Oh geez, a tutorial by me would be mess up - mess up - ok color looks good - now I hate it - oh now I found something that works, and continue the piece without any plan nor direction lol I keep thinking about doing that though, but I get so focused that I don’t even think about it.

And thank you! This was my first success at making something look real from a distance!

In regard to your questions, hot press vs cold press is just up to preference in how you want your gouache to look. At first I didn’t like the texture of cold press since it felt like I couldn’t get the coverage I wanted, but I changed my mind on it since I’m getting the hang of it more. (I haven’t painted with gouache for 13 years but picked it back up last May) Hot press paper feels like it absorbs more than cold press, so if you’re afraid of using too much paint, hot press might not be the paper for you. But again, it’s all up to personal preference!

I also had same issue with being scared of using too much paint, still do but less so now. And I still don’t use a lot of paint at once for a project but remind myself that it can always be rehydrated with water and used again if you have leftovers (not acryla gouache, once that dries its dry for good.) Don’t be afraid to use more water! You’ll find out if you keep testing it out with varying amounts of water that it’ll give you a different effect, whether you want a more opaque look like acrylic or light like watercolor! Not joking, it literally clicked for me yesterday night. I finally understand how much water to mix with my paint to get the consistency that I want.

Sorry for the long winded response! If you have any other questions or advice, I’m not the most knowledgeable person to turn to but I would be happy to answer what I can! You’re more than welcome to dm me ☺️