Capturing Rainy Window Scenes With Paint: A Guide

Capturing the beauty of a rainy day through art can be a challenging task, especially when it comes to creating the illusion of raindrops on a window. In this tutorial, we will explore the steps to achieve this effect, including techniques for painting a blurred background, adding raindrops of varying sizes, and creating the appearance of streaming water. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to paint a captivating rainy window scene, complete with all the enchanting details that make a rainy day so special.

Characteristics of Painting a Rainy Window

Creating the illusion of looking through a window

To create the illusion of looking through a window, you must first paint what is on the other side of the window. This could be a landscape, cityscape, or figure. The key to achieving the blurred effect of looking through a window is to lose all the details in the background. Start by blocking in the colours you see in the background on the corresponding areas of the canvas. You can mix several greens and browns using raw umber, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, sap green, and white. Fill up the canvas with these colours, avoiding any areas that need to remain clean, such as an umbrella in the scene.

Once you are happy with the blocked-in colours, use a soft, clean, and dry brush to blend adjacent colours. Remember, the secret to making something look out of focus is to lose all the details, so blend gently to avoid losing the initial shapes you created. You can use a watercolour mop brush, which is super soft and perfect for smudging colours without losing their shape. Keep your brush clean by wiping it on a paper towel to maintain the vibrancy of the colours.

In areas where the blending has lightened the colours, add more paint and gently blend again. You can also add shading to certain areas to create dimension and depth. For example, if there is a figure in the scene, add shading to their shirt to make it look more realistic.

Now, it's time to paint the window itself. You can create three different effects: mist, static water drops, and water running down the window. Start with the misty effect by using small amounts of sky colour on a soft filbert brush. Apply the paint in thin glazes using a downward squiggling stroke, varying the thickness of the glaze to create the illusion of previous water droplets. Leave a strip of the background colour showing through to make it look like a water drop has just passed by. Focus on the bottom corners of the canvas and fade the mist effect as you move upward and inward, leaving space for the other effects.

Next, add the effect of water streaming down the window by creating a shadow and highlight to give it height and dimension. Since the water is transparent, the shadow becomes a reflection of the surrounding objects, and the highlights and shadows swap places. Use a fine liner to run a squiggly line down the canvas, using a darker version of the colour on the canvas in that area. Then, use sky colour and the same fine liner to run a parallel squiggly line. These lines don't have to be perfect, just roughly parallel and evenly spaced. Adjust the width between the lines to control the appearance of the stream of water.

Finally, add some static water drops to complete the illusion. Create the silhouette of each water drop using sky colour and a darker version of the background colour, ensuring that each drop has a random shape to look natural. Fade these colours towards the centre of the drop and reflect the surrounding colours, adding a highlight to the inside of the drop, depending on the direction of the light source in your painting.

With these techniques, you can effectively create the illusion of looking through a rainy window, capturing the beauty of a rainy day.

Painting an out-of-focus background

When blocking in these colours, use a standard bristle brush to lay down the paint individually without blending. Fill up the canvas, avoiding any objects in the foreground, such as an umbrella, to maintain colour vibrancy. If needed, you can mask off the foreground objects with clear cover or masking tape.

Once you're satisfied with the blocked-in colours, it's time to blend them together to create the out-of-focus effect. Use a soft, clean, and dry brush to gently blend adjacent colours, being careful not to lose the initial shapes you created. The key to achieving an out-of-focus look is to eliminate all details and hard edges, so the colours appear to merge seamlessly.

If you find that your brush is too harsh for blending, try using a watercolour mop brush, which is softer and similar to a makeup brush. Keep your brush clean by wiping it on a paper towel to maintain the vibrancy of the colours. In areas where the colour has lightened or lost its intensity, add more paint and gently blend again.

By following these steps and techniques, you can effectively create an out-of-focus background for your rainy window painting, adding depth and realism to your artwork.

Painting raindrops

First, it's important to establish the background of your painting. The background will be seen through the window and should be painted in an out-of-focus manner. To achieve this, start by blocking in the colours you see in the background, such as greens and browns, using a standard bristle brush. Avoid blending the colours at this stage and focus on filling up the canvas with abstract shapes.

Once you're happy with the coverage, use a soft, clean, and dry brush to gently blend the adjacent colours. Remember, the key to creating an out-of-focus effect is to lose all the details, so blend softly to avoid overworking the paint. You can use a watercolour mop brush for this step, as it is extremely soft and perfect for smudging colours without losing their vibrancy.

Now, let's move on to creating the window effect. You can create three different effects on the window: mist, static water drops, and running streaks of water. Start by using a soft filbert brush and thin glazes of sky colour to create the misty effect. Apply the paint using downward squiggling strokes, varying the thickness of the glaze to mimic the path of water droplets running down the window.

In some areas, leave a strip of the background colour showing through, creating the illusion of a water drop that has just passed by. Focus on adding the mist to the bottom corners of the canvas and fading it out as you move upward and inward, leaving space for the other effects.

To paint the effect of water streaming down the window, use a fine liner to run a squiggling line down the canvas, following the contour of the window. The line should be a darker version of the colour on the canvas in that area. Then, use the sky colour and the same fine liner to run a parallel line next to the dark one. These lines create the height and dimension of the water stream.

Use a clean, dry brush to blend and fade the lines towards each other, adding depth and shadow to the water. Enhance the effect by adding extra reflections and highlights running down the inside of the water stream, making it appear wet and flowing.

Finally, add the static water drops by creating silhouettes using the sky colour and a darker version of the background colour. Keep the shape of each water drop irregular to ensure they look natural. Softened and fade the colours towards the centre of each drop, reflecting the surrounding colours and adding highlights to create a sense of light and movement.

You can now adjust and add as many raindrops and streaks as you like, depending on the intensity of the rain you want to portray.

Painting running streaks of water

To begin, it is essential to understand that the water streaming down the window will need to have a sense of height, shadow, and highlight to create a realistic illusion. Since the water is transparent, the shadow it casts will be a reflection of the surrounding objects, and the highlights and shadows will swap places.

The first step is to use a fine liner brush to create a squiggly line down the canvas, following the contour of the windowpane. The colour used for this line should be a darker version of the colour on the canvas in that area. As you move down the canvas, you may need to change the colour on your brush if the scenery behind the window changes dramatically.

Next, use the sky colour and the same fine liner brush to create another squiggly line parallel to the first one. This line doesn't have to be perfectly parallel, but it should be roughly the same distance apart. The distance between these two lines will determine the width of the stream of water running down the window.

Now, take a clean, dry brush and gently blend the two lines towards each other. This shading technique will add depth and height to the water, making it appear more three-dimensional.

To enhance the effect, add a few extra reflections and highlights running down the inside of the water stream. This step is crucial in making the water appear wet and flowing. You can use a lighter shade to create these highlights, mimicking the way light reflects off moving water.

Finally, you can adjust the number and placement of these water streams according to the type of weather you are trying to depict. A gentle drizzle may require fewer streaks, while a heavy downpour might call for more dense and overlapping lines.

By following these steps and paying attention to the details, you can effectively create the illusion of running streaks of water on a rainy window in your painting.

Painting mist on the window

To paint mist on a window, you'll want to start by creating a misty effect with thin glazes of paint. Use a soft filbert brush and apply the paint in downward squiggling strokes, varying the thickness of the glaze to create the illusion of previous water droplets that have run down the window. It's important to use small amounts of sky-coloured paint for this step.

As you work, intentionally leave some strips of the neat background showing through, further enhancing the appearance of water droplets. Focus on adding the mist to the bottom corners of your canvas, gradually fading it out as you move upward and inward, ensuring you leave space for other effects like static water drops and running streaks of water.

The secret to achieving an effective misty window effect lies in your ability to create the illusion of an out-of-focus background. This means losing all the details and ensuring that adjacent colours merge seamlessly, with all hard edges softened. To accomplish this, use a soft, clean, and dry brush to gently blend colours together, being careful not to overblend and lose the initial shapes.

Additionally, pay attention to the direction of your brushstrokes when painting the mist. The downward squiggling motion not only creates the illusion of water droplets but also suggests the direction in which the water is running, adding to the overall sense of movement and fluidity in your painting.

Remember to take your time, work in layers, and build up the mist effect gradually. By following these steps and paying attention to the small details, you'll be able to create a convincing misty window scene in your painting.

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