Watercolour Basics for Beginners: Paper, Paint, and Learning to Control Water

If you are new to watercolour and struggling to master the basics, you have probably already discovered the biggest secret of the medium. It is not really about the paint. It is about the water.

Once you understand how paper absorbs moisture, how pigment behaves, and how much water is “just right,” the medium suddenly becomes cooperative and expressive instead of unpredictable.

This post is part of my Sea to Sky Beginner Landscape Classes taught live in Vancouver at Luminous Elephant Studio, and in this lesson we are looking at the essential foundations. Paper types, paint types, and how moisture timing changes every technique you use.

Paper Types: Why the Surface Matters

Watercolor paper is not all the same. The way it handles water has a huge impact on blending, lifting, softness, and the overall look of your washes.

Cellulose Paper (wood pulp)

This is what most beginner and student-grade pads are made from. Cellulose paper does not absorb very deeply, so water and pigment sit on the surface longer. That gives you more time to move paint around and correct small mistakes. It is forgiving, and it is also affordable, which makes it perfect for learning and practice.

Cotton Paper (100 percent cotton)

Cotton fibers are more absorbent, and that allows pigment to sink into the surface in a very smooth and luminous way. Colours stay richer, gradients melt beautifully, and atmospheric effects are much easier to achieve.

The trade-off is that once paint is absorbed, it is harder to lift or correct. Cotton paper is usually best once you have some comfort with water timing, or when you are working on a more finished piece.

In short:Cellulose is best for learning and experimentation.Cotton is best for softness, glow, and professional results.

Pan Paint vs Tube Paint

Both are true watercolour. The difference is how concentrated they are, and how they are stored.

Pan Paint

Pan sets are dry cakes of pigment that become active when you add water. They are convenient, tidy, and great for sketchbooks or travel. The colour goes on a little lighter at first, but builds well in layers.

Tube Paint

Tube paints are already moist and concentrated. The colour is much richer immediately, which makes them ideal for landscapes where you want expressive skies or deep water. You can also squeeze tubes into a palette, and once they dry they behave the same as pans.

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  The Heart of Watercolor: Water and Timing

  
  

  Every technique in watercolor is based on two things:

  How wet the paper isandHow wet the brush is

  Once you learn to read the moisture level, you know exactly what kind of edge or transition you are going to get.

The Four Core Techniques

Wet on Dry

Paint on dry paper produces a clean, crisp edge. This is how we paint mountain silhouettes, tree shapes, rock edges, or any detail that needs structure.

Wet on Wet

Paint on wet paper creates soft shapes and flowing transitions. It is ideal for skies, mist, cloud forms, reflections, and anything distant or atmospheric.

Wet on Damp

This is the stage between wet and dry. The paper has a soft sheen but no shine. It allows for edges that stay gentle without spreading too far. It is great for soft treelines, blurred horizon lines, or clouds settling into the sky.

Dry on Dry

A brush with very little water on a dry surface creates texture. It gives the look of bark, rock grain, grass, and broken nature shapes. The texture suggests detail without actually drawing detail.

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  The Most Common Beginner Issue: Water Balance

  
  

  Most early challenges come down to one of two things:

  Not enough water - The stroke looks thick, heavy, or closer to acrylic than watercolor

  Too much waterPaint pools, runs away from the brushstroke, or dries unevenly

  When you learn to notice the difference on the page, watercolor becomes much easier to control.

  
  

  Water Timing Chart

  Recognizing the right stage of the paper is half the technique.

Paper Stage	Surface Look	Best For	Effect
Wet	Glossy shine, puddles move when tilted	Wet-on-wet	Loose, melting transitions
Damp	Slight sheen, cool to touch, not shiny	Wet-on-damp	Soft but still controlled edges
Dry	Matte surface, room temperature	Wet-on-dry / dry-on-dry	Crisp edges, structure, texture

How to Know the Timing Without Touching

• Wet → reflections of light on the paper are clear

• Damp → sheen looks softer / patchy, no “glare”

• Dry → paper looks matte and uniform again

  
  
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