I am trying to learn to paint, and a pic of what I painted

I've been interested in painting and drawing lately, and I finally decided to paint yesterday...
Well, it didn't turn out great because I was using an oil and acrylic canvas paper, but painting with watercolors...So the colors wouldn't blend at all and I had to pack a lot more color for it to show and use very little water. And, the other issue was that I didn't know that you can't use white when using watercolors, you just have to leave white areas blank-I thought I could put dark colors and then put white on top and it would turn out white...Well I was so wrong, it is impossible to get rid of darker colors when painting with watercolors..later I looked up some techniques and I read that you are supposed to plan ahead where light areas will be and paint them last...I still like to have the white areas painted, so I did anyway and made a bluish undertone in the white, I don't know if that's a no no lol
Anyway here is the kitty I painted:

It took me 2 hours..I feel like I could have put more effort into it to make sure there aren't any weird areas when it comes to just the drawing but oh well hopefully I can do much better next time

Wow, that is fabolous, I wish I was artistic, well done

It's a good start - cats have a lot of colors in their fur that can make them tough subjects depending on how you wish to paint them. You could probably get some of the blueish tone out with a very very thin wash of a yellow-orange, if the paper would let you do that.

And yeah, the right paper helps a lot. Have you thought about trying gouache eventually? It's works out like an in-between of watercolor and acrylic, and dries fast. But you can still do things with it, like adding in details and white like you can with acrylics.

Keep painting!.

I've watched a friend who started painting a lot back in 2005-2006. She was good when she started but made a lot of mistakes on human proportions. Now, with a lot of practice, she's quite good and has become even better at painting animals.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

And yeah, the right paper helps a lot.

Have you thought about trying gouache eventually? It's works out like an in-between of watercolor and acrylic, and dries fast. But you can still do things with it, like adding in details and white like you can with acrylics.

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I've never heard of that but I will check it out!!
I was able to fix a few mistakes this morning as much as this paper would allow.

Very nice painting. I love to paint and draw too. I love the head and the legs, but the rest of the body is not quite right. If you can touch it up, I would paint in a "blanket" to cover the body part and just leave the head/legs in the front - then it would look better.

Hope you didn't mind my "critque"

I couldn't even figure out how to make a stick figure of a cat, so I think it's amazing!

That is pretty cute!

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Very nice painting. I love to paint and draw too. I love the head and the legs, but the rest of the body is not quite right. If you can touch it up, I would paint in a "blanket" to cover the body part and just leave the head/legs in the front - then it would look better.

Hope you didn't mind my "critque"

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I was trying to make the body kind of in a shade and then the tail coming in close to the legs- but I think I didn't draw the right shape...I might try to touch it up and draw it more behind the head and less to the side, or just try the whole thing again when I get the right paper lol...
I don't mind critique at all, it's not like I'm trying to be a professional lol thanks for your input

I think that came out awesome!

Your style is very appealing. The kitty just exudes "fun!"

I think it is really great. Maybe not something you intended, but the layout and shapes are intriguing.

I think it's fantastic. I don't know crap about art, but I don't think you should try to "fix" your paintings at this point. Leave them be and track your progress as you improve! When you get the inclination to fix one, make a new painting instead!

can you read this my friend?.....
I E N V Y Y O U!... I mean is a fantastic work, Unfortunately I´m not good to drawing and less for painting....

congrats, is a great work!...

Thanks guys I have always sucked at art, so for it to be recognizable as a cat is a big deal to me lol...
I am feeling really inspired to learn lately even though I was never naturally good at art, I feel like I was missing some piece of knowledge that I can learn now and I can find that potential to learn to paint really well
I am going to be painting a lot during the break when classes are over

Originally Posted by ut0pia

I have always sucked at art

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A lot of people who say this just didn't have the drive to push themselves before. If you have the will to do something you usually can. If you push yourself to learn and get better, you'll improve. And as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

I'm looking forward to seeing you keep trying. Don't give up.

Might I suggest some more simple things? A wrapped present with all of the wrapping paper detail and proper shadows? A christmas ornament? Maybe you could use them as gifts, too.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

A lot of people who say this just didn't have the drive to push themselves before. If you have the will to do something you usually can. If you push yourself to learn and get better, you'll improve. And as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

I'm looking forward to seeing you keep trying. Don't give up.

Might I suggest some more simple things? A wrapped present with all of the wrapping paper detail and proper shadows? A christmas ornament? Maybe you could use them as gifts, too.

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I agree about the pushing myself, but it's also that I didn't even see myself succeeding..I was trying to draw but I wasn't even looking at the object properly and analyzing it enough, what kind of colors it is made of and where the shadows are..and I was trying to do everything at once, for example paint a flower rather than paint one petal with 3-4 different shades and then proceed to the rest...It might be because I was younger and more impatient, but I remember how frustrated I was and it seems kind of dumb..
I like the christmas ornament and gift ideas, I will try that..I was just looking at pictures of horses because, of course I want to paint animals more than anything But I might be more successful at something simpler..

I think you did very darn well this time, it is beautiful. I can't even draw a straight line and I'm not kidding.

I think you do have talent for it. For a first attempt, and using watercolors, I think it's excellent! I haven't painted in years, but I preferred watercolors over acrylics or oils. You do have to plan ahead, and you're painting the colors and shadows. Anything pure white is left. Painting with watercolors is a very specific technique, and is quite separate from other types of painting. It's very unforgiving, and there's no "fixing" some things. I honestly think you did very, very well though!

Keep at it!

Thanks!! I can't wait to practice more

Amazing job!! I am horrible at painting but I love yours! It's almost abstract looking and that is my favorite type of art.

I'm a big Salvador Dali fan.