Handmade portraits - Different techniques
Here JNArt goes through different techniques used in art, in particular for painting handmade portraits. First, the techniques JNArt uses to commission portraits, caricatures, illustrations and paintings.
Drawn portraits
Charcoal
Pressed carbon pencils or pens made from charcoal or synthetic carbon. This technique produces a darker result than pencils. Charcoal is easily smeared and needs to be varnished to last. Charcoal is most easily erased with a kneading eraser.
Pencil
Pencils or pens with a mixture of graphite. Easy to erase and gives a characteristic grey tone. Shines more than charcoal. Does not need to be varnished to the same extent as charcoal. Can be drawn in extreme detail.
Marker
Pencil with fluid black water- or alcohol-based ink. Different brands may have different ink quality, different blackness, different durability, lightfastness, can be water-soluble or permanent and adhere to different surfaces. Can be black or colour, JNArt only works in black ink.
Digital
With digital painting, you can draw in all sorts of imitations of classic techniques or with new variations. Some may look like charcoal, pencil or ink when printed on paper, others have a distinctly digital character about them.
Drawing techniques JNArt does not work with
Pastel pencils or coloured pencils
Pencils with a core containing a mixture of varying amounts of pigments and binders of oil or wax, additives and binders. Some are water-soluble and their erasability varies.
Crayons
Same as above, but in the form of a solid crayon.
Ink pens
Pens with (usually coloured) ink dispensed via a small ball at the tip of the pen. Available in many different colours, but blue and black are the most common.
Markers, or coloured markers
Felt-tip pens with different colours and properties. They can be are opaque or transparent, permanent or water-soluble.
Pen with ink
A pen that, like a calligraphy pen, has a steel pin at the end which, when pressed against the paper, releases a limited amount of ink. The technique has been used by many cartoonists and illustrators. The pen is dipped into a separate container or has a reservoir in the shaft.
Dry pastel
Pastel colours with chalk as a binder pressed into crayons. Suitable for use with Pan pastels.
Oil pastels
Pastel colours with oil as a binder pressed into crayons.
Red crayon
Chalk with reddish brown colour. It is typically used with lime chalk and charcoal.
Silver pin
A thin pen that produces drak grey thin lines on primed paper. The colour changes to dark brown over time.
Painted techniques
Watercolour
Water-based paint that is applied layer by layer. It consists of pigments and binders (often gum arabic). The paint does not become permanent when it dries but can be soaked up again. This means that the paintings need to be well framed to last over time. Two different techniques that are commonly used are called wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry.
Acrylic paint
Paint consisting of pigments mixed with a plastic-based binder and a substance that creates the liquid consistency in the tube. The paint dries when it comes into contact with the air. The paint is water-based and usually fully or partially opaque. With thin coats and mixed with water, the paint can be transparent. Different painting mediums added can change its properties and, for example, make acrylic paint dry slower and become thick like oil paint.
Oil paint
Oil-based paint that dries slowly when in contact with air. Artists use solvents or oil to adjust the consistency. Oil paint is thicker than acrylic paint both in the tube and when painted on the canvas. Like acrylic paint, oil paint can last a very long time if treated properly, several hundred years. Nowadays, there are water-based oil paints that behave in much the same way as oil-based paints. Water is used instead of oil to thin the colour. It also makes it easier to clean the brushes, but it is debatable whether the depth of the colour is the same.
What is the difference between oil paint and acrylic paint?
Painters can feel the difference in a few ways. Oil paint dries more slowly and it is easier to create smooth transitions between colours. Acrylic paint is a little easier to apply in thicker layers and it is a little easier to create sharper edges. Acrylic paint dries faster, making it easier to paint with for beginners, and it's cheaper per kilo. Light-coloured versions of oil paint, such as yellow or white, are generally more opaque in oil paint than their acrylic counterparts. When acrylic paint is used to paint light colours, it may sometimes need to be applied in thick layers, especially if the light colour is painted on a dark surface. Acrylic and oil paints use different binders but generally the same pigments, so once the paint has dried there is not a great difference, but it is debatable and some people find they do see a big difference while others do not. An artist can paint both techniques in such a way that it is difficult to tell the difference in a finished painting, but if the techniques are painted in certain specific ways, the individual techniques are clearly visible to the trained eye.
What are the health risks of acrylic or oil paints?
From a health point of view, it is better to use acrylic or water-based oil paints. This avoids the need to breathe in solvents. Acrylics also release toxic substances when they dry, but not in the same quantities as oil paint mixed with solvents. Solvent-free oil paint is best as long as you don't get it on your skin. But it depends on the oil used, linseed oil emits volatile substances when it dries, these are suspected carcinogens. All paints can contain toxic substances depending on the binders and pigments used. It is therefore important to avoid the toxic pigments, both for health and the environment. Oil-based paints in particular are absorbed into the skin faster and are therefore more harmful to health. Wash your hands often and especially before touching food. Another tip is to avoid problematic materials in the studio in favour of healthier alternatives. Other precautions include having well-ventilated premises and using gloves to avoid coming into contact with the paint. Canvases, brushes and containers of solvent or painting medium should be removed from the room when painting is not in progress to prevent bad air. Anyone painting with airborne paint, such as spray paint, should wear a gas mask.
Paint that is not completely natural and does not break down quickly in nature or does not react negatively with plants, humans and animals should not be flushed down the drain. Some form of separator is required to collect water/oil used to thin paint so that it does not enter the sewer. Many devices use filters or a function where the paint sits in containers until it settles to the bottom and the bulk of the paint can be disposed of at a recycling centres.
Digital
There are both imitations of classic techniques or techniques that are completely unique to digital painting. The possibilities are endless. The durability of the prints depends on the quality of the paper and the printer ink used.
Liquid marker / ink
Ink that is mixed with water and painted in the same way as watercolour. Can produce slightly sharper colours than watercolours, including black. They act in a slightly more regular way than watercolours. The paint is absorbed into the paper and cannot be absorbed after it has dried, which makes the technique particularly unforgiving.
Spray paint
Paint in a spray can. Classically an opaque colour but nowadays there are transparent variants. Painted with different "caps" (nozzles) that are put on the spray can and give thick or narrow lines.
Pan pastel
Pans with pastel colour applied to the paper with different tools. Pan pastel is a new type of pastel colour that can be applied as paint instead of the usual pencil or chalk formats. It can be applied with a spatula, brush, sponge, cloth and more. Pastel paint consists of powdered lime and colour powder.
Painting techniques tJNArt does work with
Gouache
Water-based paint that is a cross between watercolour and acrylic paint. It consists of a mixture of pigments and binders (often gum arabic) and is also known as opaque watercolour. It is both opaque and transparent, which means it can be painted thin and fluid, but also thick and opaque. In liquid format, the pigments behave similarly, but not identically to watercolour paint. The colour does not become permanent when it dries but can be soaked up again. This means that the paintings need to be framed well to last a long time. Gouache can be combined with watercolour in the same painting.
Tempera paint
Egg tempera is the most common form of tempera colour in which eggs and sometimes a reactant are mixed with pigment. The colour hardens when it oxidises in contact with air. Various forms of tempera paint have been around for a very long time.
Airbrush
Paint that is squeezed out through a nozzle using compressed air. The technique is a smaller, more finely tuned version of spray paint, but can have larger designs as well. Used mainly for motif painting. Has a unique ability to create smooth surfaces and transitions.
Coffee
Works just like watercolour paint and gives tones in brown. Unclear whether coffee is particularly durable in the long run or how it reacts with the paper.
Go ahead with an order enquiry
Here you can find out more if you are interested in commissioning a portrait that is painted or drawn.
