How to paint watercolors 4 ways to paint watercolors

Contents Method 1: Get ready to start 1. Buy paints. 2. Purchase other watercolor painting tools. 3. Prepare the painting studio. 4. Understand watercolor terminology. Method 2: Understand Color 1. Learn how to mix paint into lumps. 2. Select the color you want in the picture. 3. Understand the use of warm and cool colors. 4. You can practice mixing paints and matching colors to better understand the effect of color matching. Method 3: Master the basic skills 1. Cover color painting. 2. Mix two colors. 3. Make the hard edges softer. 4. Remove part of the watercolor on the paper. Method 4: Practice simple mountain scenery 1. Prepare the required materials first. 2. Prepare the paint blocks needed for painting. 3. Draw a horizontal line on the paper. 4. Draw the sky. 5. Draw mountain peaks. 6. Draw the middle part. 7. Color the lake. 8. Paint the ground. 9. Appreciate your work. Watercolors are painted with watercolor paints made from a mixture of water-soluble basic materials and pigments. The watercolor effect is clear and the colors are pure, almost glowing when painted on the paper. Watercolor paints are often used to depict natural scenery, and are very suitable for medium-sized pens with softer tips and multi-layer coloring methods. Read on to learn watercolor terminology, color mixing techniques, painting techniques, and ways to paint a variety of popular themes.

Method 1: Get ready

1. Purchase paint. Watercolor paints come in tubes or blocks and come in shallow plates. Opting for tube paint gives you more options when it comes to collecting paint, while block paint usually comes in a pre-assembled platter of colors. A quick visit to an art supply store will give you a basic set of paints in the following basic colors: New Garcinia, Medium Yellow, Pyrrole Red, Permanent Rose, Ultramarine, Phthalocyanine Blue, Quinacridone Orange . Once you learn to work with these basic colors, it's time to experiment with other paints. Some watercolor paints are made from natural minerals, while others are mixed with synthetic pigments and gum bases. This gum base makes it easier for paint to be applied layer by layer, and even when the paint dries, it mixes easily when water is added.

Watercolor paints are described according to their different properties, some are transparent and some are opaque. Transparent paints allow you to see the white of the paper, giving the paint a transparent sheen when applied, while opaque paints can also have a vivid effect, but they are more likely to appear dull than transparent paints.

Watercolor paints are also divided into those that leave marks and those that do not. Pigments that do not leave a mark adhere to the surface of the watercolor paper and are easily mixed with other paints that do not leave a mark, while pigments that leave a mark permanently penetrate into the paper and are more difficult to mix with other paints.

Some watercolor paints are precipitating, which means they contain a thin layer of pigment that will settle into the gaps of the watercolor paper. This gives the paint a thick, viscous aesthetic, but makes it harder to mix with other paints.

The label on the paint will indicate whether the paint is volatile, which means whether the paint will fade or change color over time.

2. Purchase other watercolor painting tools. In addition to paint, you will also need to pick up some other materials at the art supply store. You may have to spend some money, but the materials will last for several years. Here’s what you need: Paint brush. It's a good idea to have a set of different brush sizes so that you can apply a variety of basic painting techniques. Buy a size 5 round head brush, a size 6 round head brush, a size 8 round head brush, a size 10 round head brush, and a flat head brush with a width of 2.5 cm.

Color palette. When choosing a palette, the depth of the palette should be enough to hold at least 5ml of paint. You can buy a palette with multiple grids on it, or you can buy several small palettes, one for reds and purples, one for blues and greens, one for oranges and yellows, etc. wait. Your palette should come with the color palette when you buy it.

Drawing paper.

Watercolor paper comes in three different materials: hot-pressed paper, which has a smooth surface; cold-pressed paper, which has a moderately smooth surface; and rough paper, which has a rougher surface. You can buy thicker 300 pound paper or use thinner 140 pound paper. For novices, it is best to use thinner paper with moderate smoothness when practicing, and thicker 300-pound paper when formally painting.

Drawing board and easel. Choose a wooden, Plexiglas, or foam board that you can attach your watercolor paper to. You may also want to buy an easel to prop up your drawing board while you paint.

A container of water, paper towels, pencils, and erasers. It can be helpful to have these other tools within easy reach while you draw.

