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Creative Portraits in Watercolor: Learn to Paint Faces and Characters with Beginner-Friendly Lessons - Explore Watercolor, Ink, Gouache, and More
Learn to create gorgeous portraits in watercolor using easy techniques.
Written and illustrated by Ana Santos, an artist and illustrator and a popular online instructor, Creative Portraits in Watercolor presents simple step-by-step demonstrations and beginner-level exercises to create expressive, imaginative portraits. You’ll learn
Essential Materials. Types of watercolor paint, papers, brushes, and other supplies. Color. Its essential characteristics, plus the color wheel, harmonies, contrasts, and creating palettes. How to Work with Watercolor. Fundamental methods, brushstrokes, transparencies, gradients, and techniques for creating areas of light. Proportions of the Face. Basic proportions and feature positions for front, profile, and three-quarter views, plus creating imaginary faces and transferring reference images. Creative Portraits. Discover 45 fun exercises and inspiring examples that explore painting portraits using key color wheel palettes, mixed media combinations, and thought-provoking techniques.
With Creative Portraits in Watercolor, you’ll learn to achieve stunning results with a wide variety of simple techniques.
Written and illustrated by Ana Santos, an artist and illustrator and a popular online instructor, Creative Portraits in Watercolor presents simple step-by-step demonstrations and beginner-level exercises to create expressive, imaginative portraits. You’ll learn
Essential Materials. Types of watercolor paint, papers, brushes, and other supplies. Color. Its essential characteristics, plus the color wheel, harmonies, contrasts, and creating palettes. How to Work with Watercolor. Fundamental methods, brushstrokes, transparencies, gradients, and techniques for creating areas of light. Proportions of the Face. Basic proportions and feature positions for front, profile, and three-quarter views, plus creating imaginary faces and transferring reference images. Creative Portraits. Discover 45 fun exercises and inspiring examples that explore painting portraits using key color wheel palettes, mixed media combinations, and thought-provoking techniques.
With Creative Portraits in Watercolor, you’ll learn to achieve stunning results with a wide variety of simple techniques.
- GenresArtNonfictionCrafts
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 3, 2023
37 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 12, 2023
The first section of the book covers a lot of color theory and watercolor techniques, many of which I was unfamiliar with. The techniques have clear explanations and step-by-step pictorial examples.
The rest of the book moves on to various styles of portrait, using different materials, techniques, and approaches to color and light.
I enjoyed looking at all the portraits and reading about how they were created, and picked up a few ideas to try in my own work.
Definitely recommend to anyone interested in learning more about watercolor or about new styles of portraits.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Quarto, and Quarry Books for providing an early copy for review.
The rest of the book moves on to various styles of portrait, using different materials, techniques, and approaches to color and light.
I enjoyed looking at all the portraits and reading about how they were created, and picked up a few ideas to try in my own work.
Definitely recommend to anyone interested in learning more about watercolor or about new styles of portraits.
*Thanks to NetGalley, Quarto, and Quarry Books for providing an early copy for review.
September 22, 2023
An incredibly beautiful and inspiring manual for watercolor portraiture that’s wonderful for even uncertain artists like me. Santos is kind and gentle as she introduces concepts and teaches techniques; you can feel her patience for slow or nervous learners. She is also a phenomenal artist, and it’s very generous of her to share her techniques in this way. I have tried and will continue to try so many things in this book, and have added new things to my creative practice and art.
Thank you to Santos, NetGalley and Quarry Books/ Quarto for access to this ARC.
Thank you to Santos, NetGalley and Quarry Books/ Quarto for access to this ARC.
July 26, 2023
This was a fabulous book about watercolour portraits!
Lots of different approaches and a whole bunch of easy to follow step by step instructions.
I'd say this is suitable for all skill levels and that the reader would get something out of it. I'm excited to try out some of the ideas.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lots of different approaches and a whole bunch of easy to follow step by step instructions.
I'd say this is suitable for all skill levels and that the reader would get something out of it. I'm excited to try out some of the ideas.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 3, 2023
"Creative Portraits in Watercolour" by Ana Santos was a great addition to my library as a budding artist with a growing interest in watercolour. The picture books that Quarto Publishing puts out are always very good, and this one is no different. Ana Santos, a skilled artist and online teacher, gives a clear and easy-to-follow guide on how to use watercolour to make expressive and creative images.
The book starts with a long talk of the tools you'll need, including different kinds of watercolour paint, paper, brushes, and other things. I liked how much time was spent on colour theory and how to use it to make schemes, harmonies, and differences. The guide on how to mix skin tones with different colours was a gem in and of itself, because this skill has often been hard to learn.
