✨ULTIMATE Indigo Comparison - 21 Different Brands Test

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Hey all! I had to remove a few very unnecessary, rude comments. When I requested assistance purchasing more tubes in the future, I was not whining or begging. This was just me requesting help because this is an expensive venture, and while I don't have to do this, I want to -- it benefits us all to see side-by-side comparisons of TONS of brands. Also, thank you for your patience. This is the largest comparison I've done, and I've learned a few things for the next one. I'd love to know what color you'd like to see done next in an ULTIMATE battle so I can start looking for sales and acquiring all the brands I need. Again, just watching these videos and sharing them supports me enough. I was not whining or crying about the cost, but simply asking for assistance. Any support helps my channel and I appreciate it more than you know. Thank you again for watching my comparison! Can't wait to create another one here VERY soon. Also, this was a learning adventure. I'm more than happy to hear anything you'd like to see on the next comparison: color preferences, bigger spaces for granulation (already planned), etc. Thank you so much for your support!

[@MAFuller]

Please don’t let the comments discourage you. Another artist I enjoyed stopped posting because people are so rude. Remove them and continue to do what you love. ❤

[@danab398]

I love the idea of the quarter pans to sample!! Can’t wait to have more colors to try.

[@melissag6246]

Thank you so much for the comparison! I love love this color, specially when I am painting the ocean

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

It's one of my favorites to use! Thank you so much!

[@aqua_coloring]

It's so fun to see all these different brands compared! I don't have any indigo, and I use indanthrone blue instead. But I really like the Maimeri Blu and the Schmincke here, even though they're not lightfast. P.S. I love your holiday nails!

[@freewoman4434]

Indigo has to be one of my favourite watercolour colours. Literally painting with it right now! The brand I'm using is Schminke (first time using this brand) It's lovely.

[@Kammey]

This is so cool to see so many different indigos compared on one paper! Thank you!

[@chaddesrosiers1107]

PB66 is fugitive as it is real Indigo which is fugitive. MMB is using a dye which no matter what they say is also fugitive. I am not a fan of "indigo" as no one actually sells it. At least the companies selling PB66 are selling actual Indigo. If you want a Indigo in your palette use PB60 (Indanthrone Blue) it is very close already which is why companies like DS start with it and just add a little black to it to make their Indigos. You can de saturate it yourself with a little burnt sienna, umber or a bit of black.This gives you the ability to use the PB60 in its bit higher chroma version of de saturate it slightly for an Indigo. Just my 2 cents. o7 thanks for the vid.

[@lisaharner3720]

I have an A. Gallo NB1 Genuine that I love. It looks very much like the Maimeri Blu you swatched but darker. It’s quite different from the other indigos I have, W&N Pro and Cotman. All your swatches are lovely but do vary! I’m happy with the A Gallo! Thanks for the costly comparisons. 🙂

[@jollybeantracy]

My ABSOLUTE favorite Indigo is Daniel Smith! It reminds me of the Japanese textiles that were around me during my childhood! 💙🎨💙

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Ooooh that's pretty

[@shadowguard3578]

Happy New Year Kori! Indigo isn’t a color I’ve given much thought about. I liked the ones that had a strong blue tone like Isaro, W&N professional, Sennelier, and Old Holland.

[@elizac.9355]

Thanks for doing this indigo sampling. I use indigo the most. I've been using an ancient Dahler indigo so this is very helpful to me. I think I like the Schminke or Rembrandt but there are a few that look interesting. Being able to eliminate some of the ones that I would normally pick up, like the W&N, but don't like here is super helpful and saving me time and cash. I've donated a bit for you. I'm new to your channel and will definitely look at your other videos. Thanks again. Happy 2025!

[@blackorbit825]

Hi, thank you for this comparison, I already had Sennelier, W&N pro and Mission Gold (which I particularly love, bit dull in washes though). And now I know my favs, which are 1. Mission Gold (even if it is not really indigo per say ;) ) 2. Holbein 3. Schmincke 4. Daniel Smith (and a little still W&N pro, cauz it moves so well). And big comparison like that is perfect as we can better see all those colors (way better than on color charts) and compare them next to one another. Sometimes I'm trying to make up my mind for changingto a new brand and can't find a comparison for this or that brand, so yeah, keep going girl :) In the future, doing perylenes would be so nice !! (violet and green would be great, and may be maroon or red but those would interest far less people I think). Thanks again for your good work and a very happy new year to you :)

[@hannahthufvesson]

My favourites are QoR and Holbein. I love their hues and also how they behave when I paint. 😊

[@KialayaKreations]

I was going to buy a couple of samples from your store on Etsy because I really liked a few of the more expensive brands you showed and would like to try them without investing in the big tube but sigh, 2/3€ for the quarter pan and 18.58€ for the shipping to Spain?! That is simply ridiculous. Would be cheaper to just buy the tube. And no, this is NOT criticism to the artist Kori, it is criticism to the absolutely outrageous fees that we are having in late years in international shipping, it makes me so sad, I used to buy all sort of craft materials from creators in USA some 15 or so years ago, and now its just impossible. I do hope people can get them with local shipping. Thank you very much for the comparison, it was very nice to see. I personally have the Van Gogh and the Cotman, I am a beginner artist, I will see when I use up those if I am maybe ready to get some more artist grade. And ignore nasty people, always seem to be a couple of those about, it's not as if you were forcing them to pay anything, if they dont want to pay go see some other channel, no need to bother you.