3. Prepare the painting studio. Choose a place with plenty of natural light. You may also want to prepare a bright enough desk lamp, especially if you are painting at night. Tape the watercolor paper to the drawing board and place it in the center of the table. If you are right-handed, place your palette, brushes, and water container on the right side of the table, and place paper towels and other utensils on the left. If you're left-handed, do it the other way around.

4. Understand watercolor terminology. If you've followed a tutorial or taken a watercolor class, you'll have come across some terminology that describes the steps you take to paint. So it’s better to familiarize yourself with these terms: Pen washing. It means that you dip the pen in a container of water and gently press the pen tip against the bottom of the container to let the bristles on the brush stretch out and wash away the paint. Continue doing this until the pen is completely clean.

Fully dip the brush. Run the brush through a pool of paint (a mixture of paint and water) so that the brush is fully saturated with paint. Lift the brush and gently slide it along the edge of the palette to remove any excess liquid.

Dip the brush into paint. Just dip the brush full of paint as usual, the only difference is that this time, slide the brush dipped in paint along the edge of the palette a few times so that the paint in the brush does not drip out.

Absorb ink. Dab the paint brush on the surface of the paper towel to remove excess paint. You can do it lightly, or you can do it a little harder.

Method 2: Understand color

1. Learn how to mix paint into lumps. Watercolor paint should be mixed with water and mixed into lumps. The more water you use, the more transparent the color will be. Use less water and the color will be brighter. The color adjustment method is as follows: fill the palette grids with the colors you want to use. Squeeze a little of each color into the small grids on the palette.

Dip your paintbrush in water, then shake the water into the palette.

Dip an appropriate amount of paint according to your preference, then mix the paint with the freshly filtered water from the palette.

Continue adding paint until you achieve the desired color and intensity.

When adding the second color, do not wash the brush completely. Dip your paintbrush into the second color and mix it thoroughly with the first. Continue adding other colors until you get the color you want.

When mixing, do not add more than three colors, otherwise the color will appear very dull.

2. Select the color you want in the screen. Before you start painting, choose the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue as your basic colors. Mixing these colors together can create other colors you need for painting, and these colors are usually very rich in color. Next, you can use some more special colors to add personality to your picture. Many painters use only the three primary colors in all their work.

3. Understand the use of warm and cold colors. Warm colors, such as red, orange, and yellow, visually give people the feeling of spilling out of the paper. Cool colors, such as blue, purple, green, etc., usually give people a restrained feeling. Understanding the warmth and coolness of colors is key to painting with watercolors because each color can be made warmer or cooler by mixing with other colors. For greens, you can make the green a little warmer by adding a little bit of yellow. You can also add more red and less blue when matching purple to make the purple warmer.

If you want to make green look cooler, add more blue and less yellow. The reason why violet is the coldest purple is because the proportion of blue in violet is much larger than that of red.

Colors that are opposite on the color wheel are called complementary colors, such as yellow and purple. Putting complementary colors together gives people a sense of equal power, that is to say, they are opposite each other, as if they are competing for beauty.

Understanding the effect of color matching will greatly affect the final effect of your work and its appeal to the audience.

4. You can practice mixing paints and matching colors to better understand the effect of color matching. Being able to accurately mix and match colors, and using layers of color, can make your watercolor works more distinctive. The first few times you mix paint, you may be surprised at the colors you come up with. Remember to pay attention to the following when mixing paints: After watercolor paint dries, it will become several shades lighter. So when you want to make a color darker or lighter, don't forget this difference.

Try not to overmix the colors. When mixing colors, you don't have to mix them completely evenly. The lines you draw when you paint may contain gradient colors rather than constant tones, and this is the charm of watercolor painting.

Don’t use too much water. Just add a little water at first and then slowly add more if needed. It is much harder to restore the intensity of a color by adding more pigment than by diluting it with water.

Method 3: Master the basic skills

1. Cover color painting method. This method is used to apply an even, uniform color to a larger area and is one of the most common techniques used in watercolor. To begin, draw a square or rectangle on your watercolor paper. Fill the brush with the paint you want to use and apply the color evenly. Start drawing from the upper left corner of the drawn shape. From the upper left corner, draw a short stroke vertically downward, about 1 cm, and then lift the brush. At this time, a small drop of watercolor will stay on the paper. Gently pass the brush over the drop of watercolor a few times to add further color and make the drop larger.

Use the brush to draw along the top edge of the rectangle, using only the tip of the pen, and then draw about 1 cm down from the upper right corner. Lift the brush to get more paint onto the paper.

