Easy Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

Learn how to use ten easy watercolor techniques for beginners in this easy to follow tutorial. Explore the basic methods such as glazing, wet on dry, wet on wet, and dry brush, to name a few.

Explore essential methods of watercolor painting that will improve your painting skills. These techniques, in this quick online art video, are simple to learn and incorporate into your artwork.

Watercolor painting of pansies that show examples of watercolor painting techniques for beginners next to a palette and paintbrush.

Jump to:

Is Painting with Watercolor Difficult?
Materials for this Watercolor Lesson
Video Tutorial of Watercolor Techniques
Transcript
Ten Simple Watercolor Techniques Everyone Should Know
The Golden Rule of Watercolor
Tips and Tricks for Beginning Watercolor
Watercolor Techniques How to Instructions
For More Practice
Frequently Asked Questions
You also might like

The best way to get started in watercolor is to dive right in and practice different ways of applying paint. Begin with these easy techniques for watercolor painting to gain skill and confidence in your artistic journey.

Watercolor painting can be both relaxing and fun, making it a great choice for beginners. Practicing and using these watercolor techniques can make the learning process easier and more enjoyable.

Is Painting with Watercolor Difficult?

Watercolor paint is often considered the most difficult type of paint to learn. However, it can also be one of the most rewarding.

Painting with watercolor becomes easier when understanding the characteristics of the medium. Basically, watercolor paint moves whenever water is introduced.

Many factors can change the quality of the paint and how it will react. Some of these factors include:

The ratio of water to pigment
The amount of water on the paper
How much paint is loaded on the brush
How much paint is added to the paper at a time
The temperature of the air
The humidity of the air

Learning to observe and account for all of these factors will help you control the paint. The reality is, that it takes practice.

On the bright side watercolor painting is very fun and rewarding. Watercolor paint is affordable, easy to find, portable, and lasts a long time. Paintings on paper are also easy to store.

Flexible, with so many stylistic options, watercolor offers an incredible creative outlet. Watercolor paintings are remarkable, with vivid luminosity, luscious layers, and striking texture.

Materials for this Watercolor Lesson

Water
Paper towels
Paint brushes - I am using a #8 round brush
Watercolor paper - I am using Strathmore Vision cold press watercolor paper, 140 lb., cut down to 6 by 9 inches
Watercolor paint - tube watercolor paint on a pallet or a box kit of watercolor paints. You can use whatever colors that you have on hand, for this lesson I used: Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ocher

Video Tutorial of Watercolor Techniques

Transcript

Read Transcript

Hi everyone, welcome! I'm going to show you some easy watercolor techniques that everyone should know.

For my first technique I am using watered down paint, a thin layer of watercolor paint just right onto my paper and I am going to let it dry completely and then come back in and add more layers to it.

This method is called glazing and it's a really great way to build up color. When I let it dry all the way I am going to end up with hard, hard edges between the different layers of paint, as I'll show you in a few minutes.

This next technique is called wet on dry. So I am doing just basically what it says, I am using wet paint on dry paper. Just go ahead and paint in these petals with the purple paint.

You want to have enough paint on your brush but not too much it's kind of a balance between having enough paint but not too much.

Then I can go back in and even add in a little bit more paint where I want to have, have more contrast and then I can also rinse out my brush and pull some of the paint off. So if I want some highlights or some of the areas to be a little bit of a different color I can do that as well.

Now this next method is called wet on wet. So using clean water, brush it right onto my flower right onto the area where I'm going to be painting, let the water soak in just a little bit because I want the paper to be kind of damp but I don't want it to be shiny with a lot of water sitting right up on the surface.

I am going to go in and add the paint and just a few little dabs and already you can see that the paint is just flowing wherever the water is at. So wet on wet is a great method to use when I am painting things that are further away or if I want them to be a little bit blurry.

Think about foggy landscapes or misty mornings and it's a really great technique. This technique is called charging. So I am just going ahead and painting in my flower.

