What is watercolor illustration?

Watercolor illustration uses the medium of water based paints to create art that tells stories. Watercolors typically forms original and unique paintings on watercolor paper. Watercolor paper is used because it absorbs water. Watercolor paints mix with water to create a fluid and light color on paper. They require a medium to absorb the pigment. These paintings, often created on watercolor paper, are then scanned digitally to create watercolor illustrations.

What is illustration?

Illustrations, as a mode of telling story, emerged back in the Caves of Lascaux as paleolithic paintings. Many debate these the age of these wall paintings. It’s widely accepted they are 20,000 years old. The cave paintings tell a story of indigenous animals in a particular region of France. Why are we going back so far? These paintings tell a story and that is the core purpose of illustration. It goes beyond depicting a subject or object. It speaks to archetypical and sociopolitical topics. Illustration is not just a mode of communicating, but the message itself.

How does watercolor illustration work?

Specifically watercolor illustration begins with paint medium and watercolor paper. However, there are many different types of materials one could use. The paints themselves come with different base ingredients. The types of materials to paint on are numerous. Although traditional watercolorists paint on watercolor paper, clapbord and other surfaces will absorb pigments from watercolors. Typically the medium and surface are selected based on the artist’s desired outcome.

Layers of color are built up through glazing. When the artwork is finished it’s scanned and transferred to a digital image. This digital image can be used in editorial illustration, social media, websites, digital banners, and other marketing materials.

The benefits of using watercolor in illustrations

Watercolor’s unique texture and style proves is an advantage. Most digital art looks like a digital product. Brushes used by artists digitally, although they come close, do not have the same texture or watery consistency of watercolors. Digital brushes are created in order to imitate this organic process with water-based paint. Kyle Webster’s digital painting brushes come close to imitating a watercolor or painterly style.

If you’d like to master digital art in 12 months and pursue a career in illustration, check out the foundation courses on Golden Ratio Academy.