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Are you looking for a watercolor class that teaches you a method for creating marketable illustrations? If so, then Modern Watercolor Techniques, a class created by Cat Coquillette is for you.
Let me start by saying that I loved this watercolor class. Coquillette does an amazing job of walking you through her process, step-by-step, to help you learn how to create illustrations that are saleable—found the world over on over 1,000,000 products.
In this watercolor class, Coquillette covers:
- Art supplies that she recommends, including paint brands, paper, and brush types
- Tips for sketching out the perfect composition
- Mixing vibrant color palettes
- Brush control techniques so you can create the perfect stroke
- Painting with whitespace in mind
- Blending hues together on paper
- Creating beautiful watercolor blooms and ombré gradient washes
- Fixing mistakes as you paint, like splattered paint or wayward brushstrokes
- Adding in tiny details to your painting
I really appreciate that Coquillette shares her preparation process, as well. She doesn’t just dive in and start painting. She spends quite a bit of time planning the design and it shows. From paper orientation to sketching a variety of concepts, each piece is well planned before paints are applied.
For this watercolor class you will need:
- Windsor newton paint pan and random tubes
- Watercolor brushes, she recommends Renaissance brushes
- 3H pencil so it is light enough to erase at the end of the process
- Acid free cold press paper
It’s also helpful if you have a high-quality eraser on hand. I used my pencil eraser and found it difficult to remove all of my pencil marks without ruining the paper. Another tip is to be patient and let your painting dry before removing the pencil marks. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous that I wasn’t able to wait, but I wasn’t! Because of this, I ended up smudging my painting a bit.
With my experience in surface pattern design, I can see why buyers love Coquillette’s work. Her signature white outlines make it easy to digitize the designs and work with them in Photoshop or Illustrator.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this watercolor class by Cat Coquillette and look forward to watching more of her courses on Skillshare. This watercolor class isn’t focused on wild, creative exploration so if that is what you are looking for there are other courses that may be a better fit. However, for those of you who want to learn a method for creating marketable illustrations I highly recommend this course!
