This is my current approach at painting with watercolors. There are as many ways to use watercolors are there are artists, and I in no way claim that is is the best way or the right way, if such a thing exists. This is the process that I have found works for me; and I keep modifying it as I try new things and learn more.

Once I have an idea for a picture, I start doodling in my sketchbook. Pencils are usually the tool I use for sketching; sometimes a light red-, violet-, or blue-colored pencil. Sketches start with vague thumbnail-sized impressions of the whole painting. This is when I consider the composition of my future painting. Is the general shape pleasing to the eye? Do the shapes help guide the eye around the image? When I get to actually sketching the picture in the size and aspect ratio of the painting, I often use reference photos; of myself, of models from magazines, and of landscapes. I sometimes look up and sketch specific objects that will be details in the final painting.

There is a lot of re-drawing in this part, but eventually I find lines that I like enough. I use Micron pens for these final outlines, and I usually find tracing paper the most appropriate paper for this part. Then, it's time to transfer the outlines to the paper where the final painting will live. I use a lightbox to trace my ink outline onto the watercolor paper with an H3 or similar pencil. And then the actual painting begins!

Well, almost. I usually like to do a color study. The general tone of the piece will more or less dictate what hues should be in the painting and where. Do I want to pick duller hues or brighter ones? Do I want all hues to be in the same family or does the picture call for contrasting colors? What areas of my image should be darker? Where are the highlights? I need to figure all this out before I even put down the first layer of color because, as a younger me found out and an older me is still occasionally reminded, it is very difficult to make corrections with a watercolors.

A note on materials. I have been using Princeton brushes from their Heritage series. They seem to keep their shape well. As for paints, what I've been using recently is a travel set of Koi watercolors, a set of granulating colors from Kuretake, and a few colors I own from a local artist who makes her own paints. I tend to use a mixed media visual journal for my practices and experiments. But I also like trying different sets of watercolor papers.

The actual painting starts with a wash of very light color, usually across the whole paper. In general, when I paint watercolors, I start by painting the highlight and progress to the darker parts. After the base color, I do a second layer that is similar to color blocking. In this layer, I divide the paper in areas that have similar color hues and apply a very light hue with smaller brushes (anything from size 6 to size 3). These should be as light as the highlight of each area. This step is essentially painting the highlights.

This is followed by layers and layers where I darken the areas that need it, leaving alone the areas that are already as dark as they need to be. This part of the process is like when you are looking through a camera lens and are slowly turning it into focus. What started out as a monocolored blob turns into something else as the paint marks its shadows/dips/texture. Last are tiny details with tiny brushes. And usually, I am done when I think any other brush stroke will potentially ruin it.

It's 3am, time to create some chaos shed everywhere shed everywhere stretching attack your ankles chase the red dot, hairball run catnip eat the grass sniff for lick the other cats yet somehow manage to catch a bird but have no idea what to do next, so play with it until it dies of shock. Human is in bath tub, emergency! drowning!

meooowww! meow to be let out, or cats making all the muffins leave buried treasure in the sandbox for the toddlers white cat sleeps on a black shirt. Slap kitten brother with paw purr as loud as possible, be the most annoying cat that you can, and, knock everything off the table.

Peer out window, chatter at birds, lure them to mouth kitten is playing with dead mouse mew mew yet eats owners hair then claws head annoy kitten brother with poking. Run up and down stairs this is the day and cough i show my fluffy belly but it's a trap! if you pet it i will tear up your hand and nya nya nyan cat not kitten around I'm so hungry I'm so hungry but ew not for that.

Poop on couch. Hack i is not fat, i is fluffy so run as fast as i can into another room for no reason chew foot, for intrigued by the shower. Claw drapes funny little cat chirrup noise shaking upright tail when standing next to you walk on car leaving trail of paw prints on hood and windshield and human is in bath tub, emergency! drowning! meooowww!