Fill the brush with paint. Starting at the lower right corner of the rectangle, draw with the tip of the brush so that the line you create meets the bottom of the line you just drew in the upper right corner. Draw a new line from right to left, this time using the entire head of the brush instead of just the tip. Halfway through, stop, refill the brush with paint, and continue toward the left edge of the box. At this point you have completed a watercolor block, the basic unit for painting watercolors.

Dip the brush full of paint again, and then start from the bottom left side, draw a line about 1 cm, then use the same method, draw from left to right, and then from the right side from top to bottom Draw a line about 1 cm long, then fill the brush with paint and paint from right to left until the entire color block is filled. Wipe off excess paint with a paper towel.

2. Mix two colors. This time the two colors are mixed together on paper rather than on a palette. This makes the transition between different colors more natural. First, use the masking method to draw a color block of one color, and then perform the following steps: draw the bottom edge of the color block into irregular lines instead of straight lines, and then clean the brush.

Full the brush with the second color. Touch the tip of the brush to the bottom edge of the painted color block and lift the brush so that the paint remains on the paper. The paint will instantly blend with the colors in the patch and make the patch larger. Gently touch the bottom edge of the color block with the tip of the brush until the two colors are in complete contact, creating a natural transition effect.

Wash the brush again and fill it with the second color. Continue painting the second color onto the paper using the masking method. Once the color block is filled, wipe away any excess paint with a paper towel.

3. Make the harsh edges softer. If you want a softer-looking edge without making the lines too sharp, you can add water to achieve this effect.

First draw a line with a certain color, wash the brush, and then dip the brush in water until it is fully moist, but not so wet that it drips. Then use a paintbrush to draw another line along the still-moist line. At this time, the painted paint will be mixed with the area just painted with water. Wash the brush and repeat the above steps, drawing a line along the wet edge again. After a few times, the color at the edges has become so light that the paint won't blend with the new lines drawn with water.

4. Remove part of the watercolor on the paper. Erase the watercolor in certain areas of the paper so you can use a common painting technique and add other colors. You can dab a paper towel on the paper, or you can wipe the color away with a paint brush. Here's how: Find a paint brush with thick bristles and dampen it with water.

Gently brush the paint brush over the areas you want to remove color. This, combined with the water on the brush, will make the color lighter.

Dab a paper towel on the paper to remove the color.

Method 4: Practice simple mountain scenery

1. Prepare the required materials first. Tape the four corners of a piece of watercolor paper to the drawing board with tape. If possible, tilt the drawing table forward, or find a brick or the like to prop up the back half of the tabletop a little, so that you can draw at a better angle. When painting a mountainous landscape, choose three colors on the same side of the color wheel. Squeeze some paint into a palette and have a few containers of water nearby. When painting mountain scenery, it is recommended to choose blue, violet and green, or red, orange and yellow for better results.

You can also complete the painting using just one color and diluting it into different shades.

2. Prepare the paint blocks needed for painting. Choose the main color you want and mix water and paint together on the palette to create paint blocks. If you want to use some other colors, you can mix two paint chips on different palettes. Just be careful, remember to wash your brushes before using different colors. Remember not to add too much water. When mixing color blocks, you need enough pigment to create bright colors.

You can try mixing different colors to see the effect before deciding which one to choose.

3. Draw a horizontal line on the paper. Use a pencil and ruler to draw a straight line on the paper, one-quarter of the distance from the top edge to the bottom edge. The landscape you want to draw is above this line.

4. Draw the sky. Use a medium-sized paint brush and fill it with the main color in your painting. Use a masking method to draw a line along the top edge to make the top edge of the sky appear darker in the picture. After you have a few inches of the sky, wash your brush and fill it completely with the second color. Use the method of mixing colors on the drawing paper to create the transition effect between the first color and the second color, and then also create the transition effect from the second color to the lower three colors. Continue to draw the sky about 2.5 cm above the horizontal line. When finished, lightly dip a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Let dry completely before continuing to paint. If you're only using one color, once you've painted the basic overlay, you can start making the color softer. The closer to the horizontal line, the lighter the color.

Use a paper towel to dip paint in different places on the paper several times to create a cloud effect or to create a color filtering effect.

You can leave a blank space when drawing the sky to create the effect of sunrise on the top of a mountain. Remember to use water to soften the color of the edges of the mountains that touch this area.

