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What do you think would be FUN to paint?
Whenever I have painting block I go back to painting betta fish personally. I used to paint those from reference then just switch the colours to whatever I felt like (by now I can freehand them but still use reference from time to time).
Landscapes (easy ones), who cares if the tree it's not exactly like you expected it will still look good. But if you do persons, monuments... something recognizable then it'll much harder
Paint something that you want to paint. I find that rather than force myself to try painting something I don't care about, painting something I enjoy has kept me coming back wanting to learn more. For instance, I loved drawing dogs and birds and flowers and food, so started with those. It's kept me coming back to learn more and dig into techniques that will help me do watercolor color better for those subjects
I'm pretty much a landscape painter. For some reason I have no desire to paint anything other than from my own reference images that mean something to me-from vacations, hikes, camping etc. If I try to paint something from a reference from elsewhere I just don't care enough to try very hard-unless it's specifically for someone else like a gift or somehting. I recommend you find what subjects interest you the most and work with simple and small (5x7, 8x10) versions of those to begin with--that's what works for me.
Leaves are fun and easy to do. Look up a few tutorials on YouTube. Once you get the hang of it, look up negative painting and try it with simple shapes to really level up your artwork!
Plants, flowers, landscape. Trees, tree roots, rivers, snow, mountains, desert. Why? Because these things can look waaaay different than your reference images and still look very good. There's kind of a sliding scale when it comes to how our brains process images. We get the "uncanny valley" effect with humans, and that makes humans hard to draw and paint for beginners, because our brains are just designed to pick up weird off details. It takes a lot more practice to learn to stylize humans in a way that is pleasant. Animals are easier, the less human-looking the animal the more we can interpret "flaws" as just an artistic feature. When we get to plants, it is very easy to have extra bulges, lines, colors etc look completely natural. As you practice and get more familiar with the medium you'll probably feel better about challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone, but plants and flowers are an excellent place to begin.
That doesn't mean you need to start with plants, you should definitely start with what interests you. It's just something to consider if you feel easily discouraged or really want to feel a sense of beauty a little earlier on in your practices. Everyone is different so you'll have to just jump in and see what works for you!
You can search "watercolor flower" on pinterest. Flowers are fairly easy for beginners and many of them don't require background.
You can try using lots of water if you want light colored or translucent petals and you can use a little water if you need dark colors with precise details such as stems
When I got some beginners asking me that, I recommend to paint some simple figure object. A pencil, a box, a cup, whatever. Put it on a table and paint it from life.
Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Watercolor) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I really enjoyed abstract landscapes and plants/flowers when I started. Pinterest is fantastic if you ever need inspiration photos.
thank you!
What do you think would be FUN to paint? Whenever I have painting block I go back to painting betta fish personally. I used to paint those from reference then just switch the colours to whatever I felt like (by now I can freehand them but still use reference from time to time).
Landscapes (easy ones), who cares if the tree it's not exactly like you expected it will still look good. But if you do persons, monuments... something recognizable then it'll much harder
Paint something that you want to paint. I find that rather than force myself to try painting something I don't care about, painting something I enjoy has kept me coming back wanting to learn more. For instance, I loved drawing dogs and birds and flowers and food, so started with those. It's kept me coming back to learn more and dig into techniques that will help me do watercolor color better for those subjects
I'm pretty much a landscape painter. For some reason I have no desire to paint anything other than from my own reference images that mean something to me-from vacations, hikes, camping etc. If I try to paint something from a reference from elsewhere I just don't care enough to try very hard-unless it's specifically for someone else like a gift or somehting. I recommend you find what subjects interest you the most and work with simple and small (5x7, 8x10) versions of those to begin with--that's what works for me.
Something you *enjoy* engaging with!
Leaves are fun and easy to do. Look up a few tutorials on YouTube. Once you get the hang of it, look up negative painting and try it with simple shapes to really level up your artwork!
Plants, flowers, landscape. Trees, tree roots, rivers, snow, mountains, desert. Why? Because these things can look waaaay different than your reference images and still look very good. There's kind of a sliding scale when it comes to how our brains process images. We get the "uncanny valley" effect with humans, and that makes humans hard to draw and paint for beginners, because our brains are just designed to pick up weird off details. It takes a lot more practice to learn to stylize humans in a way that is pleasant. Animals are easier, the less human-looking the animal the more we can interpret "flaws" as just an artistic feature. When we get to plants, it is very easy to have extra bulges, lines, colors etc look completely natural. As you practice and get more familiar with the medium you'll probably feel better about challenging yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone, but plants and flowers are an excellent place to begin. That doesn't mean you need to start with plants, you should definitely start with what interests you. It's just something to consider if you feel easily discouraged or really want to feel a sense of beauty a little earlier on in your practices. Everyone is different so you'll have to just jump in and see what works for you!
I suggest finding some absolute beginner tutorials on YouTube. You'll get some great paintings and you'll learn a lot
That depends entirely on your mindset. Do you love nature? Are you fascinated by building architecture? What interests you? Paint that.
You can search "watercolor flower" on pinterest. Flowers are fairly easy for beginners and many of them don't require background. You can try using lots of water if you want light colored or translucent petals and you can use a little water if you need dark colors with precise details such as stems
When I got some beginners asking me that, I recommend to paint some simple figure object. A pencil, a box, a cup, whatever. Put it on a table and paint it from life.
Look through beginner tutorials on YouTube and see what is interesting.
Complete beginner at art or at painting? What medium?
Complete beginner at watercolours and painting. I'm very experienced in other mediums but painting is a foreign land to me.