What Is Underpainting?! You HAVE To Try This!
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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What you are doing with the blue is called a grisaille. It is when you do a value study as an underpainting. When I learned portraiture, we usually used green for olive skin times or blue for fair to ruddy tones. An old masters technique for sure!
Thanks so much for the shout out! Underpainting can definitely be a little hit or miss. Sometimes it just seems to muddy things for me, other times it seems to work well. Probably something to do with complementary/analogous colors, but it's worth testing out! 🙂
Also, what I’ve been learning is that the underpainting is less about the complementary colors, and more about the color of light radiating from the sky (blue) that often tint the shadows. Interesting stuff!!
@@dannydrwing
Ahhhhh….
Yes, it’s super interesting!
I’m going to check out some of your paintings to see the difference.
Later
Check out @colornerd he has several videos that will BLOW your mind about color theory! Heading over to watch your vid now 😊
I like it. Definitely looks more realistic
I found your IG!
So true Emma, the under painted pumpkin with blue looks more realistic, but both painting are cool!! … wow… thank you for sharing!🎉❤🙏🏾💜✨
Underpainting is cool. It encompasses a lot of things not just what he was doing. Anytime you do painting underneath dernith and then paint on top of it, it is an underpainting. My favorite way to use this technique is to put yellow down. When I paint over the yellow it makes the whole painting luminescent. So cool. Try it out!
Yep, my botanicals almost always start with benz yellow for this effect.
Like you're idea.
I usually put yellow under all red to make it more vibrant too.
Shadows are rarely brown. They are a darker tone of the item's color and/or reflection of the local color.
Very cool.
I studied all of what you're saying in Art school. You said it correctly when you said, "I could do this all day." That's the answer. Doing it all day is how you get past the awkward feelings and muddiness, etc. I also recommend painting from Nature or plenne aire. Once I started doing this and learning more and more about color theories, I started getting better and better at it and my paintings started to look like what Nature was doing with light and shadows and colors. I love your attitude and enthusiasm. I'm in my 70's now and still love it as much as I did when I was 5! And I'm still learning new things!
I really love both of them but the blue under painting gives more depth & dimension to the pumpkin. Very interesting concept & technique. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Yes i think the one with the blue underpainting does look more realistic, i like them both though. Thanks for sharing this, I’m definitely going to try this
Think it is better with the under painting. I am impressed
I would love to see a full composition done with this technique. I'm new to painting and wonder if you'd have to use this technique throughout your painting or would the two styles compliment each other? 🤔
Underpainting is actually putting in your values. Values are key to your painting, and is the most overlooked.
I picture the top pumpkin used in a fun way, with Halloween decor and props, whereas I see the underpainted pumpkin in a more fall scene, like with fall flowers and a rocking chair on a porch lol. Both are amazing!
The blue gives it a more rustic look. I like it.
This is my first video I have watched of your channel. I subscribed because of how descriptive you are being. You are explaining everything you are doing. For someone just learning I need that info. Dipping you brush in the water, leaving it wet, or drying it off, its very important for a beginner. Thank you so much.😊
I love both of them . Thanks for share !
The blue underpainting one looks so real compared to the other one.
I use underpainting a lot when I work with gouache or acrylic. It really helps to set values for shadows and lights. I think it really gives depth to the entire picture.
I like both pumpkins. As to which one is best may depend on the context in which they are placed. In other words, the use of either one depends on the background, other items, focal point, use of light etc.
I’ve been dabbling at a Domestika course on watercolor portraits . Her work is stunning and she always starts with a blue layer before she works in the skin tones.
I love both pumpkins, but you’re right, it’s a stylistic choice. I prefer the under painted one, but that’s because I think pumpkins = muted & earthy. I really liked the “grittiness” of the ultramarine blue. It would be a fun experiment to try underpainting with different blues and oranges!
First, I need to learn how to paint a pumpkin.
Cute.
The "blue" punctuate the form of the pumpkin. I like it😊
As a pastelist I work from dark to light and wondered how watercolour could be so different. This is interesting to see.
My understanding is because watercolor is transparent and pastel is not.
it's a com'letely different medium
The light pigments don't layer like that, they're completely different than oil based pigments.
