The 5 Essential Watercolor Skills (that completely changed my paintings)
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- čas přidán 31. 05. 2024
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There are no short cuts in reaching your full potential as a watercolor painter. But knowing what areas to focus on can make all the difference.
Today I'm talking about the 5 watercolor skills that helped my paintings the most. At the end I talk about an exciting opportunity for your watercolor learning. - Jak na to + styl
You can learn more about Watercolor Essentials here: www.learntopaintwatercolor.com/watercolor-essentials
Hi, Matthew, I need assistance with the Watercolor Essentials - Bronze Level. Where can I write to you?
Why not just post here in CZcams? I don't wanna go to another site than CZcams.
Watercolor is like golf, looks easy but really hard to master without a lot of time, practice, and patience. I didn’t understand why many started from acrylic when I decided to try watercolor. Quickly I found out how hard watercolor could be (just like after I took golf lessons).
Yes, there can be good days and really challenging as well.
watercolor teaches you focus.
Golf looks easy??? To who???
I do watercolors now, but I started with acrylic paints.
I think that's how many people start in painting.
Lol that’s so true
5. 01:17 simplification. simplify the edges of the painting, save the most contrast and saturation to the focal area;
4. 03:07 creating depth. the further away the object the less visible the contrast;
3. 04:25 color mixing. grey is more present than we assume, don't use paint directly from the tube;
2. 06:20 watercolor timing. two variables are how wet the paper is and how much paint is there on the brush
1 . 08:17 values. consider turning your scene or photo in black and white during the planning process
Thanks!
thnx
I can understand what you're saying but my brain and hands are enemies at the moment. I will admit that ive been afraid to paint for the majority of my life. I only started a few months ago and ive learned so many neat things about watercolors.
Everyone, especially the overthinkers, and perfectionists (nyself included)... Don't give up. Actively remind yourselves that art isnt perfect. You'll slowly (or quickly) pick up things here and there, as you continue to practice. Give yourself time, compassion, grace and patience throughout your watercolor journey 💖
His first painting looking better than anything I've ever done. 👁️👄👁️
Agreed! 😆
Funny thing about the colors: for me it was the other way around. I had to learn not to be afraid of adding some more saturated colors. I was afraid of ruining the painting with strong color but the end result can be unintentionally drab that way.
Things I especially appreciate about this video - topics covered (true essentials), pace and clarity of instruction (not rushed, illustration/examples) and the fact that you were so prepared and wasted no time with irrelevant talk. Thank you.
Outstanding video, a condensed 15-minute master lesson in watercolor.
So glad you liked it!
Matt, I just discovered your channel. Your #1 tip is by far the most important tip in creating “all” visual art. It really is important whether the work is realistic, abstract, carefully designed shapes on surfaces, or fun exaggerated expressions taken from realistic composed scenes….
It’s so nice to see someone else who gets it and can explain it nice and simply. Terrific gift to students! When I first learned the word “values,” in my art classes in high school and later in art classes, no one could explain to me how to really see values in real life. After taking years to figure it out, I too share the simplest examples with beginners so they don’t have to waste so much time before they really understand what value means in drawing and painting while observing real life subjects… You made me smile today🥰
To each their own. For me the most important step is depth. We've all seen it. The painting that looks like it was just started, or the one that looks like the painter fell in love with drawing everything in. You can have your values correct, but unless you can selectively place areas of contrast the scene will still come off as lifeless.
I’m an art student at high school, and after doing my mock exam when I utilised watercolour, I switched to acrylic for my final because I’m terrible with it. Hopefully, using these tutorials, I should be able to become great at it.
Value studies have completely changed everything for me ❤️
Yes,when you see some one who has mastered anything you gotta realize all the work they have put in to get there.
good tips for almost any medium
I am so happy you put this on YT...showing the first painting in your life...People need to know skills aren't born with. They are built off of experience. All this stuff I came to the conclusion over two years also while watching YT videos like your own to push me in the right direction. I recently found out moving from portrait painting to landscapes and cityscapes, I negletcted the hell out of the concept of perspective and composition. In portrait paintings, we usually just get the face and the depth doesn't matter. I thought I was so good at painting. I was painting cityscapes from refrences, and landscapes from references and life just like the portraits. They looked bad at first but started to become decent.
Then I decided "hey let my set up my own scene and use these references to put in grass, buildings, houses, etc." When I did this, the painting looked flat...like no depth whatsoever. The composition was boring and bland. There was no sense of me peering into the world of the painting. Then for some reason I used grid lines from what I learned way back in middle school when I was sick with a virus and had my homework sent to me. Then ...although it still looked like trash...became more believable. So I looked around and found out the fundamentals of art.
Color, Value, Form, Brushwork, Perspective and Composition
I was able to build the first 4 from just portrait painting. But the last 2, I had no sense of it. In fact I had to start again with the simple 3D cube and put it in 1 point. 2 point and 3 point. I am still doing it right now it's been a month and all ive been doing is moving around cubes spheres, trianges around the 3D space I crate on a piece of paper. Until I get that FEEL of 3D and perspective. I can now see a bit more about the space and camera/eye looking in that space. For some reason it helped me understand composition as well.
