Watercolor Supplies Guide – Idyll Sketching

This page contains a roundup of the watercolor supplies I currently use & recommend!

I’ve tried to be very detailed below because as a newbie, I sometimes felt lost by supplies guides that weren’t detailed or specific enough, leading me to buy not-quite the right thing, or that skipped certain items only to reveal mid-tutorial that you should have had them all along.

But rest assured, you don’t actually need a huge cart full of things to get started. To sum up, here is your brief checklist of must-have items for your first painting session or class:

Paint
Paper
Brushes
A mixing palette
1-2 water cups
Washcloths and/or paper towels
Tape and clipboard/backboard
Pencil and eraser

Keep in mind that not all of these categories require you to buy something: you can probably find some of the items around the house. You may be able to rescue jars from your outgoing recycling for water; thrift a white ceramic plate* to use as a mixing palette; demote some old threadbare washcloths to brush wiping rags, or get started with paper towels; and dig up stubby school pencils out of your junk drawer. The paint, paper, and brushes are where you should concentrate your shopping energy, with paper being the best area to splurge.

* Don’t use a dish that you will then eat off again; once it becomes art supplies, it should stay that way.

Also see these supplies guides:

You can support the blog by shopping from my affiliate links on this page. This includes links to Da Vinci Paints, Rosemary Brushes, Blick, Utrecht, and Amazon.

Watercolor Paint

Brands

My favorite artist-grade watercolor paint brands:

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

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).

Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor - Indanthrone Blue, 15 ml Tube

Slot [Links to Color Slot]	My Favorite Option [Affiliate Links]
1. Dark blue – If you only get one color, get a dark blue; you can use it to make monochrome paintings. In the context of a set, it becomes a crucial mixer.	DS Indanthrone Blue (PB60)
2. Earth orange – When combined with your dark blue, make black and brown. With dark blue and earth orange, you can make great two-color landscapes.	DS Transparent Red Oxide (PR101)
3-5. Yellow – The next three paints are primary colors and give you a huge mixing range.	Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97)
3-5. Magenta or rose	DV Red Rose Deep (PV19)
3-5. Cyan	Phthalo Blue (PB15) – any
6. Earth yellow for mixing a wider range of browns and muted greens for landscapes.	DS Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7)
7. Gold for mixing gorgeous greens with the cyan.	Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150)
8. Green for mixing even brighter greens than you can with the cyan.	Phthalo Green (PG7)
9. Maroon for neutralizing blues and mixing reddish browns easily.	HO Perylene Maroon (PR179)
10. Orange-yellow for mixing oranges, reds, and scarlets with the magenta.	HO Isoindolinone Yellow Deep (PY110)
11. Violet blue or middle blue, if not covered by Dark Blue.	DV Ultramarine Blue (PB29)
12+. Colors you just like!	DV Quinacridone Red (PR209) [for me!]

Relevant Posts

Some specific watercolor palettes I’ve built:

Watercolor Paper

Pads

At home, I prefer to use loose paper taped to a backboard or clipboard, so I can have several going at once. I paint pretty small, so gluebound pads are handy because I don’t have to cut them too much.

Saunders is my favorite; Arches is also excellent and seems to be more widely available; Wonder Forest is a Canadian company so may be the best bet for Canadians; relatively inexpensive Canson XL is maybe my most-used paper for practice and swatches.

https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101345241-13717235?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dickblick.com%2Fitems%2Farches-watercolor-pad-9-x-12-140-lb-cold-press-fold-over-12-sheets%2F%3Fclicktracking%3Dtrue%26wmcp%3Dpla%26wmcid%3Ditems%26wmckw%3D10183-1009%26country%3Dus%26currency%3Dusd&cjsku=10183-1009

Wonder Forest Cold Press, 9×12 in pad, 300gsm, 20 sheets: Amazon.com
(Psst, Canadians: this is a Canadian maker!)

Canson XL Watercolor, 9×12 in pad, 30 sheets: Blick | Utrecht | Amazon.com

Sketchbooks

On the go, I use a small travel sketchbook; the smallest (pocket size) Moleskine Art Watercolor Album is a mere 3 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, and fits nicely in my Art Toolkit. For more about travel, see Plein Air Supplies Guide.

Moleskine Art Collection Watercolor Album - 3-1/2

Moleskine Watercolor Album, Pocket, Landscape, 200gsm: Blick | Utrecht | Amazon.com

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. If you want multiples, it’s worth looking on the Etchr website for 3-packs.

Etchr Perfect Sketchbook, 5.9″ x 8.9″, 300gsm : Blick | Utrecht | Jackson’s US | Amazon

Paper cutter

I use Cheap Joe’s Handheld Paper Cutter to cut larger sheets of watercolor paper into the smaller sizes.

Relevant Posts

Paper reviews/comparisons:

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.

Watercolor Brushes

My favorite watercolor brushes are from Rosemary Brushes.

