12 best watercolor instruction books

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Watercolor as Easy as 1-2-3-4

The ultimate beginner's guide, Watercolor Success in Four Steps is the perfect starting point for any aspiring artist!

Inside this book, experienced artist Marina Bakasova walks you through 150 projects with tried and true techniques.

Whether you're just starting to paint or have some experience, this guide will help you master watercolors in just four simple steps!

Draw a Pencil Sketch

Start by making a pencil drawing of the project. A simple outline is all you need. You can sketch it freehand or trace the drawing provided, using tracing paper or a lightbox. Your drawing should be light and easy to erase, because watercolor paint is transparent.

Apply the First Wash

To apply a flat, even wash of color, dip your brush into the prepared color and spread it on the shape. Don’t try to cover the shape in one go; start with a medium-sized drop of paint, then while the paint is still wet, add more until you have covered the shape.

Build Up the Picture

A damp base allows watercolor to spread whereas a dry base contains it. Read through the whole project before you start, noting where you will need to work quickly when working on wet or half-wet. For example, you may need to move on to the final step while the paint is still wet.

Apply Details

Apply the finishing touches to each watercolor painting using the techniques learned earlier in the book. Watch your art really pop as you paint the final details to your very own masterpiece!

Techniques

Most watercolor paintings use a combination of techniques. Learn how to draw a pencil sketch, locate the light source, choose the right brush, prepare your paints, work on wet or half-wet, drop in color, work on dry, glazing, and more!

Tools and Materials

Apart from paints, brushes, and paper, you will only require a few additional bits and pieces, many of which you will probably have around the house already. You'll learn how to select the best tools, from watercolor paints and paper to drawing pencils and paintbrushes.

Projects

Each of the 150 projects offers a sample selection of palette colors alongside approachable, step-by-step painting instructions to complete each design. Use the handy project selector pages to see all of the projects pictured together, to help you choose which one to paint next.

Fruit, Vegetables, Food, & Drinks

Create watercolor paintings of a banana, chocolate eclair, macron, teapot, and more!

Flowers, Plants, & the Natural World

Make your own watercolor masterpieces of a sunflower, poppy, cactus, night sky, and other items from nature.

Insects, Animals, Birds, & Sea Life

Create watercolor paintings of a panda, frog, flamingo, seashell, dolphin, sea turtle, and more!

Objects, Travel, & Celebrations

Make your own watercolor masterpieces of a sailboat, matryoshka doll, umbrella, hot-air balloon, and other fun objects.

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Get Into the Creative Flow!

With its mesmerizing and spontaneous qualities, watercolor is capturing the attention of artists around the globe. It not only produces stunning art, but also has the power to stimulate the senses through the creative process.

Hello, Watercolor! is a welcoming introduction to this versatile art form. Author Jeannie Dickson will be your guide as you explore the techniques that will enable you to unleash your creativity.

Supplies, Supplies, Supplies!

Beginning watercolor artists can find the options for papers, brushes, paints, and other materials overwhelming. Learn how to choose the supplies that will work best for you.

Getting to Know Hue

For many artists, the luminous colors you can achieve with watercolor are the main appeal of this medium. Having a grasp of simple color theory will open up so many possibilities for mixing custom colors and combining colors harmoniously.

FUN-damentals of Watercolor Painting

Taking the time to really get acquainted with this fascinating medium through the study of some basic techniques will allow you to incorporate them effortlessly into your paintings.

Paint Gorgeous Florals and Foliage

Beautiful blooms beg to be painted in watercolors. Learn how you can achieve organic-looking flowers that are less complex than they look.

Create Whimsical Illustrations

These fun projects will make you smile while teaching you plenty of useful techniques.

Combine Lettering and Watercolor

Create artwork that features brush lettering, monograms, and other lettering techniques.

Explore Fascinating Special Effects

Granulating paints, spattering, salt textures, stained-glass look . . . All of these effects and more will take your paintings to the next level.

A Primer on Brush Lettering

Lettering combines beautifully with watercolor. A special chapter looks at different types of lettering, and then shows you how to get started with brush lettering.

