What Are The Best Watercolour Supplies For Beginners To Start Using?

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Best Watercolour Supplies For Beginners

Starting a new skill as a beginner can be very daunting and hard to get going. This initial apprehension is only worsened when you’re unaware of what equipment and tools to be using. But don’t panic, as this handy guide contains all the essential watercolour supplies that beginners and those new to watercolour must have in their collection.

What is Watercolour paint and how is it used?

Many experienced artists will already have an understanding or familiarity with the technique and outcome, but what exactly is watercolour and how would you describe it? In short, watercolour refers to a paint medium that is made with a water-soluble binder that when activated, produces a semi-transparent colour.

It’s usually applied to paper by using either dry pans of pressed pigment or wet tubes of paint; each giving their own desired effect when activated with water.

Student grade vs. Artist grade watercolours

Student grade

As a beginner, you might want to opt for some of the cheaper student grade watercolours before deciding to spend more. Brands are able to offer these affordable paints by using less expensive pigments with increased amounts of binder, extender and brightener, which does unfortunately have a negative impact on the quality.

With student grade watercolours, you may find that the colours are not as vibrant, flowing or blendable as the more costly comparisons. However, this isn’t to say student grade watercolours are bad. They’re actually a great, accessible option to get an artist going, with some higher end student grade watercolours giving the professional sets a run for their money.

Artist grade

Looking for some watercolours with better quality for your fine art practice? In that case, you’ll be wanting to buy from the professional artist grade lines instead. These watercolours will give you some of the richest, most intense colours which mix easily on a palette or on paper.

They’ll also have a lot more variety when it comes to colour selection, giving the professional artist every shade they need. Sets of these watercolours are pricey, especially for beginners, but are well worth the investment if you’re serious about using watercolour in the long run. The difference is definitely very apparent and you’re unlikely to ever go back once already upgraded.

Essential watercolour supplies for beginners

pan watercolour vs tube watercolour

Pan vs. Tube Watercolour sets

Watercolour pans or ‘cakes’ as they are sometimes described, are often labelled as the preferred medium of choice, especially for beginners. They’re great for making art on the go and are easy to use, helping those just starting out with watercolour to grasp the basic techniques and processes.

Picking up a set of watercolour cakes is also straightforward and can be found at a decent cost, further cementing them as ideal watercolours for beginner artists.

Watercolour tubes on the other hand, are already wet. They’re squeezed out from their packaging onto a palette to be thinned with water. The consistency of these paints are thick, a bit like acrylic or oil, although their properties completely differ. Once dry, some types of watercolour from tubes can be reactivated with water, to distribute the pigment further.

A lot of professional artists will use these types of watercolours because their colour strength can be significantly better, as well as being easier to mix, creating customisable palettes and the separate tubes preventing colour contamination.

Watercolour supplies are then divided up further in relation to their quality, much like other artists’ equipment out there. The one you end up going for all depends on your experience and what you require from the product.

Tube Watercolours

Winsor & Newton Professional Water Colours 5ml (Artist grade)

Before being put off by the price, make sure you consider that these watercolours are tailored for the professional artist or the creative who values high quality. In terms of watercolour supplies, you do get what you pay for. This Winsor & Newton Professional Set is rich in colour, holds longevity and mixes almost perfectly.

They’re also super easy to build your own palette, simply using whatever tubes you need at the time. If you’re serious about watercolour, maybe have a serious thought about purchasing these.

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolour Paint Set (Student Grade)

There’s a reason why we’re back to Winsor & Newton, and that’s because they do impressive products for artists considering all budgets and experience. This time, their popular Cotman watercolour range is in the spotlight for its affordability and surprisingly good quality. Produced with consistency and lightfastness in mind, this set’s paint also goes a long way making them incredibly good value for money.

Perhaps the colour variety is slightly limited and payoff isn’t as vivid, but that is to be expected from the cheaper lines. Reassuringly, there’s a whole host of positive reviews for this set from both beginners and experienced artists alike, so if that tells you anything it’s that these are well worth your time.

Pan Watercolours

Schmincke HORADAM AQUARELL Watercolours (Artist Grade)

When it comes to watercolour supplies for beginners, you may instantly think of those cheap, unbranded pans that never lift any colour. However, if you love the pan type but long for top quality; this HORADAM AQUARELL might be the ideal product. As well as including 12 beautifully pigmented colours, this tin allows space for your collection to expand.

