How to fix the common mistake that beginner watercolour painters often make with shadows.

[@nifty1337]

Oh my word! I would never have thought painting the shadow colour first would be so effective. When you first painted the purple I thought how is that going to look remotely lemon like. Final result is pretty amazing. Thank you 😊

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for your kind words, That's the magic of the transparency of watercolour. Give it a try.

[@shilohpointfarm8544]

Agreed! Never seen that before and I love the look.

[@jamesyoungquist6923]

Thanks, cool technique! Painting shadows with complementary colors does have biological inspiration: Our eyes are less color sensitive in low light, and the complement color desaturates as well as darken. The main object also picks up bounce light from the environment, so flesh tones in green fields have that additional green + red --> gray effect

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for the input.

[@caiocesar4827]

That's Amazing! As a beginner myself that has been told that watercolor should be painted from light to dark, this just broke my mind! Thanks so much for the video!

[@thinkwatercolour]

I nearly always work from the lightest light to the darkest dark, especially with landscapes, and that's good advice. But it's not a rule. I try to give tips that will help people to understand how watercolours work. This tip for shadows is aimed at helping beginners to try new ways of painting and help them to develop skills. Glad you found it helpful. Good luck with your painting.

[@JohannaSchmidt-v3e]

This video was incredibly helpful. By demonstrating what newer painter typically do and how to do it differently made all the difference. Thank you for walking us through this step by step. I felt like I was in an art class.

[@thinkwatercolour]

That's kind of you to say that. So glad it helped you. New video on blending shadows wet in wet coming shortly.

[@Kate-sp1vx6vz9z]

This is one of the most useful tutorials I have ever seen. (And I have watched a *lot* of them.) Thank you!!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you.

[@1TimothyFourTen]

Aw very nice! Thank you! I appreciate being shown an unrealistic shadow painting style next to the more realistic style. It really is very helpful.

[@thinkwatercolour]

You are so welcome!

[@rebeccasmith612]

Ridiculous! Amazing! I just… I’m speechless! The result is incredible but it really is actually beginner-friendly. I’m so excited to try this out, thank you!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you. I'm so glad you fond it helpful. Just have fun.

[@thinkwatercolour]

found it helpful

[@datnastysalad5616]

This is something that I have gotten used to when doing digital art! By separating the steps of the basic shadows and base colors, its so much easier to approch. Cool to see how it translates to traditional art!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for sharing!

[@ashleywright8686]

I have mastered blending quite well, but never would’ve thought to do shadowing first! Wow! TYSM for this terrific tutorial! ❤

[@thinkwatercolour]

Happy to help!

[@user-nd7rg5er5g]

Thank you so much for explaining so clearly the process of applying the paint! So many youtubers assume that the viewer already knows how difficult the wet-in-wet technique can be for beginners, and I'm glad to see this video relate to watercolor newbies so well!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Lozbinator]

This is one of the most informative and useful videos I've watched, thank you very much!

[@thinkwatercolour]

You're very kind. Thank you.

[@lukericketts4055]

This is an amazing tutorial, thank you so simple, I struggle with blending shadows

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you found it useful, thanks.

[@GWAIHIRKV]

I think this video will grow your channel more than any previous. Thank you. It made me subscribe and I don’t paint!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you.

[@juliebarfoot7751]

What a fantastic video. As a beginner I have scrolled so many channels trying to understand watercolours, and by far this is the best 13 mins I’ve ever watched. Immediately subscribed, initially a bit intimidated by your thumbnails (beautiful paintings ) but on watching some, your such a good teacher! Actually exited again to get my paints out 🥰

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you. I'm so glad you found it helpful.

[@osoreo3697]

Wowowow every time I use watercolor “dark to light” is drilled into my head-never would’ve thought to do this!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@RaiHan-rh6uv]

Wow this is too helpful ❤ thank you so much. The way you teach is so easy to understand.

[@thinkwatercolour]

You're very kind. Glad to be of help.

