Watercolour help

Above everything else: buy good watercolor paper (fabriano, strathmore). If you don't do this, every other effort will be invalidated.

If you paint very wet (you soak the paper and do almost everything wet in wet) buy at least 300gr/sqm paper. It's not strictly necessary to stretch paper. Buy good quality watercolors, like Daniel Smith or Artists' series from W&N, or Schmincke.

Inform yourself on pigments, what they do, how they behave etc. There's a reason to use a non-granulating pigment over a granulating one. Some pigments don't mix well, and so on. Try to avoid paints with multiple pigments in it unless you're consciously buying a convenience mix (like Payne's Grey). If you buy cadmium yellow, it should be PY35 and nothing else.

Ultra expensive sable brushes are pointless, synthetics are more than good enough and they're constantly improving. If you work on sketchbooks all you need is a 1in and 1/2in flats and a couple round brushes.

General rule is "tea, milk, honey". You start off with light watery washes then then add more and more pigment. When you need to charge a pigment into a wash, do it while the paper is wet but don't do it with a brush that is too wet (or you'll have those water explosion looking things over your drawing). Always keep in mind that there can only be so much water on a given point of the paper, if there's too much water on the paper + the brush that water will overflow, if there's too little water the brush will suck water off the paper, or you'll have a dry smear of color.

Do NOT touch brush strokes after you make them, don't do the thing where you just mop over and over. If there's a bit of white in your wash leave it, it's ok. Happy little accidents and stuff.

You need to trust the medium, the pigments will put themselves into place as the paint dries. Gravity will slowly put everything together. Keep a dry brush and a dry paper towel handy to remove water beads or lift color off a wash.

That whole Bob Ross stuff about happy accidents is pretty real in watercolor, it's ok to let washes contaminate each other (a bit). I even like leaving "mud" from previous paintings on the palette so my colors are a little muted.

The thing about too many layers is because you probably don't wet the paints enough. Before you start, drop some water into each of the wells (if you use dry watercolor) and allow the pigments to get wet. Shitty paints also wet badly and are partially responsible for this.

What happens is likely that you don't see results from the washes because there's too little pigment in them, so you keep layering but you lose the patience to let the layers dry. If you do the above it should be more manageable. Don't be precious with paint and paper, you're gonna waste a shitton of it.

About muddy colors... don't blame the colors. Muddy colors don't really exist. Get in the mindset that you can paint everything in a super dull brown but if you place a few higher chroma elements that stand out in the composition, the painting will look luminous and vibrant and all those buzzwords they write on paint tubes.

>>2859007
>So, /ic/, how can I git gud at watercolours?

https://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html

You can /thread here

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To add on to the above, you need to learn how to be patient when dealing with watercolours. If - after getting more of a better feel of the medium - you are still lacking patience, there are workarounds if you really really need to crunch down on painting time.

It's kind of a last resort though, and honestly not recommended.

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>>2859260
>milk tea honey
>https://citizensketcher.com/

>>2859007
>paper gets ruined because of too much water/too many layers
Wait for the paint to dry before layering and use a paper towel or rag to soak up excess water.

>don't know how to properly layer colours with it, so they end up looking very muddy and off
>don't know exactly when to stop adding layers
Many people think watercolors need to be layered, but too many layers will just result in gross, overworked, washed out paintings. Do not layer if you can help it. Only layer over light washes that are completely dry. If you need to layer over an area of thicker paint, do it quickly in one stroke.

>Any other tips?
Watercolor dries quickly, so you only have a limited time to fiddle with the paint after you apply it to the paper. Plan beforehand how exactly you are going to make the stroke and make sure you have enough paint to complete it. For wet-into-wet, do it quickly while the paint is still shiny. If you get a puddle, soak it up by touching it with a dry brush.

Also, don't be timid.
Many beginners make their washes too light and dry brush it onto the paper.
Don't be afraid to use the pigment and get that brush nice and wet.

There are some really nice books about watercolor. I've been reading Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way and it's very inspiring. I heard Making Watercolors Sing was also good.

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>>2859007

There is no written rule on how you should approach painting. You can paint tightly or loosely even with watercolor. Sometimes you hear people say to let the water control where the watercolor flows, but that is just a normie meme, you don't have to paint it that way.

Assuming you know how to draw really well, then work on the following:

1. Use heavier paper. Strathmore watercolor is good.

2. Washes are great for covering large areas smoothly. For covering large areas, make sure to have a lot of water on your brush. But don't use this method for details.

3. Learn to control the amount of water on your brush. Painting tightly in watercolor means you need small amounts of water on your brush. Make sure to have a towel that you can dab your brush on to unload excess water.

4. Use good brushes and good paint.

>>2859401
>tight
this painting is 29.9 × 21.3 in

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>>2859428

You're telling me he just splattered water on paper and that happened? Tight does not equal small. How much watercolor experience do you have?

