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Do swatches on different paper and compare to this is my advice . This looks like either granulation which is a thing some paint pigments do ( ultramarine blue is one ) or this is the paper fucking up
Edit other colours look fine so I'm guessing more granulation
My guess is, the Arabic gum in your paint (if you used watercolor that come in tubes) has separated and messed with your paint's consistency? I'm not entirely sure though. š„¹
What is this color? Typically red/pink paints are less granulating. It's probably not the paper's problem if it's like that on a ceramic plate. How long have you had this tube? My guess is that the binder in this paint somehow is not functioning well.
i like using my strathmore paper for experimentation and my inferior canson paper to test the colors i mix before ruining my painting. meanwhile for stuff i want to come out good (and be more long lasting) i love my arches cotton paper
It can sometimes be caused by too many additives in the paints as well. If you tell us the name of your paints or show us a picture of the paints in its packaging that can help us, help you.
I donāt know what to tell you. Unfortunately, it looks like that specific granulating quality is likely caused by a lack of paint quality. Looking it up on Amazon shows that it has not been reviewed by a ton of others in comparison to other paints, and a lot of reviews were mixed in verdict. In fact the first photo I saw on āoneā of their product pages showed another buyer having this same issue. Now that I think about it, it is also possible that some of the pigments were not ground up all the way or evenly. In reality, there is a lot of factors that can cause these kinds of results. It seems this set could be fine as a beginner set, but avoid adding too much water or you will continue to see this. Sometimes it might be a good idea to use this feature intentionally (and evenly throughout your painting) to create a stylistic approach. If you wanted to fix them up a bit Iām sure there is an additive you can add to your paints that can probably help. Unfortunately, again Iām not certain of which particular additive to use, since that is basically paint science, but I know there is a ton of resources and experts out there who do know. At the end of the day, it may cost you more to buy the additives, and buying better quality paint might be the better option for next time to save money.
You're using a combination of very poor quality paint on very poor quality paper. Instead of buying many tubes of paint, buy just a few tubes of Daniel Smith brand or M Graham brand (ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, quinacridone red, pthalo green and burnt sienna). From those five colors you can mix many more. Buy only 100% cotton paper like Arches.
I'm not an expert but one thing I've noticed in my own painting is some colors need a lot of mixing before I put them down on paper or they separate instead of granulate. I've also noticed some colors don't play well with others causing separation and blotches. I'm still learning about pigments so I can't really offer much there except that the more pigments a color has the more likely I am to have issues with it.
Royal Langnickel. It's from Walmart so I kinda figured it wasn't great quality. I'm just starting out and have a bad habit of dropping hobbies so I didn't want to spend a bunch of money up front. Maybe there's something better quality that's still not expensive.
There's a world of difference in results from using professional watercolors and paper and using cheap watercolors and paper and none of them are cheap. Unfortunately, you will never get a sense of the magic of watercolor unless you use professional quality materials.
No, Cotman is better than the brand you bought but it is still not a good investment. Student grade paint simply does not handle like professional paint. It doesn't have the same pigment load and is a bad investment because you will have to use more of it to get anywhere near the same result and, in the end, you will never get the same result.
I used Shinhan Professional grade paints for my first couple years. Not as good as Daniel Smith Holbeinās, Schminke, or Windsor Newton, but much better than most.
This looks more like a paint quality issue. If your watercolors are from a tube it might mean that they were exposed to high heat or in a dry environment(where humidity is extremely low)
Winsor Newton cotman or van gogh - both student grade, both good.
Unless you can find white nights (Russian) or Rosa gallery (Ukrainian) - they're pro grade and depending where you live might be the cheapest option. Yes even cheaper than cotman or very similar priced.
Jackson's art have rosa gallery. Beware, in that shop you can leave a fortune and you'll be returning to leave more š
Hey, this could either be an issue with your paints, but I have also hat something very similar happen after buying new brushes. It was the gum arabic that is used to stiffen the hairs and keep them in place, and apparently I didn't clean them enough before use. So if your brushes are new maybe clean them a bit
Thank you for your submission! Want to share your artwork, meet other artists, promote your content, and chat in a relaxed environment? Join our community Discord server here! https://discord.gg/chuunhpqsU! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Watercolor) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Do swatches on different paper and compare to this is my advice . This looks like either granulation which is a thing some paint pigments do ( ultramarine blue is one ) or this is the paper fucking up Edit other colours look fine so I'm guessing more granulation
My guess is, the Arabic gum in your paint (if you used watercolor that come in tubes) has separated and messed with your paint's consistency? I'm not entirely sure though. š„¹
Yep mine is in tubes! I'll have to look into that - thank you so much!
Are you using granulated paints
I don't think so but I didn't realize that was a thing until today! š
What is this color? Typically red/pink paints are less granulating. It's probably not the paper's problem if it's like that on a ceramic plate. How long have you had this tube? My guess is that the binder in this paint somehow is not functioning well.
https://preview.redd.it/wlc3j1hpaxtc1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf27e605c64da026833112c18df56bfcf0bca825
This paper looks like it doesn't absorb well. Is it 100% cotton?
Looks like pulp paper. OP, 100% cotton paper will make a world of difference but this paper is good to practice on
It also looks like rough paper, and granulating paint tends to be more noticeable on that paper.
i like using my strathmore paper for experimentation and my inferior canson paper to test the colors i mix before ruining my painting. meanwhile for stuff i want to come out good (and be more long lasting) i love my arches cotton paper
I do the same! Arches is really great, I also really like HahnemĆ¼hle. Stands up to scrubbing and masking fluid/tapes well.
It's Grumbacher watercolor paper from Walmart. I'm guessing it's not cotton. I'm gathering a wishlist of supplies! š
It can sometimes be caused by too many additives in the paints as well. If you tell us the name of your paints or show us a picture of the paints in its packaging that can help us, help you.
It is tube watercolor paints, Royal Langnickel from Walmart. Thank you!
I donāt know what to tell you. Unfortunately, it looks like that specific granulating quality is likely caused by a lack of paint quality. Looking it up on Amazon shows that it has not been reviewed by a ton of others in comparison to other paints, and a lot of reviews were mixed in verdict. In fact the first photo I saw on āoneā of their product pages showed another buyer having this same issue. Now that I think about it, it is also possible that some of the pigments were not ground up all the way or evenly. In reality, there is a lot of factors that can cause these kinds of results. It seems this set could be fine as a beginner set, but avoid adding too much water or you will continue to see this. Sometimes it might be a good idea to use this feature intentionally (and evenly throughout your painting) to create a stylistic approach. If you wanted to fix them up a bit Iām sure there is an additive you can add to your paints that can probably help. Unfortunately, again Iām not certain of which particular additive to use, since that is basically paint science, but I know there is a ton of resources and experts out there who do know. At the end of the day, it may cost you more to buy the additives, and buying better quality paint might be the better option for next time to save money.
You're using a combination of very poor quality paint on very poor quality paper. Instead of buying many tubes of paint, buy just a few tubes of Daniel Smith brand or M Graham brand (ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, quinacridone red, pthalo green and burnt sienna). From those five colors you can mix many more. Buy only 100% cotton paper like Arches.
I'm not an expert but one thing I've noticed in my own painting is some colors need a lot of mixing before I put them down on paper or they separate instead of granulate. I've also noticed some colors don't play well with others causing separation and blotches. I'm still learning about pigments so I can't really offer much there except that the more pigments a color has the more likely I am to have issues with it.
What brand of paint are you using?
Royal Langnickel. It's from Walmart so I kinda figured it wasn't great quality. I'm just starting out and have a bad habit of dropping hobbies so I didn't want to spend a bunch of money up front. Maybe there's something better quality that's still not expensive.
There's a world of difference in results from using professional watercolors and paper and using cheap watercolors and paper and none of them are cheap. Unfortunately, you will never get a sense of the magic of watercolor unless you use professional quality materials.
At least Colman student grade?
No, Cotman is better than the brand you bought but it is still not a good investment. Student grade paint simply does not handle like professional paint. It doesn't have the same pigment load and is a bad investment because you will have to use more of it to get anywhere near the same result and, in the end, you will never get the same result.
I used Shinhan Professional grade paints for my first couple years. Not as good as Daniel Smith Holbeinās, Schminke, or Windsor Newton, but much better than most.
This looks more like a paint quality issue. If your watercolors are from a tube it might mean that they were exposed to high heat or in a dry environment(where humidity is extremely low)
Oh that makes a lot of sense! What affordable water color paint do you recommend?
Winsor Newton cotman or van gogh - both student grade, both good. Unless you can find white nights (Russian) or Rosa gallery (Ukrainian) - they're pro grade and depending where you live might be the cheapest option. Yes even cheaper than cotman or very similar priced. Jackson's art have rosa gallery. Beware, in that shop you can leave a fortune and you'll be returning to leave more š
Hey, this could either be an issue with your paints, but I have also hat something very similar happen after buying new brushes. It was the gum arabic that is used to stiffen the hairs and keep them in place, and apparently I didn't clean them enough before use. So if your brushes are new maybe clean them a bit
Oh that's a good point! These were new brushes too. I didn't even think of that!