@@joseynoyb9467 that makes a lot of sense to me
@@alma-wi true that
The blue underpainting looks realistic. A good technique. Learnt something new. Thank you Emma. Love all your tutorials.
I’ve done underpainting with acrylics, but for some reason, never thought about doing it with watercolor. I’m pretty new to watercolor. So, I’mma give this a try! thanks! I think they both look pretty realistic. Top one looks like a pumpkin in the noonday sun. The underpainted one looks more like a pumpkin in the shadows of a porch. And, you’re right, the bottom one didn’t get the white highlight that the top one has. Both are terrific!
I personally like the brighter orange pumpkin on the top. If you were painting one of those grayish-green Jarrahdale pumpkins, I think it'd work (for me, anyway). I just like very bright and happy pumpkins - especially like the Cinderella pumpkins (a bright orangish-red).
I prefer the under painting approach, that is the way I was first taught but then I went for the😮 more modern direct approach. I think the under painting makes a more complex, sophisticated work. As the French say A chacon a son gout - to each his own taste!
Love the blue under tone especially after you brightened it up with a third layer of orange.
This is very interesting from the perspective of cognitive science that you did the painting side by side. The thing is our brain looks for patterns and performs patterns. But it does not like or is comfortable with the aesthetics of patterns. When you use premixed colours, everything is consistent and hence the entire painting has the same pattern. In case of an underpainting, the entire painting does not have the same depth or the same colour or the same hue which is why people like it so much. And it is more realistic because in nature, colour, hue, depth etc. vary even on a single object.
Fantastic review. Thank you.
I'm just learning, so I'd be thrilled with either result!! Thanks for all of your amazing tutorials. It inspires me!
Hope you don't mind if I give a few tips :)
Apologies if you already knew ^^ But I really want people to succeed
@@Dao_TuiGreat advice! 👍🍰🌻
@@Dao_Tui Fabulous advice, and I very much appreciate the time you've taken to list so many points! I am finding out quickly how to mix colors - biggest struggle are browns that I like - since I am starting out on a budget. Just got my first 100% cotton 140 lb paper - it does some of the work for me!
Biggest struggle at the moment is having the right amount of pigment to water on my brush to get the effects I want. It takes practice, but I am hooked!
Thanks again!
@@thewestras You're very welcome. Mixing does take a bit of practice to get the exact colours you want if you have a limited palette. Try make yourself a swatch 'mix' chart :) so you know what you can make with all your colours and the ratio of one colour vs the other.
100% cotton paper does indeed a lot of the work for you. It absorbs the pigments better, so they are more vibrant, can handle more water but also stay damp longer so you have a bit more time for wet on wet.
For the techniques/effect you want to achieve :) just youtube them ;) see if you can find tutorials of many different artists to help you out. I love Emma's work, but also Jenny Rainey and Makoccino as well as Kirsty Partridge, Kalliopi Lyviaki and even Shibasaki (I don't understand him at all haha, but I love his work) but also Nianiani, AhmadArt and Paul Clark, Karen Rice and Cailey的小尾巴.
If you can't find one or more and wish to, let me know and I'll give you a link.
@@Dao_Tui Thanks! I'll check them out.
Good evening Emma. I tried this technique this afternoon. Wow! So happy with the results. I also tried the banana and apple. I’m hooked!
It looks more organic. earthy; fresh picked from the farm.
I love the idea of the blue. I’ve heard of the under painting and I have done under painting with acrylic. I’ll work on this more. It’s beautiful!
I love the idea of painting a small pile of pumpkins in both ways. I like the variety in a painting with angles, lighting, etc.
You explained your process well. I, too, never had formal art lessons. I actually went from my BA in Education to an MFA in scenic design. And in one of our first graduate classes, we had to paint a circus scene on watercolor paper. I remember the professor telling me to not use the watercolors directly from the tube, but instead mix one color with another to get the desired color I was looking for. After graduate school and when I started to design professionally, I took art classes at a nearby community college. I enjoyed the classes immensely and learned a bit more. Now, I'm 65 and semi-retired and I just painted yesterday--as I will paint until I transition--lol!
