Watercolor Drawing Techniques with “Confidence”

Hello again!

            Forget what you have heard - forget what your friends have told you, the simple fact toward achieving watercolor painting success, is through its “simplicity.’’ No other medium can boast such a claim. With that said, let’s not forget the next, and most important part of success. The confidence. Please repeat after me: “My Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”

Great, now you have the perfect outlook. Let’s get right to it then, shall we?

            Today, we’ll be discussing the ever so worrisome act of “drawing.’’ This one activity tends to place much unnecessary worry and distress on so many people. But, as you will find-out through practice and experience, there is much to be enjoyed during this process.

        

            Before we go too far, I want to make sure one thing is well understood, and that is, that drawing and design, are not vital skills required of all artists, especially in watercolors. Watercolor painting in its purest form allows for great “simplicity.’’ Honing in on that simplicity is the key. Simplicity will allow you to be free to explore, make mistakes, and most importantly, learn from those mistakes. Whether you create stick figures or you create drawings of three-dimension, by all means, have fun, be yourself, and be free with your creativity.

Even a simple stick-figure can have class

So now, with your #2 pencil, your ruler, and your paper in hand, let’s begin your “drawing & design” lesson. 

Grab your Pencil, Ruler, and paper. Let's get to it.

            It is through observation, and I don’t mean a glance, I mean real concentrated observation of your subject, that you’ll gain a true understanding of your subject matter. 

            With your ruler extended out in front of you, select an object within view, line-up the ruler’s straight edge along a portion of your objects outer boundary. Notice the angle at which your ruler appears. This is the angle you want to replicate on your paper when drawing the object. With a repeated ruler up/ruler down motion, you will continually repeat this process until the entire object outer dimensions have been recorded. 
 

Ruler method to determine angle

         How and where you start to measure is entirely up to you, I prefer to measure like I read, I start on the left side of the object, work my way up and over towards the right and then down. I know, that’s not exactly how I read, but at least it sounded good. Here’s the best part about using the ruler method, it has increments of measurement on it. While measuring the angle of your object, you can at the same time, measure its length. This will allow for symmetry in your composition. Symmetry assures that the original object proportions match, and be recorded on paper in its likeness, and not ill-conceived. 

        Now, if you haven’t worked with this process before, take some time and practice. Practice getting the angles right, from original to your paper. The trick is to keep your wrist locked in place at the angle you want, and then place the ruler on the paper with wrist still locked and scribe a few guide marks. Then, with your ruler, connect the guide marks with a solid line. Check and recheck your symmetry. Make sure things are in proportion to reality.

Hand method to determine curvatures

Drawing circles, ovals, and wavy lines can easily be achieved by utilizing nearly the same method as used with your ruler. But, instead of your ruler, your hand will make for the perfect tool. Your hand can concave to a certain point and it can also curl into a fist. Perfect, right? Well, most circles, ovals, and wavy lines can easily be measured, found and transferred to paper using your own hand. Again, this takes practice and practice will lead to perfection and simplicity while developing confidence. 

 

         You will find that most professional artists have a little secret when it comes to drawing and designing. You probably have already wondered how a person can draw to the exact likeness of every object they pursue. Well, the secret is, is that they don’t. At least not very often. Instead, most use tracing paper, expensive printers, and image projectors. Now,you may have your own opinions and beliefs for not choosing those methods, but let me just say this. The fastest and most accurate way to learn how to draw is by repetition. Using tracing paper will aid in the training of your eye-hand coordination, and adapt your skills to doing it on your own. It’s a muscle memory thing. So I highly suggest using the tracing paper method, at least until you have developed and adapted to drawing on your own. There’s no shame in it, just common sense and initiative to achieve your desires in drawing. 

Drawing for detail

        So, are you ready to get started? Great, don’t forget to practice, practice, practice. Also, add some shading, add notes, add anything into your drawing you think will guide your painting towards success. Why not? It will soon be covered over with amazing color and lost forever anyway. You can also just jump, right into doodling with your brush, who said you need to have a drawing anyway?

Fine brush doodles "My Fun & Practice" Each image measures aprox-1/4 inch.

Remember this above all else, have fun, be yourself, be creative, and never forget: “Your Success will come from Simplicity and Confidence.”