In this article, we’ll be going over what makes not just a good pencil for watercolor sketching, but the best of the best. What you’re going to need is a pencil that can hold its point, and also won’t smudge or rub away if it does. We’ll also be going over the right weight for your pencil, and lastly, we’ll go over what type of pencil lead.
You’re also going to want one that has a hard lead; softer leads are better for blending colors together but are too light for sketching with watercolor paint.
This post will list the most essential attributes that make up a watercolor pencil. Along with what we believe to be the best in this category. You’ll find out why these are so important for sketching with watercolors and how they can affect your finished product.
What Should You Sketch Before Watercolor?
First off, if you’re just starting out learning to draw with watercolors or in general, you should sketch before painting. This is so that you can get used to the size and proportions of your subject before putting paint on it. This way, when it’s time to actually paint your subject, it won’t feel like such a big task.
Additionally, if you haven’t practiced drawing with watercolors before either, this can be highly beneficial for your first sketches. The reason being is that when you’re drawing from life sketched beforehand, you know what things are supposed to look like so they aren’t distracting like in a painting where everything can look a bit different.
Another thing you can be doing before sketching is adding other media to your sketches, which can be anything from charcoal to pastels. This will help you in the long run when it comes to painting with watercolor paint and also give you a better idea of how an actual painting should look.
What Are Some Things That Affect Pencils?
Now that we’ve got some of the basic things out of the way, let’s go over how different pencils affect my work. The biggest difference between a good pencil for watercolor and a cheap one is that the cheap ones tend to be too soft and they smear pretty easily; this is especially true when it comes to regular colored pencils.
There are also a lot of other things that affect pencils, like the type of paper you’re using. If you’re painting on cheap paper, like newsprint, or then on more expensive stuff for example; card stock or board. The different types of paper affect the way the lead colors it and how smudge-able it is. This will have a huge impact on your finished product.
I’d highly recommend using graphite for your first experiment with watercolor painting if you don’t already know what you’re doing, as this tends to be an easier drawing medium to work in than watercolor paint specifically.
Can You Erase The Pencil Under Watercolor?
It’s actually pretty easy to erase pencils like those used in watercolor. Of course, you are going to need a watercolor eraser because it will dry quicker than a regular eraser.
The best way to erase pencils is with either a kneaded eraser or an old toothbrush dipped in water. The idea would be to make sure that you are applying pressure with the brush and not pressing too hard. This is going to ensure that your sketch doesn’t come out wet-looking and blotchy.
Can You Erase Watercolor?
If you’re wondering about erasing watercolor, the answer is yes and no. You can’t erase it with an eraser (the one you have on your pencil), but if your painting goes wrong, you can always paint over it and start fresh.
A lot of beginners don’t realize that you can basically paint over your mistakes and it will fix them right up. Then you can paint over that part again and again until it looks as you want it. It’s going to take a little longer, but so long as the paper is wet enough, you shouldn’t have any problems.
The problem with this is that if your watercolor painting dries too fast, then the paint underneath the one above it won’t dry and then will ruin whatever you’re painting below. You’ll have to water down your paints if they’re too pigmented and not wet enough or add more water to your paper, similar to what I said earlier about mixing colors together before using them.
How Do You Master WaterColor Sketching?
?Knowing a few tips for sketching with watercolors can help you master your skills and techniques. Although this is not a hard technique to master, there are some tips that can be applied in order to achieve the best outcome.
Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when it comes to sketching with watercolor paint:
First off, applying too much paint or using what’s called: “bad strokes”. What this means is using too much paint on a single stroke and wiping it away wet. This will cause your lines to blur and become messy; something you’ll want to avoid if you’re trying to make your drawing look seamless. Try to limit yourself to two or three colors at most. Another thing is using a whole palette of colors at once. This is also a big mistake because the colors are going to be uneven and the tones will be way off from each other. You should stick with one color for each spot.
Don’t apply watercolors too wet, it can make your shading look messy and jagged. This is one of the things you can be doing to improve your watercolor sketching skills. If you’re painting people, try to practice drawing them in several different ways. This can help you understand the different shapes the body makes when it’s in different positions. For example: When standing, sitting and so on. People also make different facial expressions that can range from happiness to jealousy and everything in between, so practice drawing these faces as well.
Can I Sketch On Watercolor Paper?
?You can definitely sketch on watercolor paper, and it will look amazing. I’ve gotten a lot of questions over the years about what kind of paper to use for your sketch, and this is one of the best because it’s going to give you just about every benefit you could ask for in an art paper.
The reason why this works so well is that these papers are super absorbent and takes a good amount of water to make them go from wet to extremely wet. Even if you’re going with a regular pencil, they’re going to take even better so long as they aren’t too soft or hard.
I tend to sketch on watercolor paper with a regular pencil and I actually enjoy the feeling of drawing on it. It responds so well to everything I do and I’ve gotten some really great results. Of course, none of that would be possible if the paper wasn’t made up of such good quality materials. For starters, these materials are eco-friendly and made from recycled products which is a huge plus in my book. They’re also acid free so you don’t need to worry about your art getting damaged over time by prolonged exposure to light or moisture.
