House and Building Portraits: Line and Wash Essentials

Hi, I'm Darren from Watercolor Mentor, and welcome to House and Building Portraits: Line and Wash Essentials. Line and wash was one of my first introductions to watercolor. It combines the benefits of both mediums and it is a great way to learn the basics of drawing and painting. Buildings and especially homes evoke emotions, a sense of place and belonging as well as deeply personal memories. In this class, you will learn how to create portraits of various homes and buildings using pen and watercolor. You'll learn how to apply drawing and painting techniques to create portraits of any building.

There were so many things that I wish someone had walked me through when I was learning line and wash. I want to share these essential tips and skills with you so that by the end of this course, you'll be able to show off some beautiful line and wash illustrations to your friends and family!

This class is aimed towards beginners with 6 line and wash demonstrations which I'll help guide you through step-by-step. There are scans, drawing, and tracing templates included as well for each demonstration to help you transfer your drawing over quickly and easily. You also have the option to follow along with my real-time drawing and narration videos for each scene.

I take a different approach from other instructors by narrating my demonstrations in real-time. I explain every technique I use in the context of the painting, such as using watercolor to paint shadows on a building. I'll be going over the basics of pen and wash sketching. I'll talk about what materials you'll need, your options, and which ones I use and recommend. If you have a pen, some watercolor paints, and paper, then you're set to go.

Additional materials including original painting scans, drawing/tracing templates, and reference photographs are included under the 'Materials Required' lecture.

I'll show you how to sketch with a pen quickly and accurately using a variety of techniques including drawing lines in segments, hatching, and using different sized nibs to your advantage. I also demonstrate essential watercolor techniques you can use over and over again for any painting.

In this course, I will cover basics such as:

• how to draw simple to complex buildings with a pen, and how to use watercolor to imply light, shade, and mood with a variety of colors.

• Materials - what paints, paper, brushes, and pens you will need.

• Hands-on pen sketching techniques - follow along and sketch with me. Learn how to hold your pen for different effects, draw basic lines and shapes, how to create depth and light/darkness in your drawing through the use of 'hatching'.

• Understanding light sources and how to paint realistic shadows.

• How to sketch a subject easily by simplifying a landscape into basic shapes, and using a combination of loose and accurate drawing styles.

• Hands-on lessons on essential watercolor techniques such as wet-in-wet and wet-on-dry.

• How to paint skies, buildings, land, figures, trees and shrubs, and other objects.

So join me in this class - I'm excited to show you how to create beautiful drawings and paintings that you can be proud of!

Course Project:

For the class project, refer to each demonstration video and sketch 2 or more of the featured landscapes in pen. You can also refer to the drawing and tracing templates which simplify the details to basic lines and elements. Practicing drawing is an important step in improving your painting skills. This provides you with an opportunity to compose and plan your painting. Once you've finished the drawing, use the watercolor steps and processes included to complete your painting.

If you've finished the 6 landscapes featured in this class, pick a royalty-free photograph or perhaps one of your own landscape photographs. Using the processes and techniques described, create your own unique painting.

Finally, upload your painting(s)! If you have questions or would like feedback on your work, let me know and I will get back to you.