Watercolor Landscape Sketching Basics

Author: Gong Liuzhao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: Watercolor is a painting form that uses water as a medium and water-soluble pigments. Watercolor is generally divided into two categories: transparent watercolor and opaque watercolor (also known as gouache). The main difference between the two lies in the fact that the tonal changes of transparent watercolor depend on the color of the paper and the transparency of the pigment, without the need to add white; whereas opaque watercolor requires adding varying amounts of white (gesso) to control tonal changes. Due to the differences in pigments and techniques used, the visual effects also differ significantly: watercolor is transparent and lively, while gouache is thick and rich. The techniques introduced in this book mainly refer to transparent watercolor techniques. Like other painting styles, watercolor has certain limitations. For example, it is not easy to make repeated corrections. If the number of washes and coverings is excessive, it may lose the transparent and lively characteristics of watercolor, and the texture of the paper may also be damaged, resulting in a "dirty" or "greasy" feel. Therefore, there are certain difficulties in creating large-scale watercolor works.