What kind of watercolors should i get

I did buy Windsor Newton Series 1 Sepia. It is a lovely rich brown but very grainy so I have to be careful about mixing it with other paints.

Old new to water coloring. Very helpful, reading your info. Love them, I never liked the messy looking trays from school. Thank you so much for being very honest and sharing your experiences. Truly appreciate it very much. Its indeed an eye opener to know so much in a simple language snd illustration.

Thank you so much for such a summary, easy reading and remembering! I learnt a lot a lot! Thanks for guiding us the way! Thanks for your generosity for sharing your tips and talent especially your time.

Thank you for this easy way into watercolour. I am in New Zealand where we are all in lockdown for covid, and I found a supply of water-colour gear in our cupboard which my mother in law gave me years ago but I never used. Am now painting each afternoon using your website for guidance — am loving it! After a year of learning to paint on my own, this has been one of the most helpful posts I have read.

I will keep it on hand as I grow my palette. Thank you so much. I was researching beginner watercolor techniques and came across your site.

I will be picking up my supplies in the next week or two and will be referring to your site regularly. I find the information on color theory especially helpful.

Thank for you this website. I stumbled upon it while reading about watercolor canvas. I am a beginner, self teaching, working on a couple paintings for Christmas gifts. One is on a watercolor canvas as the recipient likes to hang unframed canvases, one is on cold pressed paper. Same subject matter, such different results I am getting. I am learning a lot from you — thanks again!! Please log in again. The login page will open in a new tab.

After logging in you can close it and return to this page. Probably not Number of pigments The ingredients used to make paint include one, two, three, or sometimes more pigments. Transparency Certain watercolors are more transparent than others. Lightfastness Lightfastness is a rating of how much a particular paint will fade or discolor over time when exposed to light.

Granularity Granular paints tend to have a grainy texture when dry. How to choose? When choosing paints I look for colors that fit the following criteria:.

Why is this important? Concentrating on these components of watercolor paint will steer you towards the best choices. Professional or Student Grade Paints? Later, as you progress you should move towards professional watercolors.

Tubes or Pans - Which is Best? Which Brand to Choose? You can read more about what I consider good watercolor brands here… Whichever brand you choose, I suggest you stick to a reputable manufacturer. Which Colors to Choose? But how do you choose your palette of colors? Primary Colors: These are the foundation of your mixing palette - start here. Secondary Colors: Secondary colors can be mixed using primaries.

Convenience Colors: Convenience colors are ready mixed colors that you use so frequently it makes life so much easier to have them available in your palette. Confused and undecided? I know how you feel! First Previous. Hi, I really like the information you have given in these articles you have written, thank you. Hi Jan Getting the right watercolor paints will get you off to a good start! Thanks for your kind words Diane — enjoy your painting!

Stay safe…. Really happy you found it useful Ricki — happy painting! Close dialog. Session expired Please log in again. This website uses cookies. Click to consent. Manage consent.

Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Containing a plastic palette for tube storage and mixing coupled with an assorted hair brush, you will have everything with the only exception being paper and water ready to get started with painting immediately!

The 12 colors within Academy watercolor painting kit will flow like butter and will produce some amazing and vibrant results. While the lightfastness and consistency of the paint is incredible, what we really liked was the color guide on the Grumbacher website. This helpful guide not only tells you the lightfastness rating per ASTM , but it also discloses the pigment information.

For instance, if you were using Alizarin Crimson, the exact color used was PR So, if by chance you run out of this particular color mid painting, you can go to the store and cross reference the color code PR83 with other brands and get a very close color match consistency, pigment concentration, and performance may differ. While this might not seem like too big of a deal for some, but for those artists looking to paint a large-scale piece, this reference number is extremely important. Lastly, for those looking to upgrade their Academy series paints, Grumbacher does offer a professional level paint with their Finest Watercolor series.

These will have all the professional qualities like better transparency and higher pigment density — you can typically buy those paints individually at select online retailers like Blick Art Materials. Established in , this German based art supply maker puts together a compelling lineup up paints that do a terrific job in not only delivering the artist with professional grade paint, but equally amazing is their reference documentation:.

In true German form, the reference color guide that Schmincke provides for the Horadam watercolors is unlike anything that we have ever seen. For each color that they produce in total , you have a German and English description of the paint itself, the color index name, opacity and glazing properties, lightfastness, stain rating, and finally granulation:.

When reviewing their production process, you can see just how much time goes into making a single pan of watercolor paint 4 months in total :.

Given that the pigment colors are the exact same between both their pans and tubes, you can easily swap out the products with one another and get expected and reliable results.

For the animal conscious or vegan artists reading, the Schmincke pans do rely on ox gall — a common ingredient derived from cows that is used as a wetting agent. As evident in the 4. Containing everything that watercolorists are looking for in a quality paint set including high pigment volume, permanence, transparency, and uncompromising materials, this watercolor paint by Holbein has it all.

With 24 5ml tubes packed into this expansive yet affordable set for professionals, you will have all the necessary colors that you could possibly want. Perfect for artists who work on a much smaller scale, the 5ml tubes will have plenty of legs, and this is due in large part by quality paint found in each tube.

A quick visit to the Holbein website you will be able to see the entire color chart of all 24 colors included in the kit along with their permanence rating, intensity, transparency, and more:. A quick visit to the M. Graham website will not only guide you through their entire paint making process, but reinforces the time and care that they put into making their artist grade products. Dedicated to only using some of the finest natural pigments in their wide color selection, their attention to pigment load is second to none as you can see here:.

For the artist it means less paint is required while also giving you greater range over the transparency of the layers you plan on painting in your piece. But furthermore, M Graham is one of the few manufacturers that use honey in their watercolor paint.

When used properly, it prevents the paint from fully drying out when placed on the mixing palette. Furthermore, like the Grumbacher color chart, M. Graham provides the pigment composition of each paint — allowing you to substitute easily with other brands of course some small variation in consistency and hue is expected :.

Lastly for the environmentally conscious artists out there, you will be happy to know that M. Of course, for the toxic heavy metals like the Cadmiums they mix their nearest similar color in order to produce striking results.

This will not only ensure that your piece looks the same as the day you finished it, but further generations will be able to view your artwork with the same vibrant colors that you originally intended. While the 5ml tubes are pretty small, you can purchase individual paints through this page on Amazon or at the Blick Art Materials website when you need to refill. While we took a look at the Sennelier La Petite student focused watercolor set, we wanted to turn your attention to their professional series.

Providing many of the same great features that were loved in the student set, you get those plus a higher pigment concentration based on natural materials where possible. It comes with 36 high-quality watercolor paint tubes in a broad range of supremely pigmented, mixable colors.

We're talking burnt umber, scarlet, viridian, and everything in between. The set also includes a double-sided mixing wheel that helps you figure out what will happen if you mix certain tubes together. This tool can act as a guide for those who are newer to mixing their own colors, reducing paint waste.

Watercolor paints can always be mixed to achieve a desired color, but with the Arteza Premium set, you can do less mixing and more painting. The box comes with 60 colors, each in a little easy-to-squeeze tube. Information about the pigment, lightfastness, and transparency are printed right on the sides of the tubes.

All of that information might seem overwhelming for beginners, but it can help more advanced painters choose the right paint. As for the paint itself, you can count on a non-toxic formula that's easy to blend and suitable for all skill levels.

The Gansai Tambi set from Kuretake comes with 36 watercolor pans in rich, striking hues. The paint itself is ultra-smooth, not at all granulated, and opaque with a slightly glossy finish. It comes in a pretty green box with a color chart.

The pans stay in place thanks to a protective sheet, but you can also take them out individually and use the tray as a mixing palette if you need to create new colors.

The pans themselves are larger than standard watercolor pans, which means they last longer and they're easier to paint with, since you can saturate your brush much more easily. You can't go wrong with M. Graham Artists' Watercolor paints. The impressively pigmented tubes come in a wide range of colors, which you can buy in singles or sets.

Each color is individually developed to bring out the pigment's unique qualities. The super-rich yet easily dilutable paints are produced in small batches and formulated with honey to prevent drying out.

You can count on them to last for months—maybe even years—a quality hobby painters will definitely appreciate. Graham option is great for experimenting because you get a hefty amount of paint in each tube.

The colors are rich, but possible to blend even without an expert touch. MeiLiang Watercolor Paints are extremely pigmented, not chalky or grainy, and glossier than most other formulas. This set comes with a user-friendly waterbrush and 36 intensely vivid colors, all set in pans within a cute teal case. The sturdy metal box is small enough to take on a trip or to a painting class but also big enough that it doubles as a mixing palette. Paired with the waterbrush, this paint set is incredibly portable, so you can take it outside and be inspired by nature while you paint.

