/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

What are some good brushes and which sizes do you need? I've heard good things about aquabrushes but I'd like to try with regular brushes first (and I don't plan on doing plein air yet)

I don't know much about it, but I do know all of my art professors repeatedly say to use camel-hair brushes for watercolors.

any recommended watercolor pencil set?

>>2110217
I hear watercolor is difficult. I don't get the difficulty. Just mind the amount of water you're using and it won't end up messy......right?

>Tried out water color/traditional for the first time
>2 hours paint and color prep
>1 hour of actual painting

Any tips on how to quicken work with watercolor painting?

>>2110351
somewhat but even with minding your water the consistency of the medium itself is a bit hard to control

while you can be fairly technical with it, it has a way higher skill cap to be able to do those types of things

water colors just like to run around and not detail

>>2110366
Don't stretch watercolour paper, just use cp illustration board.

Wait, you said paint and color prep. What on earth were you doing? I have a palette with dried wc paint in it: I just crack it open and go!

>>2110351
Basically, watercolours are not forgiving. If you fuck up or want to overpaint something with oils, you can. If you fuck up with watercolours, you've permanently fucked up. Also, because they are transparent, the more you work on it, the muddier it gets, and there's no going back.

I find the best way to paint with watercolours is patiently: start with the lightest colours and slowly layer subsequent colours, letting each layer dry inbetween. I hear you can add alcohol to them to make them dry faster.

If you want to add blending and fading, you have to do so while wet, it usually takes some foreknowledge/planning.

W&N are amazing watercolors, but if you want something more professional tier, save a lot for Rembrandt since they're hella expensive http://www.dickblick.com/products/rembrandt-watercolor-pan-sets/ Until now, keep working with W&N.
I have hear good comments about these brushes, too https://www.rosemaryandco.com/

Bumper

trying out gesture with watercolors..

>>2112149
Try a watercolor pen or a waterbrush, it's a lot easier to work with for things like gestures.

>>2112157

any watercolor pencil you recommend?

https://youtu.be/4sl829BZ03w

>>2112158
DA: I love Caran D'ache watercolored pencils.

>>2110217
>45 pan set
That's what too many man, you only need 12-14 colors max. Gurney uses 8, IIRC. A selection like so should serve you well;
>Cad Yellow Light/Hansa Yellow
>Cad Yellow Deep
>Cad Red Med.
>Alizarin Crimson
>Ultramarine
>Sap Green
>Viridian/Pthalo Green
>Yellow Ochre
>Burnt Sienna
>Raw Umber
>Ivory Black
And a tube of white gouache because white pans kind of suck, or at least that's been my experience of it.
>for brushes also no idea so maybe a random £5 set for now
Small Round, large Round, 1/4 Inch Flat, 1 Inch Flat.
>>2110255
I don't know why, most people use sable brushes. Synthetics are fine too.

>>2113178

I already bought the 45pan set (waiting for it to arrive) but i'll try to stick to the colors you suggested so i learn how to mix well at least

thanks for the tips!

>>2112158
pen ain't pencil

Im like 1 year ago with watercolors and still i dont understand them at all.
i have the winsor too.

>>2113178
What the flying fuck is guash anyway?

Frazetta used super cheap cake watercolors...just saying you dont need super expensive shit.

>>2113793
It's basically watercolor with a higher pigment density and titanium white added so it's opaque.
>>2113821
Frazetta also used oil paints and if Gurney's post about working with him on Fire and Ice is any indication Frazetta didn't give half a fuck about material science of any sort, he just used what the fuck ever.

Fuck pans, get some tubes and gouache as well. Nice large base washes in watercolor with highlights and detail in gouache. Shit is crispy.

Watercolours capture a kind of energy in my opinion. Racing a bead of liquid can be heartpounding. It keeps you on your toes

>TFW seeing the bead get bigger
>TFW trying to work around it
>TFW in runs
>FUCK YOU GODDAMN WHERES MYTOWEL.PNG

Im weak in this art, but i bought pencils because they seem fun

https://youtu.be/IZ8u8dDpRr0

Some paint origin history with some watercolour tips

>>2113933
So, don't paint like a heartless zombie, have some fun and excitement?

>>2116786
It just makes me panic, that's all.

>>2113178
Still way too many if you're just starting out. Cobalt, cad red, aureolin, and burnt sienna.

Buy tubes. Cakes are only good for plein air painting.

Buy a few Strathmore watercolor pads. They're not the best but good for exercises. Make sure to tape everything down so it doesn't buckle. Or, if money's not a problem, get a block of Arches.

>>2110366
Wtf.

>>2110404
>If you fuck up with watercolours, you've permanently fucked up.
This isn't entirely true. Unless you're painting with staining colors, a lot of color can be lifted out. Sure, you'll never get the intensity of the white of the page again, but a lot of pigment can be removed with a clean wet brush + toilet paper.

>If you want to add blending and fading, you have to do so while wet, it usually takes some foreknowledge/planning.
The paint does have to be wet, but you don't need to blend things immediately. The beauty of WC is that unless you spray it down with some kind of coating, the paint should always be moveable. If you want those beautiful blooms you work wet in wet, but for a more controlled gradient you would probably want to glaze which is where you let the paint totally dry and go back over it with a different color.

As for brushes, get a #10 round and a couple flats. A good WC brush will be short with a sort of chiseled end.

What do you do for less saturated/brighter colours?
My set is few colours, all saturated. To make these less saturated, I blend the colours with a lot of water on a palette, but the result is a little different each time. Is this just the way it is, or is it a better way of doing it?

>>2117166
Less water and/or more layers.

>>2117170
Opposite.

>>2115927
Cant speak french, but good tutorial, thx.

Also, what are these small "holes" in the watercolor-painting-device. The big ones seem to be for color mixing, right?

What are the small

>>2117170
That doesn't really make much sense though.

>>2117182
I guess this.

Also in general, I tend to dip my brush in water, then in the (mixed)colour on my palette, and then paint. I also go over the area of my drawings that I will colour with water before applying colour. Is this wise, or just uneccesary?

>>2117486
>I tend to dip my brush in water, then in the (mixed)colour on my palette, and then paint.
I always give my brush a drink before I use it unless I'm going to do any dry brushing.

>I also go over the area of my drawings that I will colour with water before applying colour.
This will help the paint stay "in the lines" and help it from bleeding all over.

Excuse the weeb subject, but I do watercolour painting. I literally use cheap ballpoints/biro pens, major brushes watercolour paints, and really old brushes. For paper, I use 160 gsm that I bought in bulk pretty cheaply. (I also sketch out what I want to draw first in a regular HB pencil.) That's it. That's all I use. Can you tell?

>>2117588

I also use a white gel pen, sorry.
And by "Can you tell?" I'm asking whether the lack of quality materials shows badly.

>>2117166
>less saturated
Depending on what you're looking to do, either more water(paler color) or mixing to desaturate the color or achieve a desaturated version of it(example: instead of using a yellow, when I want a desaturated yellow I usually mix it from Hooker's Green and Cadmium Orange).
>brighter colors
Less water/more layers.
>>2117588
>>2117590
Lack of skill shows more.

>>2117667

>Lack of skill shows more
What do you suggest I do to improve?

>>2117677
Have you ever heard of Treacher Collin syndrome?

I think you are trying to make a sad, doe-eyed looking character but it actually looks affected by Treacher Collins.

I think it needs brow bones and cheekbones.

>>2117588

The base drawing you used is not constructed very well but here is some general advice.

Use a graphite or watercolor pencil.

Learn how to make a proper wash first of all. If you're stippling and pecking at the painting you'll be sure noone will like it.

Learn edge control with the medium (difficult)
but necessary in order to depict things somewhat correctly.

It's a really tricky medium for beginners but every beginner seems to take to it, it should have a feeling of accidental beauty with color seeping into color.

Check out Sargent or Mullins watercolor work if you want some inspiration/study material.

>>2117685
>>2117682

Thank you so much, both of you, for the help/advice/input. The thing I hate most about my art is the black lines. I'm very Child With A Colouring Book and have no idea how to get rid of them - would that relate back to edge control?

>>2117588
That doesn't look realistic, and if that's what you're going for >>2117682 and >>2117685 are right, I personally like the style of it.

>>2117694

It's more about dexterity and what medium you're using for the initial sketch.

If you're using pen for a base drawing it's very unforgiving combined with watercolor you have very little room for error.

It's why I suggested using graphite or a watercolor pencil for your base sketch.

Faggot here who bought the 45 pan set

Should I have bought a wide range of water colour pencils instead? Or is a 12 pencil set more than enough?

>>2117828


my set arrived.

very excited... it's kinda tiny though.. how long would a half pan last? it doesn't look like it will last me 6 months

>>2118471


i also have a royal & langnickel tube set. can I get away with mixing them with the winsor set? or should I use them seperately

>>2118471
Depends on how much you use them. It should last quite a while, though. Watercolors go quite a bit further than other paints.
>>2118487
Honestly Royal & Langnickel is cheap as cheap gets, and while you can mix them, you'd be losing on the better properties of the superior W&N paints.

>>2118487

That was my first watercolor set, they're pretty shitty imo. But it's good to mess around with if you don't know what your doing. Afterwards I bought a Sakura travel set or like 15 colors for like $30. The color differences make so much

I recently took a class for watercolor painting but it was way too short. I didn't realize how time-consuming the preparation and painting a picture is compared to when I would just fool around with a waterbrush and a cake set over doodles, it's definitely something you have to keep doing to get better at.

>>2110351
My teacher said that watercolor is the most difficult style of painting to do but there's also a ton of variety to what you can make with watercolor paint, especially when you start implementing negative space or get used to controlling the movement of paint with your brushes.

Not sure if all of these are good info but from what I gathered in the class
>palette paper is extremely helpful
>raw umber and payne's grey are necessities
>round brushes are better than chisel shaped brushes
>animal hair brushes are usually recommended over synthetic
>use a low-setting hair dryer if you think your paint is too wet to brush over
>when making a palette reuse the same spots for your paints to make it more organized
>block pads are better than paper sheets because they don't buckle/need to be stretched
>you should have two cups of water, one that is half-filled for cleaning and another that only has enough water to reach the bristle base on the brush when it needs more wetness

>>2110366
Make or buy a lightboard for transferring your drawings.

>>2119419
>>raw umber and payne's grey are necessities
I would agree with Raw Umber, but Payne's Grey is just a convenience mixture, so you can mix it on the palette without the need for it's own pan or tube.
>Originally a mixture of iron blue (Prussian blue), yellow ochre and crimson lake,[3] Payne's grey now is often a mixture of blue (ultramarine or phthalocyanine) and black [4] or of ultramarine and Sienna.

>>2110217
Use 200 lb paper so you don;t have to stretch it,

Buy a size 10 round brush, and a no.2 rigger.

Get yellow ochre, burnt sienna & ultramarine.
You can mix greens, get darks, & have your 3 basic earth based primaries.

I never need pencils except a 2b for sketching.

>>2119557

shouldn't you use a lighter pencil?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGWF1ccVHh4

>>2120156
if you want a lighter pencil dont use too much pressure

you can also use a watercolor pencil to sketch, so when you color it after it kinda fades away

>>2119434
prussian blue is the best blue

>>2120798
I'll be honest, Ultramarine is my go-to blue 95%~ of the time.

I feel if I continue with this I'm going to screw it up.

traditional art is daunting

>>2121439
If you fuck up, you just start again.

To git gud you'll need to do thousands of paintings, so don't sweat the fuck ups. They'll happen and you just try to avoid it the next time.

What type of paper is he using? Cardboard paper?

>>2121696
Looks like toned paper to me.

>>2121439
Anything is daunting if you're a pussy.

>>2121696
Who made that? It's amazing.

>>2121696
midtone paper

>>2121696
anyone know the actual sketchbook? i have a toned sketchbook but i dont think the paper can hold watercolor that well

Bump

Just finished painting, how do I protect it without framing?

How does anyone keep their stuff with no frames?

>>2127497
I'm not really sure what you mean. Just put it in a folder somewhere, if it's decent (pigment) paint on acid-free paper it should last forever. If you aren't touching it or exposing it to harsh light it will last a lot longer than you will.

>>2127497
Use some sort of fixative or sealer if you're really worried about it. But if you're just tossing it in a folder or something it'll be fine.

>>2127508
>>2127510
Sadly my fixative is only for charcoal, pencil and pastel so it probably isnt a good idea to use it on watercolor.

Just worried since I live somewhere extremely polluted + tropical and I wouldn't want it to get dirty/wet. A clearbook should work right?

>>2127515
A chemically stable pigment on acid-free paper is about as archival as it gets, friend. I have no idea what a clearbook is (as an American), but just don't get your painting dirty or wet! Are you in a war zone or something? I think you might be over-thinking this.

>>2127520
Sorry, I probably am. First time I've painted on proper watercolor paper so I am paranoid as hell. I live in the Philippines so you can imagine the dirt and dust.

I meant this thing. So just keep it, and when I scan it it should be no problem either, yes? Thanks for all the help

>>2127515
Still, something like clear acrylic matte sprayed over it should seal it.

I would ask google if I wear you.

>>2127527
>I live in the Philippines so you can imagine the dirt and dust.
>I meant this thing. So just keep it, and when I scan it it should be no problem either, yes?

I really can't imagine the dirt or dust, really. I spend all my time indoors. And I have no idea what the thing you posted even is. Like, a binder full of plastic pouches or something? I'm going to advise against spraying anything on your painting like the other anon is saying. Pigment (a solid particle that is chemically stable) on a decent substrate (if acid-free, also chemically stable) will last long after you die. To be more clear: a watercolor painting will be around a lot longer than your hard drive will. Don't worry and just paint. Look how many paintings have survived hundreds of years with no thought given to how archival the paint/substrates were.

Did some watercolor universe meme

had a play with some watercolour pretty av

>>2127852
at least mention that you got that from tillith for fucks fuck.

>>2128018

Well I did say meme because everyone's doing it, and its easy to find her tutorial anyway

>>2128024
i'm probably sounding pretty butthurt here but
it's not about what words you use or how easy something's to find, but about showing respect to the artist in crediting him/her

>>2127994
have some play with gestures m8

>>2128035

And she probably got that round universe idea off Lindsay Victoria Lee http://lindsayvictorialee.tumblr.com/post/111474313743

Still, I get your point bro so I'm sorry. I'm still new to watercolours and I see so many cool shit that inspire me

>>2128067
Working on it, as the mood takes me

>>2128035
Yeah, no. You credit someone for their work, not for starting a meme that probably has roots in things they didn't probably even create.

>>2128018
>>2128035
>>2128069
Are you aware you guys are discussing who should be credited for dropping watercolor inside circles?
Sometimes it pains me read through this sri lankan watercolor caricature board.

>>2128035

>>>/tumblr/

>>2128111
learn to contemporary art

>>2117828
The only pencil you need is an HB.

Is it better to scan a watercolor piece or take a high res picture?

I found that scanning loses some of its color but I don't know if it's my scanner

>>2129332
Depends. If you've got a good lighting setup(Read: DSLR + two softboxes) photos are probably the way to go, since RAW data files will give you more room to work with and a high end camera will give you better results than a low end scanner. But then a high end scanner might do just as well.

>>2129360

And camera or scanner you recommend?

>>2129395
Any DSLR or even some mirrorless cameras will work. Basically something that has some sort of RAW format, interchangeable lenses and a hot shoe at the very least. A 50mm /1.8 lens(full frame on an APS-C means no worries about corner falloff/softness/distortion), but a 35/2 would probably be better on APS-C(and more expensive). Since it would be studio work it you wouldn't need a super heavy duty tripod, just a steady one, plus lights, soft boxes, stands...

Just browsing around Adorama you can easily go over $1k(DSLRs start at around $400), but the advantage of a camera rig is that it's more versatile. You can basically photograph any painting of nearly any size, while scanners are limited.

The advantage of the scanner is that it's much cheaper and less cumbersome(and typically higher res, but unless you're printing very large, it's mostly unnecessary as an 18MP camera will let you print up past 11x14 with no problems), so unless you have some sort of need for the versatility of a camera rig, it's not something I'd recommend to anyone who doesn't already have a DSLR and some gear to go with it.

I really can't recommend you a scanner, as I've owned few and the ones I have owned have all had trouble with oranges. Hopefully someone else can shed some light on scanner.

Wtf am I doing?

>>2129530
I've had good experiences with Epson scanners, every canon scanner I've had left whites super noisy (like it tried to sharpen the picture as it scanned) and I had a canon all-in-one right out of college that flat out did not scan the color yellow. Anything yellow would be greyscale. Stay away from Canon.

>>2133749
I had a Canon scanner a long time ago, and like I said before, only problem was with oranges. The Epson All-In-One I have now has the same problem, but I'm not going to buy from them in the future because of the way they handle ink with their printers(each cartridge will print for only so many pages, then quit even if it has ink; and it won't me print black and white if it doesn't have color ink).

>>2131587
Practicing I guess?

>>2133734
the little paintings in the book are gorgeous, who is the artist?

>>2134309

http://peahart.tumblr.com/

gonna post some good watercolor since everything in this thread sucks.

>>2134561


Cool stuff, a bit dull coloured for my taste but still good

>>2117192


Just more colour mixing

>>2134562
'mirin

Googled it and WOW, he painted lots of these, all equally amazing.

Did this recently just to play around with colour

Newfag here. I think I used too much water and a heavy hand on some shitty paper

>>2135111

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Q5wXtwzpE

If you live in the UK you can get 12 Reeves watercolour paper for £2.50 which is incredibly cheap for britshekel currency (cheaper than what I found online)

>>2135111

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Q5wXtwzpE

If you live in the UK you can get 12 Reeves watercolour paper at Wilkinsons for £2.50 which is incredibly cheap for britshekel currency (cheaper than what I found online)

>>2116900
Love the lighting in this.

>>2128191

45pan anon here, been watercolouring for a few weeks and I agree, I haven't felt the need to use watercolour pencils. Maybe for highlights but I dunno how good the light pencils are

For fine lines I'm considering using dip pens, is that a good idea?

>>2135713
You can do it, but the flow isn't amazing. Water has a higher surface tension than ink, which has alcohol added. I haven't tried adding alcohol but it might work.

Just did this the other day, what do you guys think?

>>2136016
the bottom half of her face is well realized; the rest, not so much.

>>2134562

This is how good I'll need to get before I'm ever happy.

>>2136016

Your colour mixing is fucking astoundingly good

Is it possible to build shadows using one colour and glazing?

post some watercolor videos guys.

https://youtu.be/XGWF1ccVHh4

https://youtu.be/gtfl64iet2I

https://youtu.be/2VeDhq8Y4cU
https://youtu.be/7SNJtLdfK4I

Glazing and charging

https://youtu.be/cGOVVE2JESo

>>7185278

Is there a website which lists what color are transparent, opaque and their other properties?

>>2138350
try handprint.com

>>2138350
Usually tubes will say on them, and manufacturer's will have it listed on their website.

>>2121895
>>2121740
>>2122108
>>2121696

I'm in the uk and I can't find 'toned' paper. only 'toned pastel paper', is that the same thing?

>>2136115
You can get some shading and volumes in, but no proper shadows.

best waterbrush?

>>2141480
Parka made a good comparison of waterbrushes:

http://www.parkablogs.com/content/waterbrush-comparison-which-best

Bump

>>2141536

awesome blog, thanks for sharing

>>2141536
>http://www.parkablogs.com/content/waterbrush-comparison-which-best

This one was seriously good, thanks. Even found out that my old Pilot SN50FDF-B cheapo can be disassembled. Took it in parts, cleaned and refilled; my life is now complete.

45 winsor pan anon here

after practicing for a few weeks with cheap £5 synthetic brushes I finally decided to spend a decent amount on some sable brushes

they are huge compared to the cheap set. definitely not portable. the brushes also feel kinda stiff, is this normal? is there something I should do when I'm using it for the first time or should I dig right in? and how should I take care of them to keep them in the best condition?

I don't want them to end up like my cheap brushes (cracks on the handle, hairs no longer straight)

>>2149013
new brush has gum arabic in it to make it stiff, dip them in water until it wears off before using them.

to take care of brush you need to clean it with brush soap after you've finished painting and not gonna use it for a long time.

also the best position for letting a brush dry is vertically with the hairs pointing downward so it minimize the water going to the ferrule.

>>2149076

Awesome, thanks!

>>2121696

How does he get colours this vibrant? I brought a midtone sketchbook and my yellows are nowhere near as bright as his work.

Does he just paint white underneath and then add other colours?

>>2133734
i just want a series of pictures like these

>>2133749
>Stay away from Canon.
I have an all-in-one printer from Canon. The scanner crapped out and refuses to even let me print. It's currently an overpriced paperweight.