I do like what you did with both of your pumpkins; however, the second pumpkin has more saturation when you add the blue underpainting.
Emma your pumpkins have beautiful shape. My vote is your usual style! Thank you!
I love them both actually. They actually compliment each other nicely. I will be trying this.
Love the complimentary underpainting. Has a rustic charm. Thanks for sharing.
It definitely added more depth and created a rich image. I using it would depend heavily on your mood. For example, the pumpkin at the top might be sitting in a bright harvest scene or on a table with yellow flowers. The one at the bottom has a pumpkin patch feel or is surrounded by leaves and vines on the ground. Undertone really helps a lot in creating a mood.
Wow!my eyes automatically gravitate to the underpainting pumpkin. Can’t wait to try this method out. I also saw the video from Danny drawing on insta and got inspired to try underpainting as well. Thanks for sharing!
I love it will try with my grouche
It's also very important to not forget the innate colour in the shadow. The blue is there to make the colour darker, but the orange should be there too.
I love both of them, but the blue one looks more real, solid. Especially when you finished it with the yellow 😊
I love it that the teacher is learning! Thank you for all you do!
I like them both. The underpainting looks more natural but the top pops!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Thankyou for introducing me to this technique 😊
I've painted some melons, an apple and now a pomegranate and I LOVE the effect
It looks like there are so many more colors than what you used. It’s an awesome technique. I love this. Thank you for all of your information. So cool
I love both ❤. The blue pumpkin has a vintage look ❤❤❤
I love them both, but the blue looks more realistic for sure!💖
Thanks Emma. I love painting pumpkins as well and my biggest challenge is getting shadows that don't make the flesh of the pumpkin look like it is rotting. I think it's an orange challenge.
I agree, the pumpkin with the blue background looks more realistic. That’s a very cool technique.
I find the blue under painting gives the pumpkin appealing depth and an artistic look.
I like the blue/orange pumpkin better. Thanks so much for this lesson.
Brilliant! It brings out the depth of the pumpkin curves.
I like both. It all depends on what kind of mood you want to present to your viewers
I was thinking the underpainted pumpkin looks more realisitc....and you were saying those same words right when I thought it! I am going to try it today. Thank-you for showing this Emma
I love them both. The under painted one seems more realistic standing by itself. The eye tells you what it needs to see.
Super! I use underpainting just as a coat over the whole paper/canvas at the start after the sketch. My last ship in a storm was overpainted (water soluble oils) onto a magenta background a some of the magenta was left effectively at the finish in the troubled sky. But I haven’t used it as you have- yet! I like it! It gives your pumpkin a more old master, still life look to my eye. Impressive and definitely worth a shot in my watercolours too. Thanks for the demo! Regards from Scotland.
The top one is more whimsical, the bottom one is much more realistic. When I took art class they had mentioned that using the opposite color on the color wheel will make your art look more realistic. The opposite color needs to have the same Hue and saturation or the colors can be muddy. I love both, but the one on the bottom is amazing!
Both versions are gorgeous 🎃🎃 but the under painted one does look a little more realistic I think but for my personal taste I would paint your version 🥰
This idea of an under painting is quite old actually. Some of the old Master’s used this technique of using a Grisaille to help give definition in a painting. It was used primarily in oil painting.
It is a very interesting concept!
Thanks for sharing!!
I agree that it adds a depth and the underpainting gives it more of a reality coloring.
Thanks for sharing this! The blue undertone give the pumpkin a much more earthy tone (from which the pumpkin comes!). Love it!
I want to say this is a great tutorial. Thank you! I've used this technique with colored pencils but never thought of using it for watercolor. I love the look I feel it gives it an antique vibe.❤
I enjoyed watching this so much, loved the comparison paintings and how you showed the versatility of the watercolors. It’s amazing medium and so fun to watch you learn while you teach. That too is pretty amazing. Can’t wait to try this too.
I think the underpainting makes your pumpkin more realistic. I am going to try that. Thank you!
Thank you, Emma. I tried this over the weekend and was very pleased with the results. I think I will use this technique a lot!
It was interesting to see both techniques on the same paper. I want to try the contrasting under painting technique to see how it works for me. Both pumpkins looked good, but distinctly different. Thank you for this demonstration.
