Papers
- There are 2 types of watercolor paper: student grade vs artist grade
- Student-grade is for beginners or anyone who just wants to do watercolor as a hobby. It is affordable and good enough for practicing. However, consider the fact that it is not made from 100% cotton, so you may find challenges when it comes to applying different techniques in watercolor painting. Well-known brands for student grade are Canson XL or Strathmore.
- Artist-grade: high quality, 100% cotton, expensive, and widely used by professional artists. Well-known brands are Arches ( one of the best in the market ), Legion, Bee ( quite affordable ), and more… Keep in mind that if you have a certain budget for supplies, I highly recommend spending more on high-quality papers, because paper makes a huge difference.
- Cold press vs Hotpress: Coldpress has a textured surface, and hot press has a smooth one. I personally prefer cold-press as they absorb the colors well and great for creating texture in landscape paintings.
Brushes
- As a beginner, you only need 2 or 3 brushes to start with.
- Round brushes are the most popular and widely used for paintings.
- Have a big size like 12, and medium size either 8 or 6, and may be a liner size 2 if you want to do some sort of detail works.
- I highly recommend you to spend money on high quality brushes, don’t get those at dollar store. Princeton is a well-known brand for good watercolor brushes, and they offer a wide range of sizes, shapes and prices.
- Make sure to take a good care of your brushes so that they can last long, and you don’t have to spend $$$ to replace them too often.
Paints
- There are also 2 types of paints: student grade ( beginners, affordable ) and artist-grade ( high quality, professional, and pricey )
- As a beginner, student-grade paints will serve you well. Cotman by Windsor and Newton is a popular student-grade paint that not only is for beginners but also well-loved by many professional artists.
- There are also many brands that offer good quality student grade paints, make sure to do some research to find the one you like.
- You can buy paints in tubes separately, which means you can buy only the colors you like and don’t have to buy them in collection.
- Don’t spend too much money on paints.
- Lean a bit about color theory, color mixing, and practice painting with a limited palette. Not only it’s a good way to improve your art skill, but also save you a lot of money on paints.
Others stuff that are free and you can find them in your kitchen
- 2 cups of clean water ( cups, jars that are not often used in your kitchen )
- kitchen cloth or kitchen towel to plot your brushes
- masking tape ( optional ) to have clean edges
- grab any plates ( plastic or ceramic ) in your kitchen to be your color mixing palette
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product with the links that I provide, I may receive a small commission. However, there is no additional charge to you. I appreciate your support.
Bee Paper 100% cotton coldpress: https://amzn.to/3tFDm2L
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Paint, Set of 12, 8ml Tubes: https://amzn.to/32C2LOQ
Arches 100% cotton coldpress: https://amzn.to/3bHLqsx
Stonehenge legion coldpress 100% cotton: https://amzn.to/3fAAVIF
Canson XL: https://amzn.to/3sCeCqB
Princeton Aqua Elite, round size 6: https://amzn.to/2Qe67Fh
Princeton Snap round 12: https://amzn.to/3f3vuD1
Silver black velvet 6: https://amzn.to/2QHj3DO
Other art supply option in the US:
