Supplies Guide

This is a roundup of the watercolor supplies I currently use & recommend. I am not a brand ambassador for any brand, do not use affiliate links, and have generally avoided linking to specific products (unless they’re otherwise very hard to find).

Paint

Watercolor Paint

Brands

My favorite artist-grade watercolor paint brands:

  • Da Vinci (DV)
  • Holbein (HO)
  • Winsor & Newton (WN)
  • Daniel Smith (DS)
  • Schmincke Horadam (SH)

See also:

Colors

What specific colors you need is so subjective, and my personal faves are always changing, but here’s the basic formula I use when building a watercolor palette (roughly in order of importance):

  1. Dark blue or gray
  2. Yellow
  3. Magenta
  4. Cyan
  5. Earth orange
  6. Gold, yellow-orange, or earth yellow
  7. Violet-blue
  8. Red, scarlet, or orange
  9. Green or turquoise
  10. Earth tones that match your natural environment

See also:

Some specific watercolor palettes I’ve built:

Gouache Paint

Brands

My favorite gouache brands, roughly in order of preference:

  • Holbein Artist’s Gouache
  • M. Graham Gouache
  • Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache
  • Schmincke Horadam Gouache

One thing to note is that Holbein is the thickest/creamiest, and M. Graham tend to be more on the thin/watery side, and WN and SH somewhere in the middle, which influences which colors I choose from which brands. For coverage colors where maximum opacity is desired, Holbein is best; for dark or highly pigmented mixing colors, M. Graham works well.

See also:

Colors

These are my most-used gouache colors:

  • Titanium White
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Any dark color (e.g. Payne’s Gray, Lamp Black, Perylene Black)
  • Primary Yellow
  • Primary Magenta
  • Primary Cyan
  • Burnt Sienna (WN is my favorite)
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Warm yellow e.g. HO Marigold
  • Scarlet e.g. SH Vermilion Hue

See Also:

Paper

Watercolor Paper

At home, I prefer to use loose paper taped to a board or clipboard, so I can have several going at once. I’ve determined that the most pleasant and cost-effective brands & format for me is Arches cold press 140lb/300gsm gluebound pads. I slightly prefer Saunders & Waterford, but it’s more expensive for me. If the paper size is too large for the painting I want to do, I will draw a box or cut the paper down with a Cheap Joe’s Handheld Paper Cutter.

On the go, I use a small travel sketchbook; the smallest Moleskine Watercolor Album fits nicely in my Art Toolkit.

I rarely work in a studio sketchbook at home, but when I do, I enjoy the Etchr Perfect Sketchbook. It’s spendy but the paper is really nice.

I use inexpensive pads for practice and swatching; typically Canson XL.

See also:

Paper reviews/comparisons:

Gouache Paper

I’m less picky about paper for gouache, but I prefer a smoother surface than for watercolor paper. I typically use Canson XL or any cheap hot press pad/block.

Palettes

Watercolor Palettes

  • Storage (Home): Art Toolkit Folio Palette
  • Storage (Travel & Plein Air): Art Toolkit Pocket Palette
  • Mixing (Home): Sugarhouse Travel Palette with easy-to-clean glossy finish. I love how light these are. The thinner sizes (e.g. travel or 8-well) are easier to clean because I can fit them in my bathroom sink. I prefer having wells to mix in because it keeps my colors separate.

See also: Which watercolor palette should I choose?

Gouache Palettes

  • Storage: None, I work from the tube
  • Mixing: Mijello Peelable Palette. It’s plastic and thinner paint tends to bead (ceramic would be nicer), but with gouache I don’t find ceramic as essential and I like having more mixing space to work on. As large as this is, I’m often running out of space. A ceramic palette of this size would be very heavy. I don’t prefer wells for gouache because the paint is thicker so it doesn’t run together.

Brushes

Watercolor Brushes

  • Standard: Rosemary Sable Blend round size 6 or 8
  • Skies & Large Areas: Isabey 5235 Petit Gris oval size 4 or Rosemary Sienna oval 1/2″
  • Swatching: Princeton Velvetouch round size 4 or 6

Gouache Brushes

Synthetics work best.

