Learning to Paint Elements in the Watercolor Landscape with ®Corel Painter 12

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Instructor: Joan Hamilton

Description

This course is designed to introduce you to painting some of the natural elements in the watercolour landscape. You will learn to use all the watercolour variants with emphasis on Digital Watercolours and Watercolours. You will learn to identify the elements of the visual language of watercolour and apply them to your work.

You will build skills and confidence each week as you progress from simple washes to painting the natural elements in all seasons. Knowledge of the basics of composition will give you the impetus to paint and interpret scenes ‘your way.’

The digital brush techniques are similar to traditional watercolours. Many of the skills you will learn have corresponding traditional counterparts. If you are a traditional media painter and are thinking of trying digital watercolours this will be a good crossover course for you.

 

Skill Level

Intermediate to Advanced with prior knowledge of Painter versions 11 and 12. If you are new to ®Corel Painter consider taking Elaina Moore-Kelly’s Introduction to Painter 12 Part I and Part II.

Software Requirements

  • Microsoft® Windows® XP, Microsoft® Windows® Vista or 7, or Apple® Mac OS® X operating system
  • Corel Painter 12.1 or greater

Hardware Requirements

  • A computer capable of running Corel Painter.
  • Wacom Intuos, Cintiq or comparable tablet is highly recommended. With a mouse you may suffer frustration and not be able to take full advantage of the new features that Painter 12 offers.

Before Class

  • Download the Custom Brush Sets you will need:
  •  My Custom Sets of brushes used in this course (excluding any of John Derry’s brushes)

I will be using Skip Allen’s: Splashing Water, Real Watercolours 2 (made prior to P12 Real Watercolours and are not the same), Soft Skin, Skip’s Watercolours, and Eastern Water. They are available for free on his website. SkipAllenPaints

  •  Purchase John Derry’s Watercolour Brushes at The PixlBlog if you are considering it.
  •  Find some photo references of simple landscapes that appeal to you.
  •  If you have time, watch some painting watercolours traditionally videos on YouTube. Stick to simple ones like ‘How to Paint Trees’. There are tons of them out there, and they will help you develop your eye for seeing the ‘visual language’ of watercolour. Also search for watercolour artists whose style you like and take the time to really look at it and discover why you like it.
  •  The course will include many PDF’s with detailed screen captures and written instructions and video demonstrations of the techniques and tips used.
  • Extra Resources:
  • PDF- Considerations for Printing your Watercolour
  • PDF Links to other resources I have found helpful. We can all add to this.

Required Reading Before Course- PDF’s Available for download (videos as well)

  • Basic Brush Control Settings
  • Digital Watercolour Brush Control Settings
  • Watercolour Brush Control Settings
  • Paper Sizes and Paper Choices

Spend some time prior to the course exploring the brushes and becoming comfortable with watercolour mark making.  You will discover how being able to control the properties of your brushes will open a whole new world of possibilities for you. We will look at how Skip Allen’s and John Derry’s brushes can add to your watercolour repertoire. You will learn the basics of how paper textures affect the appearance of your watercolour.

Week One

Observing the Visual Language of Watercolour and How to Use it in our Digital Watercolours

  • Why and how to become aware of the characteristics of watercolour (Slide Presentation of some of my favourite watercolourists)
  • Various Kinds of Washes
  • Wet into Wet Techniques
  • Blending Watercolours
  • Dry Brushing
  • Creating Soft and Hard Edges
  • Getting the Pooling Effect
  • Fine Lines
  • How to Paint a Bloom or Back run
  • Painting with Gradients
  • Splatter and Spatter Techniques
  • Sponge Techniques
  • Watercolour Airbrush Techniques
  • Removing Colour (Lifting Colour, Scraping and Eraser Salt)

This week you will begin to learn to recognize certain characteristics of the visual language of watercolour.  You will to apply various washes, wet into wet, lifting, scraping, drops and splatter, sponge techniques and dry brush techniques within a watercolour painting. This is the week to experiment with your brushes. Make notes on how you accomplished things successfully.

Week Two

Fundamentals of Working with Watercolor Layers

  • Working With Layers in Watercolours
  • Using the Lasso Tool in your Watercolour Workflow
  • Masking to Preserve Whites
  • Applying a Non-Destructive Texture Layer
  • Drying your Digital and Watercolour layers
  • When and How to Lift Canvas to Watercolour Layer
  • When and How to Wet the Entire Watercolour Layer
  • Techniques for Painting Watercolour Skies and Clouds

This week you will learn more about using layers in your workflow and how you can apply a non-destructive texture layer. Why and when you should lift your canvas to a watercolour layer. Learning to mask certain areas of your canvas to preserve whites and various ways to remove colour and soften edges will all help you on your way to painting exciting skies and clouds.

Focusing on painting ‘skyscapes,’ we will paint the sky at different times of the day, in various weather conditions and for all the seasons. Students will be encouraged to use reference photos and sketches at all points in this course.

Week Three

Compositional Guidelines

  • Compositional Basics and Why They Matter
  • Using a Photo Reference to Help You Sketch
  • Using a Value Study
  • Colour Harmony
  • Tips and Techniques for Painting Trees and Land Masses

Week Four

Painting Lakes, Creeks and Rivers

  • Using the Transform and Mirror Image Tools
  • Adding Creeks, Lakes and Rivers to Your Landscapes
  • Techniques for Painting Rocks and Stones Convincingly
  • Introduction to Painting Snow

You will become comfortable with painting these elements in the natural world. Use the skills you have learned in prior weeks to build on these techniques as you learn to add more elements to your landscape.