Watercolor Essentials: Tone and Values Made Simple

Hi, I'm Darren from Watercolour Mentor, and welcome to Watercolor Essentials: Tone and Values Made Simple.

Do you wonder how some paintings have that 'three-dimensional' feel and depth that a photograph has? Sometimes through a painting, you can feel that you're right there in the moment! Getting the right tones or values will prevent you from creating flat and dull paintings. In this course, I'll help you understand how to create depth and ambiance through the use of light and dark colors. Tone or value is the essential component in any form of drawing and painting. It allows the expression of detail, time, and place. For example, a night scene will have many dark tones contrasted with lighter ones, whilst a beach scene will have mainly lighter tones contrasted with a few darker tones.

In this course, you'll learn the essentials of tone, and how to apply simple principles and techniques to sketch and paint 10 different watercolor scenes.

This course is aimed towards beginners with 10 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 can follow along to my real-time drawing and narration videos for all of these demonstrations.

In this course, I explain every technique I use while I'm painting, such as using watercolor to paint petals on a flower. I'll also discuss color choices, and the strength and specific mix of pigment I am using to help you get the right tones. If you have a pencil, some watercolor paints, and paper, then you're ready to go. In this course, I will cover basics such as:

• How to sketch simple scenes in pencil, 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.

• The theory and basic principles behind tone or value.

• Understanding light sources and how to paint realistic shadows.

• How to sketch easily by simplifying a subject into basic shapes, 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 backgrounds and use contrast combined with striking color combinations.

So join me in this course - let's create some paintings that you can be proud of!

Project Description

Assignment:

Your course project is to draw and paint your own watercolor scene using the tonal principles and techniques covered in this course! This can be a scene featured in one of the course demonstration videos or based on one of your own photographs or scenes you have observed outside.

You can also refer to the scanned drawing/painting templates attached below which will allow you to trace the drawings if you choose to do so. I recommend drawing each scene free hand. 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 in the course demonstrations to complete your painting.

Finally, upload your project!

Materials:

Use any pencil, watercolor paper, paints, and brushes you have available. I recommend:

• Mechanical pencil (0.5mm)

• 100% cotton watercolor paper or sketchbook

• Watercolor Paints: Hansa Yellow, Permanent/Perennial Red, Ultramarine Blue

• Watercolor Brushes - mop brush and a variety of round and flat brushes.

Getting Started:

Review the course demonstrations first. There are 10 different scenes that you can draw and paint from. You can also download the tracing templates to transfer over your drawing.

Looking to sketch and paint another landscape? Research some free reference photo websites, pick one of your own reference photos, or simply find an outdoor location where you can sit and paint. Using the steps and processes included in this course, create your own unique painting.

Sharing Your Work:

Share your final illustration and progress shots with the course by uploading to the Q&A or discussions on Udemy. If you have any questions or need more tips, please let me know. I'm happy to help.