Product description

This innovative line of instructional art pads is designed for beginning artists and for experienced artists who want to try a new style of art. The learning Series integrates a pad of quality art paper with both traditional and video-based instruction developed by prominent, professional art instructors. This "blended" learning approach enables you to follow, at your own pace, the step-by-step directions included in the learning Series pad. It also allows you to see how these talented, professional artists create that very same piece of art. Learning Series products deliver the instruction and the motivation to stimulate your artistic talent and help you quickly learn how to make wonderful works of art you'll be proud to share. Kelly Eddington is a professional watercolor artist with a masters in art education. Her YouTube channel, Kelly Eddington watercolors, has over 60 videos with 170, 000+ subscribers.

• 12 sheets of 140# cold press 200 series Strathmore watercolor paper
• 12 step-by-step lessons
• 7 pages of information, tips and recommendations
• 12 line art templates
• 12 online tutorials

User questions & answers

Question:	Is this 18x
Answer:	I know for us we had to order a size up. Normally wear a womens 8 and it was too tight so did size 9.
Question:	What grade of paper is it
Answer:	You can get different sizes. I was able to get an 11 in women and 9 in men's. I have wide feet that swell really bad after being on them for work and they fit very well.

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Strathmore Learning Series

The Strathmore Learning Series includes Adorable Hand Lettering, Hand Lettering Basics, Drawing Manga, Watercolor Flowers, Colored Pencil Nature, Colored Pencil Textures, Drawing Animals, Drawing Cartoons. The Strathmore Learning Series is perfect for beginning artists looking for a place to start or experienced artists looking to try a new style! Paper is our art form, and we celebrate artists. We have kept the tradition of creating beautiful, high-performing papers alive for over 125 years. Choice of paper is one of the most important decisions an artist makes in determining the outcome of their work. No matter your choice of medium, you can be confident Strathmore paper will enhance your artistic efforts.

Expert Instructions and Quality Design

Combining expert instruction with quality paper, the Strathmore Learning Series provides guides made by respected professionals, easy-to-use lessons, and effective self-paced tools to learning and creating concepts. There’s nothing stopping you from learning how to create in a variety of techniques and media!

Learning Made Easy

Learning Series products deliver the instruction and the motivation to stimulate your artistic talent and help you quickly learn how to make wonderful works of art you’ll be proud to share.

Blended Lessons For Everyone

The Strathmore Learning series utilizes both traditional lessons and video-based instructions to provide a 'blended' lesson, enabling you to follow at your own pace with step-by-step instructions developed by prominent, professional art instructors. Watch talented and professional artists create the very same piece of art as you as you learn to create alongside the best!

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Introduction

Tulips are cup-shaped flowers. They have six petal-like structures, but only three of the structures are true petals. Tulips are composed of three outer sepals, which were the outer cover of the bud, and three inner petals, which are true petals. Knowing botanical structure helps create scientifically accurate illustration, because the two parts may have slightly different coloration, shape, and texture.

Step 1

With bullet-pointed 2H or H pencil, measure the outer dimensions of the tulip and draw a rectangle. Then measure the tips of three sepals and connect them in a triangle. Do the same with three inner petals. By examining the angles and crossings of the triangles, confirm whether their placements are correct or not. Now, sketch in the sepals and petals focusing on accurate position and proportion.

Step 2

With a pointed 2H, and using substantial pressure, draw a detailed shape of each part. For foreshortened shapes, add some shadow early on, which helps to better show the form. Carefully observe any tiny vein lines and their direction on the petals and sepals and mark them. They will make the curves look organic and realistic. After the final lines are drawn, erase the initial lines.

Step 3

Trace the drawing onto good-quality paper if necessary. Now, add shadow on the inside (concave side) of the petals and sepals. There are two concave shapes created by the inner petals and outer sepals. Observe carefully where the darkest shadow occurs.

Step 4

With a pointed pencil, draw vein lines following the curvature. The fine lines might not be very visible when the drawing is finished, but they enhance its formation. By doing so, details and textures can be added as well.

Step 5

Add shadow on the outside (convex side) of petals and sepals. By separating the shading process on concave and convex parts, it becomes clear how forms affect light and shadow. Hence, the drawing will be more accurate and logical.

Step 6

Now refine the gradation of the shadows, refine the clean edges, and deepen the dark shadows. Using an eraser and a light touch, recover reflected light, then add any finishing touches.