A swatch printable: I printed this on watercolor paper, but you could also print this on mixed media paper. Make sure you print it with a laser printer, so the ink doesn’t run!
Just right-click and download- print on watercolor paper on a laser printer.
I love these watercolor pencils; they have all the qualities I look for in color pencils!
You may also love this blog post that has a free printable on animals- I like to use them for cards for animal lovers.
I love using Watercolor Pencils and watercolor together to achieve the perfect look I’m after!
There are a couple of techniques that I love and want to share with you in this tutorial- I love adding watercolor pencil to a wet surface- dry into wet.
Watch this tutorial and see how easy it is to paint these cute animals!
You can find the line drawing for this tutorial by downloading the JPEG.
I have found that Pointer WatercolorPencils and Watercolors have a lot to offer at a good price point. I recommend the watercolor pencils and the travel watercolor palette to anyone who is learning to watercolor and wants to try. The price point is well worth the money; the quality is good for student art supplies.
Other videos that I have used Pointer Watercolor and supplies
Ever wondered what to do with a new palette, and wanted to learn more about the power your palette has with all the different types of color ranges you can get with a perfect, curated watercolor palette? This blog post helps you understand what swatching methods and techniques will help you learn about the watercolor properties and their unique characteristics in a fun and non-boring way.
I like to think of color as individual as we are- there are unique properties that manufacturers and pigment makers use to make a color. It’s an art in its own right, and not every color works the same way, and not every manufacturer gives you the same color as you expect. It’s an art form, and that is part of the fun of swatching.
I recently was gifted some Brighter Day Pigments, and wanted to test them out by swatching them. Yes, it did take me 2 hours to make the swatch grid, and yes, I enjoyed every minute of it. Those two hours helped me learn the quality and properties of the pigments, and helped me see what colors I absolutely loved.
To follow along with this post, use Brighter Day Pigment watercolor palettes. In this blog post, I am using Wild Flower, Beach Day, and Sweet Tooth. Use code: LISACHRISTENSEN for 10% off your order. (Thank you, Brighter Day Pigments.)
How to swatch- Method/technique 1
I made a swatch sheet and printed it with my laser printer on watercolor paper. You can download the swatch sheet by saving the picture below to your device.
I label each row and column in order of how I want the swatch sheet to be. For most cases, I want to have pigments together that are in ROYGBIV (red, orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, violet) order, and then I do the same for any mica pigments in ROYGBIV order. I like consistency 🙂
To have this time to do this is a powerful way to learn water-to-paint ratio and color theory. I listened to an audiobook while painting, which helps my thoughts and doubts leave, so I am focused on color, painting, and the book. It gave my brain a break from “life”.
Color Swatching method technique 2
like to see what 5 colors will do with each other next to it- so I make a half a color wheel.
I start with my favorite color- and put that in the middle in this example it’s Lumi Orange, then I add the colors closest to the color wheel on each side of the Lumi Orange,(Lumi yellow, and Lumi Pink.) Then I end the half circle with two other colors that would be next to those colors on the color wheel( Lumi Green and Cobalt Violet)
This is a great way to learn how colors work and mingle with each other, in a simple, easy way to test and swatch colors.
Color Swatching method technique 3
I like to see what colors mingle well with each other- so I have one more swatching technique. With this one, we are looking at the color relationships, as they are, with no mixing needed: Warning- you will be addicted to this one.
One more example:
You can download the practice sheet here:
Color Swatching method technique 4
I take a sheet of watercolor paper, this one is 9×12, and I fill it up with small strips of watercolor using a small flat brush. I don’t make the shapes uniform, and I just go with the flow. I love this becuase you can do this with any of your palettes. If you find that you have white space, then you can glaze over a color and see if you like it. I adapted this technique from Lisa Solomon in her book A Field Guide to Watercolor.
I love this way of swatching colors; it’s a way to explore your watercolors and play with landscape compositions. When you strip down to just shapes and colors, you can start to see what works in a landscape painting and then become a better landscape artist.
In the example above, I chose a green gold and a cobalt mica color, and I wanted to see what they would do together, so I played. I took a small 3x4ish size rectangle, outlined it with a pencil, so I had a guideline, and then I just painted with one simple rule- 2 colors with a landscape in mind.
I love using two colors that are complementary; they always give me a rich neutral that works very well in landscapes. Can you see how mountains were in my mind with this quick swatch?
You can have a lot of fun with this technique. If you want to read more about how this swatch exercise came to be, you can read the book Everyone Can Watercolor by Kateri Ewing
I would love to hear how you like to swatch your watercolors?
I recently was given some watercolors from Brighter Day Pigments, and I love them! Rich, creamy, and beautiful pigments from Nancy Olson have won my heart with these handmade watercolors!
Once I played with these pigments, I knew I needed to paint some flowers, so here is a tutorial on how I use simple shapes to make flowers- literally anyone can do this! I break the flowers down to 5 simple shapes that are easy for you to watercolor.
I also have some reviews up on these amazing watercolors that have really stolen a piece of my heart! I know that they will steal your heart too!
Nancy Olson made the Anthropologie Blue and Pink Pouch for Anthropologie! Here is why you will love them:
I love the ocean, and Shimmer- so when I saw this palette as a set, I had to grab it! The colors in this set have some of my favorite pigments, including Copper Mica, which is one of my all-time favorites!
If you love these pigments as much as I do, you can use Code: LisaChristensen with this link.
Also, if you are going to be at Creativation hosted by NAMTA, I will be at the Maker’s Studio demonstrating these beautiful pigments!
Learn basic color theory for transparent mediums like ink and watercolor, with Vibrant Spring colors. At the end of this video, you will be able to pick rainbow colors for your watercolor and ink projects.
My insight on how I learned color theory- the “real way” I have taken lots of graphic design and art classes, and the one class that helped me was while I was taking a workshop with Alexis Lavine when she talked about color- it was magical, and I loved what she said- some of my takeaways were
Purple is the darkest value on the color wheel. Use it wisely! (I love purple for that reason!)
Yellow (complementary to Purple) is the lightest value on the color wheel.
You don’t need every color made; use your favorite, and learn to mix them!
Onto the heart of the matter: Lets get our fingers inky!
Learning how the colors play with each other is a fun color journey that I hope will motivate you! That is why I have these color worksheets for you to download and then print so you can use them.
Each worksheet was designed to print on 8.5×11 paper. Use cardstock or copy paper for your color play adventures! (There are three sheets.)
Sheet One: Use this to make a color wheel.
Use this color style sheet for a quick reference to what you can achieve when you blend ink or watercolor. Complementary colors are colors across from the color wheel. A triad is three colors that make up a triangle on the color wheel.
Use this color style worksheet to help you see what colors work well together on the Color wheel. Analogous colors are 4 colors that are close on the color wheel. I like to add drama in my art, so I usually add the complementary color to my analogous colors. This is also a fun way to discover how to use color in your art practice.
I hope you find these worksheets to be helpful; they are to me, use them to find your own color discoveries in your artistic style!
Welcome, Watercolor Card Artists! I am so happy you are here, and I am happy to share some of my favorite things that deal with watercolor and paper crafting! I made a video to welcome you and to share my love of watercolor with you! If you haven’t subscribed to my YouTube channel, please do- so you never miss a video on watercolor cards!
Stay tuned to more inspiration!
You can find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/watercolorcards
