*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. :)
Why is it important to plan colors before starting a painting? How is a limited color palette useful? How will learning about the Color Wheel help us create more successful and professional-looking artwork? In the video included within this blog post, I'll be sharing how I go about selecting my colors prior to starting a new piece. I'll share my thinking process as I go through this method and will be offering lots of tips pertaining to color. In past blog posts and YouTube videos, I have mentioned how color is an essential Element of Art to learn about as a beginner artist. The reason? When we're looking to create a visual composition, we have to think about how different parts fit together into a whole. And color plays a huge role in making a visual composition look harmonious and cohesive. When it comes to a visual composition, all individual elements are connected. Each one has an effect over how we perceive the elements around it. And just like how you wouldn't throw on an outfit with a ton of different colors and textures that don't mesh well together, you have to think about how things will look like in a painting when appreciated as a whole. It's not about one element in the piece, but how the different elements included intermix to effectively transmit the idea or message we're trying to get across. It's incredibly important that any beginner artist who is serious about improving their painting makes time to learn about the Color Wheel. This is an incredibly important tool that allows us to understand relationships between colors so that we're not only able to create effective color mixtures during the painting process, but also prepare color schemes that work well. Limiting the amount of colors that you use in a painting is also very useful because the more colors you use, the more disorganized your palette will be, the more likely color mixtures will lead to mud, and the more incoherent the end-results. Whatever you do, stay away from randomly selecting colors during the painting process and dedicate at least a bit of time to plan for your painting. I promise you, there's much more of a chance that you'll end up with great results. To get immediate access to classes on Art Fundamentals and direct feedback from me, join us on Patreon!
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I share a new video every Friday with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials, and encouragement for aspiring artists.
Watercolor Supplies Used in the Video
Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
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Are you interested in starting to sell your artwork online but are lost as to how to start digitalizing and editing your work using photo-editing software? Have you started learning Photoshop and want to know which tools to use in order to remove the background from your scanned work as efficiently as possible? It's essential for traditional media artists to familiarize themselves with some kind of photo-editing software at least at a very basic level. Whether you're looking to sell prints of your work through your own website, create products with drawings or paintings via print-on-demand platforms, create mock-ups using pictures you've taken of your work, or you're simply looking to share your art on social media, it's important to make it shine and transmit a sense of quality to the viewer if you intend to make any sales. Today, I'll be sharing a video that is perfect for artists just getting started with Photoshop. I'll be explaining three different selection tools commonly used by artists/illustrators to separate their artwork from its background, and I'll also be sharing which my personal favorite is and why. Throughout the video, I also give important tips that you should definitely be aware of when digitalizing art made with traditional mediums. These apply to whatever photo-editing software you choose to use. Check out my blog post How to Sell Artwork on Society6 + Pros and Cons to find out more about my entire process, from finishing a watercolor illustration, to scanning it, editing it, and finally uploading it onto Society6 to design products. In this past post, I also share the positives and negatives I've learned in regards to print-on-demand platforms like Redbubble and Society6 throughout the time I've been using them.
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I publish a new video every-single-Friday sharing art tips and tutorials!
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :) Thanks so much for popping by today! Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Direct feedback from me -Downloadable workbook titled How to Discover Your Artistic Voice -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Participation in polls to decide new blog post and YouTube video topics -Live classes and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
Hey there, fellow artists and art appreciators! Today I'll be sharing the process behind my latest floral oil painting. The video included in this post contains a timelapse that I've recently uploaded onto my YouTube channel as a collaboration I did with Dena Tollefson, who also has a channel on this platform. For a more in-depth explanation and tips on oil painting, visit my blog post Don't Be Afraid of Oil Paint + How I Paint a Still Life Using Oils. Hope you enjoy!
If you enjoyed this video, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials and encouragement for aspiring artists every-single-Friday!
Check out Dena's version of this challenge over at her YouTube channel. The paintbrushes and paint tubes used to create this painting can be found in the My Art Tools section of my site. Thanks so much for visiting today, and talk to you soon! 
*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. :) Interested in buying a few watercolor painting supplies that won't break the bank and will actually help you progress your skills? Tired of investing in art supplies that end up on sitting on your shelf or drawer completely unused? Afraid you'll only be able to create amazing looking artwork by using expensive paint, paper and paintbrushes? None of these things are true at all, dear Art Friends! While it is important to use quality art supplies in order to progress efficiently, there are excellent paint, paper and brush manufacturers that offer stand-up products for accessible prices. I was able to make a huge amount of progress using my student-grade Koi Watercolor Set and Canson XL/Strathmore paper (for more about my favorite drawing and painting supplies visit the My Art Tools section of my website). Of course, before discovering these supplies, I invested in quite a few that either were very frustrating to work with or ended up completely unused. This is why I want to share my findings with you. If you're a beginner just starting out with watercolors, I highly recommend checking out my blog post Watercolor Supplies for Beginners and Things You Must Know. In it, I dispel common myths in regards to watercolor painting supplies and provide thorough information about paint, paper and paintbrushes that will help you make more informed choices when it comes to buying supplies. 
Watercolor illustrations created on 140 lb Canson XL paper and Winsor and Newton pan set.
Watercolor illustrations created on 140 lb Canson XL paper and Winsor and Newton pan set.
Today, I'll be sharing a couple of my latest YouTube videos in which you'll see me paint two different subjects (a landscape and a bird) using the same combination of paint and brushes. The reason I did this, is because I really believe in testing out supplies thoroughly before coming to a conclusion about them. These products were sent to me to try out and share with you guys by an awesome online store called ConsumerCrafts. They offer a very wide array of art supplies at very affordable prices and, I've been able to find specific items at their website that I haven't been able to find through Amazon. Though I had prior experience using these particular round brushes by Royal and Langnickel, I had never used the flat and the dagger brush. Also, I had never used watercolor tubes from Winsor and Newton. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of most of these supplies and they are very accessibly priced.
If you enjoyed these videos, I'd absolutely love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel. I publish a brand new video every-single-week sharing art tips, drawing and painting tutorials, and encouragement for aspiring artists. :)
Affordable Watercolor Painting SuppliesAll of the supplies used in these video can be found at dickblick.com. *Click on the images to learn more about each product.
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :) Thanks so much for popping by today! Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
*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. :) What's the actual reason behind swatching watercolor paint (aside from the satisfaction of laying pretty colors down on paper)? What specific things should we be looking for when testing out a new watercolor paint set, besides differences in color? What are the different variables that may affect watercolors' behavior and their final appearance? In this blog post, I'm going to explain the most important characteristics that you should start taking note of when it comes to watercolor paint. By understanding these different aspects and how they vary from pigment to pigment, you'll be able to make more informed choices when it comes to picking your color palettes/schemes for your paintings, which will make everything go a lot smoother. I'll also walk you through my own personal method for swatching out a new paint set and share why I like testing my paints on two different types of paper. It's very useful to explore a new paint set before actually attempting to create a painting with it. This is especially the case when it comes to watercolors, as this painting medium's inherent characteristics make it tricky to use. For one, watercolors are translucent, which means we can't simply cover up our mistakes like we can when working with acrylics or oils. Secondly, due to their water-soluble properties, they tend to have a mind of their own. Finally (and something that was very hard for me to wrap my head around in the beginning), behaviors and effects can vary greatly from pigment to pigment, even within a set manufactured by the same company. There are also many external factors that can affect our watercolor painting process and the final outcome of a piece, such as how clean our water is, what kind of paper is used, and even the temperature of the room we're working in! Always remember that, as artists, we have to learn to embrace the exploration process. It may seem like a waste of time and resources when we're just starting out, but these smaller studies give us confidence and allow us to find ourselves as artists, so that we're then able to create more effective finalized works. If you're a beginner just starting out with watercolors, I highly recommend checking out my blog post titled 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting With Watercolors. By understanding these ten ideas and applying them in your painting, you'll be able to progress your watercolor skills much quicker and waste less supplies in the process. Let's get to the swatching! If you enjoy this video, subscribe to my YouTube channel! I publish a brand new video every-single-Friday with art tips, drawing/painting tutorials and encouragement for aspiring artists. There is no right or wrong way to test out a new watercolor paint set. The whole point of swatching and testing out colors is for you, the artist, to have a better understanding of different color behaviors. This way, you'll be able to select the colors you like best depending on the particular subject you paint, your personal techniques and the overall effects you're going for. If you're just starting out and haven't found your style, no problem! As your artistic journey progresses, you'll discover your own way of working and the specific paint qualities that are important for you. Later on, you'll be able to modify your swatching process to whatever fits you best and perhaps leave out aspects that aren't as important. Watercolor Paint Characteristicsa) Mass tones A color's mass tone tells us what it looks like when it's straight out of the tube and at its fullest saturation. Basically, it's the color at its purest and undiluted self. -This is usually the first rectangle I fill in below the hue's name and I make sure to use the least amount of water possible. b) Staining qualities A color's staining quality refers to how difficult it is to remove from the paper when lifting, scrubbing or attempting to reactivate it once it's dry. -To test this out, I like lifting paint from a small section of my Masstone square/rectangle when it's still wet with either a rag or a paintbrush. I also like coming back to my color swatch once it's dried completely to see if any color can be lifted or reactivated because I personally use this technique a lot in my work. There are some pigments that are known for being extremely staining, such as Prussian Blue, and others that lift up quite easily. c) Opacity A color's opacity tells us how opaque or transparent it is. Usually, you're looking for transparency when it comes to watercolors, as