There is no specific age for learning to paint. If you want to start painting, chances are you are looking for a painting medium made especially for beginners. If that’s the case, then you might be wondering, is watercolor paint good for beginners?
Watercolor is an attractive medium. It is cost-effective and easily available. It does not require much effort to prepare and is easy to clean up. Thus, it can be a good painting medium if you are about to kick-start your journey as a painter.
In this article, I will talk about why watercolor is a great painting for beginners. Then, I will talk about some watercolor painting tips to help paint your first watercolor art. So, make sure to stick around till the end!
Why Watercolor Is Good For Beginners
Many beginners find watercolor difficult to control. Others find watercolor quite approachable. Here are some benefits of using watercolors for beginners:
Cost of Watercolor
Beginners often start painting out of curiosity. You may want to try and see if you still have the same interest after some time. So, you may not want to spend too much money on buying painting mediums and tools. In this case, watercolor is the best choice as it is not as expensive as other paints like oil color and acrylic.
Watercolor papers, brushes, and color mixing palettes are very reasonably priced. Other mediums require more expensive papers and instruments. Besides, oil and acrylic paints do not look great on paper. They are for canvas or canvas paper, and both are expensive.
No Solvent Required
Beginners can also save money by not buying solvents. Watercolor requires only water to mix with. You do not have to spend extra money on buying oil or any other solvent to mix with watercolor.
There is also the matter of mixing the right amount of solvent with paint. Too much or too little water can affect the painting. Beginners may not know how the mixing process works. For watercolor, you just have to use water. Even if you waste some colors, it will not matter much as they are cheap.
Easy To Clean Up
When you are working with color, things can get messy. Kids love to smudge colors here and there. Watercolor is easy to clean up. You only have to use some clean water and clothes to wipe off the color. Even dried watercolors can be cleaned To read more about this checkout article Does Watercolor Paint Come Out Of Clothes?
On the other hand, oil and acrylic paints are hard to clean, especially when they dry. So, if you want a clean environment, go for watercolor.
Watercolor Dries Fast
Watercolor paintings dry within minutes or hours. You can paint, and display them in a few minutes. Oil paints, on the other hand, are not the same. They even take days to dry.
Hence, you have to keep them in a secure place to dry. This is another reason beginners should practice with watercolor, as they do not have to worry about the painting so much.
First Step To Other Paint Mediums
If you want to learn to paint, you can start with watercolors. But it does not mean you have to stick with watercolor for the rest of your life. You can switch to other painting mediums at any time.
Starting with watercolor will allow you to become acquainted with various brush styles and their applications. You do not have to practice with expensive oil paints to learn the basics.
9 Tips On Painting With Watercolor For Beginners
If you are a beginner at watercolor painting you surely have some questions about the color medium. It will amaze you to see that some of your watercolor problems actually have simple solutions.
Here are some tips you need to follow to improve your watercolor painting skills:
- First, pick a type of watercolor. There are three grades of watercolor: children’s grade, student’s grade, and artist’s grade. You can start with the student’s grade. However, the artist’s grade is pricier, but not too expensive. You can choose them too.
- After your color palette, consider buying the brushes. You will find different kinds of brush sets. Get the tiny brushes for details and the large ones to cover large areas. Some cheap brushes have rough bristles. Try to avoid those and get some soft hair brushes.
- Choose the right paper. Watercolor papers are not that expensive. You can also try painting on mixed-media papers. When you are choosing the paper, it should be at least 160 gsm or 220 gsm.
- Painting does not always require drawing with a pencil. But beginners find it helpful. To stay on track, draw a simple sketch of the structures on paper and color over it.
- Watercolors are tricky when you want to shade or layer. So, when you are painting, start by coloring with light colors and gradually move to dark colors. Making mistakes with dark colors is hard to fix.
- Try to understand how much water you need to add. For a lighter shade of a color, mix some water with it, but for darker shades, use a little less water.
- When you are mixing colors and creating your color palette, make a lot of them. It is better to have leftover watercolor paint than to run out of it. You have to make the shades again. However, this time, the color may not match. Thus, prepare a good amount of watercolor to have color consistency.
- Use soft brushes and soft strokes on the paper when you are painting with watercolor. Water makes the paper weak. Working too much on the same spot can damage the spot.
- Have patience. Watercolors are sometimes unpredictable. But when you learn to control watercolor techniques, it makes things easier for practicing other mediums.
Conclusion
So, is watercolor good for beginners? The answer depends on your intentions. If you are looking for a cost-effective and solvent-free painting medium, then watercolor is a good choice. People often stick to watercolors as they are versatile and easy to clean.
