Exercise 4: Tonal Underpainting

The first painting we are going to do with color involves creating a tonal grey underpainting and then overlaying a transparent wash of local color after the under painting is dry. The first step is to sketch the composition (the first video). Then create the tones just like Exercise 3 in black and white using the black transparent watercolor and water to lay in the form and shadow (the second video).

Keep in mind that any time you use black as a shadow, it tends to flatten the painting- as opposed to using a chromatic neutral, or complementary color to the local hue. For instance, adding purple to the yellow to create a rich brown will yield a richer shadow for the honey pot, then just using black as your shading.

The object of this exercise, however, is to minimize the variables we are working with as beginners. By sticking to one hue (black) to create our underpainting, we are ensuring that we capture the values as accurately as possibly without worrying too much about matching the "right" colors just yet. With practice, you will start to see how to mix the colors to create just the right tints and shades, but for now, let's just work on the basics of form and value.