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This is a tutorial for beginning painters or someone who has never painted to learn to paint a sunset.
Steps
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Shake each paint well. You need to do this to make sure the chemicals are mixed. -
Put a dab of each colored paint on the paper plate far enough away that they will not run together.Advertisement
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Use yellow paint to create a straight horizontal line either just above or just below the middle of the canvas. This is your horizon line.
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Make a circle sun in the middle of the canvas just above the horizon line.
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Pull yellow outwards from the edges of the sun toward the edge of the canvas. Stay going left to right with your brushstrokes.
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Clean your brush in between the color changes in the water cup and dab it dry on the paper towel.
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Add orange above the yellow.
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Blend the orange into the yellow by pulling it slightly down into the yellow. Pull the yellow into the orange to give an even blend. Notice the left side of the image is blended in while the right side is not.
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Add red the same way you added the orange. Make sure to blend it like you did the orange and yellow.
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In the left and right top corners of the canvas add some purple. Pull some of it down the sides of the canvas and into the middle of the top of the canvas, but be sure not to pull it too far that it no longer can blend.
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Around the sun add some white highlights to make it stand out. Pull the white into the surrounding colors. If it starts to fade into the colors too much you can always add more.
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Go back over the sun in yellow one more time to be sure that it is vibrant.
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You can finish the bottom of the sunset however you would like! This one was finished with water. It was made with the simple brush strokes and blending just like the sunset was made. You could also finish it with black to make a silhouette painting. Or you could make the sunset the whole painting. Just some suggestions!
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Community Q&A
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QuestionCan I do this with watercolors?PhishtacheoCommunity AnswerYes! Just make sure you use the right paper so that it doesn't rip (ex. if you use printer paper for a lot of color it's going to wrinkle and not look pleasing). Just make sure that the color is a nice gradient, and always use the right colors and real-life reference.
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QuestionHow do I do this with acrylic paint?Community AnswerYou want to start with the color farthest away from the sun. For example, if you want your sky to still have a little bit of fading blue in the background, start with that. Then add purples, pinks, and red tones, working your way to the center, where the sun will be. Blend your pinks and reds into more orange or pinkish colors, blending into an orange, yellow, golden color for the setting sun. This is fairly easy, because acrylic paint blends so easily, and you can keep going over it, if you don't like it.
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QuestionCan you use normal school notebook paper to pain a sunset?Community AnswerUsually no, it'll be too thin and might tear or shrivel up when painted on.
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Tips
- Remember that paint is very forgiving! If you do not like the way it looks, let the paint dry and paint over it later.Thanks
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Warnings
- If there are any toxic chemicals, wear gloves to avoid getting it on your skin.Thanks
- Do not ingest the paint due to the chemicals that could be present within the paint.Thanks
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Things You'll Need
- Canvas
- Paint brush
- Acrylic paints: red, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white
- Cup of water
- Paper towel
- Paper plate
About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 111,003 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "Step-by-step instructions, also the use of shading. Thank you all very much."
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"Step-by-step instructions, also the use of shading. Thank you all very much."
"At first it was hard, but this helped a lot! 10/10"
