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Watercolour hippo - click to see full size.

These days, for speed, ease of use, and lack of mess, I generally use Photoshop for my drawings. However, I thought I’d make a few posts about common media, and begin with watercolour.

As with my recent post about Photoshop, I have to admit that I am no grand master when it comes to watercolours. Therefore, I would be more than happy if anyone wants to quibble with, or add to, these basic thoughts.

I’ve noted before that watercolours can be rather intimidating:

• There are well known techniques with names like ‘wet on wet’ and ‘wet on dry’.
• You can buy all sorts of specialist extras, like masking fluid, dedicated watercolour brushes, and heavyweight paper.
• ‘Proper’ artists use them (although, don’t forget, you are an artist). Prince Charles uses them!

OK, all that may be true, but there are some positive points too:

• They don’t cost much. A small pan of paints costs about £5 here in the UK (10 US Dollars).
• Yes, you can learn techniques, but the basics are quick and easy.
• If you remember using poster paints as a kid, you already know a bit about how watercolours work.
• You don’t need all the extras right away. You may never need them.
• If ‘proper’ artists use them, that might make your art look proper.
• There is almost nothing so appealing as a little set of watercolour paints with integral mixing palette and brush. And actually, the watercolour box is an overlooked example of excellent design. You can pack it up and carry it anywhere. You can wash your paintbox clean when you’ve finished with it. And when you run out of a single colour, you can replace it without having to buy a whole new box.

Here are some basics about watercolour. This should be enough knowledge to get you started - beyond that, it’s all about practice.

• Watercolours are transparent. That means lighter colours cannot mask darker ones, and is also the reason that experienced painters often begin with the lightest parts of the picture.
• They are soluble with water. The more water you mix in, the less opaque the colour.
• They can be mixed - on your palette, or on the page. If you add paint to wet paint on the page, it will mix. So be sure that’s what you want.
• You can use them straight from the box, mixed with water, onto dry paper (’wet on dry’) or onto wet paper (’wet on wet’). The first technique will give you fairly solid colours. The second, while you have less control, is where the real essence of watercolour comes into its own. The color spreads across the wetted area in a manner that is perfect for representing cloudy skies, and water in all its forms.
• It’s often easiest to start with a pencil sketch. The pencil will show through the watercolour. You can also draw with pencil on top of the paint. If you are using a pen, check whether it’s water-soluble or not. Water soluble inks will run and mix with the paint, whether you paint over the top or try to draw on a picture that isn’t completely dry yet.
• If you are planning on using your paint very wet, you will need heavy weight paper. Thin paper will buckle with only a small amount of moisture. For anything beyond a quick sketch, you’ll probably want to stretch your paper.
• A good way to start is to test out your colours, as in this page that Natalie F linked to in a recent comment. How lovely are those? If your heart doesn’t skip a beat at the sight of all those colours arranged so neatly, then, well, I don’t know what to say.

Your task: have you got a set of watercolours knocking about? Time to dust them off and get painting. For a start, why not just try out some wet on dry and wet on wet mark-making?