And again I want the right amount of paint on my paper not too much. I can do charging with the same color or with a different color.

It is where I am going to be just dropping in color into, into the area that is already painted while it's still wet. I am using the blue here and you can see it's going to kind of blur out just a little bit and end up with a nice soft blending effect.

Now I'm going to paint using lines. Lines are an often overlooked tool in watercolor painting but I really love lines because you're basically turning your paintbrush into a drawing tool so it's so much fun.

You can do hatching you can do cross-hatching you can just do straight lines or curved lines or swirly extravagant lines really, your imagination is the limit. So just really have fun here and make all the different kinds of lines that you want.

I really encourage you to try out all these different techniques, so you can just do a little blob or a little swatch of these techniques or you can do the whole flower, like I am doing. But try the techniques yourself because it's, it's really different when you have that experience and the knowledge of having done it and then you can start to incorporate these new skills into your own paintings.

I want to show you a dry brush technique. So start with a clean paintbrush and then dry off the paintbrush squeeze out as much water as you can using your rag or your paper towel.

Then load it up with just a little bit of paint, not too much paint, and then just gently drag it across the paper and that's going to give you a nice textured, a nice textured surface.

And this can be kind of a tricky technique to use so it's I recommend trying it out on a piece of scrap paper first. It can take a little while to master it. And you can build up the layer and add different colors on the top of it.

That's something that's just really good to know how to do. There, that little blue just really adds a lot of depth to it.

My glazing example is all the way dry so I'm going to go back in and add another layer of color. So again using kind of a washed down, watered down watercolor paint but you can see it is adding in a lot more color and because it was all the way dry I am getting a nice hard edge between the different colors.

Then I am going to let that dry again and come back to it and one more final layer. You could really do as many layers with this technique as you wanted though.

This next technique is scumbling and I think it works best when you use more than one color. But it's a great way to add a lot of texture kind of quickly, but you're going to use nice little strokes and you're just kind of scrubbing the paint right into the paper there.

Make sure to leave some white areas in between because that's what's going to add the texture into your scumbling .

So this is a great technique to use when you're doing things where you want a lot of texture like grass or trees or, or even just solid areas but you want to have more texture to it.

This is called dragging so start by adding a few dabs of color. Then I'm going to rinse out my paintbrush again and then just using the paint that's already on my paper I'm going to pull out the color little by little, in kind of a controlled manner.

It's going to hopefully leave the the darker area where I initially put it and then I can pull out the paint into a lighter area. Rinse out your paintbrush as you go along with this technique to maintain the contrast.

I really like the look when I leave a few little areas of white in between. It just kind of makes it feel kind of imperfect or, I don't know, like there's little glints of sunlight hitting it.

I am adding in just a little bit more pigment for a little bit more contrast in the middle.

This next method is a gradient. So it's very similar to dragging in that I am going to start with some dabs of color but I am going to add more than one color. Starting with the yellow and then drag that color out just a little bit.

The idea here is to blend the two colors, not blend them together, but to let the two colors meet in the middle and blend together just slightly as they dry.

Okay oops! So, see how the colors ran into each other right there like that, that's what you don't want to do. You want to just kind of blend them out little by little, instead of just having them all mixed together into a muddy mess.

So blending that purple out blending, it right up to the edge of the yellow. Then I can even soften that line right where the yellow and purple meet. Just run over it again with a paintbrush.

This can take some practice but you can end up with some really nice results in this, in this method also. There's a little bit more ochre in the middle.

This last technique is called blotting. I love blotting, so you can add a lot of texture in very quickly. And so just adding, painting in my petals. I am going to add in a second color, you can do it with one color or two colors, whatever you wanted.

I love this crimson. And I am going to use the paper towel that I am already using to wipe off my brush, but you could use a rag or a tissue. Use whatever you have, and kind of form it into a point and then just blot into the paint.

