June 21, 2024

How to paint watercolor clouds with a paper towel

To paint clouds in watercolor, lay a wash of a single color that is neither too wet nor too dry, then create the clouds with a paper towel. Dab with a dry, crumpled paper towel for stylized clouds with marked edges, or press with a soaked one for softer, wet-on-wet clouds. In less than 1 minute, you get a beautiful sky with clouds.

What do you need to paint clouds with a paper towel?

Very few things: a single color for your wash and a paper towel, the magic tool for making clouds. There is no need to draw anything. This is pure watercolor, pure manipulation with a tool that I still use quite regularly. The goal is that in less than 1 minute you can create a sky with some clouds that are rather stylized at first.

How wet should the wash be?

This is the key point.

• Not too wet: there shouldn't be a big puddle underneath. If a puddle accumulates under the wash, it means it is a bit too wet.
• Not too dry either: some areas can end up a bit too dry. It doesn't matter much, since you act very quickly.

So you lay your wash, avoid letting water pool at the bottom, and move straight on to the clouds.

Technique 1: dab with a dry paper towel for stylized clouds

1. Take a dry paper towel and crumple it a bit. Don't make it completely into a ball.
2. Dab it on the wash. Each time, I pick a different area of the paper towel to create the clouds.
3. Adjust the clouds with a little bit of paper towel if needed.

When you dab like this, you create extremely stylized texture, with very marked areas. You get a cloud with quite marked edges, but it is very convincing.

You can also rub with the dry paper towel instead of dabbing. You will see that you get slightly different effects.

Technique 2: press with a soaked paper towel for softer clouds

Here you use the same material, but in a different way, and the effect is completely different.

1. Create your wash, again avoiding a big puddle underneath.
2. Take a paper towel and this time, don't dab. Take a big tip and soak it completely.
3. Press it on the wash, harder or softer. You can test it yourself to create your cloud.
4. You can then rub a bit.

Because your paper towel is wet, you are working wet on wet, so it creates edges that are not as sharp as before. In a few strokes, in less than 1 minute, you have a cloud with a completely different effect.

How do you vary the effect with a wet paper towel?

With a soaked paper towel, several things change the result:

• Pressure: if I press more gently, I can create areas that are a bit more nuanced. If I press hard, the paper towel absorbs a bit more pigment.
• How soaked it is: you can use a paper towel that is more or less soaked. I sometimes take an area of the paper towel that I soak a bit less.
• Which area you use: I take a slightly less explored area of the paper towel each time. When I kept using the same area, it left quite a few blue areas.
• Small circles: you can create really nice things by making small circles with the paper towel.

I really invite you to practice with a more or less soaked paper towel and test different things.

How do you avoid halos when the clouds dry?

Sometimes there is a little too much water or too many pigments in one spot. In that case, take a piece of paper towel and absorb it. This prevents halos from forming when it dries. Then you just have to let it dry to see the result.

Why practice clouds this way?

What is really interesting in this exercise is that you can test how the wet technique behaves with very few things, just a paper towel. You can create edges that are a bit more defined or a bit less defined, smoother transitions or less smooth ones, and very pronounced edges. With the same tools, you achieve completely different results and very different styles. This way, you can see what you lean towards the most and what you like the most.

FAQ

Do I need to draw the clouds first?

No. The clouds come directly from the paper towel on a single-color wash, without any drawing.

Which paper towel gives softer clouds, dry or wet?

The soaked one. Since it works wet on wet, its edges come out less sharp than those made by dabbing with a dry paper towel.

Can I fix a spot with too much water or pigment?

Yes. Absorb the excess with a piece of paper towel before it dries, so that no halo forms.

Read next

• What should I know before starting watercolor as a beginner?
• How to tell what's wrong with my watercolor
• What watercolor subjects should you paint to keep improving?