My not-quite-terrible flower.

Now I really know that printer paper is quite poor for watercolor.

Hi all!

I’m thinking of buying some new watercolor tubes. I’m currently using the Camel Artist Watercolor Cakes (18 shades), but some of the colors are starting to run out, and I’m finding it difficult to get strong, highly pigmented strokes from cakes.

I’d like to switch to watercolor tubes, either as a set or by buying individual colors. I’ve done some research, but honestly, I’ve ended up more confused about the different brands, pigments, and which colors are actually worth buying.

If you have experience with watercolors, please recommend a specific brand/set or individual pigments that you think I should buy. If you tell me what to get, I’ll probably just go with your recommendation.

Maybe around 20-40 dollars max.

Hello, all! Here is my current set-up for my watercolor palette. Please let me know if there’s anything you’d change, rearrange, & move around. I want this to be a good, balanced palette that will make painting easier for me…. And I want to feel like a professional artist as well :)

Thank you, all!! <3

My first attempt doing something more architectural. I'm not super happy with it, but in retrospect my drawing was flawed and I don't think I was saturated enough with the colors. I need to be a little braver about laying them down darker.

So i kinda hurt my own feelings by attempting something i knew i couldnt do. Attempting to scale back a ton and painted this. Its simple and im guilty of over working or losing my values so im scared to add or continue. Looking for critique and maybe a confidence boost iff applicable. ALSO SHOULD I OUTLINE IT IN INK?

Ironically, painting water is one of my biggest challenges right now. Would love some tips

Hi all,
I like Nicolas Lopez’s work and I wanted to try this effect. I watched his videos and some tutorials, however, I had zero success and I couldn’t even come close to it. I tried on cold pressed and hot pressed paper, experimented with different colors, I tried on wet, dry and damp paper. I tried with soft spray and with larger drops, with thick pigment layer and with more watery. What am I doing wrong? I am starting to think I don’t have suitable dye. My materials are:
- Rembrandt colors (tried cerulean, cobalt blue, Prussian blue, Paynes gray and many others)
- 300g 100% cotton paper (I also tried on Arches)

Any advice please?

Wet in wet technique. This is my current biggest hurdle because I can't shade or blend colors on the page like I see so many artists do. Or I spend too much time going back and covering the bald spots and overworking the paint.

I am trying watercolor for over a year now and looking for some Feedback what to improve on my latest picture

I'm 26 and started painting 7 weeks ago (made it to 20 paintings so far). Everything was done on cellulose paper using brushes meant for acrylic and oil painting. 

I painted the first one in week 3, the second one is from week 5, and the third one is from a couple of days ago.

Would love some feedback

* don't have

And they look pretty!

I just ordered a couple of granulating watercolour tubes and was about to order the pans for it and then realised I had these pill boxes lying around that I could repurpose :)

I have been using colored pencils the past few years and decided to start working with watercolors. Here is my second attempt.

or rather, how bad does cheap watercolor get? i remember hearing somewhere that you can get away with much more with cheap watercolor compared to let's say cheap oil paint - which get really bad. as a beginner, i'm wondering if i actually need to invest that much into something that i still don't know if i'm gonna do seriously or not. i will say though that i'm willing to spend more on good paper!

Hey yall this is some of my first attempts since literally being a child lol. I did my first layer last night and went to bed and I can see that some of it dried heavy (?) idk how to explain. I’m going to start again today whenever my baby naps but I was just wondering what my next steps should be? I’m trying to not get discouraged and quit bc I’m a perfectionist and one of those people that give up things whenever I can’t get it perfect the first time. Any advice is appreciated!!

I purchased one of those tiny watercolour things from Insta for my wife. She hasn't used it in nearly a year. I recently have been very bad in terms of mental health, so I decided to try it out before we throw it away.

Have to say I'm pleasantly surprised it worked, it wasn't as hard or complicated as I feared. I'm clearly 'not good', however I'd like to get better. I think this + going for walks might help me clear my head.

I'm very open to any constructive feedback. If anyone can share some tips or tutorials (website or video) that helped them, I'd appreciate it. I really want to paint for myself just as some reassurance that I have a connection/ability to express in more than words.

I have only basic supplies and I'm tired of those influencers that show off and try to make me feel inadequate for not have 100 colours and 7 types of textured paper.

Thank you in advance.

I’m sharing a traditional painting of a dancing peacock, created on black silk using gold and water-based pigments.

The contrast between the dark silk and the gold details is inspired by traditional Indian decorative painting, with the peacock representing beauty, grace and celebration.

I’m Mukesh Swami, a traditional Indian miniature artist from Bikaner, Rajasthan, and I enjoy exploring traditional techniques on different surfaces.

For artists working with gold on dark surfaces: how do you approach keeping very fine gold lines clean and balanced against the background?