When the author gets to the meat of the book, he or she goes into great detail about portraits. The step-by-step lessons and exercises for beginners were a breath of fresh air that made the daunting job of painting pictures easier to do. Ana Santos smoothly covers every part of the process of painting a portrait, from sketching the first measures to trying out different creative techniques.
One of the best things about "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is how many different examples and styles are included. It's more than just a book of instructions; artists of all levels can find ideas and motivation in it. The book pushes people to try new things and let their imagination flow, which helps them grow as artists.
I was especially interested in the part about making up faces and transferring reference pictures, because it gave me a lot of new ideas as an artist. The activities stretched my artistic skills and got me excited about watercolour painting again.
Even though the image on the cover didn't grab my attention at first, the book itself is a work of art. The colourful, step-by-step notes and photos are put together in a beautiful way that makes learning fun.
In conclusion, Ana Santos's "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is a gem for anyone who likes watercolour pictures. It's useful for both new artists who want to learn the basics of watercolour and seasoned artists who want to improve their skills and range. I would suggest this book to any artist, no matter how good they are. This inspiring and thorough guide will stay on my bookshelf for a long time, and I'm looking forward to reading its beautiful pages again and again for both learning and fun.
The book starts with a long talk of the tools you'll need, including different kinds of watercolour paint, paper, brushes, and other things. I liked how much time was spent on colour theory and how to use it to make schemes, harmonies, and differences. The guide on how to mix skin tones with different colours was a gem in and of itself, because this skill has often been hard to learn.
When the author gets to the meat of the book, he or she goes into great detail about portraits. The step-by-step lessons and exercises for beginners were a breath of fresh air that made the daunting job of painting pictures easier to do. Ana Santos smoothly covers every part of the process of painting a portrait, from sketching the first measures to trying out different creative techniques.
One of the best things about "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is how many different examples and styles are included. It's more than just a book of instructions; artists of all levels can find ideas and motivation in it. The book pushes people to try new things and let their imagination flow, which helps them grow as artists.
I was especially interested in the part about making up faces and transferring reference pictures, because it gave me a lot of new ideas as an artist. The activities stretched my artistic skills and got me excited about watercolour painting again.
Even though the image on the cover didn't grab my attention at first, the book itself is a work of art. The colourful, step-by-step notes and photos are put together in a beautiful way that makes learning fun.
In conclusion, Ana Santos's "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is a gem for anyone who likes watercolour pictures. It's useful for both new artists who want to learn the basics of watercolour and seasoned artists who want to improve their skills and range. I would suggest this book to any artist, no matter how good they are. This inspiring and thorough guide will stay on my bookshelf for a long time, and I'm looking forward to reading its beautiful pages again and again for both learning and fun.
July 25, 2023
Roughly the first third of the book covers the basics of materials, colour theory and watercolour techniques. I wasn't expecting anything new from this as I've worked through more than a few hours of online lessons and tutorials covering watercolour basics, but I was pleasantly surprised! The sections on different types of contrast and various methods of lightening your work - including using acetone and bleach - were new-to-me and much appreciated.
Following that there's a much shorter section on drawing faces. This stays pretty basic - straight-on, profile, and 3/4. Since this isn't a book about drawing likenesses or portraiture in particular it's just about enough, although I personally would have liked a few more tips on capturing a real likeness.
The series of exercises that follows is really good, bringing together the techniques and colour theory from the previous sections so that you can create a portrait but also practice the theory and figure out what you like.
What I was really hoping to get from the book (not its flaw, just mentioning it in case others buy with similar expectations!) was tips on mixing realistic skin tones. This gets just two pages, but again just about covers enough that you can take that knowledge and play with it to figure out what works for you.
The final third of the book is more exercises, each bringing in an element of mixed media, different types of watercolour, creative portraiture and even digital processing of watercolours.
Overall really impressed by how much this book manages to cover. It's gorgeously presented, with lots of ideas, techniques and examples. A really good starting point for anyone wanting to play around with watercolour (and mixed-media) portraits, with many exercises that will give a starting point even if you're not feeling particularly "inspired". Recommended!
Following that there's a much shorter section on drawing faces. This stays pretty basic - straight-on, profile, and 3/4. Since this isn't a book about drawing likenesses or portraiture in particular it's just about enough, although I personally would have liked a few more tips on capturing a real likeness.
The series of exercises that follows is really good, bringing together the techniques and colour theory from the previous sections so that you can create a portrait but also practice the theory and figure out what you like.
What I was really hoping to get from the book (not its flaw, just mentioning it in case others buy with similar expectations!) was tips on mixing realistic skin tones. This gets just two pages, but again just about covers enough that you can take that knowledge and play with it to figure out what works for you.
