Get to grips with gouache

Gouache! What even is it? Join artist and illustrator Laura Bifano as she demystifies the medium in this four-part series

Join artist and illustrator Laura Bifano as she demystifies the medium, in the first instalment of this four-part series.

G ouache is a wonderfully versatile medium and is used in everything from fine art, concept design and animation background paintings. You can achieve a number of effects from soft gradients, textured drybrush, to painstakingly detailed fine lines.

That being said, it does have some idiosyncrasies that often put people off. For example, lighter values often dry darker and darker values become lighter, making working over multiple sessions a bit of a challenge. In addition, if the paint doesn’t dry completely between applications, bottom layers can even lift and muddy the colours applied on top!

But don’t let this discourage you – gouache also has many advantages. Number one for me is that its matte finish and vivid colours means that it reproduces easily, making it the medium of choice for anyone working in illustration or design. It’s also portable, fast drying and has great opacity, which is why many artists also choose to use it for painting outdoors. Unlike oils, which require the use of abrasive solvents, gouache is water-soluble, easy on your brushes, and perfect for working in smaller spaces.

Gouache is also incredibly variable and can be watered down and used like watercolours. Yet unlike watercolours it can be built up in thicker, painterly layers.

In my opinion, it’s versatility and portability far outweigh its finicky nature. True, this medium comes with some challenges, but I promise the end results are worth the effort.

1 Getting started

Pictured here is is my basic setup. I have a few different palettes that I like to use: a small, portable one for travel; a medium palette for working on smaller-sized pieces; and finally an open tray for mixing larger quantities of colour. And of course, I always keep a paper towel, rag or sponge handy for controlling the moisture on my brush and paper.

2 Choosing your brushes

There are thousands of brushes to choose from. Since most painters work coarse to fine detail, it makes sense to have a variety of brush sizes. For water-based medium it’s good to use soft, natural hair brushes such as sable, although many synthetic brands are good, too. A stiff brush such as Hog’s Hair will be hard on your paper and won’t hold paint as well as a softer brush.

3 Palette basics

I keep a fairly limited palette when working. I like to use a couple of variations on primaries. Cadmium yellow is a deeper, richer shade, compare with the high chromacity of Cadmium yellow light. This enables more variation when mixing greens. I use a lot of Prussian blue when mixing shadows and Primary blue when painting sky panels.

I generally try and keep my palette organised according to warm/cool light/dark, but they can sometimes wind up looking like a bit of a dog’s dinner. This example palette isn’t indicative of how I work – rather, it’s an example of the variations you can achieve with limited primaries.

4 Choosing a suitable painting surface You can work on literally any flat surface you want. I’ll often use a sturdy masonite drawing board, sometimes a clipboard or even the surface of my desk. Right now I’m using an adjustable drawing easel, which I can set up anywhere in my studio.

I find masking tape works just fine for stretching watercolour paper. I’ve never had an issue with buckling or tearing, and it’s cheaper and more widely available than artist tape. The smaller roll of liner-tape is fantastic for masking out areas on...

Once I have my colours blocked in, I do 90 per cent of my fine-tooling with this brush. It holds a surprising amount of paint and still comes to a fine point. I use a palette knife to mix colours whenever possible. This keeps paint from getting into...

mix using my blues and red. I add my black to tone things down. I’ve mixed a “pure” green from Cadmium yellow light and Primary blue, with a warm and cool mixture to the right and left of it. I can then work off these three blobs, mixing in my...

Having proper lighting is important too, especially if you’re in a position where you have to paint at night. Most light bulbs cast a warm, yellow light that can make achieving accurate colours tough. Here I’m using an LED daylight bulb, which casts a...