5 Online Watercolor Courses for Learning Different Styles

Paint city scenes, expressive portraits, and underwater worlds with these watercolor courses

In the painting world, watercolor is one of the most traditional and popular mediums thanks to its free and fluid nature that allows for easy experimentation—not only with lines but with materials such as water and pigment.

However, the technique does involve more processes than it first appears. Getting started with watercolors involves exploring a medium where, in addition to your own hand, you must learn to work with the freedom of water itself and understand a language where both patience and speed complement each other.

Expressive Animal Portraits in Watercolor, a course by Sarah Stokes

If you're an animal lover who's interested in discovering alternative and creative ways to bring the animal kingdom to life, this course by wildlife artist Sarah Stokes (@sarah_stokes) is a must. Combining her passion for teaching art and a broad career in the field, Sarah teaches wild storytelling through watercolor.

Through the course, you'll learn everything from the necessary materials necessary to get started in watercolor to the importance of tones and layering. Sarah also shares different techniques for texture and shading to add more realism to elements such as fur or horns.

Architectural Sketching with Watercolor and Ink, a course by Alex Hillkurtz

A process that encourages you to seek out new details with each glance, architectural sketching is a great way to truly experience a place. To create his scenes, watercolor and storyboard artist Alex Hillkurtz (@alexhillkurtzart) combines loose ink sketching with watercolor to create beautiful buildings that leap off the page.

In his course, Alex teaches you how to infuse your paintings with new life, sharing his approach for capturing the depth and atmosphere of a place using watercolor and ink and translating that onto your page.

The Human Figure in Watercolor, a course by Ale Casanova

As well as being an introspective practice, drawing the human body has long been a way in which artists have explored the world of light and shadow. With so much to learn, and a technique that requires previous experience to understand the correct balance between water and paint, it pays to have the guidance of a teacher.

In this course, experienced painter and teacher Ale Casanova (@casanova_ale) will guide you, step by step, to help you understand how to capture the human figure using watercolors. You'll learn how to use different color palettes, mix drawing with watercolor bleeding, and simplify features so you can clearly portray them.

Marine Universe Illustration in Watercolor, a course by Bertha Llonch

When painting with watercolors, water is by far the most important element. How you use the water determines not only the intensity of the tones, but also the movement of the paint and the final result. Perhaps for this reason, for those who seek to explore and the ocean, this technique feels the most natural as a way of approaching the nature of water.

In this course, plastic artist and illustrator Berta Llonch (@bertallonch_) shares her love for the ocean and watercolor with various lessons to learn, from the basics such as water management and paper tension to how to give your painting volume, playing with lights and shadows.

Stylized Portraits in Watercolor, a course by Caroline Passos

If you're looking for a course that helps you improve your ability to paint faces using watercolor, there's no better teacher than painter and illustrator Caroline Passos (@carolinexxpassos). The cofounder of Pestilento Colors for Artists, with multiple solo exhibitions under her belt and a broad portfolio of commissioned projects, Caroline seeks to depict the female form with real characteristics using real bodies from reference photos.

In this course, you'll learn step by step what you need to start your own watercolor portrait. From the fundamental materials and tools to the best techniques to simplify the anatomy of the face and how to mix colors for different skin tones.

Are you ready to improve your watercolor skills? For more brilliant tips to broaden your understanding of this traditional and versatile technique, check out all of Domestika's watercolor painting courses.

You may also like:

- 16 Free Tutorials: Watercolor Techniques To Take You From Beginner to Pro
- Free Domestika E-book: Watercolor for Beginners
- Artistic Watercolor Techniques for Illustrating Birds, a course by Sarah Stokes
- Creative Watercolor Sketching for Beginners, a course by Laura McKendry