1) You mean body mist bottles? My perfume bottles are expensive (and not even half empty) and not designed to be reopened in the first place. Cheap bottles of body mist are regular spray bottles, so you can just unscrew those... 2) I got an empty spray bottle for a dollar in the travel section at Walmart. You don't have to DIY everything.
or use empty bottles of used disinfectant. I'm not much into perfume but I always keep a bottle of that in the house. I prefer to disinfect every little papercut and even sometimes my phone and my glasses from time to time.
if you're trying not to spend a lot of money, the only colors you need are phtalo blue, permanent rose, and cadmium yellow. if you find yourself mixing a lot of the same colors you can buy them in tubes for convenience
vivian5 I'd say a basic yellow instead of cadmium and a vibrant light blue as a 4th colour might be a good idea , since things like vibrant green and the sky would would be available, and I know a lot of people paint nature :p (sorry I'm too lazy to find specific names for colours and my memory isn't the greatest)
vivian5 Black would be nice too. You could use it to darken colors, or you could use it to tone colors down if you use water to turn it gray first. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be best to get vibrant red, blue, and yellow so you could darken them/tone them down to what you need them to be? Idk if you could make them more vibrant by adding colors.. Sorry if the colors you posted are already bright, i used a random unlabeled palette so i dont really know typical watercolor colors by names.
BeadedMarshmallows yeah the colors i listed are bright, but you can tone them down by adding/mixing complementary colors into it. you can also mix blacks, but it could also be a convenience color :)
I too am new to water colours. I decided to take it up as a challenge while I got through chemo treatment for breast cancer. It is the best thing I ever did. I love it. I keep following posts like yours and learn something new each time. I like the idea of the perfume bottle, I have jus the right bottle in mind here now. :) Happy painting.
My brother would tell me that watercolor is one of the hardest mediums to control and I should try something easier like markers. But noooo I was a rebel that wanted cool paints that were SOFT AND NEAT. (and cheap) Now I use watercolor daily and he uses digital most of the time. So don't let anyone influence your decision with something that won't hurt anyone cause you could potentially be really good at that thing. Try new things if you don't like what you're working with.
Kyla Puyat My dad would tell me to focus on acrylic rather than watercolor since he was the best at acrylic. But I kept with watercolor and sure enough, I became really good at both acrylic and watercolor.
Have you tried sketching with coloured pencils rather than graphite? I find that lightly sketching with a colour I know matches the colour scheme of the final painting really makes things look much better! Because water colour is such a transparent medium, you can often see the sketch below, which I find rather ugly and erasing after colour is laid down is nearly impossible. This is obviously a tip mostly aimed at those who do not ink their drawings beforehand.
Small Tip for the poor, like me, if you ever want one of those brushes that hold water, but you can't afford them buy a paint by numbers set, they come with brushes full of paint and just take them apart and rinse them out, it's what I use
fmaluver01 they also sell those brushes in sets on eBay of MUCH cheaper than in stores. Same with Micron Ink pens for outlines. So much cheaper to look on eBay first.
I found that with Cotmans, it was very powdery when dry and you couldn't get really good results - the pigments are duller. the dry results can put newbies off - they struggle to get nice results - once onto the pro paints they fall in love with those awesome colours. I tried the professional paints and have NEVER looked back. So while paper is very important. - the best you can afford.. but the same goes for the paint. II always recommend starting with just 6 paints if you can afford it... get a cool and a warm yellow - a cool and warm blue and a cool and warm red.... You can pretty much mix any other colour from these. Then jsut add a new colour each month or so... neutrals would be next like Quinacridone gold and maybe some pinks and purples... I find pans or tube are neither here nor there, so i started with pans and moved on to tubes - I refill my pans once empty with tube paint.. but ALWAYS professional. :)
My tip is to store masking fluid upside down. I don't use masking fluid very often and I found myself throwing bottles away that had gone gummy until I started storing mine upside down. Just be sure to close the cap tightly!
I just picked up watercolours, too. No experience, no how-to videos, no understanding even on the most basic level, so I wound up mucking everything up and putting waaay too much water in one condensed area, muddying all of my wells, and rippling the paper-- on one of those pre-stretched, (supposed) non-failure boards. It's a bloody mess... How is this even possible?? How do "first paintings" come out so beautifully?? I feel defeated. I think I'll just go back to oil painting... :(
+Sarah noo don't give up!I didn't know a damn about watercolor and i just played around with it for a while and started understanding how it works eventually.Once you learn how to use it it's so much fun!Really,just make a mess.It'll all come together.
Thank you for the encouragement. I'll keep trying til I get through my small "Fluid watercolor paper" block, but I really do feel disheartened, especially seeing people pick it up for the first time making beautiful/adorable images. I don't know how to not make things blotchy and deformed. I wasn't even this messy as a toddler. My perfectionism hates watercolour haha
+Sarah Yeah I too feel disheartened when I compare myself to others so I try not to do that.Watercolor really demands understanding of the medium.Most people struggle with it actually.
