Watercolour terms explained: a beginner’s working glossary

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Paint and pigment

Pigment. The coloured solid dispersed through watercolour paint. The pigment named on a label is not the whole formulation, so two paints using the same pigment can still behave differently.

Colour Index code. A standard code for pigment composition, such as PB29 or PR101. It helps identify what colour material a paint contains, but it does not guarantee a particular level of transparency, staining, granulation or lightfastness. The guide to watercolour pigment codes explains how to read one without treating it as a quality score.

Single-pigment paint. A paint whose label lists one Colour Index pigment. It is often easier to interpret in mixtures because fewer pigments are involved, but it is not automatically better than a purposeful mixture. See single-pigment watercolours for the full distinction.

Mixture. A paint made with more than one pigment, or a colour mixed by the painter from separate paints. A manufacturer mixture can be convenient and consistent. A palette mixture gives the painter control over proportion and dilution.

Transparent and opaque. Transparent paint allows more light from the paper to contribute through the layer. Opaque paint covers more strongly. Many paints sit between the two, and the result also changes with wash strength and application. Neither property is inherently superior. The transparent and opaque guide shows where each can help.

Staining. The tendency of colour to resist removal after it has entered the paper surface. Staining depends on the paint, paper, sizing and handling, so a rating is a guide rather than a promise. The practical comparison belongs to staining and non-staining watercolours.

Granulation. Visible texture created when pigment settles unevenly or gathers in the paper surface. It can add variation to a wash, but it is separate from transparency and staining. See granulating pigments for the variables that change the effect.

Lightfastness. Resistance to change when a colour is exposed to light. Manufacturer ratings apply to a particular paint under that maker’s system, so compare them with care. The lightfastness guide explains the ratings and their limits.

Water and moisture

Paint strength. How much paint is present relative to the water in a mixture. A stronger mixture usually appears deeper; adding clean water makes more paper show through. There is no universal numeric ratio for every pigment, paper and passage. The guide to how much water to use uses observable states instead.

Bead. The line or small reservoir of liquid that gathers at the lower edge of a wash on an angled board. Each new stroke picks it up and carries it down the passage while the wash is moving. The guide to managing the bead covers how to maintain and finish it.

Very wet, wet, damp, nearly dry and dry. The Watercolourist uses five moisture stages across its guides:

• Very wet: free water moves when the board is tilted.
• Wet: an even glossy sheen remains and paint still moves.
• Damp: the sheen is lower or beginning to break, and added water carries a high bloom risk.
• Nearly dry: the surface is mostly matt with cool patches.
• Dry: the surface is matt and at room temperature.

The stages describe what the paper is doing, not a fixed number of minutes.

Bloom or backrun. A spreading mark formed when a wetter area feeds into a wash that has begun to settle, pushing pigment and leaving a branching or cauliflower-like edge. It may be an accident or a deliberate effect. Blooms and backruns owns the full drying mechanism and control.

Washes and layers

Wash. A connected area of colour laid broadly enough to read as one passage rather than a collection of separate marks. A wash may be flat, graded or variegated.

Flat wash. A wash intended to remain broadly even in colour and value. The flat wash guide explains the bead, overlap and finishing sequence.

Graded wash. A connected wash that changes gradually in strength across the passage. It is deliberate variation, not an uneven flat wash. See graded washes.

Variegated wash. A connected wash in which two or more colours meet and move while keeping some visible variation. The aim is not always a fully uniform mixture. See variegated washes.

Wet in wet. Paint applied into a receiving area that is already wet. The moisture lets paint spread and softens edges, but the result depends on how much water is on the brush and paper. The wet-in-wet guide covers the complete method.

Wet on dry. Wet paint applied to dry paper or a fully dry painted layer. It gives more control over placement and usually produces a clearer boundary. See wet on dry.

Glaze. A transparent or semi-transparent layer placed over a fully dry layer so the earlier colour still contributes. A glaze can change colour, value or unity without completely covering what is beneath. The method and its limits belong to glazing in watercolour.

Lifting. Removing or lightening paint with clean water, an absorbent tool or another controlled method. How far a colour lifts depends on the paint, paper, sizing, timing and pressure. The guide to lifting without damaging the paper explains when to stop.

Drybrush. A mark made with limited liquid so the brush skips across the paper surface and leaves broken texture. It does not mean that the brush contains no paint or moisture. See the drybrush guide.

Shape, value and edges

Hue. The colour family a colour appears to belong to, such as blue, red or yellow. Hue is separate from how light, dark, vivid or greyed the colour appears.

Hue in a paint name. A word such as “Cadmium Red Hue” usually indicates a substitute formulation intended to resemble the named traditional colour rather than a paint made with that named traditional pigment. Check the Colour Index codes on the label, as explained in the pigment-codes guide.

Value. The perceived lightness or darkness of a colour or shape. Different hues can share a similar value, and one hue can appear across many values as its strength or surroundings change.

Tone. In painting instruction, tone is often used to mean value, the lightness or darkness of a colour or shape. In product names and broader colour language it may be used differently, so read it in context.

Intensity. How vivid or greyed a colour appears, sometimes called saturation or chroma. Mixing in a neutral or complementary colour usually greys it. Adding water mainly makes a colour paler, though a very thin wash can also look less vivid.

Positive shape. The shape read as the subject or painted form. Negative shape is the space around or between those forms. Both are ordinary shapes on the page, and either can be painted directly.

Negative painting. Defining a subject by painting the shapes around it. Each surrounding layer can preserve selected earlier shapes while darkening others. The negative painting guide explains how to keep it from becoming an outline.

Reserved paper. An area intentionally left unpainted so the paper supplies the lightest light. It is one way to preserve white, alongside masking, lifting and an opaque accent. The guide to keeping whites compares those choices.

Hard edge. A boundary with a clear, abrupt transition. Soft edge is a gradual transition that remains visible. These terms describe the character of the boundary and how it was made. The guide to hard and soft edges covers the practical control.

Lost edge. A boundary the viewer no longer registers because the neighbouring shapes read together. Found edge is one the viewer reads as a separation. Lost is not simply another word for soft. The guide to lost and found edges explains the difference and how to plan an edge hierarchy.

Paper and brushes

Sizing. Treatment introduced during papermaking or applied at the paper’s surface to moderate absorbency and influence how water and paint sit, move and lift. Sizing methods vary, and a paper’s behaviour is not explained by fibre alone. See sizing in watercolour paper.

Hot press, cold press and rough. Terms for paper surface character. Hot press is generally smoother, cold press or Not has more texture, and rough has a more pronounced surface. Makers do not always use or translate surface names in exactly the same way, so check the description for the paper in front of you. The cold press guide explains the naming problem.

Paper weight. How heavy the paper is for its area, usually stated in grams per square metre (gsm). Pound figures such as 140lb are an older convention based on a ream of standard-sized sheets. Weight affects handling and buckling, but it does not by itself establish fibre, sizing, surface or quality. See paper weight versus brand.

Point. The shape formed at the tip of a loaded brush. Spring is the tendency of the fibres to return after they bend. Reservoir is the amount of liquid the brush body can carry and release. These are separate behaviours, and brush size numbers are not universal measurements. The guide to Kolinsky and synthetic brushes compares those behaviours without treating one fibre as universally better.