Watercolor Supplies For Beginners
Are you overwhelmed by the amount of choices when it comes to shopping for watercolor supplies? There are endless choices when it comes to brushes, paints, and papers! I have tried and tested many supplies over the years, so let me take you for a guided tour on my favorite supplies.
Before we dive in, I always recommend using what you have on hand first! You can always add in new supplies as you go! I’ve organized the supplies by budget, so that you can quickly get a sense of how much you want to spend. These are my Amazon affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no cost to you. I only recommend supplies I use and love! Please note, prices change based on the current market so this is a guesstimate only!
Ok, let’s dive in!!
Watercolor Starter Sets Around $50
Paint: Winsor & Newton Cotman 20 Tube Paints
Palette: Basic 20 Well Plastic Palette
Brushes: Princeton Snap Brushes
Paper: 120 Sheets 140lb Cold Press Paper 5x7 (various sizes available)
Key features: This is a great starter set of paints, with high quality, professional results. Winsor & Newton Cotman paints are a great starter set for beginners. The paints are good quality, but they won’t have the same color intensity as the Winsor & Newton professional line. The pack of bulk sheets lets you experiment with lots of sheets on a thick, cold press paper that holds the paint well. Bonus: The 5x7 size fits perfectly in a frame, no trimming necessary!
Watercolor Starter Sets Around $100
Paint:
QoR Introductory Set of 12 Tubes
Mijello Mission Gold Set of 12 Tube Paints
Winsor & Newton Profession 12 Tubes
Palette: Mijello Airtight Palette 18 Wells
Brushes: Princeton Heritage Set of 4 4050 Synthetic Brushes
Paper: Strathmore Watercolor Cold Press Paper 140lb 24 Sheets
Key features: These are high quality professional paints, with stunning results. They mix beautifully and are a perfect choice for florals. QoR paints are made by Golden, which is a staple brand for acrylics, so it’s no surprise that these watercolor paints are excellent quality. Mijello Mission Gold paints are also beautiful and vibrant. Winsor & Newton Professional paints are beautiful, rich and earthy, great for landscapes. Combined with the Strathmore Cold Press paper and Princeton Heritage brushes, you will be able to create beautiful paintings with these high quality materials. The Princeton Heritage brush set will give you a lot of control, and allow you to add details along with washes with this starter set.
Other Paint Brands I Love:
Daniel Smith Set of 6 Introductory Colors - or any Daniel Smith set!
Why? Daniel Smith makes high quality paints that produce stunning results. They have a granulating texture to them as they dry, for amazing washes and color gradients. You will be amazed.
Other Palettes I Love:
Meeden makes a range of high quality porcelain palettes, along with travel palette tins. You really can’t go wrong here. Everything they make is high quality!
I particularly love this pack of Meeden 7 Well round palettes.
Other Papers I Love:
Arches makes excellent paper. They offer a range of textures from rough, cold press, satin and hot press. This is the gold standard in watercolor paper! If you want to try it out, this is a great pad to start with.
I also found this watercolor pad by Meeden and it’s really nice:
Meeden Academy Watercolor Paper Pad
To get my complete list of all my favorite supplies, grab yours here.
