Water Color Rendering Techniques:

Glass Openings

Small openings: Completely draw the type of window that you are to render in pencil, being
careful at the same time to draw curtains, shades, or blinds. Using a paper palette and a small
amount of each of the colors that you are working with, paint the opening left between the
window shades and curtains so that there is a variation in tone throughout the small wash.
When this is dry, paint the shades or blinds their proper colors, then put in shade and shadow
areas such as the shadow cast by the window frame on the curtains and blinds. Finally, with a
fine brush or ruling pen, and a fairly dark, grayish color, draw the shadows cast by the various
members of the windows on the glass, etc. (see Fig. 14.6, sketch 1).

Large glass openings: Glass openings that are large enough to allow one to see inside are
painted as follows: If one is looking directly into the window, all of the interior furnishings,
floor, walls, pictures, etc., must be painted, being careful to allow for the depth of values
created by shadows in various parts of the room. Shadows cast on the glass by jamb and head,
mullions and muntins, are then painted to indicate the glass (Fig. 14.6, Sketch 20. If the glass
opening is being seen so that it reflects light and other objects in it, the objects reflected must
be drawn in pencil, and these painted tones usually darker than those of the objects being
reflected. The upper portions of such glass areas sometimes reflect the color of the sky and
should be painted a tone slightly deeper than of the sky (Fig. 14.6, Sketch 2)
Tips for Glass Rendering

GLASS
Most buildings include glass in one form or another. Glass itself comes in a multitude of types:
transparent or colored, smoked or mirrored. One of the best ways to learn to render glass is to
study professional illustrations.

Step-by-Step
1. To draw a mullioned-glass window, first render the glass as a single sheet, with gradual value
change (fig. 6-48)
2. Apply shadow of the mullion on glass.
3. Use an appropriate opaque color to draw the mullion over its shadow area. This will save
time because you will not need to add shadow to each mullion. Also study the glass renderings
in figure 6-49.

Technical Tips
1. If at all possible, create gradual value change when depicting windows to create interest.
2. When drawing transparent or semi-transparent glass, try to show objects inside the window
to create realism. These may include ceiling or indoor lights, curtains, people, and plants.
3. When drawing reflective glass, include elements from the neighboring environment such as
sky, vegetation, and people.
4. Windows on the sunny side of the building should be darker than those on the shaded side.
This creates contrast and mass/void.
5. When using watercolor to render glass, wet the entire window area before applying color.
Entourage

Foreground trees and bushes by the built-up method: Foreground trees and bushes must be
accurately drawn down to the last detail with a soft pencil before the rendering is begun. Each
leaf may be actually drawn in some cases. But whether the individual leaves or tree masses are
drawn in detail or generalized, they must be located before the rendering is begun so that the
tree structure itself is not painted over these areas. When this has been done, the light color- the
color on the side of the tree receiving sun light – can be painted over the entire wood structure
of the tree as a flat wash. When this is dry, a light wash the approximate color of the foliage
masses is mixed and washed over these areas. When they are dry, the modelling of the tree
structures itself is begun by using short, but rather definite strokes to indicate the various
shades of bark tonality. These small , dark areas will, of course, be for the most part on the
shade side of each member with the darkest tones on the extreme shade side. The individual
leaves of foliage masses are then modelled one by one, care being taken to obtain
differentiation in color and value throughout. Finally, shadows cast by foliage masses and
branches and trunk must be carefully plotted and painted (Fig. 14.7, Sketch 1)

Foreground trees by the direct method : There are, of course, many different ways of
painting trees by direct method, but the easiest of these is as follows: Make an accurate drawing
of the tree structure and, using a flat, dry, brush, draw the entire tree structure in an appropriate
colo. Draw from the ground up, just as the tree grows. The shade side of the tree can be
darkened by using the same brush. The foliage can be introduced upon the tree structure with
either a large “pencil” brush (Fig. 14.7, Sketch 2A), a flat brush (Fig. 14.7, Sketch 2B), or a
small bit of sponge torn away from the silk sponge, held in the fingers, dipped in the paint and
dabbed on the various areas (Fig. 14.7, Sketch 2C).
Trees in the mid-distance: These also can be rendered by either the built-up method or the
direct method. The same process as for the foreground trees and bushes should be followed for
the direct method, but the foliage masses may be applied in a generalized way by the use of
small washes or stippling (Fig. 14.7).
In the direct method, the tree structure is usually drawn as for the foreground trees and
the foliage is painted by the use of a smaller No. 4 brush in individual strokes (see Fig. 14.8B)

Background trees: An interesting method of painting background trees consists of drawing the
trees in the distance and then painting them with a pale flat wash. While this wash is still damp,
and with the board lying in a flat (not tilted) position, dip the brush into a strong (almost pure)
pigment mixture of the same color and lightly drop it at the base line of the trees in the
distance. This strong pigment will bleed into the damp surrounding areas and give the illusion
of darker base trees (see Fig. 14.9)

Bushes: Foreground bushes as well as mid-distance ones are built up in much the same manner
as foreground trees; that is, they are first given a light general wash, then modelled with a
dabbing motion to add texture and form (see Fig. 14.10). Distant bushes can be shown with
practically a flat wash.