5. Draw mountain peaks. Fill the brush with the main color and draw an M shape, starting from the right side of the paper, about 2.5 cm away from where it meets the sky. Use multiple M-shaped lines across the entire paper. Remember to make the peaks on the left smaller and the ones on the right larger. Color the peaks with the same color, making them darker at the peaks and lighter at the valleys. When finished, lightly dip a paper towel to remove excess water, and dry completely before continuing to the next step. If you want to draw the mountain peaks more naturally, try to use zigzag lines instead of straight lines.

Don’t worry about the painting not being uniform enough. There are a few places on the picture that give people a sense of irregularity, which is closer to the real mountains.

6. Draw the middle part. This part is the area between the peak and the horizon. Using a relatively strong, stiff brush, dip it in the same paint you used to paint the mountains, hold the brush horizontally, and draw darker horizontal lines at the base of the mountains from left to right. It is best to slightly interweave with the painted mountains, so that the line color will appear darker. If necessary, dip the paint in a few more times, remembering to paint until it reaches a horizontal line. Draw another line, this time horizontally and darker. This will be the edge of the lake. When drawing horizontal lines, don't draw the lines too evenly, as this can increase the texture of the picture.

When painting, some gaps and white spots will naturally be left. There is no need to deliberately fill them up, it will look more natural.

7. Color the lake. Use a larger paint brush with stiffer bristles to paint the lake. Dilute the mountain color with water and fill the brush with it. Use a lighter horizontal line to paint the area between the horizontal line and the bottom edge, from top to bottom, until it is 2.5 cm from the bottom edge. When finished, dip a paper towel in it and wait for the picture to dry completely before continuing to the next step. If you want to paint the effect of sunlight shining on the lake, be sure to draw very lightly when painting the area immediately below the horizontal line, so that the original white color of the paper will show through. The highlights on the lake will echo the highlights in the sky, giving people the feeling of sunlight shining on the lake.

Use the method of removing paint from the paper to create a lighter color area on the lake surface to increase the texture of the picture.

You can try using more than one paint mixed together to match the color you used to paint the sky.

8. Paint the ground. Use a larger brush with stiffer bristles and choose the darkest color you used when painting the sky and mountains. Use horizontal lines to draw a dark, thick, irregular line across the bottom of the lake. At different positions, the lines can be made deep or shallow to create a natural lakeside effect. Filling the ground with this dark color leaves white space where the highlights on the lake and sky should be. Finally, gently wipe off excess water with a paper towel and dry patiently. To add reeds, dry the same brush, fill it with the darkest paint, and paint some vertical lines along the edge of the lake.

Use paper towels to create the effect of sunlight spots.

9. Appreciate your work. Your first watercolor is now complete and ready to be signed with your signature, edged, or framed. As you practice more and more, your skills will continue to improve and you can try more techniques, such as using sponges, splatter painting, painting with salt, dry paint effects, etc.

Tip: Start with the lightest color. Unlike most other painting methods, it is difficult to cover light colors over dark colors with watercolor. Any light areas of the painting need to be painted before anything else is painted around them, so every detail needs to be paid attention to from the start. How to teach yourself to paint watercolors well?

The most basic tools for watercolor are paper, pen and paint. To learn watercolor by yourself, you must first prepare these three. Of course, there are some icing on the cake "ingredients" (not necessary), such as watering cans, palettes, drawing boards/easels, masking tape, sponges, etc.

1. After preparing the tools, you can try to copy first and observe other people’s composition, color matching, light and dark treatment, small details such as lace, stamens, etc., and even signatures, seals, etc. details. It is worth noting that there are two types of copying. One is to try to imitate the original painting to achieve the greatest similarity with the original painting. This allows for accurate practice. There is also a half-drawing and half-creation method, which does not require too much effort to be exactly the same as the original painting. You can even boldly change colors and replace parts of the picture. Personally, I suggest you do the first type of copying first, and then start semi-creation after it is stable. Otherwise, if the painting doesn’t look like it, I’ll make excuses for myself and say it’s my second creation.

2. After accumulating a certain amount of experience, you can start to try sketching. Sketching can be understood as using objects as the objects of painting, rather than following a painting. During the process of sketching, think about what you have observed before as mentioned in 1.

3. During the painting process, you can use a notebook to record your experience in color mixing, matching, coloring order, texture effects, etc.

