12 Things I Wish I’d Known About Watercolor As A Beginner

🌿 FIND my favorite art supplies for bullet journaling, functional planning, and watercolor painting at my Amazon Shop
--- www.amazon.com/shop/keylimeink...
🌿 SHOW NOTES
I was a watercolor beginner five years ago, and I wish I'd known these things about color selection, lightfastness, tubes vs pans, etc.
🌿 SUGGESTED WATERCOLOR SUPPLIES
Art Whale Watercolors
--- 24 half pans: amzn.to/3rZRhVd
--- 48 half pans: amzn.to/3KwQf9I
(Student Grade // company is based in Miami, Florida; paints are made in China; pigment information is provided; pans are standard sized and can be moved around; tins are fantastic and will serve you well for a long time; these are highly pigmented, extremely easy to re-wet, and over 70% of the colors should be lightfast based on pigment numbers; the only caveat is that burnt sienna and umber are mislabled, so you'll want to switch the names when you make a swatch chart)
Blick Premier Watercolor Paper
--- shrsl.com/3n47v
(100% cotton, less expensive than Arches)
Canson XL Watercolor Paper
--- at Amazon: amzn.to/3NtgePq
--- at Blick: shrsl.com/3uzf8
(FSC Certified; made in France; used for all my watercolor swatching)
Daisy Ceramic Mixing Palette
--- 7" at Jackson's: www.jacksonsart.com/en-us/jac...
--- Variety of shapes and sizes at Jackson's: www.jacksonsart.com/en-us/jac...
Da Vinci Watercolors
--- Set of 12 Full Pans: davincipaints.com/da-vincis-w...
--- Open stock at Blick: shrsl.com/3ufrq
--- Open stock at Da Vinci: davincipaints.com/shop-da-vin...
(Artist quality paints made by a family-run company in California)
Daniel Smith Watercolors
--- at Blick: shrsl.com/3n47h
(Artist grade paints made in Seattle)
Empty Watercolor Pans
--- amzn.to/3U0BsqB
Isaro Open Stock Watercolors
--- at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3L6yHBg
(Artist grade paints made in Belgium)
MeiLiang Pretty Excellent Watercolors
--- 36 set: amzn.to/3WrXfsz
--- 36 regular colors plus 12 iridescent colors: amzn.to/3Nx6svD
(UPDATE: I no longer recommend these because so few colors are lightfast and several colors bleed through on papers none of my other watercolors do; I would encourage you to look at Art Whale or Niji at the same price point)
Niji Watercolors By Yasutomo
--- 12 half pans or 24 half pans at Blick: shrsl.com/4370r
--- 12 half pans at Amazon: amzn.to/3qfdePp
--- 24 half pans at Amazon: amzn.to/3MBKc3X
(Student grade // Yasutomo is based in California, and the paints themselves are made in China)
Paul Rubens Artist Watercolors
--- 48 set: amzn.to/3FGMMnk
(UPDATE: about 30% of the colors are not lightfast, but I enjoy using these in my journals and planners; made in China)
QOR Watercolors
--- full range at Blick: shrsl.com/3n47n
--- full range at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3ziEKzM
--- Ardoise Grey (mentioned in video) at Blick: shrsl.com/3n47r
--- Ardoise Grey (mentioned in video) at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3RQxMsq
(Artist grade paints made in New York)
Roman Szmal Watercolors
--- at Jackson's: tidd.ly/4cI83u0
(Artist grade paints made in Poland; lightfast ratings are not always accurate; be sure to cross-check with Kim Crick's problem pigment list)
Schmincke Horadam Watercolors
--- half pans at Blick: shrsl.com/4370b
--- tubes at Blick: shrsl.com/4370e
--- tubes, full pans, and half pans at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3XKR0U6
(Top of the line artist quality watercolors made in Germany; my favorite brand overall)
Van Gogh 12+3 Half Pans
--- at Amazon: amzn.to/3fsHRvt
(Student grade, made in The Netherlands; vegan; can seem a little more muted than other brands which are more highly pigmented)
White Nights Watercolors
--- 35 full pan set (newest set, mostly lightfast and transparent): amzn.to/3DXGWwK
(Artist grade paints made in Russia)
🌿 WEBSITE MENTIONED
Kim Crick - Problem Pigments List: www.kimcrick.com/pages/fugiti...
‪@KimberlyCrick‬
🌿 PATREON
Oops! I ended this program in June 2024.
🌿 DISCLOSURES
KeyLimeInk is an affiliate of Amazon, Blick, Da Vinci, Etsy, and Jackson's. Arteza, Da Vinci, GenCrafts, Isaro, and Schmincke sent watercolors for review.

