The difference between watercolor and watercolor

You want to make paintings with watercolor paint, but you don't know how and with which colours to start? Then you've come to the right place: In our watercolor blog we tell you everything you need to know to have fun painting with watercolor paint!

What is watercolor?

What is the difference between a watercolor and watercolor? Watercolor paint is less pigmented thanwatercolor. Watercolor also often contains cheaper colour pigments. This is why watercolors are not as intense and radiant as watercolors. If you try to compare the two, you will notice that watercolor paint has a more intense clarity. That's why painting with watercolor paint is so much fun!

In principle you can paint with watercolor paint on watercolor paper in the same way as with watercolor. So if you suddenly feel like painting and only have watercolor paint at hand, go ahead and enjoy being creative. However, we recommend that you start with a small range of watercolor paints so that you realize how much pleasure the look of watercolor paint brings you.

At the Paint by Numbers only watercolor is used.

How much watercolor paint do you need to get started?

If you were to buy a huge range of colours,maybe even effect colours like gold, silver and glitter, you might not know what to use at first because the choice is huge. That is why we recommend that you start with a small range, for example with the basic colours yellow, blue and red.

If you want, you can also buy these colours in a colder and a warmer shade. You don't have to buy green separately, because it can be mixed from blue and yellow. Add black and you are perfectly equipped for the start. With these basic colours you can mix a huge colour spectrum.

Tip: Are you looking for brushes for watercolor? Then take a look at our nylon Paint by Numbers brushes.

Get to know your favourite colours

Over time you will notice which colours you use most often. You will soon notice that not all colours in your paint range wear off equally quickly. Some you dip your brush in again and again, others are used less often.

That's another reason why it's worth starting with a small range. See which colours you mix together particularly often and apply them to the watercolor paper. You can then fill your watercolor box with it. This way you can easily create your favourite colours little by little. In addition, you save unnecessary costs in the beginning by not purchasing unnecessary colours.

Must-have: A painter's palette

Before you start painting, we recommend that you have a mixing palette ready, in addition to brushes, water, watercolor paint and paper towels. For example, you can use a small porcelain or plastic plate ora mixing palette from your art supply store to mix your own colours. Try it out, get to know the colours as you mix them, see what new things emerge.

What should you pay attention to when buying watercolor paint?

Tubes contain solid colours that you dissolve by adding water before painting. Watercolor paint in tubes can be applied undiluted to the paper and water can be added as needed. The difference is that the tube colours have a different consistency. The excellent quality and clarity of the colours is the same, as long as the watercolors are good and of high qualityare quality. Every artist can decide for himself whether he prefers to work with watercolor paint in jars or with tube paint.

Also interesting: what is a painter's palette?

Advantages of watercolor tubes

Tube colours are gentle on the brush. If you keep going into the saucers with the brush, especially if they no longer contain much paint, the tip of the brush will wear out over time. This does not happen with the tube of paint: You pour it onto the mixing palette and gently brush through it. If you want to mix large quantities of colours, for example to paint a large format watercolor, we recommend using watercolor paint in tubes. Small amounts of paint can be easily mixed from the tubes. But if you want to use a lot of paint on a thick brush, the tubes are easier to use.

Benefits of jars withwatercolor

In our opinion, a watercolor paint box with saucers is more practical to handle on the go or when traveling. You have all the colours and utensils, such as your brushes and often also a mixing palette integrated in the container, immediately at hand and you can paint anywhere without having to fiddle with the tubes and caps. The pots are more environmentally friendly as there is less waste when throwing them away. As for appearance, we personally find a paint tray with saucers more aesthetic. The sight of so many colorful pots makes us want to get started and get creative.

Do you want to mix the colours yourself with water orDo you prefer colours that have already been dissolved? If you want, try both first by buying one colour in a tube and one in a saucer. To get the most out of painting, it is important that you find out for yourself what suits you best and what you feel most comfortable with.

