| Author | Message | ||
  pamb |
Most of the how-to books I've found for painting wildlife are by oil or acrylic painters. They mention "drybrush" as their method for doing fur and feathers. In our watercolor class what we were taught as "drybrush" was taking a lightly loaded brush and sort of rolling it (for earth/bark) or pinching it into a fan (for grass). It seemed messy, not very precise, and not suitable for animal textures. Does anyone out there do fur and feathers in watercolor, and if so, how's it done? Any books on this for watercolorists? | ||
apiper |
I recently was told to use the fan brush. Stroke the lines in using the dry brush technique, let it dry then put a light wash over. Havn't tried it yet. | ||
trapper061 |
Layers...first set up your form,than you can add detail where needed.With a smaller brush. The form is most importent... | ||
Melissa |
I do fur and feathers with a number 5 or smaller brush with a really good point. The smaller brushes sometimes work better but hold so much less paint that you can lose continuity. I work with dry paper and I blot the extra water from my brush so the paint goes on fairly dry, too. You can get a range of textures by varying how much water you have in your brush. It is slow work, but the results can be really detailed. You can see some great examples of fur and feathers in watercolor in Sallie Middleton's paintings. Her book "The Magical Realm of Sallie Middleton" isn't a how-to book, but I have learned a lot by studying her paintings. | ||
Laura36 |
I borrowed this book from the local library-"Watercolor Basics: Drawing and Painting Birds" by Shirley Porter. It is a good reference and has lots of tips for depicting feathers. There might be similar books on painting fur. I think Rachel Rubin Wolf has a book or section on painting fur, like for cats and dogs. | ||
pamb |
Thank you all. I just found an interesting book by Claudia Nice on watercolor and ink that looks like it might help also. I haven't had much success with a fan brush (the one I used was synthetic bristles) but just tried the smaller brushes, using less water than I have been using, and it seems to go well. I appreciate the feedback. Pam | ||
anneengw |
Have you considered adding touches with colored pencil after laying in some watercolor washes and strokes? | ||
apiper |
Hey! While experimenting and playing last night I found one technique that worked for hair. I layed in an undercoat, then while still damp I scratched in the texture with the pointy end of a palatte knife. (Did not tear the paper.) Then when it was dry I painted in the colors and it looks ok. The new colors filled in the lines. Of course I was only suggesting hair, not trying for meticulous detail. Works for me. | ||
Kukana |
Hey Carrie Parks, you do the best critters fur and feathers Ive seen. Don't you do them all wet into wet? | ||
Carrie Stuart Parks |
Hey, gal. I plan on painting my "flying osprey" on Saturday in class (I need one for the show and heck, why not do it in class.) I use a two inch skyflo brush with gobs of paint for the wings, working wet into wet. All my critters are painted wet into wet. Watercolors naturally form fur when wet. I learned this technique by accident--I though you had to wet the paper and finish it before the paper was dry.(!) As my technique is difficult, I usually don't try to teach it (though you did a good job on the brown tabby lesson.) Best wishes, -Carrie |
