5 Steps To A Successful Watercolor Painting
5 Steps To A Successful Watercolor Painting
5 Steps To A Successful Watercolor Painting
Plan a Successful
Watercolor Painting
PRE-PAINTING CHECKLIST
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
1. PICK THE
RIGHT
SUBJECT
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
2. DETERMINE
THE MAIN
IDEA
When you decide to paint a scene it is
important to remember why you selected
it in the first place. Your "why" will guide
your decision making throughout the
entire process.
In the above example, the light hitting the side of the boat was why I selected the scene. So, I
placed that area prominently on the upper right third of the painting.
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
3. IDENTIFY
THE LARGE
SHAPES OF
THE SCENE
Squint at the image below and see how Once we blur the scene by squinting, we see that a
the trees and buildings merge together lot of the values are similar in strength and can be
where the like values are touching. painted in a connected way.
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
4. CREATE A
SKETCH OR
STUDY
The best way to design our composition is
to do a thumbnail sketch or value study.
This is a great way to play with different
ideas without committing too much time
or effort. A thumbnail sketch can be as
small as a couple inches in diameter.
To create a value study you leave the lights as the white of the paper, then paint your middle
values as one large connected shape, then add in your darks to finish the study.
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
5. PLAN OUT
YOUR 3 MAIN
WASHES
It is helpful to break down your painting
process into three primary washes. Lights,
mid-tones and darks.
The middle value wash is the most challenging, Adding in the darks and details is the final
but likely the most important. This is the stage stage of the painting. This is a lot of fun
of the painting that benefits most from because all of the hard work leads up to this
planning. Pre-mixing colors before you paint satisfying ending. The darks really help the light
this large connected shape can really help this come to life.
phase go smoother and feel less rushed.
LEARNTOPAINTWATERCOLOR.COM
Add these 5 steps into your pre-painting
process and you will see a big
improvement in your work!