[@kathrynbaker7278]

I use my mission gold indigo as a payne’s grey and love the Windsor Newton indigo

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Lovely choices

[@christiecolors2024]

I'm so excited for this series!!

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Thank you! I've learned a few things while doing this one to improve for the next one.

[@crowquillgal1016]

Thanks for the video! I use both Rembrandt and Van Gogh indigo- Van Gogh is such high quality for student grade! I have used both for years, and I have to say the VG is overly concentrated in your example- it paints out reallly similarly to the Rembrandt. However, from the tube, and even when panned, it can be easy to get it overly saturated-it’s just a paint that likes to Do The Most I guess 😆 It’s such a romantic color- thanks for posting this.

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Yes, they are all from the tubes -- except RS -- so they do get a little oversaturated.

[@potatopirate5557]

Really appreciate this, its so important to be able to see all of the colors compared. In the future, when I'm able, I would be very interested in both donating and purchasing quarter pans, especially once there's multiple colors. As long as it's affordable, it would be a great way to try different colors or get to have enough to play with of the ones you know you dont need but realllllly want. There are many colors that offer slight variations between brands that are all gorgeous for different purposes. It would be wonderful to have a little of each of my favorites. 😊

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

There is no pressure or rush for anyone to donate, and hopefully I made that clear. It was simply a request for assistance so I could keep doing these videos. So please don't feel obligated. Just watching is more than enough for me :)

[@mariram]

I like Schmincke, Maimeri Blu, Daniel Smith, and PWC the most.

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Good choices!

[@karinrobbers1276]

Thank you for this. What does fugitive mean?

[@cathrynclark5287]

Love the review...love all the different brands. Love the 1/4 pans. I'm anxious to keep an eye on your store. I teach watercolors and this is very helpful for the students. I'd like to see a red being compared.

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Is there a specific red your looking for?

[@cathrynclark5287]

@@watercolorwanderingwithk A neutral red, not too cool or warm. I like to suggest to my students primary and secondary colors/brands that can be used to create their own palette.

[@vishneva2000]

I liked the ones you liked, but I also the Schmincke. I was surprised by that. I was impressed with the Van Gogh, as it is a student grade. And the Grumbacher Academy had cool granulation. I'm a Daniel Smith fan and that color is nice but it does seem like a Paynes Gray. That said, they all had interesting qualities. Indigo is just a wonderful color.

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Often those student grade ones surprise me. There have been a few videos I've done in the past where the student grade looks better. Of course, there is still the lightfastness to consider, but I mean if you aren't doing commissioned art pieces, saving money and buying a student grade isn't the worst option.

[@artandmusic09]

Opera pink, cadmium yellow, and quin rose perhaps??? Or ultramarine. :)

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

I had been thinking Opera Rose/Pink next!

[@renskee.jellema8697]

Old Holland: PB15:3,PR177,PBk9).

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

LOL thank you! So weird it's not on the tube and I hadn't had the chance to look it up.

[@candyclouston1412]

Anthraquinone red? That was unexpected (to me, at least). Pretty blue, but not what I think of as indigo. Thanks for the info.

[@jessbutterfly1934]

Here is me trying this year to not spend too much money this year on art supplies. In fact, I don’t want to spend anything after spending thousands last year and promising myself I wouldn’t because I literally couldn’t afford it after my Papa passed away (I went down to a single disability income that has to cover expensive medication, doctors bills and private health insurance (but I have to have because my caredoesn’t exist in the public system) and trust me the pension does not cover these things. Including rent and all the price hikes everyone is incurring let alone art supplies but this comes up on my feed and I can’t help myself I mean, let’s face it, who could resist beautiful watercolours I totally have to watch indigo and paynes grey are some of my favourite colours and it was so interesting to watch this not gonna lie though I’m making an assumption hear that you are American and live in America so I would have thought that you might have done M.Grahame unless I missed it. I never really wanted to get into M.Grahame paints because I live in Australia and they are quite expensive over here and extremely hard to get a hold of. However I got lucky getting a whole heap of his paints. His Paynes Gray has got to be one of the most beautiful colours and versions I have ever come across. I would, however, love to see you wash out the colours further, particularly the really dark ones. I like how you didn’t do one of the dark ones a second time for us but with what you’ve left there what I would’ve done is got a clean brush with just water and placed it underneath to see it completely fade out because sometimes a lot of us use the deep water colours like that very water down to get beautiful effects. Plus it would be interesting to see you do it in maybe a bit more of a shape or something and push the colours around a bit more because if they are gonna granulate the more you bully them with water the better the results thank you so much though for doing this as a fellow Watercolor rest. I know too well the expense of these paints and just sitting on your desk there at least in Australian dollars is going past the 3 to $400 mark absolutely beautiful, but tickly because of the fact they came in tubes

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

That is nice that you got a ton of his paints! Watercolor paints are expensive, and I don't think people realize when you buy so many at once how it adds up. I think for the next round, I will use a larger piece of paper to give each one more room. I was trying to fit them on a single page, so I will be just piecing together pages so they are all "together" even if they aren't on that one -- if that makes any sense. When I do the wet-on-wet with proper space, you can get more granulation effect. Consider this first "ultimate" as a trial run to see a) if people are even interested, and b) lessons learned. :)

[@jumanas4012]

my fav.colour

[@lauriefriedman6997]

The Da Vinci is it. I use M. Graham and they do not have Indigo, but their Prussian Blue will get you there. It's a single pigment, PB 27.

[@watercolorswatcher]

I think my favourite would be Daniel Smith. Only two pigments (both lightfast), pro grade, and of course, actually resembles indigo, unlike some of the other two pigment mixes. ☺ Nice to see all these together! Good luck with your Etsy shop. 🥰

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

It's always fun to see what we all think of "indigo" yeah? I mean I'm a colored pencil artist, so my indigo can be different, but also, just the way we take in colors.

[@Bastion90]

The Daniel Smith is probably the closest to what I think of when I hear 'Indigo', but I would look at a lot of those darker varieties and consider them indigo too. Anything lighter than the Grum Academy, i would not call indigo. My personal favourite colours on there are the Da Vinici and Sennelier, even though I would definitely not call the latter indigo.

[@karenirving7088]

My preferred indigo is the Maimeri Blu

[@LunaBianca1805]

The Shin Han has actual, synthetic Indigo in it (had to look that up, because I've been curious) proper Indigo is kinda fugitive in watercolors (like it fades in sunlight, but turns blue again when put away somewhere dark , if I remember that right) - if the chemical structure of the synthetic is reacting similarly, maybe that's why they call it fugitive 🤔 ? I know Indigo can be fixated with acids like lemon juice or vinegar , but that probably wouldn't work with water colours , I guess 😊 I definitely understand you comparing it to Payne's Grey, especially with the bluish leaning ones (My Schmincke Paynes Grey Blue is prolly really similar and light fast at that). If it weren't for the "sentimentals" of having real Indigo or wanting single pigment colours, I probably would choose either that or my Schmincke Delft Blue (though that definitely is a more bluish blue and doesn't turn quite as dark as the real Indigo or the Patne's Greys in mass tone) All lovely colours, though, and I bet they make a great choice for value studies or monochrome works :) Have a great start into 2025 ❣️

[@PaigeEscapes]

It’s Prussian blue that does the colour change ☺️ true indigo is just fugitive unfortunately

[@LunaBianca1805]

@PaigeEscapes Is it? I could have sworn that Prussian Blues usually get like the highest light fast ratings by manufacturers ^^' But hey, there's so many blues nowadays maybe I got some pigments mixed up

[@artandmusic09]

@@LunaBianca1805 No @PaigeEscapes is right, sadly, because those blues are darn pretty!

[@watercolorswatcher]

@@LunaBianca1805 Prussian Blue PB27 is rated as lightfast because it recovers in darkness. Art shouldn't have to be put away to keep the colours vibrant, so I disagree with rating it as lightfast. Both NB1 and PB66 are fugitive. I think Maimeri uses NB1 so they can keep up with their single pigment paint line. They use Chrome Oxide Green PG17 for their sap green and it in no way looks like a sap green, but anyway... Sorry for going off on a tangent there. 😆

[@colorsmith659]

What ShinHan does not tell: They (probably) use not only PB66 but PG7 too for the PWC Indigo. The korean color chart shows the actual recipes of PWC/SWC apparently. "Paint in Hiding" has a vid on that issue. Anyways, still like the brand and the PWC Indigo too. Kremer pigments has a genuine NB66 as handmade watercolor paint AND they give it a high lightfastnes rating. Didn't test the paint for it. But it's gorgeous...and a bit stinky. Delft Blue is great.

[@wendychampness1901]

Love the large variety, if you can afford it. So far, your Etsy has only WN

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

No, if you open the listing it has all the brands featured here. Already had a few people buy them :) The image is an example of how they look, but all of the brands are there.

[@nikkia9506]

I use the Roman Szmal one. It's a shame natural NB1 indigos are so hard to come by, because not many of us know what indigo should look like to be able to compare 😂 (I had the opposite problem when I first started watercolours, because I brought Van Dyke Brown from Roman Szmal. It's a natural VDB. Artificial ones just don't come close enough, and I've been ruined 😂 I do have the PWC natural VDB as well, but still prefer the Roman Szmal one, because it's more mulchy)

[@watercolorwanderingwithk]

Yeah you aren't going to find a lot of NB1's. A lot of companies have had to adjust when it comes to colors -- not just indigo. Roman Szmal is one of my preferred brands, but it's always fun to see how different colors look.

[@madeleine4725]

Holbein by far

[@MsRain49]

Maimeri Blu's indigo is awful in my opinion. I got it in their sample set. I also have Qor, and like it very much.

[@laragecassiopee128]

❤🎉👏🏻👍🙏😉🎁🎁🎨🖌