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Let's say you want to start trying watercolor. What will you need? What is necessary? Below is the list of things of what you should get to set up your station along with how to set it up.

Things you'll need:
- Brushes
- Paint
- Mixing palette
- 2 Jars/cups of water
- Watercolor paper
- Paper towel/tissue paper

Other than the brushes, paint, and watercolor paper, why do you need the rest? What's the purpose of them, you may ask. Well...

A mixing palette is essential if you want to mix different colors to create a new color. Often times, the paints will come in some colors, and not all. To get the shade of pink you want or the amount of opacity you would like it to be, you have to have a palette to mix the paints on.

2 jars/cups of water is essential, and it is best if you start this habit early. These jars will be used to clean brushes. The first one will be for paint and dirty water. That's the jar you use to clean your brush first before going to the second jar, which is still clear water, to completely take out all of the possible diluted paint still in the brush. That way, you won't mix colors, and the colors would be more vibrant.

Paper towel/tissue paper is another thing that's recommended to have. It will help dry off your brushes if you'd like, and it will let you see what the paint will look like on paper. It helps with color and water control.

Bibliography
kelogsloops. “HOW TO USE WATERCOLOR - Introduction Tutorial.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fgkwcym4j4.

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HOW TO USE WATERCOLOR - Introduction Tutorial

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SUPPLIES: WATER BRUSHES VS NORMAL BRUSHES

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SUPPLIES: WATER BRUSHES VS NORMAL BRUSHES

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So many types of brushes and what to choose from? Aside from your normal standard brush, there's a new type of brush that's been on the rise for watercolor sketchers everywhere: the water brush.

What is the water brush?
It is a standard rounded brush with a water dispenser incorporated in the brush. By squeezing the brush, water will come out, allowing you to wash the brush or dilute the paint.

Pros and Cons of the water brush?
There's a lot of benefits and disadvantages when using the water brush. I have used the high quality brush along with the standard brush, and the results are massively different.
While these are my own opinions, it is also facts as well.
* My art style is more towards large paintings

- [PROS]
- Travel-friendly
- Good for when you don't have water in hand
- Somewhat easy to use
- Good for beginners

- [CONS]
- Doesn't create as beautiful washes as the normal brush

- Harder to control amount of water, making the painting not go the way one would like it to be

- Only good for small sized paintings, smaller than A4

- Harder to create detail work

Bibliography
“Waterbrush vs 'Real' Brush.” Liz Steel, 5 May 2017, www.lizsteel.com/waterbrush-vs-real-brush/.

“Parka Blogs.” Book Review: The Art of Howl's Moving Castle | Parka Blogs, www.parkablogs.com/content/waterbrush-comparison-which-best.

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How are watercolor brushes different from other brushes? They are all just brushes, right?
These are the questions beginners often have when picking out brushes. A lot of them don't know why it's important to use brushes designed specifically for watercolor, only buying them because "watercolor brushes are probably good for watercolor work."
Well, below will list out the reasons and importance for each.

Watercolor brushes have softer hairs than let's say... acrylic brushes. This allows the brush to act as a sponge, allowing it to soak up more paint and water. This is very useful whenever you want to lift.

Soft hairs allows softer/more delicate strokes on paper, in which watercolor is known for. If you want to create the "watercolor effect," then you have to use softer haired brushes. Hard haired brushes like acrylic brushes will only create textures.

The cheaper the brush, the less likely it will last and hold water, making it most probable that you'll have to take many trips to the art store.

Don't throw away your old brushes! Even when the brushes' tips are torn apart and the hair of the brushes are stiff, don't throw them away. Those brushes can create neat effects and textures that normal, new brushes cannot replicate. It will help add more depth to your painting.

People sometimes compare between synthetic brushes and real haired brushes, but those aren't too important when it comes to watercolor. Of course, the finer hairs will be better, but you can still create beautiful works of art from synthetic brushes as well.

