The brief

Choose a set of materials (ink, charcoal, paint, pencil, etc.) or a particular process/set of processes (collage, stencil, doodling, layering, etc.) and isolate some sections in your sketchbook of four pages minimum to act as ‘chapters’.  Use these sections for your micro-studies to investigate how your chosen materials and/or process work, how they can be used and what range of effects can be produced.  What you choose to depict within these studies is open; you could choose to investigate a set of particular forms, marks, or a particular composition if you wish.  Whatever your chosen subject/forms/marks, it is recommended that you keep it simple in order to concentrate on the physical properties of your materials, and each ‘chapter’ should stand alone as an individual study.

Choosing a set of materials

Acrylic Paint

I haven’t worked with acrylic paint in a long time. In art school we used acrylic paint primarily on stretched or board canvas. I am curious how it can be applied to a sketchbook and illustrations on paper.  I will work on 165g/m2 paper and experiment with different mark-making.

Gouache

I have chosen gouache to compare it with acrylic paint and investigate how they differ when the same mark-making is applied.

Watercolour Ink (Ecoline, Dr PH Martin’s and Tombow)

I enjoy working with this medium and would like to explore further how this medium can be applied.  I will use the same mark-making as gouache and acrylic and investigate how the medium differs from thicker paint.

How am I testing my materials?

I will Investigate how the medium can be used in hand lettering and, simultaneously, see how it works as a background layer.

I will explore different mark-making by using unusual drawing/painting tools such as:

• Dishwashing sponge
• Sponge on a stick
• Wine cork
• Honey dipper
• Beer bottle cap
• Screw cap of a Milton bottle
• Straw broom bristles
• Plastic broom bristles
• Pig-hair brush
• Dried-up lemon peel
• Squeegee
• Rubber bands pulled over a wine cork
• Printing with a loose piece of paper
• Printing with the sole of a shoe
• Testing other mediums on top of the primary medium

I will use my findings to conclude what I have discovered by making a simple illustration of trees and using the new techniques.

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint has a buttery feel and is easy to blend with or without leaving brushstrokes.  I especially like the blending effect with visible brushstrokes as seen in the ‘T’ (figure 1). 

Acrylic paints use polymer as a binder, and once the paint is dry, it cannot be reactivated like gouache.  Unlike gouache, it is permanent and durable.  Acrylic is already naturally glossy, but matt medium is handy when a more subtle, non-reflective finish is needed.  Using acrylic for hand lettering works well when thinned with water and applied one layer at a time.

When using acrylic as a background, it’s important to consider how rough you want your background to be.  If the background has brushstrokes with a raised texture, it is more difficult to apply crayons, coloured pencils, or other mediums. (See Figure 3, the ochre block, bottom left).

Acrylic paints can easily be thinned with water to create a smooth background. (See Figure 3, the spider and teacup).  This smoother acrylic background works best when using acrylic in mixed media.  I used a Gelly Roll pen to draw on a smooth acrylic background, which glides effortlessly onto dried acrylics.

What I like about acrylic is that you can ‘print with paper’.  (See hearts and letter A in figure 3).  I had great success with painting on a loose piece of paper and then flipping the paper onto my sketchbook, rubbing the back of the paper, and printing the image into my sketchbook.  Gouache and watercolour ink could not do this.  I assume the polymer binder in the acrylic makes this possible.  The acrylic sits on top of the paper and does not soak into the paper like gouache and watercolour. 

Acrylic also grips onto slippery, smooth plastic surfaces such as plastic broom bristles and plastic bottle caps, while gouache and watercolour ink would drip off.  Gouache and watercolour ink grips better onto natural materials such as straw broom bristles, cork, wood, and rubber.  The material should have a bit of a tooth for gouache and watercolour ink to grip but acrylic gripped on all my mark-making materials.

Concluding my findings, I created the trees by using the raised texture of acrylic for the bark of the trees and shoe prints for the leaves.  The prints create a raised surface giving a painterly effect.  I added details with a Gelly Roll pen, which can also be done with acrylic paint and a thin brush.  The background of the trees on the right was done with crayons. (See figure 6)

Gouache

Gouache applies similarly to acrylics when it comes to hand lettering but has a matt, almost powdery finish when completely dry.  Gouache is ideal for lettering but when it comes to sketchbooks and hand lettering, watercolour brush pens work the best.  Watercolour brush pens are portable and the firm brush with the narrow tip makes it a pleasure to quickly draw a few letters when time is limited, e.g., waiting in the doctor’s room or at your child’s school.

In figure 7, I have done the ‘Adve’ of the word Adventure in gouache and added the background in dark grey gouache around the letters.  Painting the letters on a white background creates a more potent and clearer yellow-green.  I tried gouache washes to experiment with different transparencies and like the soft effect you can achieve.   

