People in Watercolour

by Trevor Waugh

This practical and inspirational guide, in a handy sketchbook format, is aimed at the practised beginner and shows how to achieve successful watercolour paintings of people in just 30 minutes – ideal for the busy amateur artist who doesn't have much time to paint.

Many people think they don't have enough time to paint, but in this attractive guide Trevor Waugh encourages quick and simple painting. By working with just a few materials and focusing on the key techniques it is possible to achieve successful, realistic paintings of people in no more than half an hour. And for those artists who already have a little painting experience, learning to work more quickly enables them to free up their style and paint more spontaneously.

All the key topics are covered, from watercolour techniques, colour and tone to learning about proportions, simple silhouettes, facial features, and backgrounds.

Genres: Art

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Vaidyanathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

No fear

At the end of reading you would have lost your fear for painting people.
The initial chapters see to that.

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacks detail and not best organised

I have a lot of similar books. They all start by telling me I need paper, brushes and paint and that they should be of good quality: boring!
Rather avoided a central point: nudes. Can't believe they'd be that explicit in watercolour. Found it rather more "in watercolour" than "people".
Good quality work throughout but not quite the depth I was hoping for.
A previous review mentioned the Kindle pictures were too small. Unfair: double tap a picture and stretch with two fingers to enlarge.
A good first buy but not one to add to a collection.

[Wsclai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painting people has long been my fear but the author has made it less intimidating. A lot of useful skills to learn from and the step-by-step guide is helpful in polishing my skills.

[Kevin de Ataíde · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up for the author's use of colour. I thought he might have a science, but it seems he just splashes it on and watches to see what it will do. He's quite a mystic, then. Indeed a lot of the paintings in this book are a mess at close quarters, but are beautiful when seen from a distance. Mr. Waugh must have a very long brush. There's valuable advice on painting crowded scenes and managing light. Of course, since it's a Collins 30 minute book, all the exercises provided are meant to be engineered in 30 minutes or less, which spoils things in a way. A nice introduction, overall, to watercolour-sketching people.