What do the symbols on the watercolors mean?

The bottles are wrapped in paper like a present. Have you noticed that the paper is often marked with funny symbols? These symbols help you choose the colours. Because you can use them as a guide in the future, we explain below what these symbols are and what they aremean.

High-quality watercolor paints always have legends that give you information about the special properties of the colours.

1. Square

Square = Opacity. The small squares on the packaged watercolor paint symbolize opacity. An unpainted square indicates colour strength. This means that this watercolor gives off little colour strength when painted on the paper and can easily be placed over other colours. Colours with an "empty" square are therefore the right choice if you want to create a very transparent painting or achieve fine effects.

An empty squarewith a horizontal line through it indicates a "half mixed colour". This is slightly stronger and more visible than the watercolor of the same tone. The half-filled square indicates "half-covering" colours. A completely filled black square indicates an opaque colour.

If you not only want to keep your paintings in a cupboard, but also want to hang them or display them, choose colours with many filled in stars, i.e. with high lightfastness. Watercolor paint with few or only one star may lose its luster in daylight, fade a little or even change a little.

2. Triangle

Triangle =solubility of paper. The different gradations of the triangles on the watercolor paint show how easy they are to remove from the paper.

An empty triangle indicates colours that are easy to remove from the paper. The half-filled triangle indicates an intermediate level. The black triangle indicates a colour that is difficult to remove from the paper. So if you want to correct something or make the colours disappear again with a brush and water, you should choose watercolor paint that has an empty triangle.

Also interesting to read: 10 Tips Acrylic Painting for Beginners.

How much water do you need for best results?

The right amount of water is needed to get the colour on the paper with the intensity you want. It is best to have a piece of watercolor paper ready as a scratch paper and see how much or little water you need so that the colour suits your taste. Our tip: It is wise to start with a little water and add more if necessary. You can always add more water. However, if you use too much water, colour correction becomes more difficult.

Of course it dependsalso depends on what you want to paint. If you want to blend the colours nicely or if you want to paint a background, it is worth working with more water. To create very fine lines, on the other hand, you need less water.

Watercolor brush pens - For precise work

In addition to watercolor brushes, paint tubes and pots, you may also come across watercolor brush pens in your search for the right material. This allows you to transfer your motif and precise lines onto the paper in a controlled manner and, if you wish, let the colour continue with a damp brush.

Or maybe the best way is toto immerse yourself in watercolor painting, hold a brush in your hand and let the colours involuntarily blend into each other. It's always exciting to see what the wonderful flowing properties of the watercolor paint create on the paper!

Take the time to decide whether you prefer to work with brushes or watercolor markers. The choice of course depends on the motif you want to create. On the other hand, you will get the most out of being creative if you use the material you feel most comfortable with.

How to make watercolor paintings last longer

There are fixatives you can use to fix your watercolor paintings. Similar to a can of hairspray, you spray it over the painting to give it some UV protection. If you want to use such a spray, make sure you choose a high-quality product. Otherwise, using a very cheap fixative can change the colour of your images or cause unsightly stains. Again, it's best to try the fixative on a test paper so you know how it works.

In our opinion, fixatives are not absolutely necessary. If you hang the photos behind glass or keep them in a folder, you will enjoy them for a long timewithout them changing or losing colour. To be on the safe side, you can also have a print made of your painting and keep the original in a folder.

Reading tip: Removing acrylic paint from clothes.

We hope we were able to give you a good overview in our watercolor painting blog.

Now you may be wondering where you can get paint and other creative materials? In addition to local specialty stores, there are of course also many online stores on the Internet - many manufacturers have their own online stores, and of course there are also storesespecially for creative supplies. We are one of them!

In our Painting by Numbers Expert! In our shop we offer you a wide range of different paint-by-number motifs with accompanying paint and brushes.

Have fun painting!

Frequently asked questions

Are watercolor and watercolor the same?

Can watercolor paint be mixed with water?