If you've ever tried watercolor painting, you know it is unlike any other type of painting. You can't just glob it on and expect it to look like a real watercolor painting. Watercolor paint has unique qualities that allow it to be used in a much different way from acrylic or oil paint.
Watercolor paint comes in two different forms. You are probably most familiar with the cakes. You can buy watercolor paint in the form of cakes that is simply color paint pressed together and formed into a cake. You can get the cakes lined up side by side. In order to apply the color to your watercolor paint, you just need to get your brush wet and put several drops of water into the cake. Swish it around and you can put the color wherever you want.
In order to start, you need to begin with watercolor paint washing. Mix a little bit of paint with a lot of water and apply it to the paper in large areas. For example, if there is a large part with trees, get a little bit if green paint on your brush, add it to a large puddle of water, and spread it across that area with your brush.
The other form of watercolor paint is tubes, just like acrylic and oil paint. You use the watercolor paint just as you use the cakes, only you squeeze it out of the tube. You don't need to add water to get the color activated, but you do need it to thin out the paint and get it to the consistency of watercolor paint.
Remember, watercolor paint, tube or not, should not look like oil paint or acrylic paint when you apply it to the paper. It should look like water with the color in it, hence the name watercolor.
When you are finished with the wash layer, you can begin to use less and less water to get a darker color. Start with the color and work your way up. As you add more paint, you can become more intricate. Be careful when you add the paint, because if you put down a new color and it touches another color that is still wet, it will mix. You can't paint over or fix watercolor, so you have to get it right the first time.
Follow these watercolor painting techniques and you should be able to get the hang of watercolor. Start painting and practicing right away and you will get a hang of it.
By: Samantha Usher
