Watercolor Materials
Do you want to get started with watercolors? These are the materials I recommend for beginners, or anyone looking for an easy travel set!
Paints
Get you some paints! I filled my own watercolor halfpans with Winsor & Newton watercolor tubes. These are a mix of some old student-level Cotman Watercolors and their Professional series as pictured. I also use Caran D'Ache Neocolor II set of 15 for travel sketches since they don't take as long to dry up if I need to pack and run!
Paper
High quality watercolor paper is pretty important so your paper doesn't crinkle and buckle when you get it wet. A "weight" of paper is expressed in pounds (lb). The bigger the number, the thicker your paper, the less it will buckle. But it also can get more expensive. Just look for a sketchbook specifically labeled for Watercolor in your budget, and you'll be good to go!
Brushes & Tools
Brush brand is not super imporant. I do most of my work in a medium-sized round brush with a good point to get the line variation I need. Below is a list of a few items I like to have on hand:
- Pental Aquawash water-barrel travel brush
- Princeton Select round brushes (sizes 1, 3, 6, 12)
- Kolinsky Mimik flat wash brush (size 16)
Some other tools good to have are:
- Fine mechanical pencil
- Kneaded eraser for removing pencil lines
- Zebra waterproof brush pens for inking
Where to Buy?
Start by supporting your local art supply stores! If that's not an option, here are some favorite afforable online retailers:
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