Welcome! This blog post features a guided tutorial of how to create a mixed media composition of a Fauvist-inspired animal. This lesson helps artists to explore using bold, vibrant colors as the “Wild Beasts” did. Artist are challenged to replace gray scale values with a new rule of color! Additionally, artists explore a mixed media approach to render implied textures to suggest the fluffy fur of an animal of choice! This tutorial will walk artists through a step by step visual example of how to render a rabbit in this fun Fauvist style!
*Coming soon* Hey educators! Scroll below for a ready-for-the-classroom lesson with 35 printable animal portrait reference images available for purchase!
ART HISTORY CONNECTION:
Fauvism was an art movement in the early 20th century in France. In French, Fauvism translates to “wild beasts.” The term was coined by an art critic who saw the wildly colorful Fauvist paintings and called the Fauves “wild beasts.”
Fauvism is known for its bold, vibrant, out of the tube colors. Many Fauvists paintings avoid black and white, and replace these values with rich colors. Building upon the Impressionist style, the Fauves used bold visible brushstrokes.
A few of the key Fauvist artists include Henri Matisse and André Derain.
MATERIALS LIST:
This composition can be completed with a wide range of materials! In this tutorial, I will be using the following:
- Printed black and white reference images of furry animals (recommended size- 8.5″ x 11″)
- Water color paper (recommended size- 8.5″ x 11″)
- Ballpoint pen
- Tape
- An oil pastel or crayon
- Watercolor paint & brushes/water basins
- Prismacolor Colored Pencils #sponsored
- *optional* Various mixed media tools such as paint pens and markers
STEP 1:
Choose & print the black and white reference image of the creature you would like to use for your artwork.
Gather a piece of watercolor paper that is the same size or slightly bigger than the printed reference image.
STEP 2:
On the back of the printed reference image, rub an oil pastel or crayon to cover the surface. A light color is recommended as this will leave transfer lines that are subtle.
STEP 3:
Tape the printed reference image to the watercolor paper. Use a ballpoint pen to outline all the main contour lines. Using a color pen helps you to see what lines you’ve drawn. Strive to outline all the main shapes where you are seeing major value changes.
*TIP- To prevent the tape from ripping the paper when you remove it, tap off some of the adhesive onto your shirt before putting on paper.*
STEP 4:
Remove the tape to reveal your transferred image.
STEP 5:
Paint the background with a watercolor gradient. A gradient is 2 or more colors that gradually blend into one another. It is recommended to use 2 or more analogous colors. Analogous colors are colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. This helps for good blend-ability.
Strive for bold colors in the background. Less water, more paint! Layering coats of paint can help to make the colors more vibrant.
STEP 6:
Analyze your reference image. In the areas that are black to mid gray, paint will light wash of cool color. Cool colors include blue, purple, and green. Blue is used in this tutorial and works well! This paint will be an undercoat, so do not make the color too intense.
Let dry…
STEP 7:
Analyze your reference image. In the areas that are mid gray to white, paint will light wash of warm color. Warm colors include pink, red, yellow, and orange. Yellow is used in this tutorial and works well!
Remember, this paint will be an undercoat, so do not make the color too intense.
Let dry…
STEP 8:
Once the paint is fully dry, you will begin adding a medium of you choice to add implied textures and vibrant colors. In this tutorial, Prismacolor colored pencils are used. However, oil pastels, colored markers, watercolor pencils, paint and more can be used for this step!
In the cool blue section, use cool colored pencils to add implied textures. et your rules for what the black and white values will become. This can be individualized, but the recommended scale: BLACK- VIOLET, DARK GRAY- BLUE, DARK MID GRAY- GREEN, LIGHT MID GRAY- YELLOW, LIGHT GRAY- ORANGE, and WHITE- RED.
STEP 9:
Continue adding colored pencils to the cool areas.
It is important to pay attention to the DIRECTION of the fur and the LENGTH of the fur. Use implied texture lines to create the look and feel of fur. If using colored pencil, sharpen your pencil to get nice lines!
STEP 10:
Begin adding warm colored pencils in the warm sections. Analyze your reference image.
The bunny had a lot of solid white area. I took creative liberties to add more color changes than seen in my reference image. This is encouraged! You are the artist!
STEP 11:
Continue adding more warm colored pencils throughout.
STEP 12:
Layer the colored pencils more heavily to build bold colors and implied texture.
STEP 13:
*Optional* Once finished, you may want to explore adding details to the background. Abstract patterns with basic shapes can add visual interest! In this tutorial, I used sharpies and paint pens to add my triangles!
My advanced middle school artists completed this project and did an excellent job! It was just the right amount of challenging for them, and required them to really analyze their work and make lots of artistic choices! It took about 6 (45-minute) class periods to complete. The final products were so eye-catching! As I was putting up the final hallway display, everyone who passed went “Wow!” I was really proud of the talented artists who worked on these. Examples in the photo from Katie, Reese, Mariana, Brooke, Ila, and Cayenne.
Thanks for checking out this blog post. I would love to see your creation if you use these steps to draw your own Fauvist-inspired animal. Feel free to tag me on Instagram and possibly get featured in this site! Also, please follow Make a Mark Studios on Facebook to keep up with the latest posts! Thanks in advance!
-Stephanie, art teacher and creator of Make a Mark Studios