Grass: Perhaps the most important thing to remember in painting grass is that there is a great
differentiation in value and color throughout grass areas. A flat, even wash gives an
unsatisfactory appearance. A lawn made of a series of different tones and values to show the
actual variation in the grass is much more interesting. Additional interest can also be given to
grass areas that appear to be too plain by the use of short vertical, or nearly vertical, strokes
placed close together to stimulate grass blades. In building up the tones of grass areas, a great
deal of interest can be obtained by failing to cover the undertones entirely in over-painting (Fig.
14.9).

Skies:

There are four basic ways to render skies:

1. The first is that in which a graded wash, usually light at the horizon and dark at the top of the
rendering, is made with no attempt to indicate clouds (Fig. 14.11, Sketch 1)

2. The second is by painting the same type of sky, then erasing clouds with a ruby eraser (Fig.
14.11, Sketch 2)

3. The third method is that in which the entire sky area is dampened with a wash of clear water
and colors are dropped or stroked in to create the illusion of a broken, cloudy sky (Fig. 14.11,
Sketch 3). In this method the board must be flat (not tilted) and the colors dropped in must be
of a fairly deep intensity or they will dissipate into the damp sky and the cloudy textures will
disappear. Frequently in this method it is also necessary to raise the board and tilt it first one
way and then the other in order to “coax” the color to the areas desired.

Fig. 14.11 Skies

1, and 2, By graded
washes
3, By dropped-in pigments

4, By airbrush
4. Excellent skies, of course, can be painted in water color by the use of an airbrush (Fig. 14.11
Sketch 4), atomizer (Fig. 14.12, Sketch 1), or toothbrush spatter (Fig. 14.12 Sketch 2).

Fig. 14.12 Skies

1.By fixative atomizer

2. By toothbrush spatter
Tempera (Opaque or Showcard Colors) Rendering Techniques

Multiple Glass Openings: Small glass openings are painted exactly as described in Chapter 14
for water color. Large openings are painted as for water color, except that when there are large
banks of windows the entire glass area is first painted a general tone, or for skyscrapers, a
graded tone, and when this is dry, the mullions, muntins, and spandrels are superimposed upon
it (Fig. 15.6)
Entourage: Whereas in transparent water color rendering it is necessary to leave white spaces
wherever trees and bushes are to be placed, tempera trees and bushes may be painted over areas
that have previously been painted. All trees and bushes are painted from palette. Small amounts
of each of the several colors being used are placed so that they may be drawn together with a
wet brush, and this thick color is then applied directly to previously pencilled trees and bushes.
The opaque quality of the paint allows for a building-up process.
Background trees are generally painted in light, flat, pale washes with soft edges to
suggest leaves (Fig. 15.7, Sketch 1). These are always painted in first. The tops of the
background trees should be of irregular shape. Mid-distance trees are next applied. These are
detailed in structure, darker in value, and darker in hue (Fig. 15.7,Sketch 2). The foliage masses
are carefully drawn, then painted with flat washes, again with soft edges. Some delineators
prefer to stipple this color on with a flat brush.
Fig. 15.7 Trees in Tempera
1. Background trees

2. Mid-distance trees
3. Foreground trees

Fig. 15.7 Trees in Tempera

As in transparent water color rendering, the foreground trees and bushes are painted
quite completely in detail (Fig.15.7, Sketch 3). The structure and bark texture are shown in
considerable detail; branches and twigs are shown completely and as realistically as possible to
help create the illusion of reality. As in all media, it is important not to hide the design of the
building with foliage masses, but rather to arrange them so that the building is either framed by
them or seen through them.
The trunks of large trees can be rounded by working wet-into-wet: first paint the light
side of the tree its proper pale color, and then add darker color on the opposite side and blend it
into the light color. It is sometimes desirable to paint several branches of a tree as if they
hanging from a tree located behind the spectator. These are usually painted quite dark and help
to push the building back into the mid-distance. In all trees in tempera one should use several
different shades of the same color in foliage masses so as to relieve monotony and to create the
illusion of light, local color, shade and shadow.

Grass: Grass is generally given a sunny quality. It may be painted wet-into-wet, by starting at
the horizon and painting forward, changing the color now and then in order to relieve the
monotony, and to create the illusion of perspective (Fig. 15.11). The spaces between these
variations should be graduated so that they are smaller near the horizon and largest near the
spectator. Usually grass is darkest in the foreground and lightest in the distance. Tree shadows
upon it will add to the illusion of reality, and describe the rise and fall of the ground. These
should be relatively pale in value, except in the immediate foreground, where they should be
quite dark.
Reference: Architectural Rendering
The Techniques of Contemporary Presentation
By: Albert o. Halse, 2nd Edition pp179-184, pp210-213

Sample of Architectural Renderings: