How To Paint With Tube Watercolor

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When most people think of watercolors, they probably think of those beautiful little trays that come up with disks of dried watercolor paint. You know, those that come with a little paintbrush that we so often buy as gifts for our children and grandchildren. These are known every bit watercolor pans, but they are not the only vessel for watercolor paints. This brings us to the topic of this commodity – how to utilise watercolor paint in tubes. Using tube watercolors might seem easy plenty, only in that location are some things that you must keep in mind then that you can get the about out of your painting experience. We will include some advantages and some disadvantages of using watercolor in tubes, and nosotros will besides talk virtually how to fix, distribute, and mix the watercolor paint in tubes.

Tabular array of Contents

one Watercolor Paints Explained
- 1.1 Tubes vs. Pigment Pans
ii How to Utilize Watercolor Paint in Tubes
- 2.1 Watercolor Paint Materials
- 2.two Preparing the Mixing Surface
- 2.3 Opening Your Paint Tubes
- two.4 Filling Your Palette with Watercolor Paint
- 2.5 Mixing Area Preparation
- 2.half dozen How to Mix Your Watercolor Paints
- 2.7 How to Shop and Maintain Your Watercolor Paint Tubes
3 How to Make Your Own Watercolor Pan
4 Frequently Asked Questions
- 4.one When Starting a Watercolor Painting, How Many Watercolors Are Needed?
- iv.two Tin can Pan and Tube Watercolors Exist Used Simultaneously?
- iv.iii Which Is Better for Mixing Watercolor Paint: A Tube or a Pan?
- 4.iv Do Watercolor Paints Last Long?

Watercolor Paints Explained

It is all very well to know which brands of watercolors are the best, or maybe even whether or not you might prefer a tube of watercolor paint or a pan. Merely what exactly are watercolor paints? Surely it is all the same regardless of it being in a tube or a pan? Let us first get through how watercolors are made so that we can go a better understanding of the blazon of pigment we are talking almost.

Firstly, the bounden agent in watercolor paint is known equally arabic gum. This is a type of sap that you get from two types of acacia trees that are typically establish in Sudan. The 2 acacia trees are known as the Seyel and the Senegal Acacia trees. This sap, or binder, is and then mixed with some glycerine (simply simply a pocket-sized amount) and of course, the paint.

The glycerine is added to permit the paint to dry with a sleeky finish, as well as give the paint a piddling more than flexibility. This mixture is then squeezed into tubes, sealed, capped, and packaged for sale. Alternatively, it is packed into the disks we spoke of earlier, dried, and sold in pans.

Before we were buying watercolor paint in tubes or pans that were made with the above mixture, artists would grind their drove of pigments and mix that with some resin from trees.

This type of paint mixing occurred around the 1400s. When the 1700s came nigh, artists started making "slabs" of dried watercolor paint, which is most likely where the watercolor pans of today were inspired from.

Tubes vs. Pigment Pans

Earlier nosotros can learn how to use watercolor paint in tubes, we must first learn the difference between a tube and a watercolor pan. This comparison will show yous the benefits of using each considering in that location is no right or wrong style.

Each version is beneficial for its respective applications, and the environment you are painting in.

Tubes for Watercolor Paint

In that location is not much departure in the mixture of the watercolor paints between the tubes or the pans. After all, the paint is made the same fashion. But when the pans are dried out to make those disks, the tubes just become the liquid paint squeezed directly in and sealed and so that they stay wet. The just thing that is done differently is that there is a smidge more glycerine in the mixture for watercolor in tubes than with the watercolor that goes into pans.

This might mean that using tube watercolors is going to event in a slightly glossier painting than if you used watercolor paints in pans.

In case yous were wondering, the tubes for watercolors look very similar to a tube of toothpaste. Y'all know, the ones that the kittens from The Aristocats would jump on to splatter paint onto their canvas? These tubes are cracking because you lot are non limited to ownership one size of the paint. You have a selection of v ml, 15 ml, and even 20 ml of watercolor pigment to choose from.

If yous have a big artwork that you are itching to pigment with watercolors, your best option is watercolor in tubes. This is considering tube watercolors take extra glycerine which helps to keep the vibrancy of the pigment in the watercolor paint.

This means that y'all will exist able to comprehend a larger infinite without having to oversaturate the paper with layer upon layer of watercolor merely to get the vivid colors that we all love so dearly.

Some other benefit worth appreciating is that your paintbrush beard will be saved when using the liquid paint in tubes. This is because they do non have to be rubbed against a dry disk only to activate the paint. Ultimately, this will go along your brushes in good nick for a longer fourth dimension.

The only downside worth mentioning is that watercolor in tubes has some maintenance involved. You volition demand to clean the tip that paint comes out from so that you lot do not struggle to open up it the side by side fourth dimension y'all want to work with them.

PROS

The color of the watercolor pigment in tubes is much brighter and more vibrant considering the pigment is highly full-bodied
You only need to add a piffling bit of water and can apply the watercolors directly from the tube
Tubes are ideal for the larger artworks because yous will have rich colors without needing to paint layer upon layer

CONS

The pigment might dry out if you practise not seal the cap properly later you have used it
Maintenance is necessary in terms of cleaning the tube's tip and then that the paint does not dry inside the cap, making information technology hard to open
It is hard to determine the amount of watercolor paint needed at start so you might waste some paint

Using Watercolor Paint in Pans

We accept touched base with a pan of watercolor paints already, but going a picayune farther in detail will non injure anyone, so hither goes. The watercolor paints that you buy in pans are perfect for the artist on the movement. They are easy to transport considering they can easily slip into about bags, aslope your watercolor paper pad. This is thanks to the slim design of the pan.

The disks that the different colored paints are poured into to dry tin can be circular, rectangular, or pretty much any shape of the manufacturer's choosing.

Watercolor pigment pans typically come with a lid that is attached by a hinge or two, and this can close over the top of the paint to protect the watercolor disks. This makes information technology easy to pack up when yous have finished painting, considering all y'all need to do is close the lid, and the paints will dry out every bit is.

At that place are many dissimilar watercolor pans to cull from, so y'all are not limited to ownership these big pans with every color on the color wheel, some of which you might not always use. You could choose a palette that is equipped with the primary and secondary colors, or you could just become for a full set like we spoke about, but that might be harder to transport.

There are even specialized pans like a pastel prepare of watercolors, or you could fifty-fifty get i in all the warm colors. Of course, one is likewise available in all of the cool colors, if that is what yous would prefer. At present for the question of activating the pigment in the pan that is still all difficult and dry.

The best way is to merely driblet a small amount of h2o onto the deejay of pigment and then let that soak in.

The pigment will moisten upward, and it will be easier to work with than simply rubbing a wet paintbrush over the dry disk, which might ruin the beard of your brush. Make sure that you make clean your paintbrush thoroughly before y'all change to another color. This will keep your colors pure and uncontaminated past the pigments from other colors.

A bonus you lot might capeesh when comparing watercolor paint pans with paint tubes is that the pans are far more affordable. This has a lot to do with the fact that there is less glycerin, and the pigments are non every bit vibrant as you can expect with the tubes.

PROS

The paint is not wasted nearly as much because y'all are using it straight from the painted disk
Yous practise not need as many tools and materials to create a painting
If the paint dries, y'all can simply reactivate information technology past adding some water
A watercolor pan has a longer shelf-life
Watercolor pans tin easily be transported

CONS

Non suitable for larger areas, as it does non keep consistent color
Brushes tin be damaged due to the continual rubbing to elevator the paint off the pan
If the lid is left uncovered, it can attract grit that can stain your painting
Grit can too collect directly on the pigment disks if you practise non close the hat properly

How to Utilise Watercolor Paint in Tubes

Learning how to use watercolor paint in tubes is not too catchy, but in that location are some important things to continue in mind. Information technology is always a good idea to get clued upwards on the ins and outs of whatever task or action. That way, you will learn much faster than just winging it.

Watercolor Paint Materials

The first thing to do is work out what kind of artwork you wish to make with watercolor paints. That volition assist you lot to determine which paints will be the best to apply. In that location are different grades of watercolor paint too, and each offers a certain quality.

The student-grade watercolors are the best for beginners to endeavour out.

The academic watercolors are the all-time for refining your watercolor painting skills. Then finally, the fine art-grade watercolors are the best when yous have mastered the art. Make sure that you lot read the packaging before yous buy whatsoever watercolor set. A professional artist might get upset if they accidentally buy educatee-course watercolor paints.

Preparing the Mixing Surface

The well-nigh ideal surface for mixing your watercolor paints would exist a textile that is not absorbent at all. This rules out the need for whatever cardboard or fifty-fifty wooden mixing surfaces. You might be able to use a wooden palette for mixing your paints, simply it will need to be treated with a topcoat that prevents it from absorbing the water of the watercolor paints.

If you have ever picked upwardly an old watercolor pan from school, you might have noticed how there were swirls of color on the inside of the chapeau that closed over the watercolor pint disks. This is because the lid is an ideal surface for mixing the watercolors, every bit you tin either wipe information technology abroad or just wait for it to dry over again.

Opening Your Paint Tubes

Learning how to apply watercolor paint in tubes comes with a bit of slow data. You will exist surprised how many people are too eager when opening their paint tubes. Always be cautious when you unscrew the cap of the watercolor tube because you do not want any pigment to escape from it and spill out. This might ruin your painting, or it might mess on the floor below you.

If you neglected your maintenance the terminal time you worked with your paints, and then you might get annoyed with how difficult the unscrewing of the cap will be. Make sure that you lot clean the tip of the tube as before long as yous are finished. This style, the pigment will not dry and you will not struggle to open it.

When a tube is difficult to open, you might squeeze the tube a niggling also hard and when you finally manage to prise the cap off, the paint inside might squeeze out unexpectedly, causing more than mess.

Filling Your Palette with Watercolor Paint

Getting the paint from the tube to the palette is the side by side big step. Squeeze a small amount of paint onto the surface of your mixing bowl, making sure that it is only a pocket-sized dot of paint. The surface you are mixing the paint on should be apartment and non-absorbent.

Good examples of the most ideal mixing surface would be a plate or a butcher's tray.

If you are using a watercolor pan, make sure that the brush you are using to mix the paints is clean before yous become to another colour. This way you volition non ruin the purity of each color by mixing in other pigments accidentally. You lot can activate the colors by adding merely a small corporeality of water to the surface of the dried watercolor paint deejay. Leave the h2o at that place for a few moments, and you will run into the paint start to soak up the h2o.

Mixing Area Grooming

Go out a surface that y'all are sure is not absorbent at all. Imagine using a wooden mixing surface that is non treated to end it from absorbing liquids, and it just sucks up the paint before yous fifty-fifty get to work with it.

To gear up your not-absorptive surface, you must drop only a piddling bit of h2o onto the surface, and this is where you volition mix your watercolor paints.

If you are using a wooden surface, you can e'er paint a top coat onto the surface to take away its absorbent qualities. The ideal surface would be made of glass or metal. Brand sure that you accept a cup of water handy so that you can clean your brushes in between calculation each color.

How to Mix Your Watercolor Paints

The first footstep in mixing your watercolor paints is to cascade a small amount of water directly onto the surface of the empty tray, plate, or whatsoever surface you are using to mix the colors. You tin so actuate the pigment as we mentioned in the above department.

Load the paintbrush with some paint by touching the activated watercolor paint tube and then touching it to the water. The color will immediately disperse in the water that is already there. Repeat the process with the other colors yous are mixing in, and be amazed by the colors that y'all create.

