leah_markum's review
4.0
My library's collection of watercolor books with tutorials is mostly geared toward intermediate skill. So finding a book like this one was a relief. It's not just for beginners but super beginners that don't feel at ease doing normal beginner coloring. Why I go wrong with these exercises it's not a big deal. They're extra simple and make me feel like a kid filling in a coloring book. In fact, initially I wasn't sure if this was for kids. There's no indication that it's for kids any more than any other beginner, but I think it can transform the reading artist back into a kid all the same. I think I'll have more confidence moving on to the few other less-beginner beginner watercolor books at my library now.
carina_silfverduk's review
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
The idea behind this book is a good one. It folds like an easel and stands up so you can use it as a guide. It shows step by step guides.
It fell apart in execution. The pages don’t work both sides of the guide so for at least one page you have to hold it up to read it otherwise it is upside down.
Someone familiar with the colors listed for each painting might fare better than I did but in some cases I was really at a loss on how to mix the colors because I had to translate the listed colors by sight since there were a few I was not familiar with, and because it lists the colors but not which to mix so I spent a lot of time mixing and getting wrong colors until I got the right ones.
Luckily I was doing this with a cheaper set of paints (it’s like I unconsciously knew!) so I wasn’t too bitter about how much paint I wasted.
Steps also don’t always describe the colors to use. So a few times I wondered whether I was to use the pure color or a mix (it became obvious after it was a mix, and sometimes this was hard to undo).
Still I gave it three stars because before I gave up on painting the last two paintings, (a creepy toy painting and a teapot with lemons that just didn’t speak to me) I was able to produce paintings and get some familiarity with color mixing.
I just felt for a guide like this, first teach color theory (as the book *did* do) and then explain color mixing for each project! It’s a beginners book!
It fell apart in execution. The pages don’t work both sides of the guide so for at least one page you have to hold it up to read it otherwise it is upside down.
Someone familiar with the colors listed for each painting might fare better than I did but in some cases I was really at a loss on how to mix the colors because I had to translate the listed colors by sight since there were a few I was not familiar with, and because it lists the colors but not which to mix so I spent a lot of time mixing and getting wrong colors until I got the right ones.
Luckily I was doing this with a cheaper set of paints (it’s like I unconsciously knew!) so I wasn’t too bitter about how much paint I wasted.
Steps also don’t always describe the colors to use. So a few times I wondered whether I was to use the pure color or a mix (it became obvious after it was a mix, and sometimes this was hard to undo).
Still I gave it three stars because before I gave up on painting the last two paintings, (a creepy toy painting and a teapot with lemons that just didn’t speak to me) I was able to produce paintings and get some familiarity with color mixing.
I just felt for a guide like this, first teach color theory (as the book *did* do) and then explain color mixing for each project! It’s a beginners book!
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