how to use watercolor paint tubes

Watercolors that come in a tube are used by “real” artists. To use watercolor paint in tubes, you'll need a mixing surface. If you don’t have a suitable container for your watercolor tubes, at least tuck them away in a drawer or closet so they’re not left sitting out. Another option is to designate one entire section your work area for your watercolors so you’ll always know where they are. The paint will dry between painting sessions, but you can reconstitute the paint very easily with a little water next time you need it. An artist's palette is the best tool for this, but there are other options. Tip: When mixing watercolors from a tube, you always want to apply your paint to your water and not the other way around. In my experience when you add water to homemade watercolor pans, the paint reactivates even more easily than with commercial ready-made pans. You may also want to keep a #4 brush and 1 in (2.5 cm) flat brush around for fine detailing and filling large areas, respectively. This is because they have more filler and water content which evaporates as the paint dries. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. Do this for all the colors you want to use. 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. Please consider making a contribution to wikiHow today. This provides a harmonious color palette and a logical starting point for working. How much water you mix it with it determines both the depth of it's hue and value. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. I later discovered tubes can be just as versatile. Whether you’re an experienced artist or you’re finger painting with preschoolers, watercolor tubes can take a lot of the difficulty out of setting up your project. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Tube paint has a higher liquid content than ready-made pans. A #8 round red sable watercolor brush makes a good all-around brush for painting with watercolors. You're welcome to follow along... Read more About Me... * My articles may contain the occasional affiliate link, which can help me earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Arches is widely used and expensive. When you’ve got as much paint as you need, be sure to put the cap back on the tube to avoid potential messes. You’re now ready to mix colors and start painting... At first, I wasn’t sure how to use watercolor tubes, so I began with pans. ​Paint from tubes has a consistency like toothpaste. Kelly Medford. Now I use both, and I even make my own pans from tubes of paint! Brushes - I use Lowe Cornell brushes. Pans are sold as full pans or half pans. You’ll often notice series numbers on watercolor paints ranging from 1 to 5. Learn about paper, watercolor, inks, gouache, and the most important techniques. These paints don’t have quite the same quality as artist-grade watercolors, but they can save you a lot of money. Tip: For extra cleaning power, dip your paper towel or rag in mineral spirits before giving your tubes a wipedown. Honey also makes watercolors easier to mix with water, allowing for smooth, broad brushstrokes. It’s very important to keep your colors separated as best as you can. Watercolors are intended specifically for painting on special watercolor paper. I paint vibrant and dark from the start. Though you can thin opaque watercolors out, it will be important to note the transparency in order to create the layered effect of most watercolor paintings. To use these, I use a white plastic paint tray for each child. Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 14,226 times. Then transfer the paint on your brush to the palette in a circular motion. Once you've mixed your paint, saturate your brush in the paint and then wipe off the excess on the rim of your paint tray before you start painting with it. Series number: Indicates the relative price of the colour and is determined mainly by the cost of the pigment. If the paint in the tube has dried you can also force a hole through the mouth of the tube with a nail or end of a brush and add some water, then put the cap back on and knead the tube to mix in the water and reconstitute … Because your cake has shrunk, this will also give you the chance to fill in any gaps between the cake and the side of the pan. Don’t worry if it looks empty to begin with - you’ll soon fill it up when you want to try new colors. Squeeze a small amount of paint onto a plastic paint tray or palette. Tip: When moving dry watercolor to a new well, get it thoroughly wet with water, stir it, and allow it to dry again. This is at no extra cost to you. Good for you. The more water you add, the weaker the color value. Next time you want to paint just add water to the dried paint. It can take around 1 day for each layer of paint to dry. Or this could be the first time you pick up a brush. Pan watercolor painting on the left and tube watercolor painting on the right. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You can use new paint directly from the tube by squeezing out some paint onto a blending surface, and blend it with water. Undiluted paint provides a strong color. Once one shade has become mingled with another, it can be nearly impossible to recapture its original color. The biggest advantage of using a paint tray is that there’s a small well for each individual shade. A lot of artists use squeezed out tubes as dry pan paints. Read my Guide to recommended watercolor palette colors for help choosing the best range of color paints... You may be wondering how long watercolor paint lasts in a tube? Lamp black tube paint 5. This is the perfect place to start is you’re a complete beginner. The paint in watercolor tubes is highly concentrated, since it’s meant to be mixed with water. Amid the current public health and economic crises, when the world is shifting dramatically and we are all learning and adapting to changes in daily life, people need wikiHow more than ever. A clean sheet of card will do the job. ​Need help building your palette ? How to use Watercolor Tubes. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The result is not as beautiful as a commercially made cake, but it does the job just as well! A lot of watercolorists do this all the time. Look for watercolor tubes that are labelled as “student-” or “academic-” grade. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. To organize paint in a mixing palette I like to place colors next to each other according to color harmony. In terms of value for money, you should not compare a 15ml tube to a 5ml pan of watercolors. They indicate the relative price of the paint, with 1 being the least expensive and 5 is the most pricey. You can also squeeze out some paint into a mixing palette and let it dry between painting sessions. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. The paint remains water soluble. The pigments themselves are therefore more expensive. Dried up paint tubes can be reconstituted by removing the paint from tube and adding gum arabic or even a little water. Liquid Watercolor Liquid watercolor is a concentrated fluid medium that comes in 8 oz, 4 oz, 1 oz, or smaller bottles depending on the brand. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/4\/43\/Use-Watercolor-Tubes-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Use-Watercolor-Tubes-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/4\/43\/Use-Watercolor-Tubes-Step-1.jpg\/aid10621300-v4-728px-Use-Watercolor-Tubes-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":259,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":410,"licensing":"