>>2859505
I'm just saying that usually the bigger a watercolor image is the easier it is to get that tight look.

how much have you had anon?

>>2859260

>Ultra expensive sable brushes are pointless, synthetics are more than good enough and they're constantly improving.

I just disagree with that, synthetic are helpful in every kind of situation but for have a nice painting you need to possess nice brushes. Synthetic will never reproduce effects you can have with sable brushes for example.

>>2859813
bullshit. you can't tell me some good synthetics like da vinci nova are not on par. they're so good nowadays. using animal brushes has become a meme.

>>2859524
>I'm just saying that usually the bigger a watercolor image is the easier it is to get that tight look.

>this painting is 29.9 × 21.3 in

Doesn't seem like you're saying the same thing.

>>2859260
>Ultra expensive sable brushes are pointless
Watercolor is probably the one painting medium where this statement is wrong. You can absolutely do without fancy brushes, but the difference in quality from a good kolinsky sable like a Raphael 8404/8408 to any pure synthetic is undeniable. They're wasteful in large sizes, but not "ultra expensive" when it comes to your average size 6-8 rounds, especially considering they pretty much last forever if you take good care of them.

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After used 2 years this kind of pen, I just discovered I can use it like watercolor pen.

Anyone has another tips like that ?

>>2859831
>>2859813
>>2859860
First of all the hair doesn't make a difference as much as the care put into the brushmaking. The reason why Series 7 are so well received is that they're made with very great care so you can always expect them to have a perfect point. If you buy a shitty sable brush it will still be a shitty brush.

The only case where a Series 7 or equivalent will make a difference is comic book inking because of the small size and hairlines you're gonna have to work with. For watercolor, I honestly don't see the point except the exclusivity and marketing angle. Many amazing artists use synthetics at this point.

Since this thread's still up, just a couple of questions:

How vital is Ox Gall/QOR Ox Gall synthetic when it comes to making watercolours? Is there an easy to find substitute that can be used in its place? I've read up some mixed results elsewhere, but wondering if some anons have experience with it.

For powdered gum arabic, should I keep the powder as is before needing to use it? I've been wanting to keep a pre-mixed solution hanging around for easier use, but have also read conflicting stories regarding keeping this specific thing out due to possible mold issues.

>>2859919
Do you mean the ink from that pen being watersoluble?

>>2860729
There are some companies (mainly eastern ones like Holbein and some handmade watercolors) who make their paints without ox gall, so you can definitely skip that if you like.
Without ox gall the paint won't flow as much wet in wet, but it's also easier to control, so if that's a problem or an advantage depends on your preferences.

You can also just add a drop or two of ox gall to your water instead of the paints, that has a similar effect.

>>2860729
>>2861413

As for substitutes, I know some add a bit of dish washing soap to their water to get strong flow effects, but I've never heard of someone adding that directly into the paint when making it.
Not sure how archieval soap would be either, if that's a concern to you.

>>2859989
>ink soluble

I don't think so, but it gave me wonderful results.

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>>2861413
>>2861418
Thank you. Good to know it is somewhat optional, depending on the painting techniques one plans to use.
The soap thing is something I haven't heard of, sounds cool. With all sorts of chemicals in there it most likely won't be archival though

>>2859837
inches. not centimeters.
it's a fucking huge image

>>2861988
You're still not saying the same thing.

>>2861988
That painting is tight as fuck, especially for watercolors. Look at the straight lines, figure silhouettes, and drapery. Shit's crispy. I mean fuck anon, are you blind?

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>>2859860
Honestly I have W&N Series 7 brushes and They are really good it is true... That being said I have some Grumbacher Goldenedge 4620's from michaels that I find I actually use more than the series 7 ones... (I think part of it is that I "save" the Series 7 brushes. I don't like mixing paint with them because I don't want to damage them from scrubbing or anything like that.)


People also say about using them with ink but I want to play it safe and avoid ruining them. Those three brushes alone cost me just under ~200$ while the gumbacher I was able to get 50% off different weeks at micheals and cost me maybe 15 $ for both, and work almost as well...

you be the judge. (I like the finished wood handles of the Gumbacher too)

>>2859401
My brain and my current level of artistry cannot even comprehend how this image was made using watercolor.... This type of thing is topically done in acrylic or oil.

Are you sure this isn't gouache or something?

>>2865456
Side note as well the red handle Gumbacher actually came with a set of tube paint, and is red sable. It doesn't retain it's point anywhere near as good as the Series 7. That being said it is a great brush an the only decent one I have ever gotten with a paint set.

Also unless cotman brushes are your only option don't use them. They are a total meme. Not worth it at all. (the rounds at least, the flats and bigger mops will still be serviceable but overall they are shit and overpriced when for a few dollars more you can get the W&N Artist series (middle tier) or the Gumbacher goldenedge.