Because watercolor pencils eventually require the application of water, you’ll want to draw on material thick enough that it won’t tear. Watercolor paper or heavy board are great choices.

Although you don’t need a lot of detail at this stage, be careful about the direction of your strokes as you add base colors. Once activated with water, the directions of the strokes will still show through. [3] X Research source

How long it will take the layers to dry will depend on how much water you used and how much space you covered.

For example, if you’re adding shading to your painting, use blue and brown watercolor pencils layered on top of each other. Once the water is applied and the pigments blend, they’ll create a true black.

How close you hold the bottle to the paper is up to you. Holding it close will cause the colors to bleed a lot and lose a lot of their definition. Holding it further away will result in less bleeding and more definition.

If you want your detail to be very pigmented, dip the tip of your pencil into a bit of water before you begin drawing.