While there are plenty of online watercolor tutorials for beginners, there is still value in books. Often books are entire courses on their own, going over paints, brushes, paper, and techniques at the fraction of the cost of a video course. You also don’t need the internet to work through these books. This makes them great for travel, or an all-in-one stop for information and inspiration. Here are my personal recommendation when it comes to the best watercolor books for beginners.
Watercolor Success in Four Steps by Marina Bakasova
With step-by-step instructions, this book show you how to work simple tutorials to create easy watercolor paintings in only a few minutes a day. This is perfect for creating a routine and getting in to the practice, without complicating the painting process. I personally enjoy doing these easy watercolor tutorials because they take minimal effort and continually grow my skills as a painter. Like florals? Clothing? Food? This books has it. This book will get you right into painting!
Watercolor Your Way by Sarah Clay
Sarah Clay’s book is a great resource for learning watercolor methods and techniques by working through a variety of important concepts. It has tutorials that are both loose and sketched. The further you move through the book, the more complexity is added in paints and techniques. You learn key concepts like values and blending, color theory and mixing. Most watercolor books tend to put all the information on supplies and techniques at the front of the book. But this doesn’t so you don’t have to flip back and forth! It let’s you gradually build your skills in a variety of projects ranging from simple to complex. Added bonus, it comes with traceable designs.
Watercolor Made Simple by Nicki Traikos
Watercolor Made Simple says it all. It’s full of valuable information that is easy to digest, especially for a beginner. What I enjoy about this book is it’s focus on creative expression. Each step-by-step tutorial includes a QR Code that links to video tutorials. Important techniques are fully covered and every part of the watercolor painting process is broken down. There are also traceable designs included. This is one of my top recommended best watercolor books because it reads like one of Nicki’s online courses. She also speaks to you as an artist rather than simply giving you instructions to complete.
Want a FREe watercolor for beginners guide?
Subscribe to get this freebie in your inbox! It gives you everything you need to get started in watercolor, including recommendations on supplies and tutorials so can you get painting!
Watercolor in the Woods by Jane Carskill
Watercolor in the Woods is one of my favorite books for getting into watercolor painting. This book comes with lovely traceable designs so you can practice your hand at the adorable illustrations within. The tutorials are simple, yet make you feel accomplished as a beginner by seeing the detailed paintings come to life. I personally adore this book and recommend it to beginner watercolor painters because it helps you learn detail work. The range of subjects means there’s a wide variety of projects to tackle. While this does not go in depth into techniques or color mixing, it instead focuses on subjects and layering. I love this for learning to create fur-like texture with simple round brushes.
101 Watercolor Secrets by Anna Bucciarelli
Anna Bucciarelli has a popular Youtube Channel and for good reason. This title is less about a step-by-step tutorial approach and more tips and techniques focused. It is a storehouse of information that is engaging and helpful. Anna dives into subjects that are often not touched on in watercolor books. It includes info on pigments, sedimentation, how to read paints, and offers unique and helpful insights into painting. This is a wonderful resource if you’re curious about watercolor and enjoy learning all you can before beginning. It’s a beautiful book and has online video tutorials included with QR Codes. This way you can see things in action. Bonus: This book is excellent for all skill levels, so you can return to it again and again.
Watercolor Botanicals by Eunice Sun
Want to try your hand at florals? This is the book for you! While there is minimal sketching, the majority of the tutorials in this book walk you step-by-step. There are 30 tutorials to choose from. These tutorials are designed with a daily watercolor painting habit in mind. This book is great for inspiration, as well as, quick and doable painting.
Want a little more of a challenge?
Here are a few additional recommendations if you’d like to take your skills up a notch or jump into more life-like illustrations:
Watercolor Food Illustration by Thanh Huynh
The go-to book on all things food-illustration. If you’re someone who likes to dive deeper into more complex material, this books is it. You not only learn sketching, but invaluable color recipes, layering, and contrast to really bring your paintings to life. I especially love that Thanh breaks down color mixing to achieve realistic and life-like subjects. This is an excellent resource for foodies and watercolor artists of all skill levels.
Sketching Nature by Dianne Sutherland
Sketching Nature is an excellent title if you’re interested in nature and want to keep a watercolor nature journal. This has information for those looking to start a daily practice by observing the world around you. This book is especially useful to those looking to dive into botanical illustration. While not the most beginner-friendly book, it does have excellent instructions and tutorials. Best for a challenge to improve skills like sketching and color mixing. I include it here because it’s one of my favorite watercolor books and is truly a gem.
Need more inspiration? Check out these articles.
Subscribe to get the latest content!
By signing up you’ll also get a FREE Watercolor for Beginners guide. It has everything you need to get started!