Sunday, January 4, 2009

Anyone Can Color: A Watercoloring Tutorial

Last year, I created a few simple tutorials on coloring--one on coloring with prismacolor pencils and one with Copic markers. After my post the other day with the watercolored flowers, I received a lot of emails asking how I did it...so today I thought I would show you how EASY it is to paint with Stampin' Up! reinkers.

My goal this year is to create level II tutorials for all of the coloring mediums I have already done. I really love using lots of different coloring mediums and have found that most are a lot easier to use than they appear.

I am going to list all of my coloring tutorials on the sidebar of my blog shortly so they will be easier to find.

Watercoloring with SU Reinkers
What you need:
Paintbrush (or aquapainter, etc)
Bowl of water (you don't need this if you use aquapainter)
Ink to stamp image (I used Memento tuxedo black because I am lazy and can use this for almost anything I color with!)
Watercolor paper (essential)
Reinker(s) in what ever colors you want to paint with (Stamp pad is optional. You can simply use a plastic plate to hold the reinker color if you don't have the pad.)
Stamp image (I used a flower from A Year of Flowers from Gina K Designs)

I choose to use a thin paint brush when watercoloring because it gives me more control. I have used an aquapainter before and find that sometimes it drops more water than I want when I squeeze it. You may prefer to use an aquapainter and that is fine. It is just a matter of personal preference.


Step 1:
Stamp image on watercolor paper.
Step 2: Squeeze a drop of reinker on the inside of the stamp pad (or plastic plate).
If you are using more than one color on an image, prepare all inks for that image the same way.
For this image, I simply used Riding Hood Red (SU!). You can get several shades from each color so for some images you can use one reinker to color. That is one of the reasons I love watercoloring.

Step 3: Dip brush in water and mix with some of the ink to create lighter color. Now you are ready to paint.

Step 4: Dip brush in the darkest area of the ink and paint where you would see the darkest areas in the rose. (Tip: If you think of a real rose---darker areas would appear where the petals attach to the flower and right under each petal.)

Step 5: Then dip the brush in the lighter (diluted) area of ink and paint the other areas of the flower, keeping in mind where there would be natural light hitting the flower. The ink will blend into the darker area nicely because the water helps to move the ink. This is the great (and easy) part of watercoloring. It is very easy to achieve nice (realistic) results.
Because I knew I was cutting the flower out, I didn't have to worry about keeping the ink inside the lines on this. I was just concerned with making the color realistic.
Step 6: Go over any areas that need to be blended together. You can create even lighter areas by dipping the brush in the water (do not oversaturate) and going over the areas that you want to make lighter.

When the ink is dry you can cut out the flower and attach to the card.
For my flower card, I used:
Red Rose: Riding Hood Red
Blue Flower: Brilliant Blue, Bordering Blue
Sunflower: Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, Barely Bananna, More Mustard
Stems and Leaves: Old Olive
Watercoloring is one of the easiest ways to get realistic and vibrant colors with very little effort. I think if you try this, you will be amazed at how easy it is to paint with reinkers.
Please let me know if try it---I would love to see your creations.
Stay tuned: My Favorite Things will be releasing four new stamp sets on Wednesday and I have some MFTeasers to share with you!
Thanks for stopping by!

34 comments:

StampinCathy said...

Your card is just beautiful. Wow this tutorial was so easy to follow. It sounds so easy, but when I go to do it, it seems so hard. But of course I will keep trying. I'm going to try this for sure. Hopefully it will keep getting easier. Can't wait to see the MFT sneaks.

Anonymous said...

Thanks. Some of us need all the tutorials and lots of practice. Yours is so clear. And your card rocks!

Rose Ann said...

Your coloring is gorgeous, Cammie!! Wonderful tutorial too!!

Anonymous said...

You make it sound so easy. But I am going to give it a try. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your tutorial. Even I can understand it!! Love the card too!

Erin Smetak said...

Thank you SO much for the tutorial!!!! I don't do watercoloring because of the oversaturation that you mentioned with the aquapainter. Talk about a BIG DUH when you said you use a paint brush! HELLO! Thanks for spelling it out!!!!

Whimsey said...

Beautiful Cammie; I'm so addicted to my Copics; I often forget there ARE other mediums for coloring. LOL

Anonymous said...

Hi Cammie! Thanks for reminding me there is another color medium out there! I am severely addicted to my color pencils, even though I have SU stuff, copics and watercolors! After seeing your beautiful work I know I need to spread my wings a bit! Thanks for the inspiration girl!

Claudia said...

Thank you for the wonderful tutorial! Your card is beautiful.

6 wacky women said...

Gorgeous card, Cammie.
TFS your tutorial, you make it look so easy. I'll have to give it a try.

Karen x

marcie said...

Beautiful card and an excellent tutorial! Thanks for the clear instructions.

Marcie

Alex said...

GORGEOUS Cammie - I love this!!! I love to watercolor but have never tried it with the reinkers...I am so going to now!!! Thanks so much for sharing your fabulous talent, my friend - this is beautiful art! *STAMPIN HUGS* Alex

Marilyn Hitterman said...

Cammie - I really appreciated your watercoloring tutorial! And I know I'll appreciate other coloring tutorials to come. This is exactly what I've wanted to learn for a long time, so thank you! Your coloring is always so good and your cards always inspire me that I can attain a higher level of artistry.

Lorie said...

What a beautiful card! Thank you for the water coloring with re-inkers tutorial...I was jut wondering how people do that!

Anonymous said...

Excellent tutorial and I much appreciate your encouragement to try water coloring. Happy New Year to you!

carole (TruCarMa) said...

Great tutorial, Camster -- you're making me want to get my reinkers out! Beautiful card yesterday, too. Hugs, girlie!

Diane said...

Thanks for the fantastic tutorial, Cammie. You make it look and sound so easy! We'll see how easy it is when I try it! Can you use the SU ink pads and squeeze the top to the ink pad before opening it? (In case you don't have the reinker for a color you want to use.) I've done that before with other projects I've done.

Barb said...

Your card is just beautiful, and the watercolour tutorial is great!

Judi said...

Thanks for the wonderful tutorial!

Ret said...

What a pretty card, Cammie. I love the gorgeous colors you chose! I have tried the Reinker Watercolor Technique and I really love it! I love how you made some of the flowers dimensional. so pretty!

Lee said...

Wow!!! AWEsome tutorial Cammie!!! I am gonna give it a try again....I tried once with re-inkers and it didn't turn out well. I'll have to keep practicing as I soooo love this look!!!

Moni said...

Great tutorial, thanks! Hugs, Moni

Lynette said...

Thanks so much for the tutorial, Cammie - it's great! Your card is so beautiful. I still don't think I'll be able to watercolor, but it's nice to see it done:)

Elena said...

Thank you for the wonderful tutorial Cammie!

Anonymous said...

What a great tutorial Cammie!! Thanks so much for sharing!! ;)

liannallama said...

Thanks for the tips--your flowers are lovely!

Laura lok said...

beautiful and what a great tutorial

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the excellent tutorial and using my favorite SU products too!

specialcraftmom4 said...

I am so excited about your tutorials being on your side bar this year! I am always in awe of your creations (:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the great tutorial. I am new to watercoloring and have been painting the light first and adding the dark. I can see that this way works so much better! Can't wait to try it!!!

Amber (bambi64) said...

You are just too good!! Think I need to come for private lessons! ;)

Melanie said...

AWESOME Craolyn! I really need to get out my reinkers more often! Thanks for sharing this with everyone (as I gaze fondly at my rose card from you...ahhhh!)
hugs!!!

Deebi27 said...

Don't they say better late than never. Thanks for the tutorial on water coloring. You make it look easy, but I know it will take me practice time...even though I love coloring with my 64 count box of Crayola crayons!!!!! Great looking card!

Traci S. said...

Wow! Thank you so much for this wonderful tutorial. Your card is just phenomenal! I love how you get such great colors! I wonder how you do the highlighting? Is that just the diluted paint? It almost seems like there is a shine on the highlighted areas. Am I missing something? Or is it the lighter paint after all?

Thank you SO VERY much for doing this! I have been playing with watercolors without success. I am sure I will get it with the re-inkers and your helpful hints!

He IS Able,
Traci Starkweather

I would love it if you can find a moment to answer my question. Thanks! Here is my email:

TraciStarkweather@gmail.com