Watercolor Basics for Absolute Beginners

I’m not gonna lie but watercolor is one of those mediums that are easier to use but hard to master. I remember when I first time tried watercolors, it was for a painting competition. And yes, it was a total disaster. Since then I hated this awful medium. But a while ago I bought a really good but economical set of watercolors and I realized it’s not that bad. I suppose we just misunderstood each other!

When I started using watercolor I thought they will be similar to other painting medium like oil or acrylic (I’ve some experience with them). Oh boy I was wrong. Color mixing, layering and painting techniques were totally different. But after some trial and error and a lot of YouTube tutorials later I can say that I know how to use watercolors. 

During this watercolor journey I learned few tips and tricks that I’ll be sharing with you in this post. It’s gonna be two part series where I’ll discuss how to get started, how to use watercolor and what to use it with and then I’ll discuss how you can get better at this newly acquired skill and what things you have to keep in mind while painting with watercolor.

Let’s get started!

First of all you need to gather all the supplies that you’ll need. Here’s a list which include all the supplies a beginner might need:

1. Watercolor Set (duh) 
2.  Paper 
3.  Brushes/ Brush pens 
4.  Pencil
5. Eraser 
6. Tissue paper
7. Two jars of water (for cleaning the brushes)

Watercolor Set

There are many different types of watercolors available in the market. Some are in the form of pans and some are in tubes. Whichever you buy just don’t get those that are chalky and less pigmented. And also don’t buy the super expensive ones because if you end up not liking the medium then all will go to waste. So start with something that is in moderation. Good quality with affordable price!

I’m using Pelikan Transparent Watercolor Paint Set (24 colors). It’s a good starter set and it has pretty much all colors except white. Pelikan 12 watercolor set is quite affordable and practical as well. 

Paper

Let’s talk about paper. Watercolors are water based medium, it means it gets activated when water is applied to it. There are many techniques that require layering the paper with water first and then putting the paint on it, it’s called glazing. So it is necessary that the paper is thick enough and does not buckle up when water is applied to it.

You can either buy watercolor paper sheets or watercolor note pads. All you need to know is that any paper above 230 gsm is really good for watercolor and prevents any buckling (I prefer 300gsm). Right now you don’t need to get into the details of its texture (hot presses, cold pressed or rough). Buying watercolor paper sheets separately is cheaper than buying a note pad but you have to cut the paper yourself which can be difficult if you don’t have a paper cutter. So just select the paper that is most convenient to you.

 

Brushes

To use the watercolors you will need brushes. You can use any brush as long as it is soft and retains water in its hair (also doesn’t shed a lot). You can also use watercolor pens. They are supper convenient if you hate washing your brush while painting. And you also don’t have to worry about the amount of water to use during painting. 

We are almost done!
 
Pencil

You can paint directly without sketching anything or you can use pencil to lightly sketch your idea. But make sure that the line work is not supper dark (unless it’s an artistic choice). Don’t use pencils with high amount of graphite because it will make the colors muddy. A normal HB pencil will work just fine but if you want to upgrade go with the hardness of 6H or even F. 

Eraser

Use any eraser to lighten the line work. Clean up any eraser dust off the page before putting the paint on it.

Practice

Now it’s time to practice. Sketch something simple on the paper or just draw some shapes and practice with the watercolors. Wet your brush, dip it in the watercolors and just paint. Use tissue to clean or remove excess water from your brush. 

Keep practicing and experimenting and don’t get demotivated if your first painting doesn’t turn out the way you wanted it to be. Everyone sucks when they try something for the first time. Remember that! It’s okay and you’ll get better with practice eventually. 

(This is one of my first drawings with watercolor)