An introduction to gouache paints and the intense drama of them when painted onto black paper.
Final Piece

Materials
- A4 black paper
- Gouache paints
- Small paintbrush
- White chalk
- Pencil or biro
- Coloured pencils (optional)
Instruction Video
Instructions
- Transfer your octopus onto a piece of black paper.
- Turn the transfer page over and, using the side of your chalk, rub evenly over the whole of the back.
- Turn the page over so the Octopus is on top and is positioned centrally on your black paper.
- Use a biro, or sharp pencil and draw over the whole of the Octopus image and the scroll (ignore the lettering for now)
- Take the transfer sheet off to reveal the chalky template.
- Draw over the chalky Octopus with a white pencil, being careful not to smudge it.
- Wipe the chalk away using a tissue or hand towel.
- Choose a colour and put a small blob of Gouache paint on to your palette.
- Add a little white to ensure the paint is not too translucent.
- Start to paint using your small brush.
- Work in three shades, light for highlights and dark for undersides of tentacles and shadows.
- Don’t worry about painting around the ‘sucker’ dots as we can paint these over the base layer when dry.
- Once the octopus is painted, add the ‘suckers’ in either a contrasting colour or lighter colour.
- Paint the eyes white.
- Add Colour pencil shading and definition, you could make the tentacles
- Darker in areas where the are behind.
- Draw around the ‘sucker’ dots giving them more definition.
- For the inner dots, you can either paint these in with a darker colour or draw them in with coloured pencil.
- Paint the scroll. First in a mid-colour, leaving the corners of the folds.
- Then add darker paint in the ‘shaddows’
- Finally, transfer the lettering. Do this by drawing over the red mirror-writing, turn it over and position it on the scroll, scribble firmly over the back in pencil to transfer the lettering to your scroll.
- Either draw over the letters of paint.
Reference / Transfer Material
