Technology for the production of watercolors. Watercolor paints

You decided to introduce the child to the beautiful - to teach him to draw. Or they themselves “shake the old days” and portray something like that. But you don't know what colors to choose. Let's figure it out.

Paint classification

Paints differ from each other in composition, consistency and smell. The following are suitable for drawing:

• watercolor;
• gouache;
• acrylic;
• oil;
• finger.

What could be better than watercolor

This type of paint is familiar to everyone (so to speak, greetings from distant childhood). Watercolor paints (by the way, they were invented by the Chinese) can draw any complex landscape - after all, there are about forty colors, and even a huge number of all kinds of shades.

What is good about this type of paint? The fact that it is an environmentally friendly product that is not scary even for children to give to occupy their leisure time. Let them draw! Maybe they will become Repins or Aivazovskys. Drawings made with watercolors are distinguished by some airiness, naturalness, lightness and transparency.

What is made of? The composition of this type of paint includes:

• Transparent resin. It is obtained by drying the juice of various types of acacias.
• Sugar (or glycerin).
• Plasticizing agents that improve the quality characteristics of the product.

Important! Despite all the advantages of watercolors, do not forget about one point that should alert you: antiseptic substances (for example, such an unloved phenol) are also included in the composition of paints. Therefore, using it, you should not forget about it and show miracles of carelessness.

We make our own paints

Of course, some super discerning professional, after taking a look and trying to use homemade paints, will snort and say that it is impossible to create a “masterpiece” work of art with this. But in defense of paints made at home with our own hands, we give the following arguments:

• they are great for everyday activities with children (especially preschoolers), as they do not eat into the skin of the hands and can be easily wiped off (and if they get on clothes, they can be easily washed off);
• there is no need to visit retail outlets very often to purchase goods (you always have it at home);
• paints do not mix with each other and remain clean;
• have a bright color and glide like clockwork.

So let's get started. You will need:

• baking soda - four tablespoons;
• table vinegar - two tablespoons;
• any light syrup - 1/2 tablespoon;
• starch (preferably corn) - two tablespoons;
• dyes in liquid form or in powders (only food);
• any suitable container (such as cupcake or ice cube trays).

Algorithm for making solid watercolor paints

How watercolor paint is made:

• Thoroughly mix in a container with a spout (then it will be very convenient to pour the mixture into molds), two components: soda and vinegar.

Important! Take your time: wait for the hiss to end. Only then do you continue to create.

• Add the following two ingredients: starch and syrup. Mix everything thoroughly without leaving any lumps.
• Pour the mixture into moulds.
• Unpack the dyes and add them to the molds.

On a note! The molds are small - therefore, to stir the dye in them, we use toothpicks or matches. We do everything very quickly: it is necessary to keep within 1 minute. And one more nuance: if the paints turned out to be slightly watery in consistency, then just add a little starch.

• Let the paint dry. This will take 1-2 days (if you install a tray with freshly prepared paints on the battery, the drying process will go faster).

Once they're completely dry, just grab a brush, dip it in water, and start sculpting!

Gouache paints are also a good choice.

This type of paint is loved by both professional artists and those who have just embarked on this path. Nevertheless, the choice is good, as gouache has quite rich and bright colors; thick and oily texture. Gouache paints are divided into poster paints (more dense in consistency and bright; they are used for design work) and art.

Gouache? The question is very simple. This type of paint is a "direct relative" of watercolor. The composition includes the same pigmented particles and the same water-soluble component based on glue. The only difference is that natural white has been added to gouache, which gives it greater density, delicate velvety and whiteness. Paintings made using watercolors or gouache are distinguished by their quivering, tenderness and liveliness. They cannot be confused with other technology.

Why not use oil paints

Everything is very simple: since the paint is oil, it means that what is included in its composition? That's right, oil. Who invented it - history is silent. This type of paint is hardly suitable for toddlers drawing at home. But for children (future, perhaps, brilliant artists) who attend specialized institutions of artistic orientation, they are quite suitable (after all, they, children, know how to use them without harm to health).

