Service Description

Immerse yourself in the vivid colours and wondrous stories of Persian and Indian miniature paintings. On this introductory short course you will explore Eastern and Western, ancient and modern influences and you will create your own miniature painting using traditional and contemporary techniques. You will learn how miniature paintings are created, using techniques including burnishing, inking and various tracing and transferring techniques. You will explore miniature painting colours, with an option to make paint from pigments. Each week will start with a live online session at a set UK time introducing the techniques with individual assignments to complete during the week. The following week the tutor will provide personal feedback and introduce more techniques to build your knowledge. Links, handouts and other learning materials will also be made available for self-study in between the fully interactive, engaging live classes. We delve deep into focusing on individual brush technique via minute hand movements and brush angles. We'll take a rock, a cloud and a flower as our basic motifs to start exploring the world of miniature painting. You will learn: * Paper preparation * Burnishing * Variety of tracing and transferring techniques * Inking in lines * Brushwork tips, tricks and techniques * Pigments and paint making (optional) * Paint application techniques * Colour, composition and framing theory and ideas * Special rendering and shading techniques * Special outlining techniques At the end of this course you’ll have your own miniature painting and knowledge of basic techniques which you can use in a wide range of contemporary painting, illustration and design applications. You could apply the knowledge and skills gained from this course to any professional career in the art and design worlds, including illustration, painting and fashion and textile design. This course is especially suited to Complete Beginners. No previous experience at all is necessary and all courses work equally well as standalone courses that can be taken individually. However, to get the most out of them and to gain a thorough grounding in miniature painting, we recommend taking all 5 subsequent courses which recur in a cycle. The following courses designed around the 5 elements will explore Earth: Rocks; Air: Clouds; Water (lakes, rivers and seas); Fire (the Dragon, Phoenix and the Simurgh) and Ether: the Supernatural (Angels, Divs and Demons).