Q&A for How to Approach Watercolor Painting As a Beginner

Use printer paper for rough drafts and sketches. Printer paper is a little more flimsy than specialized watercolor paper, so painting on it usually leads to warping. But you can still use it to experiment with ideas or colors before committing to a final design.

Just swirl them around in water a few times and they should be good. Unlike acrylics, the paint will not permanently damage your brushes if they aren't perfectly clean, as it will reactivate when in contact with water again.

Squeeze a little bit of the paint out and then dip a brush in water. Then mix the water into the tiny blob of paint. It is now ready to use.

Newsprint paper is ideal for practicing strokes. Watercolor paper is ideal for painting and practicing techniques. It is thicker and softer than normal paper. It also also has a slight, bumpy texture to it. You buy it at an art supply store.

It's better to sketch out with pencil to avoid mistakes.

You should make any pencil marks very pale or erase them until they're almost gone (but still visible) before you start painting. Then they should not be visible once you've painted over them.

First, make sure you you have the right paper. Using printer paper won't work nearly as well as watercolor paper. There's two ways to use the pencils. One way is to just color with the dry pencil and then add water with a paintbrush later. The other way is to dip the tip of the pencil into the water and draw with that. (Note that if the pencil tip is wet, it will write darker.)

Start with a drop of water from the point of a clean brush. When you mix it in, the paint should be watery. Test it out on a sheet of scrap paper. If it is too dark, add more water, drop by drop, until you get the lightness you want.

Painting a sunset will teach you the basics of color blending, and they usually turn out really pretty.

Put painting face down on big flat glass, and put a damp (but not soaked) towel on it, covering the entire painting. Place a board or heavy object with even weight distribution on it overnight.

St. Petersburg watercolors are cheap. Try Amazon. I was very happy with mine, which included a Kolinsky Sable Brush. If you are just starting out, Cotman or Windor & Newton Student Watercolors are good -- you only need 3 or 4 colors to start with.

Assuming you're using something like an ultramarine blue, I suggest you experiment on a piece of scrap paper and first try adding more water to your mix, then perhaps a little red/crimson to turn the blue slightly violet. You could also try a little burnt umber, and that should turn it a little grey. I don't recommend you use Chinese white, it will only turn your blue cloudy and very opaque.

No, you don't need a paint board. You can water color on a table.

The best way is to preserve the white paper in the first place.This can be done by careful painting or perhaps using masking fluid. Masking fluid is a special rubber-like solution that dries on the paper, protecting that area whilst you paint and then will simply rub off to reveal the plain paper again.

It's better if you use actual watercolor paper. Regular notebook or print paper will work, just not as well. Watercolor paper gives you the full effect.

That is a good thing! The more watercolor a brush can hold, the better. It saves reloading a brush and makes it easier to paint a wash.

To do small details, use a smaller brush with a thin tip. Hold it like a pencil and "draw" in your small details. To cover up details, just cover it with paint.

The 140-pound paper is good to work with and easy to find. The 300-pound paper is really professional grade and more expensive, while the 90-pound paper will work but a little difficult due to the thinness.

The first part of finding the right color for a shadow is to identify the color of the shadow. Green, grey, blue, and brown are the most common shadow colors. Once you determine which color is most dominant, lay down a wash of that color. Since watercolor pigments mix naturally, immediately putting on the secondary color should be effective.

Buy whichever you are stronger with. Since this is an entrance exam, highlight your strengths.

Just let it dry until you are ready to paint again. It re-wets nicely with water in a spray bottle or on a brush.

Use red, green and yellow to make brown, and then add water to lighten the color to a light tan.

Find a local teacher who takes beginners. They should explain the best equipment to use. And, take things step by step.

For big areas, use a big brush with a rounded edge. For smaller areas, try using a smaller and pointed brush.

Yes, but it will only work if your watercolor paint comes in a tube; if your paint comes in little pans on a palette, it will not work. You will need to squeeze out the colors you want first, then mix them, then add the water.

Use a darker color. For water, most likely a dark blue, and for a wall, depending on how dark you want your shadow to be, a variation of black and gray.

The former "wet" refers to the brush, with the latter referring to the paper.

You can get pads of paper that are labeled as watercolor paper or that say they are good for watercolors. They're available at any art supply store.

It depends on the picture. Usually, on the background, you'd use a broad, flat brush, but when you need a detailed brush, you must use a thinner brush.

You can use almost any surface for watercolor but watercolor paper is more effective.