>>2150426
It doesn't look like he's using gouache so I'd wager little water + multiple applications. Watercolors are only so transparent, and if you use enough pigment it will eventually become opaque.

>>2150426
He wrote on muddy colors:
>A little trick for making your sketchbook illustrations more vibrant is to later use Gesso for the highlights and then once dried, apply a thin layer over it using Acrylic dyes increasing the vibrancy ten fold.

Are these any good for a starter to practice with, but still get good results with later? I'll put it this way, better than crayola?

>>2112157
I've never heard of a watercolor pen. The idea sounds amazing.

>>2121696
I have one of these. Daler Rowney Earthbound sketchbooks or else Strathmore tanned sketchbooks are good midtone sketchbooks. Who's the artist?

>>2133734
How much did the paint set cost and what is it?

>>2141480
I own the far left one. I don't think you really need a shit load of brushes though

>>2152020

far left...?

>>2152631
Too deep for you?

>>2152648

your mum

>>2121841
pretty sure that's Kenneth Rocafort

Self portrait. You guys can either rate my bod or the painting, either way

actually it's a live figure drawing

>>2152948

Need to work on your traps brah.

>>2152948
uhhh those legs??? explain???

>>2152957
what are traps?

>>2152958
What you don't like my legs? Whats wrong with my legs?

>>2152976
I can't feel your legs

>>2152976
>what are traps?

Your trapezius muscles bro beans, you need to start doing barbell shrugs and learning your anatomy pronto tonto.

>>2153035

Oh you mean the trapezius. No I memorized human anatomy years ago, I know how the trapezius interacts with the skeleton and surrounding muscles. I just don't have very angular shoulders because I don't get much exercise. Still saf tho

I got these at WHSmith because they were on sale at only £7

they are unsurprisingly not that good though, colors not as vibrant as the cotman and they don't work well at all with cheap watercolor paper, although they workfine with bleedproof marker paper with the main problem being that it wrinkles

how can I minimum wrinkling? and whats the best use I can make for these pencils?

>>2155192

forgot image

>>2155192
>how can I minimum wrinkling?
stretch your paper

> and whats the best use I can make for these pencils?
sell it for £8

>>2150680

I bought these after using a generic one, the colors are so vibrant. Totally worth.

>>2139797
sorry for late reply, i have this one. its 80lb. paper so i dont think watercolor will be that great on it. thats why i was wondering if anyone knew of any heavier paper.

>>2155724
I have the larger version of that and watercolor works on it just fine. It doesn't warp as much as you'd think - water just doesn't seem to soak into it well.

The easiest alternative I can think of is to take some watercolor paper and tone it with a wash of acrylic paint.

>>2155789
This isn't something I've tried myself but wouldn't it be better to just stretch regular watercolour paper but use tea or coffee to soak it?

>>2155812
Well, I suggested acrylic because it's waterproof and fairly easy to get a flat wash. I don't know how well tea or coffee will hold up to washes over it, so I would go to acrylics first. But you could definitely try that and I would be interested to hear about your results.

Bump

>>2155818
Tried it out with mixed results. The sheet I stretched didn't hold unfortunately but the scraps I tried didn't warp as badly as I expected either. Tea seems to give a darker more textured look and I think it holds the paint ok. Coffee looks smoother but it smells faintly once its dry and if you drop water on it it'll effect the stain. In both cases it tends to soak into the edges but its less obvious once dry.

Acrylic or actual toned paper would be better but I think if you were stuck for toned paper it's ok to work on. Tea is on the right and on the board, coffee is on the left. I might try hot pressed paper today if I have some time.

>>2150605
>>2121696


can I use correction fluid and paint over it? would that give the same effect?

>>2159619
Why would you get toned paper only to white out part of it and then paint over that as if you were painting on white paper? I would simply be easier to start with white paper like normal.

>>2159634

Only to get certain parts more vibrant in colour, not to white out the whole paper

>>2159634
It can be necessary for some techniques:

>If, however, the color beneath is wholly opposed to the one you have to lay on, as, suppose, if green is to be laid over scarlet, you must either remove the required parts of the under color daintily first with your knife, or with water; or else, lay solid white over it massively, and leave that to dry, and then glaze the white with the upper color. This is better, in general, than laying the upper color itself so thick as to conquer the ground, which, in fact, if it be a transparent color, you cannot do. Thus, if you have to strike warm boughs and leaves of trees over blue sky, and they are too intricate to have their places left for them in laying the blue, it is better to lay them first in solid white, and then glaze with sienna and ocher, than to mix the sienna and white; though, of course, the process is longer and more troublesome. Nevertheless, if the forms of touches required are very delicate, the after glazing is impossible. You must then mix the warm color thick at once, and so use it: and this is often necessary for delicate grasses, and such other fine threads of light in foreground work.

(The Elements of Drawing In Three Letters to Beginners)

>>2158567
did you paint the strawberries?
looks neat

Thanks everybody for their input on this so far, I've learned a lot of where I'm going wrong.

Does anybody have any books/tutorial sites/videos/ect they recommend for further learning?

>>2160764
see >>2159912

>>2160515
Yeah, thank you. I just wanted to try something to see how it held up on the paper.

>>2160764
It's a bit expensive but Urban Watercolor Sketching by Felix Scheinberger is good. It covers all the bases and really helped me build confidence to try different things.

>>2161208
I think something like this would look better if you allowed the paint to move on its own more, it looks a little overworked. You should look at this.
>>2136791
If you try charging the colours might look more vibrant.

Trying painting for the first time with watercolours...damn it's taking forever to dry and my paper seems to be buckling even though I stretched it...Practice makes perfect I guess.
Bought a Windsor & Newton Cotman 667 chiseled brush...I'm so in love.

Did this a couple of weeks ago, what do you guys think?

>>2162279
Get a travel size hair dryer, or full size, to dry the paper. Still not instant but faster than air drying.

>>2165134
I love this

>>2152948
Your proportions are complexly fucked mate, at least with the legs they are way too short unless the dude is actually a wheelchair patient also the neck is kinda fucked up but still plausible.

>>2160764
>>2162279


OP here, glad to see this thread still going and has gotten some people to have a go at the medium. I hope watercolour threads become a regular thing and we can get more people participating

Motherfucker

https://youtu.be/1OltLwN1M5Q

>>2165134
berry gut

Bump

>>2159619
>>2159634
>>2121696
>>2150605

So I ended up getting a tippex to try with my toned paper because it was only a quid..

...and yeah it sucks, its water resistant so the watercolors wont hold. guess ill have to try and find some De Geso

Well watercolor (to me) is more about discovering how to make it work for the subject. It's transparent, runny, and muddies so easily. Many go for it as a first paint, or even first colour medium, and that's a mistake.

I had been under a painting mentorship for years, then I happened to just try watercolor and noticed I really enjoyed it. Looking around though, many of my peers who had no painting background went to it because it does not appear require the patience oil paints can demand. Simply because they hadn't learned anything about the colors theu were using, how to control how much medium was in the pigment, and how to control a brush properly.