What are oil paints made from? They are kneaded mainly with linseed oil, which has undergone a unique technological treatment. In addition to this main component, the product includes resin (alkyd) and substances that allow the paint to dry quickly. And this is an important detail.

Why are oil paints good? The fact that over a long period their colors remain as bright and deep.

Try acrylic paints

Today, acrylic is a very popular coating, which a few decades ago was generally unknown to anyone. Progress does not stand still. Acrylic paints dry very quickly, have a fairly rich palette of colors, and can be easily applied not only to paper or cardboard, but also to plastic or ceramics.

What are acrylic paints made of? First of all, it should be noted that this, of course, is a synthetic product that is based on polymers such as ethyl, butyl and methyl. In addition to them, there are water and pigments.

How to "reanimate" acrylic paints

What to do - acrylic paints dried up? What can dilute them? Water. Just keep in mind a few conditions:

• The liquid must not contain any impurities. Therefore, it is necessary to use distilled water (you can buy it at a hardware store or pharmacy). If it is not possible to purchase, then simply boil ordinary tap water and leave it to stand for a while.
• The water temperature should be about +20 degrees.

Important! Proportions play an important role. If you dilute in a ratio of 1: 2 (that is, one part of the coloring mixture and two water), then the solution will have a rather liquid consistency and will fit only for the base under the base layer. If in a ratio of 1: 1, then it is perfect as a base coat.

Paints for the little ones

There are paints that are designed for very young children who cannot hold either a pencil or a brush. They are called fingers. The paints fit well on the surface and do not flow in any way from the fingers. Working with them is very easy: just dip your finger into a jar of paint, then touch the paper (cardboard or glass). All is ready! You can exhibit in the gallery!

What are the components of such paints? They are water-based and contain only food coloring. True, it is unlikely that the baby will like this product, since the paints have a bitter or salty aftertaste. This was done on purpose so that the child would not be tempted to eat them before dinner.

How is gel paint used?

Fashionistas will best answer this question. They already know exactly what makes nails attractive. Moreover, using this coating, you can make a manicure on nails of any shape and any size (both natural and extended). The main advantage of such paints is that they mix well, which allows you to get a huge number of additional shades.

In custody

Now you know what paints are made of. And with full awareness of the matter, you can plunge into this fascinating process.

watercolor paint consists of a pigment and a water-soluble adhesive (binder). Gum arabic is used as a binder in watercolors, but in cheap paints it can be replaced with dextrin, cherry glue, etc. Additionally, in the production of watercolors, a plasticizer (glycerin, honey, molasses) is added to make the film elastic, preservatives (antiseptics) from mold and a wetting agent (ox bile) for uniform application to the surface.

TYPES OF WATERCOLOR PAINTS

Semi-solid in cuvettes

This is a dry paint, initially poured in liquid form into small rectangles, which are packaged in sets or sold individually. The standard cuvette volume is approximately 2.5 ml, but “half-pans” are also sold, which are convenient for sketching outside the home. Most often, such watercolors work on small formats (it is difficult to “pull out” the right amount of paint from dry cuvettes ).

The inside of the set's lid is most often used as a palette. If the box is plastic - the paint can eat into, but in metal with enamel - no.

(ST. PETERSBURG, LENINGRAD, LADOGA)
• Watercolor paints TALENS ARTCREATION

Soft in tubes

Basically liquid paint. The most important difference between its properties and watercolors in cuvettes is rich color and brightness. Well suited for fillings and large formats, including in terms of economy. As a rule, during work, watercolors are squeezed out of tubes into empty cuvettes, which lie in a palette box. When the work is completed, the excess paint remains in the cuvettes. The palette box is closed. Even if the paints dry out a little, they are sprinkled with water and they are ready for use again. The most popular brush for working with paint from a tube on large formats is a soft flute.

