If you’ve got some more time on your hands then settle in and enjoy this demonstration of a vibrant mountain lake painting with tube colors.
40+ Free Watercolor Painting Video Tutorials For Beginners
Watercolors make a lot of artists nervous at first blush.
This isn’t the most forgiving medium since you can’t really erase or cover up mistakes.
Watercolor follows different rules than most other mediums. But once you learn these rules you might quickly fall in love with watercolors.
Despite their reputation as the problem child of wet media, watercolors are a ton of fun to learn with the right resources. We’ve found over 40 simple videos to help you become a whiz at watercolors in no time, and we’ve even divided them up into categories so you can quickly find what you need for your goals and skill level.
Getting Started/Basic Techniques & Supplies
4 Essential Watercolor Skills Every Beginner Must Know
There’s no better place to start than at the beginning, right?
This video covering four basic skills will help you learn how watercolor works and serve as a firm foundation for all the other skills you’ll learn from these tutorials.
This is the perfect place to start is you’re a complete beginner. By the end of this tutorial you’ll already have learned how to work with the translucency of watercolor so you can make your paintings pop!
Do’s & Don’ts for Beginners
Learning what NOT to do is just as important as learning what you should do!
Try these tips for preventing a lot of common problems watercolorists run into like flimsy paper, uneven color coverage, and pencil outlines that show through the paint.
How To Use Watercolor – Intro Tutorial
This simple tutorial will help you select the right supplies and get you familiar with basic watercolor techniques, all in under seven minutes.
This is the perfect video for getting a general idea of how watercolors work in record time.
7 Watercolor Tips (For Beginners!)
This video answers common beginner questions you didn’t even know you had.
Learn to create smooth color coverage rather than blotchy, messy color where every stroke is visible.
Also learn the difference between hot press and cold press paper(yes, that’s a thing) and how to properly store brushes so you aren’t running to the store every other day.
Watercolor brushes ain’t cheap!
Beginner’s Tutorial
Ready to graduate to a more detailed tutorial?
This video is still awesome for beginners but goes into more specifics about supplies and how to use them.
Learn about the different types of watercolor papers and the distinctions between paints that come in tubes and the ones that come in cakes. This video also explores possibilities with gouache which is another translucent paint similar to watercolor.
Watercolor Basics for Beginners
This is a fairly detailed tutorial on different watercolor techniques for painting with smooth coverage, using water to paint ratios to vary your color intensity, and controlling your paints so that they don’t run everywhere.
Yes, it’s got a lot.
This also showcases the playful, more forgiving side of watercolors so you can learn to loosen up and really play with the medium.
The Watercolor Color Wheel
If you’ve ever taken an art class you’ve probably seen or even made a color wheel.
Quick refresher: A color wheel is a diagram of the color spectrum, and creating a color wheel is an exercise in using the three primary colors(red, yellow, and blue) to mix each color of the rainbow.
This video shows you how to set up a color wheel and mix twelve different colors with watercolors.
Because watercolors behave differently than oil or acrylic paints, learning to mix colors without them getting muddy is essential.
Building on Techniques
How to Paint Intense Shadow Colors
Beginning watercolorists tend to run into issues when painting shadows.
This is because it’s easy to use too much water and paint too lightly, and also because selecting colors for shadows that pop instead of looking muddy can be a real challenge.
Try this tutorial for choosing colors and painting intense shadows that still look vibrant.
Blend Watercolor Paint Wet on Dry
Another common issue for beginners is blending smoothly instead of getting blotches of colors with hard edges, especially on dry paper.
Hard edges can be neat and all. But sometimes you just want a flawless, smooth color change.
Well this video does a great job of showing how to create smooth color gradients and blend colors together on the page, even if they’re already dry!
Watercolor Glazing and Layering Basics
Glazing and layering are great techniques for shading, smooth color changes, and creating values in your watercolor paintings while maintaining a high level of control.
Try this video to get started in all of these basic techniques.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you pick it up in your own work!
How to Paint Flat Washes
Painting a wash is one of the most basic skills you can develop when you’re just getting started with watercolors. And it’s surprisingly tricky to master.
Many beginners struggle with splotchy, pooling colors or washes that are over-watered and way too light.
If you struggle with this yourself try this video for some tricks to painting nice, smooth washes.
How to Paint a Graded Wash in Watercolors
After you’ve learned to paint perfect flat washes the next step is painting graded washes in one color, or washes with a color gradient.
This video will help you get splotch-free, smooth washes that lighten gradually over time.
A true watercolor painter’s best guide.
Lifting & Removing Watercolor Pigment
A common misconception about watercolors, and something that scares a lot of people away, is that you can’t erase.
Once the color’s on the page it’s there to stay. Right?
Watch this video to learn how to lift watercolors from the page, either to create texture or value, or to fix a whoopsie you aren’t happy with.
How to Use Watercolor: Controlling the Water
In this awesome tutorial you’ll learn the secret to controlling your watercolors, which is controlling the water.
After all, the paint can only go where the water goes. Give this video a watch to learn how to use the water to your advantage so you can control it and not the other way around!
Splattering Technique by Tim Wilmot
Paint splattering might sound pretty self-explanatory (and like tons of fun!)
But it’s actually a legitimate technique that can really add some beautiful texture to your paintings. If you want to get started with splattering check out this tutorial on how and when to employ this technique for the greatest effect in your paintings.
Line and Wash Demonstration
Try out the classic combination of ink and watercolor with this demonstration.
You’ll love the unique textures and scratchy, illustrative effects of these two mediums together.
Pen and watercolor is an awesome combination for rendering details and little snapshots of life. The watercolor brings in a lovely spread of color while the pen is great for adding sharp, tight details and textures. The result is a gorgeous combo of a technical pen drawing and a loose watercolor painting.
Also this is the perfect opportunity to practice your light washes!
Painting Light Foliage Over Dark Backgrounds
One of the biggest rules of watercolors is to paint dark over light, because due to the translucency of watercolor you can’t paint a light color over a dark one.
So how the heck are you supposed to paint something light, like a yellow bush, over something dark, like a night sky?
This video tut will show you the trick to painting light foliage that looks like it’s actually in front of a dark background.
Hint: the secret is a handy little substance called masking fluid.
Step-by-Step Watercolor Tutorials
Enjoy checking out these 21+ easy watercolor painting tutorials that you can follow and use to create your own art.
This beautiful purple flower would look great with your floral watercolor painting. The touch of yellow in the center of the flower really makes it stand out.
Holly Berries
Learn how to easily draw holly berries with this tutorial. These would be fun to draw during the winter months. You can add them to your holiday-themed art.
Cupcake Topping Tutorial
I love this tutorial because it breaks down the steps required to watercolor paint the yummy topping on this sweet cupcake.
Learn to Paint Botanical Watercolors with a Modern Twist
One of the top teachers on Skillshare, Cat Coquillette, teaches how to paint these modern botanical watercolor art pieces. This class is for beginners and advanced level artists. I love the bright colors used and the whitespace used. See the class here.
Modern Watercolor Techniques
I love Ana Victoria’s bright and colourful painting style. In this course, you will learn how to paint a colourful galaxy using watercolors. No previous experience is necessary, just an enthusiasm for watercolors.
This course on Domestika contains over 3 hours of video content. Once you have purchased it you own it and keep access to it forever! There are no monthly fees. See the course here.
Vibrant Floral Patterns with Watercolors
In this course by Anna Lau, you will learn how to create a floral pattern composition with watercolors and apply it to a product or stationery. This course on Domestika contains over 2 hours of video content. Once you have purchased it you own it and keep access to it forever! There are no monthly fees. See the course here.
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