The Watercolor Process

Name: The Watercolor Process
Rating: 4.7 (110 reviews)

A comprehensive look at opacity, layering, and the five approaches to the watercolor painting process

Created byJill Poyerd

Last updated 11/2025

English

What you'll learn

Determine how to distinguish between the five process methods
Learn how to create a painting using each of the five process methods
Understand which process various painting masters used
Understand why working light to dark is often preferred in watercolor
See how transparency and opacity impact the paint layering process
Understand the options available for an underdrawing
Visually see what dry mediums are safe to use under watercolor paint
Learn methods for transferring an image to your painting surface
Learn about options for developing a successful color plan

Course content

5 sections • 33 lectures • 5h 18m total length

How to Use the Course Tools (Optional)13:24
Whether you are new to UDemy or you just want to make sure you are maximizing the available tools in this court, this video guides the viewer through all of the technical workings of the course from the dashboard to the actual video playback. Topics include:

How to get started
Understanding the dashboard
Navigating course content
Submitting questions
Contacting support
Bookmarking lectures
Rating the course
Using video playback tools
Locating and downloading activities
Adjusting playback speed
Opening the transcript
Skipping lectures
Setting closed caption and video quality
Messaging the instructor
Locating UDemy help
Accessing assignment response
Completing and resetting the course

How Watercolors Are Used2:06
The Five Process Methods18:52
Explore the five watercolor process methods: alla prima, layered direct, layered mixed, creative, and sectional, identifying wet-on-wet, dry brush, glazing, and edge qualities in masterworks.
Process Methods Quiz Review17:58
Rules Intro & Rule 14:14
Master watercolor layering by balancing transparency and staining, ensuring dry layers stay fixed, and apply the light-to-dark rule, saving darker values for later.
Light-to-Dark Activity14:44
Learn to build value with light-to-dark and dark-to-light watercolor layers on 300 lb cold-pressed paper using two analogous pigments; practice glazing, lifting, and drying techniques at home.
Rule 2: Loose to Detailed2:03
Rule 3: Horizontal vs Vertical1:23
Rule 4: Transparent to Opaque3:10
Opacity on Paper11:52
Opaque Watercolor vs Gouache2:46
Explore opaque watercolor and gouache, contrasting with transparent watercolor, and learn how chalk or calcium carbonate creates opacity, affects tinting strength and drying behavior in works by masters.
Masters of Opacity8:03
Discover how watercolor masters used gouache and opaque watercolor, including white gouache, to create solid, directly painted forms with thick, opaque colors, revealing layering and texture.
Introduction to Layering1:32
Circles Activity13:20
Mango Activity19:55
Explore color gradients and layering in a mango watercolor study, using transparent and opaque paints, shadows, and glazing to build depth with gravity-driven tilting.

Choose a Class Image2:41
Choose and develop a simple composition, plan underdrawing, surface preparation, and color planning, then paint with five process approaches and complete a final project in any subject or color scheme.
Inspiration & Composition7:04
The Underdrawing10:00
BONUS: Underdrawing for Oil Painting11:08
This is a bonus video - A lecture from. my Oil Painting Process class that covers some of the history behind underdrawings. Although it deals with oil painting, there is some information that can be taken away no matter your painting medium.
Dry Medium Test (Optional)12:10
Test how dry mediums perform under watercolor to evaluate smearing, lifting, and color integrity. Identify best underdrawings: hard graphite, matching watercolor pencil, and diluted ink.
Transferring the Image4:28
Surface Preparation7:00
The Color Plan7:39
The Color Study6:35
Create a color study (about 5 x 7 inches) in a sitting to test color interaction and value for cupcake, using a gray wash and magenta–gold glazes to refine plan.

Alla Prima Method10:56
Layered-Direct Method13:01
Use the layered direct method on a dry surface, drying between layers to build gray, magenta, and gold tones. Refine with tracing, edge control, and glazing, contrasting with alla prima.
Layered-Mixed Method13:33
Master the direct mixed watercolor method by combining wet-in-wet backgrounds, bravura magenta strokes, and layered glazes. Learn on-the-spot adjustments, scrubbing, and glazing to enhance icing, liner, and candle shadows.
Sectional Method11:23
Learn the sectional version of the watercolor painting process, focusing on icing first, then the liner and background, using glaze, wet-in-wet techniques, and finishing each section before moving on.
Creative Method14:38
Final Project7:39
Bonus Demo: Dark-Valued Painting37:25
Plan, prep, and execute a dark-valued watercolor demo using masking fluid, layered washes, and a limited palette—raw sienna, sepia, and burnt umber—to reveal depth.
Closing Remarks2:42

Requirements

Minimum experience with watercolor paints is helpful for taking this class. Students should know the basics.
Students who have taken my other watercolor classes will benefit from this class

Description

"Wow! Just amazing!!! Great content and such beautiful work from the instructor." - Cynthia P.

"Jill paints the same scene five times using five different approaches. FIVE times! It's very insightful to watch and very practical, with lots of activities too. Very highly recommended." - Natalie L.

"Once again, Ms. Jill P. demonstrates why she is one of the world's premier watercolorists. She remains at the top of her game. She gives you things to think about or food for thought, blending in the brain and the creative heart." - Deborah R.

In this groundbreaking class, the watercolor painting process is categorized into five different approaches, based on the methods used by watercolor masters throughout history.

The class is broken down into three sections:

Foundational Concepts
Preparing to Paint
The Five Painting Processes

The first half of the course examines foundational topics that relate specifically to the watercolor painting process, to include a comparison of transparency and opacity and how that relates to layering the paint. Concepts are reinforced through hands-on activities.

The second half begins with a walk through of the preparatory stages of a painting, such as the underdrawing and color planning. Students then choose a simple composition and paint the same piece using each of the five methods. In this way, students can see and experience how each version impacts the results.

To close out the class, students are asked to create a formal painting using their preferred process method and a composition of their choice. The goal is for students to discover what they feel is a process that best meets their personality and painting style.

Throughout the course, students are guided step-by-step through each stage and are given hands-on activities to reinforce the concepts. There are over five hours of course lecture, and over fifteen student activities and multiple helpful handouts.

Who this course is for:

Students who have many of the basics of watercolor painting and how want to understand how best to build a painting.
Students who would like to develop their own artistic voice and painting process.

The Watercolor Process

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

How to Use the Course Tools1 lecture • 13min

Introduction1 lecture • 4min

Foundational Concepts14 lectures • 2hr 2min

Preparing to Paint9 lectures • 1hr 9min

The Five Process Methods8 lectures • 1hr 51min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: