Visual Arts & Making · Part of Drawing & Painting
Watercolour
The water moves on its own, and mistakes do not come back
Unlike other paints it cannot be undone: the white is the paper itself, so you work light to dark and plan the untouched areas in advance. Water travels by itself and colour keeps shifting after you leave it, which is both the appeal and the difficulty. Paper deserves the money more than pigment does; cheap paper buckles.
First stepGet a small pan set and a pad of real watercolour paper, and lay one graded wash, dark at the top and nothing but paper at the bottom.
Barriers
Cost to start
Under $50
Going deep → $300–2k
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
Sitting
Without a teacher?
Self-taught
same as parent · Drawing & Painting
One session takes
1–2 hours
same as parent · Drawing & Painting
Where
At home
Why people take it up
Skills
BuildsColour mixing and harmony