How to Paint a Ripped Paint Scheme
- 1). Draw the outline of the ripped section of your painting. You can create it however you like. For inspiration, study actual ripped wallpaper or images of weathered walls. For a more abstract inspiration, try comic books or graffiti art; both frequently use ripping in their imagery. Images can be found online, taken from real life, or taken from books and magazines. Draw some of the ripped section with the surface missing, and some folding back as if torn away, exposing the underside of the top layer.
- 2). Mix colors for the ripped section. Start with the underlying surface. Choose a color that is a mid-tone of the surface you wish to represent. For metal, try a light gray or silver; for wood, try a medium brown or for brick or stone, red-brown or tan. Mix a highlight of this color by adding white to the base color. Mix a shadow by adding black to the base color.
- 3). Paint the entire surface with base color, adding highlights and shadows while the paint is still wet, blending them in along the edges with a soft brush. Add heavy shadows wherever the upper layer is still hanging over, be sure to put a highlight in contrast to each shadow and along the top edges of stones, boards or rock. Dry brush the whole area with a wide,soft clean brush to blend the colors slightly.
- 4). Mix colors for the top section in the same way, choosing a mid-tone, then blending highlight and shadow colors from that base. Create a base, highlight and shadow for each separate color in your scheme. Paint the ripped area, using a different color for the underside in areas where the top surface is folded back. Highlight these areas, and shadow the areas behind and beneath the folded-back pieces.
- 5). Highlight the edges of the torn section to create more depth. This helps to create the illusion that the edges of the top torn surface are closer to the viewer than the revealed surface behind. Blend the colors together with a dry brush, working each torn section separately.
