What watercolor supplies should I get?
Howdy! Getting started with watercolor can be a little daunting. Here’s everything you need to know! I've included a list of recommended materials* with an Amazon shopping cart for easy shopping 🛒
Let's Talk Paper
If you've spent any time in the aisles of Michael's looking for watercolor paper, you've probably been surprised and a little confused at the wide variety. Watercolor paper comes in all types of pads and sketchbooks, weights, sizes, and brands. Hot pressed, cold pressed, wire bound, glued, block, rough, smooth…the list goes on. But what’s the best for your learner?
I use Canson watercolor paper for all my classes. What I like: it holds up water well, meaning your paper won’t disintegrate or turn grainy/mushy, it’s affordable ($10 for 30 sheets), and it’s a great size (anything bigger than 9x12 is too big for class)
Of all our materials, paper makes the biggest difference. No matter how good your paints are, if you use cheap paper, your painting will either be mushy, not hold paint well or do a poor job blending colors.
Disclaimer: Please note that these recommendations are based solely on my personal experience and preference. I have no affiliation with the brand, and I am not receiving any compensation for this recommendation.
👉Pro Tip: For classes, I split each paper in half, using one half for the warm up and the other for the main lesson. More bang for your buck!
All About Paint
If there’s one thing you should know about watercolor paint, it’s that it loveeees water. Wherever there’s water, the paint will follow. You’ll hear me say in class “brush some water on your paper. Now grab some paint, add a splotch on the wet paper, and watch it explode!” And boy does it explode. Water allows the paint to spread, blossom, and bloom across the paper and it’s one of the things I love most about watercolor.
Water activates the paint. It makes it come alive! That’s why you’ll often see watercolor paint pans, with the paint dried into cakes like this:
For beginners, start with a paint pan. While tubes are higher quality, they are also harder to work with and can be more expensive. I recommend brands like Prang, Sakura Koi, Blick student grade paints.
👉Pro Tip: We do a lot of color mixing in class. If your paint palette doesn’t come with a mixing area you can use the lid or an old Tupperware lid.
Paintbrushes
A.k.a our magic wands! Chances are your paint palette comes with a paint brush or two, perhaps something like this:
These are called round tip brushes. You’ll notice that it has a pointy tip and is rounder or wider on the sides. If I could only use one paintbrush, it would be a round tip brush.
They are incredibly versatile - use the “tippy toes of your brush”, or the pointy end, to make thin lines, or use the broad side of the brush by pressing down to create wide streaks. You can even alternate between the two to create fun leaves!
Round tip brushes also come in different sizes, ranging from itty bitty size 0 to large and in charge size 12 (and sometimes more). I recommend starting off with somewhere in the middle, like a size 6 or 8. Check out Blick Scholastic Golden Taklon brushes for some affordable options. I use these for in-person workshops and they hold up great.
👉Pro Tip: Always rinse your brushes after painting and lay them flat on your towel to dry before storing away. This will help them last much longer, otherwise the bristles will get bent or loosen from the glue of the brush and fall out.
Ready to go shopping? Here's a pre-made shopping cart 🛒
Until next time, happy painting!
Ms. Lauren 🌈