I think you have done great. the secret of leaning to paint watercolour... is to paint - paint a lot! I watched far too many tutorials when I started and not enough time painting. you only get better with practice. Keep up the good work.
oOLemonzOo - You know... that is one of the biggest false hurdles we set before ourselves. We are taught from a young age not to waste things, so we tell ourselves we must produce something "worthy of it", forget that. Every time you put paint to paper you are gaining some valuable experience. Don't start by trying to create a whole painting, keep it simple. Find a subject that interests you, that is important. Practice elements of it - Paint a tree, paint lots of trees. Fill your page with trees but after each one study it and think about what was good and what was not so good about it. Paint the same tree until it looks right then paint a different tree or flower or bush then find different ways of rendering the same elements, how do they look close up in detail compared to distant objects. Do the same with skies and other elements, keep them small and use both sides of the paper. When you feel confident with the elements, you can then try putting them together into a scene. Remember this is all valuable and "worthy" of your paint and paper.
Thank you for your advice (: I think I tend to give up a bit too easily if I find things too difficult/don't see myself progressing but starting out small/simple sounds like a good idea. I painted a flower the other week which didn't come out too bad once it was finished - I think I'll try to start from there!
I remember your first video trying out the winsor and newton pans! I remember writing the names of them down after the video and going to an art store to pick up my first set ever! It's also been one full year for me using watercolors! Thank you so much jellie for inspiring me to use such a fun medium!
When I first tried watercolours, I was using really cheap dollar store brushes and they were a pain to use. Then, at school in my art class I got the chance to use higher quality brushes & it really made a difference ☺ You don't necessarily need expensive materials, but good quality stuff is always worth it!
I also always had hated watercolors.. until this summer. I had seen a lot of illustrators using them so I decided to give it a go. Now I'm addicted!! I actually have had really bad luck using watercolor brushes. I've used the brush pens instead, which has been great for painting outside! Thanks for this video :)
A lot of artists I've hung out with and worked with hated watercolors and I never understood why. I guess I'm weird in that I love the indelible nature of it. ^_^
You've definitely inspired me to work with watercolors and inks more! I have two hot press sketchbooks right now and I've been playing with ink a whole bunch. Like you've said in the past, I prefer inks because the build-up of color is faster. I'm having fun mixing the two, too!
Excellent summary! You gave great points, without going into extreme detail. As a self taught watercolor artist, I can see how this would really help someone who is just beginning.
I should add that I somewhat disagree about the quality of paint. If you are a serious artist, it might be worth it to buy a small set of professional watercolors when they go on sale. I found it difficult getting excited using the Winston Newton Cotman student paint. But at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference, choice and budget constraints.
I know what you mean, but I think anyone who hasn't really experimented before might just enjoy cotman to start with :B professionals are incredible to jump to, but I know a lot of young artists watch my videos and the price of pros makes me flinch myself, so I dont want people thinking they have to splash out as much as I have!
I am really new to watercolors myself, and I definitely have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy them! I've been using them a lot in my sketchbook, and I just use a cheap Canson XL mixed media book for that since it handles wet and dry mediums well. For when I do work outside of my sketchbook, I like the Bee Paper 100% cotton notebook to most, and sometimes the Canson XL watercolor paper. I use Cotman a lot of the time and for what I paid I honestly think they're decent for learning with. Also, a tip for anyone new: While water brushes are convenient, you're better off getting a cheap set of normal brushes. I have a few water brushes and I can't say I really like any of them that much, the bristles seem harder to control and the water control is also not always the best. They do still have a place in my collection, especially when I have minimal space to set up, but I much prefer others.
I am just learning also. I have essential tremor so I thought that I would never be able to draw or paint but I found that if I go very slowly I am improving and can do much better than I ever thought possible! So my message is give it a try, be ready to practice, and you might be pleasantly surprised!!
I guess I'm not the only one who used to hate watercolor. Watercolor is a medium that I hate the most because I couldn't, for the life of me, paint properly. But then a friend's art just ... Made me want to try. So this year by the same month like you I decided to try it out myself with just a cheap set of goauche (Phoenix) and there I began to-- you could say addicted 😂. One of my best watercolor work is the one that I'm using as my profile picture now. I can't turn back. Watercolor is something that I completely cherish now.
Thanks for this video! Maybe I need to have a crack at watercolour again. I have to say oil will probably always be my preferred medium though. Also I'm going to MCM London this year! I hope to meet you Jellie Bee :)
This April will be my 1 year of watercoloring. I love it. Not having any art background and drawing I had to learn and still am. Looking back over the past year there has been much improvement and learning of color theory, shading and highlighting. I agree with you on the most important is quality paper to work with, but you dont have to spend a fortune. just buy a pad to try then another you will learn what you like and don't. You must practice to get better but don't give up. I also stopped stretching my paper and taped it down on a board. I wanted to keep all the sizing on my paper so my paints would move better. I also just got a light box and wish i had gotten one sooner. I am a beginner drawer and although I need the practice sometimes I just want to paint and dont have time to sketch out. But my drawing skills have improved also. tfs. your work looks great! i assume you have been working with other mediums before this?
