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Medium: Ink
Category: Animal/Wildlife
This demonstration is from the book, "Chinese Animal Painting Made Easy" by Rebecca Yue, published by Watson-Guptill Publications an imprint of Crown Publishing Group a division of Random House. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All steps included. Images and text copyrighted.
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Chinese Brush Painting
Painting a Horse
Using Ink
by Rebecca Yue
When it comes to painting horses, many artists favor a completely tonal, non-outline approach. I personally like to use outlines for the head and legs, as this makes them more clearly defined and sharp. Horses are the ultimate test of your ability to express the shape, movement, and character of an animal.
I am going to show you how to paint a horse using ink only. In order to achieve the three-dimensional look of the muscles, use different brushstrokes and different tones of ink.
PAPER USED: "Two-sheet" absorbant Xuan paper
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USING LIQUID INK
If you are going to use liquid ink, it is more economical to buy a large bottle than a small one.
Ink intended for writing is unsuitable for Chinese brush painting, because it bleeds wildly and you can't create dry brushwork with it. Chinese ink has gum in it and it is permanent on paper or fabric once it dries.
It is best to pour liquid ink into a separate container for painting. If your mixing dish has several compartments, use one compartment exclusively for ink. Alternatively, you can use the traditional ink stone, a small ceramic dish or even a small plastic container. Make sure you clean the ink dish every time you finish painting. Any leftover ink will harden and become very difficult to remove.
When freshly poured out of the bottle, liquid ink may be a bit thin, but it will thicken up very quickly if it is left in the open air. I usually allow fresh ink to stand for five to ten minutes before using it. For the same reason, you should pour out only a small amount of ink every time and add to it when it is running out. If the ink becomes too thick, you can add a bit of fresh ink to thin it. Adding water will make it paler, so always add fresh ink for thinning purposes if you want dark ink for painting.
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The following are some terms I use:
Dark Ink. This is ink that has been freshly poured out of the bottle and has not been left in the open for too long. Dark ink is suitable for general painting.
Diluted Ink. Water can be added to the dark ink. The more water you add, the lighter the ink will become. Diluted ink is used for general painting and for shading. It is often used to add tones.
Medium Ink. A tiny bit of dark ink can be added to diluted ink to make it darker. You can create medium ink of different tones by controlling the amount of dark ink you add.
Thick Ink. This is dark ink that has been left in the open for some time to thicken up. Thick ink is useful for creating dry brushwork and I use this consistency frequently in animal painting.
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BRUSHES
Red Bean brush (at right).
Small Mountain and Horse brush (at far right).
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Step 1
Dip the Red Bean brush into diluted ink. Holding the brush in an upright position, use the tip to sketch the horse, using wrist movements for short lines and elbow movements for longer lines. Mark the positions of the muscles. This is important, because the application of ink will depend on the position of the muscles. You do not need too many, or you will lose the effect, but you must have sufficient ink to show the tight body structure. I like to draw the face and the legs with dark ink at this early stage, using the Red Bean brush. I do this to show off the strength of the legs and elegant features of the face.
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Hold the brush at the middle of the handle.
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Hold the brush firmly and in an upright position.
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| One way of holding the brush is with four fingers on one side of the brush and the thumb on the other side. |
Another way is to hold the brush with two fingers on one side and two fingers on the same side as the thumb. |
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PRESS-AND-LIFT-TECHNIQUE
When you press the brush the hairs at the tip spread and create width in your brushwork. When you lift the brush, the tip will go back to the original pointed shape and the resulting brushwork will be thinner. By pressing and lifting the brush, you can vary the widths at different parts of a single brushstroke.
Step 2
Load the small Mountain and Horse brush with dark ink to paint the muscles, joints and other areas that are in shadow. Use a straight side brushstroke for the neck, curved side brushstroke for the body, and press-and-lift side brushstrokes for the joints of the legs. Before the dark ink dries, go straight to step 3.
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Step 3
Clean the small Mountain and Horse brush and load it with medium ink [see above in "Using Liquid Ink"]. Add more brushwork to the body. The medium ink will run into the dark ink and create tones. Do not cover the whole body with ink; remember to leave some blank spaces to create the light effects.
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Step 4/Finish
Dry the small Mountain and Horse brush and load it with dark ink. Place the brush at a low angle along the side of the neck. Make a few side brushstrokes, using the press-and-lift technique, to create the mane. Press and lift away from the neck. Dry the brush and dip it into dark ink again. Place the tip of the brush at the hindquarters of the horse, where the tail begins. This time, hold the brush at a high angle to the paper, with the handle pointing to the direction in which the tail is flowing. Paint the tail with two or three brushstrokes, using the press-and-lift technique. Note that I change the direction of the tail in order to convey that it is swinging.
Painting a Horse Using Ink
Artwork and Text Copyright 2012 by Rebecca Yue.
All Rights Reserved.
PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS
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This demonstration is from the book, "Chinese Animal Painting Made Easy" by Rebecca Yue, published by Watson-Guptill Publications an imprint of Crown Publishing Group a division of Random House. Reprinted with permission of the publisher. All steps and text included. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS.
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