I’d first encountered gouaches when I was digging around our garden this past fall. Wait… that was squashes…
What are gouaches? Well, I asked the AI Murder Robots of Death for a summary, and a Terminator walked in and said:
Gouaches are a type of water-based paint that is known for its opaque qualities and vivid colors. They consist of pigment mixed with a binder like gum arabic and are often used for illustrations, designs, and fine art. Gouache can be easily reactivated with water, allowing artists to layer and blend colors effectively, making it a versatile medium for both beginners and professionals.
And then he rode away on his motorcycle.
So essentially they’re… acrylics that never cure. And that is why they are useful.
But it’s also why they’re not.
Oils and enamels can be manipulated after they dry, but before they cure. Thus they are very useful in modeling. But… that curing time can take a while – from a few hours to a few days in some cases. And if you have limited time to model, and want to move things along, that can be a problem.
Gouaches, on the other hand, dry really fast. So they can be added to the model, manipulated in a manner similar to – but not exactly like – oils and enamels. It’s very useful, very easy, and very helpful.
Yet that whole curing thing then comes into play. They never really do, not in and of themselves. Something has to be put over them to lock them in place.
So to quote the great philosopher, Carl Spackler, “So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.”
Gunga galunga indeed.
This video is all about me doing very clumsy experiments to see how well I can have my gouache, and… lock it into place too. (I don’t recommend eating it.) It features hesitant explanations, lots of ums and ahs, and generally really never gets to an actual point.
So typical stuff for me. 🤣
Anyway… I do like these gouaches, and I plan to experiment with them more. So far, I don’t see these as a replacement for anything, but rather an addition to the other stuff. Your mileage may very.
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