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Watercoloring ,

Watercolor Textures: 13 Unique Techniques Using Household Items

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Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Class Description:

Nothing elevates a painting quite like an extra kick of texture, and watercolor is perfect for creating a textured look. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced painter or you’re just taking your first steps – adding texture can be a fun and easy step that gives so much life to your art.

Whether you’re aiming for something subtle or bold, you can find something that will be sure to excite in this course! You’ll learn 13 textures using household materials, with each texture getting its own video to fully explain the technique. Then paint along with me for two texture-packed projects to help you learn how to apply the techniques to actual paintings!

What You Will Learn:

  • What household materials you can use to create textures
  • How to apply all 13 techniques
  • 2 texture-filled paint-along projects

Supplies You'll Need:

  • Watercolor paper
  • Watercolor paints
  • Watercolor brushes
  • Masking tape
  • Art board
  • Cotton rags (or paper towels)
  • 2 jars of water
  • Old toothbrush (optional)
  • Cellophane (optional)
  • Bubble wrap (optional)
  • Table salt (optional)
  • Rubbing alcohol (optional)
  • Spray bottle (optional)
  • Straw (optional)
  • Plastic card (optional)
  • Sea sponge (optional)

Explore Class Projects:

In this class, you'll learn to create these amazing class projects, but more importantly, you'll learn how to create your own pieces in the future.

Class Content

12

About Instructor

Shelby Abrahamsen (Foxsy)

Shelby is the co-founder of Foxsy and the creator at Little Coffee Fox. She is a professional watercolorist, letterer, and artist with a passion for teaching others to reintroduce creativity back into their lives. Shelby lives in Chicago, IL with her husband Jon and her pets Summer, Basil, and Korra.

217 Classes

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Class Details:

  • 📊Level: Beginner
  • ⏰Time: 2 Hours, 2 Minutes

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Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

Be Part of the Foxsy Revolution

Join a thriving community of over 2,300 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let's paint a brighter, more creative future.

  • Access 299 classes with 250+ hours of content.
  • Work through over 400 lessons and 70+ projects.
  • Access the Watercolor Academy, Drawing Bootcamp, & Modern Lettering Academies.
  • Join weekly live classes.
  • Get personalized feedback on all projects.
  • Get real answers to your questions with Creative Support.
Access Everything Foxsy Has To Offer

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Trusted By Over 2,300 Students Like You

  • “As a total beginner when I started, I’m amazed at the amount of skill and knowledge I gained. There’s a wide variety of courses so you can’t get bored.

    There’s always another challenge in the next class. Really appreciated the personal feedback when I submitted projects.
    Janet G
  • “I loved the Watercolor Academy I learned so much and have developed self-confidence in my ability as a budding "artist "

    (I 'm still getting used to this lol)”
    Gail P
  • "This is excellent.

    As a chronic copier of other people's art, the tips offered here will help me with my own creative process and prevent the block that I feel with "what next"."
    Carol R
  • “The Watercolor Academy was a great experience. I learned so much and was able to get feedback on my projects along the way. I feel like I accomplished something when all was completed.

    I would recommend (and I have) the Foxsy Watercolor Academy to others wanting to try out watercolors or improve on their skills.”
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  • "Very fun and informative courses.

    The projects turn out very pretty, and the instructor feedback is quick and helpful."
    Vera C
  • “Very good and useful courses for those that want to start or improve their watercolor skills”
    Boryana
  • "This was so helpful! I loved the way Shelby broke down the basics in a succinct way and tips to use while practicing. Lastly, I appreciated Shelby mentioning that everyone is going to have a unique bounce lettering style.

    As someone who is new to brush lettering in general, I've been copying a lot of what I see. I need that consistent reminder to avoid potential frustration, especially as a beginner!"
    Kelsey
  • "I loved this course. I loved how it showed the lesson and then a project that corresponded with that project.

    The explanations were amazing and helpful and I really felt confident in doing the project. This was probably the best watercolor lesson I've ever taken and enjoyed."
    LG Woods
  • "I really enjoyed this course. Instructions and examples were clear and practical and the feedback was really kind and helpful.

    It has improved my lettering knowledge and given me confidence to keep practicing."
    Nic

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Join a thriving community of over 24,000 students, all united by a shared love for creativity. Together, let’s paint a brighter, more creative future.

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  • Unlimited creative support

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All Foxsy Memberships include:

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  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Lifetime Membership

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Get Lifetime Access

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Monthly Membership

$29 / month
Go Monthly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Yearly Membership

$164 / year
Go Yearly

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support

Lifetime Membership

$599 Never pay a subscription fee again.
Get Lifetime Access

All Foxsy Memberships include:

  • Access to the full 250+ class library
  • Access to The Watercolor Academy, The Modern Lettering Academy & Drawing Bootcamp
  • Access to exclusive weekly live classes
  • Fox Den Community Access
  • Project feedback from Foxsy Pros
  • Unlimited creative support
All plans come with a 30-day Money Back Guarantee.
Cancel anytime in your dashboard.
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Foxsy is an art education platform with on-demand creative courses. It’s designed so you can explore and grow your artistic skills.

The courses contain in-depth lessons and step-by-step projects to fuel your creativity and give you the skills to create your own amazing art.

Here at Foxsy, we are working to build a platform where you can have everything you need to give your creativity everything it needs to thrive.

Right now, we are working on building the best collection of online courses around, so you have everything you need to learn the new skills you've been putting off (or help you dust off some old skills).

We're doing this by working with online creators who have been where you are. Our instructors have all decided to make their creativity a focus of their lives. To devote themselves to exploring their creativity and helping others do the same, and many of them are self-taught. Basically, they get it and can help you no matter where you are.

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We currently have several courses on watercoloring, lettering, and creative journaling. As we grow our course library month by month, we will continue to expand the range of subjects as well.

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Ratings and Reviews

4.8
Avg. Rating
6 Ratings
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What's your experience? We'd love to know!
linda-f
Posted 2 years ago
Colour Me Surprised!

This course was deceptive, looked very simple but the effects gained from household items really were unexpected! My favourite would have to be the plastic card, making rocky landscapes so realistic. I also thought the toothbrush was very effective too. Certainly gave me pause for thought on how to add small touches to give a big effect.

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jgillis1
Posted 3 years ago
Textures Can Save a Painting

Learning these textures was so much fun and Shelby demonstrated them so well. I use a lot of textures in my painting. Sometimes I use them to stop me from overworking a painting.

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debra
Posted 3 years ago
Varied and interesting

I really liked the variety and learned a lot. I loved the Jellyfish project and think I did quite well on that, particularly my second attempt. I couldn't get into the sunset project, did several washes, but lost interest. Maybe it was the colors.

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morgunique
Posted 5 years ago
My review

the course was clear and interresting... I loved it and learned a lot.

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carolriordan
Posted 5 years ago
My review

I really liked the presentation of the 13 techniques that can be added to watercolor projects. I have created a small sample of each technique that I can refer to in other projects. I agree with the previous reviewer that the projects were too difficult for beginners. I think less detailed projects would have been better. In spite of this, thank you for your technique presentations--they were excellent.

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veracat
Posted 5 years ago
My review

This was such a fun course! I loved learning about the different textures, and most of them were easy to create. I learned a lot of new information. My only suggestion is to include another project, one more suitable for beginners. I found the projects incredibly difficult as a beginner, and would prefer an easier/quicker project.

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