Practice Exercises for Beginners in Watercolor
4 Painting Strokes You Can Practice to Improve Your Watercolor
If you're learning watercolor for the first time, it can feel like a daunting process. With any new art medium, it's important to take the time to practice first, so that you're set up for success as you begin to paint in watercolor.
These practice exercises are approachable for any skill level, whether you're trying out a new hobby, practicing a new skill, or have a lifetime of art experience under your belt. With simple, smooth strokes, your hand will warm up to the flow and technique of watercolor, so that embarking on your first watercolor project will be approachable.
With each of these practices, I've included pictures with each exercise as an easy visual, to make these steps perfect for beginners as well!
Materials to Gather Before You Start:
- Blank watercolor paper
- A cup of water
- Paper towels
- A set of watercolors
- A small paintbrush or set (usually size 5 or 6 round brush)
You can browse all my favorite supplies here.
4 Skills to Practice in Watercolor for Beginners:
Practice 1: Lines
First things first, it's most helpful to get the hang of how your brushes work. With each watercolor brush you're using, make a small line in one direction to see how thick or thin the brush looks. Since the bristles in a watercolor brush fan out when painting, they can often make marks much thicker than you might expect. If you have a large round brush (size 10 or bigger), see how many different kinds of lines you can make using different parts of the brush. The full fan will make the thickest mark, the very tip a thin mark, and so on.
Practice 2: Leaves
One of the most useful and enjoyable practices is learning how to paint leaves. Leaves are usually made up of two strokes, and each stroke starts small, grows bigger in the middle, and ends at a small point again. To make your stroke bigger in the middle, simply apply more pressure and then release pressure to make it small again. Play around with these leaves and have fun! Leaves are all different shapes and sizes, so you can paint with one stroke or two, and even add several strokes together to make a branch.
Practice 3: Teardrop Shape
This next practice, a teardrop shape, is an extremely versatile mark, especially when painting nature-inspired subjects. Teardrop can group together to compose the petals of a flower, or cluster around one point to create the bud of a rose. To create a teardrop shape, start with extremely light pressure, increase as you bring your brush down, and end gently, without dragging your brush down any farther (we don't want to create another point). Play around with these teardrop and create some flowers or buds to get the hang of how you can use these marks in painting.
Practice 4: Heart Shape
Granted, the heart shape is not a very useful mark, BUT it's fun and cute! The heart is also a simple shape to practice blending on. Choose one color to start making your heart shape with, and another color to end on. With the first color, create the base layer shape of the full heart. While the paint is still wet, add the second color to the other side of the heart shape. Gradually draw the second color into the middle, until the water pools and the colors blend together. Practice this one several times to master blending.
Congratulations! You've set a solid foundation for learning to paint in watercolor, and you're ready to start your own paintings or projects. Watercolor is a soothing, comforting practice, and is the perfect accompaniment to many craft projects like greeting cards, gift tags, and artwork. Enjoy what you've learned, and keep practicing!
If you're looking for a first watercolor project, try our paintable DIY watercolor cards. Perfect for beginners and a sweet gift for friends, these cards are a simple and enjoyable project for beginning watercolor artists.
Happy painting!
Caroline Ann