I've been trying to teach myself watercoloring through research, tutorials, and videos and I have to say that this is the best explanation of the difference and properties of these two mediums! Thanks so much for this video! I'm definitely going to watch more!
Um...I never leave You Tube comments, but I watched this video and your promo video for your channel and I just have to say you are a brilliant artist and I wish I had half the knowledge and passion you have for your artwork! Everything is incredible. Thanks for generously sharing your talent!
+Vivien Jordan Thank you, Vivien! What a sweet and gracious comment to see in the morning. Best of luck on your personal, creative journey and I hope my art videos continue to help. :)
This was great! It's different reading about the differences and actually seeing them, and you went into more depth about the differences too. This is super helpful! Thank you!
i've been using watercolor for a while, but i'm getting some gouache for my birthday so i'm watching all your videos. Theyre amazing! Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for the gouache videos! This month I started painting again and was frustrated the gouache wasn't coming out like watercolors I used to do long ago. Now I know I just have to switch mediums
J Pole Yeah, both gouache and watercolor are water media, but you have to choose which one you want for the look or effects you want to achieve. Happy Painting!
YASSSSSS!!!! thanks so much for making this!! I've been looking for ages for more information about gouache paint!! Could you possibly do a tutorial using gouache??!! Xx there's hardly any out there on the world wide web!! Thanks xxx
I actually have a white water color , its very nice. I also tested the glazeing it acting like water color and this is top end guuache. Also I can't lift with my water color? I'm a bit stuck
White gouache thinned down will act like a translucent watercolor. And you can lift gouache, and also watercolor to some extent. The more staining watercolor pigments will lift only a little, while other less staining pigments will lift a lot. Watch several more of my watercolor vs gouache videos, and then see if you some specific questions that come to mind to help get you unstuck. :) Try this one first: ua-cam.com/video/AdmxaLjbqQk/v-deo.html
Me too! Thanks for a quick explanation of the diff. btwn gouache and watercolors. I never even considered that watercolors don't have white. I guess they don't have anything but white watercolor paper then huh?
You're welcome. Yes, traditional, transparent watercolor only uses the white of the paper. However, you can use white for highlights if you don't mind doing a mixed wc and gouache piece.
Thank you for this video! I was wondering if it would be better to use gouache straight out of the tube or like with watercolor; put them in pans and let them dry?
Gouache can be reused once dry, I've done that numerous times myself when I get too much of a color out and then leave it for use later. However, I've heard some artists swear they prefer only fresh wet gouache out of the tube since it rewets less well than transparent watercolor. So, you'll have to let a patch of a gouache color dry and then see when you rewet it (based on its brand and personal preference), if you like the dried and rewet version as much as the fresh stuff out of the tube. Hope that helps, and wishing you epic gouache adventures!
which one is the best? my friend is sooo obsessed with drawing and painting and colouring and all these stuff so i want to get her Gouache colours idk if its excpensive i'll get it to her anyways but is it a good idea? idk what to get her and which one will be the best for her
both are good for different reasons, as explained in the video. Only your friend (and you if you know your friend's tastes) can tell which one would suit her better. It all depends on her painting style and personal preferences.
Would you say guache is a little bit like prisma markers or copics? I can't tell well with the light but the finished color kinda reminds me of what those markers look like when they dry. As for glaze, would just a thin layer of spray glaze work?
No, gouache isn't really like markers--those are like inks. Gouache is more like acrylic paints in its look except it's not waterproof. If you've ever used poster paint, that's a cheap version of gouache. Gouache is just an opaque, creamy watercolor paint. Markers dry transparent, so they look more dried watercolor or ink. Gouache is opaque, so it'll look a bit different. And yeah, you can spray on a glaze using a spray bottle as long as it's thicker spatter and not too watery. In the same way, you can airbrush a glaze on as well. And you can cover an underlayer of gouache with more gouache of the same thickness, but you just can't paint on a watery glaze over gouache since it'll lift and run. Hope that helps!
+Danielle Henry yes, you can, illustrators like Trina Schart Hyman have used acrylic like watercolor or gouache with great results. If you are comfy with acrylics and like how they dry permanently, then go for it! Good luck on your art adventures!
i was looking to upgrade the kid/dollar store paint palette i was using ( since they empty out really fast) and i could not make up my mind between gouache and aquarelle ( i literally started painting a few days ago and the last time was like more then 10 years ago) so many options and so many prices.... i ended up picking aquarelle, and im glad, my favorite part is to layer lift and dilute to no end my colors... now i see that i got lucky with my choice , anyways, thank you for making it clear, now i know that i wont spend on high end gouache (that i will still use for basic color books) but maybe one day i will pick better aquarelle. thank you for saving my money and educating me. have a good day.
Thanks for this video! I only recently learned about gouache and was wondering what the difference was, thanks a bunch! I am unfortunately much too impatient for watercolor so I think gouache is the way to go XD
so my dad just sent me some guache and im doing some research about it because honestly im pretty new to this thing and im really scared to mess it up. this video is so helpful so thank you so much ♡
+Oreo San Glad to help! And don't worry, gouache is a lot of fun, and easier to use and fix than watercolor. So get your brushes wet, relax, and have some art adventures! Good luck!
you're very welcome. Of all the books I found, the best on Gouache was by Rudy de Reyna called "Painting in Opaque Watercolor," which I have also reviewed here: ua-cam.com/video/XM72uB1-_oE/v-deo.html hope that helps. :)
Could you address why watercolor paint companies make white watercolor paints? Is the point just to make colors more pastel-like and opaque? Does adding white watercolor paint to colored paint turn it into gouache, or does only adding white gouache to colored watercolor paint turn it into gouache? Thanks in advance, and also thank you for your informative videos!
You're so welcome! Well, you can choose to never use white watercolor when painting with transparent watercolors as some folks do (some watercolor brands and sets don't sell white)--as yes, mixing white watercolor (which is the same pigment as white gouache) in will make transparent watercolors into an opaque watercolor (a.k.a. gouache), so it depends if you want that look. However, you can use white watercolor/gouache sparingly for corrections and highlights last on top when painting with transparent watercolors and that will keep the rest of the piece translucent. I have done watercolor paintings all ways--1) just with transparent colors and no white paint for anything, using the bare paper for highlights, 2) mostly with transparent colors and with white watercolor/gouache accents just for highlights and corrections, 3) with white paint mixed into all the watercolors for an opaque, gouache look to the whole piece. I also paint two other ways: 4) with both watercolor and gouache in the same piece and separate transparent and separate opaque areas, and 5) just in fully opaque gouache. Hope that helps!
Even though it is not possible to glaze with gouache itself, would it be possible to let a gouache layer dry, and then glaze with watercolour? (I've just bought my first set of gouache paints to try, I'm more familiar with using watercolours, and was wondering how the two interact)
+AddictedToMusic95 yes, the two can be used successfully in the same painting, either in watercolor and gouache in separate areas or by layering gouache over watercolor areas.
yes, it can! This will work whether the gouache comes from a tube or from a pan, though pan gouache is easier to rewet. Also, dried out transparent watercolor will reconstitute easier than gouache, which can be lumpier when you rewet it depending on the brand.
A charming and informative demo, Hajra. Can you tell me why you wear those mittens, though? Is it an "art" initiative, i.e keeping the support free from grease?
Thanks! Yeah, I primarily wear my various pairs of mittens to keep my watercolor paper from getting hand lotion on it which would repel the paint in areas, and also to keep pencil drawings from picking up graphite and smearing it onto other areas of the drawing/painting. It's an old artist's/illustrator's trick that I first saw as a kid in the DVD extras of Disney's Sleeping Beauty showing how the drawn cells were inked and painted without smudging and oils added to the support.
i like gouache better because my colors are still flat but watercolors are great tho. also can you use watercolor paper for gouache i'm like new to this gouache
yup, watercolor paper is exactly what you use for gouache, because gouache is just opaque watercolor. And, good watercolor paper can be used for all sorts of mediums, including pastels, acrylic, ink, watercolor, gouache, and even oil paints with some gesso underneath.
Well, if you have artist grade paints, whether they are watercolor or gouache, they should be lightfast and archival, which means they don't sit around fading over time. However, watercolor and gouache pieces (and some acrylic and oil pieces) should not be exposed to direct sunlight anyway. They should be matted and framed in indirect light rooms or under UV glass for direct light rooms.
This is indeed very helpful. I'm still trying to get over a big learning curve and your videos answer a lot of questions I have. I do have a couple questions specifically about this video. 1. Which gouache did you use for this video? 2. How diluted is it, if at all, and are you using a dispersant like ox gall or something like glycerin? I have M. Graham gouaches and they definitely come out of the tube thicker than in this video, but I know every company's formula is different.
kendalchen glad my videos have been helpful. I am using a diluted schmincke gouache for this video--i always water down my gouache and never use it neat from the tube. Hard to say exactly how much water i add, but I dilute it down until i feel it is of a milk/cream consistency--should still have opaque coverage, but flow like a liquid. Also, i have six drops of ox gall per cup of mixing water to reduce streaking and improve dispersing. ox gall in mixing water is better to use than adding honey, glycerin, or gum arabic to the paint or water as they will make the gouache transparent. hope that helps, and good luck!
Great, thanks for the quick reply! I've read that people should use some kind of non-tap water and I forgot to ask about that. Do you have any tips one way or the other?
kendalchen no problem. i've used distilled, filtered, and just plain tap water and it's never made any difference to my painting process or end result, but i guess it would depend on where you live. I'm in CA. if your tap water is drinkable, it should be fine.
both will be the same amount of difficulty or easiness, they are both water-soluble and both are easy to learn with some learning curve. the only real difference is that watercolor is transparent, and gouache (which is just opaque watercolor) is opaque, so it depends on what suits your tastes more. you might be like me, and like both equally. :)
simply because the colors chosen were granulating colors. Various watercolor pigments have various properties--staining, non-staining, granulating, etc.