Bibliography
Misfit, Watercolor. “Watercolor Brushes? Everything You Need to Know. (Beginner's Series EP. #03).” YouTube, YouTube, 18 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=38gaKuWivzU.

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You want watercolor paint but don't know what to buy? Well, the materials all depends on what kind of art style you are pursuing and what level of travel-efficientness do you want. Down here is a list of pros and cons of each type of watercolor paint that you can consider when choosing what to use.

Pans:
- [PROS]
- Pigments, binders, additives
- Can buy individually or set
- Set comes with mixing palette
- Can use as much paint you really need
- Easy to use + portable

- [CONS]
- Can be harsh on the brush
- Often times duller colors
- Very little paint compared to tubes and liquids
- Can take time to get the right color and opacity

Tubes:
- [PROS]
- Comes in set
- Very pigmented
- More vibrant colors
- Easier to mix
- More water control
- More economical + cheaper in the long run
- Easier to prepare a big amount of paint

- [CONS]
- Doesn't come with mixing palette
- A little more expensive
- Harder judge how much you need

Liquid:
- [PROS]

- Comes in both set and separate

- Can immediately start painting
- Good for illustrations and pen-lettering
- Good for large paintings
- Vibrant

- [CONS]
- Too much mixing = dull colors
- Color fade over time
- Prevents certain techniques like lifting
- Completely transparent
- Not travel-friendly

Bibliography
makoccino. “What Is The Difference Between Watercolors In PANS, TUBES & LIQUID Watercolors.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Jan. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=peCQ_SpLQFc.

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So you want to create a watercolor piece. What do you need? How will you transfer the paint to paper? What are the good papers to use?

Well, there are different types of watercolor paper. No, there isn't just one type. Each type is pressed differently, and it all has a certain effect to the overall painting. It may vary depending on your style of art, so it is important to know what types and quality they are. It would make it easier for you to know which ones to experiment and find what works for you.

Hands or Machines?
Handmade papers:
- four natural, or deckle edges
- fibers are randomly distributed
- strong
- durable

Mold-made papers:
- Two deckle edges
- Fibers are randomly distributed
- Isn't as durable as handmade
- Often in the market

Machine-made paper:
- one continuous process
- fibers in the same direction
- All the edges are cut
- more authentic appearance
- less expensive

3 Surfaces
Mold-made and machine made paper generally have 3 different types of surfaces: rough, hot-pressed (HP), and cold-pressed (CP).

Rough:
- textured surface
- creates a grainy, speckled effect as pools of water collect
- can be hard to control the brush marks

Hot-pressed:
- fine-grained, smooth surface
- Paint dries very quickly on it
- ideal for large, even washes of one or two colors not
- can get overloaded quickly
- good for drawing and for pen and ink wash.

Cold-pressed:
- slightly textured surface
- somewhere in between rough and hot-pressed paper
- used most often by watercolor artists it
- good for large areas of wash and fine detail.

Bibliography
Boddy-Evans, Marion. “How to Choose the Right Watercolor Paper for Your Needs.” Thoughtco., Dotdash, www.thoughtco.com/how-to-choose-a-watercolor-paper-2573985

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The best thing about watercolor is the fact that you can't fully control it. You can't control where the paint goes when splattered on an area of water. You can't control the moments where a drop of paint falls on a wrong place of the painting. It's hard to control, which often leads to accidents. However, it is those accidents that lead to happy mistakes. It is those accidents that make watercolor so special because there's a certain flow to it that no other medium has.

How To Start
How does one start being creative? You can often find yourself sitting in front of a piece of paper at loss on what to draw. You say you want to be ____, whatever the blank may be, and you want to be good at it. You pressure yourself to being good to the point where you shut down everything else. In this case, it is especially important to keep in mind what Josiah, a professional YouTube artist, had mentioned:

"What you need to get started isn't the skill, but the hunger for the skill."
-Josiah Brooks

To gain skill, you need hours on hours of dedication and observation. That is obtainable for everyone. However, to gain creativity, what you simply need is to "start." All you need to do is to start putting your pen onto paper. To ignite that passion, just draw anything you see: pencils, pens, staplers, etc. It would get you moving your pen, which will then allow you to become more prone to imagination.

