Pen and Ink with Watercolor - Line and Wash Lighthouse Landscape

in this lesson we'll create a line and wash image by combining pen and ink applications with watercolor washes [Music] hello everyone Matt here with the virtual instructor comm and in this lesson we're gonna combine the best characteristics of pen and ink drawing with the best characteristics of watercolor painting with the pen and ink we can define the edges of our subject we can also add a bit of texture and value and then with the watercolor applications we can add splashes of color and get that looser look that's going to compliment the pen and ink drawing that's a little bit more rigid and tight we'll be working on Canson hot press watercolor paper this paper is smooth enough to create some nice line work with the pen and ink but it will accept the watercolor applications with ease we're also going to be using Stadler or Stealer technical drawing pens and specifically I'm going to be using one pin for this demonstration I'll be using a point 0 2 millimeter pin to apply the line work I'm also going to be using Grumbach or golden edged nylon brushes I'll be using 2 of these sizes of brushes I'll be using the number 14 and the double 0 both of these are round brushes and then for the watercolor applications will be working with Cottman watercolor paints and I'll be using the two paints for this application so let's go ahead and get started we'll begin by creating a light sketch and first we'll define the horizon line or basically the line where the water meets the sky then we can start filling in the basic shapes of the forms that we see within the scene starting with the lighthouse now you might be tempted to place the lighthouse right in the center of the picture plane but we're gonna offset it just slightly to the right to make the composition a little bit more interesting we're also gonna leave out details or any shading or value applications with this graphite sketch instead we're gonna focus on only the shapes and the contours or the outlines of the subject we're also not going to fill in all of the details you'll see here we're gonna fill in most of the details with the pen and ink applications we're starting with an H graphite so here because we don't want the pencil lines to be evident in the finished drawing in fact after we apply the pen and ink we'll go back and erase the pencil lines but we want them to be dark enough so that we can see them to apply the pen and ink over the top you also notice that our marks are rather loose we're drawing quickly and again not becoming too concerned with the details that we see now that we've got our basic sketch in place we can start with the pen and ink applications and pin ink relies heavily on the use of lines so we'll be using LAN to develop the textures as well as the details and also to define the edges through our contour lines and that's what we'll start we'll start with the contour lines and as we go we'll start to fill in some of the values we keep in mind that many of our values in our dark areas and light areas are going to be determined by the watercolor applications you can always go back with pen and ink applications after you've made the watercolor applications the key here is not to get too dark with our pen and ink applications since the watercolor will affect the value and tone of the finished image at the very top of the lighthouse we do have some very dark areas in fact most people would consider this area to be black we're not going to fill it in completely solid black but we can go ahead and use some hatching here to develop some of the tone then we'll continue working our way down there are a couple of pieces that kind of stick out on the top part of the lighthouse so we'll define those we'll also define the window that's slightly to the left of center of the lighthouse and also the outer contours since our light sources originating from the right side in this image most of our darker values will exist on the left side of the subjects and as we define the outer contours of some of these subjects you'll notice that I'll use a broken line on the side that's closest to the light source this will help create the illusion of light in a subtle way then we can simply continue working our way down to the buildings again starting with the contour lines and then filling in some of the details also add an indication of shadow underneath each of the areas that overhang underneath the roof we're accomplishing this with just some simple hatching there are a couple of areas where some of the bushes and trees overlap the lawns for the buildings so we'll need to make sure that we address that as we go so we don't have to overlap them later in the drawing process will continue darkening in some of the areas especially on the left side of each one of the buildings these darker locations exist mainly in the areas of the windows and we'll stick with hatching for this now in pending drawing you typically want to stick with a pen and ink application technique in other words if we start with stippling we typically would want to end with stippling in this case we're going to use a variety of different marks but for the buildings we're gonna stick with hatching and not do any cross hatching you could of course do some cross hatching but we want to stay consistent with our applications now as we work our way down to some of the rocks and some of the bushes and trees that are growing out of the rocks we're gonna change our application technique for the rocks will stick with straighter lines and more angular marks for the bushes and the trees however we allow our marks to be a bit more free form and then concentrate those marks in the areas of darkest value this will create contrast using line alone so we'll have contrast between the bushes and the trees the rocks and the houses and the lighthouse because we've used one slightly different in each one of these locations now you'll notice as we begin the process of developing some of the textures down here we're also addressing some of the values as well now just as we did on the buildings in the lighthouse we want to make sure that we don't get too dark with our values at this point since we're going to go back and apply watercolor washes later again I'll remind you that you can always go back with the pen and ink applications over the top the watercolor washes if you need to make some of the values darker you may also notice that I'm not allowing myself to become too overwhelmed with the details instead I'm allowing the lines that I put on the surface to do a lot of the work for me there's something to be said about a drawing that insinuate some of the details rather than describing them completely while looking at a subject like this and seeing all the details can be quite overwhelming he doesn't have to be just allow the line work that you create in your drawing to do some of the hard work for you instead of allowing yourself to get distracted by every single detail that you see instead look at the basic shape of the subject that you're drawing this could be a rock or a bush and then try to