Liquid watercolor

It is not a watercolor in its composition. First of all, because it is not made of pigments, but of dyes. It would be more correct to call it a non-waterproof ink that has the properties inherent in watercolor. Good for illustrations and sketches.

Briefly, the following aids can be distinguished:

Which allow you to make paints yourself, using a pigment and a binder.

To reduce the surface tension of water, which allows the paint to be applied more evenly, eliminating the thickening of the paint or changing its color.

Masking - temporarily hiding elements that should not get paint.

Various pastes and gels to increase the pastiness of paint and create decorative reliefs, increase gloss or shine, to create a metallic effect and many others.

With this primer, you can prime any surface (canvas, wood, paper), after which you can work on them with watercolors.

PAPER FOR WATERCOLOR PAINTS

It is believed that in watercolor painting, the quality of the paper is paramount. Even high-quality paint on poor paper will not be able to demonstrate all the beauty of its shades and excellent properties. For watercolor paper, composition and sizing are of paramount importance. Sizing provides watercolor paper with minimal absorbency, durability when wet.

Inspirational watercolor works by Yulia Barminova

Video drawing lesson with watercolor "City in the sun" Basic video drawing lesson in watercolor "City in the sun." Artist-teacher: Tatyana Viktorova Tatyana is a watercolor artist, an interior designer by education, but she found herself in the fine arts. She has been drawing since 2014, and since 2016 she has been holding master classes in her city. He considers himself half self-taught, because the world of modern watercolor is very far from the classical view and much has been studied on his own. In this video watercolor lesson, Tatyana will consider a rather complex construction of a street - a perspective with two vanishing points, and will also tell and show how to draw a city landscape in warm colors. ✔ Building a street perspective with one vanishing point ✔ Tonal relationships of objects with each other ✔ How to work on plots with a contrasting combination of colors ✔ How to include people and cars in urban landscapes ✔ How to draw a reflection of a city ✔ Building a street perspective with two vanishing points. ✔ Tonal relationships of objects with each other ✔ The difference in the selection of shades for the “warm” and “cold” colors of the work ✔ How to paint light with watercolors ✔ The issue of detailing architecture and work in general ✔ How to include people and cars in urban landscapes ✔ How to include color accents in the work The result of the video lesson will be a watercolor work with a sunny city! This is the final work of the course, which brings together everything that we have learned in the previous lessons. Duration of the video lesson: 1 hour 40 minutes For comfortable learning, make sure you have the following art materials: ✔ WATERCOLOR PAINTS Watercolor paints from any manufacturer. In the lesson, Tatiana uses the following colors: - White Nights, No. 321 Iron oxide light red - Van Gogh, No. 568 Violet - White Nights, No. 209 Neapolitan yellow - White Nights, No. 304 Cadmium orange - White Nights, No. 319 Carmine - White Nights , No. 513 Light blue - White Nights, No. 357 Venetian red - White Nights, No. 524 Indanthrene blue - Gouache white, titanium (P.W.6) White nights "Master class" (Or another company) ✔ BRUSHES - Synthetic brush Escoda "Perla" , round, No. 8 (Replacement: synthetics of any company, round, size No. 6-10) - Art Secret squirrel brush, round, No. 2 (Replacement: squirrel or imitation of any company, round, size No. 8-10) - Flute for Wetting paper Pinax, goat, #40 (Substitute: any other flat brush) ✔ WATERCOLOR PAPER, A4 SIZE You can use any watercolor paper with a weight of at least 200 g/m2 that holds water well. In this video tutorial, Tatiana uses Kroyter paper, A4 format for sketching (Replacement: drawing paper or any other thick paper), and for the final work, Lanaquarelle cotton paper, A4 format (Replacement: 100% cotton paper of any manufacturer, texture grain fin , density 300 g/m2. For example, Arches or Fabriano Artistico) ✔ TABLET ✔ PAPER TAPE ✔ PENCIL AND ERASER ✔ GLASS OF WATER ✔ RAG OR PAPER TOWEL ✔ PALETTE OR WHITE PLATE Beginner. Video watercolor lesson will be interesting for students with zero and initial skills. You can find all video lessons from ArtProfessor Viktorov Tatyana on her personal page below. Do you want to learn how to paint with watercolors? With us it's easy! Have great fun and learn to draw from the masters of their craft!

Video lesson of watercolor painting "Cloudy London" Basic video lesson in watercolor painting "Cloudy London". Artist-teacher: Tatyana Viktorova Tatyana is a watercolor artist, an interior designer by education, but she found herself in the fine arts. She has been drawing since 2014, and since 2016 she has been holding master classes in her city. He considers himself half self-taught, because the world of modern watercolor is very far from the classical view and much has been studied on his own. In this video tutorial on watercolor painting, Tatiana will tell you how to draw a city street in perspective, as well as how to work with color. ✔ Building a street perspective with one vanishing point ✔ Tonal relationships of objects with each other ✔ How to work on scenes with a contrasting combination of colors ✔ How to include people and cars in urban landscapes ✔ How to draw a city reflection ✔ How to paint with watercolors ✔ How to build perspective in your paintings ✔ How to choose colors for a watercolor painting ✔ How to paint a city landscape in watercolor The result of the video lesson will be working with an image of cloudy London! By the 3rd lesson of the course, we already know a lot about construction and color, and nothing should stop you from drawing watercolor cities. Duration of the video lesson: 1 hour 23 minutes For comfortable learning, make sure you have the following art materials: ✔ WATERCOLOR PAINTS Watercolor paints from any manufacturer. In the lesson, Tatiana uses the following colors: - White Nights, No. 209 Neapolitan yellow - White Nights, No. 304 Cadmium orange - White Nights, No. 357 Venetian red - White Nights, No. 319 Carmine - Van Gogh, No. 568 Violet - White Nights, No. 513 Blue - White Nights, No. 524 Indanthrene blue - White Nights, No. 727 Olive - Gouache white, titanium (P.W.6) White Nights "Master Class" (Or another company) ✔ BRUSHES - Escoda "Perla" synthetic brush, round, No. 8 (Replacement: synthetics of any company, round, size No. 6-10) - Pinax “Poseidon” squirrel mix brush, round, No. 8 (Replacement: squirrel or imitation of any company, round, size No. 8-10) - Flute for Wetting paper Pinax, goat, #40 (Substitute: any other flat brush) ✔ WATERCOLOR PAPER, A4 SIZE You can use any watercolor paper with a weight of at least 200 g/m2 that holds water well. In this video tutorial, Tatiana uses Kroyter paper, A4 format for sketching (Replacement: drawing paper or any other thick paper), and for the final work, Fabriano "Blocco per artisti" paper, A4 format (Replacement: 100% cotton paper of any manufacturer, texture grain fin, density 300 g/m2. For example, Arches or Fabriano Artistico) ✔ TABLET ✔ PAPER TAPE ✔ PENCIL AND ERASER ✔ GLASS OF WATER ✔ RAG OR PAPER TOWEL ✔ PALETTE OR WHITE PLATE Beginner. Video watercolor lesson will be interesting for students with zero and initial skills. You can find all video lessons from ArtProfessor Viktorov Tatyana on her personal page below. Do you want to learn how to paint with watercolors? With us it's easy! Have great fun and learn to draw from the masters of their craft!

Watercolor and its properties.

Watercolor is painting with transparent water-based paints on paper.

