If you’re pouring for the first time and would like more explanation on materials, processes, and terms, you can head on over to my Beginner’s Guide to Acrylic Pouring. You can also head over to my Comprehensive Guide to Acrylic Pouring Techniques for more information on all of the different techniques and my How to Thin Acrylic Paint for Acrylic Pouring post to learn all about pouring mediums!
10 Smart Ideas To Paint Clouds For Beginners
Fanatics of sky paintings have a lot of exploring here! Are you a beginner at painting art? Do you need smart ideas to paint clouds for beginners? This easy sky painting guide can help you create an artistic wonder without being a veteran in this field. Painting atmospheric scenery or panoramic sky views needs a lot of vision, precision, and imagination of endless horizons.
Unless you strike the real vibe, getting the best art piece on your canvas is not possible. If you are sneaking on how to paint clouds sunset, check out this content piece to get simple steps for making a fantabulous painting.
How to Paint Clouds
Wondering about how to paint clouds with acrylic colors! A bit of vision and free flow of paintbrushes can help jot down the magnificent paint you desire to create. Here are the top steps for easy sky painting:
1
Pay Attention to the soft edges of the skies
Sky is endless, and you need to go soft towards its edges. The trivial part is both clouds and skies have soft edges, and the color blends used to differentiate them are crucial. With soft edges, you can enhance the cloud volumes and also highlight their translucency. Some clouds are so thin, and the sky behind is visible, and you need to layer up those broken edges finely. The detailing of the horizon with glazes can helps in easy sky painting.
2
Infuse Chromatic greys to intensify the clouds
Are you skeptical about how to paint clouds sunset? Merge greys with other complementary shades to create some vibrant hues. Your love for the eye-striking sunsets should be visible in your cloud paintings. Add greys to the darker part of clouds can give a deeper impact to the sky. The bright orange sunset next to greys is the best way to create the spectacular sunset view you desire to portray.
3
Consider atmospheric details
Proceeding with the next smart ideas to paint clouds for beginners, thinking from the actual atmospheric perspective is pivotal. You need to develop a blend of horizon and clouds with lighter hues of white to give filtration. Distant painting can give a backdrop of natural atmospheric conditions.
4
Sky is not white
While grasping how to paint clouds with acrylic colors, you need to figure out the difference between white and light. The illusion of a bright white sky is just the sunlight over blue skies. Understand the natural landscape to give it a real touch. You can add a sunset warmth by mixing transparent orange into white. Similarly, a blend of blue or grey and white can give a natural tint to the skies, adding lighting to it.
5
Never restrict imagination to photo
If you want to know how to paint clouds with acrylic colors, you need to be free from photo bondages. Give wings to your thoughts and add elements that give a deeper effect with color magic. Make genuine edits to the shape of clouds or add a breezy effect along the coastline for giving a perfect outlet.
6
Choose bigger brushes
While searching how to paint clouds sunset, you also need to cautious about brush selection. Pick good size brushes and loosen the grip to paint a perfect landscape. Remember that you are painting a grand view, and broad brushes could help you justify the whole piece. Especially when you are adding details to the edges, a selection of brushes can do wonders!
7
Sky painting is all about lights
When you have a vision for easy sky painting, it is important to get along with the concept of light colors. Hues can do magic to the sunset painting as the dramatic weather transformation is what you need to aim at. Compare multiple expert portraits and add value with your amalgamation of perfect hues to them. The intensity of color, temperature and disconnection between shades are a few things to consider. You need to have good knowledge about the actual reflection of shades when they cool down on canvas.
8
Start Thin and end must be thick
Sky incorporates air, vapors and other particles. Think about how to paint clouds with acrylic colors with a realistic effect! Begin with a thin wash and slowly dilute oils to develop glazes towards the edges. Evaluate the subject before preparing color and right composition would give drastic change in the final result.
9
Take a Linear Perspective
There are fine lines and vanishing points similar to ground objects in the skies. Have you ever had a clean view of clouds from the ground? You can easily identify the linear perspective that gives them discrete dimensions. While you focus on how to paint clouds sunset, emphasize the vanishing lines, and you are almost there!
10
Objectify the clouds
Do you need a pro tip for easy sky painting? Imagine clouds as small boxes having irregular edges and consider them as cuboids. Then differentiate each box with light, darker and partial shades with irregular edges. Ever-changing clouds and sun peeking at the back is a mesmerizing sight to create.
