Mixed Media Art Tutorial for Beginners: What Are Granulating Watercolors?

In today's mixed media art tutorial for beginners, I'm introducing you to the world of granulating watercolors! I'll show you what the heck these even are, compare how they perform on three different kinds of watercolor paper, and will reveal how YOU can incorporate their magical effects into your own mixed media projects at home! ​

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As a mixed media artist, I love ALL the art supplies! But over the last few years, I've really gotten intowatercolor (example below), painting with fountain pen inks (example above), and gouache. There are so many unique effects you can achieve as an artist with all of these products. ​

​What Are Granulating Watercolors?

As far as watercolors go, I'm really drawn to the shades that granulate. Granulating watercolors are typically made from multiple pigments of color. As soon as your brush hits paper, granulating watercolors will begin to spread and separate into tiny granules of the individual pigments that were used to create that specific watercolor shade. 

Here's a great example. Look closely at the image below. See the two pink and purple swatches by my finger? 

The pink one is called Rose of Ultramarine and the one under my finger is Imperial Purple. Both are Daniel Smith granulating watercolors. If you look closely at each swatch, you don't just see a flat pink or purple. You can actually see tiny bits of purple in the pink swatch, and tiny bits of pink in the purple swatch. Cool, right?!

Visible ​Granulation
​May Differ from Brand to Brand

If you're new to my world, I have been in LOVE with Daniel Smith watercolors for years. I have some students and close artsy friends who love Schmincke watercolors, so I picked up this Schmincke forest set of "SUPER" granulating watercolors to see how they compare to the effects I typically see from Daniel Smith granulating watercolors. 

I squeezed a bit of each color into a fresh palette to get my test started. Make sure you watch the video so you can see this in action if you're new to watercolors. I'm using one of my favorite watercolor brushes by Polina Bright for today's demo. They're ALL I use now! 

Below is a quick shot of an extremely granulating watercolor shade from Daniel Smith called Burnt Tiger's Eye (left). If I compare the visible granulation I see in that swatch with what I see from one of my new "SUPER Granulating" forest greens by Schmincke, I'm not seeing quite as much granulation from Schmincke as I'm used to from Daniel Smith. This isn't a bad thing- just a difference I'm observing today.

Changing Watercolor Paper
Changes the Effects of Granulating Watercolors

Never underestimate what a difference paper makes in your mixed media art projects. Paper is actually just as important as your paint and paintbrushes.

In the world of watercolor, there are three main kinds of paper: hot press, cold press and rough cut. To learn more about this- check out my recent video on the subject. 

For our test today, I'll show you a quick swatch of the same Schmincke green on each of the three papers. Here's an example of how one of the greens looks on smooth, hot press watercolor paper by Fabriano.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo and video, but in person, you can really see granules of black separating from green here.

The pic below is of the same shade on cold press (textured watercolor paper). Notice how tiny pools collect in the textured pockets of the paper? In some areas, little "rivers" start to form as the pigments begin to separate and get absorbed by the paper. Off to the right, you can also see bits of black separating and pooling in individual pockets of the paper. I love the way this texture changes everything!  

Below, is how the same shade of granulating watercolor by Schmincke looks on rough-cut watercolor paper. This type of paper has even deeper pockets in the texture.

No one paper, watercolor shade, or brand is "better" than another here - today we're just noticing the strikingly different effects we can make depending on what supplies we adjust. 

​How Does Watercolor Granulation Medium Work?

After I compared watercolor papers, I decided to test how a shade of non-granulating watercolor might change after adding watercolor granulation medium by Winsor Newton. 

I did get some really pretty effects from this, as you can see below. However, the tiny blooms and rivers that developed are all monochromatic. In a true granulating watercolor, you'll see multiple pigments of color begin to separate on your paper. Again, this isn't a "worse" option - just a difference in effects you can achieve.

​How to Incorporate
Granulating Watercolors Into Your Own Art​

Not sure how you can incorporate granulating watercolors into your own mixed media art projects?

​Here's an example of how I used granulating watercolors to create a quick background for a face I colored in with copic markers and colored pencil. 

Granulating watercolors are also awesome for moody skies and forests if you love to do landscapes. If you're new to my world, I'm OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art. In fact, I have an entire art club over at Awesome Art School dedicated to this genre called The Celtic Collective. 

I think granulating watercolors are AMAZING for fantasy art!

Make sure you click over to today's video to see how I used them to add colorful dimension into a simple set of dragonfly wings.

​Soooo cute! 

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

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