The projects I have created for this book are painted using either watercolor pans or watercolor inks. The decision on which to use is based on the subject and the effect I want to achieve.
Watercolor pans are true to life in terms of color, and produce natural colors. You may prefer to use pans to capture the more realistic greens of your plants. Pans are dry, so you may need to spend a little time practicing mixing them with water to achieve the correct consistency (see Paint Mixing).
It’s worth buying a beginner set of pans to get started, since these are reasonably priced and allow you to experiment with color mixing to see what other options are available to you. The palette makes them easy to store and travel with.
Watercolor inks are transparent, easy to layer, and, being liquid, easy to mix. They are also extremely fun to use because they are vibrant and saturated in color, giving you fresh and vivid hues. Be aware that some watercolor inks are not lightfast, so check the labels.
There is an incredible spectrum of colors to choose from, which can be overwhelming, so it’s important to use your knowledge of color theory to select colors that can be mixed to give you lots of choice (see this page–this page).
Watercolor inks are quite expensive, but they last a long time. It’s worth purchasing these separately, starting with a few colors that you can mix, and adding to your collection as you go.
Both pans and inks need to be mixed with water, to a greater or lesser degree.
When using pans, dab a wet brush onto the dry pan to move the pigment to the palette. Mix the pigment in the palette with enough water to make the paint puddle wet, while remaining as vibrant as it is in the pan.
Watercolor inks require less water because they are already wet, but by adding water you can make the color less intense.