Wrapping Up
The above-stated smart ideas to paint clouds for beginners might prove helpful in giving you the best art on canvas. Apart from the easy sky painting ideas, the consistency and creative outlook can help you better feel the landscape’s requirements and display the magic of your brushes on it. You need to fall in love with the colors and nature to give them life!
Once you have a concrete imagination and technical knowledge about the complexity of color temperatures, you can be a pro artist. Check out online tutorials and guides to know more about painting secrets. Happy Painting!
Cloud Pour Painting
What is a cloud pour?
A cloud pour is a pour where you get fluffy cells (usually of white) that look like clouds! This is achieved by adding in a satin enamel (Decoart Americana Satin Enamel is a popular choice) OR I experimented and found that you this technique also works with interior house paint as well, which many of us have on hand!
This post contains affiliate links, which I earn a small comission from. These are provided for your convenience, and the price isn’t increased at all.
What materials do you need for a cloud pour?
Paints:
- Artist’s Loft Copper
- Artist’s Loft Old Gold
- Artist’s Loft Metallic Cobalt
- Liquitex Basics Quinacridone Magenta
- Master’s Touch Titanium White
- Master’s Touch Crimson
- Master’s Touch Titanium White
- Master’s Touch Pthalocyanine Blue
- Dunn-Edwards Faded Gray
All of my colors were mixed from the paints above. If you want to learn how to mix colors, be sure to grab your free color wheel printables and snag the helpful printable pack as well.
Pouring Medium:
Tools:
Canvas:
- 8in x 10in canvas
Cloud Pour Video
- Lay down a thin coat of background paint. I used a thin coat of white paint.
- Layer your pouring cup with your different colors of paint as you would with a tree ring pour, pouring slowly down the side of the cup so that you have discrete layers of color (The order in which I layered my cup was copper, gold, magenta, pthalo blue, white, pink, cobalt, copper, and gold.). For your last layer, use your satin enamel or interior house paint.
- Pour the paint onto the canvas moving the paint in small circles.
- Tilt the canvas in a circular manner until the rings are stretched and the canvas is covered to your liking.
How to Paint Clouds
So how do you take what we know from cloud pour painting and paint clouds with acrylic pouring? Well, the technique that I used was:
What colors do you need to paint clouds?
We all know that clouds are typically going to be white, BUT really there are so many different options when you are thinking about how you want the clouds to look in your paintings.
For instance, are they storm clouds, dark and ominous? Are they pink clouds in a sunset? Are they clouds at night illuminated by the moon? See? So many options.
If you take a look at my sunset painting, you can see a whispy element to it, which is often caused by clouds on the horizon.
(If you’re curious about colors and color theory as it relates to acrylic pouring, head on over to my post about Choosing Colors for Acrylic Pouring and grab your FREE printable Color Wheel and Color Scheme Guides below!)
Materials You Will Need to do a Cloud Painting or Add Clouds to Your Painting
Paints:
- Master’s Touch Titanium White
- Master’s Touch Pthalocyanine Blue
- Dunn-Edwards Faded Gray
Pouring Medium:
Tools:
Canvas:
- 8in x 10in canvas
How to Paint Clouds Video Tutorial
- Lay down a layer of the color that you’ll be using for the sky.
- Pour a line of white or whatever color you want your clouds to be.
- Then pour a line of your satin enamel or interior house paint below that first line of paint. I used gray because I thought it would add some nice shaddowing as well as the cloudy cells.
- Using a long palette knife, drag the two lines of paint upward in a sweeping motion. Continue in this manner all the way along the lines of paint that you laid down.
Cumulus Clouds (Fluffy)
- For fluffy clouds, you still want to start with a layer of your sky color.
- Then lay down puddles of the color you want your clouds to be (white in my case).
- Within each of those puddles, lay down a smaller puddle of your satin enamel or interior house paint.
- Using a shorter palette knife, draw your puddles out in small, circluar motions, moving all the way around each puddle.
- With the tip of your palette knife, draw in any defining features that you want in your clouds, such as swirls or fluffy mounds.
Go Forth and Pour!
And there you have it, now you know how to paint clouds using acrylic pouring! Super easy, right! If you’re interested in painting the sky, you might like my moon painting, space painting, and sunset painting tutorials!
As always, check out my updates on Facebook and Instagram and feel free to peruse Homebody Hall for more fluid art tips, tricks, and tutorials! Also head over to Youtube and subscribe to get my videos sent to you as soon as they come out!!
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