I've been doing acrylic painting for a while, but recently came into some very generously donated watercolour supplies. Tried to figure it out by myself for a bit but watercolour is such a different skillset! This is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for, and it was explained very clearly complete with visuals - I feel much more confident to have a go at it now, thank you!
You are such a good teacher! Thank you for your generosity and the time and effort that you put into your video lessons.
You Sir are a Master Teacher. You know the art of teaching.
Crazy. Values was the game changer for me too. My mind was BLOWN at the power of values
27 M from o.c. and im just learning. i like oils, watercolor, then axrylics in that order and havent tried other paints
Great lesson! You are a natural teacher- your delivery clear & concise. Too many teachers i loose interest in becausecthey just keep talking unnesarily without giving the information you need in a succinct manner.
your videos are amazing, Matthew! And so is your inspiring artwork!
Such a valuable video!! Also, the value painting with the snow was stunning! The snow was genuinely so beautiful that I'm in awe you achieved that with watercolors. Thank you!
this is excellent - the way that you designed and organized this video is so educational in a short amount of time, especially with all of the visual examples. your effort is clear & appreciated, thank you!
I'm doing some painting tomorrow so I'm glad this video before today
On simplification you will be surprised how little you need to suggest something. The viewer will get it. A top tip from JZ for me!
My jaw dropped when you said to try squinting at your scene to rid of some of the details.. WOW! Thank you for this video!
My pleasure!
I love these short bursts. I love painting but sometimes feel my concentration can wain…. I’m definitely a candidate for your course. Thank you Matthew ❤
I could do a whole bible study off of these principles. that’s one reason i love watercolor so much. the opportunity to grow in life skill is endless. thank you! 📖🎨
Amen!
Love the insight about values. My photography reached a new level when I started shooting in black and white.
I just came across your channel and want to thank you for showing us your first attempts. Gives me hope!
I can see, in the comparison of your old and new, that your drawing got a lot better too. Drawing for me is a real challenge. Good lesson, thanks
Thank you Matthew! Learning these slowly and growing.
This list is sooooooo true. Thanks! And then there is practice, practice, practice because understanding is just the beginning. It's so frustrating when you know what is wrong and you keep doing it anyway! But, also great to see improvement over time.
Loved how you did the clouds. Thanks for sharing
There are tons of “top 5 tips” videos out there, but I found this one to be truly valuable. Thanks for the great explanations and examples.
I love the wetting of the back of the paper! I never thought of that. Thanks!
good teacher! I do not watercoulour, but even then I can learn from this. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Mathew, I thank you for all you tips, I am improving, slowly!
It is easy to listen to you, I never feel rushed or panicked when I listen to you!
Thank you so much for your calm demeanor!
Fantastic video! Thanks for making this Matthew.
Thanks Mathew.
This video is awesome. Reduces the most important aspects in watercolor into simple, practical and doable steps.
Excellent for beginners.
I like your first painting. It's stylistically one-of-a-kind expressive and conveys a particular landscape of your psyche.
Great summary of things which are obvious but only when we hear about them in videos like yours. In fact, this bunch of advice can be apply to any type of painting/drawing, not only watercolors and that's cool!
This is a great explanation and is very useful. Thank you so much!
I am not new to watercolor, but I still enjoyed your video. It went a bit further than most in explaining each of the tips in nice detail. I know this is going to help a great many new and intermediate watercolorists out there. Thanks!
Awesome, thank you!
This video is invaluable!!!!! Your explanations coupled with the examples are so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing :)
Thank you for such a lot of valuable advice and for your clear presentation. A very valuable video !
This is insanely helpful! You have a terrific way of pointing out what may not be immediately obvious. I watch so many watercolor videos and have certainly picked things up, but not specifics with reasons! 👏 👏 👏 I am definitely a need to know why type of learner, so this was perfect for me.
I would say number 1 should be understanding source of light, many artists not just beginners but even mid level completely ignore source of light, intensity of light and shadow (which corelate to your value tip)
This video is way, way underrated!
This succinct explaination simply enhanced my understanding of water colours by leaps and bounds!
The information shared is unmatched by any other video that I have watched thus far! And I mean endless hours of videos!
Thank you, Michael!
Thank you, great tips! ☀️
You are a great artist with a special teaching ability. Thank you very much for your videos, inspiring and practical. I look forward to them.
Thank you very much! That's so kind of you.
Your clip is amazing, easy understanding and useful skills!
You are gifted in teaching. I will be visiting your teaching site more for sure. Thank you very much for sharing your gift and experiences.
Great information here Matt and WOW look how far you've come in your efforts! So inspiring.
Thank you, Morgen. I appreciate that.
