Watercolour Tips, Tricks & Techniques
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Watercolour techniques

1. Colour sanding - using watercolour pencils for beautiful effect
2. How to use masking fluid - 8 Dos and 8 Don'ts
3. Colour mixing secrets
4. Mixing blacks and vibrant darks
5. Watercolour splatter technique
6. Lots of ways to use a spray bottle with watercolours
7. Adding the appearance of texture with plastic wrap
8. What could you use instead of plastic wrap in watercolour?
9. How to use salt in watercolour
10. How to avoid muddy watercolours
11. Top tips for encouraging granulation
12. How to use masking tape like a pro!
13. 27 ideas for creating textures and mini concertina sketchbook
14. How to paint watercolour on tissue paper
15. The importance of edges in watercolour
16. Painting shadows and tone in watercolour
17. How to paint believeable waterdrops
18. Bad habits - three things (well four) you really shouldn't do!
19. Why you must dry watercolour properly
20. How to preserve whites in watercolour
21. How to paint white subjects in watercolour
21. White duck reference
22. Colour value switching
23. Can you use a hairdryer on watercolours?
24. How to fix a buckled painting
25. Two ways to paint eggs and five speckle ideas
26. Painting flowers on black watercolour paper
27. Magnetic watercolours???
28. Paint Stunning Watercolour Eggs
29. Metallic watercolours for beginners - palm tree and sunset
30. How to use a Ruling Pen
31. How to add text to your paintings using letter punches
32. How to improve your watercolour paintings by using thumbnails
Watercolour supplies

1. Deep cleaning brushes
2. Magic Eraser - top tips for using it with watercolour
3. Smallest paintbox ever!
4. Separating paint - what is that puddle of gunge?
5. How to save dried up paint tubes
6. How to stop your paint beading up on a plastic palette
7. How to make your own travel palette/set
8. Good and bad watercolour paper and why it really, really matters
9. What's going on in that tube of paint?? Learn all about your pigments
10. Review of black watercolour paper
11. Testing cheap metallic watercolours
12. Testing out acrylic inks - can you use them like watercolours?
13. Using Mixing balls to stop your ink separating
14. Is any gold paint as good as gold leaf?
15. Transfer spray
Watercolour on non traditional surfaces such as canvas and wood

1. Make your own watercolour ground
2. Can you really wash off watercolour canvas?
3. How to make and use clear watercolour gorund
4. Layering watercolours on canvas
5. Using metal leaf in your art
6. How to get a dent out of your canvas
7. Can you use varnish to layer watercolour washes on canvas?
8. Painting watercolour on wood - part 1
Line and wash techniques

1. Which is the best pen for sketching?
2. Which comes first pen or wash?
4. What should artists look for in their pens and inks
3. Watercolour and ink doodling
5. Preparing a new nib for your dip pen
6. Using a dip pen and ink for line and wash painting
7. How good are glass dip pens?
8. Flip through of Painting in LIne and Wash book
Drawing tips and techniques

1. Understanding one, two or three point perspective
2. How to use gridding to transfer an image
3. Sketching techniques for when your subject is about to drive away - vintage MGA
4. Drawing upside down to trick your brain into really seeing - especially for portraits
4a. Upside down reference
5. Drawing portraits upside down - trick your eye into really seeing
5a. Reference
Urban and travel sketching

1. Urban sketching for beginners - step by step on location
1a. Reference photo of house
2. Speedy urban sketching in Amsterdam
2a. Amsterdam reference photo
3. Detailed urban sketching in Amsterdam - playing with perspective
3a. Amersterdam reference photo
3b. Amsterdam sketch
4. House sketching tutorial for beginners
4a. House reference picture
4b. House sketch
5. Fast and simple urban sketching - Sydney Opera House in 15 minutes
5a. Reference of Sydney
6. Speed sketching with a fountain pen - fast and simple urban sketch of Cirencester
6a. Cirencester reference
7. Oxford - Urban sketching with a fountain pen
7a. Oxford reference
8. Black fountain pen ink comparison - what to look for
9. Speed sketching with a fountain pen and document ink
9a. Reference
10. How to get a sense of depth in your urban sketches - using line weight, detail, warmth and contrast
10a. Weight reference
11. Travel sketchbook flip through - Come sketch with me in Hawaii, Australia and Thailand
12. Tips for hiking sketching - sketching The Ridgeway
13. Urban sketching with a fountain pen
Framing and presenting your watercolours

1. Waxing watercolours - no more framing and glass
2. How to use a float frame
3. How to wax watercolour paintings
Full painting tutorials

1. Painting an otter in watercolour
1a. Reference photo of otter
2. Painting a Pheasant in watercolour
2a. Pheasant reference
3. Line and wash dog portrait - a rather handsome Great Dane
4. How to paint a beetle in watercolour
4a. Beetle outline
5. How to paint a ladybird in watercolour
6. Painting a vintage car in line and wash
6a. Reference photo of MGA
7. Watercolour portrait painting using a purple under painting - counter intuitive but it works!
7a. Portrait reference photo
8. Portrait painting for beginners using a purple underpainting - part 2
8a. portrait reference photo originally from Sktchy
9. Portrait painting using a purple underpainting - part 3
9a. Portrait reference
10. Portrait painting part 4 - painting a child - Girl in a beret
10a. Girl in a beret reference
11. Scribble drawing of a rhino using pen and ink
11a. Reference of rhino
12. Simple watercolour portrait painting for beginners
12a. Reference picture
13. Overcome your fear of portrait painting
13a. Portrait of a girl reference
14. How to paint animals in line and wash - koala bear
14a. Koala reference
15. Painting animals in line and wash - kangaroo
15a. Kangaroo reference
16. Scribble drawing tips for beginners
16a. Crocodile reference
17. Otter
17a. Otter reference
Making your own sketch or watercolour books - all without sewing

1. Concertina style one - more to come!
2. Concertina 2
3. Perfect bound
4. Ringbound
Product reviews

1. Which is the best sketchbook? Taking a look at the Etchr watercolour sketchbook
2. TWSBI Eco fountain pen review - for artists and sketching
3. Paul Rubens fourth generation watercolour review
4. Muse Kits - are they any good?
5. Etchr brushes
6. Bastion Fountain pen - any good for sketching?
7. Viviva colorsheets
Miscellaneous

1. Making a giant Easter egg!
2. Painting with coffee
3. Painting with coffee part 2 - plus tips for drawing birds
3a. Reference photo of sparrow
4. Understand copyright and stay on the right side of the law
5. New Book - Painting Birds in Watercolour is out now!
6. Painting the cover of my sketchbook in watercolour - Etchr sketchbook
7. How to create your own enamel pins - with GS-JJ
8. How I make my greeting cards
9. Painting with glue and ink - ink resist technique

Watercolour supplies

In this section you will find lots of tips about the supplies you need to paint in watercolour, along with how to care for them and how to get the most out of them.

15 Lessons