here is a fun tip: when using watercolours, you might wanna try out putting salt over it when its still wet. not too much ofcousre, but the salt sorta takes up the water with some of the colour, leaving a starry pattern! just try if you want to!
can you make a video on stretching paper? i always have lots of warping of the paper and im not sure how to stretch without buying a stretching board, your tips throughout the video were all lovely and i highly appreciate them. i've been watercoloring for a little while now (i gave up on art for a few years and have just now really picked it back up and i feel like i've losst a lot of time and am behind) and i loved this video. :)
one huge tip is like to add is to not "scrub" with your kneaded eraser. it mars the surface of your paper. rather roll the eraser into a fat snake and roll that across the pencil marks. the eraser should pick up the graphite after a few rolls.
If you are seeking strong vibrant watercolors then I'd suggest you give the Dr. Ph Martin's line a try! They make two lines of watercolors; Radiant (light resistant) & Hydrus (light fast) these are liquid transparent watercolors and they are amazing. You can also mix your pan paints with these to brighten the colors up.
I used gouache in college. I hated it at first because I'm more of a marker artist than a painter. Now working on a watercolor piece myself I have to get back into the swing of things.
I used to hate watercolour when I was younger. They felt so hard to control. Then around 4 years ago I bought a very cheap palette just to play with my niece and somehow ended up enjoying it way more than I expected. Since then I first got tubes, then a very low student grade palette. Now I think in getting a proper students grade palette as I prefer pans over tubes. I've been postponing it a lot because I haven't been working a lot with my paints lately but perhaps this Summer I will go for it. For paper... I found that I actually prefer to work on canvas. Either traditional or canvas glued to cardboard.
I practically only use digital,watercolour and pens and they work perfectly fine for me. Me with markers I am way too scared to use them so they just sit there until I need them for important artworks. Watercolour lasts a long time therefore I am much more comfortable in using them for doodle work. And I'm so glad they don't bleed with ballpoint and work perfectly fine
Everyone always told me that watercolor was like some kind of danger zone and it would only cause me woe and frustration. I ALSO had some random old paints that I’d never used, but I kind of forgot about it. I sort of just one day decided suddenly that I wanted to watercolor, and so I did. I fell in love, and haven’t looked back. Now, this year? I’m tackling gouache. I actually just put up a super basic gouache video because I’m trying to learn it and figured if I taught myself how to watercolors, I can do the same with gouache......right? And probably help other people who have absolutely no idea where to start along the way. =>.
Try to minimise erasing on watercolour paper as it ruins the fibres, making your paints go on really weirdly, also you should try the Canson Montval, mixed media XL, or watercolour XL, I really like those!
can you do a video about the steps you took to become better. like did you use it on old illustrations or did you try using references or copy other people for practice etc
Very well done video of tips. Thank you. About spray bottles. Dick Blick has the tiny bottle for $3...pish posh. Target had same for 97cents. So, watch out for stuff like that.
I made my own brushes after they broke from my rabbit excess fur, they work even better than the cheap ones i bought and waited nearly a month to arrive :)
this isn't really a tip or suggestion but in one of your last videos or streams, not quite sure, I remember you saying that you hated using white a lot and I'm just curious as to why, especially for someone who has a limited pallet.
Artsy Hulala (sorry sorry im not the person u were hoping to answer) most watercolour artists avoid it bc it tends to wash out colors and works as more of a mask vs. lightener
It doesn't just wash colours out- white is the only purely opaque pigment in good quality sets. Most people pick up watercolour because the end result is translucent- watercolour lets the white of the paper show through. If you're mixing white in some colours, you're ruining that translucency, and you might as well switch to a gouache or fluid acrylic.
Masking fluid we cannot use it on mix media 200gsm it take the paper with it when we remove it my drawing is ruined we can only use masking fluid on 300gsm paper
Amazing video and tips :) I want to get a little spraybottle too. I want 2017 to be my watercolor yearkind of. At least I want to get a lot more in to it :) Did 3 drawings till now and still need to learn a lot :D
Lovely video!! I really enjoyed all the steven universe paintings you made! 💟😭🙏 By the way, which colour is the one at 3:10 ? Middle row, very light green-blue ? I have the same set and I didnt see it in mine
I love using markers, but to be honest..if I was stuck on an island and only could bring one medium it would be watercolor and not just because of the unlimited amount of water available 😆....I love the freedom and serenity using them gives me. Uh, I love painting...always have since I was little 😊
Samantha Thrower Yea, and I also feel like watercolours give you a lot more blending opportunity and although markers do blend, water colours let you do that before you even touch the paper
TIP: USE TWO CUPS OF WATER TO CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES INSTEAD OF JUST ONE. USE ONE FOR TAKING OFF THE PAINT FROM THE BRUSH AND USE THE OTHER CUP TO COMPLETELY WIPE THE COLOR FROM THE BRUSH. I had no idea people didn't know about this trick but it's actually really a handy thing to know. :))
I bought the cheapest watercolors and scared to try them. Actually I tryed them a little bit, and hated them. But I need to give them a fair shot, get at least watercolor paper.
