Watercolor Made Simple: Techniques, Projects, and Encouragement to Get Started Painting and Creating – with traceable designs and QR codes to online tutorials

Highly recommend anything Nicki Traikos puts out! I've taken many watercolor classes from her, and when I heard about this book I couldn't wait to get it. It has quite a few great project to work on, with detailed instructions and lots of photos. It's honestly a beautiful, quality made book. My favorite thing is the QR codes to scan to watch videos - super helpful!

I love the texture and experience of the book itself - the pictures are beautiful and vibrant, the projects are offered step by step and extremely detailed.Obviously, we are meant to take artistic liberties… mix whatever colors you love, don’t follow the pics exactly if you don’t want to, there’s no right and wrong. See my photo? One of my rocks looks like a potatoe. One kind of looks like a scoop of strawberry ice cream. Who cares?! Don’t get hung up or stuck on exact measurements of colors and consistencies, just keep practicing and playing - and LEARNING.Nicki put a great deal of info into getting started because after you learn that basic info of color mixing and what supplies you need to start and some warm ups, you are supposed to go enjoy doing your own art thing - so go play! I love the project ideas and the size of the stencils is manageable for newbies, it’s not overwhelming. If I wish to make a project bigger, I’ll photocopy at 150%I especially love the ideas in the back about what to do with all my pieces…. I usually just store them away but ideas on how to turn them into meaningful and useful gifts as well as learning how to protect the pieces so they don’t get ruined is fantastic info.

This is a beautiful book! I have been watching Nicki's tutorials online for quite some time so I was really glad that she put this book together. Each project includes step-by-step instructions and techniques. It is clear and easy to follow and definitely worth buying. I also love the concept of having the QR codes that link to the online video tutorials which I've never seen in any other book before. I really look forward to painting more with Nicki from this book! Thank you Nicki for such a wonderful book!

I'm thoroughly enjoying this book, not only for its high-quality production, featuring a textured cover and stunning illustrations, but also for its synergy with the author's online classes. It's a fantastic reference for the skills and techniques taught in her videos. Furthermore, the inclusion of QR codes allows me to easily access relevant examples, making it a valuable standalone resource in my collection of watercolor materials.

I have been waiting with excitement for Nicki Traikos’ Watercolor Made Simple to arrive - and it was well worth the wait. I love the project based approach to help us learn how to use various watercolor supplies (paints, brushes, paper, and water), as well as great descriptions of foundational techniques. The QR codes throughout the book link to helpful videos and line drawings - a wonderful way to see the techniques in action and try them out. Nicki even provides tips on how to reuse paintings that didn’t turn out as planned for bookmarks and gift tags so that they can continue to inspire creativity. I definitely have taken great steps towards discovering and nurturing the artist within me and I am sure you will, too. Enjoy!

Nicki Traikos, breaks down each tutorial step by step. Nicki, is so kind, patient and soft spoken with her teaching style, and she makes you feel like you can accomplish these classes. She gives us the encourgement to follow our watercolor journey and create beautiful paintings. I especially like the QR codes she uses in her book, they take you right to each of the tutorials listed. This book is a beautiful addition for beginners as well as the peson who might be a little further in their journey.

This is a great beginner book for learning Watercolor techniques. The book comes with traceable designs and QR codes throughout the book that take you to online tutorials. So, if you don't have access to QR code content, you may miss out on some of the offerings in this book. The chapters in this book begin with the foundations of Watercolor, followed by Chapter 2 of Practice and Play that works on how to mix watercolor paint, puddles, and using your brush. Chapter 3 focuses on the Fundamentals using Wet-on-Wet and Wet-on-Dry. Chapter 4 teaches the color wheel and color mixing. Chapter 5 is titled Be Curious and helps you look for ideas and explore subject matter. Chapter 6 is titled Let's Paint! and walks you through step-by-step instructions for painting and layering color on several different subjects from plants to insects, and landscapes. Chapter 7 shows you what you can do with your watercolor creation from making gift tags to cards. The final chapter 8 offers templates you can use in your projects, framing ideas and how to protect your paintings. Watercolor Made Simple by Nicki Traikos is a lovely book that would make a lovely gift for yourself or anyone wishing to learn the beginning of Watercolor.

This is a great book for beginners and those that have been painting for awhile. Good tutorials. I love that for the kindle you get a link to download the tracing pages for those that need them.

A great book to start your watercolor journey! The book helps you work at your own pace and even has QR codes to online videos. My favorite part is the paper crafting section that shows you practical ways to use all your artwork. A very pretty book, that is encouraging and does make the process of painting feel simple!

Arrived late last night so kept it til this morning to open. What a wonderful book, beautifully detailed, illustrated and an amazing companion to Nicki’s classes. Thanks Nicki

Tem um design agradável e tem dicas úteis. Um livro importante para quer começar a pintar com aguarela.

Boken är så bra i sitt utförande. Lätt att förstå, fina bilder och roliga uppgifter. Man blir glad av Nicki Traikos underbara färgpalett. Att skiva så att den som inte har målat tidigare får inspiration att ta pensel och färger och börja är inte lätt. Men det lyckas Nicki med. Jag kan verkligen rekommendera den här boken.

The author of this book - Nicki Traikos was my first ever watercolor teacher and all her courses are brilliant and easy to follow. She has combined all the knowledge in her courses into this book. Absolutely recommend it for any beginner in watercolor. It's filled with easy and simple projects with step by step instructions. There are also qr codes included for instructional videos. I have nothing but positive comments about this book. Go for it! You'll not be disappointed.