What You Need To Know About Painting Techniques

In today's world, it seems that almost any topic is open for debate. While I was gathering facts for this article, I was quite surprised to find some of the issues I thought were settled are actually still being openly discussed.

Glass painting

The concept of reverse painting typically uses glass as the surface. If you are trying to create portraits from photos, then this most unusual art form will produce splendid effects and contrasts. You could create stunning replicas of real life people around you - except that now they are on glass instead of the traditional fabric!

How does it work?

Typically the portrait artist begins with creating a tracing or outline of the subject to be painted. This is done on the underside or the coarser side of the glass (the non-shiny part). This is done so that when the painting is completed the real side of the painting will be properly visible from the smooth glass surface. Many artists typically use a thicker version of glass that tends to provide more depth and dramatic effect to their works.

How can you put a limit on learning more? The next section may contain that one little bit of wisdom that changes everything.

From the back to the front

The technique of reverse painting typically uses strokes worked from back to the front. Thus the angle from which you ultimately view the painting will be dramatically opposite to what you view from the regular side. Many famous artists have recreated stunning replicas of portrait from photos using this method.

Small to big

One of the first tenets of reverse painting suggests that the artist use smaller sizes of glass while starting out. This way one can observe size, proportion and aspect ratios in a much better manner. This is more critical in the case of recreating a portrait from photo. Make sure to start by cleaning the glass surface properly before you start as dust sediments can hamper the look and finish of the portrait from photo.

Outlining technique

It is always best to use a liquid lining paint material which provides the best effect in a portrait from photo. This will ensure the paint sticks to the surface of the glass properly.

When word gets around about your command of portrait from photos facts, others who need to know about portrait from photos will start to actively seek you out.

Artist Must Know How to Mix Primary Colors Together

My first reaction on being asked the question "Why should an artist know how to mix primary colors together?" was "Why wouldn't you want to know?" Isn't curiosity an essential part of creativity, thus discovering what the colors considered fundamental (primary) did when you mixed them would be one of the first things you did?

But a friend I put this to surprised me by saying they didn't associate art with curiosity but rather with imagination. That they thought my habit of "poking things to see how they work" wasn't normal for "an arty type". Oh well, if that's true, then it's another way I'm not normal and I've certainly given up worrying about being that...

Back to the question. I believe an artist ought to know how to mix the primary colors together because color is fundamental to painting and knowledge of how colors interact is therefore crucial. The basics of color theory for painting is that there are three primary colors -- red, blue, yellow -- and that these mix together to create the other colors we know and love (except white and black). Which particular red, blue, or yellow you use changes the outcome of the mixture, as does the proportions you're using. So not only do you need to know what happens when you mix the primaries together, but you need to explore what happens with the different reds, blues, and yellows.

Without a knowledge of what happens when you mix colors you can't begin to explore the technique of glazing, where you move from mixing paint on a palette to mixing it in the eye of the viewer (physical mixing vs optical mixing). And without glazing you can't begin to paint like the Old Masters... so you simply have to be curious about what happens when you mix red and blue and yellow, surely?

Car Pencil Sketch

I don't think you're going to want to sketch your dream car from memory, so I'm going to assume that you'll need some help trying to remember all the little details on your dream car.

You may want to refer to some images for your pencil drawing. The term for these images is called "reference images". So go ahead and pick your reference images from your favourite websites.

Remember, you have to pick something that you really like. I'm sure in this case it's not that hard a thing to do since we're talking about your dream car. Prototypes are often popular subjects, so you may want to consider those.

The other thing I'm going to assume here is that you have your sketching tools ready. That means having your pencils, drawing paper and erasers ready. Now we're ready to start drawing.

When you draw your car, work with a HB or 2B pencil to draw the overall shape of the car. Use a ruler to get the measurements right if you have to. In fact, I strongly recommend this since this is a solid object that we're drawing.

Continue working lightly on the shape and form of the car and slowly fill in the details. We're still in the early stage of the drawing. At this stage, the goal here is to determine the location of all the different parts of the car.

Know About Giclee Art Prints

A giclee reproduction simply must be seen to be fully appreciated. Words alone cannot fully describe how impressive it is and fine art galleries across the country are raving this form of art reproduction.

Giclee prints render deep, saturated colors and have a beautiful quality that retains minute detail, subtle tints and blends. Every brush stroke of the original painting is apparent. While, giclees use inkjet technology, this is far more sophisticated than your desktop printer. The process employs six colors--light cyan, cyan, light magenta, magenta, yellow and black--of lightfast, pigmented inks and finer, more numerous, and replaceable printheads resulting in a wider color gamut, and the ability to use various media to print on.

Giclees are produced from digital scans of existing artwork. This creates a whole new vibrant medium for prints from slides, exceptional quality and detail in both color and black and white enlargements. They can be printed on any number of media, but mainly in canvas and paper. Giclees are superior to traditional lithography in nearly every way. The colors are brighter, last longer, and are so high-resolution that they are virtually 'continuous tone', rather than tiny dots.

Giclees are a win-win for everyone, artist and collector. They make good quality artwork affordable for everyone, and the artist can have multiple affordable giclee images to sell of popular paintings, which in turn escalates the price of the original. They are produced one at a time. Depending on their size, this intricate printing process can take up to an hour or more for each print.

Miniature Painting

The art, culture and lifestyle of ancient and medieval India is best reveled through miniature paintings. The penchant for religion, divinity and regal aristocracy is ostentatiously illustrated in these paintings. Though miniature in form, the paintings had an innate beauty and distinctiveness that made them stand out of the crowd.

