How to paint a simple acrylic gradient

In this video I go into detail about painting acrylic gradients. I give a few unique pointers to help simplify your gradients and help them look their best!
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[@CarolineLuke-f8b]

Thanks Kendra.. this is a great video and has been very helpful! I would never have thought about adding the second colour with half the brush covered to blend 👏👏👏👏

[@kendramalcolm]

I’m glad you found the video helpful. Thanks for the comment.

[@robbys5236]

Ah, yes. My favorite part of the Owl House soundtrack. An acrylic gradient tutorial.

[@bigwomba]

i know it’s been a couple years but i wanted to say thank you! i’m working on a polymer clay sculpture of a character with a gradient on it and the half empty brush tip is so helpful!! i was so worried but this saved me! thank you!

[@kendramalcolm]

You are very welcome!

[@bread4322]

im gonna be trying to do a gradient for the first time ever so this video was really helpful thank you :)

[@kendramalcolm]

You are very welcome. Good luck!

[@ego-lay_atman-bay]

Anyone else here from the owl house s2 ost playlist by brad breek?

[@captainrob5371]

Yes

[@égpégpégp]

yup

[@NLT-MEMES]

yes

[@roblox_famil.y]

Lol yes

[@AlexNikkiClicky]

Yeah

[@mrnoel1603]

Thanks for sharing…very instructive!

[@kendramalcolm]

My pleasure!

[@Fabforfuture]

Hi There ! I´m happy that this is the very first video I´ve watched on this subject. Pretty easy to understand...And the half brush painting technique looks pretty good too. Happy 2023

[@kendramalcolm]

Thanks! Happy 2023 to you too! And happy painting :)

[@yuyingzhang6452]

Thanks! It’s really helpful. I wonder if you’ve checked out some works of a Scottish artist called Gwen Hardie? I’m really curious about how she painted her gradient works with a very natural transition. Let me know if you have some great tips as well! Thanks again for your tutorial :)

[@sabihaanjumlabiba]

Wow it's really cool :)

[@kendramalcolm]

Thanks

[@yogasnacks9487]

Thank you I needed that

[@kendramalcolm]

You are welcome

[@Rickytan77]

Do you blow dry with hot air or cold air?!

[@kendramalcolm]

It was hot, but either should work.

[@zeiisano1603]

i’m doing a self portrait and the background has a sort of gradient, would you say to draw the sketch before the gradient background or after the gradient background? i’ll be sketching with pencil

[@kendramalcolm]

I would sketch it first. My advice would be to Press hard when you have your loose pencil lines in (erase the stuff you don’t really want) and dust the extra graphite off of the page with a soft brush before you paint, as it can smudge and blend with the paint. Your first layer will likely be semi transparent, so you can paint over the pencil. Id do a test first to see how transparent your paints are as they are all different. You can then draw in the important lines, again, and paint your second layer over everything. I would guess that you will still be able to see through to the latest pencil layer when your second gradient layer dries, and you can use it as a guide for your painting. Good luck! I hope This works. This is how I would attempt something like that. Do a test though first with some pencil and the colours you want to use to make sure you can see through the paint a little bit.

[@F1webdesign]

wonderful, would you share the color codes of the paint you used?

[@kendramalcolm]

To be honest, I don’t remember the exact colours. I go through paint quickly and don’t have these containers anymore. As long as you pick a warm yellow you should be fine though! Sometimes yellows lean a bit green, and a green yellow will not blend as well as a warm yellow. Something like a cadmium yellow or even one leaning a tad orange will work really well!

[@IndependentFckr]

No one shows a large acrylic painting gradient . I’m assuming it’s impossible

[@kendramalcolm]

Totally possible! Different tools though for a large gradient. I would use a large brush for a big canvas. For a smaller one (8x10-ish canvas) I use a 1.25 inch brush and for a larger one (4x4-ish feet) I would use up to a 4 inch brush, depending on the canvas size :) softer brushes are better for gradients, in my experience. Also, if your paint starts to dry you can wet your brush just a little to extend the life of the blend. 2 or more layers to get nice opaque colour. Good luck!