How I Stopped Following Tutorials and Started Creating Original Art

Develop your art style and improve your art faster when you stop relying on step-by-step tutorials and start creating original artwork. See how I went from following tutorials to painting original watercolor art. From painting reference photos to abstract painting, I share examples of my artwork at each stage of my growth as an artist. I hope sharing my journey will encourage you to find your path to creating original artwork.
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[@suel4269]

I used to copy tutorials in the beginning but got frustrated if my painting didn’t look exactly like theirs. So now I watch more techniques videos.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

That’s a great tip. I definitely think tutorials invite comparison which can do the opposite of building confidence.

[@nlc6275]

This is a truly unique message in a sea of watercolor videos that are encouraging us all to stay dependent on a teacher. I’ve also moved on to adapting reference photos for my own creations. I enjoy detailed realism, but have a desire to try more creative representations. Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s nice to know that someone else strives for artistic independence and is willing to help others get there.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you for your kind comment. That’s exactly what I’m trying to share. 🩷

[@ladyloneill]

I apologize if I misunderstood. That was stupid; likely the product of yet another senior moment. I'm a huge fan of your art and instruction.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

No worries. I appreciate you watching and commenting.

[@randywdc1]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I really needed to hear this. I’m at stage 1 and it gets overwhelming with all the tuts and no one really “guiding” us to progressing.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

I’m glad this was helpful. Start by trying to paint from a reference photo using everything you’ve already learned from tutorials. You got this!

[@maeveb9316]

Just what I needed. Thank you!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You’re welcome!

[@senfully]

Yes! I'm still learning and following tutorials. I always credit the teacher, but it doesn't feel like my own art. This video is so helpful! Thank you!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

I recommend the next time you follow a tutorial, do a second painting of the same subject but from your own reference photo. Then it will be yours 😊

[@dianeyhb]

Thanks Jackie! I really enjoy your art style and your efforts to teach beyond making tutorials. This video was really helpful as I’m trying to grow beyond using tutorials!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you. I’m glad it was helpful!

[@Gingercat662]

Thanks for the video. The blue jay painting your made to honour your sister is stunning.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you very much!

[@diannsmith5894]

I’m so happy the KZbin algorithm brought you to me! I subscribed immediately after watching one of your videos a few days ago. I’m not a beginner with watercolor but always learning. I loved this video it was super-helpful and I’m looking forward to devouring more of your content in the coming days and weeks…I plan to take your texture course in a couple of months when I’ve graduated from a board certification program I’m currently in and have more time to paint. You have a face and voice perfect for YT, very pleasant and your teaching style is perfectly suited for someone like me. Thank you for giving me something fun to look forward to!❤

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you for subscribing! I’m glad you found my channel. Sounds like you’re quite busy now, but hopefully you’ll find lots of time to paint soon 😊

[@samandy24]

You’re a great teacher! This is the 3rd video of yours I have watched in 2 days and so far, the tips all have been so useful! 😊

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying the videos 😀

[@muhlenstedt]

Very helpful, thank you a lot!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You're welcome!

[@dianeo]

Wow, your work is so amazing and inspiring. I never liked following tutorials exactly because they didn't feel like they were truly my art, however it is a good tool if you're a beginner. Your examples are great techniques to use to make art truly your own. Thank you!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you 😊 That’s exactly how I felt.

[@aprillaymon3051]

I think this is a GREAT video! I’ve learned so much from tutorials, and I think there’s definitely a place for them, but I also think you have some very valid points. And your painting is lovely, in every style. I’m looking forward to checking out more of your videos. As far as anyone calling you “wrong”-I thought art was subjective, anyway? Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you 😊 I hope you like the other videos.

[@elizabethhumphrey9055]

I appreciate you sharing your art journey and it is very helpful

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you. Glad it was helpful!

[@eileencollins3126]

There is so much information in this video! Thank you! I would say I am in the stage 2 to stage 3 levels. Watching KZbin videos has taught me so many techniques, it is amazing. Right now, exploring color mixes has been occupying my time. I have a lot of different colors, but am finding myself asking "What if I mixed these two colors?" I usually have 10 stages in a color mix. The results have been personally rewarding.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Ooh, it’s so fun to get lost in color mixing and a necessary part of painting your own photos. As long as you’re having fun that’s the most important thing!

[@skyqueenstudios]

This was so helpful! I kept getting frustrated with watercolours because I’d do a tutorial and then immediately try to create paintings from my imagination. Those never turned out so I would end up feeling like I didn’t learn from the tutorials and wanting to give up on watercolour. But I really enjoy with way the paint moves on the paper so I would try again, do another tutorial, then try to work from my imagination, fail, and get frustrated again. I really appreciate the breakdown of all the steps. Thank you! 😊

[@sandi5276]

myself, as well. thanks for posting, sky

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

I know that frustration! Try watching a tutorial and then choosing your own reference photo of the subject to paint. It’s very empowering to take what you learned and use it to paint your own reference.

[@lisamacias8339]

Thank you for the wonderful information!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You’re very welcome 😊

[@zeinaatik]

Thank you, this is what I really need cause I have to move on from stage 1, I have all the knowledge I need but I really have to explore more of what is my style

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You can do it! I hope I shared some tips that will help.

[@melindaavila498]

I am so glad I found your channel. You give us words of encouragement and good advice to grow into our own style of painting. I love your blue jay and sand dollars!!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Welcome. I’m glad you found me too. Thank you!

[@patricialk4996]

Best video on KZbin!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Wow, thanks! 😊

[@beckypackqualls2745]

Your framed jungle botanical paintings are my dream! Thank for all these ideas to move forward. 💖

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you 😊

[@triciabennetts6578]

Thankyou Jackie - really interesting! - Thankyou so much for sharing 😊

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You’re welcome.

