Real media and limited space, is it possible?

[roger]

Hi there, I'd like to ask you what do you think is the best media to paint and draw with a minimum amount of space available.

So far I'm only using pencils and inks and I'd like to use other media, mostly to do some non digital color pieces. My problem is that I don't have much space available on my desk, so I'm afraid to try new stuff because it looks like I would need way more space than what I have.

I would be very grateful if you can suggest me something, and even more if you can name some brands, preferably ones that are easy to find in Europe.

[al-x]

I'd say markers is the less space consuming media. All you need are the marker pens. Problem with them is that they´re kind of expensive. Copic (http://www.copicmarker.com/) is a good brand and are avaible here in Europe, though you wont find them in your ordinary art store.

Otherwise you can always use regular watercolor, if you're gonna use them alot I'd suggest you get a set of Windsor & Newton (http://www.winsornewton.com/index2.php) colors, they're really good, though a bit more expensive. Watercolor isn't that space consuming either, but markers are less space consuming (and less messy, you don't have to worry about spilling water all over your painting :) )

Hope this will help a bit

[Fipse]

I´ve made good experiences with acrylic colours. I´ve been using Lucascryl semiliquid colours that I´m using for my tin-miniatures, too and they aren´t messy and I even could work because of the small pots in cramped spaces (e.g. when I was ill I´ve been working on my bed). Additionally I´m using acrylic inks that are a bit more messy but if you´re working in small formats it shouldn´t be much of a problem.

Hope this could help

Fipse

[dcorc]

I've painted in a variety of student rooms and bedsits over the years. I think there are 3 considerations to working in a small space, namely the actual working area, how quickly the paint dries, and how much it smells. I don't see any problem with watercolours (pans rather than tubes) at all. Personally I think that it's perfectly possible to work with acrylics or alkyds in small format at a desk, an easel isn't needed - using a small palette with just enough paint for the current session. I use cheap synthetic sable type brushes. Acrylic dries really quickly, has very little smell, brushes wash out in water. Alkyds (Winsor & Newton "Griffin") - a sort of fast-drying oil-paint - dry overnight, and smell painty, but a great deal less than traditional oils using linseed oil and turpentine (out of the question in a bedsit as they really smell very strongly and take several days to dry). I use liquin (W&N) medium, rinse the alkyds off brushes in a minimal amount of white spirit (like 5-10ml total for a dozen brushes or so, and wash them quickly with soap and water after each painting session. It is also possible to use alkyd medium with oilpaints, approx halving the drying time and reducing the smell somewhat (Daler-Rowney do inexpensive starter sets with 8ml or 22ml tubes of "Georgian" oils, which you could try with a bottle of alkyd medium from either D-R or W&N - ignoring the included linseed oil and turpentine - or just choose 6-8 colours from the rack at your art shop, say titanium white, ivory black, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, ultramarine, vermilion - no green needed, mix from yellows, blue, and black). Winsor & Newton do "Winton" pads of textured paper for acrylics or oils, and Daler-Rowney do similar "Tyneham" pads, or you could use a coat of acrylic gesso to prepare just about any reasonable surface for painting on in acrylics, alkyds or oils. Hope this helps, let us know what you decide.

[antihero]

Thanks a lot! I was also thinking about doing some small-area paintings but couldn't decide which material/technique/style i should stick with. Your answers help!

[roger]

Thanks a lot for the information! I think I'm going to choose either the acrylics or markers, probably both since money isn't the problem. I'll look into alkyds also. I've got a very sensitive smelling sense, so I'll rather not use oils.

Do they come with packs or should I choose some colors like dcorc suggests for oils? If the later, the ones dcorc suggests are good for every medium? Sorry for asking so many questions, besides inks I have next to zero experience with real media. :emb:

[dcorc]

acrylics and alkyds can be got in starter packs (but it might be cheaper to get just the tubes you want). Just see what's available in the shop! I've no experience of markers.

As to colours, the set I suggested are just the ones I regard as the core set personally - I was mainly trying to suggest that you don't need 30-40 different colours - I wouldn't worry too much about specific pigments at this stage - you need a white, a black, a red, a yellow, a blue, and I added in the two earth pigments "yellow ochre" and "burnt sienna" as you can do a huge range of flesh tones with these, with a red (such as vermilion hue, cadmium red or windsor red), and white. In my opinion, if you're painting naturalistic greens, these can be mixed from combinations of blue, yellow, yellow ochre, and black. Start out simple, add some extra tubes in later if you want specific shades you can't mix a good approximation to with the set I've suggested.

And if you're going with acrylic, you can thin them right down and use them like watercolours (on watercolour paper), or keep them fairly thick when they handle a bit like oils (preferably on a non-absorbant surface, preferably with a medium or retarder to slow drying, so they can be blended like oils during a painting session) W&N do "Finity" and the cheaper "Galeria" acrylics, D-R do "Cryla" and the cheaper "System 3". "Finity" and "Cryla" are "artist" grade, and "Galeria" and "System3" are "student" grade - they will all mix with each other with no problem however. Finity & Cryla are claimed to handle a bit more like oils. The biggest problems with acrylics are that they dry so quickly that you can't blend them on the painting (unless you are either very fast or use a retarding medium), and that the colour shifts slightly as they dry (usually lightening). Once dried, the colour doesn't lift/resolubilise on being wetted again (unlike watercolour), and the paint surface tends to dry physically pretty flat.

[roger]

Thanks again dcorc! I've gone to an art material store today and bought some acrylic paints: a red, a blue, a yellow and white (they were out of black tubes :( ). I bought a brand called 'vallejo' which I don't know if it's any good but it was on discount. When I run out of them or get tired with them I'll try the alkyds. I'll still look for the markers, they didn't sell any there.

[dcorc]

I'll be very interested to see how you get on with the acrylics, your digital stuff looks great.

[roger]

Thanks! :)

Ok, this is my first try with watered acrylics, it came out as bad as I expected it to be.

http://rtallada.dreamers.com/imatges/diaris/prova_acrilics.jpg
long way to go yet

[dcorc]

In terms of the paint handling, it looks OK from here, nice loose watercolour sort of style - perhaps a bit overworked - the facial anatomy looks a bit disproportionate, with the lower half of the face looking a bit larger than the upper (it would just be my luck that your model looks exactly as you've painted him!!).

Have a go at painting it in a more oil-like style - on a non-absorbant surface (eg primed hardboard/masonite) - using the paint thinned to a double cream sort of consistancy, see how you get on with that.

Just stick at it - from your digital works, there's no doubt at all that you can really paint well - it fascinates me that the look of paintings very quickly settles down and becomes characteristic of a given artist, irrespective of whether they're digital, or real-world.

[roger]

Thanks for the crit dcorc, it's really apreciated. I didn't use any reference for the head, but you're right, the lower half is longer than it should be. Actually, I rushed the underlying drawing quite a bit, I was more interested in trying the new tools. :)

I'll try to use the acrylics with an oil style as soon as I can, for some reason I think that that style it's going to be more difficult for me.

[pvrhye]

The only issue with acrylic inks (that is if they are the same thing as fluid acrylics) is that from my experience they are pretty spotty. I tend to prefer actual ink.