Growing up, I was always a pretty artsy kid. I got super excited every time my mom purchased me a new a new art kit. Looking back, I still remember some of those awesome art kits as some of the best gifts I got!
Fast forward 20 years (that went fast!) and now I am in this thing they call “adulting” as well as being a first time mom. My time seems to be so limited and slipping through my fingers! It’s hard to find time to do the things I used to love doing as a kid, watercolor being one of them! However, last week my baby started going down earlier for bedtime and my husband was busy helping some of his family during the evenings so I found myself with some free time! I decided to pull out my watercolors and get painting again.
Learning how to watercolor has been A LOT of trial and error for me but one thing that I love about watercolor is that sometimes some of your biggest mistakes (or what you think are mistakes) end up being beautiful additions to your painting. Watercolors are very forgiving! I really think that anyone can do it. I have never taken one watercoloring class (would like to!) and I think it is possible for anyone to learn with online resources.
If you’ve never watercolored before, here are some suggestions of materials to have on hand:
Paper: First, buy some quality watercolor paper. Having paper that is not heavy enough or high quality will leave you disappointed at the end of your watercoloring session or even a bit frustrated. I’ve tried several kinds of watercolor paper but the Canon XL Series is my favorite.
Brushes: Another tip would be to get some good watercolor brushes! None of those flimsy, skinny watercolor brushes that came with those art kits you had as a kid! It is definitely worth it to invest in some good watercolor brushes like these or these. I would suggest getting a set of brushes as having many different sizes will come in handy.
Watercolors: My favorite watercolors I have ever used are the Koi Watercolor Paints. These are super high quality and very pigmented. I have never been disappointed with the color quality I’ve had using these. They even have a super cute traveling kit if you like to paint on the go (or maybe during some down time on a fun trip or at work!)
If you would like more colors than what Koi offers (yes, sometimes mixing colors can be a pain!) then I would suggest Crafts 4 All Watercolor Paints. They have phenomenal reviews on Amazon!
Now that you have the materials, how in the world are you going to learn how to watercolor? Here are some video tutorials that helped me at the beginning:
How to Use Watercolor Tutorial by kelogsloops
Paint With Me: Watercolor Basics for Beginners by Wonder Forest
How to Use Watercolor: Guide for Beginners by Kirsty Partridge Art
If you are interested in the tutorials I used to paint my cute nursery animals, see below for links to find them:
Click here for the llama illustration and watercolor tutorial
Click here for the flamingo illustration and watercolor tutorial
Click here for the bunny illustration and watercolor tutorial
It’s always fun to see how your unique illustration and painting will differ from the one completed in the tutorial. Remember that everyone has their own style so while yours may turn out a little different, that’s OK!
Enjoy your watercoloring!
xoxo
Nicole