My advice, work a bit looser, and look for a way to imply what is there. They cannot get the hyper real textures that other paints can achieve.

That being said though, I focus very heavily on nature and scenery, so maybe I'm just too driven on a single subject

>Pic Related: A 1 hour study I did back in my junior year of high school when I was just trying out watercolour; it's the only example of my watercolor work that I have on my phone though. Yeah I know the water is horrible. I really struggled with the subject of water back then.

>>2172865
Go back to reddit you dumb bitch.

>>2172938
xD

>>2172865
try some absorbent ground

>>2172938

What part of my post triggered you? Curious

>>2172932
Post your later work when you have time

>>2173039
I work as a cook, and only really lurk here on smoke breaks. We close at 2am, so I'll be home very late tonight. If I manage to stay up tonight I'll be sure to get some stuff off my desktop!

>>2155724
I use 65 lb white paper for watercolor sketches and goofing around. Nothing major like washes. But im not good enough for a permanent perfect piece yet anyway.

Who cares if the paper buckles, just put paint on paper. Keep practicing.

>>2173093
paint the easy, the common some will say the boring, I made this the last week, no need to hurry take your time.

Anyone used princeton neptunes? how do there quill brushes compare to natural?

I've only ever used Prang and I've been eyeing the Sakura koi pocket field sketch box. Does anybody know if the paint quality is any better? Or should I just go for the artist grade watercolors?

>>2177084
I have grumbacher student grade, holbein artist grade, reeves cheap set and a friend of mine has prang, the artist grade > student > cheap set. if you can afford artist grade go for it, the intensity of color is unmatched.

>>2175608
It's good watercolor. I agree with all of >>2172932
in that it requires a very different approach, although watercolor is very difficult in many ways and not intuitive to most people. Though you can't get that hyperreality, what you can get is unparalleled luminosity and something very close to reality through the implications. Also extended techniques work better than with oil. It works very well for some people and I think finding the medium you can speak through most naturally is important.

>>2177084
Just get a cheap box and fill it with artist grade tubes of CMYK with a warm and cool yellow and two greens for convenience. Pans are shit unless you are doing some really hardcore plein aire.

>>2177113
Ah I didn't know prang was considered a cheap set lol. Do you think it's alright if I jumped from cheap paint straight to artist grade? I'm not made of cash, but I've been itching to try higher quality stuff.

>>2177120
I'm leaning towards this actually. But why are pans shit? I thought it was basically the same thing. Are tubes easier to reactivate?

>>2177411
I have no problem wetting tubes and have better luck getting them to the consistency I like for mixing because it doesn't keep adding pigment to it or just sitting on top. There may be good pans but all I have ever worked with are tubes and the pans I've used have all been awful and more like spitting out different colors of shaved ice than painting in aquarelle.

Good tubes, even the small ones, last a long time and you don't need many colors. Just pict the most colorfast and poisonous shit and two greens and call it a day. Should be less than 30 dollars and lasts long enough. Not that any one actually pays for them if they aren't locked up. It's good brushes that break the bank.

>>2177411
>Do you think it's alright if I jumped from cheap paint straight to artist grade? I'm not made of cash, but I've been itching to try higher quality stuff.
Yeah. Generally speaking, the higher the grade of watercolor, the more you'll actually get out of it since it's got more pigment in it.
>>2177417
I used to not like pans much, but then i picked up a set and used for a while and they're alright. Tubes are still better, but pans are alright IMO.

>>2113378

>What is a ruling pen

I heard this guy has a lot of future

>>2176629
bumpb

>>2161365
does anyone have a scan of this book?

>>2181112
no but It probably goes something like this
>sketch scene with pentel pocketbrush
>diarrhea pigments straight from palette without even bothering to fill in the lines.
>wonder why cotman pan never came with a grey or brown.

>>2153046
So are you Detective Baby Legs?

>>2183005
>wonder why cotman pan never came with a grey or brown.

>>2175608

What watercolour brand and paper brand did you use?

Has anyone here ever made their own pastels or watercolour crayons? the reason I ask is I fucked up and bought a tube of DS primatek malachite. Its unusable for brush application and I'm wondering if I just add calcium carbonate and let it dry will it be usable as a pastel?

>>2185985
>ts unusable for brush application
If you don't mind my asking, why is it? Malachite is supposed to be an old school pigment IIRC.

I gotta start using larger brushes

>>2186273
forcefully aborted painting

>>2186175
the pigment is heavy and coarse, and separates from the vehicle. It constantly needs to be agitated and "scooped" from the palette.

>>2186314

what are those things you use to stretch the paper? does it stretch it well?

>>2186590

Are you fucking kidding me? Those are binder clips.

>>2186607
>>2186590
im dying

>>2186607
>>2186629

har har

but really though are they good at stopping the paper from buckling? I'm lazy

>>2186630
The only thing that stops buckling is actually soaking and stretching the paper on a rack. All binder clips do is keep it from moving while you're painting. It's the poor man's plien aire canvas and a damn good one.

I got some cheap ass watercolors brushes and paper. Can I get gud using those? How much those the watercolor brand matters?

>>2186904
natural hair or synthetics? camel hair, pony, sabeline and some sumi brushes are good low cost alternatives. Synthetics aren't recommended but some of them aren't bad.


When your starting out you can get by using heavy weight drawing paper if you stretch it.

These are pretty good for practice too, especially for the price. I think #52 and 54 are fugitive though.
http://www.amazon.com/Yasutomo-Authentic-Chinese-Watercolors-Set/dp/B007XTXTKO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8


If your serious you should just get a couple tubes of artists grade, cool blue, warm blue, red, yellow + a brown or two for convenience. They seem way more expensive but they last a long time.

>>2187588
Student grade isn't bad, but what is are those color choices. Like holy fucking shit it's like you've never done watercolor. Your go to colors pigments are sienna and umber, which you really can't mix from other shit, one yellow is less than useless and depending on the blue which it doesn't hurt to have at least three of (I like iron, cobalt & ultramarine), you won't be making anything more green than dark grey, and even cheap pans come with like 4 reds for a reason.

Just browsing the new products section of my 'local' online art shop and discovered W/N watercolour sticks and markers. Has anyone ever used these things before? Are they of any interest, or kind of just a gimmick?
The merch geek in me is tempted just because, but at the same time I've never been able to get into w/c pencils or any kind of markers. On the other hand, sticks seem like they'd lend themselves to some interesting textures, and markers would potentially be useful for more interesting lettering/'ink'ing in comics (but on the other other hand, do they really offer anything unachievable with a brush or normal marker?).

Decisions, decisions.

How long do tubes last for you guys?

What should I work on based off of this?

>>2188173
Try to mix darker colors and try not to leave pools of paint to dry on the paper. Also, try not to mess with the paint too much and try not to dry brush.

It would be best to review watercolor techniques:
>http://www.watercolorpaintingandprojects.com/techniques/techniques.html

>>2186630
It yields much better results than just painting straight on a loose sheet of paper, but I'd stick to leaving my sheets on the pad they came in. Maybe I'll try again with more clips.

Just to clarify, I did not stretch the sheet beforehand.

>>2187598
le epic troll 5 reddit golds to you

>>2188443
Post examples that use the colors you told anon to use, or if you aren't derp there, tell me why I'm wrong.

>>2188445
Not the people above, but have you ever used watercolors?

>>2188287

Plain old masking tape around the edges works fine from my experience, no stretching necessary. Not good for working super wet, since it'll buckle a little in that state, but it'll dry flat.

>>2188492
I've been known to. That's how I know how anon has no fucking idea what he is talking about. I've never heard anyone speak of watercolor by anything but pigments or ignore earth tones in favor of the dullness of some brown mixed from primaries. The main issue with that primary palette is that the gamut is shit and has absolutely no splits to compensate

.

It feels like every time I'm painting something, there's this middle stage where I've got the first layers in and it's all starting to take shape but I can't shake the feeling that I'm wasting my fucking time and this is going to be so shitty and I just want to fucking destroy it. At that stage now and I have to pack it in for the night, so I'm in fucking PAIN.

What's extra frustrating is I've gotten into the habit of doing a quick small "doesn't fucking matter" sketch on the side beforehand so I can better plan ahead and be confident in what I'm putting down without getting lost. Seemed like a pretty good idea. Problem, is the sketch always looks pretty ballin by my standards because I just go for it and it's all loose and fun, but then the real thing by comparison gets so much fucking anxiety put into it because I'm trying to get it right and not fuck it up and make it as cool as the sketch so it ends up looking shitty or feeling like it's going to be shitty.

Fuck.

I'm just feeling really negative right now. Does anyone have any idea what I'm talking about, or am I just a fucking crazy person?

I think I just need to find the time to paint more often so I can approach every painting with a "doesn't fucking matter" attitude.

Anyway, if anyone has vids or image sequences etc of other people's painting processes, that'd be killer to take a look at right about now, always nice to see something taken to finish when I'm feeling fucking stuck.

>>2188543
>watercolour sketching.
>parkablogs.
>uses cobalt.
>A ~$20 a tube lifting preparation that gives you cancer.
>probably doesn't even fire his paintings.
>he would rather buy four tubes of mud than pick some up from his mixing palette.
>four reds and more than one yellow.
>still cant mix an orange shade.
>probably dumps his toxic oh so vibrant sienna slurry down the sink of esquires.
>he doesn't know how to adjust the hue of a pigment to mix his own complementarys.
>he wants a beginner to paint pic related with a $400+ 48 colour palette instead of researching and picking a few choice pigments for $60.
>he's probably a vegan.

>>2188872
The doesn't fucking matter attitude is important.
The more you mess with a painting, the shittier it will become.

You just have to be patient with it.

>>2188543
You know how easy it is to make browns, right?

>>2188957
>make browns

>>2188981
You get it.

>>2188957
If you can't see the difference, you need to stop painting and go back to wacoming it.

>>2188902
>shit taste
>never been there
>top quality granulating pigment
>so vain he wants to live forever
>don't care
>can't tell the difference between clean pigment and a rinse glass
>doesn't into gamut
>orange
>not drinking sienna instead of buying iron pills
>once again, can't into gamut
>implying I even used 3 pigments
>love that meat, honey

This is actually something I made last year. Most likely the only one I saved.

I wish I could be able to do things like pic related.

The only brshes I have for watercolor are those brushes with watertank, you press on it and the water makes the brush wet.
It's a bit shitty I guess.

>>2189099
Go steal some brushes. They usually only lock up the paint. It's the most exciting part of being an artist.

>>2189099
>forgot pic related

>>2189102

I would probably get caught

>>2189102
Get out of here you lowlife faggot.

>>2189059
>gamut
>gamut
>gamut
>http://www.alvarocastagnet.net/

>shits on most with 6 tubes of paint.
>literally a palette that would fit into my recommendations.

>>2188543
Shitting in a bowl and mixing in water does not count.

>>2180974
fucking tumblr shit

>>2190852
Fucking fuck you

How do I get depth in water colour painting? Is it not really the medium to use?

>>2192411
did you draw with pen over that or something? and, are you using watercolors with a low pigment load? It can be hard to get value if you are.

>>2192424
I went over it with black water colour pencil. I'm not sure what low pigment load is?

>>2192428

>black

That's where u dun goof

rescue bump

Any paper I can use for both ink and watercolours

>>2198656
Anything hot pressed is good. Cold pressed papers can work too.

Whenever I see really good art my throat kind of closes up to where I can't breath. I feel so inadequate.

>>2192428
what >>2193660 said

"watercolor gestures" are the most retarded things ever.

>>2198713
drink some milk and kill yourself you fucking faggot

>>2199131

Why?
No rules dude just feel it

>>2180974
>>
gross tbh

babuump

>>2192428
> I'm not sure what low pigment load is
when you're using diluted colors.
If you're using pans, wet them at the beginning of the painting session, maybe with an eyedropper, so it's easier to get the pigments.

>>2202741
The problem is cheap paints full of brighteners and dispersants and not much pigment. You just can't get straight from the tube pigment loads pigment loads with it and the colors are very dull when diluted or even straight.

>>2202803
>cotman

What is a good brand of watercolor for more of an illustration type of drawing? I've been thinking of either getting:
Winsor and Newton Cotmans
Kuretake Gansai Tambi
Sakura Koi Travel set

I'm looking for something that isn't "chalky."
I've been using tons of random student-grade ones and I'm comfortable with them. Id like to get something a little better.
Something less than $40 would be good. Pans are preferable to tubes for me.

>>2203554
Cotman is shit. Opt instead for artist grade paints. Trust me, student grade will just inhibit your learning.

Also, when you know what you like, buy the paints in the bigger tubes and just squeeze some out into a pan or something and let it dry. You'll have your pan paint and save money.

What is the best all-in-one sketchbook that I can draw with ink in but can also handle watercolour and gouache well?

I've tried Robert Bateman recycled sketchbooks but the surface of the paper ripples too much.
Also tried Moleskine watercolour albums but don't like the cold-press texture...
Handbook Travelogue Journals are closer to what I want but I wish it had a brighter white paper.

>>2203841
Handling watercolor is the biggest concern and that changes how it takes ink because of the heavy pile. You're looking for either heavy bristol or shitty watercolor paper.

>doesn't like cold press
Get out.

>>2203840
Okay, thank you. If I wanted to spend no more than say $200, what is the best artist brand watercolor paint to get? I think I have gotten pretty good (in terms of my own learning, that is) with the shitty watercolor set I got. I am at thebpoint where I feel like it limits me from doing things I know watercolor is meant to do. What are some good brands? Are the artist grade winsor and newton sets good? I heard dr martins is good. I think it only comes in bottles or tubes, but I suppose that's okay.
I'm really excited to get a better set, thanks for helping me!!