The French artist E. Delacroix wrote:“What gives the subtlety and brilliance of painting on white paper is, without a doubt, the transparency that lies in the essence of white paper. The light penetrating the paint applied to the white surface - even in the thickest shadows - creates the brilliance and special luminosity of the watercolor. The beauty of this painting is also in the softness, the naturalness of the transitions of one color to another, the unlimited variety of the finest shades.. This statement by E. Delacroix is ​​important to understand and remember for all lovers of watercolor painting. Dirt, clouding of color and the appearance of deaf spots in watercolor sketches appear primarily when beginners write as thickly as they do with gouache and oil. Transparency - that's what you need to appreciate and cherish in watercolor.

watercolor paper should be dense (from 170 to 850 gr.) - to improve absorption. The surface of watercolor paper is almost always rough, with varying textures. This quality allows the paint to "cling" to the surface and lie down better. In addition, an uneven, bumpy surface creates a certain optical effect, because watercolor is a technique that gives transparent, airy images. And textured paper gives them an additional effect of volume.

White paper, reflecting the rays of light through the transparent layers of watercolors, gives a special freshness to the shades. Do not write on gray or yellow paper. Not all paper works well with watercolor paint. We need the best grades of bleached paper, which has a granular texture - whatman paper, semi-paper paper. Drawing paper is not suitable, from the glossy surface of which the paint flows.

The quality of watercolor paper is determined by test strokes: they should not spread, absorb too quickly or curl, the dried paint layer should be washed off without damaging the surface of the paper.

The following technique also helps to choose paper for watercolor: pick up the edge of the sheet with a fingernail and take it away a little, and then release it; if a sharp click is heard at the same time, then the paper is thick, normally glued.

It happens that even on semi-drawing paper suitable for watercolor, in places the paint, like mercury, curls up, does not lay down in an even layer. Such sheets should be washed with warm water, which will remove traces of fat or too strong sizing, and the paint will lay down evenly.

As you gain experience with watercolors, you can also paint on the looser paper available in the Artist's Folder.

Paper tends to warp from moisture, which can make it difficult to perform an etude. To avoid this, paper for watercolor sketches is either glued onto a tablet or stretched in erasers.

Let's talk about the global characteristics of watercolor paper. What is the main thing in it?

• The main indicator is, of course, weight. It is defined in grams per square meter. And the higher this indicator, the thicker the paper and the more resistant it is to washing off and wet techniques, but at the same time the price of this paper is higher. The most common weight for watercolor paper is 200-300gsm.
• Paper composition also determines its quality. So, it is believed that the best watercolor paper is 100% cotton. But it is important to note that the more cotton in the composition of the paper, the more it dampens the brightness of the color, but the better the wet techniques are obtained.
• Another important detail is texture. There are basically 3 types of invoices:
  HP - Hot Pressed - Satine (french) - smooth paper. Good for drybrush technique and for works with high detail and realism.
  NOT - Cold Pressed - Grain Fin (french) - small invoice. It is used both in dry and wet techniques, while the textures are different.
  Rough - with a well-defined texture. More suitable for wet technique and low detail. It looks good in large-sized works, gives them volume.

If we talk about brands of watercolor paper, then at the moment they are popular Russian GOSZNAK, FABRIANO (Italy), CANSON and ARCHES (France), INGRES (Germany). I use GOSZNAK myself now and am very pleased, although some complain that it lathers.

In general, we can say that the choice of watercolor paper is very individual and depends on the requirements of the artist, his technique and the way he works. And what works for you may not always work for others. The main advice in this regard is to try and experiment, and you will be happy.))

Watercolor These are water colors. But watercolor is also called the technique of painting, and a separate work made with watercolors. The main quality of watercolor is the transparency and softness of the paint layer.
However, the apparent simplicity and ease with which a professional artist creates paintings in this technique is deceptive.

Watercolor painting requires skill with a brush, the ability to unmistakably apply paint to the surface - from a wide bold fill to a clear final stroke. At the same time, it is necessary to know how paints behave on different types of paper, what effect they give when applied to each other, what paints can be used to write on raw paper using the Alla Prima technique so that they remain juicy and saturated. In the visual arts, watercolor occupies a special place because it can create both picturesque, and graphic, and decorative works - depending on the tasks that the artist sets for himself.