Luna Girl yeah, usually cheaper watercolors are made of dyes, and more expensive (I'm talking student grade, not professional lol as great as they are) are made with pigment and binder and will behave differently. They're honestly a lot easier and more pleasing to work with so those would probably be good to start with if you want to learn watercolor.
I've watched so many watercolour videos and I've never once heard of stretching your paper. So confused, you're soaking paper in order for it to like, get used to being wet so when you use watercolour on it, it doesn't buckle? is that it?
is it better to ink before you color or after? I've done it both ways and my ink always smudges when i put the color down. do you have a special type of pen or marker that you use for watercolor?
Have a small water container with a couple of drops of dish washing liquid, after every 2nd or 3rd dip of masking fluid, wash your brush out. This restores the bristles and puts a slight coating on them to help prevent sticking.
Nice job - I'm doing the same thing - but am using youtube videos - I like the variety of differences. Learning curves seems easier. I noticed you work is quit nice, but resembles illustrations rather than actual water painting??? Can you comment on your technique. Thanks - please, more.
Yeah I'm an illustrator, I work on comics and want to go into story art and storyboarding, so watercolour paintings isn't my goal - I'm not a traditional w/col artist and never will be :B
Gah, I've seen so much improvement with your work throughout the year it amazes me. I personally was scared to use watercolor at first because i heard it was extremely hard to control, but i loved watching other's videos on it and the effects were always lovely. Your channel is what inspired me to venture out and buy a cheaper set of kid watercolors, just so i could test some stuff out and not waste my money because i ruined something 😂 I've been using them for about two months now and they finally started to get low, so i decided to try a step up. I recently purchased a 24 set of Daler Rowney watercolor tubes and a 30 set of sakura koi watercolors to see if i prefer tubes or pans. I think i prefer pans over tubes, but i think I need more time to test them both out ^-^ Anyways I just wanted to give you a quick thank you for always suprising and inspiring me❤
"Ducks are not necessary for this"
*Yes they are* XD
One small thing with the spray bottle, I would recommend not even buying a bottle. I use empty perfume bottles
1) You mean body mist bottles? My perfume bottles are expensive (and not even half empty) and not designed to be reopened in the first place. Cheap bottles of body mist are regular spray bottles, so you can just unscrew those...
2) I got an empty spray bottle for a dollar in the travel section at Walmart. You don't have to DIY everything.
Desh K yeah I know, but I rather recycle old mainly cuz I'm broke af. Plus, I have old cheap bottles so it's nice to have a use for them
or use empty bottles of used disinfectant.
I'm not much into perfume but I always keep a bottle of that in the house.
I prefer to disinfect every little papercut and even sometimes my phone and my glasses from time to time.
Desh K p
At ikea you get one for like a dollar so...
if you're trying not to spend a lot of money, the only colors you need are phtalo blue, permanent rose, and cadmium yellow. if you find yourself mixing a lot of the same colors you can buy them in tubes for convenience
I use these too.
vivian5 I'd say a basic yellow instead of cadmium and a vibrant light blue as a 4th colour might be a good idea , since things like vibrant green and the sky would would be available, and I know a lot of people paint nature :p (sorry I'm too lazy to find specific names for colours and my memory isn't the greatest)
vivian5
Black would be nice too. You could use it to darken colors, or you could use it to tone colors down if you use water to turn it gray first. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be best to get vibrant red, blue, and yellow so you could darken them/tone them down to what you need them to be? Idk if you could make them more vibrant by adding colors.. Sorry if the colors you posted are already bright, i used a random unlabeled palette so i dont really know typical watercolor colors by names.
BeadedMarshmallows yeah the colors i listed are bright, but you can tone them down by adding/mixing complementary colors into it. you can also mix blacks, but it could also be a convenience color :)
Or i'd recommend brown to tone down the colors instead of black, and you could also use titanium white to soften it up
have two cups for water , one to clean the color off of your brush and one to get clear water from , it helps your colors from Getting muddy.
I too am new to water colours. I decided to take it up as a challenge while I got through chemo treatment for breast cancer. It is the best thing I ever did. I love it. I keep following posts like yours and learn something new each time. I like the idea of the perfume bottle, I have jus the right bottle in mind here now. :) Happy painting.
My brother would tell me that watercolor is one of the hardest mediums to control and I should try something easier like markers. But noooo I was a rebel that wanted cool paints that were SOFT AND NEAT. (and cheap) Now I use watercolor daily and he uses digital most of the time. So don't let anyone influence your decision with something that won't hurt anyone cause you could potentially be really good at that thing. Try new things if you don't like what you're working with.
Kyla Puyat i love how both of you and your brother are artist.
