How to paint the Milky way. materials list: You can get all of these materials at a Gold or above art centre go to /stockist cmmd1218 mont marte double thick canvas 121 x 182 cm mpn0097 mont marte white charcoal pencils 2 pce mapl0002 mont marte deep well plastic palette macr0009 mont marte foam hobby brush 100 ml bmhs0004 mont marte oil brush set taklon in brush pmsa0011 mont marte silver series acrylic lamp black 100 ml mpo0001 mont marte oil paint titanium white 100 ml mpo0003 mont marte oil paint yellow medium 100 ml mpo0006 mont marte oil paint orange red 100 ml mpo0038 mont marte oil paint magenta 100 ml mpo0013 mont marte oil paint mauve 100 ml mpo0018 mont marte oil paint ultramarine blue 100 ml mpo0042 mont marte oil paint turquoise 100 ml mpo0026 mont marte oil paint yellow ochre 100 ml mpo0047 mont marte oil paint mars black 100 ml linseed oil Turpentine paper towels Toothbrush rubber gloves
Step 1 Painting the background. Because we are painting deep space me must first paint the canvas. Use Lamp black for this and apply it with a 100 mm wide artist brush. Ensure the whole canvas is covered so no white shows through and paint the edges as well. Although this is an Oil painting we are under basing it with Acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is a very good base on wich to paint oil paint onto as its very hard and non flexible. Step 2 Marking up the canvas. Refer to the first image in this PDF and replicate it as faithfully as you can. First draw in the horizon and then create the dome in the core. Use a white charcoal pencil to lay this all in. The charcoal is not permanent and will be consolidated into the paint, and will not be visible once the work is finished.
Step 3 Suggesting the core. The stars are more abundant in the central area of the galaxy and due to this phenomenon, there is a dome shaped glow that is emitted from this region. To suggest this glow paint in the dome with a light coat of paint mixed from 4 parts Titanium White, 1 part Yellow to 1 part Ochre. With a rag soften it by rubbing it gently. When you apply the clouds don t wash your brush in turpentine. Just wipe the paint off the rag. This way the paint fade out with the background rather than stain and smudge a wash of colour. If you do have to wash your brush ensure you dry it thoroughly before you apply the paint. Step 4 Painting the interstellar clouds. Squeeze out some, Titanium White, Yellow, Orange Red, Magenta, Mauve, Ultramarine, Turquoise, Yellow Ochre and Mars Black.* Refer to the last page in this PDF and lay in the clouds. It is very helpful to watch the video for guidance at this stage. I will say to keep a fairly dry brush (free of too much pigment) and keep a brush for warm colours and a brush for cool colours. Lay in the general shape of the cloud in and then blend the colours into the background. You then apply more colour over the top to suggest highlights and blend this in. Paint the clouds so they are adjacent to each other and blend the colours together here and there.
Step 5 Gloves require for this step Adding the stars. Now for the fun part. Squeeze out some Titanium White into the deep well plastic palette and add some medium so your paint is the viscosity of thickened cream. Now take a toothbrush dip it in to the mixture and flick the bristles so the paint spatters onto the surface of the painting. Flick the bristles fairly gently so the spatter in uniform. I also created a Red mix and applied some Red spots to add some variation. Concentrate the droplets around the core and fade them out as you move down the painting. When it comes to adding the stars, make sure you test the application on a test canvas to ensure the droplets are a small and consistent size. If the mix is too thick the droplets will come out to large and if the mix is too thin the droplets will be weak and not round. Step 6 Detailing. As is the nature of the paint application to create the stars, some droplets will come out larger on the canvas. For the larger spots take a pencil and manipulate the paint by creating a cross. This will suggest a shimmer. The variation os size adds to the scene as well....until next time Keep on creating