Learning To Paint Elements in the Watercolour Landscape With Corel Painter 12 by Joan A Hamilton

 

I've been so busy focusing on how to make teaching videos (of sorts) in Camtasia Studio 7 that I forgot to announce that my course Learning To Paint Elements in the Watercolour Landscape With Corel Painter 12 was posted a few days ago!

 

As you may know it has been a goal of mine for awhile to teach a course on painting watercolours digitally at Digital Art Academy.  I love to blog about it, talk about it and share learning experiences with other digital painters, so this seems to be a logical next step (believe it or not I am a pretty logical person, it's just that my husband's logic differs from mine sometimes! lol!)

 

Description:

This course is designed to introduce you to painting some of the natural elements in the watercolour landscape. You will learn to use all the watercolour variants with emphasis on Digital Watercolours and Watercolours. You will learn to identify the elements of the visual language of watercolour and apply them to your work.

You will build skills and confidence each week as you progress from simple washes to painting the natural elements in all seasons. Knowledge of the basics of composition will give you the impetus to paint and interpret scenes 'your way.'

 Students will be able to comfortably use Painter 11 or Painter 12 (minus Real Watercolours) for this course.

The digital brush techniques are similar to traditional watercolours. Many of the skills you will learn have corresponding traditional counterparts. If you are a traditional media painter and are thinking of trying digital watercolours this will be a good crossover course for you.

Skill Level:

Beginner to Intermediate
•    Prior knowledge of Painter 11 or 12 will be very helpful.
•    If you are new to Corel Painter consider taking Elaina Moore-Kelly's Course Introduction to Painter 12-Part I


Before Class:

•    Download the Custom Brush Sets you will need:

•    My Custom Sets of brushes used in this course (excluding any of John Derry's brushes)
 
•    I will be using Skip Allen's: Splashing Water, Real Watercolours 2 (made prior to P12 Real Watercolours and are not the same), Soft Skin, Skip's Watercolours, and Eastern Water. They are available for free on his website. SkipAllenPaints

•    Purchase John Derry's Watercolour Brushes at The PixlBlog if you are considering it.

•    Find some photo references of simple landscapes that appeal to you.

•    If you have time, watch some painting watercolours traditionally videos on YouTube. Stick to simple ones like 'How to Paint Trees'. There are tons of them out there, and they will help you develop your eye for seeing the 'visual language' of watercolour. Also search for watercolour artists whose style you like and take the time to really look at it and discover why you like it.


•    The course will include many PDF's with detailed screen captures and written instructions and video demonstrations of the techniques and tips used.

•    Extra Resources:  
o    PDF- Considerations for Printing your Watercolour
o    PDF Links to other resources I have found helpful. We can all add to this.
 

Before Course- PDF's Available for download (videos as well)

•    Basic Brush Control Settings
•    Digital Watercolour Brush Control Settings
•    Watercolour Brush Control Settings
•    Paper Sizes and Paper Choices

Spend some time prior to the course exploring the brushes and becoming comfortable with watercolour mark making.  You will discover how being able to control the properties of your brushes will open a whole new world of possibilities for you. We will look at how Skip Allen's and John Derry's brushes can add to your watercolour repertoire. You will learn the basics of how paper textures affect the appearance of your watercolour.
    

Week One:

Observing the Visual Language of Watercolour and How to Use it in our Digital Watercolours
 
•    Why and how to become aware of the characteristics of watercolour (Video Presentation of some of my favourite watercolourists)
•    Various Kinds of Washes
•    Wet into Wet Techniques
•    Blending Watercolours
•    Dry Brushing
•    Creating Soft and Hard Edges
•    Getting the Pooling Effect
•    Fine Lines
•    How to Paint a Bloom or Back run
•    Painting with Gradients   
•    Splatter and Spatter Techniques
•    Sponge Techniques
•    Watercolour Airbrush Techniques
•    Removing Colour (Lifting Colour, Scraping and Eraser Salt)

This week you will begin to learn to recognize certain characteristics of the visual language of watercolour.  You will learn to apply various washes, wet into wet, lifting, scraping, drops and splatter, sponge techniques and dry brush techniques within a watercolour painting. This is the week to experiment with your brushes. Make notes on how you accomplished things successfully.


Week One Assignment:

Create several watercolour studies using each of the techniques we learned. Don't try to put them all in each one, and don't worry if your painting is very abstract. Play with (study them is what I really mean) the brushes and the techniques to see if you can create watercolour characteristics that have similar 'visual language' of watercolour as traditional ones. You will learn to paint skies, trees, land/rocks and water and begin to develop your own watercolour style.  
 

Week Two:

•    Working With Layers in Watercolours
•    Using the Lasso Tool in your Watercolour Workflow
•    Masking to Preserve Whites
•    Applying a Non-Destructive Texture Layer
•    Drying your Digital and Watercolour layers
•    When and How to Lift Canvas to Watercolour Layer
•    When and How to Wet the Entire Watercolour Layer
•    Techniques for Painting Watercolour Skies and Clouds

This week you will learn more about using layers in your workflow and how you can apply a non-destructive texture layer. Why and when you should lift your canvas to a watercolour layer. Learning to mask certain areas of your canvas to preserve whites and various ways to remove colour and soften edges will all help you on your way to painting exciting skies and clouds.

Focusing on painting 'skyscapes,' we will paint the sky at different times of the day, in various weather conditions and for all the seasons. Students will be encouraged to use reference photos and sketches at all points in this course.


Week Two Assignment:

Paint some skyscapes with the skills you have learned this week. Do as many as you have the time for. (You won't be wasting paper, paint or time!) Practice making soft and hard edges, leaving some whites, remove some of the colour by the methods you've learned this week.  Make use of layers and different brush categories. Apply a watercolour texture, and wet the entire canvas layer. Have fun and don't forget to paint the sky in various moods, seasons and times of day. The possibilities are as big as the sky! Don't forget to build your own cloud references photo file.

Week Three:

•    Compositional Basics and Why They Matter
•    Using a Photo Reference to Help You Sketch
•    Using a Value Study
•    Colour Harmony
•    Tips and Techniques for Painting Trees and Land Masses

In week three we will look at some compositional guidelines that help improve our paintings. We will discuss using a photo reference, sketches and value studies.  We will touch a little on colour, colour mixing, colour harmony and ways to adjust and correct colours and dye concentration.  You will learn to paint different kinds of trees, and simple land masses on different planes in the painting.
   
Week Three Assignment:

Draw a sketch from a photo reference with trees, sky and a simple land mass.
You may do it freehand or trace from a Quick Clone.
Paint a simple value study of it using digital watercolours variants.
Using your value study as guide, paint the scene with a limited harmonious colour palette. Control of value is best learned by using a limited color and working toward value gradations. Concentrate on shapes and keeping the values correct rather than detail at this point.
 
Week Four:

•    Using the Transform and Mirror Image Tools
•    Adding Creeks, Lakes and Rivers to Your Landscapes
•    Techniques for Painting Rocks and Stones Convincingly
•    Introduction to Painting Snow


You will become comfortable with painting these elements in the natural world. Use the skills you have learned in prior weeks to build on these techniques as you learn to add more elements to your landscape.

Week Four Assignment:

This week I want you to Paint a watercolour with some of the elements you learned to paint this week. Do a few in different seasons to try painting water, rocks and snow. Use all the techniques you have learned in this course for a final painting.

Don't forget the Considerations for Printing Your Watercolour Painting PDF in the Before Course Resource Section