So I am adding texture and also lifting off the paint just a little bit at the same time. I can readjust my paper towel to get a clean spot, so you can see that nice texture that's adding on, that I'm adding on there.

And a little bit more more dark for some contrast. Then a little bit more blotting texture.

Finally, I am going to go back in and add one more layer to my glazing example. So you can see, washed out paint again, but by adding different colors and different layers together I'm building up the color little by little, with a nice hard edge where they meet.

And that is basically it. I hope you have fun trying out all of these different types of painting styles. Thanks so much for watching.

Ten Simple Watercolor Techniques Everyone Should Know

For these watercolor techniques, I paint these simple purple pansies. When you practice, you can paint these flowers, a rectangle, a blob, or any other shape you want.

1. Glazing

Paint a thin layer of paint on the petals. Let it dry completely. Paint another layer of color over the top of the first color. Let some of the first color show through. Repeat with as many layers as you want. Make sure to let each layer dry completely between glazes. This is a technique to build up value with hard edges. Experiment with different colors.

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a glazing technique. — Glazing

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a wet on dry technique. — Wet on Dry

2. Wet on Dry

Paint with a brush loaded with paint on dry paper. Fill in the petals, leaving some white in the center of the flower. Letting each petal dry slightly before continuing to the next, may achieve soft overlapping edges. If desired, drop in some extra pigment in the center of the flower. Rinse out the brush and then lift off some of the paint on the outside of the petals for highlights.

3. Wet on Wet

With a clean brush, paint water on the flower petals. Wait a moment or two for the water to soak into the paper. It should be damp but not shiny with a lot of water. Add paint and watch it move over the flower. This is a great method for a soft or blurry effect, like painting things in the distance, foggy, misty scenes, or subtly blended paintings.

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a wet on wet technique. — Wet on Wet

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a charging technique. — Charging

4. Charging

Start with dry paper and paint it with an even coat of wet paint. Dab or drop in some paint onto one spot. It can be the same color or a different color. The added color will spread slightly and then dry with a nice transition between the colors.

5. Lines

Painting lines is a wonderful tactic to add to your watercolor painting arsenal. Use your paintbrush like a drawing tool to paint lines, hatching, cross-hatching, zig zags, squiggles, flamboyant swirls, flourishes, and more.

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows line techniques. — Lines

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a dry brush technique. — Dry Brush

6. Dry Brush

Squeeze as much water out of the paintbrush as possible, so it is barely damp. Dip it in just a small amount of paint. This works well with a flat brush or use the side of a round brush. Drag the brush across the paper for an irregular, scratchy texture. You can layer the dry brush strokes for more depth and texture.

7. Scumbling

Using loose irregular strokes gently scrub the paint onto the paper. Make sure to leave bits of white paper between the paint strokes. Scumbling usually works best when using two or more colors. This is a great technique when you want to create a lot of texture and color quickly. It is perfect for trees, grass, fruit, animals, hair, any object with texture, abstractions, or even people and portraits.

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a scumbling technique. — Scumbling

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a dragging technique. — Dragging

8. Dragging

Add a little bit of paint to one of the petal areas. Rinse out the brush and then drag the paint out a little bit at a time. Rinse out the brush again and repeat until there is a soft transition between the darker paint and the washed-out tint.

9. Gradient

This method is similar to dragging but uses more than one color. Drop some yellow ocher in the center of the petal. Rinse out the brush and then drag the color out toward the outside of the petal. Add some purple to the outside of the petal. Rinse the brush and then drag the paint toward the yellow paint. Bring the two colors together and then soften the edge between them. Practice controlling the paint and be careful not to allow large blobs of color swirl together

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a gradient technique. — Gradient

A watercolor painting of a pansy that shows a blotting technique. — Blotting

10. Blotting

Paint some color onto the flower petals. This technique will work with one color of paint or with more than one. Twist a paper towel, tissue, or rag into a point and then blot the paint. The tissue will lift some of the paint off, leaving a highlight and texture.