>>2203869
Winsor & Newton is a very good quality paint, although one of the more expensive brands. They excel at watercolour and gouache more than oil and acrylic, in my opinion. Holbein and M. Graham are also quite nice. I haven't used Dr. PH Martin so I can't comment.

Stick with a limited palette at first -- a yellow, red, and blue. It may not be as convenient as having a whole array of colours at your disposal but if you learn to mix all your secondaries and tertiaries from three primaries then you'll both learn colour faster and save some money. Or if you're not comfortable with colour just go monochrome for a while and shift into subtle colour (Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, Payne's Gray).

Just as important as the paint is the kind of brush you use. Real sable hair (Kolinsky, especially) will always be the best, but it's fucking outrageous in price. Find a good synthetic brush, or if you can put a little more money in, consider a hybrid brush that's made with both synthetic and natural fibres. Rosemary & Co has a good selection.

Good luck!

>>2203901
Thanks! I think I'll either buy some individual colors or maybe a sampler. Someone else suggested sennelier's.
I'll look into it more. Thanks so much!

>>2203869
Like >>2203901 says, winsor & newton is really good and what I tend to use the most, but each brand has its own strengths and color complements and all tend to mix so differently that it can't be summed up in a post.

Starting with simple palettes and building your collection slowly is the way to go. You can do a lot with either a muted classical palette of mostly blue and earth tones or go straight into CMY. 6 to 8 pigments cover a ton of applications and you only NEED more for specialized work like flowers. Sargent used 3 for most of his work.

I think the best thing to invest in after good brushes is a nice metal tin to hold it all. Water doesn't stick to it like plastic and it pools better, for one. The size is up to you. Some people can do a lot out of a bijoux box, but I prefer something that can hold full pans and brushes and has more mixing wells. It's not something you need to worry about until you know how you like to work though. I'm working on putting together a little tiny kit for hiking though. The regular one is by no means too big, I just only need like 8 paints or less and a brush or two for most things.

I prefer working from tubes for some things and they're cheaper to buy, but pans are much more consistent when it comes to mixing. I used to hate them but now use them all the time.

>>2203914
Thank you. I agree with what you and the other guy said. I also agree that a smaller color range is fine since you can mix almost anything you need. The paints set I have now has 24 colors and was around... $4 or maybe $6? It's really shit but I didn't know if I liked watercolor at the time I got it. I now feel limited. I can mix the color I want, but it ends up being chalky if there are too many colors mixed together. It almost looks like small pieces of paper are coming off of the page, but even before I've wet the paper. So the paper is fine. Also, the pinks and purples are extremely "neon." Darker colors are the muddiesg and chalkiest. When I mix more than 2 colors together, sometimes it is muddy and often inconsisent. I usually can make up for it and I get colors that are close to what I need. I am excited to try something new ^-^

>>2203914
>>2203913
The sets aren't bad if they come with a good tin, but tend to be expensive for what you get. They do come with the most common pigments that complement well though, which gives you a good idea of how to build your own palette.

Choosing what pigments to get is probably the most daunting part because it gets into shit like transparency, lightfastness, mixing properties, granulation and so on and so forth. The pan sets give you a good idea of things and are very generalized, but if you like working with "pure" pigments or have certain results you want, that means replacing shit like ultramarine with something like iron blue or something else more greenish and having both lamp and ivory black. This is also where good paint comes in because your darks and your earths are very bright and saturated and tend to granulate in a way that mixed paints don't.

>>2203920
You have to be careful when you work with a smaller range. You want it to work with what you're doing and RGB is terrible for that if you don't split your primaries. You either end up with mud or have to bring in all kinds of neon secondaries. This site is a bible for that kind of shit.

http://handprint.com/HP/WCL/paletfs.html

The Velasquez palette gives you a feel for good complements and simple mixing of pure pigment and is a great way to start and expand. I like very naturalistic earth toned palettes you can produce.

For shit that needs to be bright, I like the CMYK secondary palette. Also a good starting point because you don't need to double up on everything to switch to warm/cool without losing saturation. It's very neon but easy to adjust and pull back with little mixing. You want the neon because it gives you a wider gamut for everything in between.

http://www.parkablogs.com/content/portable-watercolor-boxes

Anyone know where you can get the Winsor & Newton Artists' Water Colors Paints 8 Half Pans Bijou Metal Box in the U.S.?

>>2204370

http://www.amazon.com/Masters-Whiskey-Painters-Standard-Palette/dp/B00EJRJEYI

Bump

This thread is still alive? Nice.

I wish I had gone directly to pigments much earlier. Pans and tubes are a big waste of time and money when learning to paint.

>>2207770
It takes like 2 hours of hand mixing and raw pigments cost more than the soul of a forgotten child. Many aren't water soluble on their own.

>>2207770
what do you mean pigments, as in powdered? I use pans all the time, they work great. You gotta use a spray bottle though to wet them down otherwise you're going to be scrubbing. Also you gotta buy high quality pans or fill pans with tubes because the cheap pans are not very soluble and you have to scrub wayy harder to get pigment out. The problem is user error, not the tools

>>2207809
Perhaps he was using student brand or something. I have been using scholar brand for a long time. It was very hard to get a good look. I made a color chart. It looks as if every color has too much water and not enough pigment, even when it does. The black and very dark blue are the only ones with good pigment in my opinion. The color chart looked very light and very poor. I tried another one with a different brush and it still looked the same. When I spray before hand instead of scrubbing like you said before, I still end up with the same results, and sometimes STILL need to scrub more. My new set of artists grade watercolors (as mentioned before) is coming in. I've been using watercolors for about 9 or 10 months. I am very excited to improve.

Also, hot press paper gives the least granulation in a drawing, so you see very little texture underneath, correct? Or incorrect? I sometimes like the texture of the paper to show and other times I really wish it did not.

>>2207772
I don't know how you got these results, but pigments are cheaper than ready made colors and they are all mixed with the same binder depending on the type of paint you want to create.

>>2207809
Looking at the topic again, I seem to have gone offtopic here, as I want to do body color and not only wet on wet and similar. Sorry for that.

Otherwise, thanks for the trick with pans.

i'm >>2208768, i switched out of drawing on tablets and computers into watercolour and i'm enjoying myself so far. i'm not an expert yet but uhhh i'll try and help if i can. my setup is a mix of rembrandt, holbein, some other bits of randomu brand tubes and kuretake and jissho gansai.

my tubes are only RBY

I think everyone should try these, plus thet are soooo cheap on amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WD5WS0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1441347759&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=holbein+watercolors&dpPl=1&dpID=41UhZ9z-53L&ref=plSrch

>>2203840
>Opt instead for artist grade paints.
Hi again. I just got my set yesterday. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. These are the best I have ever used. I am so happy and I got a very tiny box that still has all the colors i feel i need. Thank you thank you :3 Everyone shoild take this advice too, i didn't even know watercolor could act the way it does. I got sennelier's little sampler aqua mini box

>>2208930
i am not trained in "proper" western-style watercolour studies so my terms are probably wrong (bear with me pls i learned from an asian who cant really speak english), i just want to share what little i know in hopes that someone will find it helpful. my kit is as low budget as possible, i would never personally recommend a fellow poor wannabe painter to buy a 54-colour set, buy a few primaries and mix/layer your way through.

