Watercolor Painting Tricks That Improve Your Results

Set Up for Better Results

Some of the most useful tricks happen before you pick up a brush.

• Use better paper. Thin paper buckles and can make paint behave unpredictably. Heavier paper, such as about 140 lb (300 gsm), and cotton paper often make washes easier to control.
• Tape or stretch the paper. Securing the edges helps keep the sheet flat.
• Test colors on scrap paper. Watercolor generally dries lighter than it looks wet, so testing avoids surprises.
• Keep clean water. Dirty water dulls colors. Use one jar to rinse and another for clean water.

If you are still getting started, the basics guide covers these supplies in more detail.

Water Control

Water is the main variable. Dabbing your brush on a towel before touching the paper lets you adjust how wet it is. A damp brush picks up pooled water, and a thirsty brush can draw color out of an area. Watching the shine on the paper tells you how wet it is: glossy means very wet, a dull sheen means damp, and no sheen means dry.

Technique Tricks to Try

• Wet-on-wet blending: Wet an area, then drop in color and let it spread. This suits skies and soft backgrounds (see wet-in-wet watercolor painting).
• Wet-on-dry detail: Paint on dry paper for sharp edges and fine marks.
• Dry brush: Use a brush with little water and drag it lightly to leave broken texture, useful for grass, bark or sparkle on water (see dry brush painting techniques).
• Lifting: Blot paint with a clean damp brush or tissue to create clouds or soften an edge.
• Salt: Sprinkle salt into a damp wash and let it dry fully; it can create small starburst textures. Results vary with the amount of water and type of salt. See painting with salt and watercolor.
• Splatter: Tap a loaded brush over another to flick small drops, which can suggest stars, sand or leaves.
• Preserve whites: Leave areas unpainted instead of trying to add white later. Masking fluid can help for tiny highlights.

For definitions of these, see our watercolor vocabulary guide.

How to Make Watercolor Look Like It Is Glowing

Glow usually comes from a combination of clear color, transparency and contrast.

1. Keep the lightest areas pure. Bare paper or very pale washes next to darker colors create a sense of light.
2. Use thin, transparent layers. Glazing allows color to build while light still reflects from the paper.
3. Avoid overmixing. Mixing many colors tends to dull them. Two or three pigments are often cleaner.
4. Add contrast carefully. Warm colors near cool ones, and dark values near light ones, can make an area appear brighter.
5. Stop before it is overworked. Going back into drying paint can make it look cloudy.

Mixing and Color

Mix colors on the palette rather than on the paper when you want control, and mix on the paper (wet-on-wet) when you want softness. Learning warm and cool versions of a color helps you avoid muddy mixes. A simple limited palette is often enough to keep a painting harmonious. See mixing colors in watercolor and color theory for watercolor for more.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using too much water, or too little pigment, which gives pale and weak color.
• Working back into a wash as it dries.
• Painting over damp layers.
• Adding detail too early.
• Stopping to fix every flaw instead of finishing the painting.

For a practical walkthrough that avoids these mistakes, follow the first painting tutorial.

Simple Techniques for Young Children

For a Grade 3 level, easy techniques include wet-on-wet color blending, rubbing a wax crayon under a wash to show a resisting pattern, sprinkling a little salt, and splattering with a toothbrush or brush. Adult supervision helps, and washable, child-safe paints are appropriate. Our list of easy watercolor painting ideas includes subjects suitable for younger painters as well.

Becoming a Professional Watercolor Artist

There is no single route. Most professional painters build skill through regular practice, develop a consistent body of work, study other artists, and find a way to share it, such as a portfolio, exhibitions or online. Income varies widely, and many artists combine painting with teaching or other work. Starting with consistent practice and honest self-review is a sensible foundation, and how to improve your painting has practical habits to build on. If you are unsure how steep the learning curve will be, see whether watercolor painting is easy.