how to paint cardinals

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MuralMaker & more Paint It Yourself (PIY) Kits Mural Maker & More http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com Red Cardinal Paint Project This project can either be painted onto fabric or watercolor paper. If you paint it on to watercolor paper, take a picture, you can then print it on to iron-on transfer paper for your table runner. The image could then be printed for other decorative items such as aprons, greeting cards, candle wraps . . . the possibilities are endless! This photo tutorial is for watercolor paper which affords a little more leeway for beginning artists. Your artwork will not look like mine, but that’s okay. Make it your own and have fun!

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Paint it once on canvas or watercolor paper, then upload it and print it off for a number of decorative projects. Print it onto iron-on transfer paper and make table runners, placemats, tshirts, etc. Print it on paper, decoupage it and transform ordinary objects into your own works of art.The tutorial is free for you to use. Please provide a link back to http://muralmaker1.blogspot.com so everyone can enjoy free paint tutorials.

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Page 1: How to Paint Cardinals

MuralMaker & more Paint It Yourself (PIY) Kits

Mural Maker & More http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com

Red Cardinal Paint Project

This project can either be painted onto fabric or watercolor paper. If you paint it on to watercolor paper, take a picture, you can then print it on to iron-on transfer paper for your table runner. The image could then be printed for other decorative items such as aprons, greeting cards, candle wraps . . . the possibilities are endless! This photo tutorial is for watercolor paper which affords a little more leeway for beginning artists. Your artwork will not look like mine, but that’s okay. Make it your own and have fun!

Page 2: How to Paint Cardinals

MuralMaker & more Paint It Yourself (PIY) Kits

Mural Maker & More http://MuralMaker1.blogspot.com

Supplies

Watercolor Paper at least 8-1/2 x 11

Graphite Transfer Paper (available in crafts stores)

Paper towels Two water basins –one to clean

dirty brushes; one for clean water

Foam plate Stylus or ball point pen – to

transfer pattern

Paints & Brushes These are recommended colors only. Delta Ceramcoat was used, but any acrylic paint will work.

Red - bird basecoat Dark Burnt Umber – shading Light Orange – beak basecoat Barn Red - topcoat White - highlight Flat Brushes size 6 & 10 Liner Brush Plaid FolkArt Medium

Page 3: How to Paint Cardinals

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Download the line art pattern. The pattern can be found at the end of the picture tutorial. You can enlarge or reduce it, however it is sized to fit iron-on transfer paper.

Step 1 Place pattern on watercolor paper. Painter’s tape is helpful in case you need to lift the pattern and then reposition it. With a stylus or ball point pen, trace the outline of the bird and detail markings. If the transfer markings are too dark on the watercolor paper, use an eraser to lighten them to where you can still see them, but they’re not going to show through the paint.

Step 2 Basecoat entire bird with Red.

Page 4: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 3 Apply 2nd basecoat, if needed, to get opaque coverage.

Step 4 Basecoat beak with Light Orange.

Page 5: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 5 Add detailing/shading with Dark Burnt Umber.

Page 6: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 6 For tummy, dip your brush in Folk Art Floating Medium and work it thru on your foam plate. Then pick up a dab of Dark Burnt Umber and stroke the brush back & forth on foam plate to mix the paint with the medium. Then paint the mixture, following the curve of the bird’s tummy.

If you don’t have Floating

Medium or glaze, you can mix

your paint with a little water

to get a translucent effect.

Page 7: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 7 For the feathers & tail feathers, apply Dark Burnt Umber full

strength in uneven strokes.

Page 8: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 8 Using a liner brush with Dark Burnt Umber, add details above and below beak and around the eye area. Add a little line in the middle of the beak. Paint the eye area in with Dk. Burnt Umber.

Page 9: How to Paint Cardinals

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Step 9 With Barn Red topcoat the entire bird, except for the eye and detailing above and below the beak.

Page 10: How to Paint Cardinals

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That’s it! You’re done!

Step 10 With the very tip of your liner brush, dip it into White and add two dots on the eye and two dots on the beak.

Page 11: How to Paint Cardinals

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Page 12: How to Paint Cardinals

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General Instructions

Supplies Two water buckets – one for dirty brushes, one for clean water

Foam plate to pour paint on

Paper towels

Watercolor paper or canvas

Graphite or transfer paper –or you can use a pencil on back of pattern. See FAQ below.

Stylus or ball point pen to transfer pattern

Paint

Brushes

This is a simple technique that doesn’t require previous painting experience. This is because you’ll layer the colors on. Basecoat, shade, highlight, then topcoat. Since most colors in craft paints are not usually opaque in their coverage, underpainting (shading & highlighting) will peek through after you topcoat. Everyone paints differently so everyone’s painting will look a little different. How wet your brush is with water, how many coats you apply, how heavily you apply the paint – or lightly, even the pigments in the paint will affect the overall appearance. I’ve tried to cover all variables above in my notes, if not my pictures. The most important thing to remember is it’s only paint! You can always start over by ‘whiting out’ your original design.

Tips Paints You don’t have to use the colors I’ve used. Go ahead and pick your own. Just choose colors that are fairly close in hue range.

Brushes Flat Brush – rectangular in shape Round Brushes – pointed brushes (I don’t use these but some people like them.) Liners –thin pointed brushes My brushes of choice for craft paints are Donna Dewberry’s. You can get them at Michael’s and some Walmarts, or online, or course. They last well, hold their shape and are not too expensive. They also come in some good groupings, which are a nice value. Always dip your brush in clean water & then towel off excess moisture before picking up paint. Liner brushes – dip in water, towel off moisture. Roll in paint sideways to get fine tip. Cleaning Your Brushes I use regular bar soap. Rinse the brush with clean water, stroke it thru the soap and rinse again. Once the paint is completely removed, I take a few soap suds and leave them in the brush, form it back into shape and let it dry laying flat. If you allow it to dry upright, it’ll lose it’s shape.

