From the Book - First American Edition.
Intro. Watercolors- in or out? ; A painting for the emperor ; Gum Arabic: where the watercolors grow ; Pigments: the stuff that dreams are made of ; Yellow and orange: of camels and crocuses ; Red and purple: of bugs and snails ; Blue: of lapis luzuli, indigo, and woad ; Green: of plants and poison ; Introducting color to sketches: we're not in Kansas anymore First attempts. Multiple choice: to design is to decide ; From dusk till dawn: shadows and light ; Black is back: glazing with India ink ; Layer for layer: the glaze ; Mixing colors with glazes ; Fish soup: practicing the glaze ; The wash: the paint does as it pleases! ; On the run: graded wash techniques ; Once more, with feeling!: washes ; It's a give and take: applying and removing paint ; Wet-on-wet ; Combining techniques: a little bit of this and that
Excursion in color theory. Where do colors come from?: the simple science ; Arranging colors ; Opposites attract: color contrasts ; From South Park to stoplights: types of color ; True color: the effect of light ; Every color tells a story: intensifying your sketches ; It's all relative: the effects of colors ; Color harmonies: simple and complex ; Analogous, monochromatic, and complementary harmonies ; Triadic and tetradic harmonies ; Cool-cool and warm-warm harmonies ; Collecting colors ; Designing color harmonies: working with color code strips ; Getting out of your color comfort zone ; The Blue Ridge Mountains: color and perspective
Your own style. Less is more ; Me, myself, and I: finding your own style ; Style and creativity ; Throwing down: loosening up your painting ; Seek not and you shall find: imagination vs. internet ; Make it matter ; Priorities Basics/tools. Paintboxes ; Watercolor pencils ; Buying paints ; Mixing paints ; Impossible hues: bright colors ; Pimping watercolors: making colors pop ; Liquid watercolors: bright now, pale later ; Into the wild: brushes ; Even more brushes ; Paper ; The permanent wave: stretching paper ; The contents of my bag
Out & about. Bad weather: painting outdoors ; The other viewpoint: changing perspective ; Painting water ; Air, fog, smoke ; Smog and atmosphere ; What is beauty anyway?
Tips & tricks. Composition and design ; Smudges and spots ; Painting what's not there: negative space ; White: a special case ; Studies, sketches, and drafts ; Undo ; Merging colors: working from one color ; Working with colored paper ; Special effects ; Lettering and writing ; Layouts, scribbles, and storyboards ; Watercolor illustrations ; How much is your picture worth? ; Everything ends: when is a picture finished?