Kyla Puyat SOFT AND NEAT
seventeencarrot My sister too is an artist. She currently uses digital like my brother :))
Kyla Puyat My dad would tell me to focus on acrylic rather than watercolor since he was the best at acrylic. But I kept with watercolor and sure enough, I became really good at both acrylic and watercolor.
SOFT AND NEAT
*SOFT AND NEAT*
Have you tried sketching with coloured pencils rather than graphite? I find that lightly sketching with a colour I know matches the colour scheme of the final painting really makes things look much better! Because water colour is such a transparent medium, you can often see the sketch below, which I find rather ugly and erasing after colour is laid down is nearly impossible. This is obviously a tip mostly aimed at those who do not ink their drawings beforehand.
That is like my favorite way of watercoloring now
Small Tip for the poor, like me, if you ever want one of those brushes that hold water, but you can't afford them buy a paint by numbers set, they come with brushes full of paint and just take them apart and rinse them out, it's what I use
fmaluver01 Omg, that sounds really smart!
fmaluver01 they also sell those brushes in sets on eBay of MUCH cheaper than in stores. Same with Micron Ink pens for outlines. So much cheaper to look on eBay first.
I'm a simple woman, I see rubber ducks, I subscribe.
Soph Tsukishima lol
I found that with Cotmans, it was very powdery when dry and you couldn't get really good results - the pigments are duller. the dry results can put newbies off - they struggle to get nice results - once onto the pro paints they fall in love with those awesome colours. I tried the professional paints and have NEVER looked back. So while paper is very important. - the best you can afford.. but the same goes for the paint. II always recommend starting with just 6 paints if you can afford it... get a cool and a warm yellow - a cool and warm blue and a cool and warm red.... You can pretty much mix any other colour from these. Then jsut add a new colour each month or so... neutrals would be next like Quinacridone gold and maybe some pinks and purples... I find pans or tube are neither here nor there, so i started with pans and moved on to tubes - I refill my pans once empty with tube paint.. but ALWAYS professional. :)
My tip is to store masking fluid upside down. I don't use masking fluid very often and I found myself throwing bottles away that had gone gummy until I started storing mine upside down. Just be sure to close the cap tightly!
I am brand new with water colour and yeah have to admit it is a struggle
Inspire_Riri it's amazing 😊
I just picked up watercolours, too. No experience, no how-to videos, no understanding even on the most basic level, so I wound up mucking everything up and putting waaay too much water in one condensed area, muddying all of my wells, and rippling the paper-- on one of those pre-stretched, (supposed) non-failure boards. It's a bloody mess... How is this even possible?? How do "first paintings" come out so beautifully?? I feel defeated. I think I'll just go back to oil painting... :(
+Sarah noo don't give up!I didn't know a damn about watercolor and i just played around with it for a while and started understanding how it works eventually.Once you learn how to use it it's so much fun!Really,just make a mess.It'll all come together.
Thank you for the encouragement. I'll keep trying til I get through my small "Fluid watercolor paper" block, but I really do feel disheartened, especially seeing people pick it up for the first time making beautiful/adorable images. I don't know how to not make things blotchy and deformed. I wasn't even this messy as a toddler. My perfectionism hates watercolour haha
+Sarah Yeah I too feel disheartened when I compare myself to others so I try not to do that.Watercolor really demands understanding of the medium.Most people struggle with it actually.
I think you have done great. the secret of leaning to paint watercolour... is to paint - paint a lot! I watched far too many tutorials when I started and not enough time painting. you only get better with practice. Keep up the good work.
Peter Sobocki this is me now. I think I just don't want to 'waste' my paper lol. But you gotta start somewhere 😊
oOLemonzOo - You know... that is one of the biggest false hurdles we set before ourselves. We are taught from a young age not to waste things, so we tell ourselves we must produce something "worthy of it", forget that. Every time you put paint to paper you are gaining some valuable experience. Don't start by trying to create a whole painting, keep it simple. Find a subject that interests you, that is important. Practice elements of it - Paint a tree, paint lots of trees. Fill your page with trees but after each one study it and think about what was good and what was not so good about it. Paint the same tree until it looks right then paint a different tree or flower or bush then find different ways of rendering the same elements, how do they look close up in detail compared to distant objects. Do the same with skies and other elements, keep them small and use both sides of the paper. When you feel confident with the elements, you can then try putting them together into a scene. Remember this is all valuable and "worthy" of your paint and paper.
Thank you for your advice (: I think I tend to give up a bit too easily if I find things too difficult/don't see myself progressing but starting out small/simple sounds like a good idea. I painted a flower the other week which didn't come out too bad once it was finished - I think I'll try to start from there!
I remember your first video trying out the winsor and newton pans! I remember writing the names of them down after the video and going to an art store to pick up my first set ever! It's also been one full year for me using watercolors! Thank you so much jellie for inspiring me to use such a fun medium!
Vegas Lights that's amazing aaaaaah!!
When I first tried watercolours, I was using really cheap dollar store brushes and they were a pain to use. Then, at school in my art class I got the chance to use higher quality brushes & it really made a difference ☺ You don't necessarily need expensive materials, but good quality stuff is always worth it!
