The Artist's Corner A/V Club: Watercolor Lettering

Robot Tuesday's Artist's Corner is going techno!  Technological, that is.  I'm adding a new feature: The Artist's Corner A/V Club instructional videos.  My first one is a bit of an experiment, both in subject matter and video execution.  In other words, I hadn't done watercolor lettering before, and it was my first time making this type of video.  (Here's a link to it on YouTube.)

I didn't do a voiceover, so here are the basic instructions for doing watercolor lettering.

Step 1. Gather your supplies: a small piece of watercolor paper, a pencil (I prefer HB or harder when drawing something out for a painting), watercolor paints, a small round brush, water cup, paper towel.

Step 2. Write out the letter or word that you're going to be painting.  For the C, I did simple bubble lettering with a little flourish.  For my name and "Watercolor Lettering" (at the beginning of the video), I wrote it out in cursive, and then added lines to make a ribbon-like effect.

*Tip* When I do a watercolor painting, I don't like the pencil lines to show.  So, after I draw something out, I will take a kneaded eraser, roll it up into a snake (like you used to do as a kid with Play-doh) and carefully roll it over what I've drawn to lighten up all of the lines.

Step 3. Paint!  I did a wet-on-dry technique, where the paper wasn't wetted down before painting (more on that in another tutorial).  If you're just starting out it might be good to do some larger letters first until you get the hang of it, and then go to smaller.  Make sure your brush fits the size, too.  Small brush for small letter, etc.

The key with this is, as you did with your coloring books as a child, to stay inside the lines!  Take your time - in this case water marks (what happens when some of the paint dries before the rest) can be a good thing and can create a cool effect.

Choose your color palette beforehand and make sure the colors you choose are wet and ready to go before you start.  I chose an Alizarin Crimson (my favorite!), Cadmium Red, an orange (that I mixed), Dioxazine Violet, and a cool yellow for a little detail.  Let the colors mix as you paint!

Let me know how they turn out!  If you have questions, post them here or email me at katherinedownieartist(at)gmail(dot)com.