Create an Oceanic Masterpiece with Dana Fox: A Watercolor Workshop

Mrs. H.: I got the Cotman watercolor paint recommended in the book. A few of the colors in the book do not match the same-name water colors in the recommended set. Also, the recommended colors in the beginning of the book don't include white, but white is needed later in a project. I am a beginner and find that the water color on the paper dries much too quickly, probably because I am a slow painter. So I am pre treating the pages in the book with a watercolor base layer. The book doesn't go into brush stroke technique so I am using additional teaching materials along side the project book.

United States on Nov 05, 2023

jack shields: i love dana fox’s watercolor art books. i have purchased about 5 or 6 books in the past few years. i give them as gifts along with the prima watercolor paint sets. great combination. the artwork in these books are adorable. the pages are strong enough to hold a considerable amount of water while you paint. great price and beautiful pictures.

United States on Oct 30, 2023

Stéphanie: j'aime beaucoup

France on Oct 29, 2023

Darla: This book is outstanding. The directions are great. I have purchased other books and this is in the top 5. The pieces I create receive a lot of compliments when I follow along with Dana’s suggestions.

United States on Aug 05, 2023

Dee Rawlins: Really nice quality paper

United Kingdom on Jul 13, 2023

Becky: I was looking for a real beginner's book to teach me good watercolour painting technique. This is not that book. Despite claims that this book is beginner-friendly, you need to already have an understanding of basic watercolour skills and techniques like paint/water ratios, washes, and dropping in colours, because they're not explained in this book, at all. At the same time, while some of the projects are great, about half of them are too simplistic, involve doing an entire picture with just one colour, and only take 5 minutes to do. I wish there were tips and exercises to teach technique, and then 50 great projects; rather than no tips, a single page of poorly-explained exercises for each technique, 25 great projects, and 25 filler projects. In addition, the instructions are unclear at times which has led to some moments of intense frustration for me, and as other reviewers have mentioned, the quality of the paper is sorely lacking. The paper tends to pill and become soaked through fairly easily, and paint frequently bleeds all over the place.

That being said, I like being walked through the projects step-by-step (I've had to do some improvising when the steps aren't...

Canada on Jan 05, 2022

Belinda: As a watercolor artist/educator there are times when you simply wish to have fun. This line of books are awesome for beginner watercolorists to advanced artists alike.

Each page is made of watercolor paper that is approximately 140lb thickness. There are detailed instructions on the back of the previous painting including the exact colors used (great for color mixing snd matching) and there is a picture of the animal completed with the suggested colors.

My only complaint is that the pages to be painted have faint outlines on some and dark on others. If you’re seeking to practice fur, for example, you may not be able to cover the lines completely. There is a solution for this. Simply paint in some form of a background or shadow.

These are not coloring pages where marine animals are in there environment as shown on the cover. Each page has a fish or squid (others animals in her other two books) but all that is on each blank page is an outline of the featured animal. An example is that I completed the clown fish page but I had to draw in the coral reef and paint the environment around it myself.

If you just want to paint simplistic animals…these are...

United States on Jul 13, 2021

Cyan M.Cyan M.: I bought this book for days when I would like to paint but don't feel creative or don't have time or motivation to also do sketching. For that, it's fine, but not exciting.

PROS: Lots of varying images. Good sizes for painting sessions. Decent paper. I've had some success despite being new to it. Works for practice, or just getting some painting in.

CONS: Could use more interesting pictures. Colors seem confused/inaccurate sometimes. Instructions are sometimes insufficient.

DETAILS: I'm relatively new at watercolor painting. The instructions are okay, but visuals or more detailed would help. I don't think there's a level of detail that will please all reviewers, but for me, sometimes it feels like "And then paint the rest of the picture in." There are also a number of images that are one or two colors and the detail is conveyed by changes in intensity -- yes, probably good practice, but dull to paint. Also, as another reviewer noted, some of the colors described don't seem to be accurate. I happen to have the Cotman watercolors she uses, so I'm not sure why the differences. Print quality, maybe.

All that said, there's a good array of pictures, they take...

United States on May 23, 2021

ElisaElisa: El libro me ha encantado, me parece una maravilla todo, la temática, el papel, el diseño.... La calidad es magnífica.

Todo el libro está hecho en papel de acuarela de alta calidad, con textura. Hasta la contraportada es de papel de acuarela y creo que la pintaré cuando ya tenga más experiencia. Me parece una maquetación estupenda, es una idea maravillosa poder hacer los dibujos de los tutoriales directamente en el libro. La encuadernación te permite tener el libro abierto por completo, para tener a la izquierda la explicación y a la derecha el dibujo para hacer.

Las instrucciones están en inglés y son completas y sencillas. Te dice desde qué colores usar, cómo mezclarlos, piceles que debes usar, si tienes que poner más o menos agua y dónde pintar. Son muy fáciles de seguir. Del dibujo tenemos el trazo para que con los colores hagas el trabajo y lo termines.

Las ilustraciones son muy bonitas, todas con la temática del oceano, unas mucho más sencillas que otras, se nota como va aumentando la dificultad al avanzar el libro. Tenemos: Faro, sirena, estrella de mar, cofre del tesoro, corales, y un montón de animales marinos.

Creo que es un...

Spain on Apr 27, 2021

DinDin: The book the papers the colors and drawing inside are beautiful. I also have her first book (Draw with me in the forest. which is in the same format).
The only down side about this book is that not all the 50 projects are in the same level of beautiful. Some of projects are very very simple while others has depth and texture (she teaches you how to draw fur and depth in them). So I don't know why Dana Fox the author chose to put so simple projects inside as well. Specially when its her second book. She can definitely draw in higher level so why put inside so many simple projects. I put few examples from the book for you to see. Also on You Tube you can see full review of this book inside by other artist, page by page so you can see if it fit you. But other then that its beautiful book and it does actually teach you how to paint and his format is brilliant. I which more artist would do that. Step by step it guides you and you can produce a high level of painting from her book.

United Kingdom on Dec 10, 2019