Experimental Watercolor Techniques for Beginners

Begin by getting to know Ana Santos and how she got started in her career. See some of her recent work and her main artistic influences.

Before jumping into the theory, Ana gives you a detailed explanation of the materials you need to start painting with watercolors and shows her latest discoveries to simplify and speed up the drawing process.

Learn how to draw and frame your reference images without tracing to give your animal portraits a realistic look or a more original touch depending on the style you want.

Next, go over the basics of color theory and its main characteristics and experiment mixing colors to create new ones. Reinforce these concepts by looking at some real-life examples to understand the importance of color in the composition of an image.

Move on to the practical aspects and learn basic watercolor techniques including dry brush, wet brush, dry on dry, dry on wet, wet on dry, and wet on wet. Ana shows you some tricks to perfect these techniques and shares a key piece of advice for painting with watercolors: be open to mistakes.

Now that you have a solid foundation, it’s time to start painting your animals. Experiment with lines and spots and practice using and combining the techniques you’ve learned to create increasingly complex paintings of different animals.

By the end of the course, you’ll have your own collection of stunning watercolor illustrations, including a bird, a toucan, a chameleon, a wolf, a tiger, a greyhound, a Siamese fighting fish, and a hare, as well as the skills and knowledge to create whatever you can imagine.