Black Watercolor Paper Tips
Did you know, that there is black watercolor paper out there in the world? Yep…and when I first heard about it, I had some questions. Watercolors are known for their beautiful translucence, so how could you possibly get the effects that make watercolor so beautiful if you don’t use a white paper?
So, I purchased a pad and decided to find out for myself. At first, I really had no clue as to what to paint, but then it struck me: Night Scenes! One of the challenges with watercolors is the ability to get really dark colors, and in most circumstances, that isn’t a problem, but when it comes to creating a dark night sky, it takes many layers of paint, or a butter like consistency to get the darkness you need to make your painting have a real “night-like” feel.
This video shows you what I learned from my experimentation and how you can maximize using this rather cool supply. If you’d like to try it, follow the video.
Here are some of the highlights I discuss:
Best Paper to Use (there aren’t many): The Legion Brand has their Stonehenge line which is 100% cotton and 300gsm. Many others are either lightweight or are synthetic.
When to use Black Watercolor Paper: In short, you would use black watercolor paper for dark scenes like a night scene or to capture the depths of the ocean. It can also be a great tool for some linework and abstracts.
The best paints to use. Black watercolor paper provides a dark background which requires that your watercolor paint be opaque enough to see on the black. For this reason, you should test your watercolor paints for their level of transparency to see if they will hold up against the black. Also, gouache is a good choice, as it has greater opaqueness than watercolors.