For an artist engaged in watercolor painting, both the paints themselves and the convenience of using them play an important role. The possibilities of watercolor are wide: the colors are either juicy and ringing, or airy, barely perceptible, or dense and tense. The watercolorist must have a developed sense of color, know the possibilities of different types of paper and the features of watercolor paints.

Now, both in Russia and abroad, there are many companies that produce watercolor paints, but not all of them meet the high requirements that artists who work in the technique of watercolor painting place on them.

It makes no sense to compare the advantages and disadvantages of professional and semi-professional paints, since their differences are obvious and it is difficult to confuse them. Our task is to test modern professional watercolor paints from various global manufacturers and see what capabilities they have and what technique they are suitable for.

For testing, we took several sets of watercolors.

It is almost impossible to determine at a glance which colors are in front of us: black, blue, dark red and brown looked the same - dark spots without any significant color differences, and only yellow, ocher, scarlet and light green had their own color.

The rest of the colors had to be determined empirically, trying each color on the palette. And in the future, while working on a watercolor sheet, this significantly slowed down the creative process, although working with these paints leaves a pleasant feeling: they mix easily and give subtle color transitions. It is also convenient that the paints are easily picked up on a brush and gently lay down on paper. When working on wet paper using the Alla Prima technique, after drying, the colors lighten quite a lot, so you can achieve contrast painting only on dry paper, overlapping previously laid strokes with several layers. Then the paints lay down tightly, like gouache.

Venice (Maimery, Italy)

Soft watercolor in tubes. These paints are distinguished by their design, impressive 15 ml tubes for watercolors, aesthetics of expensive artistic paints, when everything is thought out and works to ensure that they are chosen when buying. But now we are interested in the most important thing - how easy they are to work with and how pigments retain their properties and color characteristics when interacting with watercolor paper. Already the first strokes showed that the paints are worthy of the attention of artists, professionals involved in watercolor painting: a good color palette, juicy blues, reds, transparent yellows, ochers gently interact with each other, creating additional color nuances of watercolor technique. Unfortunately, brown and black pigments, even with repeated strokes, do not gain the desired tonal saturation. Black paint looks like sepia even with multi-layer prescription. There is a significant inconvenience in their work. Since the watercolor in tubes is soft and squeezed out onto the palette, with saturated painting, the pigment is not always evenly picked up on the brush and also falls unevenly on the surface of the paper. During glazing, when paints are repeatedly applied to previous dried out stains, these shortcomings are not very noticeable, but when working on a damp paper surface using the Alla Prima technique, this greatly interferes, since uneven clots of the paint layer are formed, which, when dried, destroys the integrity of the put stroke. Soft watercolor is more suitable for classical painting, although with some experience with these paints and in the technique in a raw way, the watercolor artist can create magnificent examples.

"Studio" (JSC "GAMMA", Moscow)

Twenty-four colors - the palette is not inferior to the best samples of foreign professional watercolors. Four types of blue - from classic ultramarine to turquoise, a good selection of yellow, ocher, sienna, red, along with other colors create a rich color scheme. When working with glazes on a dry surface, the paints give a transparent layer, and with repeated prescriptions, they gain tone and color well, without clogging the structure of watercolor paper. The pigments mix well and apply evenly on the sheet. In the Alla Prima technique, paints give a uniform brushstroke, gently flowing into each other, creating many subtle watercolor nuances, complementing the already rich color palette. As an artist, I was somewhat surprised not to find in this set the emerald green paint that is found in all professional sets of the world's watercolor paint manufacturers, and the green that was supposed to replace the emerald green “sounds” more dull. Well mixed paint gives an even covering layer, remaining matte after drying. Thus, watercolor meets all the requirements of professional artists. Otherwise, the paints are superior to many similar world samples.