>van gogh
this was my starter set, i got it as a present along with some burnt sienna(?), another brownish tube and a greenish tube. in the end i only used these 3 RBY's lol
if i were to re-start learning watercolour from scratch, i wouldn't have bought these at all. the colour sinks into the paper so permanently, it is so difficult to wash out if i make mistakes, i like the feeling of depth i get from the blue though, so it'll probably be the only tube i'll re-purchase if it ever runs out
also i cant really explain it logically but the colours just don't feel as beautiful as the rembrandt and holbein that i have

>rembrandt
i think they're the non-student grade from the same brand as VG? i like the phlato (whatever you spell it) blueish colour from this series a lot, it gives a really sweet shiny transparent feel to me.
i recommend this to someone who is new and doesnt know where to start

>holbein
everything looks richer and more shiny than rembrandt, but iirc i picked these two reds for being pinkier and more orangey than the rembrandt red-red i already had.
i think this brand is also good if you want to learn WC from scratch.

never tried winsor but heard lots of good things about it? i have only one daler rowney purple tube, i used it only once and never again lmao i wouldnt buy it again. just have no use for it. my setup works around knowing the colour wheel & colour mixing. everytime i want to create blacks i mix red and blue, if i want it more desaturated i add in a little bit of yellow.

>>2208945
a lot of anons above have already mentioned: buy tubes, squeeze it onto your palette, let it dry, add water to it the next time you want to re-use. i do that too.

so, this is my palette. i bought this iirc from a beadswork/DIY jewelry shop for about US$1. i think its original function is to store little beads and charms for DIY jewelry work. i like it for the following reasons:

>it's cheap and i'm poor
>my colours are protected by a cap
>the palette is round in shape
i paint with one hand, hold the palette in another, and turn the palette with my thumb whenever i want to switch to another colour
>holding a round object feels harmonious and affects the way i paint, yes i m a fgt
>it's transparent so i can see clearly what colours i kept inside
>there's a little gap in the centre bottom of this item, recently i started stuffing tissue paper to conveniently re-use the next time i paint outdoors kek

also fun fact, when you wield this in public normies think you are very cool and artsyfartsy. i used to awkwardly explain that this was a result of me cutting costs but now i just go with the pretend swag :^)

i am sure someone out there has other seemingly silly but cheap and effective ways to store your paint, senpai tachi pls teach me

>>2208951
>senpai tachi pls teach me
Dont be gay

>>2204370
I have a bijou box somewhere, they are expensive as fuck though.

>>2204370
>>2204565
>>2209138
http://www.blueroosterartsupplies.com/Artist-Watercolor-Metal-Box-Small-p/blu012p.htm
I use this one and is cheap, but very durable and good quality. You have to buy empty pans seperately. I have no idea if winsor and newton pans fit in this though.

Also, does anyone else have their raw umber leaking the gum arabic everywhere leaving the paint inside dry and hard to use? Today I tried mixing it with some honey, and it perked it right up, the washes aren't a mess with pigment pieces everywhere and actually act like a wash.

>>2209260
how big is this would you say? can it fit into your hand? I'm just wondering for travel.

>>2209271
I measured it to be 12.5 cm × 7 cm. Very portable. It has a ring on the back to hold like a palette too.

>>2181112
Yeah it's on the blog site fineartvn dog blogspot dot com and the vk link in the artbook thread

Post more art of yours and/or from other artists

Using pans how much water should you use?

Say I want to paint an an even skin tone, say pic related. Am I supposed to use the brush to scoop pigment out of the pans then add a few drops of water on the palette to add the pigment too? Then add whatever colors until I get the desired tone?

>>2133734
>fetishising expensive brand art utensils
>trying to make your watercolor set look 'artsy'
This is just pathetic.

>>2180974
>that quote

>>2210029
Add a little bit of clean water to the palette, take a damp brush and wipe it over the pan until saturated and add to the water on the palette, repeat as necessary. Don't use a soaking wet brush or add too much water to the palette until you're diluting your wash. You can always make it thinner, even after you've put it on the page, but making it thicker is a bitch involving either a hair dryer on the paints or endless layers.

>>2210048

Would it be easier to use tubes for mixing? Someone posted this earlier, it looks like a really good deal for the quality.

Also, I had an issue that when I started painting over an ink drawing the Pen lines would be covered by the paint and harder to see. Am I supposed to paint between the lines or am I just not using enough water?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000WD5WS0/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1441347759&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=holbein+watercolors&dpPl=1&dpID=41UhZ9z-53L&ref=plSrch

>>2210061
Pans are generally more consistent because a brush load that you rub X number of times is always about the same amount whereas tube colors start drying the moment you put them in the palette and don't load as evenly. I used to prefer tubes and still do for some applications, but pans are much more consistent and allow for portability which is the big upside to watercolor. It's a really personal question with many answers, but I personally buy tubes and dry them in pans. You may find you prefer something different, but that's what makes watercolor so awesome.

Even transparent colors will cover black ink. You can run really good wash edges, but the best lines come from inking over at the end. Most would tell you if you're using ink you're doing it wrong, which has some truth to it, but I like painting and then doing the ink last. It's probably better to to run a masstone edge to your wash or doing the wash and then laying masstone, but there is no single correct answer and the results in between all have their uses. Some people can paint over ink in amazing ways.

I don't want to comment on those colors because I haven't used and don't know them, but I don't like holbien and those look shit because for alleged artist grade, they have 'hue' colors instead of actual pigments along with the color choices of some of those not being what most people use. Good for the price though compared to all the trash, just not good at all compared to say W&N or Daniel Smith or M. Graham. It's all up to you, but I would already be saving for better the moment I bought them.

>>2210073
Looking again at the pigments, everything is really soild except for the viridian hue, the cobalt hue, and the vermilion hue. The permanent green is debatable and the prussian a matter of taste. Viridian should be the real thing just because, cobalt because the granulation is the only reason to use it and the vermillion hue is probably not lightfast at all, has had better replacements since the 1950s and would be better served by a quinacridone magenta in its place anyway. Prussian blue tends to be very dun and greenish and is great paired with an ultramarine alongside the cobalt to increase the range, but worst girl if it's all you have to work with and don't like muted palettes. The permanent green is a matter of taste. Good enough pigment, but I prefer sap green because it's bright as all fuck and easier to tone down. Still, it's better for a lot of applications that I don't really do myself.

>>2210073
>>2210082
As this thread is on the way down now, something I'd like to discuss in the next one is palette choice. There's so much to choose from and even though most of it is shit, there's still a lot to pick from and I want to hear some different applications for it all.

I'll save most of my musing for later, but what I really want to discuss is different pigments with similar hues and their applications. I love granulating pigments but haven't really done much with opaque ones other than avoiding them as much as possible. This needs to change.

>>2210093
just open a goddamn new thread then and post a link here, not like a topic has to hold 300 posts