10 Easy Watercolor Experiments

Watercolor is already fun on its own, but adding a few simple materials can completely change the way the paint behaves.

These easy watercolor experiments are a great way for kids to explore texture, color mixing, resist techniques, and cause and effect without needing any complicated supplies. Most of these use things you probably already have around the house or classroom.

You can try all 10 on one big sheet of watercolor paper, divide a page into sections, or choose a few favorites to explore more deeply.

1. Add Salt

Salt creates one of the coolest watercolor textures, and it’s incredibly easy to try.

Paint a section of paper with a fairly wet watercolor wash. While the paint is still damp, sprinkle a little table salt or coarse salt over the surface.

Then leave it alone until the paint is completely dry.

Once dry, gently brush away the salt.

The salt absorbs some of the water and pigment as the paint dries, leaving behind light, crystalline patterns.

Try experimenting with: fine salt vs. coarse salt, different amounts of water, and different colors.

Great for creating: snow, stars, rocks, underwater textures, or abstract backgrounds.

2. Try Plastic Wrap

Plastic wrap can create sharp, angular textures that look surprisingly complicated.

Start by painting a wet watercolor wash. Tear off a piece of plastic wrap, gently crumple it, and press it into the wet paint.

Leave the plastic wrap sitting on the paper while the watercolor begins to dry. Once the paint is dry or almost dry, carefully lift it away.

You’ll be left with irregular lines, shapes, and lighter areas wherever the plastic touched the paint.

Great for creating: ice, rocks, stained glass, crystal textures, or abstract art.

3. Make a White Crayon Resist

This one feels a little like revealing a secret drawing.

Before adding any paint, use a white crayon to draw on white watercolor paper. Try stars,

hearts, spirals, flowers, patterns, or even a hidden message.

Next, brush watercolor over the entire area.

The watercolor won’t stick to the waxy crayon marks, so your white drawing suddenly appears.

Try experimenting with: different crayons, heavy vs. light pressure, and simple patterns.

Great for creating: secret messages, snowflakes, stars, rainbows, or patterned backgrounds.

4. Experiment with Wet-on-Wet Watercolor

Wet-on-wet painting is one of the easiest ways to create soft, dreamy watercolor effects.

Start by brushing clean water onto part of your watercolor paper.

While the paper is still shiny and wet, touch your loaded watercolor brush to the surface.

Watch what happens.

The color will begin spreading through the water on its own.

Add another color nearby and see how they mix together.

You don’t have to control every part of the painting. Part of the experiment is seeing where the watercolor decides to go.

Great for creating: skies, clouds, abstract paintings, flowers, oceans, and colorful backgrounds.

5. Add Water Droplets

Water can actually be used to change watercolor after you’ve already painted it.

Paint a wet watercolor wash and let it sit for just a moment.

While the paint is still damp, use a paintbrush, dropper, or pipette to place drops of clean water onto the painted area.

The clean water pushes the pigment outward, creating lighter circles, blooms, and rings.

Let the paper dry without disturbing it.

Try experimenting with: tiny drops, large drops, and different stages of dampness.

Great for creating: bubbles, planets, underwater effects, abstract textures, or backgrounds.

6. Make Watercolor Splatter

This one is simple, messy, and usually a favorite.

Load a paintbrush with watery watercolor.

Hold it over your paper and gently tap the brush against your finger or another brush.

Tiny droplets of paint will scatter across the paper.

You can also lightly flick the bristles with your finger for an even finer spray.

Try layering several colors.

Great for creating: stars, snow, sand, confetti, outer space, or energetic abstract art.

Tip: Put scrap paper around your artwork first unless you want the table participating too.

7. Use a Sponge

A sponge creates a completely different mark than a paintbrush.

Dip a small piece of sponge into watercolor and gently dab it onto the paper.

Try using more paint, less paint, more water, or a nearly dry sponge.

You can also layer several colors over one another.

Great for creating: leaves, tree canopies, clouds, rocks, grass, coral, and textured backgrounds.

8. Lift Paint with a Paper Towel

Watercolor doesn’t only have to be added. It can also be taken away.

Paint a wet watercolor wash.

While it is still wet, press a folded or crumpled paper towel onto the surface and lift it straight back up.

The paper towel absorbs some of the paint, leaving lighter areas behind.

Try twisting the paper towel, folding it into shapes, or using different amounts of pressure.

Great for creating: clouds, highlights, texture, smoke, water reflections, and abstract

patterns.

9. Make a Tape Resist

Painter’s tape can create clean white lines inside loose watercolor paintings.

Place strips of painter’s tape onto your watercolor paper before painting.

You can create stripes, geometric shapes, letters, or a simple pattern.

Paint watercolor right over the taped areas.

Once the painting is completely dry, carefully peel away the tape.

The paper underneath stays white.

Great for creating: geometric paintings, cityscapes, patterns, names, or modern abstract art.

Tip: Painter’s tape is usually gentler on paper than very sticky household tape.

10. Try a Dry Brush

Most watercolor techniques use plenty of water, but this experiment does the opposite.

Dip your brush into watercolor, then blot away most of the extra water on a paper towel.

Lightly drag the brush across dry watercolor paper.

Instead of a smooth wash, the brush skips across the textured surface and creates rough, broken marks.

Try changing the angle of the brush or using the side of the bristles.

Great for creating: grass, tree bark, fur, feathers, waves, rocks, and scratchy textures.

Turn It Into a Watercolor Experiment Sheet

Instead of trying to make a finished artwork right away, give yourself permission to simply experiment.

Divide a sheet of watercolor paper into several sections and test a different technique in each one.

You could label them:

Salt, Plastic Wrap, Crayon Resist, Wet-on-Wet, Water Drops, Splatter, Sponge, Paper Towel, Tape Resist, Dry Brush

Once everything dries, compare the results.

Which technique created the roughest texture? Which one created the softest? Which was the most surprising? Which would you want to use in an actual artwork?

That little bit of reflection turns a fun painting activity into a great introduction to how artists experiment with materials.

A Few Watercolor Tips

Watercolor paper will give you much better results than regular printer paper, especially for techniques that use a lot of water.

Keep a cup of clean water nearby and rinse brushes between colors.

And remember that watercolor often looks different when it dries. Colors usually become a little lighter, and many of these textures become more noticeable after the water is gone.

Most importantly, there really isn’t a “wrong” result with these experiments.

The whole point is to see:

What happens if I try this?

And that’s one of the best ways to learn about art.