Watercolors are untamed beauty and there's no doubt about that. But as a beginner when you start painting it all may end up like a muddy colourful mess, completely different than what you were planning to paint. Yes, watercolors are tricky, nevertheless, you can paint what you want with watercolors without creating a mess. There are tips for beginner painters.
Before you start to paint, prepare your paint, watercolor sketchbook, brushes, palette, tissues (or cloth), and a glass of water.
Tip 1: Wet on wet:-
This method doesn't require a lot of caution. First, wet the surface with a wide flat brush where you want to paint. Don't add way too much water, just keep it wet. Then add a puddle of your selected color on that wet surface. You'll see that the color is spreading and slowly covering the whole wet area. This method is been extensively used among professional watercolor painters. You can practice landscapes with this method.
Tip 2: Wet on dry:-
This method is a lot more simple if you can control the pressure on your paintbrush. Get your color muddy first and keep the paper dry. Pick some paint from your palette and then soak the extra paint on the tissue. Finally, gently apply the paint on the paper and move the brush based on what you want to paint. For example, if you're painting a field, go down moving a flat brush from left to right. Because watercolors are transparent apply the light colors first and go from light to dark shades.
Tip 3: Creating gradient:-
As you've read before, watercolors are transparent so you will have to work from light to dark. Once you apply dense dark pigmented color then it cannot get hidden with a lighter shade. Creating gradients follows the same rule of watercolor painting. First, apply a little bit of water to your watercolor sketchbook. then apply light and less pigmented shade. Take some more water with a clean brush and expand the wet area on the paper where you left a light puddle. Expand it from the side of the wet area, like a wide line from left to right or from above to below. The lighter puddle has spread enough now you can add a dense shade of the same color or another. You'll notice how the paint is getting spread and creating a gradient on the wet area.
Practicing these three methods as a beginner will lead you to a professional level.
