In conclusion, I will add the following. Probably everyone already knows from school days: if you mix yellow and blue colors, it turns out green; yellow and red - orange, etc. Take your time, see how other colors behave when mixed, so that there are no accidents at work. Here, in principle, and all the secrets! The main thing in this business is training. Experiment first on small sheets and only then take large sheets for the main work. So that it doesn’t happen like one girl wrote to me after the master class: “Lena, I already ruined three sheets, but I didn’t succeed! ..”

Master class prepared by:

Hello everyone! Katya Shudrova is with you and today I will show you a fairly simple technique that has long become a classic - creating a background using watercolor. Watercolor never leaves anyone indifferent, and it appeared in postcards quite a long time ago. I also really love this material, but it does not lend itself to everyone - you need skill and practice. However, what we will create today is unlikely to fail! So, stock up on supplies and go! Fortunately, we need nothing at all:

• Watercolor paper and cardboard for the base>>>
• Watercolor (any)>>>
• Large brush no less than 8 (it is better to take a flat one)>>>
• Water in a jar - where without it!
• Pencil, ruler, eraser (if there is no faith in the eye) >>>
• Punch machine>>>
• Black ink>>>
• Stamp with the inscription>>>
• Acrylic block>>>
• Sequins >>>
• Roller glue, Glossy Accents or any sequin glue>>>
• Dry wipes (just in case)
• Cutter>>>

We will start by getting everything ready for work: we need paints, a brush, water and cardboard in quick access. For watercolor paper, I recommend taking a larger format than a postcard. I like to create a decorative sheet with 2 times the area of ​​what I need. I do this so that at the end of the work, I can choose the most attractive piece and use it.

Further, having picked up the shades I need, I spread a generous puddle of paint on the palette and, having moistened the brush well in it, I draw horizontal lines in one stroke. It is important that the brush is saturated, otherwise the stroke will break off in the middle of the work and you will have to start over. Practice to get started!

I drive all the droplets to one edge (to the end of the stroke), and then either collect it with a napkin, or by tilting the sheet towards the beginning of the movement, I distribute the pigment along the entire length of the stroke, making it more saturated.

Next, I spread a puddle of a different color and do the same. It is important to first finish with one color, and only then move on to another. Otherwise, all the stripes may turn out to be different shades. To make it easier to navigate, you can mark the places of the stripes with a ruler and a pencil before applying the paint. Just do not draw where the paint will be applied, otherwise you will not be able to erase these lines later. I did it by eye, without preliminary markup, and this is what I ended up with.

After I'm done and the surface of the sheet is dry (the puddles of paint are gone), I level it with a die cutter (Big Shot in my case). My plates are not the first freshness, so they will leave an ugly relief if you lay a sheet between them. To avoid this, I lay the sheet between the plates TAB1 and TAB2. Having already placed the cutting plates on top and a couple of sheets of writing paper or cardboard for density, I pass the "sandwich" through the typewriter 2-3 times.

I crop an even and smooth sheet, choosing the most interesting, in my opinion, fragment.

When viewing photographs, it may sometimes seem that it is almost impossible to display crystal clear water, fresh clear air, and unique landscapes of a frosty winter on paper.

After sorting through a pile of paper sheets and designer cardboard, it becomes obvious to the master that the effects listed above cannot be conveyed by anything other than watercolors. And they are available to everyone.

A high-quality watercolor background in scrapbooking will only work if you use a combination of watercolor paper, a brush, and watercolor paints in the right colors.

Important! Brushes should be made from appropriate materials: sponges, mini-mists (or sprayers).

The Basics of Creating a Watercolor Background a

First of all, you need to carefully consider the photo and highlight the colors prevailing in it.

Suppose these are the colors: blue, brown and turquoise.

It will take plastic bag or a paper file in which you want to place a sheet of paper white color.

Then - choose the desired color of paint and apply it to the sheet. It is allowed to squeeze the paint from the brush with your fingers for a greater effect.

Now you should put a paper sheet on top, gently press and smooth it.

A "puddle" of paints forms on its surface.

To get an even more interesting effect, you can tilt the sheet in different directions. In this case, the paints will begin to spread and mix, forming picturesque stains after drying.

Now you need to dry the paper sheet. If the spot of paint on it turned out to be too pale, you can add the desired paint with a brush and turn the sheet again. The paint will begin to spread over the already formed spot.

Too dark a stain can be diluted with water using a spray bottle. Water will dissolve the paint, making the stain less saturated and dark.

In practice, it will become clear that not only the method described above can be used to obtain a color spot.

To create such a watercolor background, you will need the following:

• moisten a sheet of paper in the center with a sponge or spray;
• with a brush, add the paint of the required colors to the moistened area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe paper sheet;
• rotate the sheet until the desired result is obtained;
• in the process of creating, too light spots can be diluted with paint, and too dark spots with water;

What is the difference between the spots that were created by the first and second methods?

The spot obtained by the first method has clear boundaries. The second spot will have blurred edges. If you want to paint over the sheet completely, it is better to use a sponge to completely wet it with water. The paint is then applied in quick strokes or blots over the top.