I just use watercolor with a white gouache. When you buy student grade watercolors here you actually always get a special type of white gouache. It's called "Deckweiß" (=opaque white) and I've literally been using that since elementary school 😂
Love your videos! If I may, I encourage you to increase the luminosity/exposure (on the cam) in your future videos. You should set it up so that the paper looks white on the screen. This will show better real colors (white balance) and of course your video will be more appealing to the eye. Thanks for passing on knowledge for free!
Thanks, I appreciate the praise as well as the suggestions! I have had past videos that are darker than I would have liked, as my lighting setup has not been ideal in the past, but I have learned to pay more attention to those sorts of things as I make more videos, and hopefully I will improve. take care, h
You're very welcome, and thanks for appreciating my videos. Yeah, I'm really behind on Etsy, and that's because I mostly just sell prints of my art via my Red Bubble shop and originals via email contact requests. If you're interested you can find links to my Red Bubble and email here: www.hajrameeks.com
Hello Mrs Hajra! Not sure if you remember me, but i have commented on your videos many times now & I really enjoy them all... In fact, i have probably watched these watercolor/gouache flicks around 6-8 times each, and I will continue to watch them, as they continue to fascinate me & help me to see the differences between the two mediums. I am still trying to figure out if I am a watercolorist, a gouache lover, or an acrylic artist! haha. I am going to invest in a set of either watercolor, gouache, or colored pencils... and I already have a great set of professional acrylics, that I just don't find myself using very often, because I am not in love with the effects I get with them (they are heavy body, and I like FLAT, no brush stroke effects, like are possible with watercolor/gouache!) I do have one small question for you.... Would you ever entertain the idea of doing an Acrylic VS Gouache series of videos, or at-least one video concerning these two mediums? I find acrylic interesting because you cannot reactivate the under-layers.. & I'm not yet sure if I am for, or against that quality. I would LOVE to hear your take on Acrylics & I would LOVE to watch you use both mediums side by side, explaining the differences between the two mediums. I know that with acrylics, i can water them down to achieve a watercolor/gouache effect, where the brush strokes become non-existent. (almost) but I am still not convinced acrylics are for me... & I am thinking either watercolor or gouache are going to be my mediums. (well, I would also like to experiment w/colored pencils! haha) Would you ever be willing to do an acrylic/gouache VS video/tutorial? I would LOVE that!! :) Thanks 4 your time!! :D
+DontLeaveMeLucile of course I remember you, and it's always a pleasure, so comment all you want! Well, i'm allergic to a lot of things, including the thinners used with oil paint and the chemicals used in acrylic paint, so I try to avoid both, so sadly I won't be doing a video with acrylic any time soon. However, I have found that anything i can do in those mediums (oil and acrylic) can be done in either watercolor, gouache, ink, or a mix of those three, which is awesome! For some pieces, I like how ink and some staining watercolors (similar to acrylic and oil) are permanent for the under layers of a painting, and for other pieces, I hate it and would prefer the lifting up and correction easily achieved with gouache and some watercolors. Likewise, glazing is achievable with watercolor and ink, but not with gouache for similar reasons. SO, I would say just for the sake of being able to do ALL the techniques out there, you'd have to at least have some watercolor and opaque watercolor (gouache) on hand. If you have some ink too (or staining watercolors like the phthalo colors or indigo or sepia), then even better. I have worked with acrylic several years ago, and it can be watered down and used similar to inks and watercolor with glazes, and then also used thicker and more opaque to look like gouache, but it does have a "tacky" plastic feel is not as smooth as ink or watercolor or as velvety as gouache. It is not liftable (it's permanent as you know), so that is a problem in some cases, but also a plus in others, and it can be covered up completely with other acrylic so at least it can be corrected. And yes, oil and acrylic can be used impasto with lots of texture and brush strokes, and I personally have never been fond of 3D brushstrokes so I didn't have a hard time limiting myself to watercolor, gouache, and ink due to allergies. I feel like I just use "watercolor" because gouache is just the opaque watercolors and ink is just the staining and non-lifting watercolors, so I just think I'm a watercolor chick! If you don't like the impasto effects, you can just thin your acrylics and use them like watercolors till they run out. (I've used old acrylic paints opaquely to paint designs on furniture in the past.) Hope I gave you some things to think about, and good luck finding your art groove!
