Tutorial: The Waterbrush

Kids, let me let you in on a little secret to art-on-the-go: the almighty waterbrush. I take one of these babies with me everywhere I go that I might be doing some sketching - it makes watercoloring a snap on the go.

All you need for watercoloring on the go is a waterbrush, watercolor pencils of your choice (I use Derwent Inktense pencils, which are insanely intensely colorful), and a watercolor block of your choice. (I use Fluid watercolor blocks).

The waterbrush screws apart at the base of the brush.

Gently squeezing the bottom part, stick it vertically under a waterspout, filling it up with water. Once it is all full, just screw it back together and you are ready to go.

Using your Inktense or other watercolor pencil, draw yourself a little design, sketch, whathaveyou.

Give the base of the brush a squeeze to get the water flowing into the brush bristles.

Then just apply a wash over your design, spreading out the color of your pencil. If you draw a light sketch it will usually spread farther. I did a pretty heavy outline, so it didn't spread too far.

If you draw over the sketch while it's still drying, the pencil color will usually be more vibrant, and darker. Feel free to draw and wash away to your heart's content.

And voila! You're all done. Wasn't that easy, fun, and transportable? You can take it anywhere. These babies are all I took to Ireland and Paris with me: