Art Painting Instructions
- 1). Choose a medium and buy the necessary supplies. To paint a canvas, you have two options: oils and acrylics. Most art painting supplies can be found in art and craft stores. For first time painters, lesser-quality student grade materials cost less money than the professional-grade painting supplies.
- 2). Set up your materials in a room where you can work undisturbed.
- 3). Draw a loose representation of your subject on the canvas. Don't draw details. If you are not comfortable drawing a quick sketch of your subject on the canvas, draw some studies of your subject on paper first. Pencil is difficult to erase from canvas.
- 4). Dip your brush in water or paint thinner (depending on the medium) and dip the paintbrush in the paint. Apply your first thin layer of paint to the canvas. Apply the first layer of paint quickly, without regard to detail and without shadows or highlights. Start with a medium-sized or large flat brush, depending on the size of the canvas.
- 5). Build up layers of paint on the canvas. As you begin to add details in the painting, switch to smaller and smaller paint brushes. Use thicker layers of paint as the painting develops.
- 6). Refer to your subject frequently. Flick your eyes back and forth between the subject and your canvas, looking for differences. Adjust your painting as you spot differences.
- 7). Add shadows and highlights. Many beginning painters use black for shadows. Unfortunately, black paint muddies the other colors of the painting, making the end product look gloomy or dirty. Only use black as shadows on objects that are dark gray, or sometimes dark blue. Alternative colors to use for shadows include brown, purple, red, blue or green. Experiment to find what works for you. Similarly, white is not always an effective color for a highlight. Experiment with colors like yellow, light blue, light orange or pink for highlights.
- 8). Allow the painting to dry. Set it aside as it dries and come back to the painting after enough time has passed that it is no longer fresh in your memory. Make corrections to any errors you find.
Source...