Crafted by the regional artists the miniature paintings narrate the stories of the bygone dynasties. Purely a brush work, these vibrant handmade paintings were the outcome of some dazzling minerals and vegetable colors. Gold and silver powders, conch shell powders and tiny pieces of semi precious stones were used in a miniature painting to make for the extra glow. It is for this luminous capacity, meticulousness and the universal appeal the miniature paintings are very popular even today.

Nature to Inspire My Art

As a landscape artist, I find inspiration everywhere, especially in the spring when nature is waking up from her long winter sleep. A lone kingfisher, a raucous flock of Canadian geese, and a pair of mallards in flight all inspire me with their wordless wisdom about movement, color, life and form. Dappled paths, sparkling water, the long shadows of mountains at dusk, and the first rays of sunlight in the trees at dawn often make me rush to pick up my paintbrush.

I sit in the pine grove overlooking our pond, watching an osprey wheeling in three slow circles. At last he settles down in his favorite tree at the shallow end of the pond to start the work of spotting and catching his breakfast.

Just like the osprey, I realize I too must slowly circle the artistic vision I wish to create until I find the center of interest, then settle down to the work of making value sketches and thumbnails before I put paint to canvas.

What color will I use to depict the bright spring sky? Cerulean (literally, "sky") blue, which leans toward green, or a rich cobalt for a soft sky that is cool at the top and warmer near the horizon?

What is Screen Printing?

Imagine a business that produces a product everyone wants or needs. A business that has unlimited growth opportunity, allows you to work from home, let’s you set your own hours, requires no special skill or education, and best of all…let’s you keep all of the profits. Screen printing is this unique business opportunity, and the Screen-A-Print system has helped thousands of people achieve their dreams of owning their own business.

Screenprinting Equipment

AdVantage screen exposure systems offer exceptional speed, efficiency and reliability. From welded steel frames to industrial components, Amergraph equipment is built to last. All units have Amergraph's exclusive One-Hand Operation single bar type latching system and both blanket and glass frames are gas cylinder assisted for smooth safe operation and maintenance. All AdVantage screen exposure systems are backed by the Amergraph Exclusive Three Year limited warranty.

All AdVantage screen exposure units use the AdVantage 20 scroll set integrator/control with Auto-Optimize technology. It features 10 factor pre-set programs controlling vacuum and integrated exposures, plus 10 blank programs to be customized by you! Load the screen, press START and walk away! Fully automatic operation completes the entire process.

Printing Your Own Custom T-shirts

What follows is not the only the way of printing art on to t-shirts, this is just the best way I have found. And by the best, I mean, the easiest, the fastest and the cheapest with amazing results. Of course you don't have to just print on t-shirts, for example tote bags look fantastic with prints.

In the first part of my Stencil Art tutorial series, I examined some methods of Making Stencils with Photoshop. You can use your newly created stencils here or click on one of the thumbnails below and then right-click and choose "Save Image As..." to save a stencil to your computer.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PAINT TYPE

The right paint type matters when cleaning, waterproofing a room, and when trying to create the illusion of more space. Flat paint is often used in garages, closets, and other rooms that are not used as often. This is because it is difficult to clean and leaves a room feeling incomplete. Flat paint is the least expensive paint, so if you have to use it, find lighter colors and add a few extra coats to create more depth in the room.

Semi-gloss paint is typically used in bathrooms, kitchens, and other rooms in the home because is it very easy to clean and has a shine to it. This paint is perfect for smaller rooms because it allows light to bounce off the walls creating a larger room.

Latex paint is used mainly for outdoor patios, porch railings, and shutters. It is able to resist water and can be cleaned easily. This type of paint does peel over time and it not recommended for indoor use.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN

If you have a room that does not receive a lot of sunlight because of a tree or roof overhang, painting the room a dark color will only make it seem darker inside. Paint the room a light color and the room will seem brighter.

KIDS, GUESTS, AND OTHERS

Who will be using the rooms is an important question to ask before you begin painting. Kid’s rooms should reflect their personality, while guest rooms should be cozy and simple. When deciding how to use the rooms in your home, buy the right paint and accessories so those who will be using the room will feel comfortable at all times.

Two Process of Printing T-shirts

Screen-printing

Screen-printing involves producing a screen for each color that appears in the graphic and pressing ink with these colors through the screen onto the t-shirt, one screen after another. The result is bright and long-lasting colors on the t-shirt which can be felt as a layer of ink. With this method, small details and color gradients aren't reproduced well, and your graphic should be divided into layers, each color into a separate layer.

Digital Printing

Digital printing is the latest innovation in t-shirt printing. Graphics with complex color schemes and intricate details can be reproduced at little cost, except that digital printing is not very good at handling bright colors. It isn't recommended to print digitally on dark t-shirts.

T-shirts Design and Printing

T-shirts are an essential part of modern clothing. Everyone has t-shirts amongst the clothes in their wardrobe. But what if you were looking for a t-shirt that you really wanted but just couldn't find?

Designing and printing your own t-shirt is easy these days, especially if you're a graphic designer.

A commonly used shortcut to designing a t-shirt for the less able or experienced is to find fonts on the internet with the images that you need already drawn for you. You can manipulate these images by changing their size, shape, color or orientation with such tools as Adobe Illustrator. You can also combine these images with text if you like, to produce for yourself your t-shirt graphic.

Once you have produced your graphic, there are a few things you should know before you continue with printing it depending on the type of printing you need. There are three main types of t-shirt printing that should be considered: