One of the biggest recurring comments I see is:
I wish I can Be confident
Have courage
Draw really well
Be creative
Find my style
watercolor as good as you
Honestly, I want you to be even better than me. And since I can’t answer all of wishes
and questions in one video, I’m going to focus today on a few essential watercolor
skills and exercises that will help you to become a watercolor master, first by learning
control.
It all really starts with your supplies. You don’t have to buy the most expensive professional
anything on the market, just supplies that will do what you want them to do. Simple as
that.
I go into details of the supplies that I use in my supplies video that I’ll link below.
I talk about the paper that I highly recommend, the paints, and brushes that I currently still
use as well.
These three exercises are going to help you with control, how to control the amount of
water you have on your brush and control the movement of your brush.
We’re going to start with 5 squares with roughly ⅛ of an inch in between. And then
we’re also going to draw a large rectangle underneath.
Pick any color you want for today’s video and I highly suggest that you whip out your
paints and tag along with me, at least for the these three exercises. Also shoutout to
Skillshare for kindly sponsoring this video and a huge 100k giveaway is in full swing
so sign up at the link below to win my own handmade traveler’s journal and more!
We are going to create a color scale/ grayscale from lightest to darkest. You can start at
either end, but I love to start at the dark end. Use only as much water as you need to
get the paint smooth and try to get the darkest shade. A trick that I picked up is to keep
a scrap paper nearby of the same paper, so that you can test out the color before you
actually paint the real painting.
And then move on to the next darkest shade, testing out the shade as you go on the scrap
paper. Remember that it is easier to go lighter and then darker later, versus trying to lighten
up something that's already too dark.
Now I’m going to skip to the lightest shade so that I can kinda fill in the blanks in
between a little easier. With the lightest shade you’ll need way more water than paint.
So do a test swatch and see how light you can go.
Next onto the second lightest shade which means you have to add a little more paint than water
and then when you have that one down, you are on the last shade which is directly in the middle scale.
So for this one, look at the shade that it is next to and find one that is in
between. And remember it is way easier to go darker later than lighter later.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned using watercolor is that it forces you to
practice patience, and a whole of it because just like this scale, a painting with shadow
and depth is built up by many layers. But, you can kinda bypass the waiting with a hair
dryer or heat gun, which is what I’m using thank you to one of you, know who you are,
so thank you so much for this time saver!
Once your scale is dry, you can now use painters tape, masking tape that is full of linen so
that it doesn’t rip the paper, or washi tape to tape around the next rectangle. Make
sure you’re pressing down on the tape otherwise the color will seep through.
This greyscale is a continuous wash and you’ll need a large round brush for this one. We’re
going to go from darkest to light. So pick up your paint and make sure it matches your
darkest shade on your scale and then paint it on. As you go down the scale, you might
need to dip it a few times in water to take off some of the paint to create a smooth gradation
to the lightest shade. And if you find a spot where you can definitely tell one shade from
the other, blend in-between to create a smooth transition. Once its dried you can peel the
tape and this is my absolute favorite thing to do when painting.
And all of you who have requested landscapes or sunsets, this is the way you’d start
a painting like that! You can actually see it when I turn it vertically.
Okay the next and last exercise before we start applying this control to an actual painting
is to help with getting to know your brush. I’m sure i’m not the only one who loves
to test out new markers and pens, so this is the same concept. So hold your brush almost
vertically to get the thinnest lines and then start pressing harder and harder to get wider
lines.
My favorite brush sizes to use, since my painting are always really small, is 10/0 which is
the smallest one I have, 0 which is my middle size, and 5 for my largest. If you want to
do washes you will definitely need bigger brushes. And you’ll learn which one you
like as you keep practicing.
Since I love this drawing I did for my October Spread, I’m going to turn it into a painting
today. Start any painting by sketching out what you want to paint with a lighter lead.
I talk about lead types in the supplies video, but I’m using a 05 HB lead. And after I
sketch it, it normally looks like this, pretty dark and messy. And because watercolor does
not cover up pencil lines and it makes it hard to erase afterwards, use a kneaded eraser
to lift up some of the lead. Enough that you can still see it, but light enough that you
can barely see it. Something like this.
Definitely one of my favorite tricks that I’ve learned and a must have tool.
I know its really daunting to start, so my rule is to always start lighter than I think
need to go and start in the areas that create shadow. Look at anything in your room or outside,
you’ll see a shadow and that shadow is determined by the light source or sources. So when you’re
painting keep that in mind and create a light source in your head so that you kinda makeup
where the light hits and where the shadows will be. It does not need to be perfect, but
you do want to use it to tell the difference between an ear and the body or the bunny sleeping
behind the other one.
Another tip is to keep those areas where the imaginary light is hitting, the white of the
paper. Because it’s easier to go darker later. So finish up the shadows and midtones
and then figure out if you need to fill in more of the white. But treat the white like
gold, it is precious.
As the first bunny dries, I’ll move on to the leaves. Otherwise both the bunnies will
blend together as the paint travels from wet areas to wet areas which is also known as
wet on wet. So always make sure your area is dry if you want to build up.
I’ll keep the leaves somewhere in the middle of the scale and I can’t fill in the one
that is behind until the first one dries so I’ll get to it later. I also don’t worry
too much when it comes to shadow on the leaves because I like them flatter with less depth.
So it all depends on your preference.
I’m switching between all of three of the brush sizes, depending on what area I’m
painting, so for the smaller area with more detail, I’ll use the detail brush.
Once the first bunny is dry, I’ll start to paint the second one again starting with
the shadows and then building up from there. Depending on how realistic you’re aiming
for, you might need a few layers before it starts to look like it has a bit of depth.
And this is where watercolor teaches us patience, to take one step at a time, and to be strategic
with our steps. A little lift lesson for you.
Quick tangent about the 100k giveaway, since I’m so excited and still can’t believe
the huge number of encouraging and positives souls in this community. It is open internationally
and until November 10th. So make sure you sign up sooner because you’ll get to earn
more chances to win everyday and they do change, so keep your eye peeled!
After the painting is dry, I’ll finish it off with my detail brush and make the shadows
darker while fading them out so that they don’t look like harsh outlines. That is
one of the characteristics of watercolor that I love, is the softness of it. It blends so
smoothly and looks so delicate.
As you can see the white of the paper, leaving the blank space worked really well
with the bunnies and makes them kinda jump off the page, It really turned out beautiful.
Okay guys, since I love sharing new techniques and resources with you, another way you can
use blank space while using watercolor is by creating outlines with it as a whole nother
style of painting. I’ve actually learned this one through today’s sponsor Skillshare
by a class called Modern Watercolor Techniques and I was seriously so inspired because I’ve
really only painted in a semi-realistic way with shadows and depth and the way she teaches
in this class, is completely simplified and I find it so much easier.
If you love to learn new techniques or even just the basics of any medium of your choice,
you can learn all of that and more with skillshare. They have over 22,000 classes now with new
ones constantly added and I’ve talked about them before because it is seriously one of
the best resources i use to learn new things and they really go in
depth with the topics, so most of your questions will be answered.
Skillshare is offering the first 300 members who sign up using the link in my description,
a 2 month, premium membership for free. Otherwise, memberships begin around $10 a month for unlimited
So check them out and a huge thank you to them for allowing me to make even more content
for you!
I know this video is jammed packed with tips and techniques and I really hope that it was
organized enough for you to get started and get comfortable with using watercolor. They
are such a joy to use and I want you to find the joy in them too and become masters, way
better than me. More tutorials hopefully soon and let me know if you’d be interested in
a course or something like that.
Leave a comment down below because If I didn’t answer your question I’m sure someone can
and you guys can talk and meet each other!
Thank you so much for watching and I can’t wait to see you again soon, bye!