5 Must have Watercolor Supplies For New Artists

Choosing your watercolor supplies to get you started on this journey is an easy task! I got you covered. Once you embark on this path, you will find that you are more creative than you think.

The joy of watercolor can be contagious and I want to share my joy with you! When I started, I had doubts. I bought all of the supplies and began to follow along with an instructor online and discovered I could do this. You can too!

We are going to discuss what materials you need to have success. It is important to have the proper tools without spending a fortune.

Let’s talk about it!

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Watercolor Supplies #1: Brushes

Types of Brushes

Brushes come in many sizes and shapes and hair, so to speak. We are going to discuss 3 types. Round, Flat, and Detail.

Round Brushes: Round brushes are the most common type of watercolor brush. It has a pointy tip for fine strokes and a fat belly for wider strokes. A size 6 or 8 brush is best to get started. Smaller sizes like a round 2, are great for finer detail. These are my recommendations of what you may want to have to get started.

Once we get to actual online training, and you want to paint along, these are the brushes you will need.

Flat Brushes: Flat watercolor brushes are great for lines, geometric shapes, and edges. They can also be used for watercolor washes. If you need to wet a large area, a larger flat brush will cover more area, more quickly to keep it wet once you add your watercolor pigment.

Things you want to look for in a flat brush:

1. The brush should not be so stiff that it disturbs the other paint.
2. The size of the brush is the length and diameter of the bristles.

It is not necessary to purchase these right away, but you will want to in the future as your watercolor supplies grow and your paintings become a little more complex.

Detail Brushes: Round brushes are best for detail and you can use your size 2 or 6. There is also a rigger brush size 2 that you can get. It does not hold a lot of paint and has long bristles, but it is great for very fine detail.

Now let’s talk about natural vs. synthetic bristles for your watercolor supplies.

Natural Hair Brushes: Natural hair watercolor brushes can release pigment and water at a different rate than synthetic brushes. They are softer and longer lasting and hold more water. These brushes tend to be more expensive. Natural hair brushes are mainly made from sable.

Synthetic Brushes: Synthetic watercolor brushes are versatile and budget-friendly watercolor supplies. They can be softer than natural hair, and spring back into shape more easily, and are easier to clean. The drawback is that they hold less water.

I tend to go for the synthetic brushes, but do have one or two natural hair brushes.

Care and Maintenance Of Your Watercolor Brushes

1. Clean after each use. Use cold to warm (NOT HOT) water and a mild soap to wash your brushes.
2. Avoid soaking your brushes. It can ruin the bristles, the brush ferrule, and the handle of your brush.
3. Don’t store brushes with the bristles down, as this can cause wet bristles to dry out of shape.
4. The ferrule is the metal part that connects the brush hairs to the handle. If the ferrule gets too wet, it can be hard to clean and may start to loosen, crack, or drop hairs.

I usually just rinse mine under my tap until the water runs clear and lightly tap the bristles back and forth. I then give it a few taps on the sink, form it back into shape, lay it on a soft cloth until almost dry, and then stand it up in my brush holder.

Watercolor Supplies #2: Paper

In watercolor painting, the choice of paper is just as important as the choice of paint itself. The paper’s weight and texture significantly influence the final appearance of your artwork. Let’s delve into how paper weight and texture affect watercolor painting:

Paper Weight

Paper weight is expressed in two ways: pounds (lb) or grams per square meter (gsm). This measurement indicates the paper’s density or thickness, affecting its ability to absorb water and paint.

• Lightweight Paper (under 140 lb / 300 gsm): This paper tends to warp or buckle when wet, making it suitable for quick sketches or studies rather than finished pieces, unless stretched beforehand. This is a process to stretch only to have it buckle when wet. So if you want to sketch only, I am not a fan of this type of paper.
• Medium Weight Paper (140 lb / 300 gsm): This is the most popular choice among watercolor artists. It can handle a fair amount of water and, with careful use, may not require stretching. Most of the 140 lb. paper I purchase does not require stretching. I use Canson 140 lb. paper.
• Heavyweight Paper (300 lb / 640 gsm and above): Thick and sturdy, this paper can absorb a lot of water without warping, eliminating the need for stretching. It’s ideal for professional, high-quality work. As a beginner, I don’t recommend this to get started as it is more costly than the 140 lb.