To get the following backgrounds you need:

• choose the right stamp for the page;
• make an impression, add white powder, bake;
• the paint can be applied as indicated in the first method or with a spray gun;
• to obtain an interesting effect, it is necessary to rotate the sheet, while the paint spreads and mixes.

The methods described above allow you to create a dark outline around an embossed (3D) image using watercolor paint. This outline serves as a shadow and creates a 3D effect.

To get this watercolor background, you need to do the following:

• Pour water into the spray bottle, add the necessary paint to the liquid with a brush. Areas of a sheet of paper on which it is necessary to obtain a background of this color should be moistened with a spray bottle. This must be done carefully to avoid puddles (do not spray in the same place several times).
• Similar to the method described in the previous paragraph to dilute the paint of a different color. Spray it on a sheet of paper in the required places. It is more convenient to use several sprayers at once.
• Wait until the applied paint dries, add splashes of a more saturated color or shade. Rushing in this case is not recommended to avoid puddles on the sheet.

How to straighten a sheet after paint treatment

To do this, you need a film (or several sheets of newspaper) and office paper. Newspaper or film is needed to absorb the ink, and office paper will prevent newspaper text from being reprinted.

The sheet can be straightened by doing the following:

• Put a partially dried sheet under the press, on which you first put office paper with newsprint sheets or film on top.
• Gently iron the sheet with an iron. If the image was created with a hot embossing technique, it can easily be destroyed.
• If the paint on the sheet is already dry before leveling, it should be lightly moistened with water on the opposite side before being placed under the press.
• A rather radical way is to glue the sheet to the cardboard. To do this, it is better to use a glue stick, which should evenly apply the adhesive base to the sheet. You can also use adhesive tape, which glue the sheet around the perimeter and in the center to avoid the appearance of bubbles.

Some subtleties, the knowledge of which comes with practice:

• Uniform drying of the sheet can be achieved by completely wetting it with water.
• If you need to make watercolor sheets for an album, it is better to use watercolor paper that is not too thick (up to 230 g / sq. M) with no cotton fibers or other additives. Otherwise, the paper will be difficult to stick and it may lead.
• For simple pages with a small puddle of paint, it is better to choose watercolor paper with a high sheet density.

Some tips from master Elena Vinogradova:

1. To avoid mishaps when mixing watercolor colors, it is recommended to experiment with this before doing the job.
2. For example blue and yellow colors when mixed, they will give green, red and yellow - orange.
3. Before using a combination of other colors, it is better to mix them on a draft and see the result.
4. Small sheets of watercolor paper can serve as drafts.
5. That's all the secrets. The main thing is to practice well before starting the main work.

Today, with the scrapbook market brimming with great paper offerings, it's getting harder and harder to be individual and original. And I want to create an unusual, surprising and unlike anyone else's creation ...

I suggest you take a closer look at watercolors. They will help make your work unique.

In addition to the usual blots that we often use in our work, you can also create backgrounds with the help of paints, combining them with stamping and various scrap decorations.

Backgrounds created with watercolors are always different and do not look like the previous result. They can be used in art magazines, pages, postcards, business cards. It is a bright and personalized replacement for traditional scrap paper.

The creation process is not difficult for both adults and children.

Invite your little ones to play with you and make their own backdrop. Or create your own unique design paper.

And believe me, every time you will get something unique ...

And I'll tell you a few ways known to me (in fact, there are a lot of them)

We will need:

With

• watercolor paper,
• watercolor paints, you can use ink diluted with water instead of watercolor,
• brushes with soft pile, or you can do without brushes at all .... ;)
• jar of water,
• a hair dryer will speed up the process of drying the paper, but you can do without it,
• oilcloth for the workplace, you can even wear an apron.

Watercolor - what is it?

Watercolor ( fr. aquarelle- watery; ital. acquarello) are special paints that, when dissolved in water, form a transparent suspension of fine pigment, and thereby allow creating the effect of lightness, airiness and subtle color transitions. (from Wikipedia).

The main rules of watercolor - she loves clean water (change it more often), do not mix more than 3-4 colors at the same time when drawing, otherwise you will get an ugly dirty color when mixing them, use watercolor paper.

main feature watercolors - when it dries, it noticeably pales, making the picture delicate, and the paper becomes like velvet.

The use of watercolor in creating backgrounds for work

Option one "Watercolor on a dry sheet"

We will need watercolor paper, on which we drip liquid diluted watercolor. The higher we raise the brush, the more beautiful the blots turn out. By adding different shades, we get each time a new, not similar to the previous, background for our work. We cut the paper dyed in this way and use it as scrap paper.

The business card is made using the technique described above.

Instead of blots, you can also color the paper all over, applying paint in horizontal stripes with a wide soft brush, but with different shades of paint, indicating, for example, the sky and the earth (pink, yellow or blue sky to the middle of the sheet, and blue water or white snow, or a green meadow from middle down). This technique is called washing. Also add pure water, then the color transitions will be smooth. Wait for the top paint to dry so the horizon line doesn't smudge, or apply a strip of painter's tape and peel it off when it's completely dry. Then paint the bottom of the sheet.

