Creative Warm Up - Watercolour and Black Marker
The Idea Behind A Creative Warm Up
When kids arrive at my studio for art class after school there’s a mix of energies coming at me. To reset the group I like to always start a class with a creative warm up. It’s different every week. Last week we started with a 2 part warm up, meaning we started it at the beginning of the class and then finished it at the end. It requires some drying time in order for us to be able to put details on top with the black marker.
Combining Watercolour Paint and Black Marker
There’s something so simple and beautiful when you combine colourful watercolour paint and black marker lines. There’s an interesting contrast in the fine line details that pair so nicely with the large shapes of colour. Remember to give the watercolour a lot of time to dry in order to layer the black marker on top.
Things you need:
• watercolour paint
• black marker (we used a black marker with a fine tip and brush tip). You could also use a sharp black colour pencil or just a graphite pencil.
• any additional mediums you want to layer with.
• watercolour paper.
You can try a few things:
• have a plan of objects or animals you want to paint and draw but also encourage the kids to come up with their own ideas to add to the page.
• this is a great time to teach the kids about blending watercolour paint colours instead of using just one colour per drawing.
• we have done this exercise before and what the kids love to do the most is add faces to everything. They love goofy faces.
A video of Brina’s creative warm up for kids’ art classes - combining watercolour paint and black and white marker details
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