Paper is the basis of watercolor painting. It is selected for the company of paints, the technique of performance, based on what result the artist wants to achieve. Before you begin, you need to know exactly which paper is suitable for the planned drawing technique.
Acquaintance with watercolor
When a novice artist first buys paints, he needs to try to draw them on paper. Some draw on cells sheets equal in number to the colors in the set of paints. Each cell is signed with the name of a certain paint, and then, having collected enough water and watercolors on the brush, the cells are painted with different colors from the set. Or they make long strips of color stretch marks from dark to light. This is necessary in order to understand how these shades will look depending on the amount of water and paint. On paper, they also try to combine different colors, mixing paints with each other, thereby creating new shades.
For masterly mastery of watercolor techniques, all materials require that the artist is used to them. You need to feel a brush, paper, know the color combinations and how to mix them competently. All this takes a lot of time, and the skill develops with practice.
Watercolor Painting Techniques
The following techniques are distinguished:
- Glaze. In this method, watercolor is applied in translucent strokes, applying one layer to another. When applying layers, the bottom must be dry. The paint in the drawings in this technique works in light and does not physically mix. A unique shade is formed from the superimposed layers of each fragment of the picture. Putting smears is careful, otherwise the lower layers may be smeared. This technique allows you to accurately reproduce the intended drawing or draw in a realistic style.
- "In the wet." The watercolor sheet is wetted with water, only after that paint is applied to it. You can start applying watercolors to a crude sheet at any time, the degree of humidity depends on the artist’s intention. On a crude sheet of paper, you can paint with a brush with paint of any moisture. This method allows you to get smooth transitions between color shades, light colors of translucent tones. Be sure to ensure that the watercolor does not spread out over the sheet and that there is not too much water. Sometimes artists use this method only at the initial stage of work, and then continue "dry." On a dry sheet, work generally continues as highlighting and emphasizing small details.
- The technique of "dry". Most often, semi-dry paint is applied in one or two layers to a dry sheet of paper.
Drawings on watercolor paper can be given a special texture if a wet layer of paint is sprinkled with fine or coarse salt. It will unevenly pigment, creating spots. After the paint has dried, the salt can be removed from the paper.
Optimum paper appearance
All types of paper are unique and created for different painting techniques. It’s hard to say which watercolor paper is the best. There is no good or bad paper, everyone selects the kind that is more suitable for a particular painting technique. The most convenient and pleasant watercolor paper has a density of 200-300 g / m 2 .
To prevent thin paper from wrinkling when drawing in watercolor, you can lightly wet it and pull it onto the frame, thereby creating a canvas. So after drying, the sheet will be smooth due to tight pulling and will not wrinkle and tear. Thick paper surface that has a high cotton content does not warp. The most convenient canvas size is 30 by 20 centimeters, but not more than 40 by 30 centimeters. The use of large canvases can afford professional painstaking artists.
What is more convenient to draw
When the artist starts to work, a sheet is placed under the working hand in order not to accidentally lubricate anything.
It must be remembered that after applying a watercolor layer on paper, it becomes much lighter. The dried watercolor looks paler and duller, so when drawing, you need to pay attention to how much paint is drawn on a wet brush and how much is applied directly to the paper, the brightness and contrast of the future picture depend on this.
With a small set of colors, new colors can be created on the palette by mixing existing primary colors. New colors are best tested on separate sheets of paper.
How can novices who often make mistakes draw on watercolor paper? The failed elements of the watercolor drawing can be corrected by highlighting the necessary parts with a wet soft brush so as not to spread the dirt on the sheet and not to erase the top layer of paper.
Drawings on watercolor paper will look better if you apply light colors in the first place and dark colors in the end.
For the best result and good quality of work, it is better to use brushes made of natural materials. Natural pile does not come out of the brush, does not break, holds its shape and applies paint well.
Quality watercolor paper
The performance and the result of watercolor work directly depend on the paper itself. Varieties of watercolor paper are different. It is designed to get wet, and since there is much more water in the watercolors than the coloring pigment, paper should support and preserve the bright and saturated properties of the paint. Watercolor paper should not interfere with the preservation of the colorful pigment and even more so the absorption of moisture and paint.
Paper density
The density of watercolor paper varies from 150 to 850 g / m 2 . The lower this figure, the thinner and softer the paper. 150 is the thinnest paper for watercolor, it is not suitable for wet techniques, only for light watercolor sketches. Such paper may wrinkle or tear when working with watercolor paints.
On which side of the watercolor paper should I draw? That paper, which is denser, can be used on both sides, it will not go in waves from the water and will not get wet. If there is a manufacturer’s icon on the sheet, then you need to work with the side where the icon is depicted in a normal, non-mirrored form. If there is no icon, then for drawing it is worth choosing the rougher side of the sheet.
The best density is in the region of 200-300 g / m 2 . It is not too dense and not very thin, so it is also good at drawing on both sides. Liquid watercolor does not seep through such paper, does not blur and dries quickly enough.
Paper texture
- Smooth texture. It is created by hot pressing. On such paper, a clear stable pigment, nothing rolls and is not washed off. It is very well suited for drawing small details. When photographing or scanning watercolors performed on such paper, it will not give a “grain” shadow. This type of texture helps to get the most colorful and bright shades, because on smooth paper the pigment is not washed out and is not lost.
- Semi-smooth texture. Lightly rough to the touch, created by cold pressing. It is designated by the words grain fin. Such a texture may already have a small grainy pattern. There are different textures of watercolor paper, for example, under the canvas or striped. The most popular is heterogeneous coarse-grained or fine-grained, in which the paint does not slide into stripes or cells.
- The texture of Torshon. Tough and very pronounced. Under a layer of watercolor paint, this texture looks playful and impressive. It is not as granular as rough, more delicate to the touch. The texture of such watercolor paper is like a cloud, so it is sometimes called cloudy.
- Rough texture. This is such a rough watercolor paper with a rough texture. It takes on this appearance because it is dried without spin and, accordingly, requires more water and paint. And also it takes a lot of time in order to adapt to draw on it. It looks epic due to the fact that it gives a special play of light and volume.
Watercolor paper reviews
Buyers are tempted by import firms - Hahnemuhle, Canson, Fabriano. They are one of the most famous, distinguished by their special quality, but their products are not cheap. About the paper created by these companies, they respond positively, but notice that cheaper Russian counterparts do not differ much in quality. For example, a folder with watercolor paper "Nastya" by Palazzo company with a 50% cotton content is pleasant at work, does not crease due to dampness, but does not tolerate friction and rinsing. Buyers recommend Cornwall, since such a paper can withstand multilayer strokes well, it is difficult to create scuffs on it. But for raw Cornwall technology - not the best option.