Give your painting a special touch using common watercolor techniques. Many exciting possibilities open up when you also use stencils or paper towels. Below you will find a few ideas and suggestions to try together with your child.
Activity time: 10 minutes
Ages: 6+
Materials
- Faber-Castell Grip Watercolor EcoPencils
(FC9121212 12 Count or FC9121224 24 Count) - Paint brush
- Water cup
- Paper towel
- Scissors
- Cardboard
- Paper
Dabbing
Removing wet color by dabbing at the object with a piece of crumpled up paper towel creates light spots and highlights that make your pictures look more vivid.
Color your image and then apply a light wash of water over parts of your picture. These parts will remain wet for some time. If you take a piece of paper towel and dab the paint off the picture, you can remove some of the color to create highlights and lighter areas.
Stencils
With a few tricks, you and your child can create multiple variations of the same picture with the help of a stencil, colored pencils, and a few drops of water.
To make a cardboard stencil, draw a simple motif on a piece of cardboard and cut it out with scissors.
- Watercolor Style Effect Wipe
Color the edge of the stencil with the Grip EcoPencils. Then, using a wet paintbrush, draw the color toward the center of the pattern. This creates a watercolor wipe effect.
- Zebra Crossing
Color in the center part of the stencil, then remove the stencil. Using a paintbrush, put stripes, checks and dots on the paint to create a pattern.
- Rainbow Colors
No need to stick with one color when you have a whole box of colored pencils to use. Color with a few different colors inside the stencil. Then, put water on the colored areas and wipe or dab off some of the color with a paper towel.
- The Magic Stencil
Draw a pattern on the paper using dense hatching strokes. Then, put the stencil on top of the pattern and use a damp paintbrush to paint inside the stencil. Remove the stencil to see your final design.
Shadow Effect
Create 3D and shadow effects by applying a wash of water over the edge of your drawing. Wiping the colors towards the center will produce a three-dimensional effect. If you wipe towards the outside, you’ll create a shadow effect.