+Hajra Meeks I an definitely going to have to take out my acrylics and explore their qualities when thinned down with water considerably one more time. I also have a large collection of acrylic based inks that I've experimented with in the past but fit whatever reason they seem to bubble on the support, similar to fabric paint, if I remember right, & I didn't like that at all... I like that gouache truly less flat on the paper/support! I spent all of last night googling gouache & acrylic illustrations & I just cannot seem to find acrylic artists using the medium in a gouache type of way! very frustrating for inspiration! of course there are plenty of acrylic fantasy/pop-surrealist works flashing around, & plenty of magic the gathering art was made with acrylic, as wss dungeons& dragons artwork... but if you search for acrylic works that replicate gouache illustration, they seem to be hiding because I cannot find them! I really need to figure out if I like the ability to reactivate under layers our if I like therm permanent. so I think I've got some experimenting to do with both my 6 color w&n gouache set, and my acrylic tubes.... A part of me really wishes that I could learn to love acrylics because that would mean I could save my money & not have to buy gouache. I have two questions for you if you would want to answer them... 1. Do you have a minimum color for your gouache palette? I've got a primary set already... do I even need more colors haha? I guess I have to ask myself that... do you use 12/18/24/36b or do you view gouache as a medium where you can mix most colors from a primary set? I'm thinking I'll probably do primaries & secondaries, two of each, one warm one cold for each... unless.. is that unnecessary? idk. hmm...
no worries, gouache is a type of paint--it is opaque watercolor. Transparent watercolor is more common so it's just called "watercolor", while opaque watercolor is less famous, but when you do come across it, it's called "gouache." :)
well, I like both mediums EQUALLY actually, but viewers can get different ideas after watching certain videos. :) Ironically, in this other video of mine, people usually feel I am biased toward goauche! So, you can't win them all, I guess: ua-cam.com/video/MzwnP8AyX9w/v-deo.html&lc=z13vcdgb0qzid352w22vy3qoftv4cx3lg
Sorry about that--but you can slow down the video using the little gear button on youtube controls on the right side of the play bar if you need it. :D
I've been trying to teach myself watercoloring through research, tutorials, and videos and I have to say that this is the best explanation of the difference and properties of these two mediums! Thanks so much for this video! I'm definitely going to watch more!
+aygo yay!
Um...I never leave You Tube comments, but I watched this video and your promo video for your channel and I just have to say you are a brilliant artist and I wish I had half the knowledge and passion you have for your artwork! Everything is incredible. Thanks for generously sharing your talent!
+Vivien Jordan Thank you, Vivien! What a sweet and gracious comment to see in the morning. Best of luck on your personal, creative journey and I hope my art videos continue to help. :)
Very informative! Thank you. I've decided to get both.
This was great! It's different reading about the differences and actually seeing them, and you went into more depth about the differences too. This is super helpful! Thank you!
You're very welcome, glad you found it helpful! :D
i've been using watercolor for a while, but i'm getting some gouache for my birthday so i'm watching all your videos. Theyre amazing! Thank you so much.
you're very welcome and hope you have/had a lovely birthday and enjoy your gouache! :)
Hajra Meeks thank you so much! 💚 i'm sure I will
Thank you so much for the gouache videos! This month I started painting again and was frustrated the gouache wasn't coming out like watercolors I used to do long ago. Now I know I just have to switch mediums
J Pole Yeah, both gouache and watercolor are water media, but you have to choose which one you want for the look or effects you want to achieve. Happy Painting!
Thanks a looooot. This was super helpful. The employes at the art store only told me "gouache is opaque, water color is bright".
lol XD...glad to hear I had more helpful info than the store employees to pass along!
You're an AMAZING teacher!!!!!
J Pole Thank you kindly!
This is so helpful! Thank you :)
+winged20 You're very welcome!
This is so helpful. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Ashley Schmutz You're very welcome, glad to be of help to anyone else who likes or wants to paint!
This is honestly so helpful. Thank you so much!
You're very welcome, and good luck with your painting endeavors!
I'm gonna use both watercolor and gouache! Thanks for the video miss (and for teaching me the correct pronunciation of gouache XD)!
+demonfoxgirl1000 no problem! :) Good luck on your epic painting adventures!
Thank you. Nobody else would explain this!
You're very welcome--I always attempt to show things in my videos that I feel are often left out in books or videos about art.
Great Tutorial...
"Thank YOU" for sharing
This is an AMAZING explanation of the differences between the mediums! Thank you SO much! This has been enormously helpful :)
+Leanna Cruz you're very welcome, and thanks for the kind comments!
YASSSSSS!!!! thanks so much for making this!! I've been looking for ages for more information about gouache paint!! Could you possibly do a tutorial using gouache??!! Xx there's hardly any out there on the world wide web!! Thanks xxx
You're very welcome, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Yes, I will be doing more gouache videos, including a tutorial soon.
I actually have a white water color , its very nice.
I also tested the glazeing it acting like water color and this is top end guuache.
Also I can't lift with my water color?
