How to Do a Cubist Style Painting
Prepare your workspace., Choose your canvas.For convenience it is simplest to buy a pre-made canvas, but you can stretch your own., Gather your remaining materials., Pick your subject., Sketch your subject in pencil onto your canvas.This will be the...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Prepare your workspace.
When doing any kind of art, you want to make sure you have a clean workspace.
Choose an area with plenty of natural light and either a table or an easel to hold your canvas.
Lay down newspaper in your work area to keep it clean.
Use a glass of water and a soft rag to clean your paintbrushes between colors. -
Step 2: Choose your canvas.For convenience it is simplest to buy a pre-made canvas
Size and shape are up to you, but larger or mid-sized canvases are easiest to paint.
If you just want to practice, you can also create paintings on large multi-media art paper.
Your local art supply store should carry paper and canvas. , To create your Cubist-style painting, you’ll need sketching materials, a canvas, brushes, paint, and plenty of inspiration.
You can use any type of paint to achieve a Cubist style, but acrylic works well, especially for beginners.
Acrylic paints are versatile, often less expensive than oil paints, and make it easier to create crisp lines.Pick paintbrushes that are labeled for acrylic paints.
Get a few different sizes for versatility while you paint.
Make sure you have a pencil and gum eraser on hand to sketch before you begin to paint.
You may also need a ruler or yardstick to help guide your lines and make them crisp and straight. , Though Cubism was an abstracted form of modern art, most Cubist painters drew from real life in their work.Though their paintings were highly fragmented and geometric, a subject was still discernible within them.
Decide whether you want to paint a human figure, a landscape, or a still life.
Choose something that you can look and study in real life at while you are painting.
For example, if you want to do a figure, see if a friend can pose for you.
If you’d like to paint a still life, arrange a group of objects or an object, like a musical instrument, in front of you. , Don’t worry about capturing the details.
Use broad, gestural strokes to capture the movement of whatever it is you are studying.
Once you have a general sketch, use your ruler to sharpen the edges.
In any place you’ve sketched soft, rounded lines, go back over them and change them into sharp lines and edges.
For example, if you’re sketching a person, you might go over the rounded line of the shoulder and make it look more like the top of a rectangle. , You want the geometry of your painting to be more than just a basic outline of your subject.
Think about different ways you can further break down the shapes in your painting.
Look at the light.
Instead of shading and blending, in Cubism, you will use the light to create shapes.
Outline, in geometric shapes, where the light falls in your painting.
Also, use geometric lines to show where you would generally shade in a painting.
Don’t be afraid to overlap your lines. , Within Cubism, artists focused on the form in a painting, rather than color.They often used neutral browns and blacks.
In Braque’s painting “Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table,” you can see his use of neutrals to emphasize form.If you want to use bright colors, choose to use between one and three main bright colors so that your painting retains its striking geometry.
You can also use a monochromatic palette in a single color family.
For example, Picasso did many paintings mainly in shades of blue.
Put your paints onto your palette or a paper plate in front of you.
Use white to make shades lighter.
Mix the colors that you want. , Use darker colors to thinly outline the individual geometric shapes that you created while sketching.Unlike in a traditional painting, you don’t need to blend all your colors into each other.
You want your lines to be distinct.
With acrylic paints, you can layer colors to make your paintings feel more dimensional.
If you need to do so, use your ruler to guide your paintbrush, like you did your pencil.
You want your paint lines to be just as crisp as your pencil lines. , Washable acrylic paints work well for painting with kids.
You can also create a “painting” masterpiece with markers, crayons, or colored pencils.
Choose a large sheet of art paper or a notebook of paper to make your Cubist style painting.
You’ll also need paint brushes, and a pencil and eraser. , This could be something simple like a vase of flowers or even a single flower.You’ll first draw this subject, and then use lines to break it up.
Choose something you have on hand.
You want to practice drawing from life instead of just drawing from your imagination.
Practice making small sketches of your subject in a sketchbook.
You want to decade exactly how you will draw it for your final painting. , You should draw lightly with your pencil so that if you make a mistake, you can erase it and start again.
As you are sketching, remember that your drawing doesn’t have to be completely realistic.
It’s okay to overlap lines and exaggerate features.
You’re just going to make it even more abstract. , Use a pencil and a ruler to draw straight lines in all directions.
Use your creativity to decide where to place them.
You don’t want large areas of blank space in your drawing.
You also don’t want to create too many areas with a bunch of tiny geometric shapes. , Experiment with using your brush in different directions to create texture.
Use black or brown paint to create thin outlines around the shapes you made.
Try to stick to using only a few different colors. , Add any final touches, and remember to sign your name on the bottom of your Cubist style painting.
These paintings make great decorations for children’s bedrooms.
They are also good gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Grandparents’ Day. -
Step 3: but you can stretch your own.
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Step 4: Gather your remaining materials.
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Step 5: Pick your subject.
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Step 6: Sketch your subject in pencil onto your canvas.This will be the guide for your painting.
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Step 7: Add more lines.
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Step 8: Create your color palette.
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Step 9: Paint over your sketch.The sketch should be the guide for you painting.
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Step 10: Pick kid friendly art materials.You want to choose materials that kids will find easy to work with and that won’t create a large mess.
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Step 11: Choose the subject for your piece.
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Step 12: Sketch your final subject drawing on your art paper.
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Step 13: Break up bigger shapes in your drawing.
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Step 14: Paint the shapes in your drawing.You want to paint each of the sections you created individually.
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Step 15: Display your creation.
Detailed Guide
When doing any kind of art, you want to make sure you have a clean workspace.
Choose an area with plenty of natural light and either a table or an easel to hold your canvas.
Lay down newspaper in your work area to keep it clean.
Use a glass of water and a soft rag to clean your paintbrushes between colors.
Size and shape are up to you, but larger or mid-sized canvases are easiest to paint.
If you just want to practice, you can also create paintings on large multi-media art paper.
Your local art supply store should carry paper and canvas. , To create your Cubist-style painting, you’ll need sketching materials, a canvas, brushes, paint, and plenty of inspiration.
You can use any type of paint to achieve a Cubist style, but acrylic works well, especially for beginners.
Acrylic paints are versatile, often less expensive than oil paints, and make it easier to create crisp lines.Pick paintbrushes that are labeled for acrylic paints.
Get a few different sizes for versatility while you paint.
Make sure you have a pencil and gum eraser on hand to sketch before you begin to paint.
You may also need a ruler or yardstick to help guide your lines and make them crisp and straight. , Though Cubism was an abstracted form of modern art, most Cubist painters drew from real life in their work.Though their paintings were highly fragmented and geometric, a subject was still discernible within them.
Decide whether you want to paint a human figure, a landscape, or a still life.
Choose something that you can look and study in real life at while you are painting.
For example, if you want to do a figure, see if a friend can pose for you.
If you’d like to paint a still life, arrange a group of objects or an object, like a musical instrument, in front of you. , Don’t worry about capturing the details.
Use broad, gestural strokes to capture the movement of whatever it is you are studying.
Once you have a general sketch, use your ruler to sharpen the edges.
In any place you’ve sketched soft, rounded lines, go back over them and change them into sharp lines and edges.
For example, if you’re sketching a person, you might go over the rounded line of the shoulder and make it look more like the top of a rectangle. , You want the geometry of your painting to be more than just a basic outline of your subject.
Think about different ways you can further break down the shapes in your painting.
Look at the light.
Instead of shading and blending, in Cubism, you will use the light to create shapes.
Outline, in geometric shapes, where the light falls in your painting.
Also, use geometric lines to show where you would generally shade in a painting.
Don’t be afraid to overlap your lines. , Within Cubism, artists focused on the form in a painting, rather than color.They often used neutral browns and blacks.
In Braque’s painting “Candlestick and Playing Cards on a Table,” you can see his use of neutrals to emphasize form.If you want to use bright colors, choose to use between one and three main bright colors so that your painting retains its striking geometry.
You can also use a monochromatic palette in a single color family.
For example, Picasso did many paintings mainly in shades of blue.
Put your paints onto your palette or a paper plate in front of you.
Use white to make shades lighter.
Mix the colors that you want. , Use darker colors to thinly outline the individual geometric shapes that you created while sketching.Unlike in a traditional painting, you don’t need to blend all your colors into each other.
You want your lines to be distinct.
With acrylic paints, you can layer colors to make your paintings feel more dimensional.
If you need to do so, use your ruler to guide your paintbrush, like you did your pencil.
You want your paint lines to be just as crisp as your pencil lines. , Washable acrylic paints work well for painting with kids.
You can also create a “painting” masterpiece with markers, crayons, or colored pencils.
Choose a large sheet of art paper or a notebook of paper to make your Cubist style painting.
You’ll also need paint brushes, and a pencil and eraser. , This could be something simple like a vase of flowers or even a single flower.You’ll first draw this subject, and then use lines to break it up.
Choose something you have on hand.
You want to practice drawing from life instead of just drawing from your imagination.
Practice making small sketches of your subject in a sketchbook.
You want to decade exactly how you will draw it for your final painting. , You should draw lightly with your pencil so that if you make a mistake, you can erase it and start again.
As you are sketching, remember that your drawing doesn’t have to be completely realistic.
It’s okay to overlap lines and exaggerate features.
You’re just going to make it even more abstract. , Use a pencil and a ruler to draw straight lines in all directions.
Use your creativity to decide where to place them.
You don’t want large areas of blank space in your drawing.
You also don’t want to create too many areas with a bunch of tiny geometric shapes. , Experiment with using your brush in different directions to create texture.
Use black or brown paint to create thin outlines around the shapes you made.
Try to stick to using only a few different colors. , Add any final touches, and remember to sign your name on the bottom of your Cubist style painting.
These paintings make great decorations for children’s bedrooms.
They are also good gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Grandparents’ Day.
About the Author
Virginia Rodriguez
Virginia Rodriguez has dedicated 5 years to mastering education and learning. As a content creator, Virginia focuses on providing actionable tips and step-by-step guides.
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