Guides11 min
Dry Brush Watercolor Technique: 8 Tips for Broken Texture
Dry brush watercolor technique means thick paint, a blotted brush and dry paper. Eight tips on paper, loading and brush angle, plus a 5-step practice drill.
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Section · 15 articles
Guides
Step-by-step technique guides and buying guides: what to do at the paper, and what to buy before you get there.
Guides14 min
How to Clean Watercolor Brushes: 7 Steps, 3 Ways to Dry
How to clean watercolor brushes, with mild soap and water that is never hot. Seven steps, why brush makers disagree on drying, and what they all forbid.
Guides11 min
Flat Wash Watercolor Technique: Flat and Graded in 5 Steps
Flat wash watercolor technique needs a tilted board, a big puddle and a bead you never let dry. Five steps for a flat wash, how to grade it, and the fixes.
Guides12 min
Glazing Watercolor Technique: 6 Steps to Layer Clean Color
Glazing watercolor technique means one thin transparent wash over another that has dried. Which pigments glaze cleanly, which turn to mud, and six steps.
Guides12 min
Masking Fluid Watercolor Guide: 7 Steps and 3 Products
Masking fluid watercolor painting works when the paper is dry, the latex comes off within a day and the brush is one you can spare. 7 steps, 3 products.
Guides11 min
How to Stretch Watercolor Paper: 3 Methods by Weight
How to stretch watercolor paper in three moves, soak it, tape it wet to a board, let it dry overnight. Soak times by gsm, plus staples and frames.
Guides10 min
How to Paint Snow in Watercolor: 9 Tips for Clean Whites
How to paint snow in watercolor comes down to leaving the paper white and painting the shadows. 9 tips on masking, blue shadows, salt and opaque white.
Guides12 min
Rough Watercolor Paper: Granulation, Dry Brush and 6 Steps
Rough watercolor paper is the most textured surface, made for granulation and dry brush. Which weights you can buy, which paints to use, and a 6-step sky.
Guides10 min
Wet-on-Dry Watercolor Technique: Crisp Edges in 6 Steps
Wet-on-dry watercolor technique means wet paint on fully dry paper, which keeps edges crisp. How to tell the paper is dry, and 6 steps to clean layers.
Guides16 min
Best Watercolor Brushes for Beginners: 3 Shapes to Buy
Best watercolor brushes for beginners are a synthetic round, a flat and a soft mop. Why a size 8 differs by brand and how to test a brush before you buy.
Guides12 min
Watercolor Pans vs Tubes: What to Buy First, Priced per ml
Watercolor pans vs tubes is mainly a format choice, and the paint is often the same. Price per ml, when each format wins, and how to fill pans from tubes.
Guides9 min
Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Technique: Complete Beginner Guide
Wet-on-wet watercolor technique depends on how wet the paper is, not on brush skill. The four wetness stages, timing cues, and fixes for blooms and mud.