I confess!

For a long time, I didn't understand what “ drawing” meant

When I was a newbie, standard steriotypes lived in my head. I thought

• That it needs talent
• That it's difficult
• That skill is developed through practice
• That I just needed to develop my intuition
• I looked at other people's work, admired it, and thought that drawing takes years to learn

It was because of these false beliefs that I was stuck and had a hard time evolving

At the time, I didn't realize that watercolor sketching is just a skill that can be mastered in 1-2 weeks! And in a month, you could be sketching commissions

So I accepted the slow progress as something natural and normal🤦‍♀️

But then I got lucky and realized how it works.....

• Now I feel like a professional
• I can easily draw any idea I have, any texture, any design I want
• People like my style. I posted 400 sketches on Instagram and gained 250,000 followers, which is an average of 620 followers per 1 post
• Almost every day new customers write to me (and I recommend my students to them, as I don't have time to cooperate with all of them anymore)

In general, drawing sketches with watercolors is quite easy!

Oops, 10 minutes and a quick sketch is ready 😍
Whoop, whoop! 20 minutes and a detailed sketch is complete 😍

But there's a nuance!

You need to perfectly master the mini actions (operations) that make up the entire sketching process

You have to become a master at it

In watercolor sketching, there are only 5 such actions. Let's look at them

Operation 1. Mixing a beautiful shade

Painting with watercolor begins by diluting the paint with water on a palette. We try the color on the draft and correct it (if necessary)

Operation 2. Controlling moisture on the brush

This non-obvious mini-action is ultra-essential to successful sketching

Operation 3. Making the base fill

Apply the first (base) layer of color

Operation 4. Shading

Using shades close to the base color, arrange shadows and make the sketch look three-dimensional

Operation 5. Accentuating and detailing

Draw prints, add textures. You can outline it to make the sketch clearer

I usually do this with non-aquarelle tools (pencils, markers, liners)

It's easier. It makes the drawing look more vibrant and rich

10 minutes and the sketch is completely done!

As you can see, there is nothing complicated about the LOGIC of drawing watercolor sketches

When you master these 5 basic techniques, you'll be able to communicate any idea, any texture with ease

Because, watercolor sketching can't be learned by accident/self. It takes a learning process

These 5 basic operations are not as simple as they may seem at first sight. They have their own nuances


Look
On the left - I drew a sketch on good sketching paper
On the right - the same sketch on bad paper (by the way, more effort and time was put into it)

Find 3 differences! 😆

So you draw > You fail > You take responsibility > You feel guilty

In fact, you just have to budget $3 and buy a ream of good paper

Another example
To apply the base coat, you need to choose the right size brush to apply the base coat

On the left, the brush is too small
Right - optimal size

It's exactly the same story. We're hysterical “What's wrong with me? Why can they do it and I can't?” and the reason is the size of the brush

You can do everything right! But some stupid little thing will mess it up

That's why you need a teacher who will show you all the nuances step by step. And then correct your mistakes, which you will 100% make

On the left - I'm painting with hard pressure on the brush
On the right - I'm holding the brush correctly and painting with gentle strokes

By the way, this is the reason why mood affects your sketches

Personally, I've been learning these nuances for several years, hunting them down like an obsessive collector at various workshops from top artists

You can retrace my steps

Or take advantage of my experience and pick up all the comprehensive information with ready-made diagrams, examples and tricks in my course "Fashion sketching Step by step"

Follow the link and join in: https://mariartjournal.info/