The Golden Rule of Watercolor

The golden rule in watercolor paint is to paint from light to dark.

That means painting the lightest colors first, then the mid-tones, and finally the darker colors. The idea is that the artist builds up the layers of color, value, and texture little by little.

Keep in mind that it is a rule that is made to be broken. Many of these ten basic watercolor techniques mentioned here do not directly work from light to dark.

While it is not always applicable, it is a good concept to remember when painting with watercolor.

It can be helpful to remember the golden rule when you are planning an overall composition. Where will the lights be? Where will the darks be?

If some areas will be white, a certain amount of planning should be done. After a vivid or dark color is placed on the paper it is almost impossible to make it white again.

When painting with oil or acrylic paint, one usually paints from dark to light.

Tips and Tricks for Beginning Watercolor

Mix, match, and overlap these painting techniques for a wide array of techniques to create with.
Keep in mind, that watercolor paint will dry slightly lighter in tone than when it is wet.
Don’t forget to use both sides of your watercolor paper when you are learning new techniques.
For watercolor projects for kids, use white construction paper or card stock if watercolor paper is not in the budget.
Practice, practice, practice! Watercolor painting is not easy. Believe me, I know. Just don’t give up. Enjoy the process of learning and don’t worry about the finished product.

Watercolor Techniques How to Instructions

Easy Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

Learn how to use ten easy watercolor techniques for beginners in this easy to follow tutorial. Explore the basic methods such as glazing, wet on dry, wet on wet, and dry brush, to name a few.

Explore essential methods of watercolor painting that will improve your painting skills. These techniques are simple to learn and incorporate into your artwork.

Equipment

Water
Paper towels
Paint brushes - I am using a #8 round brush.
Watercolor paper - I am using Strathmore Vision cold press watercolor paper, 140 lb., cut down to 6 by 9 inches
Watercolor paint - tube watercolor paint on a pallet or a box kit of watercolor paints. You can use whatever colors that you have on hand, for this lesson I used: Ultramarine Blue, Alizarin Crimson, Yellow Ocher

Instructions

Glazing
Paint a thin layer of paint on the petals. Let it dry completely. Paint another layer of color over the top of the first color. Let some of the first color show through. Repeat with as many layers as you want. Make sure to let each layer dry completely between glazes. This is a technique to build up value with hard edges. Experiment with different colors.
Wet on Dry
Paint with a brush loaded with paint on dry paper. Fill in the petals, leaving some white in the center of the flower. Letting each petal dry slightly before continuing to the next, may achieve soft overlapping edges. If desired, drop in some extra pigment in the center of the flower. Rinse out the brush and then lift off some of the paint on the outside of the petals for highlights.
Wet on Wet
With a clean brush, paint water on the flower petals. Wait a moment or two for the water to soak into the paper. It should be damp but not shiny with a lot of water. Add paint and watch it move over the flower. This is a great method for a soft or blurry effect, like painting things in the distance, foggy, misty scenes, or subtly blended paintings.
Charging
Start with dry paper and paint it with an even coat of wet paint. Dab or drop in some paint onto one spot. It can be the same color or a different color. The added color will spread slightly and then dry with a nice transition between the colors.
Lines
Painting lines is a wonderful tactic to add to your watercolor painting arsenal. Use your paintbrush like a drawing tool to paint lines, hatching, cross-hatching, zig zags, squiggles, flamboyant swirls, flourishes, and more.
Dry Brush
Squeeze as much water out of the paintbrush as possible, so it is barely damp. Dip it in just a small amount of paint. This works well with a flat brush or use the side of a round brush. Drag the brush across the paper for an irregular, scratchy texture. You can layer the dry brush strokes for more depth and texture.
Scumbling
Using loose irregular strokes gently scrub the paint onto the paper. Make sure to leave bits of white paper between the paint strokes. Scumbling usually works best when using two or more colors. This is a great technique when you want to create a lot of texture and color quickly. It is perfect for trees, grass, fruit, animals, hair, any object with texture, abstractions, or even people and portraits.
Dragging
Add a little bit of paint to one of the petal areas. Rinse out the brush and then drag the paint out a little bit at a time. Rinse out the brush again and repeat until there is a soft transition between the darker paint and the washed-out tint.
Gradient
This method is similar to dragging but uses more than one color. Drop some yellow ocher in the center of the petal. Rinse out the brush and then drag the color out toward the outside of the petal. Add some purple to the outside of the petal. Rinse the brush and then drag the paint toward the yellow paint. Bring the two colors together and then soften the edge between them. Practice controlling the paint and be careful not to allow large blobs of color swirl together
Blotting
Paint some color onto the flower petals. This technique will work with one color of paint or with more than one. Twist a paper towel, tissue, or rag into a point and then blot the paint. The tissue will lift some of the paint off, leaving a highlight and texture.

Notes

Mix, match, and overlap these painting techniques for a wide array of techniques to create with.

Keep in mind, that watercolor paint will dry slightly lighter in tone than when it is wet.

Don’t forget to use both sides of your watercolor paper when you are learning new techniques.

For watercolor projects for kids, use white construction paper or card stock if watercolor paper is not in the budget.

Practice, practice, practice! Watercolor painting is not easy. Believe me, I know. Just don’t give up. Enjoy the process of learning and don’t worry about the finished product.

For More Practice

Use the line technique to paint squiggles and scribbles to break up the paper into separate sections. Fill in each area with a different watercolor technique.
Select two or three techniques and use them in a still-life painting.
Practice painting a self-portrait. Start with lines and then add some texture of your choice. Or concentrate on areas of lights and darks. It could even be abstract.
Choose a scenic photo from a magazine or online. How does it make you feel? Using several techniques, paint your thoughts and feelings about the photo. Do not copy the picture, create a reaction to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the golden rule of watercolor?

The golden rule in watercolor paint is that you paint from light to dark. That means painting the lightest colors first, then the mid-tones, and finally the darker colors. The idea is that the artist builds up the layers of color, value, and texture little by little.

What is the most basic watercolor technique?

The most basic watercolor technique is wet on dry. Paint with a brush loaded with paint onto dry paper. If desired, add extra pigment in some areas for more contrast. Or lift off some of the paint with a clean brush to create highlights.

How do you glaze in watercolor?

Paint a thin layer of paint and let it dry completely. Paint another layer of color over the top. Allow some of the first color to show through. Repeat with as many layers as you want. This is a great way to build value with hard edges between the colors.

Is watercolor painting difficult?

Watercolor paint is often considered the most difficult type of paint to learn. Watercolor paint moves whenever water is introduced and can be difficult to control. Mistakes are sometimes hard to disguise or remove.

However, it is an affordable type of paint and is easy to find. It can also be rewarding, with vivid luminosity and striking texture.

Watercolor paintings of pansies that show examples of watercolor painting techniques for beginners next to a palette and paintbrush.

You also might like

Please leave your questions, comments, and ratings below!

Is Painting with Watercolor Difficult?

Materials for this Watercolor Lesson

Video Tutorial of Watercolor Techniques

Transcript

Ten Simple Watercolor Techniques Everyone Should Know

1. Glazing

2. Wet on Dry

3. Wet on Wet

4. Charging

5. Lines

6. Dry Brush

7. Scumbling

8. Dragging

9. Gradient

10. Blotting

The Golden Rule of Watercolor

Tips and Tricks for Beginning Watercolor

Watercolor Techniques How to Instructions

Easy Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

Equipment

Instructions

Notes

For More Practice

Frequently Asked Questions

You also might like

More Simple Watercolor painting for beginners

Leave a Reply Cancel reply