"White Nights" (Factory of artistic paints, St. Petersburg)

In front of me is a box of White Nights watercolor art paints released in 2005. Kohler is easily typed into the bristle of the brush and just as easily falls on the sheet. The color is distributed over the surface evenly in both thick and transparent strokes, after drying it remains matte without losing its saturation. In the Alla Prima technique, on a wet sheet of paper, paints give a lot of the finest watercolor transitions, smoothly flowing into each other, but at the same time, thicker drawing strokes retain their shape and saturation. The colorful layer does not clog the structure of the paper, gives it the opportunity to glow from the inside, and even with repeated prescriptions, it retains its “watercolor”. Watercolor meets the requirements of professional artists. The next task is to find out the characteristic features of watercolors using common techniques. During painting, while the watercolor is still wet, it can be removed with a hard piece of cardboard, a metal blade or a brush handle, leaving thin light lines and small planes.

Aquafine (Daler-Rowney, England)

After the Aquafine paints lay down in strokes on the watercolor sheet, the layer of color was removed from the surface of the paper with a metal blade. The result was light, almost white lines - in the raw form, the paints are easily manageable. When the watercolor layer was dry, they tried to wash it off with a sponge. It turned out that it was impossible to wash it white. The color has penetrated the glued surface of the sheet and has been absorbed into the fiber of the paper pulp. This means that such paints must be painted in one session for sure, without subsequent flush corrections.

Venice (Maimery, Italy)

The same test, carried out with Venezia paints, showed that soft paints are not completely removed when scratched with a blade, leaving jammed edges and color underpainting, and when the paint layer is completely dry using a sponge, the color is washed off selectively, depending on the density and thickness of the applied strokes. .
Watercolor paints from Russian manufacturers "Studio" JSC GAMMA (Moscow) and paints "White Nights", produced by the plant of artistic paints of St. Petersburg, can be combined into one group, since there are no significant differences between them when using technical methods in this text.

The semi-moist surface is almost completely removed with a blade, a piece of hard cardboard, a brush handle, from a thin line to a wider surface, and after drying, you can almost completely wash off the watercolor layer, which, of course, will not be completely white, but close to it. Carmine, kraplak and violet-pink are also not washed off white.

Dear readers, in this article we will tell you about watercolor painting, its composition, types, painting technique and novelties in the field of drawing with this material.

Characteristics of painting with watercolors

Watercolor is painting using water-soluble transparent paints.

Its properties are airiness, lightness, subtle color transitions.

Watercolor technique combines the features of graphics and painting. From graphics, watercolor took the key role of paper and the absence of a relief stroke, from painting it borrowed the construction of forms and space with color, the presence of multiple tones.

Basically, watercolors are painted on paper. When working, you have to moisten it with water very often. A characteristic blurry smear can only form on wet paper. There are different ways to wet it. The paper can be pulled over a special frame and then moistened. It is also laid out on a wet flannel or on glass. The degree of wetting directly depends on the desired result. Often artists use other methods.

In order for the water to be completely absorbed into the paper, it is recommended to leave small puddles on its surface. Thanks to this, various effects can be achieved.

Watercolor composition

Watercolor paint consists of a coloring binder pigment (dextrin and gum arabic), a plasticizer (invert sugar and glycerin) and various additives. Without the use of a plasticizer, the paint would quickly become brittle and dry out. By adding an antiseptic agent - phenol - the appearance of mold is prevented. Another extremely important additive that is introduced to prevent paint from rolling into drops is bull bile.

Types of watercolors

There are two types of watercolor paints: "school" and "artistic".

School watercolors Professional watercolors

School paints are significantly inferior to artistic paints in terms of dispersion, even layer, the possibility of glazing and resistance to light. But the most important thing is to know how to use them. A real master can create a masterpiece using the most common school paints.

New: watercolor pencils

Recently, watercolor pencils have appeared on sale. You can draw with these pencils in two ways: first, paint the necessary area, and then blur it with water, or moisten the paper and then draw with pencils. Thanks to the second method, you can achieve a more saturated and bright color.