[@letsrokart3799]

Such a cool and informative Video, thank you so much for this❤❤❤

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You’re welcome ❤️

[@shirleygreaves9650]

I’ve been painting a couple of years, I am at the stage of painting from my own reference photos and painting the same thing over and over until I’m happy with result. I do still watch tutorials for instance if I want to paint a certain thing I look for tutorials on that subject, watch them then take the things I have learned and do my own spin on it. We all need to learn somehow and tutorial videos do serve a big purpose in my opinion.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

That’s a great approach!

[@febquilter]

Jackie!! How serendipitous that I saw your video today! I have been struggling with this very issue. I've been second guessing myself, wondering if it was worth all the effort. Your video showed me that when I go off script, in a manner of speaking, I am trying to stylized my painting. It's NOT a failure because I haven't reproduced the reference exactly. Thank you for sharing this information with us!! 🙌💜

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You got this! It’s a mindset shift. When you go off script it might take a few attempts to achieve the style you want, just like when you try anything new. It sounds like you’re on the right track!

[@febquilter]

@@JackieHernandezWatercolor Thank you! I appreciate your kind words! 😊 💜

[@user-tg8wh7uz3j]

Very useful guidance. Appreciate your sharing of the chronology and paths that you have taken. Thank you for being both articulate and broad in vision.

[@artlady6771]

Thank you for sharing your watercolor journey. I paint in oils and acrylic for many years, and an learning how watercolor is a very different animal!! This video is very helpful informative and inspiring. Can you share how long it took you to arrive where you are now? Estimated years, months or hours? Again love your botanicals thank you.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Watercolor is a different beast! I started painting with gouache first for a few months and then switched to watercolor in late 2021.

[@artlady6771]

Thanks for your reply and sharing.👍

[@glendapaul8040]

Thank you again, i feel i have fallen into the continual tutorial trap. They are great and helpful but eventually you have to be brave and move to the next step. I am still trying to decide on my style. I love realistic art but i also love impressionisim. I find i am not really suited to realistic art, i get too frustrated and perhaps expect too much but it still keeps drawing me in. Perhaps i just need to perservere 🤔🤔 or perhaps i need to let it go. Dont know yet but i really appreciate all your advice.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

I think you should stay open and curious and see where that takes you. Maybe in time you can eliminate the parts that are frustrating or find a different process you enjoy more. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just keep going!

[@murmulefy]

I love your videos❤ How much time in a day did you dedicate to painting? Did you do it as a full time job? Or just some hours?

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Thank you! I have not had the opportunity to paint full-time. But the time I spend painting fluctuates day to day and season to season. At most a couple of hours at a time though. I actually like to work slower. I prefer to let my layers air dry too. The cactus painting, for example, took me a week to finish. I worked on it for an hour or less per day.

[@murmulefy]

Thank you!❤❤❤

[@MissAdoptaCat]

Beautiful artwork, but I had mixed feelings about this tutorial. I felt that what I was hearing was that tutorials were helpful but don’t rely on them exclusively and find your own style. The difficulty I had was there was so much mention of your own tutorials throughout this video it felt like mixed messaging. Just my point of view.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Yes, I do think tutorials are helpful but shouldn’t be relied on exclusively. I always try to mention other videos related to what I’m showing, so I did mention a few tutorials for the paintings I shared in this video for those who are interested. In all my videos and tutorials, I try to teach transferable skills and techniques that you can use in your own paintings.

[@soarpurpose]

I think abstracts can be a good starting place, not end place. As anything goes.

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

Totally agree. For me, I had to learn to loosen up before I could paint abstracts I was happy with, but for others I think that comes more naturally.

[@soarpurpose]

@@JackieHernandezWatercolor music is the key if want more movement. Start dancing pretty much to it. I am a mood painter & paint different styles depending on my mood.

[@user-hn6vg2bq2g]

Tutorial for art other things only guide to learn

[@user-hn6vg2bq2g]

Thanku U r inspirational to all that knows uxx

[@ladyloneill]

Sorry to disagree. I think that's wrong. For me, watching, learning how, and painting other artists' styles by painting their pictures via tutorials has given me the confidence to start painting on my own. The tutorials give an introduction to various techniques with many different kinds of subjects with the ability for me to follow along, as if I were in an actual class, and paint. The combination of skills I learn and practice from other watercolor artists' techniques has given me the confidence and ability to paint my own compositions from my own photographs and from real life. Continuing to paint and learn has enabled me to develop my own style. Further, it is only my opinion that the system of learning from and copying old and new masters' paintings in order to be able to become one's own watercolor artist continues to be a useful one.

[@christinefournier685]

Have you watched the video ?

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

I think that’s what I said 🤷‍♀️ Tutorials are a great starting point and valuable for learning techniques, but I’m hoping to encourage others to find their confidence to paint on their own, like you have.

[@nlc6275]

Please rewatch the video. She isn’t disagreeing with you, just indicating that copying need not be an end point. If that’s where you wish to stay, no one is judging. The great masters all learned how to paint by copying in the beginning.

[@pennyclark9079]

You obviously didn’t listen properly to the whole video because almost word for word this is exactly what Jackie said! Thank you Jackie you give sound advice and you’re a great teacher and so generous with your free tutorials and ebooks.

[@claritzairosario68]

You said it exactly like Jackie is saying on this video, it's exactly the same thing. Are you watch this video at the end????🤦🏻‍♀️

[@notclagnew]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@JackieHernandezWatercolor]

You're welcome!