Lesson video

Hello, everyone, how are you today? I hope you're feeling great.

My name's Ms. Avsal, and I'll be your art teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really good about that because I love teaching this subject and I'm particularly excited 'cause today we're getting into wet media.

Our lesson is called Hand Rendered Working Methods: Wet Media, and it comes from the unit of work Foundation Workshops: An Introduction to the Areas of Study.

So we are gonna be getting really practical today.

We are going to be getting the paints out.

We are gonna be exploring different kinds of wet media.

I hope you're feeling ready, enthusiastic, focused.

If you are, then we'll begin.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can experiment with wet media techniques to create expressive graphic designs that communicate a theme.

That sounds very interesting to me.

I hope you're feeling the same way.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them one at a time.

So we have wet media, layering, blending, and expressive mark-making.

So what do these words mean? Well, wet media is liquid-based art materials such as ink, watercolour or gouache used for mark-making.

Layering is applying one wash of colour over another, once dried to create depth and richness.

Blending, this is the technique of smoothly merging two or more colours while wet.

And expressive mark-making, using brushstrokes, splatters and drips to convey emotion or movement.

So these are our keywords, wet media, layering, blending, and expressive mark-making.

Let's look out for them.

Let's listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called Hand Rendered Working Methods: Wet Media, and it consists of two learning cycles.

First of all, there's explore wet media techniques and then communicating through wet media.

Let's begin with exploring wet media techniques.

Take a look at what you see on the screen.

This could be an outcome for today, could be something like this.

Pause a video and share with someone your impressions of this artwork.

Thank you for sharing your initial impressions of this artwork created using wet media techniques.

So how can wet media techniques be used effectively to develop ideas and communicate visually? Pause a video and share with someone.

What do you think? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

And we can see an image of someone painting with watercolours there using wet media techniques.

Wet media includes any liquid-based materials that can be used for expressive or controlled mark-making.

Examples of wet media include watercolour paint, inks, gouache paint, acrylic, oil, tempera and poster paint.

Pause video and share with someone.

Have you experience of working with any of these examples of media? Thanks for sharing your experiences of working with wet media so far.

Graphic designers might use wet media to generate initial ideas, create effects and textures, or produce artworks and designs.

And we can see someone mixing the colours of their paint there.

Blending involves smoothly merging two or more colours or tones.

If you are using dry media, such as pencils, you might lightly shade, overlapping layers of colours to create a blend.

With wet media, blending can be achieved by bringing two colours together while they're still wet.

In wet media layering refers to the process of applying one wash of colour over a dry layer to create depth and richness.

How much you can or cannot see through a layer of wet media, how solid the colour appears, is referred to as its opacity.

The use of layering and blending with wet media in graphic communication can be found in the works of many contemporary and classical artists.

Aaron Douglas' Artworks showcase an abstract dynamic style through layering and blending.

April Greiman combines traditional wet media techniques with digital technology to create intricate and energetic compositions.

And Saul Bass' graphic designs use printing and wet media techniques within his poster designs from the 20th century.

So we can see there are a number of artists using layering, blending and wet media.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which material is not considered to be wet media.

Is it a ink, B, gouache, or C, charcoal? Pause the video while you decide.

Well done.

If you selected charcoal, this is not an example of wet media.

There are a number of basic techniques that can be practised with wet media to help develop an understanding of how it can be used and applied.

Techniques include flat wash, wet-on-wet blending, wet-on-dry layering, graduated wash.

There are many other experimental and expressive mark-making techniques, and who knows, maybe there are some that you will discover and create yourselves.

A flat wash involves applying an even layer of diluted colour across a surface.

Note that the ratio of water to paint will alter how fluidly it is applied to the surface and its level of opacity or transparency.

The wet-on-wet technique involves adding wet paint onto a wet surface.

To use this technique, brush a layer of clean water onto your paper, then add colour or ink.

Notice how the pigment disperses to create dynamic organic blends.

Wet-on-dry refers to painting wet media onto dry paper or a dried layer of paint to create sharper, more controlled edges.

This technique is useful for layering sections of paint to create depth and distinct tones or for adding definition.

A graduated wash gives the effect of a soft blend between two tones or colours.

This technique can be applied by painting a colour from one side to a central point, then applying another colour from the opposite side to the same central point.

Dry brushing simply refers to using very little water to dilute the pigment, which results in rough textured effects with the paint.

Other experimental techniques can also be explored.

For instance, splattering can be used to scatter small drops of paint to create detailed and dynamic effects.

Let's have a check for understanding, what does the wet-on-wet technique mean? Is it A, painting on dry paper, B, mixing paints before applying, or C, applying wet paint onto a wet surface? Pause the video while you decide what the wet-on-wet technique means.

Well done if you selected answer C, indeed, applying wet paint onto a wet surface is what the wet-on-wet technique means.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to use watercolour to practise each of these wet media techniques.

So we have flat wash, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry splattering, dry brush, and graduated wash.

So pause here while you have a go at practising each of these six wet media techniques.

And I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, it's great to be back with you.

How did you get on with practising each of these six wet media techniques? Flat wash, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, splattering, dry brush and graduated wash.

Pause the video and share with someone which was your favourite of these techniques.