Fantastic video. Simple explanation. Thank you.
Wow. I have begun to paint in watercolors and after a few paintings I was realizing that I was missing out on some essentials, and you hit them all in this lesson. Especially the remark on the importance of values was something I noticed in my paintings but wasn't able to articulate. In addition to looking at images in black and white, another thing that helps is to shrink the image into a thumbnail, then the values are much more apparent. Great video and thanks for posting!
This is all wonderful. Your tips are very useful. Thank you
Really helpful. And you give me kind of trust about what I'm doing. Thank you 😊
Love this it’s so informative and makes so much sense. Your paintings are absolutely beautiful. 👏🏼👏🏼Thanks for sharing Matthew 🤗
So glad to hear that!
Thank you, these are great tips. The one I like the most is the “time”.
Great explanation - THANK YOU!
Excellent advice. Thank you so much!
Thank you for putting this vid up. Very helpful. 👍
Glad it was helpful!
This is really good advice. I wish I had listened to this before I embarked on learning to master water colour years ago. Now I understand how important all these points are.
The concept of values was well explained. Thank you
Truely a gold video for us.
Thank you so much Mathew.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Such great information! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing. This was an excellent lesson. As a real beginner, I will keep all these rules in mind! Your paintings are very beautiful.
I’m not a beginner, but your video popped out, and I was curious! Every person starting out with watercolour should start here. Well done!
Thank you, I appreciate that.
This is an amazing video! So much valuable information for beginners like me. I tried to watercolor about three years ago and after a little while I got discouraged because I just wanted to paint professional looking paintings even though I know that it takes time.
Really didactic! You are the only water colour male artist I have subscribed to.Graciad
Very good advises! Completely applicable to oil painting as well, these topics change the way we see things vs our work.
Great stuff here! Thank you
if you all turn on the black/white filter on your phones camera then you can live view your work or value study as you do it and see those tones without having to take a picture and then edit it to check.
Values were the missing theoretical piece! I was squinting my eyes, though! Haha!!! Well done!
Super helpful! Thanks a lot for your in-depth study and advice!
You’re very welcome!
The pro tio regarding values, is the best advice I ever got, tq
I learned so many details... thank you so much...
Thank you! This is so awesome. I can't wait to put these into practice. I'm currently using watercolor pens to ease into the hobby.
Wonderful. Thank you!
Nice work, Watercolor is the easiest medium to work with if you learn the most imortant factor is the drying time between the washes, it wil simplify the process dramatically!!!
Thank you ! All your tips will be really useful for my practice ^^
Thank you so much. Another great and inspirational video. Your work is so beautiful.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much. Everything you shared was immediately useful and there was no fluff 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽
Glad it was helpful!
I haven't done watercolor in years, so I wanted to watch some videos to refresh myself. I think that these 5 skills are essential to any 2D art medium. I would not call them watercolor specific. These are some great beginner lessons for anyone learning art.
This watercolor course looks amazing. Especially since you can interact with other members and ask questions that Matt will answer.
MERCI POUR VOS CONSEILS PRECIEUX
Well done video. These are all skills that take a great deal of practice. Doing monochromatic paintings is great practice and they look very evocative.
Pure gold info!!
This was very informative. Thanks for saving me weeks of frustration.
Mathew, thank you for making this video. I have watched A LOT of watercolor, beginner, tutorials and in my opinion you did an awesome job conveying the message! I am very impressed! I loved how you broke each skill down, gave an example and a helpful tip. If you haven't already (since I just found you by accident and I don't believe in accidents...lol) Can you do a video on VALUES? I thought your paintings were amazing and that last one looked so real it took me a moment to notice it was watercolor. Great Job Teacher....I also want to say thank you so much for being direct and straight to the point, every word mattered. I can't say that about most. I'm going to watch the video again, just so I can take notes. Great Job and thank you again for your presence! :)
This is incredibly helpful, thankyou
This is such an awesome video. So many tips videos on CZcams are full of stuff like "practice" but don't actually give any specific advice. This straight up breaks down techniques for understanding why things look the way they do and gives specific ways to improve.
Thank you so much
So glad you enjoyed it!
Hello. Very helpful are your classes and tips. You're an excellent teacher who knows how to encourage your students. And so beautiful your artwork. Thank you very much.
Excellent! Great ideas.thank you. I will be subscribing to your courses. You are a very good teacher and artist.
This is great advice. Thank you
Ah, so glad I found you; this lesson is just what I needed.So often we have an intuition but can't get at it until someone puts it into words and truth resonates. This all resonated with me - now I can keep my pictures from looking too Kinkade-esque - saturated all over, etc.
Thanks so much; I'll see you again Matthew White.
So glad this was helpful!
All excellent comments. It's like learning a new language or an instrument: practice, practice, practice!
Thank you 😊
Hi, thanks for the video it was really helpful. All I wanted to say was your paintings are so beautiful and I love that atmosphere you've created within them.
Very useful info! Thank you.