The postcard is made using the technique described above,

where the dried background is stamped "wood" and " best regards"

The tree is painted with watercolor pencils.

Option two "Watercolor on a wet sheet"

The main thing is to act quickly while the leaf is damp. Moisten it with a damp sponge, dip it in a bowl of clean water, or simply put it under a faucet.

Add different shades of color, drip with water. Then the blots flow into one another.

The base of the postcard is cut out of the paper dyed in this way.

Decorated with picture, flower mix, ribbon,

label, paper flower, leaf.

Or do the so-called wet wash - paint the background, starting from the top edge of the sheet, applying paint in stripes on wet paper from dark to light. You can do this with several shades of the same color, with the introduction of pure water.

In this way it is good to depict the sky, space, water, etc.

The umbrella is drawn with watercolor pencils on a dry background.

An interesting result is obtained if the wet painted background is sprinkled with simple salt. This results in a grainy pattern.

The postcard is made using the technique described above.

Blobs in the form of tree crowns dripped onto watercolor paper,

abundantly sprinkled raw blots with salt.

After drying, she scraped it off, painted trunks and branches.

Decorated with perforated and punched leaves,

homemade paper applications, raffia.

You can also pre-draw the pattern with a piece of wax candle (dots, curls, polka dots) and fill it with watercolors. The wax drawing will show through after being filled with watercolor paint.

The background of the postcard is cut out of paper dyed in this way.

Decorated with a picture, flowers, ribbon,

Or draw a picture with colored wax pencils, and then fill it with watercolors. Watercolor will color only white unpainted areas.

Gail Dowell, jewelry maker and artist. this moment she teaches at a cooperative high school home school.

Painting a Dark and Bright Watercolor Background

I have been painting with watercolors for over ten years. I like to use a lot of paint and especially to draw a dark background. My drawing style has evolved over time. Including exactly how I draw my backgrounds. When I started painting, I first of all painted my main subject in the picture and left the background for last.

Isn't it great to draw interesting things first? Yes, but when I left the background for the end, I always wondered: "So what's next?" Over the years, I have come to understand that you need to plan the process of drawing. How to include the main object in the background at the very beginning, before doing anything else. The next practical lesson is my decision on how to draw the background and I'm sure it will evolve further as I continue to paint.

All drawings are by Gail Dowell.

My old way of painting dark backgrounds with watercolors.

Without depth and brightness

The picture above is my first work with a dark background. I painted the main subject first and only then painted the background around the Columbine flower using a thick layer of Indigo and Blue. It was good decision at that time, since this background contrasted in the picture with a flower. However, I was limited in that I was unable to change or add color and depth to the painting.

Achieving brightness and depth

The top work is one I did last year using a new dark background technique. It takes a little more time and planning, but it's very easy to do.

The following practical lesson in pictures will show how I painted using layers of paint (in other words - glaze) of three primary colors: red, yellow and blue. By using thin layers and blending my own colors, I got a more vibrant background. You can see that different colors are used, which I layered.

And now the lesson, step by step, how I drew it.

Use only the best watercolor paper

When you apply many layers of watercolor paint, you need to choose a good quality paper that will stand it all. Will withstand layering and re-wetting with water without warping. There is nothing more unfortunate when, halfway through the process of drawing your picture, the paper starts to fall apart. My choice fell on Archer #140 cold pressed watercolor paper. Always use at least 140 g/m3.

Step one

The next series of drawings of the dogwood flower will clearly show how I drew and planned my background. First, I drew a sketch of the object, drew it in detail and started painting around (negative drawing). Initially I used Antwerp blue for the background.

step two

Next, add Aureolin yellow glazing. Allow each layer to dry completely before applying the next one. It is very important when layering to use light hand so as not to disturb the previous layers.

Step Three

After, I applied a coat of Quinacridone Rose. Choose basic shades for better blending of tones. Some colors do not mix well with others and may give a muddy result.

Step Four

At this stage, we return to Antwerp Blue, but this time we apply it lightly so that it dissolves into the background itself. We add elements to the background, they will not appear bright, but on the contrary, the tones will muffle the background, making it dark at the same time. The dogwood flower comes to the fore against such a background.

Step Five

After applying a layer of Antwerp Blue, I again apply Aureolin Yellow around the painted twigs and around the foreground. Using this method, slowly build up the depth of the background in your painting.

Step Six

At this point, I realized that I was approaching the desired saturation of the background. Now I started to control my color by adding blue and yellow, eliminating the red completely. All this so that I have a predominantly dark green background.

Last step

There is great symbolism in the dogwood flower. I got inspiration for this painting after hearing the legend about this flower. It says that the petals of the dogwood flower represent the cross of Christ, and the recesses in them are the nails placed in the hands and feet of Christ.

Drawing the background layer by layer takes more time, but the result is definitely worth it.

Watercolor paints

The three main colors I used in this tutorial are Atwerpene Blue, Aureolin Yellow and Quinacridone Pink. Other shades of the primary colors can be used, but some combinations may give a dirty look. Experiment before you get started. I have used Daniel Smith paints for most of my work, but any art paint will work.

Another example of a dark background: