*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
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. I'll leave some great options at the end of this post.
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
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. 
Check out my FREE Patreon-exclusive tutorial and class samples here.
I hope this post was helpful and wish you lots of progress and enjoyment as you move forward in your journey with watercolor! Supplies: 
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I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.
-Georgia O'Keeffe
Do you constantly ask yourself questions like “Am I doing this right?”, “Who am I kidding? I’m not an artist.”, or “Who am I to be making time for art?” when working on a new piece? Have you ever felt inadequate, like you don’t belong someplace (an art class, art event, art supply store, etc.) or among a group of other artists, even though you’re deeply passionate about being there and share common interests with those around you? Ever struggled with feeling like a fraud, or like someone’s going to pop up and tell you you’re doing it all wrong, even though you’ve been working hard at improving artistically? If you responded ‘yes’ to any or all of these, chances are you’ve struggled (or are struggling) with good ol' Imposter Syndrome. And you’re not alone. It hits so many artists and creatives of all kinds… pretty much most people who’re doing anything big or uncommon. Just in case you’ve never heard of Imposter Syndrome before, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as: ’A false and sometimes crippling belief that one's successes are the product of luck or fraud rather than skill. A pervasive feeling of self-doubt, insecurity, or fraudulence despite often overwhelming evidence to the contrary.’ People who’ve accomplished amazing things have described feeling this way at some point, including Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou, Tom Hanks and David Bowie. Today, I’ll be sharing a few tips that always help me overcome Imposter Syndrome when I feel it creep up. I wanted to get this information and tips out there, as I see so many community members and students struggling, and I’m aware of how paralyzing these negative thoughts/feelings can be. But first, let’s go over a few signs you may be experiencing Imposter Syndrome as an artist, as well as why this phenomenon tends to happen to us so frequently.
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*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Tired of having to depend on tracing and/or using grids when drawing or preparing for a painting? Do you want to be able to confidently sketch while out and about, in a coffee shop, at a park, while on vacation, etc.? Confused as to how artists are able to recreate shapes and proportions effectively when drawing freehand?
Most of my students and community members know that, even though I enjoy using references when drawing or painting (I use both photos as well as draw/paint from direct observation), I'm not a very big believer in tracing and using grids.
Why?
Because, after we've gotten to a certain level with our drawing, sticking to those methods for long periods of time and never challenging oneself with freehand drawing or sketching, tends to hinder our progress in a variety of ways.
For one, tracing and using grids doesn't do much for our development when it comes to our visual measuring skills or our ability to lay down lines confidently.
Not to mention, these methods primarily teach budding artists to create carbon copies of the reference. This may very well be what certain types of artists are seeking, but for artists like myself who are looking to bring expression, personality and even certain amounts of imperfection into our representational pieces, progress would just come much more slowly.
Finally, because these methods focus primarily on copying, there's no reason for artists to further their knowledge of the subject on hand when it comes to proportion, 3D form and even perspective, which are all very important Art Fundamentals to wrap our heads around.
If we don't understand important Art Fundamentals such as perspective and 3D form (and others such as anatomy if we're drawing human figures or portraits), there's just no way that we're going to be able to draw freehand with confidence and ease.
For me, if my drawing practice is not somehow preparing me to draw from direct observation (otherwise known as drawing from life), it's holding me back.
This is just me, though. And I'm aware we all have different goals, styles and ways of working as artists.
But it's also important to be honest with ourselves regarding the types of practice that will help us get to our goals.
Even though I like using references in order to have something to jump off from, I'm not going for 100% replicating or creating a carbon copy of what I'm looking at.
I'm always taking away elements, bringing in elements, manipulating color, looking for ways to bring myself into my work and thinking of ways to improve the overall composition.
And yes, I do believe that using tracing is a great option for beginners just getting started on their drawing/sketching journeys. It could also very well be a great jumping off point, even when the artist has already developed his/her drawing skills and is getting into a new type of subject.
For example, when I was getting started with figure drawing, tracing over full-body poses helped me understand shapes throughout the body and develop that mind-muscle memory to a certain extent before drawing freehand.
I also believe that there is a time and place for tracing and using grids, even when the artist is already highly skilled. Namely, when he/she is short on time, the composition is very complex or large, he/she is teaching classes, working on studies that focus primarily on the painting process, etc.
Still life arrangement in graphite by Erika Lancaster.
It's one thing to trace and use grids when one already knows how to draw and quite another to continue tracing and using grids forever, and ignoring the importance of learning to draw because you want to skip straight to the painting process or whatever it may be.
If you're creating art for the fun of it, then it's perfectly ok.
But if you're really looking to improve your art skills at a deeper level, it'll hinder you.
I've said this once and I'll continue saying it:
Drawing is the basis for all kinds of art.
Even though I sell my paintings and consider myself to be primarily a painter, I'll always continue practicing my drawing/sketching alongside my painting, because I know how much this practice enhances and simplifies my process with everything else.
And, if you're asking yourself if knowing how to draw is necessary if you're looking to develop a highly abstract style, I would say yes.
The only scenario in which I'd consider learning how to draw as not necessary, would be if an artist is looking to do pouring type paintings or Jackson Pollock-type paintings, in which the paint in itself organically creates shapes and the composition is more erratic/less planned.
But, if you're looking to ever leave that, it's essential to know how to draw and learn about Art Fundamentals.
If you know these two at least on a basic level, not only will moving on to painting be much easier, but you'll be able to create higher quality work much faster.
This is why,over on the Becoming Artists membership site, I share both watercolor and drawing/sketching tutorials, as well as full classes and assignments on Art Fundamentals.
In the following video, I share my preliminary sketching (outline sketching) process for recreating effective shapes and proportions freehand.
This is what I do every time I'm working on a new drawing, as well as before getting started with a new watercolor piece.
I also provide lots of tips along the way that'll help beginners move forward faster with their freehand drawing.
After finishing with the preliminary sketching process using regular graphite pencils, I use alternative shading/mark-making techniques (hatching and crosshatching in this case) to develop a wide range of values and create interest/depth.
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
Freehand Sketching Tips for Beginners
1. Take time to find a great reference photo and observe it before getting started
In this past blog post, I talk about the main characteristics that a reference photo should have if we're intending to use it for drawing or painting purposes.
Choosing your reference photo wisely is a must. Otherwise, you might be making the drawing or painting process much harder for yourself than it needs to be.
A few of the things we have to look for are: great lighting, good resolution, and that no important parts of the subject are cropped out.
Once you've found a great art reference photo, or have prepared something to draw from life/direct observation, make time to observe it before putting pencil to paper.
Conclude where the light source is located in relation to the subject(s), take note of the perspective you're viewing the subject(s) from, notice any textures you may have to practice before jumping in, and take note of the different sizes and shapes.
2. Make sure you're drawing lightly (I like using my HB pencil)
Drawing is a refinement process. It's not like when we're writing our name or a sentence, in which we're expected to write everything perfectly right-off-the-bat.
And when we're drawing freehand, we're going to make mistakes along the way that we need to be able to easily fix.
We want to draw lightly for a variety of different reasons: this will help us easily erase mistakes, it'll help us avoid damaging/scratching our paper, and if we're looking to create higher levels of realism, our outline sketch won't show through at the end (in realism there are no outlines).
I always move from harder pencil grades to softer pencil grades in my drawing process.
I explain all about pencil grades and their use throughout the drawing process in the first class of my Drawing for the Total Beginner Mini-Course, which you can access for free along with the Watercolor for the Total Beginner Mini-Course right here.
3. Simplify your subject and use "envelopes" to lay down largest/general shapes
It's essential to be able to simplify what you're looking at and visualize it as simple shapes or forms (or combinations of simple shapes or forms).
*Shapes are flat and 2-dimensional and forms are 3-dimensional and have volume.
I don't worry about recreating curves and shapes perfectly when I'm getting started with a sketch, but simply lay down oversimplified shapes that are blocky and more angular. This helps me, first and foremost, make sense of proportions and locations of different elements in regards to each other.
By starting with largest/general shapes and making our way towards smaller shapes and details, we're able to use our drawing area much more effectively and this also helps our brains compare sizes and widths of different elements more easily. *You can see this entire process in the video above.
As you continue adding in more shapes, constantly relate and compare different elements with each other in terms of their lengths, widths, locations within space, the angles they create upon each other, etc.
Visually break elements down into halves, thirds, fourths, etc. and compare them to each other in this way. There's no shame in using a ruler in the beginning!
As you continue adding more and more elements, you'll likely notice that there are things that need fixing. This is normal, as the more elements you add in, the more points of comparison you'll have.
Continue comparing constantly and refining along the way.
Remember that it's important to take the entire composition (the whole) into account and that achieving effective proportions is all about getting the relationships between different elements right.
4. Whenever you're drawing smaller groupings of elements, take note of overlapping and edges
Whenever a reference has groupings of similar or small overlapping elements, such as the grapes in the one I'm working with above, take note of their edges.
Make sure you're noticing which elements are overlapping which, and how they are sitting on each other, in order to avoid a "floating" look.
5. Lay down horizontal or vertical lines as guides
Our brains tend to and understand straight horizontal or vertical lines a lot more easily than slated or irregular lines.
We can decipher angles, alignments and distances between subjects with greater ease by drawing horizontal or vertical lines (you can use a ruler for this) alongside elements or wherever you feel a line would serve as guidance.
Lots of skilled artists use plumb lines, which are vertical lines that enable them to more easily achieve proper distance, alignment, etc. among different elements.
6. Take your time with the preliminary sketching process
The preliminary sketching process is, quite simply, the foundation for everything else.
You'd never start adding in the windows or painting the walls of a house without making sure that the foundation is solid, right?
Especially when we're looking for higher levels of realism, it's essential to take our time with our preliminary sketch before moving on later parts of the drawing process such as smaller details and shading.
I know it can be exciting to move on to shading, but remember that no amount of shading, texture or detail is going to fix errors in proportion, shapes and perspective.
7. Learn about Art Fundamentals such as 3D form and Perspective
When our objective is to become skilled at drawing or sketching freehand, knowing at least the basics on Art Fundamentals is essential.
Learning how to use your medium (whether graphite, pen and ink, pastel, watercolor, gouache, etc.) and developing your observational skills, is one thing, but learning the fundamentals is quite another.
These go hand in hand.
The list of Art Fundamentals will vary a bit depending on where you look, but the basics include: Elements and Principles of Art, Composition Design, Light Behavior, Anatomy, etc.
I always recommend students learn at least the basics of all of them so that they aren't limited, but once the artist knows the specific subject he/she'll be working with for a long period of time, it's important to delve deeper into the fundamentals that'll help us increase the quality of our work (ex. Anatomy is an important fundamental for portrait/figurative artists, Perspective is important for urban sketchers and landscape artists, etc.).
8. Practice with the 4-Quadrant Method
There is one method that I practiced with a lot when I was just getting started, which helped me develop much needed skills for freehand sketching a lot faster.
I still use it to the day when I'm working with specific subjects and/or want to make sure I'm using my drawing space as effectively as possible.
This is a method I always introduce to my students when I'm just getting started with them and they've seen great success through consistent practice with it.
Become an art email insider to get FREE Class on the 4-Quadrant Method!
In this past blog post, I talk about the main characteristics that a reference photo should have if we're intending to use it for drawing or painting purposes.
Choosing your reference photo wisely is a must. Otherwise, you might be making the drawing or painting process much harder for yourself than it needs to be.
A few of the things we have to look for are: great lighting, good resolution, and that no important parts of the subject are cropped out.
Once you've found a great art reference photo, or have prepared something to draw from life/direct observation, make time to observe it before putting pencil to paper.
Conclude where the light source is located in relation to the subject(s), take note of the perspective you're viewing the subject(s) from, notice any textures you may have to practice before jumping in, and take note of the different sizes and shapes.
2. Make sure you're drawing lightly (I like using my HB pencil)
Drawing is a refinement process. It's not like when we're writing our name or a sentence, in which we're expected to write everything perfectly right-off-the-bat.
And when we're drawing freehand, we're going to make mistakes along the way that we need to be able to easily fix.
We want to draw lightly for a variety of different reasons: this will help us easily erase mistakes, it'll help us avoid damaging/scratching our paper, and if we're looking to create higher levels of realism, our outline sketch won't show through at the end (in realism there are no outlines).
I always move from harder pencil grades to softer pencil grades in my drawing process.
I explain all about pencil grades and their use throughout the drawing process in the first class of my Drawing for the Total Beginner Mini-Course, which you can access for free along with the Watercolor for the Total Beginner Mini-Course right here.
3. Simplify your subject and use "envelopes" to lay down largest/general shapes
It's essential to be able to simplify what you're looking at and visualize it as simple shapes or forms (or combinations of simple shapes or forms).
*Shapes are flat and 2-dimensional and forms are 3-dimensional and have volume.
I don't worry about recreating curves and shapes perfectly when I'm getting started with a sketch, but simply lay down oversimplified shapes that are blocky and more angular. This helps me, first and foremost, make sense of proportions and locations of different elements in regards to each other.
By starting with largest/general shapes and making our way towards smaller shapes and details, we're able to use our drawing area much more effectively and this also helps our brains compare sizes and widths of different elements more easily. *You can see this entire process in the video above.
As you continue adding in more shapes, constantly relate and compare different elements with each other in terms of their lengths, widths, locations within space, the angles they create upon each other, etc.
Visually break elements down into halves, thirds, fourths, etc. and compare them to each other in this way. There's no shame in using a ruler in the beginning!
As you continue adding more and more elements, you'll likely notice that there are things that need fixing. This is normal, as the more elements you add in, the more points of comparison you'll have.