I'm a bit stuck
White gouache thinned down will act like a translucent watercolor. And you can lift gouache, and also watercolor to some extent. The more staining watercolor pigments will lift only a little, while other less staining pigments will lift a lot. Watch several more of my watercolor vs gouache videos, and then see if you some specific questions that come to mind to help get you unstuck. :) Try this one first: ua-cam.com/video/AdmxaLjbqQk/v-deo.html
Me too! Thanks for a quick explanation of the diff. btwn gouache and watercolors. I never even considered that watercolors don't have white. I guess they don't have anything but white watercolor paper then huh?
You're welcome. Yes, traditional, transparent watercolor only uses the white of the paper. However, you can use white for highlights if you don't mind doing a mixed wc and gouache piece.
Perfect! Thank you for the video! You explained exactly what I needed to know very clearly!
+kimberly holden you're very welcome and good luck on your art adventures!
Love the video....just what I needed, answered all my questions :)
Awesome, glad to help, and epic painting adventures to you!
I'm So Happy found this Channel - Thank You!
+WonderIndigo you're very welcome, hope you enjoy my videos!
This is very helpful. Thanks for sharing .
you're very welcome! :D
Thank you for this video!
I was wondering if it would be better to use gouache straight out of the tube or like with watercolor; put them in pans and let them dry?
Gouache can be reused once dry, I've done that numerous times myself when I get too much of a color out and then leave it for use later. However, I've heard some artists swear they prefer only fresh wet gouache out of the tube since it rewets less well than transparent watercolor. So, you'll have to let a patch of a gouache color dry and then see when you rewet it (based on its brand and personal preference), if you like the dried and rewet version as much as the fresh stuff out of the tube. Hope that helps, and wishing you epic gouache adventures!
Moadja Hendriks as long as it’s not acrylica gouache it should be okay either way.
Super helpful! thanks for this video!
+Jenny Gouwidjaja you're very welcome!
which one is the best? my friend is sooo obsessed with drawing and painting and colouring and all these stuff so i want to get her Gouache colours idk if its excpensive i'll get it to her anyways but is it a good idea? idk what to get her and which one will be the best for her
both are good for different reasons, as explained in the video. Only your friend (and you if you know your friend's tastes) can tell which one would suit her better. It all depends on her painting style and personal preferences.
Would you say guache is a little bit like prisma markers or copics? I can't tell well with the light but the finished color kinda reminds me of what those markers look like when they dry. As for glaze, would just a thin layer of spray glaze work?
No, gouache isn't really like markers--those are like inks. Gouache is more like acrylic paints in its look except it's not waterproof. If you've ever used poster paint, that's a cheap version of gouache. Gouache is just an opaque, creamy watercolor paint. Markers dry transparent, so they look more dried watercolor or ink. Gouache is opaque, so it'll look a bit different. And yeah, you can spray on a glaze using a spray bottle as long as it's thicker spatter and not too watery. In the same way, you can airbrush a glaze on as well. And you can cover an underlayer of gouache with more gouache of the same thickness, but you just can't paint on a watery glaze over gouache since it'll lift and run. Hope that helps!
quick . informative . useful .
thank you so much .
Mojtaba Arian you're very welcome! I strive not to be boring as I have a short attention span myself.
Thank you. This was exactly what I needed - to learn the difference between the two! :)
Awesome, so glad to be of some help!
could i add water to acrylic to create a gouache-type effect? I know it wont be truly the same, but could you say it's similar?
+Danielle Henry yes, you can, illustrators like Trina Schart Hyman have used acrylic like watercolor or gouache with great results. If you are comfy with acrylics and like how they dry permanently, then go for it! Good luck on your art adventures!
i was looking to upgrade the kid/dollar store paint palette i was using ( since they empty out really fast) and i could not make up my mind between gouache and aquarelle ( i literally started painting a few days ago and the last time was like more then 10 years ago) so many options and so many prices.... i ended up picking aquarelle, and im glad, my favorite part is to layer lift and dilute to no end my colors... now i see that i got lucky with my choice , anyways, thank you for making it clear, now i know that i wont spend on high end gouache (that i will still use for basic color books) but maybe one day i will pick better aquarelle. thank you for saving my money and educating me.
have a good day.
bleupapillons you're very welcome and good luck on your painting journey!
Thanks for this video! I only recently learned about gouache and was wondering what the difference was, thanks a bunch! I am unfortunately much too impatient for watercolor so I think gouache is the way to go XD
so my dad just sent me some guache and im doing some research about it because honestly im pretty new to this thing and im really scared to mess it up. this video is so helpful so thank you so much ♡
+Oreo San Glad to help! And don't worry, gouache is a lot of fun, and easier to use and fix than watercolor. So get your brushes wet, relax, and have some art adventures! Good luck!
Very helpful. Thanks for posting!