I also always had hated watercolors.. until this summer. I had seen a lot of illustrators using them so I decided to give it a go. Now I'm addicted!! I actually have had really bad luck using watercolor brushes. I've used the brush pens instead, which has been great for painting outside! Thanks for this video :)
I'm so glad that you made this video! It makes me believe that if I try again and again, I'll get better!
what a beautiful journey into watercolours! I'm a watercolour painter and I'm so impressed in how you grew! well done!
A lot of artists I've hung out with and worked with hated watercolors and I never understood why. I guess I'm weird in that I love the indelible nature of it. ^_^
I can't believe you've only been using watercolour for a year holy smokes, your watercolour paintings look like you've been doing it for years haha
Always excited for new Jellie vids!
I'm sorry, did you say watercolors are FORGIVING?! o.o I'm in awe.
A lot more than acrylic, at least in my personal experience. :D
You've definitely inspired me to work with watercolors and inks more! I have two hot press sketchbooks right now and I've been playing with ink a whole bunch. Like you've said in the past, I prefer inks because the build-up of color is faster. I'm having fun mixing the two, too!
TJ Metamorphosis same 😊
Eeee!!! jellie has returned!!!
Excellent summary! You gave great points, without going into extreme detail. As a self taught watercolor artist, I can see how this would really help someone who is just beginning.
I should add that I somewhat disagree about the quality of paint. If you are a serious artist, it might be worth it to buy a small set of professional watercolors when they go on sale. I found it difficult getting excited using the Winston Newton Cotman student paint. But at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference, choice and budget constraints.
I know what you mean, but I think anyone who hasn't really experimented before might just enjoy cotman to start with :B professionals are incredible to jump to, but I know a lot of young artists watch my videos and the price of pros makes me flinch myself, so I dont want people thinking they have to splash out as much as I have!
You're so amazing!!! I love your work!! Because of you I got into watercolors, and now it's all I use. :)
I am really new to watercolors myself, and I definitely have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy them! I've been using them a lot in my sketchbook, and I just use a cheap Canson XL mixed media book for that since it handles wet and dry mediums well. For when I do work outside of my sketchbook, I like the Bee Paper 100% cotton notebook to most, and sometimes the Canson XL watercolor paper. I use Cotman a lot of the time and for what I paid I honestly think they're decent for learning with. Also, a tip for anyone new: While water brushes are convenient, you're better off getting a cheap set of normal brushes. I have a few water brushes and I can't say I really like any of them that much, the bristles seem harder to control and the water control is also not always the best. They do still have a place in my collection, especially when I have minimal space to set up, but I much prefer others.
"ducks are not necessary for this" lmao that made my day😂
Fluffy Kawaii Bunny the ducks are absolutely necessary though.
This is very useful for young artists who were just beginning artists thanks the watercolor tutorial Jellie!:)🤓😍
I am just learning also. I have essential tremor so I thought that I would never be able to draw or paint but I found that if I go very slowly I am improving and can do much better than I ever thought possible! So my message is give it a try, be ready to practice, and you might be pleasantly surprised!!
I guess I'm not the only one who used to hate watercolor. Watercolor is a medium that I hate the most because I couldn't, for the life of me, paint properly. But then a friend's art just ... Made me want to try. So this year by the same month like you I decided to try it out myself with just a cheap set of goauche (Phoenix) and there I began to-- you could say addicted 😂.
One of my best watercolor work is the one that I'm using as my profile picture now. I can't turn back. Watercolor is something that I completely cherish now.
I love your style so much!!
Thanks for this video! Maybe I need to have a crack at watercolour again. I have to say oil will probably always be my preferred medium though. Also I'm going to MCM London this year! I hope to meet you Jellie Bee :)
This April will be my 1 year of watercoloring. I love it. Not having any art background and drawing I had to learn and still am. Looking back over the past year there has been much improvement and learning of color theory, shading and highlighting. I agree with you on the most important is quality paper to work with, but you dont have to spend a fortune. just buy a pad to try then another you will learn what you like and don't. You must practice to get better but don't give up. I also stopped stretching my paper and taped it down on a board. I wanted to keep all the sizing on my paper so my paints would move better. I also just got a light box and wish i had gotten one sooner. I am a beginner drawer and although I need the practice sometimes I just want to paint and dont have time to sketch out. But my drawing skills have improved also. tfs. your work looks great! i assume you have been working with other mediums before this?
Thats incredible!!!
I have, I used markers mostly, and digital was my favourite media
Awesome this your drawing of pokemon look nice like it I keep watch it at your video about how to use watercolour :)
Bob Ross would be proud of you :D
here is a fun tip: when using watercolours, you might wanna try out putting salt over it when its still wet. not too much ofcousre, but the salt sorta takes up the water with some of the colour, leaving a starry pattern! just try if you want to!
scrEETCH MOTHER BIRB HAS UPLOADED THANK YOU!!