"One of the most powerful ways to learn, to gain, knowledge is by paying attention."
-Tina Seelig

By paying attention to your surroundings and certain details, you will increase not only your skill, but your creativity as well. You can notice something you haven't seen before, and that could lead to new ideas. You build up from there, and eventually, you'll have a steady stream to drink out of.

Bibliography
Brooks, Josiah. “What To Draw... When You Don't Know What To Draw.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Feb. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8juByHPn3EU.

Seelig, Tina. “A Crash Course in Creativity: Tina Seelig at TEDxStanford.” YouTube, TEDx Talks, 1 Aug. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyM6rx69iqg.

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The technique is when you apply wet paint on a wet surface. It creates a sort of fan effect, something that only watercolor paint can do.

In order to create this effect, you must wet the paper with water first and then add paint to it. You can see that after adding paint, the paint will start to dilute itself on the sides and fade out. This creates interesting effects, and if you add different colors so that the paint can mix together, you can get something like what you see below.

Bibliography
kelogsloops. “HOW TO USE WATERCOLOR - Introduction Tutorial.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fgkwcym4j4.

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This is when you apply a wet brush to a dry surface. The advantage for this is that it can create bold, strong colors in defining shapes and form. It's great for detail.

In order to create this effect, you shouldn't wet the paper first. You should just put the paint down on the paper and create shapes with it. From then, you can see how dark and opaque everything is. Try it out, play around with it. What you will get is something similar to the picture below.

Bibliography
kelogsloops. “HOW TO USE WATERCOLOR - Introduction Tutorial.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fgkwcym4j4.

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Lifting is used whenever you want to remove watercolor from your painting. You can use this technique whenever you want to lighten the amount of pigment on the sheet, erase your mistakes, or create transparent things like clouds or maybe even jellyfishes.

There are many ways you can do this. You can take a brush with as little water as possible and swipe over the spot. You can take a paper towel and soak up the watercolor. You can even use your fingers if that works out for you. Test out different mediums and techniques. Each thing you use to lift can give a different effect.

Bibliography
“Lifting Watercolor- Techniques- Painting Clouds.” Art Lessons Online, thevirtualinstructor.com/how-to-lift-watercolor.html.

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Did you know you can use salt to add texture to your painting? By using salt, you can add interesting textures to create things like snow, dandelions, and more. Just sprinkle some on your painting and wait for it to take effect!

Bibliography

Tonya. “Watercolor Tutorial: Salt Painting.” Scratchmade Journal, Scratchmade Journal, 28 July 2017, www.scratchmadejournal.com/blog/painting-with-salt-watercolor-tutorial.

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So, you want to create a nice, even surface of color, but you don't know how? All of your attempts have gone all streaky? Well, here's how:

Prepare the right amount of paint you will need to paint the surface, and make sure you have the appropriate brush size for the flat painting. First, wet the surface of your paper with water before you apply any paint. Make sure it is an even surface, and when you look at it under a light source, there's a sheen of water on it. After, apply the paint until it's smooth. The reason why you might be having trouble with the even-ness was because you didn't wet your paper first, making it a wet on dry technique, causing it to be more prone to streakiness. However, if you have enough pigment and you want your wash to be bold, then by all means, do wet on dry.

I suggest you try using your flat brushes and your round brushes for flats and see how it compares to each other.

Bibliography
Tutorials, Painting. “How to Paint a Flat Watercolor Wash on Wet or Dry Paper.” EmptyEasel.com, 12 Mar. 2019, emptyeasel.com/2014/02/10/how-to-paint-a-perfect-flat-wash-on-wet-or-dry-paper-using-watercolors/.