this is the quality that gives paintings created with this medium their distinctive glow. -For faster swatches, I like drawing a couple of ink lines in this square/rectangle (allow them to dry completely) and painting over them with each color to see if there is any chalky residue left behind. -Another option is painting a couple of lines or shapes with a different color (a different color from the one you're testing) and seeing how much the subsequent layer of color allows the bottom to shine through. d) Level of dispersion A color's level of dispersion refers to how easily it expands and/or intermixes with other colors when dropping on damp paper. A high level of dispersion means a paint color expands quickly and intermixes a lot with colors around it. A low level of dispersion means it mostly stays in place. -For faster swatches, I like simply wetting this square/rectangle with clean water and dropping the color in in several different places to see how fast it expands. -Another option is dropping a different color in first and then placing the specific hue you're testing out to see how much it expands/intermixes. I do recommend preparing a larger square/rectangle for swatching if you want to test this out. Because I don't do a ton of wet-on-wet work myself, this isn't I take too much time doing. However, if you do a lot of landscapes or even abstracts, it may be very useful for you to spend time testing out this particular one for your different colors! e) Granulation A color's granulation level can be identified by laying down a flat wash, allowing it to dry completely, and observing how even and uniform it looks after. Pigments that have a high level of granulation separate from their binder when mixed with water and tend to settle into the texture of the paper it is placed on. This leads to white dots and a patchy look in some areas. *A high level of granulation isn't inherently bad, as it can be used to create great effects in areas that require them. Many artists use highly granulating paints to their advantage! -I don't usually create a separate square/rectangle to test out granulation, but come back to observe this later on after my paint has fully dried and settled into the paper in all my sections. f) Permanence A color's permanence refers to how resistant it is when exposed to light. In other words, how quickly does it start to fade out? Usually, manufacturers include this information somewhere within the packaging of the product with the following codes: AA (Extremely Permanent), A (Permanent), B (Moderately Durable) or C (Fugitive). -I don't usually create a separate square/rectangle to test out permanence, but come back to observe how much the color has faded out a few months later. g) How do colors react on different types of papers? I usually like seeing how different pigments react on at least a couple of different types of watercolor paper because I know how much of a difference the right paper can make! -For the swatching of this particular Winsor and Newton set, I used both higher quality Arches watercolor paper, as well as cheaper Canson paper. Both of these were 140 lb. Cold Press papers, but the Arches had much more of a texture to it. Another option could be testing your paint out on both Cold Press and Hot Press papers. Check out my blog post/YouTube video Watercolor Supplies for Beginners + Things You Should Know. In it, I explain everything you have to know about watercolor paper and demystify a lot of common thoughts beginners have in relation to watercolor supplies. Swatching Outcome and My Conclusions 
Swatching out Winsor and Newton paint set on Arches 140 lb. Cold-Press watercolor paper. This photo has not been manipulated in any way.
Swatching out Winsor and Newton paint set on Canson 140 lb. Cold-Press watercolor paper. This photo has not been manipulated in any way.
The colors included in this Winsor and Newton 12-piece tube set are: Cadmium Yellow Hue Cadmium Red Pale Hue Alizarin Crimson Ultramarine Blue Cerulean Blue Prussian Blue Viridian Green Yellow Ochre Burnt Sienna Burnt Umber Ivory Black Chinese White I enjoyed testing out this Winsor and Newton watercolor tube set and look forward to painting a piece with it. Even though this brand's Cotman line is described as being their affordable/student grade option, this particular tube set offers an excellent color payoff, contains a good amount of paint and is quite comfortable to work with. The paint's texture is just thick enough when squeezed out of the tube and onto the paint-mixing palette. Each tube contains 8 ml of paint and the manufacturer has included relevant information on its packaging such as each color's level of Permanence and Pigment Code. A few things I noticed in regards to the differences between the swatches created on the two different watercolor papers: a) Overall, the colors painted on the Arches paper are more vibrant than how they appear on the Canson paper. b) The degree of this varies from pigment to pigment, but I was able to lift up more paint from the Canson paper, especially once the paint had dried. This probably has to do with the fact that the 100% cotton Arches paper absorbs the pigment a lot more effectively. c) Wet-on-wet effects were much more beautiful on the Arches paper, which allowed them to disperse a lot more fluidly and gradually. On the Canson paper, the paint pooled in certain areas and left a patchy effect. d) All colors, except for the Chinese white are completely transparent (which is a good thing). Transparent watercolors allow bottom layers to shine through and give paintings a unique glow. If you zoom into the ink lines below the Chinese white swatch, they appear to have a bit of a chalkiness over them. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create something for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :) Thanks so much for popping by today! Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
Watercolor Supplies Used:
*I buy most of my art supplies online through ConsumerCrafts or Amazon. Both of them are excellent options for finding great supplies at accessible prices. Click on images below to learn more about each product.
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