As a beginner artist I loved this informative video, Thankyou.
it's so inspiring to see how far you have come :) x
can you make a video on stretching paper? i always have lots of warping of the paper and im not sure how to stretch without buying a stretching board, your tips throughout the video were all lovely and i highly appreciate them. i've been watercoloring for a little while now (i gave up on art for a few years and have just now really picked it back up and i feel like i've losst a lot of time and am behind) and i loved this video. :)
You can tape it down. Just stick it onto your clothes first so the paper won't rip.
I would recommend that you use 2 different cups of water for yiur brush. One to clean and one to paint. Helps keep your colors cleaner
Jellie your ruby and sapphire drawing (not hit the diamond) but the one were they are dancing and then fusing inspired me to do watercolour
one huge tip is like to add is to not "scrub" with your kneaded eraser. it mars the surface of your paper. rather roll the eraser into a fat snake and roll that across the pencil marks. the eraser should pick up the graphite after a few rolls.
If you are seeking strong vibrant watercolors then I'd suggest you give the Dr. Ph Martin's line a try! They make two lines of watercolors; Radiant (light resistant) & Hydrus (light fast) these are liquid transparent watercolors and they are amazing. You can also mix your pan paints with these to brighten the colors up.
I used gouache in college. I hated it at first because I'm more of a marker artist than a painter. Now working on a watercolor piece myself I have to get back into the swing of things.
I used to hate watercolour when I was younger. They felt so hard to control. Then around 4 years ago I bought a very cheap palette just to play with my niece and somehow ended up enjoying it way more than I expected. Since then I first got tubes, then a very low student grade palette. Now I think in getting a proper students grade palette as I prefer pans over tubes. I've been postponing it a lot because I haven't been working a lot with my paints lately but perhaps this Summer I will go for it. For paper... I found that I actually prefer to work on canvas. Either traditional or canvas glued to cardboard.
I practically only use digital,watercolour and pens and they work perfectly fine for me. Me with markers I am way too scared to use them so they just sit there until I need them for important artworks. Watercolour lasts a long time therefore I am much more comfortable in using them for doodle work. And I'm so glad they don't bleed with ballpoint and work perfectly fine
You are so talented, and I love your art stile
I just wanted 2 say ur art is beautiful ❤❤❤
I really love watercolor brushes from hobby lobby they have some beautiful synthetic squirrel brushes and some great princeston velevettouch brushes
Everyone always told me that watercolor was like some kind of danger zone and it would only cause me woe and frustration. I ALSO had some random old paints that I’d never used, but I kind of forgot about it. I sort of just one day decided suddenly that I wanted to watercolor, and so I did. I fell in love, and haven’t looked back.
Now, this year? I’m tackling gouache. I actually just put up a super basic gouache video because I’m trying to learn it and figured if I taught myself how to watercolors, I can do the same with gouache......right? And probably help other people who have absolutely no idea where to start along the way. =>.
Try to minimise erasing on watercolour paper as it ruins the fibres, making your paints go on really weirdly, also you should try the Canson Montval, mixed media XL, or watercolour XL, I really like those!
can you do a video about the steps you took to become better. like did you use it on old illustrations or did you try using references or copy other people for practice etc
how great!
legend says of your ea- well im late
You can start out with complimentary colors to get an interesting look
This is so helpful!
Very well done video of tips. Thank you.
About spray bottles. Dick Blick has the tiny bottle for $3...pish posh. Target had same for 97cents. So, watch out for stuff like that.
the moment I subbed a new video appeared!! woo hoo!!
I'm about 7 months into learning watercolors an it's been going well so far haha
Great video 😊
I made my own brushes after they broke from my rabbit excess fur, they work even better than the cheap ones i bought and waited nearly a month to arrive :)
this isn't really a tip or suggestion but in one of your last videos or streams, not quite sure, I remember you saying that you hated using white a lot and I'm just curious as to why, especially for someone who has a limited pallet.
Artsy Hulala (sorry sorry im not the person u were hoping to answer) most watercolour artists avoid it bc it tends to wash out colors and works as more of a mask vs. lightener
oh you're fine! thanks for the explanation! makes sense :)
It doesn't just wash colours out- white is the only purely opaque pigment in good quality sets.
Most people pick up watercolour because the end result is translucent- watercolour lets the white of the paper show through. If you're mixing white in some colours, you're ruining that translucency, and you might as well switch to a gouache or fluid acrylic.
so much steven universe! i love youuu!
Excellent
Masking fluid we cannot use it on mix media 200gsm it take the paper with it when we remove it my drawing is ruined we can only use masking fluid on 300gsm paper
Amazing video and tips :) I want to get a little spraybottle too. I want 2017 to be my watercolor yearkind of. At least I want to get a lot more in to it :)
Did 3 drawings till now and still need to learn a lot :D
love it it is a very informative vide9
I love watercolour, markers and almost anything else....
(I love art ok!!😐)
Lol
I use Mr. Clean magic pads to remove "mistakes"
8:12 IS THAT JADE?!!!
