Watercolour

 

Master the basics of watercolour

Create vibrant and lively sketches with lots of watercolour magic

 

Enroll Watercolour Course $199USD

Buy Watercolour with Foundations and Sketchbook Design – Sketch Your Life Bundle – and save $120USD

 

 


 

How will this course help my watercolour sketching?

When you sketch with watercolour, do you struggle with water control, murky or flat colours and overworked washes?

Having a solid understanding of how pigment suspended in water behaves and a few specific strategies for using watercolour in a quick and spontaneous way will enable you to paint with more confidence out on location.

The more you understand the unique properties of watercolour the more you can work with it rather than fight against it! This will liberate your sketching and you’ll find that watercolour will start performing magic on your page.


 

Does this sound like you?

 

“I’m afraid to ruin my ink drawing by adding paint”

“My watercolour sketches look flat, lifeless and overworked”

“I don’t know how to mix the colours I want and always end up with muddy mixes”

“I can’t decide on what colours to put in my palette”

SketchingNow Watercolour has been designed to address these common struggles

 


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In the Watercolour course you will learn how to:

  • increase your control of water – whether using a tight control or working looser and taking risks
  • decide when to layer/glaze and when to work wet-in-wet
  • create vibrant colours with a limited palette
  • be more confident with your use of colour
  • apply all these techniques to sketching on location
  • develop your own style for watercolour sketching

 

You’ll be part of an inspiring community of sketchers from around the world who will share their unique styles. You’ll never lack inspiration!

You’ll have lifetime access to an incredible gallery of watercolour sketches inside our virtual classroom.

You can use these techniques for any kind of sketchbook and for a variety of different sketching styles and level of experience. You don’t need to be producing ‘masterpiece’ sketches to create some watercolour magic!


 

This course is by far the best course I’ve ever had and
I only regret I didn’t know about it sooner when I first started sketching/painting 5 years ago.

Liz, you have such a straightforward way of explaining things.
I’m sure I’ll come back to this course again and pick up new tips I missed the first time around.

When I look at the work I did in my early watercolor books, I’m now using much juicier colors.
I also pay attention to values much more than I did in the beginning….
those lights and darks help give my paintings depth.

 

Janice

 


 

 

How you’ll learn

  • over 15 hours of step-by-step video lessons, each lesson building on the previous, so you can make steady progress in a systematic way
  • theory sections that clearly explain the essential concepts so that you can apply to your own style and way of working
  • downloadable PDF handout so you can quickly review the key elements of each lesson when you need it
  • specific assignments designed so that you really understand and know how to use the concepts from the lesson – these can be done from the comfort of home, from photos or out on location
  • multiple examples from Liz’s sketchbooks explaining how to use the concepts – including discussion of some less successful work and what she would do differently so that you can learn how to assess your own work in a positive and constructive manner.

 

Our classroom environment

  • specially designed private classroom with dedicated assignment galleries and forum so that you can connect with and be inspired by other sketchers from around the world who are working alongside you
  • ability to ask Liz questions about the lessons you are working through so you can get help when you need it
  • live teaching sessions (hosted on YouTube)during Live Versions of the course – which will include reviews of student’s work, mini demos, bonus material and a chance to have your questions answered in real-time
  • full transcripts for all video lessons so you can easily follow along
  • lifetime access to all course content and any future Live Versions and bonus material so you can continue to learn as your skills grow.

 


 

 

I’ve been watercoloring for 20 years, and still learned so much in this course!

The Watercolour Course helped me to be more confident in using watercolors in my sketches,
and helped me appreciate the intermingling of colors, watercolor marks, and other “happy accidents” as
good things that added interest to my sketches instead of fearing them as mistakes that I would have to fix.

Now, if my sketches don’t have some of this magic, they feel dead to me, and seem flat and uninteresting.

I’m really glad I took this course!!

Annette

 


 

Enroll Watercolour Course $199USD

Buy Watercolour with Foundations and Sketchbook Design – Sketch Your Life Bundle – and save $120USD

 

 


Who is the course for?

 

The course will be aimed at beginners and self-taught urban sketchers who want to fill in the gaps of their understanding of watercolour.

Please note: This is a watercolour technique course, if you are looking for general sketching check out Foundations, if you want help sketching architecture check out Buildings and if you are after techniques for improving composition and use of ink and wash while sketching complex scenes please check out Edges.

