Watercolours

Watercolors are often used by still life, landscape or portrait painters to create small-scale studies of complex paintings they plan to do at a much larger scale later. Watercolor paint generally has a translucent quality, which is great for ethereal or emotive effects. You can also layer imagery so that what is underneath shows through. On the other hand, it is difficult to cover mistakes, due to the translucency of the medium. For this reason, pre-planning is important. Watercolor paint generally dries lighter than it appears when first applied.