Hi, I’m Darren from Watercolor Mentor and welcome to “Atmospheric Watercolor Painting - Techniques and Landscapes. Atmospheric perspective or aerial perspective is a crucial but little known technique that allows you to create depth and mood in your paintings. In this course, I will show you use to use wet-in-wet watercolor techniques to add an atmospheric element to your paintings, which adds a romantic and soft feel to landscapes by allowing you to push back objects into the distance or pull them closer to the viewer. I’ll show you how to alter the mixture of paint and water in order to create blurry and soft shapes in the background. I’ll also show you how to layer darker values over the top of lighter ones in an already wet area. This course is aimed towards beginners with 6 full landscape 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’ll be able to follow along in real-time to my drawing and narration videos. In this course, I narrate my demonstrations in real-time. I explain every technique I use in the context of the painting, such as layering into wet areas to paint shadows of a tree. I’ll be going over the basics of wet-in-wet watercolor painting. I’ll talk about what materials you’ll need, your options, and which ones I use and recommend. If you have some brushes, watercolor paints, and paper, then you’re set to go. So join me in this course - let’s create some beautiful atmospheric paintings that you can be proud of! In this course, I will cover basics such as: How to Draw and compose your painting - these lessons are placed at the beginning of each demonstration to show you how I sketch in basic details. I will show you how to place the horizon line, and how to quickly and accurately sketch in the reference photo. I will also talk about how I use my sketch to plan out the steps of my watercolor painting afterward. How to use complementary colors to create vibrancy and interest in your watercolor paintings. How to paint skies, sunsets, water, trees, buildings, and figures in a soft and loose manner, using a combination of wet-in-wet and wet-in-dry techniques. I’ll talk about how and when to wet your watercolor paper to obtain particular results such as the appearance of soft clouds, and when to paint in more rigid and accurate shapes once the paper has dried. The importance of timing in watercolors and when to use different brushes. Additional materials including original painting scans, drawing/tracing templates, and reference photographs are included under the ‘Materials Required’ lecture. Project DescriptionAssignment: Your course project is to draw and paint your own atmospheric landscape! This can be a scene featured in one of the course demonstration videos or based on one of your own photographs or scenes you’ve 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. Complete your drawing lightly and loosely in pencil so that it won’t show through in the final painting. This is especially important for background details such as mountains. Once you’ve finished the drawing, use the watercolor steps and processes included in the course demonstrations to complete your painting. Materials: Use any normal or mechanical pencil, watercolor paper, and brushes you have available. I recommend: Mechanical pencil (0.5mm) 100% cotton watercolor paper or sketchbook Watercolour Brushes - mop brush and a variety of round and flat brushes. Getting Started: Review the course demonstrations first. There are 6 different demonstration landscapes that you can draw and paint from. You can also download the tracing templates to transfer over your drawing. Remember to watch the course videos on wet-in-wet watercolor techniques and practice these techniques prior to beginning your landscape painting. This will build your confidence and understanding of how to apply these techniques. Looking to sketch and paint another scene? Research some free reference photo websites and find a reference photo you would like to paint. Using the steps and processes included in this course, create your own unique atmospheric painting. Sharing Your Work: Once you’ve finished, share your final painting and progress shots with the course by uploading them to the discussions or Q & A section in Udemy.I’ll provide you constructive feedback on your painting if you ask. If you have any questions or need more tips, please let me know. I’m happy to help.
