Creative Watercolor

A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners--Create with Paints, Inks, Markers, Glitter, and More!

Ana Victoria Calderón

• Publisher: Quarry Books
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781631596001
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art Techniques

A fun, modern, and practical approach with instructions on how to paint simple motifs, create elegant lettering, and embellish projects beautifully. Popular watercolor artist and workshop instructor Ana Victoria Calderón shares her step-by-step techniques for painting modern designs in this classic medium. All the fundamentals needed to get started in watercolor are here, allowing you to quickly learn how to create beautiful watercolor paintings. Through a series of easy tutorials and projects, you will:

• Discover basic materials and tools, plus options for embellishing your paintings
• Master essential techniques, starting with easy warm-up activities. Then, learn to layer, and get into the flow with watercolor
• Get an introduction to scanning and digital editing for making multiples
• Paint a variety of simple, beautiful designs: flowers and leaves, butterflies and critters, fruits and vegetables, and delightful lettering
• Use what you've learned to create unique, stylish stationery, including beautiful invitations, place cards, menus, monograms, recipe gift cards, thank you notes—any project you can imagine, for any kind of event you can think of!

There's never been a better time to dive into the world of watercolor, so why wait? Grab a brush and get painting! Perfect for all skill levels, the books in the Art for Modern Makers series take a fun, practical approach to learning about and working with paints and other art mediums to create beautiful DIY projects and crafts.

CHAPTER 1

ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES

WHEN PAINTING WITH WATERCOLORS, you can keep it simple with a paint set (that will last for years) and paper—or be an avid collector, like me. Supplies are like candy, they’re colorful, fun, and sometimes you just can’t get enough. Whether you’re keeping it simple or love to play around with art supplies and mix it up, this chapter will give you a good overall view of what you need to know about this medium. I also share some of my favorites brands and tips on how to mix color.

WATERCOLOR PAINTS

Watercolors are an incredibly versatile art medium. Although they come in a few different forms, the key characteristic they all share is that they can be reactivated with water on a palette even if they’ve dried completely. Because watercolor paints contain very few ingredients, they dry true to the pigment in each color.

For the activities and projects in this book, you can use any or all the watercolor paints described here—either on their own or mixed together. I like to create my own palette for each project by using some of each type. Sometimes, I like how a pan paint works with a tube color that I’ve mixed with a vibrant liquid. The sky’s the limit!

In the chart on the right-hand page, I summarize the pros and cons of each paint type and mention some brands I like to work with. I encourage you to experiment—try out new paints and brands or work with what you have—to find which types and brands work best for you.

Pan Watercolors

One of the most widely available types of watercolor, pan watercolors are small, square cakes of dried watercolor paint that are typically sold as a set in a metal or plastic box. The pans can also be purchased separately to add colors to a set. Pan watercolors are handy and travel well, can last for years, and the boxes they come in usually include a mixing palette. To activate them, add a bit of water to the color you want to use.

Tube Watercolors

Tube paints can be purchased in sets or individually. I love working with a pan set as my base, then acquire tubes when I find colors that complement the ones in my set. The main difference between pan and tube colors is that tube paints are creamier and smoother. To use, just open the cap and squeeze paint onto your palette. Don’t worry about needing to use all the paint you’ve squeezed out during one session; you can always keep it on your palette and add water later to re-constitute it.

PAN PAINT TIPS

• To thoroughly moisten pan paints so they’re easier to load on a brush, place a drop of water on each color you want to use and let it sit for a couple of minutes.

• To keep your pan colors pure, wipe them with a clean damp sponge or paper towel as you’re working.

Liquid Watercolors

If you’re looking for intensity and vibrance, liquid watercolors can give your paintings a real punch of color. Because they’re usually dye-based rather than pigment-based, they’re extremely concentrated and offer a r...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. Essential Supplies
• 2. Basic Techniques
• 3. Flowers & Foliage
• 4. Butterflies & Other Critters
• 5. Fruits, Veggies & Nuts
• 6. Lettering
• More Project Ideas
• Alphabet Activity Samplers
• Resources
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Index
• Copyright
• Dedication