Realistic Water Effects using Life Of Colour paint pens
Learn the steps to paint a leaky boat have a play around, making a whole fleet of boats- I know we would all love to sail off into the sunset right about now!
Starting out is easy- just purchase some of our Life of Colour paint pens! Did you know you can get your rock painting supplies here in Australia and New Zealand with the option to Afterpay ? Yes, buy now and pay later.
Here’s our Leaky boat tutorial with a realistic water effect
Step one:
We have a clean, dry rock to start our leaky boat tutorial.
Using a combination of blue and white 3mm Life of Colour paint pens we paint sets of lines in a messy mixed up fashion across the rock. You'll find the white on the Classics set along with a primary blue, and then five awesome unique shades of blue on our Earth Colours (3) and Special Colours (2).
Step two:
Working quickly we use a damp paint brush to smear the colour together- you could also just use a damp finger! (Not too much water just damp)
The look we are trying to achieve is the variation of colour between each line. Do not over do it as the colours will mix into one colour without contrast.
Step three:
Select the Life of Colour 1mm white paint marker. To give the water more depth and the appearance of waves paint some white wash and caps on top of the darker blue areas.
Step four:
We need to add a boat! You can position your boat where you want just remember not to put the whole boat base on top of the water - slightly submerged looks a lot better.
Paint two sails - One large sail and one slightly smaller, position them above the body of the boat and leave a space between to fit a mast in later on.
Step five:
As always finer details with a black 1mm paint marker at the end to give the boat more definition. Place a mast in between your two sails and edging lines around the sails and boat. Place some lines to represent the planking on the boat as well as some hoisting ropes from the mast to the edge of the boat.
Now that you know the steps to paint a leaky boat have a play around and make a whole fleet of boats- I know we would all love to sail off into the sunset right about now!
Here’s some great tips for you to try -use them to get started, then have a play around to find what works for you.
Watercolour Washes
On this tutorial we covered the basics of water colour effects using paint pens to achieve realistic water and waves. Our high quality paint markers are water based so therefore are water soluble enabling our artists to achieve different gradients of colour by diluting the colour pigment.
The look of a watercolour effect paints is gained in a number of ways basically you can either do it on a wet surface or a dry one.
Dry Wash
The technique we used on this tutorial is basically a dry wash. Use a 3mm Life of Colour paint pen and begin painting your design onto your rock, working quickly to dab the area with a dampened paint brush holding the rock on an angle to manipulate the flow (this way gravity does some work for you.)
Try not to use too much water you only basically want to blend gently for this method.
Wet Watercolour Painting
Wet painting is a basic technique used to create a watercolour look using our Life of Colour paint markers. If you’ve worked with wet rocks before you might have already done it before without realizing.
Start by brushing just water onto your rock then use your 3mm or 1.5mm nib sized paint pen to spread it over the water wash. The paint will feather and diffuse like magic.
Backgrounds
A light layer of paint from your Life of Colour acrylic paint pens can be used for the first layer of the rock painting.
You’ll add layers of paint over the top once the first layer has dried.
First, use a well primed rock so that you can quickly colour the rock and using a damp fine bristle paint brush work the paint evenly and neatly over the whole surface. Neutral shades of blue or green work nicely for sky or grass backgrounds.
Gradients and Blending colours together
A simple wash uses just one colour at a time.
Add depth to your artwork by using more hues at a time.
Start by adding lines of different tones in the same colour (blue for example) onto a damp rock. Then using a brush — or your finger — lightly blend them together.!
Because the paints are on a wet surface, they'll bleed slightly and create a natural gradient in the tones. You can make wavy, neat or messy lines of colour depending on the result you are trying to gain.
Pro tip: you can blend any of our pens with the rest to achieve sunsets, sunrises and bright backgrounds!
Dry smearing
Dry painting requires using very little paint and to create a scratchy, “scraped-across”stroke you smear the paint with your finger.
You need to work quickly so that the paint is still wet enough to smear but gently so you don’t wipe the paint away completely.
A damp paint brush may also be used - Dip your dry brush into water and dab it onto a paper towel to remove the excess and brush lightly across the surface.
Blooms of Colour
Watercolour blooms or blossoms are achieved by using a dampened rock and placing areas of different colours close together to make irregularly shaped splotches.
The wetter of the two washes will flow into the other.
Back Washes
This is similar to making blooms because it requires a certain level of dryness to get the look. Put a layer of colour onto a dampened rock and tilt the surface a little. The colour should run to one side of the rock. Be careful not to use too much water so that you don’t completely dissolve all of the paint from your paint pen.
Feathering
To get a colour gradient that goes from saturated to a more transparent hue, all you need is water. Start with a strong area of colour and then use a clean, wet brush to “diffuse” the colour, making a gentle gradient or “feathering” effect.
Watery painting with Salt
When salt is sprinkled onto watery paints, it starts to gather the pigments and makes the coolest texture. Once the paint is dry, simply brush off the excess salt.
To purchase any of these paint pens go to the Life of Colour online shop through our website or Facebook now!
Life of Colour is the most competitive and superior alternative to posca Australia.
We offer the easiest way to purchase all your rock painting supplies in Australia (free shipping) and New Zealand (flat rate $6 shipping).
Always remember our motto - Life of Colour is more than just an art brand, it’s a movement, a philosophy and a lifestyle.