+Castelhana da Silva you're very welcome!
thankyou for your videos....I like your book reviews too. In your opinion, what is the best book on using gouache?
you're very welcome. Of all the books I found, the best on Gouache was by Rudy de Reyna called "Painting in Opaque Watercolor," which I have also reviewed here: ua-cam.com/video/XM72uB1-_oE/v-deo.html
hope that helps. :)
Wow, this was so helpful!!!
+Hive Atlas thanks, I'm glad you liked it! :)
Could you address why watercolor paint companies make white watercolor paints? Is the point just to make colors more pastel-like and opaque? Does adding white watercolor paint to colored paint turn it into gouache, or does only adding white gouache to colored watercolor paint turn it into gouache? Thanks in advance, and also thank you for your informative videos!
You're so welcome! Well, you can choose to never use white watercolor when painting with transparent watercolors as some folks do (some watercolor brands and sets don't sell white)--as yes, mixing white watercolor (which is the same pigment as white gouache) in will make transparent watercolors into an opaque watercolor (a.k.a. gouache), so it depends if you want that look. However, you can use white watercolor/gouache sparingly for corrections and highlights last on top when painting with transparent watercolors and that will keep the rest of the piece translucent. I have done watercolor paintings all ways--1) just with transparent colors and no white paint for anything, using the bare paper for highlights, 2) mostly with transparent colors and with white watercolor/gouache accents just for highlights and corrections, 3) with white paint mixed into all the watercolors for an opaque, gouache look to the whole piece. I also paint two other ways: 4) with both watercolor and gouache in the same piece and separate transparent and separate opaque areas, and 5) just in fully opaque gouache. Hope that helps!
This was extremely informative and well done. Thank you!!!!!!👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👌🏾
You're very welcome, very glad you found it useful! :D
Even though it is not possible to glaze with gouache itself, would it be possible to let a gouache layer dry, and then glaze with watercolour? (I've just bought my first set of gouache paints to try, I'm more familiar with using watercolours, and was wondering how the two interact)
+AddictedToMusic95 yes, the two can be used successfully in the same painting, either in watercolor and gouache in separate areas or by layering gouache over watercolor areas.
When gouache is dried, it can be rewet like watercolor and be used again?
yes, it can! This will work whether the gouache comes from a tube or from a pan, though pan gouache is easier to rewet. Also, dried out transparent watercolor will reconstitute easier than gouache, which can be lumpier when you rewet it depending on the brand.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Now I can fix the mess I made on my watercolor.
you're very welcome; I've done that many a time to save a botched watercolor. ;) good luck on your epic painting adventures!
A charming and informative demo, Hajra. Can you tell me why you wear those mittens, though? Is it an "art" initiative, i.e keeping the support free from grease?
Thanks! Yeah, I primarily wear my various pairs of mittens to keep my watercolor paper from getting hand lotion on it which would repel the paint in areas, and also to keep pencil drawings from picking up graphite and smearing it onto other areas of the drawing/painting. It's an old artist's/illustrator's trick that I first saw as a kid in the DVD extras of Disney's Sleeping Beauty showing how the drawn cells were inked and painted without smudging and oils added to the support.
which one is best for abstract painting, gouache or watercolor?!
you can use either one, it's up to you, both will work fine, but watercolor gives prettier wet-into-wet effects.
well presented and thorough.
+Dimitrios Kalfakis thanks, how kind of you!
i like gouache better because my colors are still flat but watercolors are great tho. also can you use watercolor paper for gouache i'm like new to this gouache
yup, watercolor paper is exactly what you use for gouache, because gouache is just opaque watercolor. And, good watercolor paper can be used for all sorts of mediums, including pastels, acrylic, ink, watercolor, gouache, and even oil paints with some gesso underneath.
thanks!
Great explanation video. Thank you. I subscribed because of it.
Awesome, you're very welcome, and welcome to my channel! Wishing you epic art adventures!
Someone said that watercolors fade out over time , especially if exposed to sunlight , does that happen with gouache as well ?
Well, if you have artist grade paints, whether they are watercolor or gouache, they should be lightfast and archival, which means they don't sit around fading over time. However, watercolor and gouache pieces (and some acrylic and oil pieces) should not be exposed to direct sunlight anyway. They should be matted and framed in indirect light rooms or under UV glass for direct light rooms.
Thank you so much for explaining !
This was very informative thank you.
you're very welcome!
This is indeed very helpful. I'm still trying to get over a big learning curve and your videos answer a lot of questions I have. I do have a couple questions specifically about this video. 1. Which gouache did you use for this video? 2. How diluted is it, if at all, and are you using a dispersant like ox gall or something like glycerin? I have M. Graham gouaches and they definitely come out of the tube thicker than in this video, but I know every company's formula is different.
kendalchen glad my videos have been helpful. I am using a diluted schmincke gouache for this video--i always water down my gouache and never use it neat from the tube. Hard to say exactly how much water i add, but I dilute it down until i feel it is of a milk/cream consistency--should still have opaque coverage, but flow like a liquid. Also, i have six drops of ox gall per cup of mixing water to reduce streaking and improve dispersing. ox gall in mixing water is better to use than adding honey, glycerin, or gum arabic to the paint or water as they will make the gouache transparent.
hope that helps, and good luck!
