Painting trick? foggy aura?

Question

im painting a picture that has an orange, smokey substance ghastly creeping from the dirt ground, what do i do with acrilic paint so i get a believable fog, but get the effect of the smoke thinning out in some areas with the backround coming through


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how do you make the paint sort of "transparent" (need to a water painting)

Answer 1

Use water to water down the paint. I would use a non-porous small sponge and sponge the paint on and as it is drying blur it and drag to get sweeping effect. I have used this technique when painting clouds as well.

Answer 2

You need to do some glazing. Ad an amount of (orange) paint to clear acrylic medium. You will be able to make transparent layers that will help you 'create' smoke.

Start with a blueish layer and work the orange on top of that. This will ad depth and life to the smog.

If you are new to glazing (and I suppose you are) you should try it out on a study first. It isn't that hard but if you don't get it right it is pretty hard to correct. You can use the same technique for doing water. Keep what is underwater a bit blurry and what is on the water sharp. Reflections should be sharp but translucent.

Good luck.

Answer 3

If you paint wet on wet with a softer bristle brush, you can achieve the foggy look by just continuously blending until you reach your desired fogginess

Answer 4

Consider adding different levels of acrylic gel medium to your paint - it decreases the opacity of the color.