Watercolor Textures: Telling Stories with Every Brushstroke

Illustration isn't just about colors and shapes; textures play a vital role in storytelling. Learn to use watercolor textures to enrich your visual narratives.

Greetings lovers of illustration and science fiction stories!

When we think about illustration, we often visualize a scene in which through the background and characters we will tell a story, colors and shapes, are usually our first approach to how we visualize the final version of our work, and while, the emotional impact that a good choice of colors can have on the viewer is important, and likewise a good composition will make the storytelling clearer, what about textures? In my new course "Illustration with Watercolor: Fantasy Storytelling", among other things, we give the opportunity to dive into the world of graphic storytelling through visual textures and how they become a powerful narrative tool. Each texture can tell a story, convey an emotion, and evoke sensations.

1. Watercolor: A World of Textures

The beauty of watercolor lies in its versatility. With a little water, we can go from an intense tone to a soft one, and with different techniques, we can create from the subtlest to the most striking textures.

Fantasy stories are already rich in themselves, but by integrating detailed and thoughtful textures, we elevate them to a whole new level. It is these nuances, these palpable sensations, that invite the viewer to get lost in the world you have created, to touch every corner of your illustration with their eyes.

Every choice we make in this medium has the power to add layers to our narrative.

2. Proper documentation:

It is important to have a good set of visual references before you start painting, a good exercise, is to think, if your story existed in the real world, what place in the world, would be a good recording set? By bazaar your project in a real place, it will be much easier for you to visualize all the elements that will interact with the surfaces of your illustration.

Some important questions that will help you define where to look for your references include:

Where in the world is your illustration inspired?
What is the prevailing climate there?
What type of vegetation abounds in that region?
How do I express the climate through textures and environmental weathering in my illustration?

3. The Right Tools:

The right tools are of great importance in order to represent the difference in materials and textures in your illustration. Some essential tools include:

Brushes of Different Sizes: I always recommend a fine-tipped round brush for details, and a wide brush (preferably of a very absorbent bristle). For backgrounds and washes.

Papers of Different Textures: A rough paper can give a grainy effect, and it is usually the most manageable to apply the color, I recommend using 100% cotton paper, Cold press, and at least 300 grams, for a better result. While if your thing is to work with well-defined lines and unsaturated colors, a softer paper may be the best choice for a smooth finish, 100% cotton hot press paper of 300grs is a good choice in this case. Do not forget that it is important to fix the paper to a canvas to avoid wrinkling and to have a better result.

Sponges and Cloths: Fantastic tools to create splatter effects, stains or more organic textures.

4. Textures as Narrative

Imagine a scene with a dragon. If we use a rough texture for its skin and a smooth, ethereal texture for its wings, we are telling a story of contrast, power, and delicacy. Or visualize an enchanted forest: with watercolor, we can create the velvety texture of leaves, the rough rustle of tree bark, and the diffuse softness of mist hovering in the air. Each textual choice communicates a part of the story.

It also tells us what the environment is like, for example, imagine you want to paint a rock, if it has a rough and dry texture, we will know that it probably does not rain much in that place, so staining the tires of a vehicle with mud, might not make much sense, on the other hand, if a rock, has moss or wet spots on its surface, we will know that it is in a humid or tropical climate, so it will make sense to see the growth of different forms of fungi and lichens on its surface.

To help you on this textural journey, I have prepared a downloadable guide that you can get here. In it, you will find examples, techniques, and tips on how to use different watercolor textures to enrich your visual narratives. A journey into visual storytelling.

The Magic is in the Details

The stories we tell through our illustrations are not limited to what the eye sees at first glance. They are found in the emotions they evoke, in the sensations they transmit and, of course, textures are a powerful resource to invite our audience to feel a living world.

If the curiosity bug has bitten you and feel the call to explore more deeply the universe of watercolor textures, I invite you to join my course at Domestika. Together with me, you will learn to tell your own stories and invite the viewer to enter imaginary worlds through watercolor illustrations.

I hope to see you there, ready to immerse yourself in color with every brushstroke!