Lovely video!! I really enjoyed all the steven universe paintings you made! 💟😭🙏
By the way, which colour is the one at 3:10 ? Middle row, very light green-blue ? I have the same set and I didnt see it in mine
I love using markers, but to be honest..if I was stuck on an island and only could bring one medium it would be watercolor and not just because of the unlimited amount of water available 😆....I love the freedom and serenity using them gives me. Uh, I love painting...always have since I was little 😊
Samantha Thrower
Yea, and I also feel like watercolours give you a lot more blending opportunity and although markers do blend, water colours let you do that before you even touch the paper
I do love watercolors and should use them more. Same with gouache.
Ariel Archangel I agree 😊
hey thankyou for using synthetic brush , animal hair is so crawl and anyone that thinks other wise need to watch earthlings
TIP: USE TWO CUPS OF WATER TO CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES INSTEAD OF JUST ONE. USE ONE FOR TAKING OFF THE PAINT FROM THE BRUSH AND USE THE OTHER CUP TO COMPLETELY WIPE THE COLOR FROM THE BRUSH.
I had no idea people didn't know about this trick but it's actually really a handy thing to know. :))
I used to do that all the time, I keep forgetting hah
i want to do watercolour but i cannot draw... i will need to learn both at once but maybe it will look like a quirky art style? lol
Watercolor is the only paint medium I'm good at
Gently use a magic eraser to fix mistakes. Literal magic
It helps if you can allready draw when you start watercolouring 😂
2 MINUTES WOOT WOOT
unless you're doing a piece with lots of details, you don't really need masking fluid. A small # 1 or 2 brush should do.
I bought the cheapest watercolors and scared to try them. Actually I tryed them a little bit, and hated them. But I need to give them a fair shot, get at least watercolor paper.
Luna Girl yeah, usually cheaper watercolors are made of dyes, and more expensive (I'm talking student grade, not professional lol as great as they are) are made with pigment and binder and will behave differently. They're honestly a lot easier and more pleasing to work with so those would probably be good to start with if you want to learn watercolor.
Thank you for information I had no idea. Yes I do want to try watercolor and looks like I will have to buy more expensive one.
Are you gonna do another special for 4/13
artist Aperture definitely!!
nice !
artist Aperture May I ask what 4/13 is?
Miki L The Homestuck anniversary
artist Aperture Ah, thank you
Hello, what was the bad gouache you used? I bought a cheap set and was just wondering in case I don’t like it because I’ve never used it before.
I have only been using water colors for one year
I've only been drawing for 2 years
can you apply masking fluid on already painted areas???
Notification squad where u at?
here
dank maymays right here
I didnt get the notification and now im late :
I'm never late for your videos, love your art Jellie Bee! :)
I've watched so many watercolour videos and I've never once heard of stretching your paper. So confused, you're soaking paper in order for it to like, get used to being wet so when you use watercolour on it, it doesn't buckle? is that it?
Basically, yeah.
is it better to ink before you color or after? I've done it both ways and my ink always smudges when i put the color down. do you have a special type of pen or marker that you use for watercolor?
Why do they sometimes leave out colours like purple, pink and orange in watercolour pallettes?
What pen were you using when you were showing the types of paper ?
Are you drawing at 2 minutes-ish with a pen or is this a brush (the thing you used to outline the painting)?
A pen! :)
cool tutorial! I'm gonna try that, using better paper....
That blue rubber-tipped tool you use (the one from The Works I think): what's you're opinion on it? What do you use it for and would you recommend it?
Ah okay tysm! I can never seem to use masking fluid correctly so perhaps I'll try those instead of wasting brushes😅
Have a small water container with a couple of drops of dish washing liquid, after every 2nd or 3rd dip of masking fluid, wash your brush out. This restores the bristles and puts a slight coating on them to help prevent sticking.
i remeber i didnt even know how to draw a galaxy😂
now i draw irl ppl!
Nice job - I'm doing the same thing - but am using youtube videos - I like the variety of differences. Learning curves seems easier. I noticed you work is quit nice, but resembles illustrations rather than actual water painting??? Can you comment on your technique. Thanks - please, more.
Yeah I'm an illustrator, I work on comics and want to go into story art and storyboarding, so watercolour paintings isn't my goal - I'm not a traditional w/col artist and never will be :B
Gah, I've seen so much improvement with your work throughout the year it amazes me. I personally was scared to use watercolor at first because i heard it was extremely hard to control, but i loved watching other's videos on it and the effects were always lovely. Your channel is what inspired me to venture out and buy a cheaper set of kid watercolors, just so i could test some stuff out and not waste my money because i ruined something 😂
I've been using them for about two months now and they finally started to get low, so i decided to try a step up. I recently purchased a 24 set of Daler Rowney watercolor tubes and a 30 set of sakura koi watercolors to see if i prefer tubes or pans. I think i prefer pans over tubes, but i think I need more time to test them both out ^-^
Anyways I just wanted to give you a quick thank you for always suprising and inspiring me❤
what kind of tablet do u use to put the drawings on?