Great, thanks for the quick reply! I've read that people should use some kind of non-tap water and I forgot to ask about that. Do you have any tips one way or the other?
kendalchen no problem. i've used distilled, filtered, and just plain tap water and it's never made any difference to my painting process or end result, but i guess it would depend on where you live. I'm in CA. if your tap water is drinkable, it should be fine.
is watercolor better for beginners vs gouache?
both will be the same amount of difficulty or easiness, they are both water-soluble and both are easy to learn with some learning curve. the only real difference is that watercolor is transparent, and gouache (which is just opaque watercolor) is opaque, so it depends on what suits your tastes more. you might be like me, and like both equally. :)
very very informative! thank you!
you're very welcome! :)
Why does the water color on the left look grainy?
simply because the colors chosen were granulating colors. Various watercolor pigments have various properties--staining, non-staining, granulating, etc.
what brands are you using?
I believe I used schmincke watercolor and gouache here.
Excellent! Thank you.
you're very welcome! :)
I just use watercolor with a white gouache. When you buy student grade watercolors here you actually always get a special type of white gouache. It's called "Deckweiß" (=opaque white) and I've literally been using that since elementary school 😂
Yes, lots of folks use white gouache for highlights with watercolors. I do it for some pieces as well.
Very helpful, thank you.
+Mo M you're very welcome, you sweet thing, you!
Awesomeeeee
+ilonkadesigns XD
Love your videos!
If I may, I encourage you to increase the luminosity/exposure (on the cam) in your future videos. You should set it up so that the paper looks white on the screen. This will show better real colors (white balance) and of course your video will be more appealing to the eye.
Thanks for passing on knowledge for free!
Thanks, I appreciate the praise as well as the suggestions! I have had past videos that are darker than I would have liked, as my lighting setup has not been ideal in the past, but I have learned to pay more attention to those sorts of things as I make more videos, and hopefully I will improve. take care, h
I went to your Etsy store... and it looks like it is closed??
Nothing since 2016
You're very welcome, and thanks for appreciating my videos. Yeah, I'm really behind on Etsy, and that's because I mostly just sell prints of my art via my Red Bubble shop and originals via email contact requests. If you're interested you can find links to my Red Bubble and email here: www.hajrameeks.com
can gouache paper be used in watercolor painting? 😂😂😂
Hello Mrs Hajra! Not sure if you remember me, but i have commented on your videos many times now & I really enjoy them all... In fact, i have probably watched these watercolor/gouache flicks around 6-8 times each, and I will continue to watch them, as they continue to fascinate me & help me to see the differences between the two mediums. I am still trying to figure out if I am a watercolorist, a gouache lover, or an acrylic artist! haha. I am going to invest in a set of either watercolor, gouache, or colored pencils... and I already have a great set of professional acrylics, that I just don't find myself using very often, because I am not in love with the effects I get with them (they are heavy body, and I like FLAT, no brush stroke effects, like are possible with watercolor/gouache!)
I do have one small question for you.... Would you ever entertain the idea of doing an Acrylic VS Gouache series of videos, or at-least one video concerning these two mediums? I find acrylic interesting because you cannot reactivate the under-layers.. & I'm not yet sure if I am for, or against that quality. I would LOVE to hear your take on Acrylics & I would LOVE to watch you use both mediums side by side, explaining the differences between the two mediums. I know that with acrylics, i can water them down to achieve a watercolor/gouache effect, where the brush strokes become non-existent. (almost) but I am still not convinced acrylics are for me... & I am thinking either watercolor or gouache are going to be my mediums. (well, I would also like to experiment w/colored pencils! haha)
Would you ever be willing to do an acrylic/gouache VS video/tutorial? I would LOVE that!! :) Thanks 4 your time!! :D
+DontLeaveMeLucile of course I remember you, and it's always a pleasure, so comment all you want! Well, i'm allergic to a lot of things, including the thinners used with oil paint and the chemicals used in acrylic paint, so I try to avoid both, so sadly I won't be doing a video with acrylic any time soon. However, I have found that anything i can do in those mediums (oil and acrylic) can be done in either watercolor, gouache, ink, or a mix of those three, which is awesome! For some pieces, I like how ink and some staining watercolors (similar to acrylic and oil) are permanent for the under layers of a painting, and for other pieces, I hate it and would prefer the lifting up and correction easily achieved with gouache and some watercolors. Likewise, glazing is achievable with watercolor and ink, but not with gouache for similar reasons. SO, I would say just for the sake of being able to do ALL the techniques out there, you'd have to at least have some watercolor and opaque watercolor (gouache) on hand. If you have some ink too (or staining watercolors like the phthalo colors or indigo or sepia), then even better. I have worked with acrylic several years ago, and it can be watered down and used similar to inks and watercolor with glazes, and then also used thicker and more opaque to look like gouache, but it does have a "tacky" plastic feel is not as smooth as ink or watercolor or as velvety as gouache. It is not liftable (it's permanent as you know), so that is a problem in some cases, but also a plus in others, and it can be covered up completely with other acrylic so at least it can be corrected. And yes, oil and acrylic can be used impasto with lots of texture and brush strokes, and I personally have never been fond of 3D brushstrokes so I didn't have a hard time limiting myself to watercolor, gouache, and ink due to allergies. I feel like I just use "watercolor" because gouache is just the opaque watercolors and ink is just the staining and non-lifting watercolors, so I just think I'm a watercolor chick! If you don't like the impasto effects, you can just thin your acrylics and use them like watercolors till they run out. (I've used old acrylic paints opaquely to paint designs on furniture in the past.) Hope I gave you some things to think about, and good luck finding your art groove!
