Welcome to my Watercolor Tips Page!
Hi! this first tip involves using Masking Fluid to create an amazing variety of effects when you come to color in your Animal Drawings in Watercolor.
My absolute fav is the Winsor and Newton brand, available here from BLICKS. They are a fabulous company and they have an amazing variety of ART MATERIALS!
Things You Will Need
You will need a little ordinary washing up liquid, a paper towel, and a saucer. You will also need a good sized brush to apply the Masking Fluid to the watercolor paper surrounding your Animal Drawing. If you do not already have a suitable brush, I recommend this Size 6 brush from the Cotman III range by Winsor and Newton. It’s a great all round brush, and very reasonably priced!
It’s hard to go wrong with Winsor and Newton art materials, they have been supplying art materials to amateur and professionals alike since 1832! If you do not already have a good selection of Watercolor Brushes, I recommend this set of seven brushes, they are high quality but inexpensive brushes from the same Cotman range.
Begin by dipping your brush in the washing up liquid. Make sure to soak up the liquid well so that the brush is completely wet! This first step is important as it prevents the Masking Fluid from getting into the base of the brush, where it will harden and ruin your beautiful Cotman size 6 watercolor brush!
Lightly squeeze out the excess washing up liquid with a paper towel, leaving enough behind to protect your brush from the masking fluid, which will dry into a kind of rubbery lump.
Now you can mask your animal!
Begin with your drawing on a flat surface and paint in the background with the Masking Fluid. Turn the drawing as you go so that the part of the background you are painting is always towards you.
Apply a second coat when the first one drys, if you want to be certain of a clean background to your painting. It will normally dry in a few minutes. You can leave it near a radiator if the weather is wet and cold. Do not use the trick of drying it with a hair dryer, as this will make it harder to remove the masking fluid later.
This Cotman 3/8¨series 666 brush from BLICKS is a great choice for adding the colored washes.
Time to add some colored washes!
Now you should change brushes to a larger one, more suited to watercolor washes, such as the excellent Cotman 3/8¨series 666 which you can get from BLICKS the Art Material suppliers.
Paint in the watercolor in the order you see in the photos, or get creative and use your own color palette, the choice is yours!
If you need to buy watercolor paints, these are what I use
Winsor and Newton make two ranges of Watercolor paints, the Cotman range for students and beginners, and “Artists” quality for professionals.
Both are great choices. If you can afford it, go for the “Artists” quality and spoil yourself!
Both ranges are available from BLICKS.
Now rub off the Masking Fluid
Now you should rub off the Masking Fluid with your fingers, but only when your sure the watercolor paint is completely dry. It should roll up in one piece. Remember to always use two coats of Masking Fluid to be certain to protect your paper.
Congratulations, you've created a beautiful painting!
To get the best results you should use a high quality paper. I use Arches Watercolor Paper, cold pressed 140 lb weight, this watercolor paper is available from BLICKS
You can buy it in handy blocks in a range of sizes, and because the edges are lightly glued to the sides, the paper stays nice and flat as you paint.
