DIY Granulation Medium | Create Special Watercolor Effects using Household Ingredients
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2021
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Hey Art Friends! Welcome back to the Mandakyns Channel!
Today's episode is an updated DIY experiment to achieve a similar effect to commercial granulation mediums. I received some feedback and decided to redo this experiment with the feedback in mind! Come along with me as I show how to create your own granulation medium solution.
Non-Granulating Pigments Tested:
Phthalo Blue
Cadmium Red Deep
*Distilled Water (Control)
I use a ratio of 1TBSP Salt:1 Cup Hot Water to dissolve each of these salts:
*Epsom salt (Magnesium Sulfate)
*Sea Salt (Sodium Chloride)
*Table Salt (Sodium Chloride with Potassium Iodide)
*Winsor & Newton Granulation Medium
In this experiment, I combine 1ML of each of the solutions in separate wells in the palette using two different non-granulating watercolor pigments applied listed above to watercolor paper. I then add another 1ML of each solution and swatch again.
Next, I test the salt solutions by combining together 3 drops each of two solutions, and swatch this out for both colors. Lastly, I combine all 3 salt solutions and test this on the watercolor paper.
This is a really great and inexpensive way to create your very own granulating medium! If you like granulating effects in your watercolors that you play around with making some solutions that you can easily make with household items you likely have around your home!
IMPORTANT NOTE! Be very careful not to contaminate the watercolors in your palette! Keep a jar of clean water handy and another for dirty water! Always only use clean water in your pan watercolor palette to keep your watercolors from getting dirty, mixed with other colors, or from having other contaminants (like the salt from our experiment) destroy your watercolors. Always allow your paints to dry after use, they can easily be reactivated. Storing watercolors with wet paint in a warm, dark place can cause mold to take root and destroy your watercolor pigments.
However, I would also set aside a paintbrush for this as salt may be corrosive for your ferrule (the metal part that holds the hairs of the brush) or could possibly damage the glue that holds it together. You should never leave your brush in the water for long periods as it can cause damage, but especially this water as it will be corrosive over time. It might be a good idea to mark the handle of your paintbrush with washi tape and permanent marker "SALT" if you will have trouble identifying it later.
MY ADVICE: Keep a separate dish or palette for these types of adventures to prevent mixing any solution with your beautiful watercolor paints. Tube paints worked best for this experiment so that I didn't accidentally go into my pan colors with salty water to get them juicy and inadvertently contaminate them. Once you add salt to your colors it will change the behavior of the paint, therefore it is a good idea to keep them separate.
HAPPY ARTING! - Jak na to + styl
The key to getting a decent granulation effect is two things: 1) *Rough* paper 2) Flooding your paper with *water,* and _then_ dropping the paint into it, rather than painting onto dry paper. It didn't seem to me like there was very much water used here, though I do appreciate the otherwise scientific method you went about your assessment. Time for another updated experiment, perhaps?!!
Excellent, having taught Science and the importance of experimentation and recording, this really was good to see an artist apply. Currently experimenting with abstract WC landscapes and find even with Daniel Smiths and W&N granulating medium - high costs and often granulation is not that much better than the 'Triple' mix. So will certainly order some salt packets and have a go. Thank you very for your effort, I know you speeded it up for our benefit, but it obviously took you some time.
Thank you for the complement!
Yes, it’s a lot of work, but learning useful and less expensive methods is valuable in my humble opinion. I have a particular penchant for making expensive things less so if possible. It’s the frugal artist in me. I did compress the video, but if I didn’t I think I would lose audience. Experimentation teaches us so much, as does play with our materials. Art, like science, encourages this.
Thanks so much for watching and commenting! It just made my day!
@@Mandakyns2 Absolutely, you deserve it, the more people who can paint and enjoy art I believe makes for a better world and sadly a lot of people stop due to the costs, so your cause is a good one. My background even though wishing to have gone to Art School when young, ended up being a very technical one but I have been able in my life to span both worlds between the Art world and the Technical world, even though sometimes when going into 'Teckie' mode and asking Colombo technical type questions to art suppliers, (ie Ken Bromley and Jacksons) I can imagine them at the end of the phone thinking "Why is he asking me this question" LOL
But now coming up to 70, no longer able to do my travels, meet people and have adventures plus getting depress more and more at what is happening to the world, some of it of own my doing ie teaching IT and the Internet, I find solace in art. I feel I have come home to the world of painting not just the technical aspect of learning to paint but understanding Art as I have never done before especially the Impressionists which once being a strong admirer of artists like Canelleto I am very much into the Impressionists.
The fact that I have found that I am very much like so many artist ie Vincent Van Gogh in being very emotional, at times inpatient of other people, incredibly passionate and often see life differently was at times a hindrance in the technical world I went into. But a lifetime of learning four different careers RAF Photography, Civil Engineering, Maths/Science/Bus Studies/It and Microsoft Trainer has given me the understanding of the need of 'learning' the technical side and skills required but at the same my latent Artistic nature I believe I have an eye for what truly looks good. I am also getting closer and closer to no longer doing endless CZcams tutorials to the day I finally choose my oils and WC style and start creating and painting my own works. We will see.
Have you tried using Himalayan Crystal Salt I tried it tonight by testing some of my cheap and nasty WC paints bought in my early days especially oranges and reds and used swatches using plain water and them with water with fair amount of the crystal salts mixed in thoroughly on NOT Arches paper. I was pleasantly surprised, as the results with the crystal salt were much better than using my W&N bottle of granulation spirit. You can a lot of Himalayan Crystal salt for a few pennies.
@@wakeupuk3860 being multitalented and having many interests over the course of a lifetime is admirable. I think by the time one reaches 70 with the 10,000 hr applied one would be able to learn multiple skill sets over that time period and be considered expert at them. I’m pleased to learn that this is correct.
I also am straddling the divide between art and tech, having created a platform (part of the reason I haven’t been making as many YT videos) called Makyn.me to help artists and small creative businesses like my own to reach a wider audience and pocket more profit from their work. I’d love it if you checked it out and let me know what you think.
I can understand your dismay about the current state of the world, hard to see how things got to be like this.
As far as style, it comes from creating a body of work and noting patterns, developing your own method of doing things. It’s great to practice in the manner of artists like Van Gogh but to develop your own voice and flavor to your work. Just my thoughts on the subject. If you throw yourself into your work, your style will come to you. I find my style fluctuates depending on the type of work I’m doing. I get bored doing the same things repetitively. So I have spread wide, but have went deeply into art. I think just doing it, even sometimes making bad art, is worth it’s weigh in gold for what we learn from our mistakes and the experience.
I often feel like I get spread too thinly with so many irons in the fire. I’m writing a book on watercolor, developing, and still trucking along making a variety of mixed media art. I work with everything I have added to my creative toolbox and continue to add more to it every day. And you’re never too advanced in years to learn new things unless you believe that. So I am very pleased that you are so actively involved and passionate about art and leaving your own mark on the world!
As far as the Himalayan salt, I have tried it in small finely ground as well as coarse versions of it on a few small paintings. I like the effect it gives. I am wondering if the effect is more pronounced as a result of the minerals that are naturally found in the salts from that area? Lmk what you think!
Wishing you all the best!
-Amanda
@@Mandakyns2 I found this really helpful. Just to add, in order to take the video at a slower pace, all we need to do is use the 'settings' button at bottom right of the screen and choose the speed. I'm surprised that very few people know this, and think that if every CZcamsr who needs to speed up videos told us how to slow it down, a lot more folk would be able to watch them comfortably. :)
Now I'm off to check which salt I have in my cupboard and add what I don't have to my shopping list! Thanks again!!!
this sounds like a fun experiment! thank you for sharing your results and sharing this idea with us!
Yay! Let me know if you try it!!
I'm a chemist and I recommend ALUM (Al2(SO4)3), ferric chloride (FeCl3) and ferric sulfate (Fe(SO4)3. These might be too strong but worth experimentation with.
Excellent idea. I have those chemicals in my cupboard and will try it out ! Greetings from Norway.
I can understand the Alum in a kitchen but but I doubt even something as strange to me as Nordic cooking could use those poisons (no offense intended) ;-) I've even used the iron solution to etc copper circuit boards! lol @@RolfLunheim
Great and helpful experiment! I read that someone used Everclear in a small spray bottle to achieve a granulation effect similar to Schmincke Granulation Spray. When I saw the spray on the Schimincke website, I initially wondered if it was made with salt. Anyway, I love to experiment and consider myself a [slightly less] mad scientist. :-) Btw, I don’t recall hearing you say which one of your salt experiments you think achieved the best results 🧐
I think my favorite was the Epsom salt. You could make it with any kind of salt. Debs, that would be an interesting addition, Everclear is 99% alcohol - if I recall. I made enough of each salt solution that it would have been fun to experiment by separating a small amount into different containers. From there, if I were to try this, I would have added the same amount of different ingredients like Everclear, 91% & 70% isopropyl alcohol, vegetable glycerin, and a wetting agent like a synthetic wetting agent or oxgall to a small portion of the salt mixes to observe what happens with the effects. Thanks so much for your nice comment & question! Happy Arting!
wow thanks for your thorough method! super cool for you to do this. i actually can't tell which of the salts created the most granulation from the vid -- which do you think had the best effect? and this might be a stupid question but would using concentrated salt water often damage our brushes over time? like drying out the brush hairs and making them brittle for example
Awe, thanks! I liked the epsom salt personally and thought it had the most interesting effect. I keep iodized salt in a lil owl shaker in my workspace to drop in dry on areas I want to granulate, brushing off when wet paint is dry.
I don’t think it’s a silly question at all. I know that salt can dry natural hair, which is what typical watercolor brushes are made from. Yes, it can make it brittle. You can put a piece of washi tape on a brush and mark it “salt,” earmarking a single brush for use with the solution and clean properly afterward by washing the bristles gently with a mild soap or brush cleaner. I’ve also found that applying a teeny amount of glycerin after cleaning can help negate the drying effects of the salt by acting as a humectant, but then it needs to be rinsed gently again. I hope this helps!
I'm super into this channel
Girl! Can it be this easy? Salt water? I had no idea. I'll definitely be trying it.
Wow, that was great and fun experiment 🧪 clever!
I'm surprised that phthalo pigment gratulated, even with just some salt used.
Maybe cadmium is too heavy?
Maybe so! I’m not quite sure if it’s the pigment particle size or mass of them that makes a paint granulate more or less. I’d love to know! I have noticed with the named paint families they tend to behave alike or have qualities that are similar.
Very informative vid thank you! I was wondering, could the salt damage the hair of the watercolor brush?
Thanks for your question! And glad that you enjoyed it! I’ve not had any problems with the bristles of my brushes becoming damaged. But if you’re concerned, I’d recommend to simply use a cheap brush.
Salt does tend to corrode metals. So it’s best not to have in contact for long periods with the ferrule or metal clamp holding the bristles. Same for a metal palette. Always rinse all equipment thoroughly after coming into contact with salt or salt water. I think using a mild soap and water would do the trick. (And it probably goes without saying, but it’s not wise to leave any brush resting in water or salt water, ever 😳).
I would recommend at least using two-cup water method with one cup having pure, clean water for obtaining color. Keep salt and salt solution away from any pure paint to prevent contamination of your paint set. I hope this helps! Happy Painting!
@@Mandakyns2 great advice thank you and happy new year!! Paint on!!
It would have been nice to get your first-hand assessment of the results.
As it was an experiment, I left the subjective opinion out. I liked them all. Maybe I’ll include more of my opinion next go-round? Thank you for the recommendation! They each had interesting effects that could be useful in various watercolor painting to produce a granulation effect.
I’d like your subjective opinion of how they look and perform - for you, in real life. It’s literally impossible to tell on just a screenshot of a video on tiny phone. And no way to tell over the internet how you feel they behaved.
Really enjoying hippie chemistry
Maybe I missed it if you mentioned it, but what type of paper did you use here?
