Exploring Watercolor Preclass

Welcome to class! I hope you’re as excited as I am…..let’s get going on preparing ourselves for the first lesson coming up! There is approximately an hour and a half worth of video posted here.

Video 1:  Housekeeping

In which I go over some intro information and supplies! More notes are below in the supply list, so be sure to read that as well.

Before we start…a little housekeeping

I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means…

1. Do not sell or give away the concepts from my classes – you may not re-teach my instruction contained or created within these lessons.
2. Do not post a video tutorial or step by step photo tutorial of your own redraw of class content.
3. Do not repost any handouts you receive in class.

However…I love to see students making strides and taking this teaching and personalizing it with your own skills.

1. DO make your own designs and develop your own style! I love that!
2. DO gift your creations made with these techniques, of course!

At the bottom of each lesson you’ll see some ways to share your homework and ask questions, so that’ll be handy for you.

Video 2: Setting up a Palette

While you don’t NEED to set up a palette, I’m including this video in case you choose to do so. This palette (listed in supplies) can hold 12 full pans or 24 half pans – I’m using half-pans here. The hand out is downloadable HERE.

Video 3: Making charts

It’ll be helpful to make yourself a chart – a wheel can be good, but please do make yourself the gridded chart with paints you will be using during class. It will help to familiarize yourself with your paints, and especially if you have paint brands or other clors, this can help you get to know what you might substitute during lessons. The handouts mentioned in this are in the Resources section below. (Note these were done on my blog previously, so if you’ve been through this exercise, there’s nothing new here.) 

Supplies

All supplies easily accessible on one page at Ellen Hutson are in the picture grid below You won’t need to purchase everything….there are some that are optional, some critical:

1. PAINTS: I recommend the Daniel Smith 6 essentials set; you can choose to use another brand but I can’t promise they’ll work the same way.
2. BRUSHES: I highly recommend the round 8 and round 12; and a Cosmotop Spin brush.
3. PAPER PAD: Arches Cold Press Paper

1. REALLY HELPFUL:
   1. HARDBORD in larger size than you want to paint in. to tape watercolor to, that is fine; you’ll also need TAPE to hold it in place. I recommend white despite using colors in these videos; you won’t have a color distraction to deal with. You can also tape it to your table but you cant lift or tilt it.
   2. GRAPHITE PAPER: for transferring images.
   3. KNEADED ERASER: recommended for erasing or lightening unnecessary lines.
2. VERY HELPFUL BUT NOT REQUIRED:
   • BRUSH WASHER or 3 cups of water (one for clean, one for somewhat dirty, and one for filthy)
   • PALETTE: It’s included here for those that want one, and with half–pans (see video above), but you can easily use a white ceramic plate or a tile from the hardware store and save money for now.

3. Mats for your paintings

   The mats I’ve used are available at Amazon, or you can get them at any local art shop. Note the picture opening – and make sure your drawing is sized to fit. You’ll see what I mean in lesson 1.

   I purchased my mats through Amazon; both white and black have an 8×10″ opening.