Free PDF: Watercolor Exercises for Working with Color

Learn how to experiment with values, tones, and gradients to take your floral's watercolor illustrations to the next level

Watercolor is a versatile medium that allows for endless creative possibilities. Thanks to its fluid and adaptable nature, it lends itself to unexpected results that reflect the individual style of the artist, and can be used to capture everything from picturesque landscapes to expressive character illustrations.

In this free watercolor PDF, graphic designer and watercolor artist Inga Buividavice (@inga_buive) shares a series of four practical color exercises to help you achieve different effects with watercolor paint. Practice value control, adjusting tone, color mixing, and more to enhance your illustrations.

Watercolor is an essential part of Inga’s creative process. She specializes in creating artwork that captures an emotional connection with the natural world. Inga sells her work on Etsy in the form of phone cases, postcards, and prints, alongside working as a full-time graphic designer and sharing her creations with over 100K followers on Instagram.

Tools and materials

To follow Inga's steps, you will need:

- Watercolor paper
- Watercolor paints
- Paintbrushes
- Water

Download free watercolor exercises for nature-inspired artwork

An artist’s palette says a lot about them, so getting creative with yours is a great place to start defining your watercolor style. From adding color and mixing tones to experimenting with shape, discover four different exercises for achieving a variety of shades with watercolor, along with examples to illustrate each step.

After clicking the button below, you’ll find a PDF titled Free Watercolor PDF by Inga Buividavice in the Downloads folder on your computer.

Take your knowledge of watercolor further with Inga’s course, Artistic Floral Watercolor: Connect with Nature, where she teaches you how to explore pigments and textures to create organic botanical compositions.

Learn more about painting with watercolor

Want to put these illustration exercises into practice? Discover more resources below:

1. Check out Domestika’s online watercolor courses and learn to create everything from portrait art to dreamlike illustrations.

2. If you’re new to watercolor, learn the fundamental techniques to get started: Creative Watercolor Sketching for Beginners.

3. Build your confidence and sharpen your practice with these Free Watercolor Exercises to Practice Brush Control.