Experimenting with Gouache: What Not To Do

I’ve been hesitant to use gouache because I don’t know how to use it and every time I mess with it, I hate it. I’d heard that it was something like watercolor and something like acrylic. So at first, I tried to use it like watercolors. That did not work out the way I had expected. So then I trued to use it more like acrylics. Again, that did not work out the way I expected. Which is a shame, because I liked the line art for this picture.

I have since heard that gouache should be watered down to a cream-like consistency (which is a bit vague, since paints are really creams in the first place). But I think I get the idea. Enough water to make it glide smoothly, but not so much that the paint breaks down. That’s what I figure anyway. I haven’t tried again since this picture.

I would also guess that it can be worked up in layer, more like acrylics rather than watercolor in that sense.

Maybe I’ll try again some day. We’ll see.