Just some regular 140lb paper that I use for practice. Probably cellulose-based, pretty sure it wasn’t cotton rag. Perhaps I shall redo this again at some point and see what the difference is with 100% cotton paper?
Thank you so much for this experiment. it will help me save a lot of money. 🙏🙏🙏 The granulation fluids on rhe market are pretty expensive
You are most welcome! I believe supplies should be accessible and affordable to encourage the creation of art. It probably isn’t their exact formulation, but my goal was to play with different salts to achieve a similar effect by combining ingredients at home to save $. 🥰
Grab yourself a nice French Ultramarine and a Burnt Umber or Burnt Sienna - in any brand that offers pigment numbers on the tube or wrapper, you'll get a decent granulation when you _mix_ either of those with a more translucent paint.
It's the difference in the pigment weight and size that causes your granulation. Fortunately French Ultramarine is one of the cheapest colours - even in the pricier brands. You can make some lovely granulating effects just blending those two colours with your transparents - which could even be something like Cotman student grade paints - with no need for the granulating medium. Hope that helps preserve a few pennies... 😊
Thank you, it appears to me that W & N granulation medium barely works, if not at all for some pigments…
You’re welcome. Sorry it took me awhile to update with the comparison. I did notice some granulation from the non granulating pigments. It just wasn’t as intense as I expected. I think was able to achieve similar results with the salt solutions. Which one did you think was most like the W&N?
@@Mandakyns2 nothing to be sorry about, I tried using lunar black mixed with other pigments instead of the granulating medium…
honestly I didn't see very much granulation in any of the samples. I was hoping the commercial granulation medium would have worked better than it did. I guess I expected supergranulation.
I did too!! A little disappointed myself. But at least there are materials and supplies we can use to create granulation where none exists normally.
I’ve been searching all over Google for how to make your own granulating medium and all you get is videos and nobody really knows how to do it! That’s just crazy. Somebody out there ought to know how to do it? Nobody knows the formula for the stuff that you buy in bottles apparently. And I can’t even get a result of a blog or an article that talks about it
David, I believe it’s a closely guarded secret by manufacturers. I’ve been experimenting to produce similar results as granulation medium, which is what this video is. There are some forums discussing the ingredients, but nothing is terribly clear. I have few ideas for my next experiment, where we shall see if it produces a better effect. Most paints have dispersants or surfactants included to help the paints avoid this collecting or “flocculating” behavior. Some paints granulate because of the uneven size of pigments. The question is: how to make pigments granulate which do not typically show this behavior? If you discover anything through experimentation, I’d love to see! Thanks for your interest! Happy Arting!
Doing that research myself. You can find a detailed safety sheet on WN Granulation medium, but it really doesn’t give specific information on the ingredients. Salts as demoed here, and different alcohols come up as possibilities in some comments online. My theory is that WN G Medium actually works on the binder, not the pigment. I use WN G medium quite a bit so it’d be great to find a less expensive solution solution. Good luck- if I find anything I’ll try to post back here. Cheers.
@@Mandakyns2 thnx
The salt attacks the honey/glyercin binder?
@@Mandakyns2 thnx
@@Michael62nyc me too
What were your conclusions???????
Go over end results more slowly.
Still a baby in CZcams land! Going to take this tip into consideration for all other videos as this is good advice. Thank you 🙏
That was a rather abrupt comment???? Here's an answer to your problem which I mentioned to Mandakyns a little further up:
Just to add, in order to take the video at a slower pace, all we need to do is use the 'settings' button at bottom right of the screen and choose the speed. I'm surprised that very few people know this, and think that if every CZcamsr who needs to speed up videos told us how to slow it down, a lot more folk would be able to watch them comfortably.
Hope this helps you, too. :)
*please
@@221b-Maker-Street 6:02
@@plein-aircolourlight9046 It was @marilynanderson333 who wanted the results more slowly, not me. 😄
I could see Amanda had already done a slo-mo near the end, and of course we can all slow YT to a quarter speed by clicking the cog icon, or pause it altogether ourselves.
I was just searching for a modicum of courtesy or politeness in Marilyn's -request- instruction! 😉