 


 

Despite having dabbled with watercolour for a few years,
and read quite a few books/watched loads of YouTube videos about it, I was always frustrated by it,
and didn’t understand why my paintings didn’t turn out how I wanted.

The explanation of ‘watery, juicy, pasty’ and
ways to control the amount of water and the consistency of the paint was a revelation to me.
Such basic concepts, but I had never grasped it before.

I really loved the course and found it very helpful.

 

Claire


Course Outline

 

1. Water Control
– How to create watercolour magic
– Some important principles when working with water-colour
– How to control water

 

2. Mixing, Layering and Working wet
– How to mix vibrant washes
– How to layer (glaze)
– How to work wet

 

3. Using Colour
– Important colour theory
– Creating a master palette
– Liz’s Hue/Value/Intensity Rules

 

4. Watercolour sketching
– Working from light to dark
– Starting with the darks
– Mixing it up

 

Special Lesson: Pigment Characteristics

– Introduction to studying pigments
– The different characteristics of pigments
– Practical advice for using transparent and staining pigment
– Practical advice for using pigments opaque and granulating pigments

 


 

Materials

Basic requirements:

  • A watercolour kit – see below for more details.
  • Watercolour paper/sketchbook A5-A4 in size and 180-300gsm in weight.
  • A round brush #6 – #10 (depending on the size of paper/sketchbook you are using). Either sable, sable-blend or synthetic. Note: waterbrushes are not recommended for this course.
  • A permanent pen – such as a 0.3 fineliner or fountain pen (EF or F nib) with permanent ink. More about fountain pens here and safe ink to use in fountain pens here.
  • A B or 2B pencil

 

More detailed material list is available here.


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Frequently Asked Questions

 

Is the course live or pre-recorded?

Both! The course contains over 15 hours of pre-recorded videos which can be watched at any time. During a Group Run-through/ Live Version of Watercolour (offered once every 12-18 months) there will be a number of bonus live teaching sessions added to the course. These will be hosted on YouTube and replays will be available afterwards.

 

Can I do the course at another time?

Yes! If you are not able to join in the Group Run-through, it’s still worth considering signing up now. You’ll have lifetime access to all the lessons and can work through the exercises at your own pace.

 

When will the next Live Version be?

I normally only offer one Live Version every 12-18 months – though of course, you can work through the lessons at any time.

Can I sketch from photos rather than going outside on location?

Yes! Watercolour contains a combination of indoor and outdoor exercises but it’s not essential to do on-location sketches (if you are unable to sketch outside at the moment) to benefit from the course.

Most of the exercises in Watercolour are from objects at home or from photos.

 

 

Do I need to have any special social media accounts?

Everything you need to access the lessons, post homework and interact with others is contained within the SketchingNow classroom. The only exception is the Livestreams which will occur on YouTube. A YouTube account is needed to interact with the live chat but without it you can still watch the livestream and send your questions via email. Replays will be available.

 


 

Master the basics of watercolour

Create vibrant and lively sketches with lots of watercolour magic

Enroll Watercolour Course $199USD

Buy Watercolour with Foundations and Sketchbook Design – Sketch Your Life Bundle – and save $120USD

 


 

When I am mixing colour now, I am constantly thinking about how I can achieve
the most granulation in the wash to get the most of the pigment party.
I’m also thinking about how strong my hues and values are so that I can achieve lightness in my sketch.

Liz’s teaching style is fun and informative and in just a year I have learned so much.

Watercolour is now part of my everyday life & I credit that to taking part in these
wonderful SketchingNow classes.

Mary

 


Free Intro Lessons

 

 

If you would like to know more about the course and pick up some useful tips for choosing paint, brushes and sketches, I now have the full Introduction section of SketchingNow Watercolour available for free. Over 3 days you will receive three lessons via email.

 

Signup for free intro lessons on paint, brushes and sketchbooks

 

 

Note: If you have enrolled in the Watercolour course at any time, you already have access to these lessons. Just go to the classroom and check out Section A.

 

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What a wonderful gift of community you have given all of us!
The fact that we were able to open our most inner selves and share with
a like-minded community is truly a gift I will always treasure.

 

I’ve always been very inhibited regarding my artistic capabilities and intimidated by
the talent of others, so I would rarely share my work.
Your creation of a supportive, creative and inspirational
family of artists from around the world that has allowed us to take chances,
explore new ideas and lend each other a helping hand, is a true gift!!

 

Heather


 


 

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