+Hajra Meeks I an definitely going to have to take out my acrylics and explore their qualities when thinned down with water considerably one more time. I also have a large collection of acrylic based inks that I've experimented with in the past but fit whatever reason they seem to bubble on the support, similar to fabric paint, if I remember right, & I didn't like that at all... I like that gouache truly less flat on the paper/support! I spent all of last night googling gouache & acrylic illustrations & I just cannot seem to find acrylic artists using the medium in a gouache type of way! very frustrating for inspiration! of course there are plenty of acrylic fantasy/pop-surrealist works flashing around, & plenty of magic the gathering art was made with acrylic, as wss dungeons& dragons artwork... but if you search for acrylic works that replicate gouache illustration, they seem to be hiding because I cannot find them! I really need to figure out if I like the ability to reactivate under layers our if I like therm permanent. so I think I've got some experimenting to do with both my 6 color w&n gouache set, and my acrylic tubes.... A part of me really wishes that I could learn to love acrylics because that would mean I could save my money & not have to buy gouache.
I have two questions for you if you would want to answer them... 1. Do you have a minimum color for your gouache palette? I've got a primary set already... do I even need more colors haha? I guess I have to ask myself that... do you use 12/18/24/36b or do you view gouache as a medium where you can mix most colors from a primary set? I'm thinking I'll probably do primaries & secondaries, two of each, one warm one cold for each... unless.. is that unnecessary? idk. hmm...
A big thumb up! Thank you! ^-^
+Moxanne Roxanne you're welcome, you'e very sweet!
Can I let gouache dry in a pan like watercolours?
yup, totally. And it'll rewet so you can reuse it. Some brands can be more brittle than others, but gouache IS reusable once dry like watercolor.
Hajra Meeks thanks for replying! Can it still have the thick creamy consistency when it is re-wetted ?
no problem. yeah, just add less water to keep it thicker, more water to make it thinner.
Ok... I'm new at this thing about paint so... I want to know if gouache is a technique or a type of paint...
Don't blame me ;-; I'm a newbie T-T
no worries, gouache is a type of paint--it is opaque watercolor. Transparent watercolor is more common so it's just called "watercolor", while opaque watercolor is less famous, but when you do come across it, it's called "gouache." :)
Hajra Meeks ohhhh, thank you very much * - *
Wonderful quick overview. It was a tad fast-talking, but the subtitles helped a lot. Nice!
+L Holmes thanks, yeah, i've always spoken too fast. at least with a video you can stop and watch it again. :)
Yes you're so right. And you're so awesome! Keep it up.
+L Holmes :) thanks for the support.
Awesome, thank you!! C:
you're very welcome, epic painting adventures to you! :D
thank you! so thorough :)
you're welcome, happy painting adventures!
thanks!
you're welcome! :D
thank you
:D you're welcome.
THANK YOU!
You're very welcome!
i like gouache more
+Joshua Elento thanks, Joshua! Yeah, gouache is a lot of fun. :)
Wow! Are you an art teacher? :D (I'd be really surprised if you weren't!)
+TheRenegadeRainbow Yes, good guess! I am a former university professor, and even now I still teach art part-time. :)
Honestly, feels like the video is quite biased towards watercolor ;)
well, I like both mediums EQUALLY actually, but viewers can get different ideas after watching certain videos. :) Ironically, in this other video of mine, people usually feel I am biased toward goauche! So, you can't win them all, I guess: ua-cam.com/video/MzwnP8AyX9w/v-deo.html&lc=z13vcdgb0qzid352w22vy3qoftv4cx3lg
mixthem!
Very informative but you talk so fast it's difficult to process each point.
Sorry about that--but you can slow down the video using the little gear button on youtube controls on the right side of the play bar if you need it. :D
Gouache win