Thursday 18 August 2016

Dark and Moody Backgrounds Tutorial


Autumn of SewPaperPaint here with you today.  I don't know about you, but I have seen a rising trend in blogland that has thoroughly peeked my interest.  Dark and moody mixed media project seem to be all the rage!  I have experimented with numerous mediums to show you that you can try these techniques with whatever products you have on hand.

For this panel I used white texture paste through a dotty stencil, then splashed various Twinkling H2Os over it.  The white shows through these transparent watercolors.

 For this panel I adhered various die cuts then painted it all with black gesso.  Next I dry brushed white gesso to add highlights, then went over it all with Radiant Pearls.  Again, the white shows through different than the black, creating beautiful depth.

For this panel I sponged several colors of Lumiere metallic paints, then embossed a stamped image repeatedly in black.

For this panel I first embossed the blob stamp in copper.  Next I used Versafine ink with a grid stamp and text stamp.  I lightly brushed PearlEx powder over the wet ink.

For this panel I splashed white gesso onto my panel then splashed Radiant Pearls over that, and came back in with splashes of Color Bloom spray.

 For this panel I used white stencil paste and then splashed both Glimmer Mists and Color Bloom sprays over that.
For this panel I used a plastic card to scrape Lumiere paints onto my black panel, adding additional colors while the paint was wet for a beautiful blending.

My final panel was made by crinkling tissue paper onto a wet black gessoed panel.  I went back over the top of the tissue with more black gesso.  The highlights were created by lightly sponging Lumiere paint onto the raised areas of the tissue.


I created a pinnable image for you to pin this tutorial to your Pinterest boards.

I have turned each of these background panels into completed mixed media cards and will be sharing them on my personal blog for the next couple of weeks, so do pop by often.  But I won't leave you hanging and will share my basic design recipe as you see in this card.


First add something light and lacy to balance the dark, but still allow your beautiful background to show through.  Try lace or holey dies.  Next add some embellishments in a cluster.  You can use several flowers, or a combination of ribbon, sentiments, stamped images, etc.  Finally, add some more shimmer.  You can add  microbeads or chunky glitter, or sequins as I have.  Just experiment and remember to keep balance with your color and a strong focal area/image.  I'd love to hear your thoughts or tips on other ways to create dark backgrounds in the comments section below.  <3

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful backgrounds, Autumn, thanks for tutorial!!

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  2. Wonderful backgrounds - and thanks for the tutorial Autumn.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  3. A veritable feast of gorgeous backgrounds Autumn, I do love the first one, it reminds me of a beautiful night sky! xx

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  4. Oh yessss! Love this fabulous selection of dark and moody backgrounds ! So many possibilities thank you for the inspiration Autumn. Toni xx

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  5. Wow SO many Awesome backgrounds using stamps n stencils ! The tag is stunning !

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  6. Each and every one of your dark & moody's is GORGEOUS Autumn. Thanks bunches for showing us how you did them. What an interesting post. Can't wait to see your makes from these GLORIOUS creations. Your first card is WONDERFUL - love the shimmering blues in the background - PERFECT! Xj.

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  7. Absolutely fabulous Autumn ! Love all of the backgrounds but I think the tissue one just pips the rest, but they're all gorgeous ! Sue C x

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  8. ooo this is fabulous Autumn - really love this to pieces xx So much information! Thankyou x

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  9. Love your dark and moody board! Cant wait to see what you create next!

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  10. Fabulous tutorial and brilliant different effects
    Carol x

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  11. Brilliant ideas Autumn! Thanks for tutorials! A great lesson in crafting.
    Lula x

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  12. These are brilliant - will definetly try some of these!

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  13. Thank you so much for this creative and very interesting blog post...learnt lots x

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  14. Oh, Autumn, what gorgeous backgrounds! I really love the first one with the vibrant blue against the black. It's so striking! You are so amazing, and I love the way you create! Hugs, sweet friend!

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  15. Thanks for an educational and inspiring tutorial. I learnt so much from your blog post and I especially love the finished tag. Look forward to seeing the rest of them pop up :D

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  16. Oh, what a great tutorial, thank you Autumn!!!
    I love your dark backgrounds collection, this is a feast for the eyes!! Loving also your pinnable image for reminder later (just pinned on my 'techniques' board). Thanks again :) Coco xx

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  17. Brilliant Autumn, so many fabulous ideas here! xx

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