These watercolor project books have impressive ideas with lots of new tips and tricks to keep exploring this flowing, generous medium. Embracing mistakes, being curious and doing little bits at a time help to keep on learning, too!
Colorways: Watercolor Animals- Tips, techniques, and step-by-step lessons for learning to paint whimsical artwork in vibrant watercolor by Shaunna Russell
This is the type of book you might find intimidating when beginning to learn watercolor. However, if you’ve tried a couple of tricks and feel confident enough to do two basic things, you’re in for a magic trip.
The first one, graphite transfer with lead pencil, includes choosing an image from a glossy magazine or printing your own, rubbing the pencil below the image, and then tracing on top of watercolor paper, it will transfer all the lines very subtly. It is deceptively easy to choose a great image then and be halfway to achieving a stunning watercolor painting,
The second one is masking fluid. It’s not so easy to master, but it’s a great trick to pull off textures and clean borders with it. With each step-by-step demonstration, you will be able to capture the animal’s likeness, be it a whale, an elephant a cat, a dog, or a fish. There are plenty to choose from.
Geared for advanced beginners and more experienced watercolorists looking to play with color, this is a whimsical and playful book that teaches you how the trick is done. You will achieve colorful imagery filled with imagination and saturated color. It’s still magic when you get to learn how to do it!
Colorways: Watercolor Animals – is available since December 3d, 2019
Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
Pages: Trade Paperback 128 Pages
ISBN: 781633228085
Up next, I love Ana Victoria Calderón’s books, her compositions are always stunning and you wish to tear the book illustrations apart and use them as décor in your home. She is also a great watercolor teacher:
Watercolor Textures for Artists-Explore Simple Techniques to Create Amazing Works of Art by Ana Victoria Calderón
This book is all about experimentation and practicing every day, even if it is a little bit at a time.
Offering how-to instructions on texture, you will learn swatching, (applying beautiful textures to simple shapes) and how to mimic everyday life textures into your art.
Circles, dots, brushstrokes, lines. Bubbles and marks, doing washes and then marking on top, gel pens, masking fluid, opaque white ink, everything adds on to create beautiful imagery layer by layer.
Then you get to build on your skills by creating lovely landscapes and star-studded horizons.
There is almost no drawing in this book, everything feels unconstrained and free-flowing, as Calderón is always preoccupied with achieving a meditative state when painting. All of her books seek and achieve, mindfulness.
Watercolor Textures for Artists is available since March 12th, 2024
Publisher: Quarry Books
Pages: Trade Paperback 136 Pages
ISBN: 9780760383407
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