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Watercolor Basics

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Re: Watercolor Basics

#41

Post by Tao3300 »

bradford wrote: post #17

On practical how to: 1. Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette). 2. Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital. 3. Carry pigment from the bricks to your palette, don't mix pigments in the bricks. On technique: 1. Experiment adding water to a pigment on your palette (More water == thinner…

> Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette).

I used to do a cup of designated dirty water and a cup of clean water but I can't think on that level when I'm painting. I'm close enough to a sink that I just change it out as needed. Any cup near me when I'm painting is going to get all manner of brushes dunked in it. Yes, I've dunked a paint-loaded brush in my coffee before.

> Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital.

Only slightly less vital: knowing when not to let the layers on your paper dry before progressing. But yeah, that one first.

Re: Watercolor Basics

#43

Post by real-dino »

Arcanum-XIII wrote: post #6

Those choices are bad: watercolor supplies need to have be of high quality to not frustrate the painter. Otherwise you'll have bad result (destroyed paper for example, oversaturated or muddy color) and will have to fight every bit. When I was studying illustration, our teacher would advise us to avoid those kind of kit and paper. I've tried the one from children: that's not a pleasant experience. Last thing: watercol…

Cotman are okay, but brushes are so important, and for watercolor they last forever.

My recommendations...

Student Paints: Cotman as mentioned, or Van Gogh

Pro Paints: Daniel Smith Essential set (6 tubes)

Brush: Size 10 Escoda Perla. That's it!

Paper: Hahnemühle Watercolour Sketch Book

Re: Watercolor Basics

#44

Post by Tao3300 »

gilleain wrote: post #24
bradford wrote: post #17

On practical how to: 1. Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette). 2. Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital. 3. Carry pigment from the bricks to your palette, don't mix pigments in the bricks. On technique: 1. Experiment adding water to a pigment on your palette (More water == thinner…

This all seems like sound(er) advice. On color : I recently realised (or read somewhere) about the simplest color wheel- if you divide a circle into 6 segments and paint the primaries : {R, Y, B} in non-neighbouring segments, then the ones in between are the secondaries: {R+Y=O, R+B=P, Y+B=G}. Then if you combine primaries and the 'opposite' secondary, you get brown/grey like colors. Also, I get quite good combinatio…

> primaries and the 'opposite' secondary

The fancy color theory word for this relationship is "complementary".

> a red and a green and then a mix of the two to make a grey.

If you need a black (though you seldom do) it's a good trick to mix one from the colors you're already using.

Re: Watercolor Basics

#46

Post by Tao3300 »

gilleain wrote: post #36
waynesonfire wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

or floride -- oh crap, actually, i'm wrong. lots of bottled water has floride. https://fluoridealert.org/content/bottled-water/

what does fluoride do to watercolors?

It turns it into Communist propaganda, Mandrake.

Re: Watercolor Basics

#47

Post by gryson »

As others here are pointing out, there are a lot of points here that won't hold up for more experienced artists.

For example, on brushes: "a medium round (the pointy but wide-ish one) is all you need"

This depends entirely on technique and what you want to do. Trying to do consistent, smooth lines using a round brush? Good luck.

Re: Watercolor Basics

#48

Post by mike_ivanov »

egypturnash wrote: post #38
bradford wrote: post #17

On practical how to: 1. Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette). 2. Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital. 3. Carry pigment from the bricks to your palette, don't mix pigments in the bricks. On technique: 1. Experiment adding water to a pigment on your palette (More water == thinner…

My experience in physical media makes me want to add 1a: Keep your water reservoirs well away from your drinking water. This prevents drinking paint. :)

Cats will drink it - regardless

Re: Watercolor Basics

#49

Post by JKCalhoun »

bradford wrote: post #17

On practical how to: 1. Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette). 2. Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital. 3. Carry pigment from the bricks to your palette, don't mix pigments in the bricks. On technique: 1. Experiment adding water to a pigment on your palette (More water == thinner…

Somewhat like your #4: Paint light areas first, dark areas last?

I'm not a watercolor painter but have heard this before — since watercolors are transparent, not opaque like gouache/oil/acrylic.

Re: Watercolor Basics

#50

Post by LegitShady »

geokon wrote: post #39
bradford wrote: post #17

On practical how to: 1. Keep two water reservoirs for cleaning your brushes. One for warm colors and one for cool. (This prevents muddiness in your palette). 2. Knowing when to let the layers on your paper dry before further progress is vital. 3. Carry pigment from the bricks to your palette, don't mix pigments in the bricks. On technique: 1. Experiment adding water to a pigment on your palette (More water == thinner…

Do you have any advice on how to deal with paper warping? The paper getting sobby and uneven often quickly brings a painting session to an end :) And yet in tutorial videos I often see people paint a whole background section in one go (even as much as half the page) without any issues. Do they glue the sheet down to a board?

1) look up videos of "watercolor paper stretching" on youtube, and clamp the paper down if you can (I'll tape all way around a sheet to make a nice border anyways).

2) alternately use watercolor paper blocks (which have adhesive on all sides of the sheet, which minimizes curling)

3) get heavier paper (thicker), use less water, and don't let water pool anywhere.

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