How To Get The Most Out Of Your Watercolor Pens？

Watercolor pens give you the versatility of having both watercolor and ink pens. This makes them highly versatile, so you can sketch or paint anytime, anywhere. If you thought watercolors in pans were your most travel-friendly media, just wait until you try these out. These markers are great to take on the road with you. Add a little water with a brush pen and you have all the expressive capabilities of watercolors with much less mess.

Use Watercolor Paper

Just as with traditional watercolor paints, watercolor pens need the right paper to look and act their best. While most traditional watercolor artists prefer cold-pressed watercolor paper for its texture and effects, hot-pressed watercolor paper makes an ideal substrate for watercolor pens. Smoother paper will allow your markers to last longer without damaging the marker tip.

Also try other papers. To find a good piece of paper for your watercolor pencil sketches, test that it can hold moisture without wrinkling, that it won't absorb too much water, that the color won't fade once you apply it, and that it's fine-grained keeps the ink from spreading.

Control Your Colors

Watercolor brushes give you a lot of control over your blending. Since these pens are transparent, they allow for delamination and a certain amount of controlled glass even before water is added. You can layer pen inks and use them like regular markers so you can take advantage of their transparency.

Just like with watercolor glass, experiment with how to layer colors. Having different colors on the bottom will create different blending effects, especially when you add water, since the first paint you stir with water will be the top layer.

Also try the dry-on-wet technique, dampening the paper and letting the ink on the marker spread like paint.

Use A Brush and Water to Mix Colors

To achieve a true watercolor effect, use a brush or water and brush to dilute and mix the ink on the page. With water, you can soften the edges of brushstrokes, blend two colors together, or create gradients like you would with traditional watercolors.

You can continue to work and layer the watercolor brushes to create a varnish effect. Don't be afraid to use watercolor brushes on damp surfaces or surfaces where the first few coats are still damp. Be careful not to overuse your paper.

Washes And Color Gradients

You can create simple and controlled color gradients by placing inks of different colors next to each other. Then, mix them together with water. Remember that this process also mixes colors, so two colors you set next to each other will mix together.

For example, if you create a gradient with yellow and blue adjacent, the gradient will transition from yellow to green to blue.

You can use a similar technique to create washes. To do this, use a marker to lay down the ink, then add a generous amount of water to spread the ink over the entire page.

Add Texture to Your Painting

Watercolor pens are made of very stable ink, which means they don't separate like many watercolors you may be used to. While this can help you create beautiful and consistent artwork, it can help add some texturing techniques to make your paintings more interesting.

A common technique is color removal. To do this, wet the ink you want to remove, then use an absorbent material, such as a towel, to soak up the excess color. You can also use a water-filled spray to create an organic-looking mix for a soft splash effect.

You can also use salt techniques to create textures. To do this, pour salt over the damp paint space. Salt will absorb some color and moisture, disrupt ink distribution, and give it texture. Be sure to wait for the area to dry completely before brushing off the salt. Kosher salt is best for this technique.

Embrace Versatility with Sketching Techniques

Watercolor brushes give you a lot of extra control. To enjoy this, practice sketching skills in addition to the watercolor style. Use watercolor brushes to create solid line art, cross hatching, and other overlapping line techniques.

Many watercolor pens have soft, flexible tips that allow for expressive line changes. You can try different strokes and line thicknesses.