Which one did you enjoy the most? And which one are you most pleased with the results of? Thanks for sharing.

I really enjoy the experience of splattering and also the look of it, and I enjoy the effect of the graduated wash.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, communicating through wet media.

So I have a question for you.

What is expressive mark-making? Pause the video and share with someone.

What do you think this means? What is expressive mark-making? Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Perhaps you shared that expressive mark-making is using splatters, splashes and drips to create emotion and movement in an artwork.

Pause the video and share with someone what's your impression of this artwork that we can see on the screen and what kind of movement or emotion do you think it's trying to express? Thanks for sharing your responses.

The basic techniques with wet media can be expanded upon to create a broad range of effects.

Brush strokes, textures, splashes, and drips can be used to create emotion, movement, or drama in an artwork.

And we can see some paint splashes and drips that have been used on this artwork on the screen.

Pause a video and share with someone.

What do you think the effect of this is? Thanks for sharing your responses.

Controlled marks refer to precise and neat effects, whereas expressive marks are often loose, bold, and spontaneous.

Creating in experimental, explorative and expressive ways can lead to unexpected or unintentional effects.

Accidental effects like drips, runs, or splatters can add character and meaning to your work.

I'm quite enjoying the look of that paint running down the canvas that we can see on the screen.

We can embrace mistakes as opportunities, great motto.

Mood can be illustrated through expressive mark-making to enhance its impact.

A sense of calm might be expressed by using soft, lightly graduated washers or flowing blends of colour.

Energy could be evoked by using bold splashes or dry brushing jagged strokes.

Discuss with a partner how you could create mood through expressive mark-making in your own artwork.

Pause the video while you do this.

Thanks for sharing your responses.

And take a look at the artwork we see on the screen.

What kind of mood do you think is being expressed by this artwork? Thanks for sharing.

Let's gather some responses.

Here's Sofia, "To express energy and dynamism in an artwork, I will use experimental techniques like splattering and dripping paint in bright, bold colours." Love the sound of that.

And here is Jun, "I want to express a calm and relaxing visual artwork, so I'll use purposeful brushstrokes and blend light colours to achieve this." Let's have a check for understanding.

Expressive mark-making aims to.

A, correct any mistakes for a refined result.

B, convey emotion or a sense of movement.

C, use only straight, clean lines for a precise aesthetic.

Pause video while you decide which of these describes what expressive mark-making aims to do.

Well done if you selected answers B.

Indeed expressive mark-making aims to convey emotion or a sense of movement.

Artists can incorporate expressive mark-making techniques into their artworks and designs.

Ralph Steadman's chaotic ink marks bring energy and emotion to his illustrations.

Jade Fadojutimi creates expressive mixed media abstract artworks using gestural marks and layering to explore identity and emotion.

And Yuko Shimizu combines controlled and expressive mark-making techniques to create evocative illustrations.

Different wet media techniques can be combined to create visually engaging designs.

Layering, blending, controlled, and expressive mark-making can be brought together into complex rich visuals that captivate viewers.

And we can see some colourful lettering using the word create on the screen there.

To plan and create an effective graphic design that conveys expressive mark-making.

Start by planning the composition.

Lightly sketch the placement of letters and possible shapes.

Think about different types of typography, and if there are any textiles which could contribute to your design.

With the composition sketched into position, apply different wet media techniques such as layering washes and blending colours.

Try balancing controlled and purposeful brushstrokes with expressive and experimental effects.

Let's have a check for understanding.

True or false? You can use experimental and uncontrolled techniques to create visually interesting results with wet media.

Pause video and decide if this is true or false.

Well done if you selected true and now I'd like you to say a little more about your answer.

Pause the video while you do this.

Perhaps you said something like this, expressive, loose, or even accidental marks can be intentional and valued in graphic communication, depending on the project's aims. And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to design a small poster or graphic composition based on a word or short phrase.

For example, energy, calm, spirit, connect using wet media as the primary method.

Focus on communicating the theme through expressive mark-making and use of wet media.

You could include simple graphic forms, shapes, loose lettering, textures, but no full drawing or heavy outlines.

Use at least two or three techniques practised during the previous task.

So pause here while you have a go at designing a small poster or or graphic composition based on a short phrase and using wet media as the primary method.

Enjoy your task and I'll see you when you're finished.

Okay, so how did you get on with that task of creating a graphic composition using what media as your primary method? There are many possibilities, but you might have created something beautiful like this.

In this example, the word "Spirit" was created using a combination of flat and graduated washes.

Experimental mark-making techniques like splattering as well as dropping watercolours and inks were used to add to the effect.

In our lesson, hand rendered working methods: wet media, we've covered the following.

Wet media, including different types of paints and inks, can be experimented with by using a range of techniques such as layering and blending.

Using different ratios of water and pigment will create different effects and change the opacity.

Wet media can be used to communicate moods and themes in graphic design through controlled and expressive mark-making techniques.

Well done everyone for joining in with this lesson.

I loved exploring wet media together with you.

All the different techniques there are layering, blending, wet-on- wet, wet-on-dry, and so on.

It was great to be together with you in this lesson, and I love these words that you have created and the moods and themes and expressiveness of your creations.

I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.

I've really valued being together with you here today, and I hope to see you at another art lesson soon.

In the meantime, stay creative.