Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a comprehensive guide to watercolour portraiture.

The book opens with an excellent introduction to colour theory and working with watercolours before guiding the reader through the basics of how to draw faces. As the author says: know the rules before trying to break them.

From there we are guided in the art of portraiture, with step by step instructions to create the pieces. There are tips for creating portraits using different watercolour techniques; playing with colours and styles, mixing skin tones (back to colour theory!), working with restricted palettes and mixed media or digital techniques to foster different moods.

This is all about creativity and giving the reader permission to have fun with their portraits. As a watercolour artist myself, I will definitely refer back to this book time and again in my own painting journey.

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

"Creative Portraits in Watercolour" by Ana Santos was a great addition to my library as a budding artist with a growing interest in watercolour. The picture books that Quarto Publishing puts out are always very good, and this one is no different. Ana Santos, a skilled artist and online teacher, gives a clear and easy-to-follow guide on how to use watercolour to make expressive and creative images.

The book starts with a long talk of the tools you'll need, including different kinds of watercolour paint, paper, brushes, and other things. I liked how much time was spent on colour theory and how to use it to make schemes, harmonies, and differences. The guide on how to mix skin tones with different colours was a gem in and of itself, because this skill has often been hard to learn.

When the author gets to the meat of the book, he or she goes into great detail about portraits. The step-by-step lessons and exercises for beginners were a breath of fresh air that made the daunting job of painting pictures easier to do. Ana Santos smoothly covers every part of the process of painting a portrait, from sketching the first measures to trying out different creative techniques.

One of the best things about "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is how many different examples and styles are included. It's more than just a book of instructions; artists of all levels can find ideas and motivation in it. The book pushes people to try new things and let their imagination flow, which helps them grow as artists.

I was especially interested in the part about making up faces and transferring reference pictures, because it gave me a lot of new ideas as an artist. The activities stretched my artistic skills and got me excited about watercolour painting again.

Even though the image on the cover didn't grab my attention at first, the book itself is a work of art. The colourful, step-by-step notes and photos are put together in a beautiful way that makes learning fun.

In conclusion, Ana Santos's "Creative Portraits in Watercolour" is a gem for anyone who likes watercolour pictures. It's useful for both new artists who want to learn the basics of watercolour and seasoned artists who want to improve their skills and range. I would suggest this book to any artist, no matter how good they are. This inspiring and thorough guide will stay on my bookshelf for a long time, and I'm looking forward to reading its beautiful pages again and again for both learning and fun.

Creative Portraits in Watercolor : Learn to Paint Faces and Characters with Beginner-Friendly Lessons - Explore Watercolor, Ink, Gouache, and More. This is an explorative tutorial book aimed at beginner to intermediate level. It includes materials, colour, fundamentals of watercolour, profiles and proportions of the face, and 45 step by step creative exercises. It is beautifully illustrated throughout and written in a clear and concise manner that should appeal to everyone. Overall a very useful and inspiring book.

An excellent book full of inspiration and instruction. The author has a beautiful style and is generous in their sharing of their knowledge and experience. I will definitely be adding this to my collection.

This was a fabulous book about watercolour portraits!
Lots of different approaches and a whole bunch of easy to follow step by step instructions.
I'd say this is suitable for all skill levels and that the reader would get something out of it. I'm excited to try out some of the ideas.

Thank you netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Roughly the first third of the book covers the basics of materials, colour theory and watercolour techniques. I wasn't expecting anything new from this as I've worked through more than a few hours of online lessons and tutorials covering watercolour basics, but I was pleasantly surprised! The sections on different types of contrast and various methods of lightening your work - including using acetone and bleach - were new-to-me and much appreciated.

Following that there's a much shorter section on drawing faces. This stays pretty basic - straight-on, profile, and 3/4. Since this isn't a book about drawing likenesses or portraiture in particular it's just about enough, although I personally would have liked a few more tips on capturing a real likeness.

The series of exercises that follows is really good, bringing together the techniques and colour theory from the previous sections so that you can create a portrait but also practice the theory and figure out what you like.

What I was really hoping to get from the book (not its flaw, just mentioning it in case others buy with similar expectations!) was tips on mixing realistic skin tones. This gets just two pages, but again just about covers enough that you can take that knowledge and play with it to figure out what works for you.

The final third of the book is more exercises, each bringing in an element of mixed media, different types of watercolour, creative portraiture and even digital processing of watercolours.

Overall really impressed by how much this book manages to cover. It's gorgeously presented, with lots of ideas, techniques and examples. A really good starting point for anyone wanting to play around with watercolour (and mixed-media) portraits, with many exercises that will give a starting point even if you're not feeling particularly "inspired". Recommended!

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto for an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This inspiring and beautiful book is a work of art itself!

As a beginner watercolour artist, I find portraits to be especially tricky to pull off. The exercises in this book were helpful and the colourful step-by-step instructions/photos were easy to follow. I learned a lot about basic techniques and how to incorporate mixed media into my work.

Quarto publishes some of the best books out there for artists and this one was no exception.

CREATIVE PORTRAITS IN WATERCOLOR is definitely one of those books that I'd like to own a physical copy of. I just want to flip through the stunning pages over and over again!

If you're looking to broaden your understanding of watercolour, I highly recommend it!!!

Why I did not like particularly the cover portrait, I was still interested in the subject. The first part of the volume includes all the essential information about watercolor medium, basic color theory and face construction so I surely recommend it to beginners. What came next was a real surprise, a lot of projects for every taste and artistic level, a bunch of creative ideas (continous line drawing, non-dominant hand drawing, etc.) that challenge one's capacity and stimulates artistic growth, overcome boredom. So the motto is : learn the rules, break the rules. .
I recommend the book to artists of any level.

I have loved Ana Santos's art since she appeared in domestika. Watercolor has been always a difficult method for me to learn, but Ana made it easy. The book explains from drawing portraits to watercolor techniques. It teaches step by step process to paint portraits. It feels easy yet detailed. I will recommend this book to any artist, no matter the level. Creative Portraits in Watercolor is a good book to go to if you love art and even if you don’t. 5 out of 5 stars.

Quarto Publishing releases some of the best drawing books on the market and Creative Portraits in Watercolor by Ana Santos is no exception.

Santos has a wonderful grasp on the fundamentals of art and translates those skills into watercolor techniques. Before the “beef” of the actual painting begins, there is so much information on color, which paints to use for what, what other tools you’ll need, and all the different ways you can paint with watercolor.

I even love the guide that is within on which colors to use to mix different skin tones. That page alone is worth the cover price as it’s such a hard skill to master.

When you get to the actual painting section, the different portrait techniques and step by steps are fantastic and I can’t wait to bust out my watercolors to do some different mark making.

This one is definitely a great addition to your collection, especially if you’re interested in watercolor portraits.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The author writes that she wanted to create a simple book, and that's what this is -- basic, accessible information about portraiture and watercolour at the same time, with enough building blocks for anyone who wants to take things further. I like the variety in painting exercises and the invitations to try different things, along with the focus on going with the flow (literally) and allowing for some playfulness.

I like how well defined this book is. Watercolor is such a broad topic, but by focusing specifically on portraits, we have an opportunity to explore more in-depth. The first parts cover materials, color and general technique. This will of course be useful for any watercolor project. After this, the author delves into the basics of portraiture, from the initial sketches and proportions, to getting creative with these. I enjoyed the variety of examples and styles she presents, making for a book that goes beyond the practical and instructional, to one that is also inspirational.