Continue comparing constantly and refining along the way.
Remember that it's important to take the entire composition (the whole) into account and that achieving effective proportions is all about getting the relationships between different elements right.
4. Whenever you're drawing smaller groupings of elements, take note of overlapping and edges
Whenever a reference has groupings of similar or small overlapping elements, such as the grapes in the one I'm working with above, take note of their edges.
Make sure you're noticing which elements are overlapping which, and how they are sitting on each other, in order to avoid a "floating" look.
5. Lay down horizontal or vertical lines as guides
Our brains tend to and understand straight horizontal or vertical lines a lot more easily than slated or irregular lines.
We can decipher angles, alignments and distances between subjects with greater ease by drawing horizontal or vertical lines (you can use a ruler for this) alongside elements or wherever you feel a line would serve as guidance.
Lots of skilled artists use plumb lines, which are vertical lines that enable them to more easily achieve proper distance, alignment, etc. among different elements.
6. Take your time with the preliminary sketching process
The preliminary sketching process is, quite simply, the foundation for everything else.
You'd never start adding in the windows or painting the walls of a house without making sure that the foundation is solid, right?
Especially when we're looking for higher levels of realism, it's essential to take our time with our preliminary sketch before moving on later parts of the drawing process such as smaller details and shading.
I know it can be exciting to move on to shading, but remember that no amount of shading, texture or detail is going to fix errors in proportion, shapes and perspective.
7. Learn about Art Fundamentals such as 3D form and Perspective
When our objective is to become skilled at drawing or sketching freehand, knowing at least the basics on Art Fundamentals is essential.
Learning how to use your medium (whether graphite, pen and ink, pastel, watercolor, gouache, etc.) and developing your observational skills, is one thing, but learning the fundamentals is quite another.
These go hand in hand.
The list of Art Fundamentals will vary a bit depending on where you look, but the basics include: Elements and Principles of Art, Composition Design, Light Behavior, Anatomy, etc.
I always recommend students learn at least the basics of all of them so that they aren't limited, but once the artist knows the specific subject he/she'll be working with for a long period of time, it's important to delve deeper into the fundamentals that'll help us increase the quality of our work (ex. Anatomy is an important fundamental for portrait/figurative artists, Perspective is important for urban sketchers and landscape artists, etc.).
8. Practice with the 4-Quadrant Method
There is one method that I practiced with a lot when I was just getting started, which helped me develop much needed skills for freehand sketching a lot faster.
I still use it to the day when I'm working with specific subjects and/or want to make sure I'm using my drawing space as effectively as possible.
This is a method I always introduce to my students when I'm just getting started with them and they've seen great success through consistent practice with it.
Become an art email insider to get FREE Class on the 4-Quadrant Method!
Check out my FREE Patreon-exclusive tutorial and class samples here.
As overwhelming and challenging freehand sketching may seem in the beginning, it's important to remember that we're making forwards progress with every piece we work on.
The more you practice, the more you'll be building up your observational skills, visual measuring skills, and ability to recreate shapes and proportions effectively.
By staying consistent with your freehand sketching practice and applying the aforementioned tips, you'll be making tons of progress in no time!
Drawing supplies used in the video:
As overwhelming and challenging freehand sketching may seem in the beginning, it's important to remember that we're making forwards progress with every piece we work on.
The more you practice, the more you'll be building up your observational skills, visual measuring skills, and ability to recreate shapes and proportions effectively.
By staying consistent with your freehand sketching practice and applying the aforementioned tips, you'll be making tons of progress in no time!
Drawing supplies used in the video:
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*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
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.
If you enjoyed this video and found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every week with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and mindset/productivity tips for artists. *Subscribe HERE*
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
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
Tips for Painting Animal Eyes Using 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:
- High resolution
- Not blurry/pixelated
- Not over or underexposed
- No flash!
- Not cropped in awkward ways (no essential body parts cut out)
- Good lighting (you can see lights, midtones and darks)
- When drawing/painting animals, make sure you can see the eyes as clearly as possible or make sure you collect other references of that same animal that do let you see its eyes
- When drawing/painting animals, we want to look for a pose that enhances the beauty and particularities of the animal and isn't awkward
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.
Watercolor animal eyes by Erika Lancaster (Husky, owl, cat)
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!
Watercolor Labrador by Erika Lancaster. Whiskers were added in at the end with white gouache and a fine detailing brush.
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!
Check out my FREE Patreon-exclusive tutorial and class samples here.
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.
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.
Watercolor supplies used in video:
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is a participant in the Shareasale.com Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Shareasale.com partner companies.
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