  • Standard: Princeton Velvetouch round size 6 or 8
  • Skies & Large Areas: 1/2″ flat shader

See also: Watercolor Brushes 101

Other Supplies

Additional Watercolor Supplies

Crucial

  • 1-2 water cups for rinsing brushes and for adding water to your paints and paper. I like glass jars because they’re see-through (so you can see how dirty your water is) and hefty enough not to tip over. Small mason jars work, or washed jam jars. Using two allows you to have one for dirty water, and one for clean water.
  • Old washcloths for brush wiping.
  • Clipboards to work on multiple pieces at once – any random office supply clipboard works if you work under 8.5×11. Masonite boards for larger paintings.
  • Tape to hold down loose paper onto the clipboard/backboard. Holbein Soft Tape is the best, followed by craft washi tape and ordinary hardware store masking tape (most cost-effective). See What’s the best masking tape for watercolor? Wide tape can also be used to cut out masking shapes.

Optional

  • Paper cutter: I use Cheap Joe’s Handheld Paper Cutter to cut large sheets of watercolor paper into the smaller sizes.
  • Paper towels: For lifting. Lifting by paper towel is one of my favorite ways to make clouds.
  • Spray bottle: Some people use a spray bottle to “wake up” their paints; I tend to just dribble some water in the pan. But I sometimes use a spray bottle to keep paper wet for large wet-on-wet applications or to create intentional watermark effects. The Holbein 2oz spray bottle is a good form factor but comes with a large sticker on it that leaves a permanent sticky residue, so I’d opt for cheap no-brand alternative.
  • Masking fluid: I don’t really like masking fluid as a rule, but occasionally it’s just the thing to protect a small, sharply defined, white value. I go for Schmincke Ammonia-Free Liquid Frisket in Neutral (white) color. Additional supplies for masking include a cheap nylon brush to apply it, a cheap plastic cup to dilute it in, and some diluted dish soap (coat the bristles with soap first to make it easier to clean later).
  • Stencils/templates: I use the Helix Angle and Circle Maker to draw circles of various sizes, including for triad wheels. Lisa Spangler’s Triad Template is another interesting option.
  • A credit card can be used to detach paper from a watercolor block, or to make marks in paint.

See also:

Drawing Supplies

  • Pencil: a 2mm lead holder
  • Eraser: a soft kneadable eraser
  • Waterproof liner: Deleter Neopiko or Sakura Micron. I use size 01 for travel sketchbook or 05 for everyday.
  • Waterproof brush pen: Zebra Zensations or Tombow Fudenosuke
  • Ruler: any

See Also: Which drawing pens are the most waterproof?

Plein Air/Outdoor Kit

  • Carrying case: I use an Art Toolkit.
  • Water brush: I use a medium Pentel Aquash brush pen (this comes with the Art Toolkit!) Using a water brush means I don’t need a water container.
  • Waterproof liner: Sakura Micron 01. I don’t tend to bring a pencil/eraser or brush pen on my travels, it’s quicker to sketch directly in pen and I don’t overthink it as much.
  • Travel palette: I use an Art Toolkit Pocket Palette, stocked with a selection of paints designed for whatever location I’m going to.
  • Travel sketchbook: I like Moleskine Watercolor Album, 3.5″ x 5.5″, preferably in landscape. This comes with the Art Toolkit!
  • Brush cleaning cloths: At home I use old washcloths or paper towels; in my plein air kit, I keep reusable painting towels from Etsy sellers such as ArrayedInGrace or HerArtsAndCrafts, or Hamamonyo Gauze Pile Handkerchiefs.

See Also:

Learning Resources

Online Resources

Free Online Tutorials to Get You Started

Watercolor

Gouache

Online Resources for Learning About Color

Arranged roughly from beginner-friendly to intense.

Books

Tutorial Books

Books on Color

Other Art Books

  • The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws
  • Step-by-Step Guide to Botanical Drawing and Painting by Hidenari Kobayashi
  • Urban Sketching Handbook: Mastering Perspective by Stephanie Bower
  • Urban Sketching Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips by Katie Woodward

What Next? Paid Subscriptions & Places to Find Classes

  • Adventure Art Academy – Claire Giordano creates monthly on-location plein air tutorials in wild places; access to an informative forum.
  • Artist Co-op – Kolbie Blume holds monthly live workshops; access to a lively and supportive forum.
  • Art Toolkit – generally one-off workshops/single classes, more expensive per class, curated with excellent teachers (but no subscription fee!)
  • Skillshare is full of classes, to the point I found it overwhelming. Since there is no time limit and no social features, it’s probably worth the signing up only if you plan to do a lot of tutorials in a defined period of time (e.g. over summer break), then cancel. I found that when I had it, I barely used it and money was just deducted from my account each month.
  • Your local community college, adult/continuing ed program, or community center. Nature centers sometimes also have nature journaling workshops. There are even some through my local cemetery! These have the benefit of being in person and allowing real interaction with a teacher and fellow students, though they are often more expensive.