30
votes
Accepted
Why do pencils offer a larger color variety than watercolors?
The answer is quite simple really: you can mix watercolours (and paints in general), whereas you can't easily mix coloured pencils.
For example: If I have two different blues - a light and a dark - ...
- 2,325
23
votes
Accepted
What are the advantages of watercolour paper over sketch paper?
Watercolor paper is, normally, quite a bit heavier and made from cotton. Basic watercolor paper, 140lb, is okay for practice and will tend to buckle unless stretched. The expensive 300lb paper is ...
- 3,443
23
votes
Accepted
How can I make a sketch under a watercolour painting and have it not be seen?
Watercolor is, by its very nature, a transparent medium and so it becomes really quite difficult to manage this. However, there are a couple of things you can do to help:
Draw very lightly and then ...
- 3,443
22
votes
Why do pencils offer a larger color variety than watercolors?
Something else that may help to explain the difference is that watercolor painters can be quite picky about which paints they choose for mixing. Each watercolor paint is made from 1 or more pigments, ...
- 321
20
votes
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What do you call "negative" paint?
I think what you are looking for is called a masking fluid. It is sometimes also called liquid frisket.
Masking fluid can be treated like paint which wherever it is applied will protect what is ...
- 2,956
14
votes
Intentionally letting watercolor paints dry before using them?
Many people do this, it is common practice among watercolorists.
Watercolor paints can be used in their wet form via a tube or they can be used as a dried over consistency. It has nothing to do with ...
- 141
13
votes
Accepted
How can I prevent watercolor paper from buckling?
To prevent the paper buckling/cockling you pre-stretch it, That is you wet the paper and tape it down to a rigid board with gum strip. I generally use a wooden drawing board that I made in work shop ...
- 539
13
votes
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Intentionally letting watercolor paints dry before using them?
It sounds like your wife learned to paint with watercolor paints in pans, and/or learned from someone who only really knew of these types of paints:
These are in a sense the ancestors of the kiddie ...
- 1,818
9
votes
How can I prevent watercolor paper from buckling?
When paper gets wet, it expands. Apply wet watercolour to only part of the paper, and only part of the paper will expand, causing the paper to buckle. If there are no constraints on the paper, the ...
- 634
9
votes
Accepted
How to protect & preserve water color paintings
There are a couple of things that will definitely work to help preserve displayed paintings:
Paint quality. If you want the paint to remain vibrant over time, then you get what you pay for. Artist/...
- 3,443
8
votes
How can I make a sketch under a watercolour painting and have it not be seen?
It would be helpful to know the thickness/density of your paper. The specifics, grades, etc. are beyond your question. However, you can look at the cover of your pad or pack, refer to your supplier if ...
- 89
8
votes
Accepted
Staining vs transparent watercolor paints
Usually you can't, as the packaging generally doesn't show this information.
What you can do, is
test the watercolour out in the store, which is often possible (if no direct means are given, you can ...
- 10.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Use of white watercolour paint
Normally, in watercolour painting, you don't get any "white" paint. The techniques for watercolour painting, as you stated, is to use the underlying paper to supply the "white" colour, and to supply ...
- 325
7
votes
Which tool to use as watercolor paper press
The answer is to pre-stretch the paper before painting, and leave it stretched until dry.
To pre-stretch, wet the paper evenly, then tack down the corners to a drawing board with some slight tension....
- 3,159
6
votes
Accepted
How to remove paint fallen on an existing watercolor painting with the least damage to the painting?
It's best to act quickly, and absorb the paint with either a cloth or (nearly) dry brush. You can remove most of the spilled paint that way.
Then, depending on what's still visible, you might want to ...
- 1,999
6
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to use a heat gun to quickly dry watercolors?
I don't think there is anything to worry about.
As fixer1234 and Chris H point out in the comments, be sure to keep a low heat setting. Like UV light and humidity, heat (especially when concentrated ...
- 10.6k
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a discernible difference between tube and pan watercolors?
There can be more textural/quality difference between two different pigments of the same brand and type of watercolor than there is between, say, a tube of ultramarine blue vs. a pan of ultramarine ...
- 1,818
5
votes
Restoring a poster print using watercolour
I don't have any pictures, but I once saw a "restored" print technique which amazed me. The damaged painting was valuable, so the owner didn't want to modify it directly. So he bought two ...
- 3,235
5
votes
What's the best way to preserve white areas in watercolour?
7 tips for working with masking fluid, from Artists & Illustrators
I use a great deal of water, sometimes pouring colour onto the paper from a small jar and then responding to its progress with ...
- 106
5
votes
Accepted
Is hard water suitable for the usage of watercolor?
Hard water will work fine.
However, as with all impurities, the minerals it contains will have an impact on both the purity of the colours and the texture of the paint.
Colour purity
Hard water ...
- 10.6k
5
votes
What is the difference between these watercolor papers?
Gelatin used in paper is made from animal hide cooked down into a gelatin form, while starch is made from wheat and chalk. So for a cruelty-free/animal friendly option, people do prefer to use starch ...
- 1,771
5
votes
Accepted
How to choose a synthetic brush for water colors?
I think it goes without saying that softer paints need softer bristles. In my personal experience, the best brush for water colors looks a lot like a calligraphy brush (just a bit smaller). You should ...
Elmy♦
- 12.6k
5
votes
Accepted
How to achieve sharp straight white margins on rough watercolor paintings?
In most cases, it's likely due to the method used to fasten the paper and prevent crumpling once it gets wet. This is done by using water-activated tape (a.k.a. gum paper tape and stretching tape).
...
- 10.6k
4
votes
What are the advantages of watercolour paper over sketch paper?
That really depends on the paper itself. Usually, sketch paper will be too thin for watercolors to come out in a satisfactory manner. That being said, it all depends on what your final outcome is. ...
- 141
4
votes
Accepted
Should I consider watercolor wash outlines mistakes?
You get these outlines when the pigment collects on the edges of the water you have laid down. This happens when you use a lot of water, causing the pigment to float around in the "puddle" and ...
- 2,385
4
votes
Which tool to use as watercolor paper press
Yes, there is a way to flatten the paper after the fact if you did not pre-stretch it.
After you've completed the painting and the paint has dried completely (it's really important that it must be ...
- 161
4
votes
Basic requirements for paper to practice aquarelle
When it comes to watercolor, the one place I really recommend avoiding going student grade on is the paper. There are some really excellent student paints, but for paper, meh...
On that front, the ...
- 3,443
4
votes
Water based ink durability on canvas
Some pigments used in inks are UV sensitive and disappear rather quickly when exposed to sunlight, others remain unaffected. Having in mind the colours you need, make some research about which ...
- 91
4
votes
Restoring a poster print using watercolour
I don’t think you will ever be able to satisfactorily repair a watercolor painting with this kind of damage. Gluing paper is risky, because you will never be able to match the texture and grain ...
- 2,812
3
votes
How can I make a sketch under a watercolour painting and have it not be seen?
There are special pencils to be used with water, the lines of which will dissolve in water.
Watercolour pencils
These are designed for use with watercolour techniques. The pencils can be used by ...
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