How to Learn How to Paint for the First Time as a Drawer & Painter
- 1). Start with a set of acrylic paint that consists of at least the primary colors red, blue, yellow, black and white.
- 2). Use a set of at least three paint brushes of different sizes and thickness. Opt for a thick brush that will enable you to cover bigger areas, a medium sized brush and a very thin brush to use when you have to fill in details. Refer to the website How to Draw and Paint for a recommended beginners list of brushes.
- 3). Practice with the paint on paper before you buy an expensive canvas for your actual painting.
- 4). Squirt small amounts of all the acrylic paint colors onto the palette, no more than a quarter-inch in diameter.
- 5). Create your own color wheel by mixing the primary colors and creating a third color on a separate spot on your palette. This will give you an idea of which colors you can combine to get the exact shade and tint you want. The website Colorfaq gives step-by-step instructions on creating a basic color wheel. Use a drop of water to make the paint a bit thinner before mixing and applying it. Wash your brush every time you pick a new color, and wipe it with a cloth to get rid of any excess traces of paint trapped between the bristles.
- 6). Experiment with each brush on paper to see what type of strokes you can create by using the tip, side and different wrist movements.
- 7). Look at websites such as Artinstruction Blog, Simply Painting, How to Draw and Paint, Creative Spotlite and Art Graphica to see how other artists work to create a painting. These websites contain valuable tips and techniques.
- 8). Follow a few painting tutorials on any of the sites mentioned in Step 7. Try to imitate the techniques; it will give you a good grasp of how to paint and help you get accustomed to the new medium.
- 9). Sketch the rough outlines of your first painting. Use light pencil strokes and don't fill in any detail. If you are a drawer, you will be used to adding detail with the pencil, but you will be doing that with the fine brush from now on.
- 10
Start painting, using all the techniques you have learned.