Great technique! I wish I remembered whose tutorial demonstrated the difference between mixing colors, and glazing one over the other. Fascinating!
Underpainting for oils is to give yourself a value roadmap. It’s new for me in watercolors too.
somebody told me shadows are almost allways a cooler tone, so imo the blue underpainting is perfect.
The underpainting is called Grisaille method. Hajra Meeks has a very detailed playlist of Grisaille method paintings that are worth watching!
Grisaille specifically refers to underpainting with grey, the word is French for “greyed.”
What an amazingly cool comment. I was just thinking along those lines.
@ladyflimflam There's also Brunaille, painting with brown. There are several others, but I'm blanking on the names at the moment.
How interesting!
First time visiting and now subscriber😊 I grow pumpkins and adding the blue really make it amazing, very realistic😊 Thank you
Merci!
Thank you so much!!
Blue underpainting looks SOOOO... much more realistic!!! I love it!!!
I really love the underpainted pumpkin. Thanks for the great content!❤
I love it, looks more realistic and has more depth.
I tried this..and wow..what a difference!!
Underpainting is a traditional method of oil painting and does make a huge difference in results. I haven't tried it with watercolors, but will now! Pure true transparent watercolors would give the best results, I would think.
I like the blue, as it looks like gray shadows under the orange. I think it is more striking. Both are very well done, though. I just bought your book. Can't wait to use it. Thanks!
I love using the underpainting method. I don't remember where i learned it, but I've been using it for years.
Love them...I don't think the underpainting makes it more realistic...but it looks like an old master!!!!
Wow
Yeh! I totally see what you mean! 👍🍰🌻
I LOVE BOTH pumpkins! I will draw my pumpkins starting with an oval!
This was awesome! Thank you for demonstrating ❤
Oh yes the blue under painting makes a more exciting effect. Definitely worth it.
I like the de-saturated look to it. More soft and painterly. Well, I believe orange needs some toning down.
Because you are so accomplished, I love them both very much!!. The under painting appears to give more depth and just an entirely different style. I always use Pains Gray for my shadows. Thank you for sharing this interesting concept. ♥️
Love the underpainted pumpkin, Im looking forward to trying it.
The bottom pumpkin with the blue underneath looks like it has picked up the dirt from sitting in the field and looks more natural to me. It works!
That was so interesting. I just need to learn how to paint a pumpkin first. I love the bright one for fall. Pumpkins are really vibrant for the most part here in Ontario.
I love both techniques. Thank you, so much, you are a fabulous teacher!
I never saw underpainting before. I love it! I liked the 1st pumpkin but when I saw the 2nd one with blue i really liked it more. Thanks for showing us that method. I hope you can show us more.
second pumpkin looks more earthy, realistic but if painting transparent its a little opaque. Thank You for the demo. It was very interesting. I will check out Danny's Channel..
I like the bottom one better. I think the blue made it more interesting and seems to pop more.
Love the new technique! It looks so....professional!
I always use the under painting technique to create realism. You do need to sometimes apply more layers dependent on the tone and depth you want.
I really like both - it would just depend on my mood. Will definitely try the underpainting - thanks for the inspiration!
I like the way the underpainted pumpkin came out. It looks slightly "bruised" which pumpkins usually are. Also the texture of the rind is rarely perfectly smooth, so the granulation from the ultramarine is more realistic.
Very interesting. I will play with the technique. I think it's all in what you are going for in a painting. Thanks for sharing!
I would never have thought of this but I like the effect. It does look more natural.
Thanks for sharing, this gives many many ideas to ponder. I liked the underpainting on all of your paintings here.
Thank you for your videos. I’m having a lot of fun trying watercolour for the first time. I like under painting to create a glow.
The vote is both! I could see a group of pumpkins with the dark toned in the background and the bright up front. I would need to try it. Could be a maybe idea. 😉 22:36
I like both. Having said that I like my pumpkins a rich orange. I do think the underpaintings would be great with the different squashes. Thank you Emma for introducing the underpaintings
the blue underpainted one reminds me of like vntage post cards and that look, I like it and look forward to trying iit
Great color theory lesson! Very interesting how & when the colors are combined effects the look