GRADIENTS AND HOW TO USE THEM

We’re often asked to paint flat swatches in art school, but colours really come to life when they change gradually from one note to another. Unfortunately, smooth gradients aren’t that easy to paint. I’ll share a few different approaches and show how I apply them in specific paintings. The idea is to encourage you to try controlled experiments in the studio and then apply what you’ve learned in the field or on the job. I’ll be using watercolour, gouache, casein and acrylic, but the painting insights shown here are universal and will benefit oil and digital painters as well.

James Gurney authored Color and Light, How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist and Dinotopia. He has 450k YouTube subs, 224k on Instagram, and has published over 5k posts on the GurneyJourney blog. jamesgurney.com

1 Make a simple watercolour gradient

Use heavy watercolour paper and a soft brush. Dampen the entire surface with