I have just completed my first YouTube Watercolour Tips video as I wanted to share a really useful idea that’s helped me with my watercolour journey.
I’m always picking up bargains at art shops, and I’m very lucky to have such a generous family who buy me watercolour related goodies as birthday and Christmas presents. This has resulted in me acquiring many different tubes and pans of watercolour pigments and I was finding it difficult to keep on top of what I had and what they would look like when I came to using them.
Where the idea came from
I decided one weekend to have a good sort out and I came up with the idea of creating mini colour and tonal charts to keep with my paints so that not only would I know where everything was, I would also know what each pigment would look like when I came to using it. I now have these charts with all my different pigments and now I find it really easy to find the pigments I need very quickly. It’s a great way of organising things, it was fun to do, and I made a few discoveries along the way.
Click to view
Click to view
Click to view
How to make the colour chart
These instructions work well for the Winsor & Newton Artists’ Watercolour Field Box
- Any piece of scrap 140lb/300gm Rough watercolour paper will do
- Remember to draw the grid to match the layout of your own palette
- Paint each swatch to match the position of each pigment in your palette
- Variegate each swatch from intense to weak so you can see how the pigment reacts and granulates with different amounts of water.
- Use a “fine” waterproof gel pen to write in the names of the pigments in each swatch
What I Learned
I was surprised at the huge variation of different pigments I had, how they actually looked on paper, how they reacted and granulated with different amounts of water, and how they reacted and mixed differently with other pigments in my palette.
This was a great learning exercise for me and I’m now able to select the pigments I use in my watercolour paintings with more confidence and I also have more predictable results in my finished paintings.
Here’s the video, I hope it helps you on your journey!
You can get the Winsor & Newton Artists’ Watercolour Field Box Here>
Next steps
If you have any suggestions to offer on how to improve on this, or you want to let me know what you would like to see in my next video, or even share you experiences with us – then please use the comments below.
Happy painting!
Watercolour and pencil artist, passionate about drawing and painting the world around me in watercolour, and using social media to share my story. Join in and take part in my journey by using the links below.
Hi Ian
I came across your blog while looking for anything about watercolor color substitutions. I’m just starting Color by Betty Edwards and have most of the colors used in the book, but still haven’t found substitutes for the ones I don’t have. I have a Winsor & Newton Cotman set and that particular line doesn’t have all the colors as specified by Betty Edwards. I’m thinking of just switching to the Winsor & Newton Galeria acrylics which do have all but one color. I imagine once I’ve finished the book, I will be able figure this out myself.
At any rate, I think your colour chart work is just great. As soon as I get the paper, I will be doing something like it so I’m sure your ideas will be very useful to me.
Dennis
Found your blog through Pintrest and I love it! Such a great source of info and inspiration. Thanks for the video – it was great and I’m about to start on mine right now:)
Glad you liked it and I hope you found it useful 🙂
Thank you for the video, but I need some help. I notice that you put cool colors on the side and warm colors on the top of your mixing chart. However, doesn’t that mean that you won’t see the colors formed by mixing cool colors with cool colors and warm colors with warm colors? I’m completely new to watercolor and am really struggling with how to make the right color chart. If you could please give me some guidance on this, I’d be very grateful!
Although my colour chart was made in this way you could make it bigger if you wish. I agree that it would be good to include cool mixed with cool and warm mixed with warm as well and it would give you a fuller insight into the colour mixes available from your palette. How about you could create an additional two colour charts one being just cool mixed with cool colours, and one warm mixed with warm colours. Please let us know how you get on 🙂
Nice work; Thanks
Thanks Kerry, I hope you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for this video. It was tremendously helpful in learning how to do variegated swatches!
This would make a good exercise for my beginning watercolor students – it looks fun too! Thanks
This was incredibly helpful, clear and concise! By far the best instructions I’ve found online for making watercolor charts. Thank you for going to the trouble of providing it.
this is great stuff, happy to have found it! Thank you.