4. In the process of exploring on your own, you can also watch videos to learn. There are many experts on bilibili, Weibo and many other places. Check these places often, and slowly you will find some bloggers you like. You can watch their videos and follow the videos. There are also many foreign videos that can also be used as information. Watercolor painting techniques

Watercolor painting techniques

1. Use a pencil to start the draft lightly. You can use a pen (water-resistant ink) to outline some emphasized areas, but not too much, otherwise It will make the picture opaque.

2. After the line drawing is completed, it is best to wet the picture with clean water first, so that the coloring can be more even. (Canson handmade paper, Fontaine Leaf 185g or 300g, is recommended, which will not wrinkle.) Watercolor paper is generally available in art supplies stores, such as Baihua, or Xinhua Bookstore in big cities. But the two I recommend are not easy to buy, so for beginners, ordinary ones are enough.

3. Apply a background (thinner). Wait for the back to dry completely (about ten minutes) and then go online again.

4. Apply color. If you want the first color to blend with the second time, you can wait until the color is half dry before starting to apply color. If you don't want it, you still have to wait until the first time is completely dry.

5. Finally outline the details

ps: For q2: Do not cover the highlights of the hair with white, leave a blank space, because the covering power of watercolor is very poor and it is a transparent pigment , if it is covered directly, it will destroy the picture, make the color impure, and it will be very dirty after drying.

If you are not very good at using watercolors, it is also recommended to use water-soluble colored pencils. After drawing with "water-soluble colored pencils", use "water and brush" to color, which can produce a variety of color effects. It can be mixed to produce a watercolor-like effect. The advantage is that it is easier to master than "watercolor", which is the most difficult painting. Paper with a rough surface is a good choice for colored pencil drawings.

Introduction to watercolor painting for children.

1. Tool Performance

To learn watercolor, you must first understand and be familiar with the tool performance of watercolor, and then you can better master and use it.

1. Watercolor. Pigments

The particles of watercolor pigments are very fine, and when dissolved in water, they become crystal clear. Apply them layer by layer on white paper, just like the effect of layers of transparent cellophane. The light color of watercolor cannot cover the background. Unlike oil paints and gouache paints, which have strong covering power.

Watercolor paints such as ultramarine, ocher, and red are mineral pigments and are prone to appear when used alone or mixed with other colors. Precipitation phenomenon, clever use can produce novel effects

2. Painting paper

The paper used in watercolor painting has a great influence on the effect of a painting. The same technique is used in painting. The effects on different drawing papers are different. The ideal watercolor drawing paper should have a white surface, a solid texture, and moderate water absorption. The paper surface should be relatively smooth after coloring. The thickness of the paper grain should be selected according to the needs of the performance and personal habits. Don’t think that beginners can do watercolor exercises on any paper. If the paper is too thin, it will be uneven after coloring, and the water color will accumulate, which will affect the brushstrokes; if the paper absorbs water too quickly (such as filter paper), the water color will not easily penetrate and it will be difficult to achieve the purpose of expression; if it is too smooth, it will be difficult to achieve the purpose of expression. The water color of the paper is not easy to adhere to the paper surface, so it is not suitable for watercolor painting. You should be familiar with the properties of the paper you are using and be good at mastering it

3. Brush

Watercolor brushes need to have a certain degree of elasticity and water-holding capacity. Oil brushes are too hard and cannot hold water, so they are not suitable for watercolor painting (but sometimes they can be used to pursue certain special effects). Pens, landscape brushes, etc. can be used to paint watercolors. Prepare a large one for painting large color blocks, and two or three medium and small brushes for specific shapes and details.

2. Watercolor painting. Characteristics

Due to the characteristics of tools, materials and techniques, watercolor painting is different from other types of painting, forming its own artistic characteristics. It is more accurate to describe watercolor painting as soft as light music or lyric poetry.

In addition to the profound expression of content and feelings, a good watercolor painting gives people the feeling of being moist, smooth, crystal clear, relaxed and lively. This feeling is the characteristic of watercolor painting. The characteristic of watercolor painting is that compared with other types of painting, the coverage and thick coating of oil painting create a thick and thick characteristic. Watercolor pigments are transparent, and thin coatings are used to maintain their transparency. The painting has a clear and transparent feeling. Use water to mix colors and play the role of water. It is flexible and natural, moisturizing and smooth, dripping and refreshing, and has endless charm.