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pallanoph — A Simple Watercolor Walkthrough: Landscape
Published: 2014-02-06 21:46:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 21302; Favourites: 881; Downloads: 422
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So a couple of folks once upon a time asked for a walkthrough of a piece of mine. Note that I say walkthrough, because that's precisely what this is: I don't think I have the knowledge to put together an entire tutorial!
But I managed some (icky phone camera) progress shots of a watercolor landscape I threw together recently for some landscape practice. I did learn a couple of things this time around, like STOP USING CERULEAN for the sky, why has it taken me so long to figure this out? (The appropriate substitute is a soft phthalo blue (green shade!) applied on wet paper. Watch it, though, it stains!!!
Many suggest that you soak and then stretch your paper to prevent excess warping, especially if you work with heavy wet washes. blix-it has an excellent tutorial regarding this process (using staples and a board) along with other valuable watercolor resources.
Materials used: Arches 140 lb hot press watercolor paper (one of the best around, but spendy!) Hot pressed paper usually allows for more detailed work, while cold press lends its own texture and allows more lifting/reworking of layers. At the end of the day, I can safely say that if you can only spend good money on one aspect of watercolor painting, it should be paper. Bad paper can ruin even the best of intentions!
Watercolor pigments are Winsor and Newton's artists line. Again, very expensive, but not something you need. You can get buy on less expensive pigments if you'd like. Try some tubes out, find out what works for you. I recommend Van Gogh (Talens) M. Graham, Winsor and Newton's student line, and many others.
Brushes! I ALWAYS use sable or another natural hair. Synthetic is fine, but I find they wear out faster and their water/pigment load is smaller. It's up to you.
Again, I'm no expert, but I'm always learning. Experiment! Drool over others works! Ask questions! Watercolor may be daunting, but know that there is no single way to do it.
Original painting can be found on my Tumblr: pallanophblargh.tumblr.com/pos…
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Comments: 47
Master of late comments arrives... This is wonderful, I hope you will sometime do a really huuuge, broken down tutorial about your process 
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I'm always so anxious about doing full fledged tutorials for large watercolor pieces, mostly because I myself haven't figured out how to sufficiently tame watercolor into doing my bidding for anything larger than this bitty little painting. 
Maybe I'll do a progress "tutorial" for something mixed media, since I feel more competent in making those turn out. Someday, when I'm more organized? Or when I've learned more things myself!
Or perhaps someday I'll have a webcam for streaming traditional media so people can watch and scream, "What is she doing? It doesn't make sense!" And then suddenly the world would understand why I'm so weirdly slow.
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Hahahahaaa that "one day..." has a lot of things set for it 
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I imagine it would be a lot of me saying "Shit. Damn you, Prussian blue!" while frantically dabbing it out of the paper, to no avail! And then... "We've got gouache. No one needs to know what's under that whitish smudge. Will YOU tell anyone?" *stares into camera*
"Are all traditional media artists this messy and disorganized?"
"Not all of them, I don't think... surely there are some perfectionists out there!"
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Hahahahaa that would be perfect... Off-camera pallanophs rolling their eyes and shaking their heads as you potray the spitting image of an "artist" all parents fear their child will turn into
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I'm definitely that artist parents don't want their kids to turn into! 
I remember my favorite piece of advice from folks in my hometown before I left: "Oh, well if you're going to spend all that money doing that, why don't you get the best real job you can in that field and be a graphic designer?" If I see them again, I'll tell them I barely passed my graphic design college course. I tried really hard, I did! But nope.
You're right: most of my pallanoph characters would be pretty judgmental of me, particularly Nharath and Tjardek. Sorstan and Tjora would be far more understanding!
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I'm drooling over the art in this! It's really making me want to go hiking in the Rocky Mountains, it's so pretty!
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you call this simple? lol maybe for someone who has been doing watercolors over and over and over, but for relative beginners and those having trouble with it, it is NOT lol
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Realistic Photoshop CS6 Watercolor & Paint Brushes
These are real brushes not just pictures, actual brushes with sensibility (if you use a graphic tablet) There are 130+ brushes. Enjoy.
jasmine2792.deviantart.com/art…
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Can you tell us what the colors were that you used for each stage?
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I shall do my best!