[@triciabennetts6578]

Brilliant technique - Thankyou so much for sharing!😊

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank for your kind words. Hope you found it useful.

[@carmenmagda1]

I have found this exercise very useful, not only for learning how to create the shadows but also for blending in and softening the edges. I was not able to do it before, this exercise gave me more confidence. I would like more videos like this please 🥰

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad to be of help. I'll try to do more instructional videos.

[@jlgillis914]

Painting the shadow first is a game changer!! Thanks for this tip it worked brilliantly. Love your videos and always learn new things.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you find them helpful. Thanks.

[@ainestewart8775]

That is so great and puts me in mind of one of my favourite painters, Vermeer. Thank you so much!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@dmat7148]

This is very helpful because they always say to paint the shadows last

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you found it helpful.

[@sweethomes674]

Excellent explanations and techniques 😊

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you found it helpful. Thanks.

[@kennyiklei]

Thank you very much. Very useful and informative. I’m new to painting and I’ve learned a lot from you in this video.

[@thinkwatercolour]

So glad you found it useful. Good luck with your watercolours and thanks for the feedback.

[@milehighslacker4196]

Very nice! This is the first video of yours that I have ever watched. I did not notice you had a blue glove on until you pointed it out!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for watching!

[@jv7043]

Such a helpful piece of instruction!!

[@thinkwatercolour]

So glad to be of help. Thanks for the feedback.

[@fadge4105]

Great Instruction, thank you so much. I immediately subscribed.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you found it useful.

[@edwigepetit7774]

Une vidéo accessible aux débutants et le rendu ce ce citron est si réel merci bravo

[@thinkwatercolour]

Merci pour vos gentils commentaires.

[@titiaprins5575]

Thank you for this video lesson 👍🏽

[@thinkwatercolour]

You’re welcome.

[@joykruczay]

Thanks to YT algorithms, this popped up in my feed. After clicking on your many other video choice, I immediately subscribed. Thanks ever so much for sharing your talents with the world! BTW, I just love "your" TV dramas and am a huge Anglophile, watching British (and foreign language) content almost exclusively.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad to help.

[@unrulymuse764]

Wonderfully helpful! Thank you!

[@thinkwatercolour]

So glad you found it helpful. Thanks.

[@kim-pd4fy]

That was truly amazing, the difference!! Wow

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you

[@NMranchhand]

What a useful, insightful, and clear demonstration that was! Thanks very much. Subscribed!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Lindaw1811]

Wow! This is SO helpful!

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@Lindaw1811 Thank you

[@ky1972]

This video was so helpful thank you. I will definitely try the complimentary color trick.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks and good luck.

[@Davepacheco1986]

Wow, that's so cool. Cannot wait to try this.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad to help. Just make sure your first wash is completely dry before you paint the second wash. Good luck and keep practicing.

[@esmaakis]

😳 😱 incredible

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you.

[@lindagrace2]

That's gorgeous work well taught, thank you! I'm going to try this ... just beautiful!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Have fun!

[@teresacrain2060]

Thank you 😊

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@teresacrain2060 You’re welcome.

[@chrismichaeluk]

That is genius. Would never have thought of that. Great video

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you. I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@EA-rn3tx]

Amazing! Learned a lot. Thank you

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was helpful. Thanks.

[@Siriuslyyy]

Thank you! I've saved it in my practice playlist

[@thinkwatercolour]

Practice brings success, keep going. Thanks.

[@b.comeau2597]

Amazing difference! Thank you for this detailed demonstration!❤

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was helpful!

[@VintageHart1]

Thank you!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Your welcome.

[@MJ-hl1kk]

Wow, excellent demonstration, thank you!!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was helpful!

[@flaviomadeiramirandafilho3469]

this was amazing

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thank you.

[@lovewillwinnn]

Outstanding! 🍋 🖌 you have a new subscriber. ❤

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks and welcome

[@jvmastro1238]

Thank you for sharing!

[@thinkwatercolour]

You're welcome.

[@rajeevkatarya2911]

Great. Excellent. I was struggling with this. Thanks for showing it so clearly. May i request you to also show us the other method you mentioned? Where you do the shadows wet on wet. You mentioned it in this video. Thanks a ton.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was of use. Yes I will do a video showimg wet in wet soon.

[@JoeJoe-uo5hf]

Great video. Have only really had a serious interest in watercolour for ~year but have watched A LOT of beginner/advice tutorials in that time🤣and this is up there in the most helpful/accessible stakes. You appeared in my feed today for the first time - not sure why! but (looking at your video history) this seems to be your first 'technique'video and its gone down rather well!! Just saying 😊

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks. You have a point. I will try to make more teaching videos. Any suggestions for what you might need help with?

[@pesto12601]

GENIUS!!! Subscribed!!!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for your kind words, That's the magic of the transparency of watercolour. Give it a try.

[@pesto12601]

@@thinkwatercolour I actually gave it a whirl... perhaps it is the paper I'm using (Zeta series Birn Album) but I could not achieve these beautiful washes to blend those colors as such. My version is very splotchy even though I followed this to a T... I think the paper could be the issue.. though I also think water control and the amount of paint is critical for watercoloring like this?

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@pesto12601 You have to have the first wash completely dry otherwise the second wash will disturb the first wash, especially if the second wash is too watery. The paper needs to be good quality 140lb /300g so that may be the problem too. Just keep practicing.

[@pesto12601]

@@thinkwatercolour Thx.. I think although I waited for the wash to dry.. I didn't wait long enough. going to give it try #2 this afternoon and use my heat gun on the paper to speed up the drying.. hopefully that was it. If it still looks "muddy", I'll pull out my good paper and see if that makes a difference. Appreciate the advice!!

[@StereoSpace]

Interesting technique.

[@thinkwatercolour]

It's a video to help beginners to understand the transparency and magic of watercolours, not a definitive technique. Blending wet in wet works better for more experienced painters. Video on that coming soon.

[@SusanBooth-cm9fh]

Thankyou.

[@thinkwatercolour]

You're welcome.

[@ShirleiBarnes]

So useful, great tip!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad you think so! Thanks

[@mygracecottage]

Very helpful thank you!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad to be of help. Thanks.

[@MidnightMelodie]

I’d never seen that method of painting the shadow first. Can you only do that if your shadow color is a staining pigment or does it not matter?

[@thinkwatercolour]

It's fine to use staining pigments. Just make sure your shadow is completely dry before applying your second wash.

[@JoeJoe-uo5hf]

have subscribed obviously ☺

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks.

[@Yomi-san]

The original lemon wasn’t blended which may have improved the first image but Inagree the complimentarybcolour makes a difference. Could you have layered in the shadow second and got the same result?

[@thinkwatercolour]

Yes, it works either way, but it's usually easier to see and paint the shadow first.

[@Yomi-san]

@@thinkwatercolour okay. I will give it a go. I will check out your other videos 😊👍🏻

[@batcactus6046]

Don't diss the cartoon orange/lemon. It's cute, too.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Cheers.

[@KaiSub]

wow it's like using a multiply layer in digital art!

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@KaiSub Glad you found it interesting.

[@watsonwrote]

Wearing gloves while working with many paints is a good idea because of the carcinogens in colors like cadmium and chrome. My professor was pretty diligent about us minimizing exposure to the toxic chemicals in paint

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@watsonwrote Thanks for the advice, but I was only wearing the glove to keep a bandage dry. I don’t normally wear gloves when using watercolours.

[@noelc8927]

Do cast shadows have terminator lines also? Or are terminator lines an effect of form?

[@thinkwatercolour]

Terminator lines are part of form shadows. Cast shadows don't have terminator lines, they are created by the object, or form, blocking the light source. However cast shadows rarely have a sharp edge unless there is a very strong light source close by. Hope this helps.