Stick to mixing no more than two colors equally a beginner. Adding likewise many colors to the mix means that you might end upwardly with a muddy mess of colors.

Make certain that you have properly cleaned the brush you used to get the showtime colour. This volition go on your other colors clean and pure. If the castor has even just the smallest amount of paint on it still, it will, unfortunately, contaminate the adjacent color you apply with the foreign pigments.

How to Store and Maintain Your Watercolor Paint Tubes

When you lot have finished with your painting, or just finished using one color, yous must make sure you wipe the excess paint from the tip of the tube and clean information technology properly with a material. If you neglect this step, the paint will dry out effectually the tip whilst the cap is on and the next fourth dimension you attempt to open it, you volition struggle. Maintenance is not the well-nigh fun aspect, merely information technology is unavoidable in this life.

This is a highly important thing to practice to ensure the longevity of your paint.

If you did (by risk) forget to make clean the tube the terminal time you were decorated with your paints, then y'all can always use some mineral spirits to assist you open the tube. Keep the paints in i big container, or paint box so that they are non scattered all over the place. This box should exist kept out of sunlight, and in a absurd place and so that the paints remain in good condition.

How to Make Your Ain Watercolor Pan

To make your watercolor pan, you will need to get together up the following items. Make sure that you lot have a palette box that is empty, and that it has a half or a full pan included. Yous tin can utilise a watercolor tube of pigment or a pan that comes separately. The side by side affair to cull is the theme of the color palette that you desire to create. Do you want a warmer colour? Or the libation colors? Yous could make things interesting by making a set up of pastel colors.

The best thing you could practice for your watercolor pan is to brand sure you have added the correct labels to each color. If yous accidentally label the color wrong, then anyone who might borrow your pan might struggle with their artwork. You could even go so far as to add together in the HEX codes for each color for extra insurance that yous are using the correct color. A HEX code is at that place to make sure that other people understand which color you are referencing.

To make your pan, all yous need to practise is pour the paint from the tube into the circular or rectangular slot that is empty. Make certain you only fill it halfway, and that you lot leave it to dry in a identify with good ventilation.

Apply a toothpick to stir the paint so that there are no bubbles of air nowadays, which allows the paint to dry solid. Once that showtime layer has stale, you can fill the slot upwardly with more than paint and then leave it to dry again in the aforementioned place.

At present that you accept finished reading this article, you lot will have all the knowledge you demand to brand an informed opinion on both watercolor paints in tubes and pans. Deciding which you prefer should exist an easier comparison, and we hope you lot are soon able to put this cognition to the examination!

Ofttimes Asked Questions

When Starting a Watercolor Painting, How Many Watercolors Are Needed?

The master colors are what create every other color when you are mixing paint. This ways that the only essential colors are the master ones because you tin can work from those to create an intricate painting with many unlike colors.

Tin Pan and Tube Watercolors Be Used Simultaneously?

You lot accept the choice to utilise either a watercolor pan or a set of watercolor tubes. The greatest thing is that they are both watercolors so you tin can employ both if you lot want. Stick with the tubes for the larger areas of your painting or the parts that you lot desire to popular with colour, and save the pans for the smaller areas.

Which Is Better for Mixing Watercolor Paint: A Tube or a Pan?

Watercolor pigment tubes are best if yous are mixing a lot of paint so that you can paint a big department of your painting. This is because you can add more liquid watercolor paint than you can with the dried watercolor pan. A bonus is that the tube produces a much more vibrant pigment so it will get further whilst shining brighter.

Do Watercolor Paints Last Long?

The affair of how long your watercolor paints terminal is determined past how well y'all maintain them. This is more prevalent for the watercolors that come in tubes than for the pans. This is because the tubes run the risk of drying out inside the tubes, thus rendering them useless. The pans are already dry out, so information technology does not matter if they dry out. A watercolor paint set in a pan will potentially last upwards to 10 years.

Source: https://craft-art.com/how-to-use-watercolor-paint-in-tubes/

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