painting with guache right now. anons how much water should

use a middle amount of paint.

>>2274301
spray

When you mix gouache with water you want the consistency of melted ice cream. It gives you a solid clean coat.

>>2274345
i believe thats about what i got right now,

but my strokes only stay opaque for about 2 inches, then they start getting texture and shit.

>>2274377
if you aren't already, you should be using soft synthetic brushes.

If you're already using those, then it sounds like you need more water. Standard use of gouache is meant to be spreadable, not thick and tacky like acrylic, but not too wishy-washy and thin like watercolor.

>>2274395
okay that helps. the soft pointy brushes definitely feel better than the square harder ones.

how do i handle mixing? use different brushes for every color?

fuck this shit is hard

>>2274301

is it alright that i'm adding water to my little mountains of squeezed out guache with a teaspoon? that's how all the pros do it, right?

>>2274447
you can do it with a brush pretty easily. I mix bulk gouache in bottlecaps to keep my colors separated , but I've met some pros who use palette knives to conserve as much material as possible.

>>2274301
yogurt consistency and yes, gouache eats up paint.

>>2274301

alright well i wanna stop now what do i do with the leftover paint? it's quite a bit of brown/gold

gouache, like others said ,should be smooth and creamy, like soft yogurt. You seem upset about any texture in your work, and that's tougher... it's still paint, so avoiding any brushstroke in your work is like denying or cheating the medium. but remember, smooth clean layering, and it'll work out.

As for mixing, it's tough to give you a 'right' answer. You can go small, then mix more to make up for shortfall and blend it in, or make a bit more than needed... I'd suggest using a divided Tupperware sort of tray, so that you can seal it. Glad Press-n-seal wrapping paper is useful for this.

As for the cost, learn to build it into your billing. I've billed the entire cost of replacement cakes and tubes of watercolor and gouache to clients before; if you want my work, you pay for it. they pay for what they want it produced on, from gesso'd board to illusboard or WCpaper, so let 'em pay for the paints, if it fits. Really, you shouldn't use up that much paint in one work ,but if you do, just bill it.