And when it comes to quality, Schmincke has plenty of experience, starting their production way back in 1881. For a watercolour pan you can trust; we and lots of tried and tested users would recommend this one.

Daler-Rowney Aquafine Watercolour Half Pan Travel Set (Student Grade)

Whilst not their absolute cheapest line, Daler-Rowney’s Aquafine watercolour range is probably the student grade product you’ll want to invest in. This compact set of pan paints is extremely handy for artists on the go and most suited to those sketching and experimenting. The colours live up to their box saturation and mix well in the metal lid provided.

Despite being a tad fiddly when unboxing and re-organising, this set forms a great introduction to watercolour for any beginner. Added bonus points for the lovely, usable brush that comes with the paints, now isn’t that a first.

The brushes

The main thing to note when it comes to watercolour brushes is that you’re going to want something soft. Of course there may be occasions when a stiffer brush is needed to produce experimental marks, but ultimately, the softness and water retention is going to sway your choice. For beginner artists looking to grasp basic techniques, we recommend picking up some synthetic brushes.

They’re cheaper to buy and usually easier to control than the higher-end natural hair brushes. In fact, watercolour brushes are some of the most expensive, with the real hair tools setting you back hundreds! So before investing in a large, costly brush collection; start with three or four synthetic brush shapes and see how you find them.

8PCS Kolinsky Sable Watercolour Brushes

In terms of watercolour supplies for beginners, these Kolinsky Sable Watercolour Brushes are ideal. You may have assumed that picking up a set of brushes under £20 was destined for bad quality, however, this isn’t the case. Using natural squirrel hair, the brushes are both soft and smooth, providing great liquid holding abilities. They also cover a range of shapes and sizes, with the larger rounded ends applying wash to large areas and the flat edge shapes perfect for sharp detail. If you’re looking for an all-round, cheap and reliable set of brushes for your first watercolour project, these might be the ones.

Princeton Aqua Elite NextGen Artist Travel Brush Set

Skipping on natural hair brushes doesn’t mean compromising on quality as the Princeton Aqua Elite Brush Set demonstrates. Sometimes, not every artist wants to use real animal products for very valid reasons, which is where synthetic alternatives come in handy. For the fairly high price, you do receive a vegan leather pouch to store your high quality brushes as well as a silver barrell to protect the brush head. It’s worth noting that these brushes perform just as well as the real thing, holding water, retaining their shape and not losing bristles or hair. A perfect option for your synthetic brush needs.

Daler-Rowney Graduate Multi-Technique Synthetic Hair Brush

If you’re only testing watercolour for the first time, then the Daler-Rowney Graduate Synthetic Hair Brush may be a great option for you. They’re our cheapest option, yet still offer reliable quality which is perfect for trying out watercolours and more. Although these brushes aren’t on the same level as natural hair options, they do hold water quite well and their fibres don’t seem to shed as much as other brushes. These aren’t just watercolour brushes either – in fact, you can use these tools for mostly any painting project.

Paper

Paper really isn’t something to be skipped over, as it’s just as important as the actual paint. The type of surface you’re using with your watercolour supplies can really determine the overall effect, so consider what you’re aiming for and buy accordingly. Although there are three main types of watercolour paper: cold press, hot press and rough, they all carry one similar feature.

This important feature is how absorbent they are, which is highly imperative to the watercolour process. Let’s also not forget the weights of watercolour paper, something else to consider when searching for watercolour supplies. To save you time, here are our top picks of watercolour paper to get you started.

Cold Press Paper:

Cold-pressed watercolour paper is the most common kind and definitely a favourite for beginners. This is because it has a reasonably dimpled surface, allowing for a variety of techniques and marks.

Art-n-Fly Fold Over Design Watercolour Pad

This versatile paper pad contains 60 thick (300gsm) cold press paper sheets, ideal for watercolour projects, acrylic and even sketchy techniques with charcoal. The heavy weight allows for wet on wet mark making, along with finer details to really experiment with the paint. The tear off sheets are also very handy for removing your work to then display or frame how you please.

Hot Press Paper:

As the name suggests, hot pressed paper is rolled out on heated cylinders which give it a much smoother surface texture. Due to this, many illustrators and fine detail painters use the paper so their individual brush marks show, ideal for digital reproduction.

ARTEZA Watercolour Pad

With its smooth texture, the ARTEZA Watercolour Pad facilitates the even distribution and absorption of water and fine detail work, without the texture distracting from individual brush marks. Although the pad contains considerably less paper sheets, 14 to be exact, they do dry fast and flat, a great positive for watercolour artists. If you’re a beginner looking to practice with large areas of wash, maybe stick to something a bit more textured and cheaper to buy. However, for all your detailed work, this paper pad is a great option.

Rough Paper:

The last watercolour paper type is ‘rough’, which also takes after its name. Because this paper isn’t rolled on cylinders at all, it’s a lot more textured than any other type. Usually rough watercolour paper is amongst the heaviest/thickest, which is considered to be the highest quality.

Arches Rough Watercolour Paper Block

For the beginners who want to skip straight to the high quality supplies, this rough watercolour paper pack from Arches should be your go to. Granted, it is a lot more expensive than our other options, but beginners and professionals alike find joy and excitement when working with this paper. It’s made with 100% cotton fibres, meaning it’s able to prevent colour bleeding whilst simultaneously absorbing a lot of water. The natural rough grain provides a beautifully textured surface when dried and not warped in its finished state. Many professional artists use this paper, but it also gets our vote amongst watercolour supplies for beginners.

Are watercolours good for beginners?

Watercolours are for sure amongst a whole collection of beginner friendly art materials. Due to the paint being water-soluble, they’re often a popular medium to introduce painting techniques to beginners, as the process doesn’t require a lot of preparation. All you require are the basics being; the paints themselves, a decent paintbrush, and of course, water.

If you enjoy painting with watercolour and build skill, when you are ready, simply upgrade your kit and experience painting with super blendable and richly vibrant watercolours. So yes, watercolours are for sure a beginner-friendly art material.

What is the difference between gouache and watercolour?

As a beginner, it’s easy to simply gather these two mediums under the same name, and for good reason. They both have a similar makeup, with the binder being activated by water in order to distribute the pigment. However, if you pay attention to the details, watercolour and gouache start to differ more than originally thought.

Firstly, gouache is a lot more opaque. This is definitely not the case with watercolour, where the white paper underneath will show through. It’s also worth considering the drying times, in which gouache is significantly faster. Because of this, illustrators seem to favour the medium over watercolour, which fine artists usually prefer instead.

5 Tips for watercolour beginners

Now you’ve collected all your necessary watercolour supplies, how do you use them to the best of their abilities?

Tip 1: Keep your tools and space clean

You’ve heard this one a fair few times, but we can’t stress it enough. Make sure you clean your brushes after every use and don’t leave them in water, especially those expensive ones. Watercolour is a delicate technique and relies on the equipment performing its best, so you have to put time and care into keeping them in good shape.

Tip 2: Incorporate mediums and marks

As the watercolour paint is highly adaptable when activated, so you could experiment using different water-based tools such as water coloured pencils and water-based markers to achieve a variety of effects. An easy alternative is by using sponges to bring about different looks and marks on your work, something a brush perhaps couldn’t achieve alone. Don’t be afraid to test all processes to find something you enjoy.

Tip 3: Get a mixing palette

Even if you’re using watercolour out of a pan, you may still find the need for a separate palette to mix/dissolve colours before applying them to paper. This will be an essential part of your toolkit if you’re using watercolour tubes, however we still recommend them when thinking of watercolour supplies for beginners. They help to prevent colour contamination and give you a space to mix colours, providing a wider colour range for your work.

Tip 4: Use scrap paper to test colours

As a beginner, you may want to keep a handy piece of paper separate to test your colours and their wash. Try to use the same paper as your final piece to trial the effect before going all in. This way, you can avoid irreversible errors on your masterpiece.

Tip 5: Have plenty of paper towels

As a watercolour beginner, you should definitely have a good supply of paper towels at the ready. After all, this is a water based technique, so don’t be surprised if it’s a little messy to start with. Some of the best work comes from letting loose and being expressive, so expect spills!

In conclusion, the best advice we can give you as watercolour beginners is to get stuck in! The process can be very forgiving and adaptable, so it’s easy to pick up and learn a technique that works for you. And when you’re equipped with all the essential watercolour supplies for beginners, there should be nothing stopping you.

WHAT WATERCOLOUR SUPPLIES DO YOU USE AS A BEGINNER? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

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watercolour supplies for beginners

By Mia Harwood

May 16, 2022

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