breaking out the water color pencils

It has been years since I have used watercolour pencils.  Even with this little imaginary dragon you can see I was struggling a  to balance shading and color.  You really can’t go back with this medium once you add the water!  I have always used the approach of drawing the whole picture, then going back and using water to mix the colors and add texture. Does anyone have a different approach?

prickly pear dragon