Ready to dive into the wonderful world of watercolor? Whether you're just starting your artistic journey or looking to add some new tricks to your brush, you're in the right place! We'll explore 9 easy-to-understand watercolor techniques, starting with the basics and moving on to some truly unique effects.

Before You Start: Setting Yourself Up for Success

Pick the Right Paper: Forget your usual printer paper or sketch pad for watercolor! Watercolor paper is specifically designed to handle water without buckling or falling apart. It's much thicker and heavier, allowing it to soak up moisture and dry flat. Using regular thin paper will lead to frustrating wrinkles and warping.
Find the "Tooth" (The Textured Side): Take a close look at both sides of your watercolor paper. You'll notice one side feels a bit rougher, with more texture. This texture is called the "tooth." Painting on this side gives you better control over your watercolors.
Get to Know Your Brushes: Different brush shapes offer different possibilities! As a beginner, it's great to have at least one of each of these:

Round Brushes:

Best for: Smooth lines, soft edges, and fine details.
What they do: They have a pointed tip and a "belly" that holds a lot of water and paint, making them perfect for long, flowing strokes. You can create super thin lines with just the tip, or press harder to make thicker lines – super versatile!

Square (Flat) Brushes:

Best for: Sharp, crisp edges, and filling larger areas.
What they do: With their straight edge, flat brushes are essential for painting geometric shapes, straight lines, or quickly laying down color. You can also use just the corner for thin lines or the full width for broad strokes.

Understand Water: In watercolor, you don't use white paint to lighten a color – you use water!

Less water = Bolder, more intense color.
More water = Lighter, more transparent color

Technique 1: The "Wash" (Even Layer of Color)

How to: Load your brush with a consistent amount of mixed watercolor. Starting at the top of your paper, make one continuous horizontal stroke from left to right. You'll see a little "bead" of paint gather at the bottom of your stroke. This bead is important! Immediately make your next horizontal stroke just below the first, slightly overlapping that bead. Keep going, picking up the bead with each new stroke, until your section is covered.

Technique 2: The "Fade" (Dark to Light Value)

How to: Start with your brush loaded with a dark version of your chosen color. Make your first horizontal stroke across the top of your paper. Immediately after this stroke, quickly rinse your brush in clean water. Gently blot your brush on a paper towel so it's damp, not dripping. Now, take that slightly wet brush and make another horizontal stroke, letting it slightly overlap the wet paint from your first stroke. You'll notice the color is a bit lighter. Continue this process until your color gradually fades.

Technique 3: Hard Edge (Where Two Colors Meet)

How to: Imagine dividing your paper into two sections (you can even lightly draw a line in pencil if you like). Apply a smooth wash (Technique 1) to one side of the paper with your first color. Let that first color dry completely. Once it's dry, fill the other half of your paper with a different color wash. You'll see a clean, crisp line where the two colors meet!

Technique 4: Soft Edge (Where Two Colors Meet)

How to: Again, imagine dividing your paper into two sections. Apply a wash of your first color to one side. Before the paint dries, immediately apply a wash of a different color to the other section, allowing the two wet areas to gently touch and blend. Watch as they merge, creating a soft, smooth transition between the two colors.

Technique 5: Salt Texture

How to: Apply watercolor to your paper. While the paint is still wet, sprinkle salt onto the painted area. Don't touch it! Let the watercolor dry completely. Once dry, gently brush the salt off the paper (doing this over a trash can is a good idea to avoid a salty mess!).

Technique 6: Wax Resist

How to: Take a crayon and draw patterns, shapes, or even write words on your watercolor paper. Press firmly so the wax transfers well. Now, apply a wash of watercolor over your crayon drawings. The wax in the crayon will "resist" the watercolor, creating a barrier that leaves the areas you drew clean and the color of your crayon!

Technique 7: Plastic Wrap Textures

How to: Apply a generous amount of watercolor to your paper. While the paint is still wet, gently lay a piece of crumpled-up plastic wrap over the painted area. Press it down lightly so it makes contact with the wet paint, creating wrinkles and folds. Do not remove the plastic wrap until the watercolor is completely dry! Once dry, peel off the plastic wrap to reveal the textures.

Technique 8: Color Bursts (Wet-on-Wet Dabbing)

How to: Wet the area of your watercolor paper where you want the burst to happen with just plain water (no paint). Make sure it's evenly wet, but not puddling. Now, load your brush with a concentrated amount of watercolor paint and gently dab the tip of your brush onto the wet paper. The paint will spread and "burst" into the wet area, creating unpredictable bursts of color. Try dabbing different colors next to each other and watch them blend!

Technique 9: Splatter Paint

How to: Mix up some watercolor paint on your palette (you'll want a slightly watery consistency, but not too thin). Load your brush with this mix. Now, hold your brush over your paper and gently tap it against your other hand or flick the bristles with your finger. Tiny droplets of paint will "splatter" onto the paper, creating an abstract, speckled effect. You can control the size of the splatters by adjusting the amount of water in your paint and how hard you tap. (Tip: Protect your work surface and surroundings from stray splatters!)

Removing the Tape

When removing tape from your watercolor painting, gently, pull the tape at a low angle to prevent paper tears or the risk of removing small pieces of the paper.