Comparing Watercolor, Gouache, and Watercolor Inks

In this tutorial, I will compare watercolor, gouache, and watercolor, We'll look at the main differences, when to paint with each of the mediums and what results you'll achieve, discuss mixing and using all three, and much more! I hope this watercolor tutorial is helpful for you!

_______________________________________

VIDEOS YOU’LL LOVE:

_______________________________________

*SHOP MY ART SUPPLIES, FILM GEAR, AND FAVORITES:

*Check out my best-selling watercolor books:

_______________________________________

VIDEOS REFERENCED:

_______________________________________

WHO DOESN’T LOVE FREEBIES?!

_______________________________________

CONNECT WITH ME:

Instagram: @jennarainey

_______________________________________

TURN YOUR ART INTO INCOME, my courses are here to help you create a thriving business! Sell your artwork on merchandise, learn how to get your artwork on stationery, and more!

_______________________________________

*DISCLOSURE: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission. This helps support the channel and allows us to continue to make videos like this. Thank you for the support!

_______________________________________

MUSIC: paid for and licenses acquired from Artlist.

00:00 - Intro
00:21 - Big difference #1: Opacity and Transparency
03:03 - Big difference #2: Using Wet-in-Wet
06:00 - Using all three together
06:48 - Difference #3: Using Wet-in-Dry
09:55 - Difference #4: Color Mixing
12:18 - Deeper dive into all three mediums…
12:36 - When to use what?!

[franksquid]

Thanks for the help I'm 50 year old disabled veteran with lots of free time so I try watercolor painting and I found I like it a lot but I'm getting a little frustrated about something but with the help of this video I now think I'm going to try using gouache with the watercolor. Thanks. Keep doing what you do it makes a difference.

[watercolourartincapetown]

2:17 is pretty much exactly how I explain it in my head! Great video resource with Very beginner-friendly explanations 👌👌


“Touching, blending, blooming, exploding...just takes over and sprints” love your use of verbs

[WhstlblwrBlastingEpsteinsILK]

I'm autistic. Won art awards at 8 yrs old. Had no idea what I was doing. Fell in love with watercolor gauche my freshman year. You just explained this perfectly for me to understand when to use which medium for whatever effect & presentation I'm trying for. Thank you for sharing your expertise with us. 🎨

[dariabuczynski]

You are really good at what you do. You have become my favorite instructor on YouTube. I have learned so much and I am practicing and experimenting. Thank you so much.

[duoduopeng]

awesome and professionally Teacher. love your teaching, too.

[theresaavery]

Thanks for the down to earth, (crazy kid 😄) explanation! Now I get it!

[jessicalesher]

thank you for this! Only thing is with liquid watercolor/watercolor ink you can reactivate it on the paper and your palette...But the Dr. PH martin are not watercolor ink they are India inks an those you cannot reactivate. So there is a difference between dr ph martin ink and liquid watercolor, there are also watercolor inks marabu and daler rowney make watercolor inks which are both able to be reactivated. However i really needed this! I never know when to pick which one! you made this so simple thank you so much!!! Also i wasnt being mean or anything I just wanted to share bc I thought the same that watercolor inks couldnt be reactivated and I wasted A LOT of it bc i just scrapped it off my palette! thanks again!!!!

[MsMoniqueWilson]

Great video. The only thing I would add is to be careful when referring to ink as liquid watercolor. Only because you can buy liquid watercolor that is not lightfast. Whereas Dr Ph Martin's inks are. :)

[chencookie]

You are so incredibly informative. Thank you. Id love to see you use all three as an example.

[marijadika]

Great video Jenna! And very timely for me, I decided to mix all of them today:)! Fingers crossed…

[lialedesma]

Didn’t regret following your link. I have learned lots of ideas, tips from you. Thank you Jenna..been frustrated and really don’t know where to start.

[tanialinning]

What a great tutorial Jenna....so informative! Thanks!

[watercolourartincapetown]

Biggest takeaway is that inks have the best bloom effects 🤩

[stampinturtles]

This is well explained! Thank you. I’ve just started trying gouache and it photographs really well. Plus I can paint lighter colors on top of dark.

[swlbarely]

What a great and thorough explanation of these three water-based mediums. This information you presented in a matter of minutes could have ended up being something I would not know for months or even years. I really like how you deliver your message in a very relaxed and not over emotional way. It makes it easy to listen to and concentrate on what your saying. Thanks for this video. As to your suggestion of using all three mediums together, I think tha'ts probably for more advanced artists and assumes they know all three mediums and I'm still deciding which of these mediums I'm going to pursue. I currently have been doing soft pastels for about 3 months but started with graphite pencil about 6 months ago.

[mieczyslawapascoe]

Thank you so much for explaining all this, Jenna. I find watercolour the easiest one but feel that I should be more open to the other two. Gouache is hard work though so will check out your guide. 🙏

[DigineeVideo]

Thank you for the detailed explanation!

[watercolourartincapetown]

10:13 👐✋🙌👋🤙👆 lol we all do the hand signals when we’re explaining

[mjpete]

Outstanding video! You explained the difference between mediums so well! I hope you create a future video on the lasting effects of each or permanence of each as well. I have always been a watercolor artist and took to gouache only in response to a job in advertising and nothing was saved after it was photographed! “Did you finish that? Good Now after they do photos, IN THE TRASH!” I believe that watercolor painting is the best and this is only my opinion! I know that there are some people who love QoR paints because they use a synthetic transport medium and it runs and blooms like inks or liquid watercolor dyes. I just depends on if you think of it as a feature or as a problem! Good or Bad it is an opinion! I enjoy working with them all! I am glad to have found your channel. You are so informative and knowledgeable and I enjoy watching your videos, thank you. Please take care, be safe and have a lovely day!

[andreatorraca]

Never tried the inks…but gouache and w/c is what I use, together at times
..