[@KeyLimeInk]

🌿 TIME STAMPS 00:00 Introduction 00:30 1. The Van Gogh Pocket Brush Isn’t Broken 01:56 2. Watercolor Pans and Tubes Are Tiny 03:54 3. Watercolor Tubes Aren’t Always More Economical Than Pans 10:45 4. Watercolor Painting Doesn’t Need To Be Expensive 17:31 5. Lightfastness Matters Even If You’re Not A Professional Painter 20:33 6. Test Lightfastness In Gradients 22:50 7. Prussian Blue Is Tricky 25:27 8. Chalkiness vs. Granulation 30:00 9. Spelling 30:26 10. Cotman Is Made In China 32:36 11. There’s No Perfect Watercolor Brand 39:14 12. Don’t Judge Yourself According To Instagram

[@sgibbes]

Hands down the best video I have ever seen. I learned so much. You explained the topics clearly and understandably. Please do more videos like this. Thank you for this video. You made me love watercolors even more.

[@KeyLimeInk]

You are so kind! Thank you.

[@Brembelia]

Ditto.

[@diannaa5631]

My Windsor Newton paints were tube paint I put in pans.they did great and it's been years.but I agree with the cheap student paint.i have many brands.

[@irenekiew5967]

This was so fascinating and informative. I'm a newbie to watercolour and have been watching lots of videos, I've never seen any artist talk about watercolour colours in this way!

[@JElias-qu2vy]

Oh. My. Gosh. I just found this vid! Like many others that have commented, thank you! I chuckled at the "Winsor" spelling, and then I looked at my swatch page, which I had titled "Windsor" & Newton. Again, thank you for being forthcoming and thorough with some of the foundational elements that so many "beginner" videos commonly skip!

[@CHARUL814]

Wow I learnt so much from your video. You explain it so well and truthfully. Thank you so much.

[@patriciatolliver4057]

Patty- I love this video. Thank you for sharing. The information you shared is so important when you first start out. It's hard to know where to find this type of information. I'm already on the hunt for paints not made in China. Thank you for the list. I'm at the point now where I want to try other brands. The list was great. Please keep sharing information like this with us. It's so helpful.

[@MercyCuenca]

I like your presentation style!

[@melaniehellum1281]

I came across many tubes of dried Windsor and Newton as well as grumbacker. Some dried nice and some dried crumbly. Reconstituted ..I used more gum Arabic and gave them a bit more binder and it worked reasonably well. I can use the paint. Yes fiddling mucking and experimenting but on my budget for paint it was okay. I absolutely recommend pans. They last and you don't have to worry about the supplies going bad.

[@vrto3961]

What a wonderful and comprehensive video of information. Definitely worth a 2nd go 'round. The best (out of many "greats"!) was learning pigments vs. brands. Thank you SO much.

[@annika8877]

Such a great video! I wish I had seen it before I started my watercolor journey. 😊 I came to a lot of similar conclusions but it took much time and money 🤣 But still in hindsight I was really lucky that my first set of paints was the van Gogh box. I still use it regularly although I now have many (too many 🤣) other paints like Horadam, Rembrandt, White Nights and I would recommend this to every beginner since it is so easy and cheap to replace colors with new pans or tubes and you get all the lightfast and pigment information. So I think it is perfect to start with a good half pan set and then - as you already said - adapt it to your needs. I also started to replace some of the colors or switch to full pans for colors I need a lot. But I think once you already have the pans it is very convenient to refill them from tubes. For van Gogh (10ml tubes) and Schmincke Horadam (15ml tubes) I would say it is definitely cheaper than buying again the pans. And a big advantage in my opinion is that I don't have to wait until the pan is completely empty, but I can refill any time so it is much easier to pick up the paint with a brush (and less damaging to the brush 😅). Thanks again for this video and you got a new subscriber 😊

[@carmenzaldivar4393]

Thanks for the clear and honest video. You really name things for what there are. Thank you very very much

[@KeyLimeInk]

I"m glad this was helpful. Wishing you a bright and beautiful 2023! ⭐️ 🌟 💫

[@kimberlycook5860]

Great video, lots of great tips and info!

