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Possibly the first in a series. Still haven't decided.

Salt. Trader Joe's sea salt, to be specific. ^_^ It also helps when you have non-staining pigments. I used Alizarin Crimson, Dioxazine Violet, Cobalt Blue, and Indigo. They are fun to push around and most of them--especially cobalt, mottle to some degree just by themselves.

I like watercolors because I can put extra paint on my pallet and when it drys, I can revive it later with water. Can't do that with acrylics or oils. ^_^

My suggestion for starting up:

For paints, Reeves are OK-ish but they don't age very well. If you don't use up the tube in a year, they start to separate and get grainy. So far, my favourite brand is Winsor and Newton, which can be a little expensive ($2-4 for a 8ml tube) but they are very smooth and rich. Add some white gouash to your pallet too for highlights.

For paper, I suggest Canson's 140lb watercolor paper. It's smooth and thick enough that there isn't a lot of warping. It also sucks up water quickly, which means you don't have to wait hours in between layers.

For brushes, I just buy packs of Loew-Cornell synthetic brushes for $5-10. My sentiment is that the brushes are going to wear out in 6 months to a year anyway, so I'm not about to break the bank on them. Plus, I'm lazy and the variety packs save time. ^_^

I am filled with amazement when I see this~
Please do more~

Thanks everyone. ^_^ I'll try to sketch some sequel pieces tonight.



The cheep paints are good if you're still developing your style and getting used to the feel of the brush and all that, but once you have that mastered, you will need to move on to becoming familiar with the effects of different pigments. That's really what can catapult your art from mediocre to AMAZING without a lot of extra effort.

Canson is just a brand that I have found in my area to be the best combination of price and quality. mrgreen

Also, I don't bother with stretching. Never got the hang of it and it took too much time. ^_^*

Watercolor over salt would probably just overpower the salt. The key is to sprinkle the salt on the watercolor right when the water on the paper is just between glossy and matt. Too wet, and the salt dissolves before it can create the effect. Too dry and and the pigment isn't mobile enough to get the effect. It talks a little experimentation, but it's a lot of fun. ^_^

Other things you can use to make cool effects are alcohol, acetone, bleach, miskit/friskit, plastic wrap, and various sponges. Most of them work best when the paint is put down first (the only exception being the miskit/friskit, which is like a rubbery substance you can use to keep small detailed areas white).

Oh~ And Tissues some times help~ biggrin

I could Never Airbrush~ It would get me to frustrated ~ XD

Yeah, some of the guiding spines on her tail fins don't line up right, but I spent an hour experimenting with different styles and curves, so when this looked 80% right, I just went with it. xp