4 Ways to Blend Watercolours - Watercolour Techniques for Beginners #4, by Jake Bussell Art on YouTube. 5 min 2 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 2 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Fill two jars with water, one for rinsing your brush and one clean. Set out your paints, a palette, a round size 8 or 14 brush and a sheet of cold pressed paper.
Load the brush with clean water and paint a horizontal strip across the paper. Keep it damp, not pooling, so the surface shines without sitting in puddles.
Wet in wet: while the strip is still damp, touch a loaded brush of a second colour to one end. Tilt the board slightly and let the colour bleed and blend by itself.
Edge to edge: paint a block of one colour, then straight away paint a second colour along its side. Touch the two wet edges together and let them meet without scrubbing.
Gradient wash: paint a strong stroke of colour at one end. Rinse the brush, dip it in clean water and paint the next stroke overlapping, adding more water each time to fade the colour out.
Soften a hard edge: rinse the brush clean, squeeze out the excess water and drag the damp tip lightly along the edge to pull the colour outward.
Palette blend: put two colours side by side on the palette, touch them where they meet with a damp brush and pick up the mix. Test it on scrap paper first.
Let each test dry completely before judging it. Watercolour dries lighter and softer, so adjust your water next time.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the paper damp rather than soaking, because puddles push pigment out into hard blooms.
Rinse the brush between colours, or the blend turns a muddy grey.
Stop touching a blend once it starts to dry, as overworking lifts the paper fibres.
Cold pressed paper holds water longer than rough paper, which gives you more time to blend.
Questions
Why do my watercolour blends turn muddy?
Usually because three or more colours are mixed together, or the brush was dirty. Rinse well and blend two colours at a time.
Can I blend watercolour after it has dried?
Yes, but only partly. Rewet the edge with clean water and a soft brush, then work it, though it will not merge as smoothly as a wet blend.
What paper is best for blending?
Cold pressed paper around 300gsm works well. It holds water long enough for the colours to merge without buckling.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