Page 13: How to Paint Cardinals

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Transferring the pattern You can use graphite paper, sewing transfer paper, or an art transfer paper that is removed w/water. I always use graphite paper because I have it on hand. You’ll probably have to go over the transfer and erase it to lighten up the pattern. If you don’t have transfer paper, turn the pattern over and rub a pencil over the outlines. Then turn it right side up, place it on top of your watercolor paper, and trace the design with a ball point pencil. Try to mark your transfer inside the pattern line, rather than right on top if it. Your transfer lines will be covered better. This way if you go outside the lines when painting, you can easily add to it. Much easier than trying to remove paint.

Painting Tips Dip your brush in water first, before paint. Just take a paper towel and remove the majority of the moisture. The water will keep the paint from drying in your brush if it’s out of water for too long.

Basecoat - fill in from the outside of pattern, moving towards center. If you have ridges of paint

build up, try and smooth them. But if they’re on the edge of your pattern, just leave it.

Shade – about 2 shades darker than basecoat. Shading will cause area to visually recede.

Highlight – about 3 shades up from basecoat and/or White. Highlights will visually bring that area forward or make it more prominent.

White – you can always use white to highlight. You just might have to add more glaze over any imperfections.

Detail colors – you can detail either with paint or felt pens. For some fine work, fine tip felt pens will feel more comfortable at first. They’re just harder to correct. I usually detail with paint and then come over it with felt pen.

Topcoat – apply basecoat color over designated areas. Too light, apply another coat. If it covers up your shading & highlighting, apply additional coats of these.

Generally speaking, I apply highlighting next to shading. Not always, but frequently. Finishing Touches You can take a felt pen and draw around the outlines for more definition. Fine tip Sharpies work fine. Or Micron Pigma pens, available in an arts & crafts store or online. Pigma pens come in all kinds of colors and fine tips.

Painting curves If you’re right handed, it’ll be easier to move from left to right. If you’re left handed, you might find it easier to paint curves from right to left.

Terms

Page 14: How to Paint Cardinals

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Opaque – complete paint coverage with no layers showing underneath Translucent – sheer coverage, allowing layers underneath to show through Sideloading - Dip one corner of your flat brush into the paint. Don’t worry about how it looks when first applied. After you apply one or two topcoats, any imperfections will lessen.

Floating Medium/Gel Each pattern is designed to be painted with full strength paint. At some point, however, you might want to experiment with Floating medium for shading, highlighting & topcoating. The medium makes your paint translucent, so the layers beneath show thru a bit. To use Medium, dip your brush in the medium, work it thru by stroking the brush back and forth on your foam plate, then pick up some paint and stroke back and forth. This will mix the paint & medium together. Now what? What can you do with your painting, other than frame it? Take a picture, or scan it, into your computer. Reducing the image will make it look clearer, as opposed to enlarging it. Print it onto iron on transfer paper and iron it on to fabric –table runners, wall hangings, pillows, etc. Print it onto vellum or tissue paper & wrap candles. Use it as decoupage paper for all kinds of projects.

FAQ’s What if transfer markings show thru the basecoat? It’s best to erase dark markings before you basecoat. But if they do show through, you’ll just need a few more basecoats. Or, you can outline the pattern with your detail color or a felt pen when you’re done painting. What if I paint outside the pattern edges? Take a clean damp brush and wipe outside the edge, picking up the “oops” area. It may require a few pick-ups, rinsing in clean water each time. If you catch it soon enough, this usually works, although some dark colors are just hard to remove. Then you might have to overpaint outside the design to clean it up. What if I want a color around the pattern? Do I paint it first or last? It’s easiest to do your background first, although sometimes I add it as an afterthought – carefully. I like to leave the background plain so I can use it for different crafts after scanning it into my computer. If you’re Photoshop savvy, you can always add or delete the background to your liking. What if I paint over the pattern detail on the inside? If you can’t see the detail line art, reposition the pattern onto your paper/canvas, tape it in place and transfer markings again. Do I have to use the same colors as the sample? Not at all. But you’ll want to choose your basecoat, then a shading color about 2 shades darker. You can almost always use White for highlighting, or a very light shade of your basecoat. How many basecoats do I need to do? That depends upon how wet your brush is and how you stroke your paint. Some people have a naturally light touch; others are heavy. The goal in basecoating is to have a fairly even appearance, with no obvious brushstroke lines.

Page 15: How to Paint Cardinals

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What if I don’t want to cover the shading and/or highlighting? Leave them! If you like the appearance of your details, by all means, leave them as is. Can I do two applications of shading or highlighting? Definitely. Often, two applications gives a deeper, richer look. Why do I dip my brush in water before the paint? A damp brush helps the paint flow a bit smoother. It also protects your brush from dried paint building up, which will ruin the brush eventually. How wet should my brush be? It’s really more of a personal preference. I dip my brush in water and then get most of it off on a paper towel. My brush is damp, not sopping wet. How much paint should be on my brush? It’s really what you’re comfortable with. Try using less, rather than more to get started. Except for basecoating when you just want full coverage. After just a few kits, you’ll know what works best for you. I get ridges of paint built up on the edge of the pattern. How can I avoid this? Stroke your brush just inside of the edge, say about 1/8”. Then smooth out the paint ridge to the edge of the pattern. Do I need to seal the finished painting? You can, but most sealers will add a sheen, which messes up photographs – even Krylon Matte spray. I leave my originals as is and seal any reproduction work.