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What is masking fluid, exactly? What can it be used for when painting with watercolor? How do you avoid damaging your paper and other accidents when bringing masking fluid into the watercolor painting process? Though masking fluid is not necessary for beautiful watercolor paintings, it is a great tool to learn about and start exploring when you're looking to take your skills to the next level. Masking fluid (otherwise known as liquid frisket) is, essentially, liquid latex. It's placed on paper in liquid state and dries quickly, creating a "film" that will keep areas of your watercolor paper protected so that you can go about freely painting over them. This is important because, when painting with watercolor, the white paper stands in place for our highlights and helps us create light value areas. *No white paint is necessary as we're using the medium's translucency, in combination with the white paper underneath, to develop our different values/tones.* If we don't plan for highlights or light value areas, our paintings are going to lack dimension and that "glow" that is so particular to watercolor. If we don't find ways to integrate the paper as part of the painting, we'll likely end up with a piece that looks flat, heavy, and even overworked. Yes, we can plan for highlight shapes and simply work around them without using masking fluid, but in some cases, this can be very challenging and it can feel like walking on eggshells. Especially because, once we've painted our paper, there's no going back to the whiteness the paper once had.
*This real-time, fully-narrated watercolor tutorial is available on Patreon.*
Aside from using masking fluid to protect highlight areas, it can be used to create textures and interesting effects. You can place it on paper using different tools such as paintbrushes, pens, an old toothbrush, toothpicks, etc., depending on your objectives and the effects you're after.
*This real-time, fully-narrated watercolor tutorial is available on Patreon.*
*A word of caution* Because masking fluid is liquid latex, it's important to work in a well-ventilated area. It's also important to take precautions if you'll be using paintbrushes. I'd never recommend using your favorite watercolor brushes to place masking fluid, as it can very easily damage your paintbrush bristles. While there are certain things you can do to protect your paintbrush bristles such as coating them with dishwashing soap or liquid hand soap before dipping them into masking fluid, they'll still get damaged them over time. The 10 must-know masking fluid tips shared in the video below will help you use masking fluid more effectively and avoid undesired accidents.
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Using Masking Fluid With Watercolor- 5 Best Tips 1. Go in with a strategy and make time for practice whenever needed Before placing your masking fluid, set specific objectives you have for it. For example:
I'd recommend writing down the phases/steps that you're thinking of going through in order to arrive at your desired outcome. Decide at what point in the process you'll be removing your masking fluid. *As an FYI: I tend to remove my masking fluid when I'm around 70%-80% of the way through the painting process. Finally, would it be helpful for you to practice laying down thin lines, marks or shapes with your masking fluid placement tool on a scrap piece of paper before applying it on your final piece? *If you've never used the tool before, the answer should always be 'yes'! 2. Explore different tools for placing your masking fluid Don't close yourself off and use only one single tool for masking fluid placement! Explore and experiment with different "alternative" tools that'll help you create different effects, such as toothpicks for thin/tapered lines or an old toothbrush for splattering effects. I only use brushes when I have to fill in medium to large shapes or areas. I love bringing in toothpicks to create grass textures in landscapes or scenes, and doing splattering with old brushes with stiff bristles for interesting textures. Different tools will create very different effects, and exploring will open up your horizons to help you arrive at unique results. 3. When using paintbrushes, protect them! As a rule of thumb, I never use watercolor brushes I like and use for painting, to place my masking fluid. This is because masking fluid can very quickly damage those bristles and leave paintbrushes completely unusable. Not only does masking fluid dry fast and hard on paintbrush bristles, but it's impossible to remove after it has dried. Whenever you do need to bring in a paintbrush for masking fluid placement, I'd recommend using older/cheaper brushes that you don't care for much. I's also suggest protecting its bristles by coating them with soap (liquid hand soap, dishwashing soap or bar soap all work), before dipping your paintbrush in masking fluid. 4. Mind your paper Using masking fluid on cheap or thin paper is a huge no-no because it's highly likely that you'll damage it when it is removed. If you're going to be bringing in masking fluid, you want to make sure that you're using quality paper that can tolerate this kind of technique, such as this one from Arches or this one from Canson. I always make sure to use watercolor paper that's at least 140 lbs/300 gsm in thickness or weight, as well as 100% cotton. If I'm trying out new paper, I make sure to do some tests before applying masking fluid on my final piece. 5. Allow things to dry When you're using masking fluid for watercolor painting, make sure that you: a) Place your masking fluid on dry paper. Unless you're really going for more explorational techniques which you've tried out before working on your final piece. b) Allow it to dry completely before painting over it. If you're using colorless masking fluid, it should look yellowish and transparent, and no longer opaque white. When dry, it feels tacky but no longer sticky to the touch. c) Make sure your painting is completely dry before you remove it. I wouldn't recommend using a hair dryer or other tool to speed up the drying process when masking fluid has been placed on paper as the heat can make the fluid adhere more strongly. *How long masking fluid takes to dry will depend on how thinly or thickly its been placed on paper, as well as the temperature and humidity of the environment you're working in. It can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to dry. *You can use clean, dry hands to gently rub off your masking fluid, or a rubber cement pick up. 6. Soften edges or making masked out shapes smaller whenever needed If, after having removed your masking fluid, you feel that you've been left with stark white shapes that are too large, you can always soften edges or make those shapes smaller. Soften edges by going over them with *gentle* scrubbing using a clean, slightly damp brush. I make sure to do this very gently and only 2-3 times max over the same area in order not to damage my paper. You can also paint inside the shapes to make them smaller. When I do this, I make sure to go in with watered down/pale color and build up from there if needed.
7. Don't shake your bottle! Shaking your bottle creates air bubbles, which can make it more difficult to place your masking fluid on paper effectively. Air bubbles can lead to undesired textures and effects, as the masking fluid is not placed evenly on your paper. If you need to add in a bit of water to slightly modify your masking fluid's consistency (more on this in the next point), use a stick or tool to gently/slowly stir them together to create a homogenous mixture. 8. You can add a bit of water to change the consistency Over time and as air enters your masking fluid bottle, it's likely that its consistency will change and become thicker. You can add a bit of water to it to change its consistency if you're finding it difficult to place on paper, but make sure that you don't add too much! Adding too much water will change the fluid's resistant properties and it won't be able to do it's work. I'd recommend adding a drop of water at a time, mixing it in gently, and adding just a couple more if needed. You can use a pipette for this. 9. Make sure you're closing your masking fluid bottle tight When you're done, close your bottle as tightly as possible and store it in a cool, dry place. If air is able to get into the bottle, your masking fluid will thicken way faster and become unusable. 10. Don't leave masking fluid on your paper for too long Because masking fluid can adhere more strongly to paper over time, be careful not to leave it on too long. If you leave it on too long or pull it off too quickly, your paper can get damaged/torn. I've never had any problems with Arches paper, even after leaving it on for over two weeks, but other papers are more prone to tearing. How long you're able to leave your masking fluid on watercolor paper is going to vary depending on the quality of the paper, its thickness, and the environment it's stored in. As a rule of thumb, now-a-days, I try to not leave it on my paper for more than a week. For a list of my favorite art supplies, go here. Hope this one was helpful. If you have any other masking fluid tips of your own to share, or any questions, feel free to leave them below. Enjoy your art practice!
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Looking for new techniques to make your watercolor paintings more unique and interesting? What are watercolor blooms and how are they created? Watercolor is a challenging, but extremely rewarding painting medium. As opposed to mediums like acrylics or oils, watercolor encourages us to be light-handed, to embrace surprises, and to not overly describe our subjects. Because plenty of water is brought in throughout the painting process, there's only so much that we can actually control. In order to arrive at great watercolor paintings, we must learn to balance between strategizing and letting go. Yes, it's important to think critically and go in with a plan in order to arrive at the results that we're after, but it's also important to allow the water/paint to do their own thing and to embrace surprises that happen along the way. By learning new techniques, we develop a deeper knowledge of the medium and discover new ways to make more intentional use of the unique effects that watercolor allows. Blooms are one of the effects that this medium is known for. They are a great technique to know about, as they can help us add great visual textures, as well as deliberate points of interest to our artwork. Today, I'm excited to share another very helpful guest blog post that shares lots of information about watercolor blooms, and 5 different ways they can be created. Dee Maene is a London-based artist and art teacher. She has a deep love for watercolor and enjoys exploring different artistic mediums, including digital drawing and painting. Dee enjoys bringing in experimentation and play into her creative practice, and has a passion to encourage others to do the same. She likes pushing herself artistically, and strives to produce artwork that's not only beautiful, but meaningful. Without much further ado, let's jump into her article! 5 Ways To Create Beautiful Watercolor Blooms
By Dee Maene
Watercolor blooms are a great way to add life to your paintings. They are also not only incredibly satisfying to create, but relatively easy to do once you get the hang of water control. Blooms happen when a drop of water falls on wet paint and spreads, pushing the paint that's on the paper outwards. They can be created by dropping in clean water into paint, or by dropping in more paint into paint, as long as that initial layer of water/paint is still wet. Watercolor blooms are one of the most magical things that can happen when painting with this medium. They are unique to watercolor and definitely add an element of surprise to the painting process. Another reason why it's important to know different ways to create blooms, is because they enable us to create softer effects that have a more ethereal quality than regular brushstrokes, which can add variety and a touch of elegance to your paintings. So, if you're looking to add a little bit of magic to your watercolor paintings, definitely try experimenting with blooms! There's a variety of different ways blooms can be created and, in this blog post, I'll be sharing 5 techniques that you can start using today. Technique 1: Dropping a Single Color On Water (Basic Watercolor Bloom Technique) One of the simplest and most effective ways to create a watercolor bloom is to drop a single color into water that's been applied on your painting surface. The bloom will happen naturally as the paint spreads out into the water. This technique is especially effective with darker colors, such as blues and greens. Step-by-step process: 1. Pre-wet a section of your paper with clean water using a larger brush and going over the area at least 3-4 times to arrive at an even sheen. 2. Swivel your paintbrush in your container of water to pre-wet it, and load it with nice, juicy color you've prepared on your mixing palette. 3. Touch the tip of your brush to the surface of the water. 4. Allow the color to drop from the brush onto the water. 5. Repeat steps 3-4 until you have achieved the desired effect. 6. Allow the bloom to dry before adding additional colors or details. This basic technique can be used to create a wide variety of effects, from delicate flowers in landscapes and scenes, to textures and points of interest in abstract pieces. With a little practice, you'll be able to produce beautiful blooms that are truly one-of-a-kind.
Dropping paint into wet paper.
Technique 2: Dropping In Two Colors The graded watercolor blooms technique is achieved by dropping two colors side-by-side on wet paper. The colors will mix together where they meet and create a bloom effect. This technique is best achieved with two colors that have high levels of pigment, such as Magenta and Cobalt Blue. It's important to work quickly when dropping the colors onto the paper, as you want them to mix together before they start to dry. Also, make sure that you completely remove the previous color from your paintbrush bristles before loading your paintbrush with the next color. To create a more pronounced bloom effect, you can drop the colors from a higher height, farther away from the surface. This technique can be used to create beautiful and atmospheric paintings with a soft and ethereal quality. I often use this technique when creating galaxy watercolor paintings.
Dropping in a different color on or beside a previous color.
Technique 3: Using Salt The salt technique is another great way to create blooms, though this one is more so used to create visual texture in larger areas. By sprinkling salt on wet paint, you can achieve a variety of effects depending on the amount and type of salt used. For example, coarse salt will create larger blooms, while fine salt will create smaller blooms. You can also experiment with different types of salt, such as Epsom salt and Kosher salt, to see what effects they produce. In addition, you can control the intensity of the blooms by adjusting the amount of salt you use. A little salt will create subtle blooms and less visual texture, while a lot of salt will create more dramatic blooms and a higher visual texture. Whether you're looking for delicate flowers in landscapes, or to add snow into snow scenes, using salt is a great way to add interest to your watercolor paintings. Step-by-step process: 1. Paint a wash of color on your paper (I'd recommend using a darker color). 2. Sprinkle in salt, while the paint is still wet. 3. Allow paint to dry completely. 4. Dust off salt to reveal the beautiful visual texture.
Dropping in salt into wet paint. *Left image shows salt granules just dropped into wet paint. Right image shows the texture created once the paint has dried and salt hast been removed.
Technique 4: Dropping Clean Water Into Color We can also create watercolor blooms by dripping clean water on wet paint. The drop of water spreads and pushes the paint outwards, revealing more of the white paper underneath and creating a whitish bloom. Step-by-step process: 1. Start by painting a shape on your paper with any color. You can drop in another color if you'd like. 2. While the paint is still wet, use a dropper, a pipette, or a paintbrush loaded with only a small amount of water, to slowly drip water onto the center of the shape. 3. Allow to dry. You can control the size and shape of the bloom by adjusting the amount of clean water you drop in. Experiment with different colors and techniques to create unique blooms. By splattering clean water on wet paint, a mottled texture can be achieved via tiny blooms!
Dropping in water into wet paint. *Image on the left shows water that has been dropped into wet paint. Image on the right shows visual texture created when paint has been splattered onto wet paint.
Technique 5: Splattering Color Into Water Flicking wet paint on wet paper, whether it's been pre-wetted with clean water or a colored wash has been applied, is an easy and fun way to create a speckled texture. You can use any color paint you like, but I find that using two or three colors works best. The consistency of your color mixture has to contain a good amount of paint in it, and some amount of water. Make sure your mixture doesn't have so much water that you start dripping water all over your painting and too much water runs down your paintbrush as you're doing your flicking. Hold the brush close to the paper and then quickly flick your wrist so that the bristles hit the paper with a light tap. Another way you can do this by loading up your paintbrush with paint, and use your Index finger to flick your paintbrush bristles. This second option works great when you're using synthetic brushes that have spring-y bristles that "snap" back. You can experiment with varying the amount of paint on the brush, the type and size of paintbrush used, and the distance from the paper, to get different effects. Once you've made a few dots, take a clean brush and blend them together lightly. Add more dots if you want a fuller effect. Allow the paint to dry completely before framing or displaying your work.
Flicking/splattering paint on wet paper. *Image on left shows two different colors splattered on paper. Image on right shows red paint splattered on orange paint that was still wet. The wetter the paper is, the more "blurred" and soft the edges of those shapes will be.
Must-Know Tips For Better Watercolor Blooms 1. Choose the right type of paper Different types of paper absorb water differently, and this can impact your painting. Choose a good-quality watercolor paper that is thick enough to hold the water without buckling or warping. I recommend using cold-pressed paper that is at least 140 lb/300 gsm. This type of paper is thick enough to hold the water without warping, and it will also give your painting a nice textured finish. If you're looking for a smooth finish, you can use hot press watercolor paper. This type of paper has a smooth surface that is ideal for painting detailed blooms. Just keep in mind that hot press paper is a bit more delicate and can warp more easily. 2. Use a light touch When painting watercolor blooms, it's important to use a light touch. This will help prevent the paint from spreading too much and ruining your painting. If you want more control over the way your watercolor paint flows, use a smaller brush and add the paint slowly, building up the color gradually. I use a size 3 or 4 round brush for most of my watercolor blooms. And remember, you can always add more paint if you need to, but it's much harder to remove paint once it's on the paper. So start with a light touch and then build up the color gradually until you get the effect you're looking for. 3. Add water sparingly Too much water can cause the paint to run and make your blooms look muddy. Add water sparingly, and only when necessary, to avoid this problem. I like to use a small spray bottle to mist my paper before I start painting. This gives the paint something to cling to so that it doesn't run too much when I add water. If you do accidentally add too much water, simply blot the excess moisture with a paper towel. Be careful not to rub the paint too hard, or you'll end up with a blurry bloom. 4. Use different colors for variation One of the best things about watercolor blooms is that you can use any color you want. To add interest and variation, try using two or three colors instead of just one. I like to use a light color for the base of the bloom and then add a darker color around the edge. This creates a nice contrast that makes the blooms pop. You can also experiment with different color combinations to see what you like best. Just remember to stay within a similar color family so that you don't accidentally create a color you don't want when they start intermixing. 5. Experiment and have fun The best way to learn how to paint watercolor blooms is to allow yourself to explore, simply for the fun of it. Try different techniques, colors, and papers until you find a look that you love. And don't be afraid to make mistakes. Watercolor is a forgiving medium, and even the most experienced painters make mistakes. Just relax and enjoy the process. With a little practice, you'll be able to create beautiful watercolor blooms! Frequently Asked Questions What is a bloom in watercolor? A bloom is a type of watercolor painting technique where paint is spread outwards from a central point, creating a flower or cauliflower-like effect. How to avoid watercolor blooms? There are a few things you can do to avoid watercolor blooms: use the right type of paper, use a light touch, and develop great water control. It's all about making sure that the amount of water in your paint mixtures, in your paintbrush bristles, and on your paper is what you need for what you're trying to do. If there's too much water in any of these, or not enough, it'll be hard to arrive at the effects you're after. This is why we have to constantly check on these three things during the painting process. What causes watercolor blooms? Watercolor blooms are caused by adding water to wet paint. The water disturbs the paint, pushing it outwards and creating a bloom effect. How do you control watercolor blooms? You can control the size and shape of watercolor blooms by adjusting the amount of water you add. Experiment with different techniques to get the results you want. What causes back-runs watercolor painting? Back-runs are created when we drop in way too much water (or watery paint) on paint that is still wet. If our paper is still wet, and we're going to be dropping in paint or clean water to create blooms, we have to be in control of the amount that we're dropping in. If too much drips down, it can flow into areas we don't want and we can create splotches. It's all about water control! The more you practice, the more easily you'll be able to tell when there's way too much water in the three key areas mentioned before (paint mixtures-paintbrush-paper). You'll intuitively change the paint-to-water ratios in your mixtures, load up your paintbrush more or less, and add more water to your paper (or allow it to dry), depending on what you're intending to do in that point in time in the painting process. Practice these five key techniques to create beautiful blooms in your watercolor paintings. Remember to experiment and have fun with this medium – the possibilities are endless! I hope this post was helpful and inspiring for all of you getting started with watercolors! Thanks so much to Dee Maene for so generously sharing all of this useful information with us. Thank you for reading and I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your art journey. Confused as to why your watercolor landscapes are looking unrealistic and flat?Looking for best ways to create realistic greens for your watercolor botanical pieces? How can you make unnatural looking greens in your watercolor sets look more realistic? Lots of beginners getting started on their journey with watercolor struggle with creating lively, interesting greens. This is not surprising, as many greens included in commercial watercolor sets are very unnatural straight out of the pan/tube, and they usually haven't taken time to learn about the Color Wheel and color relationships, or how to mix colors in order to modify their saturation and value. Add to this the fact that, when working with watercolor, having good water control and understanding that we're working with a translucent medium is a must. Without this skill and understanding, you'll likely create heavy, flat-looking paintings even with great green mixtures! My advice? Start by understanding the characteristics that set watercolor apart from other painting mediums, such as: -Watercolor is transparent (not opaque like acrylics, oils or gouache). We're meant to use this translucency to develop depth, but also arrive at an end result that is light and seems to glow from within. -We paint on paper, which is inherently more delicate and easier to overwork than, say, canvas or wood. Because of this, it's essential to learn when we have to allow the paper to dry. -We're using thin layers of paint and are not looking to cover up our entire painting area with thick layers of paint as we would when working with opaque mediums. -We're planning/saving our highlights throughout the painting process, as it's the whiteness of the paper that'll stand in place for our lightest areas, as well as other light value sections in which we're looking to incorporate the brightness and beauty of the paper as part of the piece. -Because the white of the paper stands in place for our lightest value areas, and we're using translucent paint, no white paint is necessary. -We use plenty of water along the way and are constantly modifying the water- to-paint ratios in our mixtures depending on whether we want lighter/paler color or darker/more saturated color. After familiarizing yourself with the basics of the medium on hand, start learning about the Color Wheel, as this will help you to understand relationships between different colors, as well as essential Color Theory-related topics such as Color Temperature, Value and Saturation. By developing these basic skills and knowledge on these key topics, mixing believable and lively greens will be a breeze! In the thorough video below, I share my two main strategies for creating realistic green color mixtures, how to further desaturate/mute out greens by adding different colors, and also how I paint a tree that shows a variety of green values for depth.
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For a list of my favorite art supplies, go here. Two Strategies for Creating Natural, Lively Greens with Watercolor Strategy #1: Using a Base/Ready-Made Green Choose a "base" green to work with, making sure to notice how warm (yellow-biased) or cool (blue-biased) it is. You can use any green, but depending on whether it's very warm or cool biased (or somewhere in-between), you're probably going to have to add more or less of your other colors. Choose a yellow and a blue to add into your "base" green. To create your lighter green, mix yellow into it. To create a dark green, mix blue into it. In the video above, you can see me explore adding two different yellows and two different blues into my base green so that you can see how the addition of different colors leads to different lighter and darker greens. For this strategy, you can see your "base" green as your "midtone" or "medium" green. Continue modifying the ratios of the colors in your color mixtures until you arrive at a lighter green, a medium green and a darker green. With these color mixtures created on your palette, you'll be ready to paint greenery that has depth and dimension to it. I'd highly recommend trying out the exercises shared in the video to start getting comfortable with color mixing and to get to know the colors you're able to create with the set you have. Strategy #2: Using Yellow and Blue to Create Green Choose a blue and a yellow, then mix them together to create your green. Blue and yellow are Primary Colors that create green (a Secondary color). Take your time modifying your color mixture, adding more blue or yellow, until you mixture looks green on your palette. I'd recommend exploring different blue and yellow combinations you have available, as the temperature of the blue and yellow you use, as well as how dark or light it is, will have a great impact on your end green result. These variables will also have an impact on how muted/desaturated your end result is. In the video above you can see me exploring both warm and cool yellow and blue color combos, and you can see the immense difference in those green results. Some greens look way more natural than others and there's no need to bring in a third color to desaturate it further. To create your lighter greens, simply add more yellow into your mixture. For your darker greens, simply add more blue into your mixture. And, once again, with your light, midtone/medium, and darker green color mixtures ready on your palette, you're set to start painting! Want to mute out a green? Whether you're using a ready-made green or have created your own green mix using either of the aforementioned strategies, here are three ways to make them look a bit more natural: -Add in a bit of green's Complementary Color (opposite to green in the Color Wheel), which is red -Add in a brown/neutral color such as Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Sepia or Van Dyke Brown -Add in Payne's Gray or Neutral Tint
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Eager to learn watercolor painting but confused as to where to start? Have you started on your journey with watercolor, but always experience frustration during your painting processes and/or end up disappointed with your results? Water and brush control are two basic skills that anyone looking to learn watercolor should focus on in the beginning. Why? Because without these two skills, it's going to be very difficult to succeed with pretty much any kind of painting you set out to work on, whether it's a completely abstract piece or something more realistic. My advice for beginners getting started with any new drawing or painting medium is to devote time to explore it without pressuring themselves to complete a full piece or to achieve perfection in any way. Get to know your medium. Do some research to understand what sets it apart from other drawing or painting mediums, and what the main things are that one should know about in order to create a piece that allows it to perform/"shine" to its full capabilities. In this video, I share the top things I wish I knew about watercolor when I was getting started, in which I share these main characteristics. Compare and contrast watercolor paintings with pieces created with opaque painting mediums such as acrylics or oils. Take notes. For example, when it comes to watercolor, we're meant to use the medium's translucency, in combination with the whiteness of the paper under the paint, to create depth and volume. *We don't even need white paint! Another thing that distinguishes watercolor from other painting mediums is the fact that we're working on paper as opposed to canvas, wood or other tougher substrates. And, while we're using paper that's intended for water-soluble mediums, it's still paper. Paper is much more fragile (especially in its wet state) and, thus, it's much more easily overworked/damaged. As opposed to the heaviness that opaque painting mediums can have, when we're working with watercolor, we're trying to achieve a lighter-looking outcome...a piece that seems to glow from within. When the medium's characteristics are taken into account as we're painting, and the basic "rules" are understood (which we can decide to break later), it's much more likely that we'll arrive at the results we're looking for. Aside from doing research and continuing to learn about these things, basic drills and exercises on brush strokes, as well as washes are essential in the beginning. This hands-on practice will help us tackle complete paintings with greater confidence and ease. This said, the following drills and exercises are very helpful, even for artists who're more advanced, as we have to get to know our brushes every time we invest in a new one. In the following watercolor tutorial video, I walk you step-by-step through the main brush strokes to practice as a beginner, as well as the three must-know washes. I'd recommend practicing these in a sketchbook that's intended for watercolor, or on accessibly priced (but quality) watercolor paper. Find a list of my favorite watercolor supplies here.
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Basic Watercolor Brush Strokes*For these brush stroke exercises, I'd recommend using a medium-sized brush, whether it's a flat or a round (or both!). Something around a size 8-14 would do perfectly. Another suggestion that'll increase your practice is creating your strokes in different directions (horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc.). 1. Thin Lines To create thin lines, touch just the tip of your paintbrush to your paper and drag from one edge of your paper to the other with one consistent, flowing brush stroke. Do your best to keep the thickness of your line as consistent as possible from start to finish. This means that only the tip of your paintbrush should be coming into contact with your paper from beginning to end. 2. Thick Lines To create thick lines, you'll have to press down the belly of your paintbrush to your paper. Just like with the thin lines, try to keep that pressure and the thickness of your lines consistent from start to finish. You'll likely notice dry brushing effects near the ends of your lines, as paint and water start running out from your bristles. Dry brushing is shown near the end (right) of my thick lines in the image below. You can see specks of white paper showing through, where my paint/water started running out and the color wasn't covering the paper as smoothly. 3. Thin-to-Thick Lines For thin-to-thick lines, the pressure you're exerting on your paintbrush changes as you move from one edge to the other. In other words, your arm is moving laterally, but you're simultaneously lifting and pressing, over and over. This creates variations in thickness throughout that line. The challenge is to always have at least a bit of contact with the paper from start to finish.
4. C-Strokes These are short, curved strokes that start out wider and taper at their tail ends. Essentially, you press down the belly of your brush at the top, and release that pressure as you move towards the end of that stroke, all the while drawing a curve or "c" shape. 5. Flicking For this one, you flick your wrist upwards (or in whichever direction you'd like) in one quick, short stroke. There's no need to press down your paintbrush bristles onto your paper very much at all, but at the end of the flicking motion, you do want to lift your bristles from your paper in order to have that tapered look at the end. You want the "base" or "root" of your stroke to have a slightly thicker look than the end. This brush stroke is very handy when adding grass to landscapes. 6. Bouncing I think of bouncing as a form of stamping. All you have to do after you've loaded up your paintbrush, is press down its bristles so that their entirety comes into contact with your paper, and lift. On and on. There is no dragging or lateral movement of any kind. Just press and lift, and press and lift. You can imagine how much of a difference it would make if I had used a flat brush instead of a round, as the "stamped" shapes would not look like water drops or leaves, but would be more boxy/angular. This one is great to create the illusion of leaves when painting nearby trees and plants. 7. Scribbling To do scribbling (shown in orange in the image below), loosen up your wrist and really practice using your paintbrush in a variety of different ways. You're looking for irregularity all throughout (no organized patterns or perfect shapes) and this is created via shifting and changing the pressure you're exerting on your paintbrush, but also the angle you're using your paintbrush at (90°/45°/30° from your paper, etc.), and the direction you're painting towards. You're moving your paintbrush up and down, but also laterally in different ways. Curves and loops are also great. Just let your wrist go and embrace irregularity! 8. Scribbling + Bouncing This is a combination of both techniques which can be seen in the image below at the top (the magenta/purplish color). You'll notice some visible "stamped" leaf/drop shapes, while other shapes are more irregular in terms of their shape and size. This technique is also great for leaves of plants and trees. 9. Dark-to-Light Lines With one same load of your paintbrush, you start at the top by painting a line using the color at its most saturated (darkest) state. In between each line, you dip your paintbrush in your container of water 1-2 times, remove the excess water, and paint the next line. Then you dip your paintbrush in your container of water again, remove the excess water, paint the next line, and so on and so forth until you reach the bottom. This is a great exercise for water control and understanding translucency, as well as the wide range of values you can create with only one color. 3 Must-Know Watercolor Washes
*For these watercolor wash exercises, I'd recommend larger sized brushes, whether a large round/mop or a flat brush. The larger the painting area, the larger the brush you'll want to use. These strips I prepared for myself were around 3 inches in width and 6 inches in height. I used a 3/4" flat brush. It's important to create enough juicy/saturated color mixtures for yourself on your color mixing palette and to work quickly as you're laying down that color. The less moving around of paint that you do after it's been placed on paper, the better. 1. Flat Wash The objective with the flat wash is to paint consistent/uniform color all throughout the shape. What's important to take into account with this one is that, as you're making your way down (or upwards or sideways), your color will start running out from your paintbrush bristles and it'll become lighter and lighter. How quickly this happens depends on the size of the space you're painting in, as well as the size of the paintbrush you're using. If the shape you're filling up with color is relatively small, and you're using a large brush, perhaps you'll make it through with just one load. On the other hand, if you're trying to fill a larger space, and are using a smaller brush, you're going to have to reload way more often. Keep your eye on the paper as you're filling that shape in and notice if/when the color is becoming weaker and, when it does, quickly load up your paintbrush with more paint and pick up where you left off before the paint that's on your paper starts to dry. 2. Graded Wash For the graded wash, you're looking for your color to become lighter (or darker) as you move up/down. You're looking for a gradual change in value/translucency of the color you're laying down. As opposed to the flat wash, you want your color to start running out from your paintbrush bristles so that it becomes weaker and weaker as you go. Keep your eye on your paper and, as your making your way down filling in that shape, make sure your color is becoming more translucent. If it's not, quickly dip your paintbrush in your container of water a couple of times, remove the excess water, and come back to pick up the edge of your shape where you left off. I usually have to dip my paintbrush in my container of water to weaken that color at least a couple of times throughout the process to ensure that, when I reach the end of that wash, my color will be at its most translucent. 3. Variegated Wash In a variegated wash, one color gradually turns into another color, which means we'll need at least a couple of different colors. I'd recommend getting started with colors that are Analogous (right next to each other) in the color wheel. By choosing Analogous colors, you'll ensure vibrant transition colors throughout the gradient you create. Complementary colors (opposites in the color wheel) mute each other out, and you can accidentally create muddiness or grays/browns in between, where your two colors merge together. To create a variegated wash, paint in a section of your shape with one of your colors and then remove all of that color from your paintbrush bristles, remove the excess water, load up your paintbrush with the next color and paint in the rest of the shape. In the video, I painted in the blue until I got around halfway down, I removed the blue from my paintbrush bristles, loaded up my paintbrush with purple and worked on the transitional gradient by overlapping this purple on top of the blue in the middle section. I then removed the blue-purple from my paintbrush bristles, reloaded with just purple, and finished that last third so that I would only have purple as I made my way towards the bottom. I hope this post was helpful and wish you lots of progress and enjoyment as you move forward in your journey with watercolor. Would you love to paint animals using watercolor, but find it a bit intimidating? Have you tried painting animals in the past, just to end up disappointed and frustrated with your results? Would you like to be able to create animal paintings that are impactful and full of life? For animal-loving artists like myself, it can be incredibly rewarding to paint one successfully, in a way that communicates its beauty. One of the pieces of advice I most frequently give to my students and art community members over on Patreon, is to make time to break up complex compositions (or subjects) into elements, techniques and/or layers that can be practiced in isolation. This way, when we sit down to work on the complete piece, we're not only much more likely to be successful, but we'll also enjoy the process a lot more due to the understanding and confidence we've built through this previous practice and prep work. And this is exactly what I did in the video below in order to push my ability to paint animals using watercolor. I found three (quality) reference images of very different sets of animal eyes so that I could challenge myself and dove right into these studies. You can check out the three painting processes below.
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This goes without saying, but eyes are one of, if not the, most important parts of any portrait, whether we're drawing/painting a person or an animal. Why? Eyes are able to transmit the person's or animal's essence and personality and, if drawn or painted well, they can make the entire piece come to life. Which means, they can also break the piece, if drawn or painted poorly. Oftentimes, artists decide to make eyes the focal point and draw more attention to them by making use of techniques such as: - Bringing in higher levels of detail in the eye area - Creating higher tonal contrast in this area Find a list of my favorite watercolor painting supplies here. Tips for Painting Beautiful Animal Eyes with Watercolor 1. Make time for isolated studies It's super smart to practice different elements and techniques in isolation or via smaller studies, as opposed to jumping right into complete paintings without having done any previous practice or preparation. When I was first getting started on my own painting journey, I used to go right into a brand new drawing or painting expecting a masterpiece, only to end up frustrated with my results. I used to have very high expectations of myself, even when I was getting started with a brand new medium or a subject I had never drawn or painted before. Then I had an awakening. Every-single-type of subject, whether it's a portrait, a landscape, a still life arrangement, etc., can be broken down into things that can be practiced separately. Taking time to practice things that we feel might be challenging for us before jumping in can make all the difference in the world. As mentioned before, this kind of prep work makes it much more likely that we'll not only end up with a final piece we love, but that we'll actually enjoy the process much more. For example, if you love drawing or painting portraits, learning about the anatomy of different facial features and and practicing each in isolation without the overwhelm of drawing/painting an entire face, is going to inform your final piece immensely. If you love drawing or painting landscapes, creating studies of different types of skies, trees and things like water or flowers, will make it much more likely that you'll succeed at that final piece. When it comes to painting animal eyes, understanding their structure, as well as their different parts is incredibly powerful. If we don't take time to study them, it can be easy to leave out little elements that are important in order for them to look believable. 2. Use high-quality reference photos When we're trying to achieve higher levels of realism, it's essential to work with references, at least in the beginning. In fact, I'd recommend both using photos, as well as drawing/painting from direct observation (otherwise known as drawing/painting from life). Why? Because without references and material to inform your work, you'll most likely be making up information and drawing/painting subjects the way you think they look like, and not what they actually look like. Unless you have a photographic memory or are a genius of some kind, of course. Plus, realism is all about those subtleties and details, which are super easy to forget if we don't have the subject in front of us in one way or another. Even if your goal is to later be able to draw things from imagination, using references is going to help you develop your observational skills and understand about Art Fundamentals such as light behavior, form and perspective, all of which are key and impossible to understand if you don't study what things look like in real life. Having said all this, learning to select the right reference photos for drawing or painting is essential, as we can make the process way harder for ourselves if we're trying to create a drawing or painting using a low quality image. Here are a few things to make sure your reference photo shows if you'll be using it as a reference for your artwork:
3. Choose your paintbrush sizes and switch between them mindfully along the way Before getting started with your painting, choose the specific paintbrushes you'll be using for both outside of the eyes, as well as for the detail inside of the eyeballs. The fur around the eyes can be described in a much more abstract/looser way and, at least for those first layers, medium sized paintbrushes work best (I like using round brushes in sizes 14-16). For the detail inside the eyes, we usually want much more control. Inside those eyeballs, we have very small (yet super important) elements to add in, such as the tear duct, the pupil, tear lines, etc., many of which we want sharp and defined. We also have to be able to work around those little highlights in the eyeballs, as these are essential in making the eyes look lifelike. For complete animal paintings or things like eyelashes, etc., it's also important to choose a very thin detailing paintbrush. I'd recommend practicing drawing thin lines with whatever paintbrush you choose before adding them in. 4. Plan when/where you're going to be using wet-on-wet techniques vs. wet-on-dry techniques *Wet-on-wet: Applying/dropping in paint onto paper that has been pre-wetted with clean water or has a layer of paint that's still wet- Great for organic color gradients, soft transitions from more saturated color to more translucent color and blurred edges. *Wet-on-dry: Applying paint on paper that is completely dry - Great for sharp, defined edges. Before starting with any watercolor painting, it's advisable to think of a strategy that'll help you arrive at the effects/outcome that you're looking for. As opposed to opaque painting mediums such as acrylics or oils, we're not able to cover up our mistakes with a layer of paint. Not to mention, saving our highlights is essential and, once paint touches paper, there's no going back to the whiteness the paper once had. And, yes, you can decide to add in your highlights at the end with white gouache or another medium, but it's important to understand that when we're working with watercolor, we're playing with the medium's translucency and the whiteness of the paper underneath to create a variety of different values. Usually, we want the whiteness of our paper to stand in place for our highlights and no white paint is actually necessary when working with watercolor, if we save those whites. I'd highly recommend not getting started until you have at least a general idea of how many layers of paint you're thinking of going in with, as well as which areas you want to use wet-on-wet techniques in, which areas you want to use wet-on-dry in, and which will require a layering of both. Also, along the painting process, continue asking yourself whether it's important to allow a layer of paint to dry before going in with the next. For example, when painting many of the details inside of the eyeball (highlights, pupil, etc.), you're probably going to want to go in wet-on-dry in order to achieve sharp outlines, but for the fur and elements around the eyes, wet-on-wet can come it very handy. Transitions between colors within the pupil can oftentimes also be created wet-in-wet. Five minutes of planning before getting started can go a long way in having a smoother painting process, and arriving at way more successful results! 5. Remember the spherical nature of the eyeball If you've never tried painting a sphere using watercolor before, it's extremely helpful, as eyeballs have a spherical form. *There are animals such as owls that don't have spherical eyes. Aside from the eyeball being a sphere, we need to remember that eyeballs are set deep within the skull and are covered/wrapped by an upper and lower eyelid with creates outwards/convex volume in the head shape. The sphere in itself is going to have different values throughout it, and the eyelids create shadows on the sphere, too! When we're drawing or painting human eyes, we're able to see much more of the sclera (the whites of the eyes), and it's easier to tell different values throughout it. Just like when drawing or painting teeth, even though the sclera is essentially white/off-white they are never one flat white value. If we leave them with only one flat value, and don't try to understand their 3D form, we risk our outcome looking quite cartoony and it will retract from the level of realism in the piece, even if the rest of the piece is realistically rendered. 6. Plan your highlights and keep them protected throughout the painting process Notice the highlights and lighter values in the reference photo both inside of the eyes as well as around them, and think of the strategy you'll be using to keep them protected throughout the painting process. Are you going to be using masking fluid to keep lightest lights protected, or will you be painting around them carefully? Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you plan for them, as once you cover up that paper with paint, there's no going back to the whiteness the paper once had. Those highlights are incredibly important to make those eyes come alive and look moist and realistic. Also, the more we can do to understand the structure of the animals head (brow ridge, snout size, rounded areas around the eyes, etc.) the more 3D and realistic our painting will tend to look. This is why doing skull studies is so valuable! 7. Start with a bright yellow layer in the eyeball when appropriate Whenever it makes sense, I like starting with a semi-translucent layer of bright yellow in the iris/pupil (avoiding the highlights), as this provides a glow to the eyes. Usually I like doing this with a color such as Gamboge or Permanent Yellow Medium. This works very well when the animal's eyes are amber colored and even green. However, I didn't use this strategy for the husky eyes I share above, because these eyes are blue and I would risk turning them green (yellow + blue= green). 8. Mindfully use soft/blurred transitions vs. defined edges When painting eyes, we're usually going to need a combo of shapes with soft/blurred out edges and hard/defined edges. Notice where these blurred out effects happen and where sharper edges are located in your reference. Usually, we have lots of soft transitions within the pupil, where one color turns gradually into another color. But when it comes to painting elements like little shapes along the tear lines, eyelashes, and pupils in some cases, we want the edges of our shapes to be defined. By giving thought to these things, you'll have a better idea of whether you should be painting on paper that's still wet, or whether you should allow the previous layer to dry completely before adding more detail. It's essential to stay patient! Aside from all this, if we're looking for higher levels of realism, it's important to stay away from the look of obvious/stark outlines around different elements. A lot of animals, such as cats, tend to have a darker (eyeliner type look) around their eyes. This may instinctively make us want to go in and create a hard outline around the entire eye and this will ultimately retract from the level of realism of the piece. In realism, there are no outlines and it's important to notice the subtle changes in values even in these areas that we may initially perceive as dark lines. Usually there's a line weight variation within the elements we initially perceive as lines, such as the tear lines, and even whiskers. Meaning, certain segments of those "lines" are thicker while others are thinner, some are darker while others are lighter. Capturing this leads to a more natural look. Notice moisture and any highlights along the tear lines, too! 9. Pay attention to the length and direction of hair growth around the eyes Whenever we're painting animals that have fur or feathers, it's important to acknowledge their length and the direction they're growing out towards. Not only this, but how this length and growth direction changes throughout its head and body (it's not the same all throughout!). If we mindlessly start laying down marks and lines without paying attention to our reference, we're most likely going to end up with an outcome that doesn't look very realistic, which is why it's so important to keep observing our reference photo. Whether you decide to paint the areas around the eyeballs before or after the eyeballs themselves, switch on over to the paintbrushes that you've selected for this and stay focused when laying down those brushstrokes that are meant to describe fur or feathers. The way you use your paintbrush should reflect the direction and length of that growth. This doesn't meant that you have to paint every-single-hair that you see in the photo (in fact I would never recommend trying to paint each individual hair), but noticing these characteristics and taking them into account as you're laying down those abstract shapes representing those groupings of hair or feathers, is essential. 10. Leave eyelashes and whiskers until the end (or keep them protected with masking fluid) Make sure you don't get ahead of yourself and leave eyelashes and/or whiskers until after the areas beneath and around them have been finalized. Sometimes, though, I do mask out the animal's whiskers using liquid frisket before getting started with the painting process. Generally speaking though, details like whiskers and eyelashes are created with lines or marks that are overlapping the other elements, which is why the layers underneath have to be finished. You don't want to have to go in a fix layers underneath after the whiskers or eyelashes have been added! Be patient and always keep thinking critically in terms of what should come first and what should come later. Also, make sure you're using very small paintbrushes that come to a thin tip for these final details and, if needed, always practice painting thin lines on a scrap piece of paper before going into your painting. This is something I almost always do myself, to the day. In the eye studies I share in this video, I approach the animal's eyelashes in a very abstracted way, using irregular shapes as opposed to trying to draw in every single eyelash in. Whiskers I do either mask out since the beginning or add until the end using white gouache. *Refer to Yellow Labrador watercolor painting above. Find a list of my favorite watercolor painting supplies here. |
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