[@noelc8927]

@@thinkwatercolour noted, thanks for the help!

[@iHeartAMP]

​@@noelc8927Scotts Roberts How to Render Highly recommended

[@timetravellingblockhead2122]

WOW.

[@thinkwatercolour]

@@timetravellingblockhead2122 Thank you

[@vibrantparticles]

You dropped the reflection of white from the table on part of the lemons underside, which would add also more 3D Effect.

[@thinkwatercolour]

You’re absolutely correct, however this demo is aimed at beginners so I tried to keep it as simple as possible. But well spotted. Thanks for the feedback.

[@differenttakethanmost]

Another thing amateurs do is use brushes that are too small. It takes ten times as long to mix and move the paint 🤦🏻‍♀️ Using a detail brush to lay in color washes, rank: amateur ✅

[@thinkwatercolour]

That's true. Always use a bigger brush than you think you need.

[@kevinhardy8997]

When life gives you lemons, paint a lemon.

[@thinkwatercolour]

How true

[@davidaugustofc2574]

Does this work with colouring pencils as well?

[@thinkwatercolour]

I doubt that you can do this with colouring pencils, but you may be able to do it with watercolour pencils. I've never tried, so give it a go.

[@UP-zq1ml]

Why not do the other way around ? Paint the lemon in yellow and then paint over the shadow side in purple

[@thinkwatercolour]

You can do it that way as well. I just painted the shadow first because it's easier for beginners to see the blending of the shadow on white paper. There are no rules in painting. Do as you wish and have some fun with your paints.

[@UP-zq1ml]

@@thinkwatercolour Great, thank you for answering ! 🤗

[@ThereIsNoHorseInTheAtlas]

I actually saw some shorts that did it that way and it was kiiinda not the same Try it!

[@iHeartAMP]

Do these techniques work with black chinese ink?

[@thinkwatercolour]

I haven't tried chinese ink, but it does work with black indian ink. You just have to add a little water to blend across the terminator line of the shadow. Hope this helps.

[@iHeartAMP]

@@thinkwatercolour they are same 😅 but thanks, I was struggling last night trying to blend shadows. I'm a try tonight

[@myalicioglu]

I love my oil painting medium😅

[@thinkwatercolour]

OK

[@arrystophanes7909]

As an amateur I often feel like a real lemon

[@thinkwatercolour]

I've been painting for what seems like a hundred years and I still paint the odd lemon of a painting!

[@PaulfromChicago]

English person uses Imperial Purple....... Rest of the world: We've got our eyes on you. In all seriousness, thanks. Great video.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks, Glad you liked it. Sorry about the Imperial.

[@PaulfromChicago]

@@thinkwatercolour I really appreciate that information about how to use that color wheel. That was really useful. I learned a lot from your video.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Glad it was useful

[@Sara-ye9ov]

I have benefited. Can you put the Arabic language?

[@thinkwatercolour]

You can translate any youtube video to your language. Turn on subtitles [cc] press the cogwheel and press auto translate then choose your language. Here's a link to a video to show you how. kzbin.info/www/bejne/govdYWajrquojaM

[@usajane1]

I subscribed. Brilliant!

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks

[@Jackie.D329]

Why am I and my newbie methods in this video? 😂

[@thinkwatercolour]

Keep up the good work.

[@loftikuss]

the common mistake is what the guy here already does- copying stuff instead of drawing your own. also it is not even a mistake here but 2 total different styles??? like YOUR shadow looks also not realistic and way off from the reference. way too purple . so the left one color wise is closer.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Thanks for your feedback.

[@Felmyst]

Left is better.

[@thinkwatercolour]

Neither is right or wrong.

[@Felmyst]

@@thinkwatercolour no. Other wrong.

[@mariannaamethyst6381]

Great tutorial!!! Thank you!

[@thinkwatercolour]

You are so welcome!