Uzoma Lesley

How To Achieve Good Results With Watercolor Paint Watercolor painting is a unique painting style involving efficient efforts to enable you to create well-blended, delicate, and good strokes. Some say this painting style is challenging, and they can't create beautiful, neat artworks. Fortunately, some tips can help you achieve good results in your watercolor painting. Guide To Achieving Good Results in Watercolor Painting Use good-quality paints It would be best to buy watercolor paint containing more pigments as it creates better effects. While all expensive items may not be worth it, choosing high-quality watercolor paint is worth it, even if it costs more. Although many choose to try cheaper colors to check if it makes good paintings, there is a higher guarantee of messing up your work. After all, it is well-known that using poor-quality materials creates sub-par quality. Watercolor paint is relatively cheap, and so are its tool kits. However, it is vital to remember that watercolor paints vary in quality. Also, ensure to buy watercolor paints of premium quality. The student grade is the first category of this paint type and is lower in quality; hence it's a better option for personal projects, while the artist-grade type costs more but is of premium quality. Use the right paper. The painting paper you use for your watercolor is crucial as it affects how your artwork turns out. It would be best only to use absorbent materials as it accepts various color blends. Heavy papers are more appropriate for water painting, and these papers vary from hot press and cold press to rough. Ensure to use the suitable type. Stretch the paper Stretching your drawing paper is another way to achieve better painting results as it increases the water absorbency level. You can soak large sheets in water and stick them to a board using staples. The paper wrinkles a bit after drying creating a better painting texture. Draw lightly Most artists sketch on their drawing paper to create a better foundation and make painting easy. Light sketches using HB pencils are the best option if you don't want your sketches visible after painting. Use appropriate paintbrushes It is best to use different brushes as a beginner and choose whichever you prefer. However, ensure to choose brushes that can give you neat strokes, either thin or broad. Aside from knowing how and when to use paintbrushes for different strokes, you should also know when to use watercolor paints. Watercolors work best in inanimate and landscape paintings. Also, you can use it when you want to create mixed art media or use it to portray various surfaces as an illustrator. Basic Watercolor Techniques Although there are other various watercolor techniques, only three are considered the foundation for these painting techniques. Wet on dry The wet on dry technique is a simple method as it is the conventional procedure we all follow. It involves using a wet paintbrush for drawings on dry paper. The wet on dry technique is easy and a fine choice for adding finishes and achieving neat details and sharp edges. Using this technique allows you to control where your paint and brush go and minimizes the chances of mistakes. Wet on wet This method is just as easy as the first one as it involves using wet paintbrushes on wet drawing paper. It offers soft edges, is the best option for blending different colors, and creates incredible unexpected designs. Washes This painting technique is perfect for those who want consistent painting colors or a faded and evenly mixed color. They are three types of watercolor paint wash techniques, and they are: Flat wash By practicing the wet-on-dry process, you can obtain a flat wash technique by consistently using one color across your paper. You'll need to prepare your color-water mixture beforehand and ensure to use enough paint that will fill in the entire section you wish to paint. You don't need to use water on your brush again to maintain uniform shades: and continue until you've painted the whole area you want. Graded wash This technique is best for artists who want a transparent color effect on their paintings. You can achieve this method by using one spasm of paint and blending it from light to lighter shades on your paper. Variegated Wash As the name suggests, variegated wash involves two different colors from a watercolor paint set using the wet-on-wet technique for better blending. You can achieve this method by applying different colors on your paper's left and right side and blending it out. However, remember that each side should maintain its color while forming a different, lighter shade in the middle. Tools for Creating Watercolor effects Many who buy watercolor paint do not know the many tools they can use to achieve better effects. Some of them include: Salt You can use salt to create aesthetically pleasing effects on your paintings. It doesn't matter if you used the wet on wet or wet on dry technique as long as your art is still wet. Salts can absorb water through their crystals without any residue. And carefully sweep the salt away after the painting dries to avoid ruining your work. Paper towels Aside from cleaning painting tools, you can use paper towels to create effects by carefully dabbing them on the area with wet paint. You can apply more pressure or let it linger for a while to create darker shades and absorbance. Alcohol You can use alcohol to create special effects on your watercolor painting artworks. The water in the paint mixture works with alcohol to spread around, producing stunning results. Splatter You can use your thumb or index to flick a paintbrush dabbed in watercolor on painting paper, resulting in splatter effects. Such effects add beauty to landscape drawings involving waterfalls, dirt on bricks, etc. Wax crayons Wax repels watercolor and thus is perfect for creating cracked effects. You can use matching paper and wax crayon colors for better outcomes. Conclusion Many see owning a watercolor paint set as the only easy part of drawing artworks, but that shouldn't be the case. There are several beautiful effects and tips you can practice to get better at using watercolor paints. All you need to do is start from the basics, and soon you'll be a pro at using watercolor paint. Reference ● https://thevirtualinstructor.com/watercolor-painting-tips.html ● https://www.ehow.com/info_-_advantages-disadvantages-watercolors.html ● https://andielafdesigns.com/blogs/learn/beginners-guide-to-basic-watercolour-techniques ● https://www.art-is-fun.com/how-to-watercolor#:~:text=Watercolors%20are%20also%20o ften%20used,for%20creating%20mixed%20media%20pieces.