that shows painters, drawers, doodlers and urban sketchers how to bring their drawings to life with colourful, bold, yet accessible painting methods. Watercolour sketching is a rapidly emerging technique that enlivens sketches done in pen or pencil with the expressive washes, glazes, and luminous hues of watercolour. This lushly illustrated resource teaches artists on the go how to sketch with watercolour, rendering subjects efficiently and without inhibitions. Readers are guided through all aspects of the medium, from fundamental techniques including wet-on-wet, glazing, and washes; materials and supplies; and little known tips and tricks for getting the most out of watercolour (for example, just sprinkling a little salt on your painting creates a texture that's impossible to achieve with a brush). A strong focus on colour theory provides a solid foundation for enhancing drawings with vibrant hues.
INTRO
Watercolors-In or Out?
A Painting for the Emperor
Gum Arabic: Where the Watercolors Grow
Pigments: The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of
Yellow and Orange: Of Camels and Crocuses
Red and Purple: Of Bugs and Snails
Blue: Of Lapis Lazuli, Indigo, and Woad
Green: Of Plants and Poison
Introducing Color to Sketches:
We're Not in Kansas Anymore
FIRST ATTEMPTS
Multiple Choice: To Design Is to Decide
From Dusk till Dawn: Shadows and Light
Black Is Back: Glazing with India Ink
Layer for Layer: The Glaze
Mixing Colors with Glazes
Fish Soup: Practicing the Glaze
The Wash: The Paint Does as It Pleases!
On the Run: Graded Wash Techniques
Once More, with Feeling!: Washes
It's a Give and Take: Applying and Removing Paint
Wet-on-Wet
Combining Techniques: A Little Bit of This and That
EXCURSION IN COLOR THEORY
Where Do Colors Come From?:
The Simple Science
Arranging Colors
Opposites Attract: Color Contrasts
From South Park to Stoplights: Types of Color
True Color: The Effect of Light
Every Color Tells a Story: Intensifying Your Sketches
It's All Relative: The Effects of Colors
Color Harmonies: Simple and Complex
Analogous, Monochromatic, and Complementary Harmonies
Triadic and Tetradic Harmonies
Cool-Cool and Warm-Warm Harmonies
Collecting Colors
Designing Color Harmonies: Working with Color Code Strips
Getting Out of Your Color Comfort Zone
The Blue Ridge Mountains: Color and Perspective
YOUR OWN STYLE
Less Is More
Me, Myself, and I: Finding Your Own Style
Style and Creativity
Throwing Down: Loosening Up Your Painting
Seek Not and You Shall Find: Imagination vs. Internet
Make It Matter
Priorities
BASICS / TOOLS
Paintboxes
Watercolor Pencils
Buying Paints
Mixing Paints
Impossible Hues: Bright Colors
Pimping Watercolors: Making Colors Pop
Liquid Watercolors: Bright Now, Pale Later
Into the Wild: Brushes
Even More Brushes
Paper
The Permanent Wave: Stretching Paper
The Contents of My Bag
OUT & ABOUT
Bad Weather: Painting Outdoors
The Other Viewpoint: Changing Perspective
Painting Water
Air, Fog, Smoke
Smog and Atmosphere
What Is Beauty Anyway?
TIPS & TRICKS
Composition and Design
Smudges and Spots
Painting What's Not There: Negative Space
White: A Special Case
Studies, Sketches, and Drafts
Undo
Merging Colors: Working from One Color
Working with Colored Paper
Special Effects
Lettering and Writing
Layouts, Scribbles, and Storyboards
Watercolor Illustrations
How Much Is Your Picture Worth?
Everything Ends: When Is a Picture Finished?
Index