Paper Texture: The texture of watercolor paper affects the painting’s brushwork and detail level. There are three main types of textures: hot-pressed, cold-pressed, and rough.

• Hot-Pressed (HP): This paper has a smooth, hard surface, achieved by pressing the paper through hot rollers. It’s excellent for detailed work, allowing for sharp lines and fine brushwork. However, it can be unforgiving, as it shows every brushstroke and is less tolerant of water than other textures. I have tried this paper and it is not my choice of paper. For beginners, let’s move on to cold-pressed.
• Cold-Pressed (CP) or Not: Cold-pressed paper is the most versatile and popular choice among watercolorists. It has a semi-rough surface that offers a good balance between showing texture and allowing for detail. It’s more absorbent than hot-pressed paper, making it suitable for a wide range of techniques and effects. This is my paper of choice and I have never been let down by it.
• Rough: Rough watercolor paper has a highly textured surface, ideal for creating expressive, textured effects and washes. The peaks and valleys of the paper catch more pigment, adding depth and interest to the painting. This texture is less suited for very detailed work but excellent for landscapes and abstract pieces.
• Pure Cotton: This type of paper is exactly what it says. Pure cotton. It is a bit pricey and mostly for the experienced watercolor artist, in my opinion. I have used it and have some on hand. It helps to create beautiful paintings and gives a vintage look to it.

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You can also buy your paper on a block. I love using blocks, it doesn’t buckle as it keep it’s tension is very portable. You will need to use a palette knife to get your pages off once dried. The best part of blocks is that you do not need to tape it down. Some blocks are glued on all 4 sides or just 2. Note that block paper is a bit pricier and you do not get as many sheets as a regular pad for a cheaper price.

Watercolor Supplies #3: Palettes

There are several different types of palettes to choose from and all work very well.

I used to collect white enamelware and have had a few trays. You know the ones with the black edge around the top. Just like granny used to have. This is my favorite for when I use liquid pigment.

When using the pan paints, they come with their little mixing areas. For most people, that is enough. You can also purchase the little plastic paint wells that have all the little wells to mix your colors.

I discovered at the Dollar Store, that you can find the plastic wells, but if you buy pan paints, most have their mixing areas on/in the metal tray it comes in.

Watercolor Supplies #4: Paint

Okay, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of paint choices.

Tube and pan watercolors offer distinct experiences, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages regarding convenience, quality, and the application process.

Tube Paints

Convenience:

• Mixing Ease: Tube paints are moist and ready to use, making it easy to mix large quantities of paint or achieve intense colors without needing to pre-wet the paint.
• Custom Palettes: You can create custom palettes by squeezing out the exact amount of paint needed, allowing for more selection.
• Reactivation: While tube paints can dry out in the palette, they can be reactivated with water, though the consistency might slightly change over time. So this can be more of an inconvenience, but if you use the right amounts, you can reactivate without issue.

Quality and Application:

• Color Intensity: Tube paints generally offer more pigment density and vibrancy right out of the tube, as they are less diluted and can be applied more thickly or thinly as desired. I do paint with tube paints and this is what I feel is a solid plus for tube paints.
• Versatility: They are well-suited for both large washes and fine details, allowing for a wide range of techniques and applications. With that said, pan paints can also offer this to you.
• Wastage: As stated earlier, there is a potential for wastage if too much paint is squeezed out, and once dried, they may not return to their original intensity when re-wetted. I have had to get rid of paint because I squeezed too much onto my palette and it just would not work for me when I re-wet it.

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for.

Georgia O’Keeffe

Pan Sets

Convenience:

• Portability: Pan sets are compact, easy to transport, and great for plein air painting or sketching on the go. Everything you need is contained in one small, convenient package. I often take mine while traveling to capture landscapes and seascapes.
• Ease of Use: Pans are user-friendly, especially for you as a beginner, as they limit the amount of paint used at one time, reducing the risk of waste.
• Longevity: Pan paints can last a long time since they are used in a more controlled manner and are less likely to be wasted. I have had some of my pan paints for over 3 years, and they still paint just as well as they did when I first purchased them.

Quality and Application:

• Activation Time: Pan paints require a bit of water and time to activate, which might slow down the painting process compared to the immediacy of tube paints. Sometimes before I start to paint, I take my little water spray bottle and give them a squirt while I set up my paper.
• Consistency and Color: While high-quality pans can match the vibrancy of tube paints, they generally deliver a lighter wash and might need more layering to achieve deep saturation. With that said, I love to layer and it also makes it easier to lift paint if I put on a bit too much. Whereas, my tube paints don’t lift quite as easily.
• Durability: Pans are less prone to drying out or cracking compared to tube paints left on a palette, making them more durable over time.

With all of that said above, both can produce high-quality paintings.

For more reading on Pan vs Tube Watercolor Paints, learn about the pros and cons of each one.

I do want to touch on one other type of watercolor paint and that is liquid pigment. I learned how to watercolor with this type of paint, but once I discovered pan paints, I switched to them mainly because of convenience and less wastage and also cost.

Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of liquid pigment paint.

Advantages of Liquid Watercolor Paints

1. Intensity and Saturation: Liquid watercolors come in a highly concentrated form, providing intense colors and saturation right out of the bottle. The main thing I loved about liquid pigment paint was that once completely dry, the painting was vibrant and colorful.
2. Ease of Mixing: Since they’re already in liquid form, these paints mix readily with water or other colors, allowing for smooth gradients and custom hues without the need for pre-wetting.
3. Immediate Use: They are ready to use without any preparation, saving time and allowing for immediate painting sessions.
4. Ink-Like Consistency: Their fluid nature allows for a range of effects that can be challenging to achieve with pan or tube paints, such as fine, ink-like lines or large, even washes. I did love that I could instantly change the tone of the paint with the amount of water I mixed with it with just a little bit of the pigment.

Disadvantages of Liquid Watercolor Paints

1. Mess and Spillage Risk: The liquid form can be messier and more prone to spillage than solid watercolors, potentially wasting paint and causing unintended stains. Cleaning up this concentrated ink is no picnic.
2. Storage and Longevity: Once opened, liquid watercolors may evaporate or change consistency over time if not properly sealed, affecting their longevity. I have some that I had to dispose of because the consistency became unusable.
3. Cost-Effectiveness: Depending on the brand and quality, liquid watercolors can be more expensive per volume, especially if you use them in large quantities. This was the main reason for finding a new type of watercolor paint.
4. Control and Precision: Achieving precise control can be more challenging with liquid watercolors, particularly for beginners, due to their fluid nature.
5. Dilution Requirement: While their high pigment concentration is an advantage, it also means that dilution is often necessary to achieve the desired transparency and lightness of traditional watercolor effects, requiring a bit of trial and error to get right. There is the risk of getting too much pigment on the paper when you want to do a light wash, especially as a beginner. As it dries, it becomes more vibrant and if you have too much, it makes for a dark result.

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Watercolor Supplies #5: Attitude

When beginning any new hobby, especially in the arts, you need to be kind to yourself. There will be mistakes, not every piece with be a masterpiece, and that is ok. This is an important watercolor supply because you need to have the right attitude. It’s free!

I never see mistakes, I see opportunities to do better. Learn from those opportunities and move on.

Experimentation is the key. You will want to try different techniques, and eventually different types of paper as well as your watercolor paint itself.

As beginners, I will help to set you up for success by providing you with the most basic way to begin and use techniques that will produce a result you will love.

As we go on this journey together, we will start with the basics and if you want to paint along with me here are my recommendations:

#2 and #6 or #8 round brush, 140 lb. watercolor paper, a pan paint set that has primary colors that can be mixed for a more versatile and usable palette.

Here are just a few other things you will need: a roll of blue painter’s tape and 2 water cups, which you probably already have around the house. Don’t forget the paper towels, or for those that are conservative, old clean rags for your paint brushes. You can also save some cardboard just a bit bigger than the paper you purchased so you can tape your paper to it, so it lays flat while painting.

For more resources on purchasing watercolor supplies, I also recommend checking out Arteza! (As an Arteza affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

For more info on watercolor supplies and getting started with watercolor, read my beginner’s post.

See you in the next post!

Stay Colorful, Stay Creative, and HAVE FUN!

~Laurie