Alright you lot, welcome back to my channel.
So you know I've been talking about making a new 'everything you need to know about gouache'
type video for a while now, and funnily enough, the other day, Strathmore Artist Papers, they
approached me asking if I would make a series of short Gouache 101 videos for their Youtube
channel.
So they now have three of my videos on their channel but what I've done here for you guys
is just combine all the stuff from those videos into one video that's slightly more concise
but also includes a couple of bits and bobs that I didn't get round to mentioning in those
videos.
So obviously you can go and check out those videos on their channel, I would recommend
checking out their channel anyway because they've got some really useful videos on there.
Just stay and watch this one first!
Right, so to start off with.
Let's get to know it medium a bit better.
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based paint.
It’s often referred to as opaque watercolour as it performs quite similarly but has a heavier
density and a much higher level of pigment which means it can be layered and it also
packs an impressive colour pay-off.
Other notable features of this paint are its velvety matte-finish, fast drying-time and
its ability to be reactivated with water once dry; which is pretty handy if, like me, you
have a habit of letting your paints dry on the mixing palette, or if you want to rework
a particular section of a finished painting.
It’s a medium that can be used for a lot of different things.
It’s bold, flat, poster colour finish makes it ideal for use in illustration, and its
versatility means it’s also a popular fine-art medium, as well as a favourite for calligraphers.
If you’ve been using watercolour paints, you probably have the right tools already.
With gouache, brushes typically used for watercolour will do just fine, and obviously the brushes
you choose could depend on the finish you’re after, but most of the time anything that’s
smooth to give you a streak free finish and something flexible but sturdy enough to handle
the weight of the paint will do.
For paper, again, watercolour paper is your best bet as, unlike sketching and drawing
papers, they’re specifically manufactured to handle wet application.
Here, I’m using the Strathmore 400 series 300gsm paper.
This paper and mixed-media paper too are made with “sizing” or the right additives so
the sheet reacts well to water.
And you’ll ideally want to go 300gsm or higher since a heavier paper is going to be
strong enough to avoid warping or buckling when wet.
Whether you go hot-pressed or cold-pressed is really up to your personal preference.
Like most mediums, gouache is manufactured by several brands who all come with their
own varying price points and I get asked a lot whether it’s worth dishing out on the
pricier ones or if the cheap ones can perform just as well.
To get right to the point, yes you will see a difference in quality between the cheaper
ones and the more expensive ones.
I personally use a combination of a few brands at a couple of different tiers of quality.
The cheaper ones, like Reeves, do perform okay.
Like most affordable paints, you get the overall look and feel that you’re going for just
not to its full potential and with a few minor inconveniences.
With cheaper gouache, some problems you might run into will be increased streakiness in
the finish, a more difficult time getting the right consistency and a painting with
less of the colour brilliance you might be hoping for.
A favourite brand of many gouache artists is Winsor and Newton, which is a great place
to start with gouache I think.
You’ll be paying a little more for fewer paints than if you were to buy a cheaper set
but the quality of the paint really speaks for itself.
If you want a true gouache experience, and you don’t want to spend a lot of money,
I would simply recommend sticking to fewer, higher quality paints to start with, maybe
bulking out your collection with cheaper paints where necessary but having those better quality
paints as your base will give you the finish, and the lovely pigment that gouache is known
for.
Today I’m using Royal Talens gouache which is in the same sort of price bracket as Winsor
and Newton; though I realised it is slightly cheaper and you get bigger tubes.
Now I have to say, I received this paint to consider for use this video, and I actually
made no promises even to mention it at all, but yeah, I actually really like it, and I’m
so glad I found it.
. And they’re a great option for people at any skill level with gouache paint as they
offer a few different sets to suit your needs or your budget.
And that’s really all you need to know about the paint itself, now I’m gonna get into
some tips to get started with it and some general tips and techniques for when you’re
using it.
To get started with your gouache painting, all you’ll need is a sheet of paper, a selection
of paintbrushes, and water to clean your brushes, you might also want a separate cup for the
water that you’ll be adding to dilute the paint to keep your colours clean.
Somewhere to mix your paint.
And of course you’ll need the paint itself.
You’ll want to add a little bit of water to your paint at a time, experimenting with
different ratios of water to paint to see what works best.
You’re looking for a creamy consistency that flows easily on the paper without leaving
streaks.
You’ll generally be able to feel and see when the paint consistence isn’t quite right.
Gouache blends evenly together on the palette, with mixed colours often ending up more vivid
than those out of the tube.
It can be tempting to keep adding water as you add colour, but remember to only add a
little at a time.
You might also want to bear in mind that colours dry to a slightly different colour to when
they’re wet, usually with lights drying darker and darks drying lighter.
There are plenty of ways to blend colours together but my favourite way to approach
it is to get the two colours I want to mix together and mix up one or two shades in between,
lay those colours down in stripes, in a gradient from one to the next and blend the gaps in
between.
Depending on the look you’re going for it’s really best to be blending paint in paint,
rather than in water.
When applied carefully, it’s possible to layer different colours on top of each other
without disturbing and mixing with the one below.
This is great with the paint in its opaque state as you can cover mistakes or add entirely
new elements to your painting . It can also be effective with washes to add different
tonal values or to change the mood of your painting completely!
Just remember to make sure the layer of paint you’re painting on is completely dry before
you go in on top of it!
Because gouache is so versatile, there are many different ways to use it depending on
your style.
Experiment with how you mix, blend and layer the paints to find a finish that suits you.
So putting it all together and revising all the points we’ve covered, I’m gonna do
a quick gouache painting to demonstrate how I use it and to put all those techniques into
practice.
To start off with, I have all the tools I’ll need laid out in front of me.
For this painting I’m going to be using Strathmore’s 500 series watercolour paper
and Royal Talens gouache.
Next, I’m going to start mixing up my first colour.
I plan on starting my painting with a wash of pink in the background so I’m adding
quite a bit of water to my paint at this stage.
I’m creating a smooth wash of colour around my subject, adding more water as I get closer
to the edge of my painting to create a gradient that softens or fades out slightly.
Then I deepen that colour on my pallet slightly, adding blue and more of that magenta with
a bit less water, so my paint is a little more opaque as I build towards the foreground.
Because gouache does dry so quickly, I never have to wait too long between each layer,
most of the time by the time I’ve finished on one side of the painting, the previous
layer on the other side of the painting is dry enough to paint over without worrying
about smudging or blending.
With my next layer, now that we’re getting to the foreground, I’m adding almost no
water to my paint at all to give this part the most opaque finish.
I also add some small extra details with an almost dry brush to give a textured look to
the bark of the tree.
And so already so far in this painting, you can really see the versatility of gouache
paint, from light gradients to solid colour to textured lines.
A simple way I’ve found to keep a sense of cohesion across the colours of in my painting
is to create new colours while still incorporating the shades you already have on your pallet.
So here I’m mixing up a brown using the purple that I have used so far with the addition
of yellow.
And to give this part more texture I’m also smudging in a few darker areas here and there.
Now when I’m making this green, again, I’m mixing it in with some of the other colours
I have on my pallet and then I’m just layering it thickly on top of the existing parts of
the painting that I want to cover.
I also use my favourite blending technique of gradually adding intermingling strips from
one colour to another.
Then, it’s my favourite part for my particular style of painting which is adding some line
work.
What I love about gouache, and something that this brand in particular is great at, is how
far you can stretch a small amount of paint.
It applies smoothly and consistently to create bold, crisp lines without needing to reapply
paint to your brush too often to disrupt your flow.
So I carry on like that for the remainder of the painting, I’m also adding some outline
details to the bushes in the foreground.
Then for some finishing touches, I actually use water to reactivate and smudge out some
of the dried outlines on the face to darken up some areas I want to bring out a bit more
and then it’s just a case of adding some white highlights and I’m all done!
And there you have it; a confused bear in the woods.
And that’s really all there is to it!
I really tried to cover all the questions and things that you lot have brought up in
the past but of course if I have missed anything, you can always leave a comment or question
below, I’ll do my very best to get back to you.
Other than that, I hope you all just have fun with it, keep creating beautiful things,
keep being beautiful things and I will see you next time.
Bye!