Watercolors add a magical, luminous quality to coloring pages that no other medium can match. The key is proper preparation and technique.
Paper Is Everything
This is the one area where you absolutely cannot cut corners. Standard printer paper will warp, buckle, and disintegrate when wet. Your options:
- Best: Print directly on watercolor paper (140 lb / 300 gsm). Most inkjet printers can handle it if you feed one sheet at a time
- Good: Print on heavy cardstock (110 lb+) and use a light touch with less water
- Budget hack: Glue your printed page to watercolor paper with a thin, even layer of matte medium. Let dry completely before painting
Essential Techniques
Wet-on-Dry (Best for Beginners)
Keep the paper dry and apply wet paint. This gives you the most control and the crispest edges along the printed lines. Paint each section individually and let it dry before moving to adjacent areas.
Wet-on-Wet
Lightly dampen an area with clean water first, then drop in color. The paint blooms and blends organically. Beautiful for backgrounds, skies, and large areas where you want soft, flowing color.
Lifting
While the paint is still damp, touch a clean, damp brush to the painted area to lift out color. This creates highlights and light areas within a painted section.
Tips for Success
- Tape your paper to a board with painter's tape to prevent warping
- Use two water jars - one for rinsing, one for clean water
- Test colors on a scrap of the same paper first
- Work from light to dark - you can always go darker, but you can't go lighter
- Let sections dry completely before painting adjacent areas to prevent unwanted bleeding
Our botanical and nature collections work beautifully with watercolors. Browse nature pages or ocean scenes for great watercolor candidates.