[@lindamarsh6711]

Very great tutorial Thanks!

[@artist718]

Thank you for your knowledge and honesty.

[@deborahgiles8214]

Love your attention to detail. Great information--so many excellent points/recommendations. Love football player analogy--I do follow the pigments! I love geeking out on all the technical info. There's so much to know! My cool red for mixing is DS Quin Rose PV 19 but now I need to try a PR122 and have made a list of potentials from Kim Crick's outstanding pigment database. I live and die by her lists of lightfast and not-lightfast pigments as well as the wealth of lightfastness info she has researched and recorded. Amazing. I agree that lightfastness matters. Things fading when it's totally avoidable is sort of heartbreaking. I don't scan everything to preserve for posterity so buying lightfast pigments seems like the best way to go. Thanks for this!

[@KeyLimeInk]

I’m pretty sure half of Kim’s web traffic is just from me clicking 24/7 to look up different pigments … again. 😂

[@sapphire9675]

I'm a colorist and got interested in watercolors. You make some good points about light fastness, but thankfully all my watercolor painting will be in coloring books that have the paper that can handle water of course. I recently purchased the MeiLiang and Seamiart watercolor palettes to try those out. But, my first set as a beginner was a set from Amazon for under 8 bucks that worked pretty good in coloring books. I swatched those on cold-press watercolor paper and just did the rub test you demonstrated, and no chalky color rubbed off. So, I guess those are ok .Also, I'm not too worried about granulation, if I get interested then I'll shop for more quality paints. In the mean time, I think I'll enjoy the cheaper sets. All in all, this is a really good video for beginners. Thanks for putting in the time and effort to take care of us. BTW, I just subscribed to you channel 👍.

[@Andidejager.]

Your voice made me feel like I was listening to an audiobook, it was really nice😊

[@LCLand]

I have winsor and Newton tubes dried in pans. They do fine.

[@LCLand]

I haven’t had trouble with any brand tubes actually. But they are all professional maybe that’s why

[@KeyLimeInk]

It’s not about artist quality versus student grade. There are so, so many reasons it can happen regardless of the price point: + Some brands like M Graham use honey, so those remain pretty much sticky and never fully dry. + In humid climates you’ll have less cracking than in super dry locations (or winter in my house). + Some pigments are just more prone than others. My Daniel Smith French Ultramarine crumbled, and I’ve heard other painters say the same. + There’s also storage. It’s good to avoid leaving your palettes somewhere with big shifts in temperature and humidity. I’m glad you got lucky with your Winsor and Newton tubes, but many others find the same line you have is prone to cracking in pans. Keep doing whatever you’re doing with storage, because it’s clearly working!

[@bettysweet9644]

I’m so glad I found you today. Really good information for a newbie like myself. I must say that your color swatches look like heaven to me. The order was stunning. I don’t know the reference you mentioned but it made me happy. New sub by the way, thanks.

[@KeyLimeInk]

Thank you so much for watching -- and for your sweet note!

[@r.liebgott1543]

This was great. Wish I had watched this before I ran out and bought my supplies!

[@nicole127x]

Great video! Note about Mei Liang (Pretty Excellent/"Parrot") 36, which is student grade Paul Rubens, currently comes with rearrangeable half pans.

[@KeyLimeInk]

Thanks! And, yes … but only sometimes. It must depend on the supplier / seller / warehouse because some people are getting the actual half pans and some are still receiving the plastic trays. It’s kind of like playing the lottery for now. 😊

[@impish22]

can't wait to watch.. thanks

[@carlphd]

Great choices.

[@carolefreeman2544]

Wow! I am really impressed with your video and tutorial. I learnt so much more about watercolour paints than I have every done. I am a newbie in Art especially watercolours. As a beginner, I never thought about the paint consistency as about the brand name of what is popular. Whether I should get an expensive brand or start with a cheaper set. I also never considered lightfast, or where the paint came from … I do have Winsor Newton Cotman as well as the Mei Ling. My Mei Ling set you can remove the paint containers and move them around. The tin is very sturdy and I love the vibrants of the colours, but I never considered “lightfast”. I have now subscribed to your KZbin channel and look forward to learning more. Thank you 🤗🥰🇨🇦

[@KeyLimeInk]

Thank you so much for watching, and enjoy your watercolor journey! 🎨

[@mariaalejandracardozo3879]

Great video 🎉🎉🎉

[@shawnpennell1627]

My gencrafts dried perfectly

[@sarahscott9138]

#9- Yesssssss!!!!!

[@StnFlwr]

Daniel Smith uses the same formula for their tubes and pans.

[@DebNicolaisenArtist]

This is awesome and I agree about the pigments but can you do another video reviewing the locally made paints? There are many small producers of Professional quality paints. I use Stoneground. Made in Saskatchewan.

[@KeyLimeInk]

I would like to try additional small batch paints, but I’ve had a hard time finding any which are fairly affordable, get consistently good reviews, and provide realistic lightfast information. Lightfastness is especially confusing because many of the handmade sellers are marking pigments as lightfast which are … not. If anyone wants to send me samples, I’ll be happy to test them! Da Vinci, Isaro, and Roman Szmal all come from small businesses, and I’ve enjoyed various characteristics of each of those. It’s great to support artisinal shops instead of big conglomerates.

[@user-xm9nr8mo5j]

Say something about Nevskaya palitra !

[@izzyg8316]

I'm thinking of picking up a set of watercolors to get into Urban Sketching. So far, I've narrowed it down to: Winsor&Newton, Van Gogh and Mei Liang/Paul Ruben's. What would you personally advise? Also, loved the grandmother/lightfastness story lol

[@KeyLimeInk]

Hi! I think it really depends on lightfastness. Almost all Van Gogh colors will be lightfast for sure. (Just take care with Prussian Blue as you would in any brand.) If you're mostly painting in sketchbooks, don't care that about 1/4 of the paints might be fugitive, and just want bold, beautiful colors, then I really like the Paul Rubens Artist line (pink tins). In the same price range as Van Gogh, also take a peek at Niji by Yasutomo. Those paints are the most transparent I have, so they're excellent for ink and wash sketches. Hope this helps!

[@izzyg8316]

@KeyLimeInk I've tried looking up for the Niji watercolors you mentioned but, unfortunately, they don't sell them around here. Van Gogh watercolors (the 12 and 15 pans boxes) are currently selling at my local art store for 21€, cheaper than the Paul Rubens and about roughly the same as the Mei Liang ones. Surprisingly, W&N Cotman seem to sell even cheaper than the Van Gogh's, especially the tubes. Decisions decisions. Thank you so much for sharing your insight, I truly appreciate it! ❤️

[@gerrycook7566]

How do you find out which tubes are meant to be put in a pan? I have a lot of tubes ( D.S., Windsor N, Holbein).

[@KeyLimeInk]

My suggestion would be to Google each brand along with a term like drying in a pan or tube’s shrinking. See what others are finding in practice. They’re all so different, and sometimes it varies by color rather than brand. My Daniel Smith French Ultramarine shrunk unpleasantly while the other colors were fine. I do know that Winsor and Newton straight up says their tubes are different formulations not meant to be dried, while Da Vinci happily uses the same paint interchangeably with no drying issues. I’ve had no issues with Van Gogh, QOR, or Isaro. Art Whale will get a little gap here and there as they dry, but they don’t get crumbly. They stay pretty soft and I have no problems using them. Hopefully others can chime in with their experiences.

[@KeyLimeInk]

My suggestion would be to Google each brand along with a term like drying in a pan or tube’s shrinking. See what others are finding in practice. They’re all so different, and sometimes it varies by color rather than brand. My Daniel Smith French Ultramarine shrunk unpleasantly while the other colors were fine. I do know that Winsor and Newton straight up says their tubes are different formulations not meant to be dried, while Da Vinci happily uses the same paint interchangeably with no drying issues. I’ve had no issues with Van Gogh, QOR, or Isaro. Art Whale will get a little gap here and there as they dry, but they don’t get crumbly. They stay pretty soft and I have no problems using them. Hopefully others can chime in with their experiences.

[@annika8877]

I personally never had problems with my van Gogh tubes (I have about 20 colors), they all dry without cracking and rewet very easily. I have a few Rembrandt tubes which also dry without any cracking but take a long time to dry in the pan (maybe the binder was not mixed so well or they use more than in their van Gogh line). With the few Schmincke Horadam colors I tried so far from tubes I also have no problems at all. They specifically say that they use the same composition in their tubes which they use to also fill their pans. So for these you can be sure they will behave the same. 😊

[@vaninafernandez3043]

Cual sería el problema de comprar algo hecho en China o Rusia?

[@catherine159]

25:29

[@Brembelia]

Are both the Van Gogh and the White Nights - 35 sets totally light fast? Just checking because I am under the impression that the White Nights - 35 (in mid-range sets) is the only totally light fast set pan for pan.

[@minakshi005]

Good question, I also want to know that.

[@KeyLimeInk]

We learn more about lightfastness every day thanks to independent testers like Kim Crick who swatches of both heavy and light washes in her direct-sun-facing windows in Florida for *years* at a time. Here's my understanding: Van Gogh's entire line is typically considered 100% lightfast. However, Prussian Blue (PB27) is always a concern regardless of the brand. It can fade in the sunlight and then *sometimes* returns when you pull it out of the light. Out of an abundance of caution, I just put an X on my swatch card and avoid using prussian blue in any brand for anything which needs permanence. So, the 12+3 set would really be 93% lightfast (14/15). The White Nights 35 tin has no colors marked by the manufacturer as being fugitive. However, I have one color -- Orange PO 64 -- which pings on my own UV test. Kim Crick also marked this color as fugitive. So, that would be 97% (34/35) lightfast for the set. HOWEVER ... there are a few pigments which are considered a little suspect regardless of brand so, again, out of an abundance of caution, I marked an X on my swatch chart for Ruby (PR170), Geranium Red (PR242), and May Green (PY3, PG36). That would make the more conservative estimate 89% (31/35) lightfast. I'm really looking forward to a 2-year test of the entire White Nights line from Kim. Although all brands are going to have certain problem pigments, these two sets remain outstanding choices. They're both a great value and have a far higher lightfast percentage than most ready-made sets. Happy painting!

[@Brembelia]

@Key Lime Ink Oh, thank you so much!! Really valuable 411. I'll make a note of all of this and put it with my WNs tin for future reference. Also, I haven't been able to locate Kim Crick. May I ask you for a current link? Again, thank you very much.

[@minakshi005]

@@KeyLimeInk thank you so much for valuable information. Subscribed.

[@minakshi005]

Wow, learnt so many things....👍👌 Thanks.. but I am thinking,is this fading issue mostly in watercolor only..?

[@KeyLimeInk]

Not only, but more so. Lightfastness isn't quite so much of an issue for oils and acrylics because there's a higher concentration of pigment. As you water paint down, it gets less lightfast. So, when you test watercolors at full masstone (painting boldly) fugitive colors will last longer than when you paint a light wash of the same color. It's kind of like safety in numbers. The more pigment squished together, the longer it lasts.

[@minakshi005]

@@KeyLimeInk got it, thanks 👍

[@camolineowens1359]

Concerning the hard crumbly Arteza paint….. could you add some gum arabic? (You mentioned honey)

[@KeyLimeInk]

Yes, theoretically! However, my Arteza paints dried into dust. I’m not sure it would be worth trying to “glue” pieces back together. But starting fresh next time, I could try stirring in some gum arabic when I’m pouring from tubes. That would be an interesting experiment. Honestly, I’d rather just get good quality pans from the start. I prefer the convenience of knowing they’re already happily dried 😊.

[@askialuna7717]

I broke my pocket brush by trying to get the pans out to sort them differently.

[@KeyLimeInk]

Oh no! I could tell mine was bending when I used it for moving the pans, so I switched to a little flat-head screwdriver for that purpose. I still use the end of the brush for popping out the mixing tray.

[@plan4life]

I could tell the brush would break so used a screwdriver too. Now I just put the pans loosely in. Not so handy for travelling though.

[@tempest6781]

I bought the meiliang and now I regret it damn...

[@KeyLimeInk]

Oh, don't regret it! Mei Liang isn't awful by any means. The colors are beautifully transparent, and I've had great fun painting with mine. Just be cognizant of which colors aren't lightfast and avoid using them in things you wish to sell or give as gifts.

[@tempest6781]

@@KeyLimeInk yes, I will use them as practice and they'll be useful to build up my technique since I'm rusty xD They do look lovely and the fact that they are transparent was what made me buy. Thanks you for the advice

[@jessica............967]

The Paul Rubens 4l8 color set is $72.99 as of 5-22-23, yikes!

[@KeyLimeInk]

It’s been steadily sitting at $70ish lately but used to dip down with instant coupons pretty frequently. Maybe they’ll get back to that in the fall as the holiday season approaches?!