This video comprehensively covers the fundamentals of painting with gouache by showing the process of painting a book cover illustration based on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving.
- 30 second video (3 gouache tips)
- 1 min. short (universal pigment numbers)
- 42 min. video (intro to gouache)
The process begins by shooting reference photos at a graveyard in Concord, MA, moving on to thumbnail sketches, painting color studies, and then exploring techniques in underpaintings and transparent glazes.
Materials and techniques are explained, such as how to stretch hot press watercolor paper, what specific gouache colors to buy, and more. Demo led by Teaching Artist Alex Rowe and Art Prof Clara Lieu.
Video Walkthrough
- Illustration types for books
- Illustration portfolio content
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- Shooting reference photos on site
- How to use reference photos
- Stretching watercolor paper
- Types of watercolor paper
- Drawing thumbnail sketches
- How to draw from imagination
- Book jacket measurements
- Ideas for color schemes
- Palettes for gouache painting
- Gouache colors to buy
- Gouache vs. Acrylic vs. Watercolor
- Brush types for gouache
- Color thumbnail sketches
- Cleaning up the sketch
- Underpainting Techniques
- Painting the first layer
- Atmospheric perspective
- Gouache in art school
- Building layers from thin to thick
- Painting with a paper towel
- Painting details
- Tiny brush techniques
- Using photo references for details
- Opaque paint for the sky
- The potential of gouache
Art Supplies
Color Palettes
- Olive green
- Spa green
- Venetian red
- Van Dyke brown
- Raw sienna
- Prussian blue
- Cobalt blue
- Alizarin Crimson
- Cerulean blue
- Naples yellow
- Permanent rose
- Brunt umber
Materials provided by
Reference Photos
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