The Crayola Washable Paint Set is the best option for kids. It comes with 16 watercolor pans in all the essential colors, plus a paintbrush designed for small hands. We like that the semi-moist paint is easy to lift onto your brush and that the non-toxic formula easily washes off skin, clothes, and furniture.

The color range is limited, but this set will keep any kid who loves to paint or color happy. It even comes with a paintbrush, and the clear lid can be used as a palette if your child wants to experiment with mixing colors. Benicci Artist Brushes can be used with all types of paints, but they're ideal for watercolors.

This pack comes with six flat brushes in various sizes, four round brushes, a fanned brush, and a filbert filberts are a hybrid of a flat brush and a round one. The soft yet durable nylon bristles on these paintbrushes work well with watercolor on paper, though you can also use them on canvas, fabric, or wood.

And the easy-to-grip handles help you maintain a steady hand. The Half-Pan Studio Set comes with 45 high-quality paints, each with impressive pigment, tinting strength, and transparency view at Amazon. However, if you prefer tube paints or want even more colors, you can't go wrong with the Arteza Premium 60 Water Colors set view at Amazon. Some watercolor paints are sold in individual tubes, allowing you to select exactly the colors you want.

Beyond that, consider the pigment of various paints, as more heavily-pigmented paints will produce brighter, more intense colors. Watercolor paints can vary widely in price. In general, the higher the quality of paint, the more expensive it'll be. Your expertise—as well as how you intend to use the paint—will help you determine how much you need to spend to get the effect you want. Watercolor paint is valued for it's transparency: the ability of light to pass through the paint and reflect back off the white surface of the paper to create a wonderful luminescent effect.

See my "Jar of Marbles" painting on the right, which was creared entirely with watercolor paint. You can also purchase opaque watercolors , but if you're just starting out, don't worry too much about this distinction. Some purists don't believe in using opaque watercolors at all. With practice you'll learn to exploit transparency to enhance your watercolor paintings and to know if you need opaque colors. You do need to think about the transparency of the paint when it comes to layering.

It's important to plan ahead and layer transparent colors before opaque colors because they won't show up the other way round.

You can make opaque colors more transparent by thinning them with water but this can diminish their intensity. So how do you know which are transparent and which are opaque? You'll come to learn which pigments are usually transparent but there is variance between manufacturers.

They will usually tell you on the tube or pan if the color is transparent. Finally, many experienced artists like to test new paints before they risk using them on a painting. The test for transparency is simple. Use a permanent marker and draw a wide black line across a piece of paper. Stroke each color over a section of the line and after they're dry you can identify the transparent colors as those which seem to disappear on the line and the opaque as those which are visible or leave behind sediment.

Some watercolor paints penetrate the fibers of the paper and "stain", while others dry on the surface and are easy to scrape off or remove with a sponge. All pigments fall somewhere along the continuum between staining and non-staining. If you're buying paints for the first time, don't worry about this, but if you know you'll be using layering or "lift-off" techniques you'll want to make sure you have a good mix of staining and non-staining colors. Knowing which of your colors are staining and which aren't is handy if you're going to be scratching paint off the paper to reveal the white underneath or the light tint of the remaining pigment.

One way around this consideration is to use masking fluid. Staining is also a factor when layering paint. Some non-staining pigments may lift and mix with layers placed on top, thereby muddying the colors and hindering luminosity.

Unfortunately it's not easy to know which are staining colors and which aren't because it can differ by manufacturer. Most watercolorists like to test their colors beforehand on a separate piece of paper. Just let the paint dry and see how much pigment remains when you scrape or sponge it off. These precautionary measures are worth it because mistakes with watercolor paint can be hard to undo. Pans and tubes are by far the most common way to buy watercolor paint, but you can also get it in bottles, stick-form, and in pencils!

A fantastic addition to your watercolor workflow! Pans are small rectangular or circular trays that contain solid blocks of paint that are re-awakened with water. Pans are portable and great for outdoor use.

They're also economical because you can only take so much pigment from the pan to the palette each time. But this means they aren't as suited to large washes and mixing. Tubes contain moist, paste-like watercolor paint and range in size from as small as 5ml right up to 37ml. They can be purchased individually or in sets and are favored by artists who like to work in a studio on large paintings utilizing broad washes.