hello and welcome to today's challenge tutorial in this tutorial we'll be
learning about monochromatic artworks what are they why would you want to
create them and of course how they can turn you into a better artist we will
start off by looking at what monochrome artworks are monochrome means one color
and by far the most popular monochrome artworks are graphite drawings. Chances
are when you started off with your artistic journey
you were given a pencil and an eraser and taught to draw graphite pencils
aren't however the only way to create monochromatic artworks we can create
them in any medium. Monochrome also doesn't mean black and white that means
one color. You can pick any color under the sun to create a monochrome artwork.
You could paint a landscape in all red or draw a still life using only variations
of blue. So you can just pick a color and off you go right? Well yes or no. Of
course you can use any color under the sun to create any painting you like
there is certainly nothing stopping you but there is however one factor that you
want to consider before you whip out your brushes and start painting. Each
color conveys a different feeling or emotion for example red makes you think
of heat and danger. Green on the other hand is a cool color so it makes you
think of grass moss and subsequently cold feet. Can you see where I'm going
with this if you want a nice peaceful artwork for your bedroom red is
probably not the color to go for you need to consider what emotional effect
the final artwork will have on the viewer. In this case the pastel color
would be a better choice for the bedroom. So here's something interesting: do you
say monochrome or monotone when referring to an artwork created using
shades of a single color. I know that I often say
monotone and maybe you do too? The truth is this is totally wrong
think about it, monotone means the same tonal value no highlights, no shadows and
no mid-tones. If you were to use any one tonal value you would have to use
multiple colors of the same tonal value in order to create your artwork. This
would leave you with an interesting but very flat looking artwork. In fact if you
had to take a black and white photo of that artwork you wouldn't see anything
it would appear as if there's nothing there. To illustrate that let's look at
my palette in the top row I've mixed up four colors a light through to medium
through to dark. Then I have adjusted the tonal values in the row below so that they are
all the same tonal value by adding white to them. Now compare the colors on the
color photograph and the black and white photograph and notice how the equal
tonal value colors on a black and white photo all appear the same. So the
question is then why would you want to paint or draw in monochrome when you
have all the colors of the rainbow at your disposal
the answer is actually quite simple - for the effect. We have already touched
on how color affects the emotions and mood of the person looking at your
artwork by the same token you can convey your own emotions and mood in the
artwork if you want to paint something dull and dreary only use Gray's or
Browns. There are also more mundane reasons you would want to work in
monochrome. One of them being that you may want the color in your artwork to
match the color scheme in your lounge, another is to create a monochrome under
painting before adding color to the artwork
why would you want to do this? One of the biggest problems I find that new artists
have is that they are scared of using contrast
They don't want to go too dark in case the artwork ends up looking dull and dead.
Ironically, the opposite is true. You need dark shadows in your artwork to
make your highlights appear bright. Working in monochrome forces you to
ignore the color and to look at the underlying tonal values and the minute
you do this it becomes obvious that you need good contrasts otherwise the
artwork looks flat. The most common method of doing a monochrome under
painting is the classic Grisaille layer used by the old masters. With this method
the entire scene is painted using only shades of neutral gray. Once dry the
color is then added using transparent glazes. A different method is called Verdaccio.
Here yellow is added to the gray in order to get a greenish
monochrome under painting. This technique is very popular with portrait
artists. Landscape artists often like to use burnt sienna to create a quick
monochrome under painting or sketch of the scene before moving over to painting
it in color. The advantage of working in monochrome is that you're removing the
whole color aspect from the artwork. This not only gives a nice effect when the
artwork is hanging on the wall, it also makes it so much easier for the beginner
to master a medium. They are less overwhelmed when having to concentrate
on the tonal values only. Then once they have a good grasp on the tonal values,
adding color is so much easier. This is why most our tutors will start you
off with pencil drawing before progressing you to painting. Now let's
see what we can do to make our monochrome artworks stand out even more
One way of creating drama in your monochrome art works is to add a spot of
additional color to the focal point. Doing this cements the viewers eye on
the focal point. A popular way of doing this is to create the whole artwork in
grayscale and then add color to the focal point.
When not working in grayscale you could also use the opposite color in the focal
area this will make the focal area pop and appear really vibrant. You could also
use a harmonious color to not break the emotional effect of the artwork and give
you more of a calming feel. When doing the actual painting of a monochrome
artwork I like to mix up five versions of the chosen color. I start by mixing
the base color (the color I want the overall artwork to have). Then I mix a
highlight and shadow version of that color using standard color mixing rules.
These colors are then placed on the palette spread apart like this. Adjacent
colors can then be mixed to create the mid-tones. This gives me a good variety
of tonal values to choose from when painting. I will then block in these
colors on the canvas at the places where the tonal values correspond. To merge
adjacent colors together I look to see how they meet - do they meet in a
sharp-edged, do they blend smoothly together or form a texture. Now onto this
tutorial's challenge. Your challenge is to pick five objects. Four that match and one
that doesn't. For example you could pick four objects from the kitchen and one
from the workshop. Set these five objects up to form a simple still life.
Then paint or draw all the matching objects as well as the background in
monochrome. You choose which color you would like it to be any color doesn't
matter. Finally complete the odd object by using a different color. Instructions
on where to post your artwork are in the description below.
Good luck I look forward to seeing your artwork