simplify that subject down into basic lines now of course we're all going to simplify this information differently and the way that you simplify it is unique to you so embrace that but allow your marks to be a little bit loose and don't let yourself get too stiff with the drawing by being overwhelmed by all the details that you see now since this cliff is on the opposite side of the light source there is a greater concentration of darker values you may notice this here in the drawing so I'm allowing some of these darker values to be developed again with hatching these lines that are added by hatching are determined by the form of the rock you'll notice that most of these lines are diagonal in nature but the rock face complete will draw a broken line for the horizon line using it ruler then we'll add our final details to the fence that meanders its way along the top of the cliff [Music] will allow the ink applications to dry completely then will erase any remaining graphite marks using the kneaded eraser now we're ready for our watercolor applications we'll start with an application of pure water in the area of the sky and down into the area of the water we'll use this application of water to control our subsequent applications of watercolor so we want to make sure that this application of water doesn't overlap the lighthouse the buildings the rocks or the bushes and trees we want to make sure it's just applied to the sky and the water then using an application of ultramarine with just a touch of burnt umber to tone it down a bit we'll apply a bit of watercolor in the areas that we applied the water we can work it around with a brush leaving a few areas a little bit lighter in tone and value to indicate a few clouds because we applied water to the surface first we're applying the wet watercolor into it we'll get a light airy effect close to the horizon line we'll introduce just a touch of Prussian blue to the mix to add a bit of variety now while this section drawers will work a bit on the rock face we'll start with an application of burnt sienna with just a touch of burnt umber then we can start to develop some of the shadows we'll use a mixture of Prussian blue with burnt umber in a touch of burnt sienna this will create a warmer gray but it will contrast the burnt sienna nicely will work while the burnt sienna applications are still wet allowing some bleeding to occur now many of our buildings are white but instead of leaving them white we'll add just a bit of color to them to add a bit of volume and form we'll start with a light house with a very light application of ultramarine primarily on the side of the lighthouse and shadow will do the same to the white buildings underneath with watercolor painting we want to rely on the white of the paper to lighten the values that we apply so we'll allow some broken marks and areas to insinuate some highlights well fill in the color of the roofs using a mixture of burnt umber burnt sienna a touch of alizarin crimson in a touch of cadmium red here again we'll leave some broken marks to insinuate highlights especially on the sides of the roof that faced the light source we do have a loan brick building within the scenes who will apply the same color to it we can then darken some of the roofs that are on the opposite side of the light source with an application of burnt umber also darken the value of the loan brick building again with this application of burnt umber now we can go in and develop some of the shadows that happen on the buildings we'll use a combination of burnt umber and Prussian blue in this case our mixture is dominated by Prussian blue to give it a little bit more of a cooler appearance it's actually more of a gray that is created when we mix these two colors we'll also apply this color to the darkest areas of the lighthouse now we're ready to start addressing some of the colors of the trees and bushes underneath we use a mixture of cadmium yellow mixed with a bit of ultramarine to create a green well apply this color initially to the areas of shadow then we can go back and make the shadowed areas a little bit stronger by allowing our mixture to be dominated with the ultramarine this will create a cooler appearance then with a mixture that's dominated with our yellow we'll go back and address some of the highlights on the top portions of the bushes now we can make our shadows a bit stronger and increase the contrast within the image we'll start in the areas of the rocks again we'll use a mixture of Prussian blue and burnt umber we'll allow this mixture to be a bit stronger we apply it to the surface meaning we'll use slightly less water of course we'll apply this application and in the areas of shadow only and primarily in the areas where the shadow is the strongest we can go back and strengthen the shadow on the houses again increasing the contrast and further creating the illusion of the light source we'll also address the darkest areas on the lighthouse next we'll need to apply a mid-tone value to the rocks and a color that will help to unify all the rocks as well so we'll use our mixture of green that we used earlier for the bushes and add a touch of burnt umber and just a bit of Prussian blue we'll also bring out some of the oranges a bit in the rocks by applying an additional application of burnt sienna in selected areas we'll go back to our green mixture and add a grassy patch in front of one of the buildings the color of the trim painted on the buildings is a Bluegreen so we'll use our green mixture but add a bit more of the ultramarine and a touch of Prussian blue to create a darker blue green we'll apply this with a smaller brush now we'll go back to the top of the lighthouse and use a mixture of burnt umber and Prussian blue this time the application is very dark and very intense with very little water used we'll use a bit of our cadmium yellow and add a bit light coming from the lighthouse then we'll apply a bit of water of the top and dab it with a paper towel to create a proper illusion of light now we'll add a few ripples to the water using a darker mixture of ultramarine a touch of Prussian blue and just a touch of burnt umber we'll use the smaller brush for this and create horizontal strokes well allow these applications to get lighter as they go away from the viewer we'll use the same color just above the horizon line to create some variety and added interest then using just a touch of water we can soften the contrast of these marks and now our line and wash image of a lighthouse using pen and ink and watercolor is complete if you enjoyed this video then I know that you enjoy being a member at the virtual instructor comm our comprehensive membership program includes video courses on drawing and painting weekly life lessons ebooks lesson plans for 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Channel: Drawing & Painting - The Virtual Instructor

Views: 204,875

Keywords: pen and ink, watercolor, line and wash, lighthouse, landscape, painting, drawing, beginners, illustration

Id: 6V5Qe2VbH_Q

Length: 15min 15sec (915 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 13 2017