Gouache appears matt and powdery and is ideal for illustrations when painting animal skin (elephant skin), landscapes, clouds, flat colours, and soft matt objects and illustrations.  I like the look and feel of gouache, which is different from the naturally glossy acrylic and oil-based paints.

Applying gouache to wet paper gives the shape blurred edges and a whimsical feel, while applying it to dry paper makes the edges crisp and clear.  I also painted the paper with hand cream before applying the paint.  The hand cream causes the paint to flow according to the contour of the hand cream and dries on top of the paper without soaking too much into the paper.  This gives a dried pastel effect and can be smudged.  (See Figure 8, next to the yellow squeegee block, the beer bottle cap in hand cream).

Coloured pencils, crayons, Gelly Roll pens and even fine liners work well on gouache.  Paper prints work better with acrylic paint.  When using paper printing with gouache, the paper sticks to each other because the water soaks into the paper.  Printing with a shoe works well both with gouache and acrylic, depending on if you are after the raised texture when printing with acrylic. (See figure 11). Gouache does not give you a raised textured effect.

To conclude my findings on Gouache, I created a tree illustration using a yellow squeegee background on the left and a soft wet-on-wet background on the right.  (See figure 12).  I used the shoe print in hand cream and smudged the dry paint.  Next time, I will build this technique by using more layers over each other.  I then added painted cut-outs, photocopy leaves from a previous illustration and some netting. I also added coloured pencil on the tree trunk to add more dimension to the tree.

Watercolour ink

This is one of my favourite mediums, so I included it in this study.  I love the vibrant colour of watercolour ink and the unpredictable way it flows on the page.

Watercolour ink activates again when you add water to your dry illustration, so next time, I will do my lettering right at the end or use permanent ink if I use water over the lettering.  It is good to be aware that watercolour ink is not the same as watercolour, which doesn’t activate again once it is dry.

Watercolour ink slides off the plastic and straw broom bristles, but once you have a few drops on the paper, you can drag the bristles through the wet paint and get a lovely effect, as seen in figure 14 on the left side page.  The same applies to the bottle caps and dried lemon peel.

Watercolour ink works best by using it in lots of water and guiding it with your brush to create the unexpected.  It is great for hand lettering and illustrating clothes, food, water, and metal.  It is fantastic to use as an ink for lino prints.  (See figure 15, the teacup print).

I worked on a slightly damp or dry paper surface to achieve a crisp edge with watercolour ink.  If the paper is very wet, you will get fuzzy edges.  A somewhat damp dish sponge painted with a bit of ink will create an even layer of colour when wiped over the paper.  This is ideal for a background for lettering or an illustration.  The squeegee marks in figure 16, top right, make me think of heavy rain and can be used in an illustration to visually express the mood and feel of rain.  It can also be used as a background for a poster with a sad or emotional message.  I will change the colour, though.

I was curious to see how the ink would work to illustrate clothes, so I made a quick sketch in my sketchbook to find out.  My conclusion is that watercolour ink is ideal for illustrating fabrics.

I am concluding my findings on watercolour ink by illustrating trees.  (See figure 17).  I think the watercolour ink works best on white paper.  Next time, I will leave the background white, as seen in the illustration of the woman with the dress in figure 17.  Watercolour ink can also be used with traditional watercolours and other mediums, such as gouache.

Reflecting on what I have learned.

These microstudies are essential to fully understand your materials and to explore the processes to get the best out of their physical properties.  I will keep on exploring my materials as part of my sketchbook practice. 

I have noted the following during this exercise: –

• Acrylic paints are ideal for brushstroke or a raised effect.  It is durable and grips onto most mark-making tools.  It works well for making paper prints.
• Acrylic is naturally glossy, but matt medium can be added when a more subtle, non-reflective finish is needed.
• Acrylic paints can easily be thinned with water to create a smooth finish.
• Gelly Roll pens work very well on acrylic and are ideal when you want to work white on black.
• Acrylics give you that authentic painterly look.
• Gouache has a matt powdery finish when it is completely dry.
• Paper can be made wet with hand cream when applying gouache.  The gouache dries without soaking too much into the paper.  This creates a pastel effect and can be smudged.
• Coloured pencils, crayons, Gelly Roll pens, and fine liners work well on gouache.
• Gouache can be layered and used at different opacities.
• Watercolour ink and gouache activate again when you add water to your dry illustration.
• Watercolour ink works best by using it in lots of water and guiding it with your brush.
• Watercolour ink is fantastic to use as an ink for lino prints.
• The watercolour ink is ideal for illustrating fabrics and looks good on white paper.