Ultimate Guide to Best Watercolour Paint
There are a lot of watercolour materials and brands out there, but for a beginner with no knowledge of where to even begin, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. You can of course refer to reviews to get a sense of what you’re buying, but you have to first have some basic understanding before you can make an informed choice. Having gone through that whole process myself, I understand that frustration and feeling lost in the sea of choices, and this is why I am here to help.
The goal of today's blog post is to organize and condense the information you need to know in order to choose watercolour paints wisely.
Quality
Artist Grade
PROS
- Colours are more vibrant
- The paints dilute and mix easily on demand, flow and mix beautifully on paper while retaining their value.
- They’re usually light-fast and of archival quality, so the colours won’t fade over time (be sure to check the pigment information on the tube!)
CONS
- More costly BUT you get what you pay for! If you have the budget for this, I say go for it! The results are amazing and you will not regret it.
Student Grade
PROS
- They are less expensive so it can be a good choice for someone on a tight budget.
- They can also be useful for someone who only wants to paint occasionally, or for older children who want decent paint but don't need an expensive set yet.
CONS
- Lack of variety in pigments. Some pigments are too expensive for manufacturers to use in student grade pigments, so they tend to use a cheaper version to mimic the colour. If you see the word “hue” after the name of the pigment, that is a substitute for the real colour!
- It will not perform like the artist-quality paints simply because this is meant to be a more budget line, which means lesser quality materials, lower grade pigments, less single pigment colours which often leads to chalky and muddy results when you mix colours.
Types of Paint
Pans
Watercolor paint in pans comes as rectangular cakes that are fitted into individual half or full pans. They're dry to the touch, but it reactivates when you put a wet brush to it.
PROS
- It usually comes in a boxed set of 12, 24, 48, 72 colours so it’s convenient and easy for a beginner because the colours are pre-selected for you. If you’re just starting out, a 12 or 24 colour box set would be more than enough for you to start exploring and experimenting.
- Can start using immediately
CONS
- The colours are pre-determined so you can’t choose your own, and sometimes you can get colours that you don’t like/need/use in a boxed set.
- The pans are packed very closely together so it’s harder to grab paint with a larger brush.
- The mixing areas of such predetermined box sets are usually smaller and it’s not as satisfying to mix colours.
Tubes
The paint comes in a tiny tube, like a travel size toothpaste tube. You squeeze it out onto a palette to use it or you can squeeze them into empty pans and wait for it to dry out, then use them as pans.
PROS
-
They sometimes come in a small set but are usually available as singular tubes so you have free rein to pick and choose the colours you want.
CONS
- You will need a palette to squeeze the paint out on before you can use them, and if you enjoy using pans but like the flexibility of choosing your own colours from buying tubes, then you will need to purchase additional empty pans and box to keep the squeezed out paint. It’s extra work and some people may find that inconvenient.
- Requires more storage space.
- Have to wait for it to dry on the palette before using, although you can still use it straight out of the tube.
Inks
These are basically dye-based ink. They are concentrated liquid watercolour paint.
PROS
- They are super VIBRANT.
- Colour is very concentrated so a little goes a long way.
CONS
- You can’t reactivate the paint once it’s dried, unlike watercolour pans and tubes.
- They are not as lightfast so the best way to preserve them is to scan them.
- If you’re selling it as original art then it’s best to frame it with acid-free matting frame and glass, and to avoid direct exposure to sunlight.
What to look out for
Lightfastness
A dye or pigment's lightfastness refers to its capacity to withstand light exposure and maintain its original colour over time. In conclusion, the higher the colour scores on the lightfastness rating means the colour is more resistant to fading when exposed to sunshine. To prolong the shelf life of your art, you should always frame it properly with a matting frame and glass. This will keep out humidity and moisture. In addition, it’s important to display it away from direct sunlight and heat. This will help the painting last longer.
Opacity
Opacity refers to the transparency of the watercolour. For colors that are just partially transparent or partially opaque, we also use the words "semi-transparent" or "semi-opaque." Watercolor paints that are transparent sit on top of the paper and permit light to pass through. Watercolors that are opaque, however, do not let much light through.
This information is helpful if you’re intending to do a lot of colour mixing because opaque watercolours do not mix well and often end up looking murky. However transparent watercolours are great for colour mixing and blending. Knowing the opacity level of your paint will help me become more adept at colour mixing and painting.
My Top Picks
I don’t have a particular brand that I am loyal to, I love trying colours from different brands and picking my fave from each brand! But these are some of the brands that I use and love.
Holbein: Holbein is a Japanese brand artist grade watercolour paint that is very affordable. I use a large number of Holbein colours in my work.
Kuretake Gansai Tambi: This is a Japanese brand and one of the highest grade of student quality paints I’ve tried that will suffice if you’re on a budget.
White Nights: This is a very affordable set of artist-grade watercolour paints. The colours are vibrant and I got a set of 24 pans for around $70, which is fairly affordable!
Sennelier: Sennelier paints are a French brand of artist grade paints that are a little more higher end than others, but the colours are extremely vibrant.
Winsor and Newton: I own a number of Winsor and Newton paint tubes as well. The Cotman range is the more affordable student grade paint but the artist grade Professional range colours are really nice as well.
