Nine Building Blocks by Virtual Art Academy® by Barry John Raybould

Overview

Unit Two

Course Unit 1 - Techniques

BUILDING BLOCK: BRUSHWORK

variety – thick & thin – thin darks, thick lights – impasto– large to small – point, line, and mass – glazes – feathering – palette knife – carving out – contrast – eye movement Course Unit 2 - Descriptive Brushwork

directional brushstrokes – texture – movement – emotional mood – perspective Course Unit 3 - Focal Areas

focus & detail – mop/rigger – freehand vs. control hand strokes Course Unit 4 - Suggestion

suggestion – selective rendering – simulation of detail – pentimenti – transparent pigments – silhouette – accurate color spots

The character and feeling of your brushwork goes a long way to increasing the pleasure and delight of the person viewing your work. How you apply the paint also determines how much carrying power and luminosity your painting will have. Whatever your media, brushwork (or mark making in the case of pastel painting), is what makes a painting a painting and not a photograph.

Course Unit 5 - Edges

hard and soft edges – lost and found edges – color changes Course Unit 6 - Optical Color Mixing

optical color mixing – complementary, triadic, analogous color mixing – wet-in-wet adjacent brushstrokes – multicolored brushstrokes – layered washes – thick weton-wet layering – multi-layered wet over dry

Course Unit 1 - Key Concepts

BUILDING BLOCK: COLOR

color wheels – complements – triadic color wheel – munsell color wheel – tints & shades – secondary colors – vivid colors & biases Course Unit 2 - Palettes

choosing a palette – thirteen palettes from monochrome to vivid full spectrum – organizing your palette Course Unit 3 - Grays

making grays – low saturation fields – complementary contrast – Godlove’s principle – darks, lights, grays – middle value ranges Course Unit 4 - Color Harmonies

balanced – complementary – analogous – hybrid

Color is why many people love painting. This Building Block will help you understand your pigments better, decide which palettes to use and when, and create beautiful harmony in your paintings.

Edition 2.0

Course Unit 5 - Poly-Isochromes & Spectrum Palettes

Birren color triangle – mono-isochromes and chiaroscuro – poly-isochromes – Ostwald/Munsell tone scales – tonal influence – composing on the palette Course Unit 6 - Advanced Color

luster – iridescence – luminosity – color preferences – color threads– color bridges – nine-pile gradations – glowing whites – keying whites – camouflage

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Overview

Unit Two

Course Unit 1 - Unity & Variety

BUILDING BLOCK: COMPOSITION

visual music – principles of composition – unity & variety – developing compositions – harmony – dominance – shape variety – redesigning nature – linear sketch Course Unit 2 - Space Division

unequal space division – informal subdivisions – inequality – threes – odd numbers – negative space – boundary relationships – tangent avoidance – viewfinder – cropping – rabatment – shape simplification – baselines – foreground – overlapping forms – right angles – symmetry – rhythm – tie together Course Unit 3 - Organizational structures

organizational structures Course Unit 4 - Contrast

You can do a great copy of your subject, but without a strong composition, your painting will have no impact. All the key principles of composition are covered in detail in this Building Block. Principles are explained by using examples of the author’s own work to break down how they are constructed, as well using example of old master paintings. This is probably the most comprehensive treatment of this important topic you will see anywhere.

shape – saturation – value – temperature – line – brushwork – texture – size – active & passive mix Course Unit 5 - Focal Point

focal point – secondary focal point – directing lines – isolation – one thirds Course Unit 6 - Eye Movement

eye pathways – repeating color spots – guiding lights & darks – entering point – density of space division Course Unit 7 - Line

graceful line – interrelationship – transition – counterpoint Course Unit 1 - Types of Concepts

BUILDING BLOCK: CONCEPT

emotional – aesthetic – descriptive – narrative – complex – message Course Unit 2 - Creating a Concept

subordination – relationship – emphasis – concept simplification – exaggeration – choosing subject matter – developing a style – creating a concept

Simply creating a good representation of a subject is not the same thing as making art. Although necessary, a good representation is not enough. You need to communicate something to your viewer – some emotion or idea, or your painting will be nothing more than an illustration. This is what is called the “Visual Poetry” of a painting, and is what distinguishes the great master painters.

Edition 2.0

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Overview

Unit Two

Course Unit 1 - Gesture

BUILDING BLOCK: DRAWING

setting up your environment – drawing hand position – quick sketch – glancing – scribble line gesture – mass gesture Course Unit 2 - Accuracy

angular transfer – triangulation – envelope – glass drawing – level & plumb lines – comparative measurement – midpoint establishment Course Unit 3 - Contour

right brain switching – contour drawing – straight line approximation Course Unit 4 - Putting It All Together

using the mass drawing approach step-by-step – using the linear drawing approach step-by-step

The old saying goes that you can paint only as well as you can draw. Here are some of the secrets the author discovered along the way that will greatly help your drawing. One of the course units will help to de-mystify the complex topic of perspective and make it easier to understand, and another one will teach you how to draw those things that are very difficult, such as arches, wheels, and complicated street scenes.

Course Unit 5 - Basic Perspective

horizon lines – vanishing points – perspective center – drawing ellipses – drawing cylinders – hemispheres & umbrellas – fixing a complex drawing Course Unit 6 - Advanced Perspective

streets – upright objects – tiles – dividing spaces – centers of circles & ellipses– drawing cylinders accurately – drawing ellipses accurately

Course Unit 1 - Two-Value Statement

BUILDING BLOCK: FORM

light & shade – two-value statement – selecting a viewpoint – geometric forms – general to specific – simplifying complex forms Course Unit 2 - Planes of the Light & Shade

how to paint the form – shadow & cast shadow – light – half tone – center light – reflected light – highlight – dark accents and edge planes – squaring off forms – painting trees as geometrical forms – middle value shadows Course Unit 3 - Hue Changes on the Form

cool light warm shadows – warm light cool shadows – hue changes in the light – saturation changes in the light – adding color to half tones – color changes from colored light sources – modeling the form with color

An understanding of form is essential for giving your paintings a three-dimensional quality. If you do not have a solid understanding of the material in this Building Block, your still lifes will not appear three-dimensional, and you will never be able to make figures or portraits look real.

Edition 2.0

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Overview

Unit Two

Course Unit 1 - What Is Notan

BUILDING BLOCK: NOTAN

two value notan – three value notan – four value notan – notan design – planning your notan – mass notan – notan sketch transfer – notan pens – notan pastels – exploratory scribbles Course Unit 2 - Basic Notan Design

dominant values – shape distinction – linking lights – linking darks Course Unit 3 - Advanced Notan Design

flattening values – analyzing values – four-value study – middle values – counterchange – alternating lights & darks – spotting – keys – high key paintings Course Unit 4 - Contour Notan

This is the structure of the dark and light shapes in your painting. A good notan structure is the hallmark of all great masterpieces. In this Building Block you will learn all the skills you need to build the value structure of a painting, in order to give the design a solid foundation. This is the aspect of painting that most beginners, and even more experienced painters, do not understand well.

mass versus contour notan – interesting silhouette – creating a contour notan in ink Course Unit 5 - Gradation and Edge Notans

gradation – edge notan Course Unit 6 - Notan Sketchbooks

examples of two-value, three-value, four-value and edge notan sketches

Course Unit 1 - Values

BUILDING BLOCK: OBSERVATION

value scale – comparing values – value finder – black mirror – limited value study – seven-value study – reference values – black & white images – posterizing images – exploratory scribbles Course Unit 2 - Color

saturation – hue & temperature – Munsell notation – matching colors – matching values – color maps – color studies – color dragging – colored light sources – block studies Course Unit 3 - Atmospheric Perspective

depth & atmospheric perspective – diminishing size – baseline – receding lines – overlapping forms – dark accents – changes in value – changes in saturation – changes in hue

Much of painting is not about how you put paint on the canvas but about how to see. This Building Block will teach you the critical skills of how to see color and values. With this knowledge your paintings will automatically become more realistic. You will also learn how to give your landscapes depth and mood using atmospheric perspective, as well as tips to make your trees, rocks, water, and skies, look much more realistic. Edition 2.0

Course Unit 4 - Land & Sky

dome of the sky – clouds – fog – moonlight – reflected light – cast shadows Course Unit 5 - Water

oceans & lakes – reflections – waves Course Unit 6 - Itness

what is itness – observing the itness of different objects – trees – rocks – buildings

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Overview

Unit Two

Process:

BUILDING BLOCK: PROCESS & MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT

Course Unit 1 - Alla Prima Painting

nine step alla prima process – notan painting – oil and acrylic quick color sketch Course Unit 2 - Watercolor Step-by-Step

eight step watercolor process – watercolor quick color sketch Materials & Equipment: Course Unit 1 - Paints and Pigments

properties and types of pigments – choosing acrylic paints – choosing watercolor paints – tube wringer Course Unit 2 - Mediums and Varnishes

oil mediums – solvents – varnishes – reworking paintings – oiling out – retouch varnish

This Building Block gives you detailed step-bystep process for how to create a painting. It will show you how to paint in the alla prima or direct style, using oils, acrylics or watercolors. An alla prima painting is one that is created in one session.

Course Unit 3 - Oil/Acrylic Painting Supports - Studio

types of painting supports – stretching canvas – gluing supports to mounting boards – preparing supports – sizes – primers – grounds – cutting panels – old painting supports – drying racks Course Unit 4 - Oil/Acrylic Painting Supports - Plein Air

lightweight painting supports – loose canvas – masking tape – drying paintings quickly – drying boxes – painting support carriers – stretched canvas carrier brackets Course Unit 5 - Watercolor Painting Supports

watercolor paper – preparing canvas and linen for watercolor – stretching paper Course Unit 6 - Oil & Acrylic Brushes

types of brushes – brushes for travelling – brush holders – brush cleaners – brush cleaning pots – palette knives Course Unit 7 - Watercolor Brushes

types of brushes – brush holders and cleaning pots – frisket Course Unit 8 - Oil/Acrylic Easels & Palettes - Studio

oil and acrylic painting studio easels – palettes – water trays – organizer box Course Unit 9 - Oil/Acrylic Easels & Palettes - Plein Air

In the Materials & Equipment part of this Building Block, learn all about how to organize yourself and your equipment. It includes information on paints, pigments, easels, painting supports, and all the other materials and equipment you need for painting. Another section covers everything you need to know about how to set up your studio and also how to work outdoors or “en plein air” in comfort. Organization is key to becoming a successful artist. Edition 2.0

oil and acrylic plein air painting easels – superlightweight systems – palettes – palette carriers – storing wet paint Course Unit 10 - Watercolor Easels & Palettes

watercolor easels – palettes Course Unit 11 - Organizing Your Studio

studio lights – mirrors – taboret – trash can – air cleaner – gloves – hand cleaners – cataloging paintings – photographing your work – framing Course Unit 12 - Organizing Plein Air Painting

packing list – umbrellas – stool – mirrors – clothing – mahl stick – medium cup – trash can – paper towels – carriers