I use Sable Blend 401 Series Rounds for most painting. A variety of sizes are useful, e.g. #4 for detail, #8 for most stuff, #12 for larger paintings.

I use Sienna Oval Wash 3/4″ for large sky washes.

Here’s a handy list of these favorite brushes that lets you can add them all to your cart in one click.

Jackson’s also offers Rosemary brushes, but only in sets, and none of my specific choices are available.

Note that Kolinsky sable cannot be purchased in the U.S. due to trade regulations.

Relevant Posts

Watercolor Brushes 101

Additional Watercolor Supplies

Water Cups

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. If you’re always on the move, the Faber Castell Clic & Go Water Cup is handy because it folds, but it’s stable when open, and has a curved lip you can use as a brush rest. Using two cups allows you to have one for dirty water, and one for clean water.

Faber-Castell Clic & Go Water Cup - Green

Faber-Castell Clic & Go Water Cup, Dark Green: Blick | Utrecht | Jackson’s US | Amazon
Faber-Castell Clic & Go Water Cup, Blue: Jackson’s US | Amazon

Cloths

Cloths for brush wiping. Old washcloths work fine. They’ll get pretty much gray with paint stains, so don’t bother with designer colors and patterns – the ones I use now are black. Paper towels will work, but you’ll go through a lot (though paper towels are also useful for lifting). You could consider reusable paper towel alternatives such as shop cloths or Swedish dishtowels.

AmazonBasics Washcloths, 12×12, 12 pack, Black: Amazon

Backboards

Backboards to work on multiple pieces at once. Any random office supply clipboard works if you work small (7×10 inches or smaller: remember you need space for the tape.) Masonite boards are useful for larger paintings.

Amazon Basics Clipboard, Letter Size, Pack of 6: Amazon

Ampersand Hardbord 11×14, 1/8″: Blick | Utrecht | Amazon

Tape

Tape to hold down loose paper onto the clipboard/backboard. Holbein Soft Tape (aka Nitto P-790) and Nichban #251 are the best, followed by ordinary hardware store masking tape (most cost-effective). I use 3/4″ or 20mm tape typically, but wide tape can also be used to cut out masking shapes.

Holbein Soft Tape: Blick | Amazon

Pencil & Eraser

Pencil for underdrawing. Basic HB #2 school pencils work fine. I also like to use the Pilot Eno Erasable Colored Pencil; the Soft Blue tends to fade into paintings, especially blue skies, while the pink is fun for warm-colored paintings.

Pilot Eno 0.7mm, Soft Blue: Amazon.com
Pilot Eno 0.7mm, Pink: Amazon.com
Pilot Eno 0.7mm 8-color Set: Amazon.com

Eraser: a soft kneadable or gummy eraser to lighten your pencil drawing and correct mistakes without damaging watercolor paper.

Lyra Kneadable Eraser - with Plastic Box

Lyra Kneadable Eraser with case (single): Blick | Jackson’s US
Faber-Castell Kneaded Eraser with case (single): Jackson’s US | Amazon

Spray bottle

This is optional, but 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; I’ve experienced the problem when purchasing it from multiple vendors. I was happier when I switched to a store brand alternative.

Uline Cylinder Spray Bottle, 2oz: Blick | Utrecht

Masking fluid

Also optional; to be honest, 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’ve tried a lot of brands, and only the Schmincke ammonia-free kind is odorless enough to make me happy. I prefer the colorless (neutral) because the blue can leave behind dye.

Schmincke Liquid Frisket - Neutral, 20 ml

If you use a jar rather than a dispensing pen, you will also need something to apply your masking fluid with. Don’t use your fancy expensive brushes, as you can ruin them. Pick something easier to clean. One option is to use a color shaper (also known as a rubber brush, silicone brush, or clay sculpting tool). Rosemary offers a cute one specifically marketed as a masking fluid applicator.

Rosemary Brushes Masking Fluid Applicators: Soft; Hard

You could also just pick up some cheap synthetic brushes. There is no practical need for them to be white, but I choose white ones to remind myself that they’re for masking fluid.

Blick Scholastic Short Handle Wonder White Brush Set - Round, Short Handle, Set of 6

Blick Wonder White Scholastic Brushes, Short Handle, Set of 6: Utrecht
Princeton Real Value White Taklon Set of 5: Amazon.com

I also like to have some dedicated little plastic cups to dispense and dilute small amounts of masking fluid at a time. This also may not be necessary if you have a masking pen.

Stencils/templates

Also very optional, but may be useful depending on what you like to do. I use this round stencil to draw triad wheels.

Helix Angle and Circle Maker: Blick | Amazon.com

You could also get a ruler or straightedge for drawing straight lines (e.g. horizon lines), but I usually just use the edge of my clipboard.

Relevant Posts

Not done shopping? Be sure to check out my other supplies guides (linked at the top of the page), especially Watercolor Learning Resources, which contains my book and class recommendations!