The final third of the book is more exercises, each bringing in an element of mixed media, different types of watercolour, creative portraiture and even digital processing of watercolours.
Overall really impressed by how much this book manages to cover. It's gorgeously presented, with lots of ideas, techniques and examples. A really good starting point for anyone wanting to play around with watercolour (and mixed-media) portraits, with many exercises that will give a starting point even if you're not feeling particularly "inspired". Recommended!
September 29, 2023
Creative Portraits in Watercolor
5 Stars
There's so much I love about this book! Though I think the author's teaching style and artwork are what make this book so great. She's an excellent teacher with a gentle approach that doesn't leave the reader feeling overwhelmed. She does an excellent job breaking down difficult techniques into more manageable steps.
Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a good choice for beginners or advanced watercolor artists. It does a great job meeting an artist where they are. It offers step-by-step picture tutorials, so one can follow along too. As a visual learner, I enjoyed this book's layout. The large blocks of text are broken up by color, sketches, and tips. Inside there are gorgeous illustrations that inspired me to create art.
Oddly enough, I appreciate that photos weren't digitally changed to be perfect. Watercoloring isn't perfect. It can be discouraging for a beginner artist, but photoshopping has become "the norm" of late. Another fun section I enjoyed was adding texture to watercolors. I've tried several.
Overall, I love Creative Portraits in Watercolor, and have already pre-ordered myself a copy. It's a great resource for any artist's library. I can see myself re-visiting ideas from this book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.
5 Stars
There's so much I love about this book! Though I think the author's teaching style and artwork are what make this book so great. She's an excellent teacher with a gentle approach that doesn't leave the reader feeling overwhelmed. She does an excellent job breaking down difficult techniques into more manageable steps.
Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a good choice for beginners or advanced watercolor artists. It does a great job meeting an artist where they are. It offers step-by-step picture tutorials, so one can follow along too. As a visual learner, I enjoyed this book's layout. The large blocks of text are broken up by color, sketches, and tips. Inside there are gorgeous illustrations that inspired me to create art.
Oddly enough, I appreciate that photos weren't digitally changed to be perfect. Watercoloring isn't perfect. It can be discouraging for a beginner artist, but photoshopping has become "the norm" of late. Another fun section I enjoyed was adding texture to watercolors. I've tried several.
Overall, I love Creative Portraits in Watercolor, and have already pre-ordered myself a copy. It's a great resource for any artist's library. I can see myself re-visiting ideas from this book.
Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.
August 6, 2023
This book lives up to its title for "creativity". In the first section, there is quite a bit of basic info on materials and techniques: types of watercolors, paper, brushes, and color theory. The second section takes you through creating portraits using different combinations of watercolor. But the third and fourth chapters are where the author shines!
You'll learn how to combine watercolor with various mixed media, so there are techniques for watercolor and pencil, ink, gouache, colored pencils, charcoal and more. The author commands you to "break the rules" and looks at ways you can make a difference in your painting through continuous line drawing, contour drawing, drawing upside down, etc. There's also a chapter on the digital process.
While none of these techniques is new, the illustrations that accompany each technique are unique and inspiring. This certainly is a great reference book for anyone wanting to find ways to switch up their painting by exploring the lessons and color combinations the author describes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry for an advance reader's copy.
You'll learn how to combine watercolor with various mixed media, so there are techniques for watercolor and pencil, ink, gouache, colored pencils, charcoal and more. The author commands you to "break the rules" and looks at ways you can make a difference in your painting through continuous line drawing, contour drawing, drawing upside down, etc. There's also a chapter on the digital process.
While none of these techniques is new, the illustrations that accompany each technique are unique and inspiring. This certainly is a great reference book for anyone wanting to find ways to switch up their painting by exploring the lessons and color combinations the author describes.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry for an advance reader's copy.
August 3, 2023
Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a comprehensive guide to watercolour portraiture.
The book opens with an excellent introduction to colour theory and working with watercolours before guiding the reader through the basics of how to draw faces. As the author says: know the rules before trying to break them.
From there we are guided in the art of portraiture, with step by step instructions to create the pieces. There are tips for creating portraits using different watercolour techniques; playing with colours and styles, mixing skin tones (back to colour theory!), working with restricted palettes and mixed media or digital techniques to foster different moods.
This is all about creativity and giving the reader permission to have fun with their portraits. As a watercolour artist myself, I will definitely refer back to this book time and again in my own painting journey.
~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~
The book opens with an excellent introduction to colour theory and working with watercolours before guiding the reader through the basics of how to draw faces. As the author says: know the rules before trying to break them.
From there we are guided in the art of portraiture, with step by step instructions to create the pieces. There are tips for creating portraits using different watercolour techniques; playing with colours and styles, mixing skin tones (back to colour theory!), working with restricted palettes and mixed media or digital techniques to foster different moods.
This is all about creativity and giving the reader permission to have fun with their portraits. As a watercolour artist myself, I will definitely refer back to this book time and again in my own painting journey.
~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~
November 15, 2023
Why I did not like particularly the cover portrait, I was still interested in the subject. The first part of the volume includes all the essential information about watercolor medium, basic color theory and face construction so I surely recommend it to beginners. What came next was a real surprise, a lot of projects for every taste and artistic level, a bunch of creative ideas (continous line drawing, non-dominant hand drawing, etc.) that challenge one's capacity and stimulates artistic growth, overcome boredom. So the motto is : learn the rules, break the rules. .
I recommend the book to artists of any level.
I recommend the book to artists of any level.
August 8, 2023
I received an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I am studying architecture so I knew some things about watercolor, so it's interesting to learn more about it. Also, it's such a beautiful book
Reminds me of my first year studying architecture and there are things I definitely didn't know about and I'm grateful for. I love watercolor is explained more so you know how to achieve different looks.
If you would like to start in the world of watercolor painting this book will definitely help you create beautiful pieces of art in an easy way
I am studying architecture so I knew some things about watercolor, so it's interesting to learn more about it. Also, it's such a beautiful book
Reminds me of my first year studying architecture and there are things I definitely didn't know about and I'm grateful for. I love watercolor is explained more so you know how to achieve different looks.
If you would like to start in the world of watercolor painting this book will definitely help you create beautiful pieces of art in an easy way
August 10, 2023
Although I've been painting in watercolour on and off for many years, I've never used them for portraits. This book inspired me to pick up brushes again and tackle a portrait. It is full of useful tips and hints about materials, tools and the use of colour, all clearly explained. The exercises inspired me to put the information into practice. I particularly enjoyed combining watercolour with digital techniques in the final exercise. Overall, it's an excellent way to learn how to use watercolour, with lots of useful information that you can apply to other subjects, not just painting people.
July 18, 2023
I have loved Ana Santos's art since she appeared in domestika. Watercolor has been always a difficult method for me to learn, but Ana made it easy. The book explains from drawing portraits to watercolor techniques. It teaches step by step process to paint portraits. It feels easy yet detailed. I will recommend this book to any artist, no matter the level. Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a good book to go to if you love art and even if you don’t. 5 out of 5 stars.
November 22, 2023
Many, many ideas on how to paint portraits that are different, interesting and different! Definitely a keeper for when you run out of ideas on how to paint more charming and eye-catching faces. What’s more, you can apply all of these techniques to subjects other than faces too.
The step by step instructions are rather brief so I think this book is meant more for the intermediate than the beginning artists.
5 stars. Love it and might just get a hard copy to leaf through again and again..
The step by step instructions are rather brief so I think this book is meant more for the intermediate than the beginning artists.
5 stars. Love it and might just get a hard copy to leaf through again and again..
May 8, 2024
A shallow “beginner friendly” guide/intro to watercolor for hobbyists. Very well put together, design wise, beautiful photography, typography, and relatable text. I appreciate her contemporary approach to watercolor, enthusiasm, sincerity, and down to earth tone. I found some exercises inspiring and useful and if I had to choose, pages 80-81. Neutral Colors are a must read. Painting watercolors is such a joy and I’m glad Santos took the time to show her process, gave us tips, and inspired us.
February 21, 2025
Although I'm not a huge fan of the some of the bolder styles of painting presented in this, reading about the author's intent when creating them helped me to better understand and appreciate her work.
I especially enjoyed the section techniques for creating light areas. Although I was aware of almost all of these, I had not seen them presented in this manner. Also, the pages devoted to drawing the face were very helpful.
I especially enjoyed the section techniques for creating light areas. Although I was aware of almost all of these, I had not seen them presented in this manner. Also, the pages devoted to drawing the face were very helpful.
September 17, 2023
A good resource to find ideas for creating portraits in a variety of fun ways. Extensive information on color theory and techniques will be useful to a beginner. However, some of the projects might be too complex or better suited for artists familiar with drawing techniques too.
October 13, 2023
An interesting book with some great ideas but the artistic level needed to carry them off is a little bit above my pay grade. I think it would be a great addition to the art library of an artist with more skill than I have.
November 17, 2023
This was really interesting way of painting portraits and definitely less intimidating. The book also explains colour theory and different styles of painting faces. I will try to paint more portraits after reading this book.
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December 3, 2023I liked this book much more than most art how to books. But I think that I can’t paint well until I can draw well and understand shading. So I guess I’ll go work on that.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews