If you are a beginner, here are some tips on how to start to paint with watercolors. First thing that you must do is to purchase the basic watercolor painting materials.
Watercolors
You can use watercolors that are in cake sets or in tubes. For a beginner, it is better to use watercolors for academic or for students. Once you have learned the basics of watercolor painting you can then use the artist rated watercolors. There are different types of colors of watercolors, the transparent, semi-transparent, opaque and neutral.
Brushes
Choosing the right brushes for watercolor painting is very essential because some other brushes may spoil the watercolor paper thus making your work unsuccessful. In purchasing brushes ensure that the hairs will not lose. There are several types of brushes, the flats, round bristles and filbert brushes. A flat brush is usually long bristles and has a square end which is use for broad areas. The round bristles brush is pointed and used for adding details. And if you're looking for a brush ideal for creating shapes, filbert brushes is the one because it has almond-shape end.
Watercolor Papers
Watercolor papers come from various kinds, the machine-made paper, rough paper, hot-pressed paper, and the cold-pressed paper. The difference among it is the texture and the grains. For starter, make sure to buy watercolor papers that are acid-free. Acid-free paper will last for a long time than papers with too much acid. As time goes by, papers with too much acid will change its color to yellow. And also, it is better to use 300gsm thick paper because thin paper like the 200gsm might cause problem especially if you’re a beginner.
Palette
The cake and pan, flat plates and covered plastic palette are the three varieties of palettes. The cake and pan have a built-in fold out palettes. The flat plates is usually use for tube watercolors. And if you are in saving mode, covered plastic palettes is for you because it does not waste too much watercolor.
You also need to have pencils, eraser, tissue paper or old towels and water. Just make certain that the materials are in top quality.
Few techniques to develop your watercolor painting skills
First, set a thin wash, this will serve as the background of your painting. You can use one color or one tone. This will create an effect to your painting. Second, it is advisable to apply a lighter wash first and slowly do darker washes. Make sure that the first color is already dry before apply the second color. Next, for beginners, limit yourself on using only two to three colors at a time. Add the more intense color for later. Then, create an object as a center of attraction in your painting but never place it at the center rather set it slightly off-center and then highlight this object.
Finally and most importantly, always trust yourself. Learning how to start to paint with watercolors may be difficult at first but never doubt your capabilities. Everyone has a hidden artistic self so let it out. It is important to have a basis at first but once you have started painting, allow it to flow freely on its own and never get too anxious with what will be the final outcome. Many artists create masterpieces in the most anticipated way.
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