Cerulean blue for the sky (phthalocyanine blue is a better choice if used in a weak wash), ultramarine blue/sepia/payne's grey for the mountain. A lot of the brighter foliage highlights used hansa yellow/permanent green light, darker greens used are hookers green, sap green, mixed with payne's grey and/or phthalocyanine green/ultramarine blue. The warm brown tones use red oxide/Venetian red, yellow ochre/raw sienna, burnt umber. The water was mostly phthalocyanine blue and green with touches of ultramarine blue and sap green.
That's the best I can remember for now, at least.
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Ahhhh thank you so much!! I could guess the cooler tones but it was the warmer ones that I was really stumped on, the venetian red is the one that I couldn't figure out. Thank you so much for taking the time of going through and writing that out, it's super super helpful. Thanks!! 
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No problem! Glad to be of assistance.
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Thank you for this. Watercolours are so unlike what I am use too, I tend to be a little impatient because I like to get art done in one or two sittings otherwise I'll never finish it. You do landscapes very nicely!
How long have you been working with watercolours?
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Thank you! Impatience with such media is understandable.
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I've seen lakes in colours like this. They are amazing!
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I'd love to see one myself, despite being surrounded by many different kinds of lakes. Lake Superior looks like a bluish ocean, and the smaller ones look brownish/greenish. I think I might need to head to the Pacific northwest for these crazy blue green lakes, and wait for the right weather and the right lighting!
I do like my nearby lakes, too, don't get me wrong!
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I've seen that kind of lake in the Alps, especially if it comes with a mountain behind it. But I've also seen blue lakes elsewhere. One was in the middle of Germany, in a place that used to be used to get Schiefer (a type of stone that people use in those regions for their roofs and stuff, you get hundreds of photos if you google that). The water in there was supposed to be acidic and they told us not to go swimming... even though I did see somebody in there. Anyway, it was of a glorious blue.
Here is one photo of it:
(Oh god, I need to clean my gallery. It's hideous!)
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It must have something to do with mountains, huh? It's been so long since I've been anywhere near mountains! (I need to remedy that badly!)
Thanks for the photo link, too!
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I'm sure it has to do with the mountains. The water coming from then is clearer than all other water, not so much earth having been swept into it. And that makes for really nice lakes.
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I love the finished painting! It is frame worthy, and soothing to gaze upon. It makes me want to start watercolor painting again. Gorgeous job!
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Thank you! If I manage, I might frame the original and put it somewhere in a quiet place.
I do hope you take up watercolors again, at a time that suits you!
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I hope it is sooner than later.
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Outstanding and perfectly done! Thank you for such a great reference!
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This is really inspiring. I've been feeling a bit burnt out on watercolors since finished Year of the God-Fox, but seeing this makes me want to try out some of your techniques!
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Yes, I imagine an entire comic done in traditional media would burn someone out! And you don't give yourself very many breaks...
I've seen a couple of methods employed by other artists I've been itching to try out, too. I just need to plan my work out a little better.
Thank you!
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Lovely, I love the details in the water. It takes a lot of patience with watercolour.
How do you paint those rock?
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The rocks were pretty straightforward: I just left the white of the paper clear for highlights, and then started on the darker areas with warmer colors first, and added cool bluish shadows last. Thank you!
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I see, thanks for the advice!
You're welcome any time!
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So kind of you sharing such stunning infor. I can't draw anything, seriously I can't, in another words, I admire what you have accomplished
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A fantastic walkthrough! Thank you so much for uploading it.
Seeing this has inspired me to get back into watercolour painting again! There is nothing more fun, in my opinion at least, than doing wet washes and sploshing paint around. That said, I have just remembered the effects created by dripping methylated spirits onto a wet wash - now that /is/ good fun.
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Glad I could get you back into watercolors! They are extraordinarily fun... and I just might need to locate alcohol for my own watercolor fun time! (Thanks for mentioning them, because I'd forgotten all about the weird effects they give!)
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Thanks so much for this walkthrough! I've played with water colors a tiny little bit but I was always discouraged by the results, next time I'm home and have access, I'll definitely mess around with them and try some of these tips out.
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Glad to hear it could be of use! Happy watercoloring!
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Oh man this is great! I really love your watercolors, so I appreciate you taking the time to walk through your process. I've always wondered if it was possible to paint mist, and now I know it is. All of this was very helpful; thank you!
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Aww, I'm glad to hear it!
Mist is tricky with most traditional mediums, or at least that's how I see it. It also looks a bit ridiculous to see me hovering over a wet wash with cotton balls/paper towels dabbing furiously at the paper. I still haven't quite managed to get mist and clouds the way I want them! 
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