Who hasn’t seen the endless lists of what you need to start with watercolors? Not this time. Here is a short list of what you truly need to start, because creating is better than shopping.
Chapters
- Creating Is Better Than Buying
- Why It’s More Important To Just Start
- The Basic Supplies
- Watercolors
- Watercolor Brushes
- Watercolor Paper
- Little Helpers
- Make A Lot From Little
I admit… I myself own way too much and know, that I don’t need that much. For those who just start out, those awfully long lists what to get aren’t helpful though and will just cause anxiety and frustration. Especially in the beginning lists of supplies can become overwhelming, because you don’t know yet what is really needed in the process. Some also try to use all at once, which just leads to confusion and frustration rather than a relaxing learning experience. These considerations lead to this short list of necessary items of what you really need to start with watercolors, if you want to try out the medium and start painting.
This cute robin was painted by me using one of the basic sets. As you can see, you can work really nicely with a great range of values even with a decent student grade set.
Creating Is Better Than Buying
Painting and buying supplies are two different hobbies, let’s be real. So I want to focus on the creating part. We’re all conditioned to buy, buy, buy by social media and the content we consume. Are you starting with a new Hobby? You’ll immediately find long lists of what you will need and can’t start without for every just possible specific occasion. In the very beginning. To me this feels just tiresome.
Over the years I have painted a lot and my collection of supplies is not tiny… (part of it you can see in the watercolor database sunandcolors.com) But do I truly need all of it? For every painting? In the very beginning? No.
The final drop that motivated me to make this post and video was a question someone posted on Reddit. They showed a list of what they got, that had over 20 items on it, and asked whether they’re now finally ready to start painting. And to me it felt sad. The question showed that they were eager to paint, but were so insecure by what they’ve read or seen so far, that they were too anxious to start. Social media with their flood of recommendations has created an insane pressure on beginners to purchase stuff and unrealistic expectations about how starting actually looks like.
Creativity doesn’t need all that stuff. The basic supplies are fully sufficient!
Why It’s More Important To Just Start
There are advantages to just start painting with a basic set of supplies. It’s:
- You can explore the new medium in a pure way from the start.
- Once you start and have some experience, you can estimate better what will enhance your painting experience and extend your materials.
This way nothing ends up frustrating you from the beginning or in a forgotten junk drawer never to be used again. You will will also be more confident in choosing your supplies.
In addition you don’t have to wait before you can start, because you only need little and will have the fun starting. And let’s be real… we all need more fun in life.
The Basic Supplies
Here is my short long list of the basic supplies. I will mention alternatives, but you really need only one of each. Like one set of watercolors, just a few brushes and paper. The rest is just flavor.
All of these are my favorite beginner art supplies. If you can afford professional paints, go for it! And if you find better prices* somewhere, too!
Always remember: There is no perfect, only a perfect for you!
Watercolors
One of my small sets - with an extra half pan of white gouache.
The watercolor sets I’m recommending are all suitable for beginners and student grade quality. If your budget allows, you can start out with professional grade paints. Which company? There are many good ones! You can start with a small set from one of the big names as the quality is really close and you can choose the one local to where you live to start with.
In student grade quality, I recommend these sets:
When choosing a set it’s important that you have two different yellows, reds and blues, each in a cool and a warm tone. All other colors in the set are a bonus. I like to have some browns as short cuts to mixing natural colors in my set, but it’s really optional. You really don’t need more than that!
Watercolor Brushes
All the brushes you’ll need. The quills are my work horses and I use them for most of my paintings.
- Da Vinci Casaneo Quill* in size 1 or 2. These have a nice tip and hold lots of water, which is helpful for many techniques.
Additionally a few sizes of regular round brushes for details. For those I don’t have a specific brand I’d recommend, but I have good experiences with the following brands of brushes and use them often. Sizes 1, 4 and 6 are most handy to start with!
- I love art round brushes (not affiliated)
- Raphael Precision round brushes*
- Princeton Velvetouch round brushes*
I’m suggesting brushes made from synthetic fibers on purpose as their quality has increased over the years and they perform similar to natural hair brushes without causing harm to animals.
With these few brushes you can paint anything you want to paint already.
Watercolor Paper
Before you buy paper, or anything else really, check your local art supply shops whether you can get the supplies for the best price and what papers are easiest available to you. This way you can possibly get better prices on them. This article on how to choose the right paper for you might also help you decide on your perfect paper.
Tip: Always buy the paper with the highest percentage of cotton/rag, that you can afford.
Watercolor paper made from cotton just behaves better when painting with wet media like watercolors and the painting experience over all is just more enjoyable. But it comes at a cost: Cotton is expensive. If price matters, which for most it does, there are papers made from cellulose/wood pulp or a mix from cellulose and cotton, that cost less, but are also behaving decently.
These are my personal favorites to paint on. It’s best to choose cold pressed finish to start on, as it’s easier to paint on:
- Hahnemühle Brittania (cellulose, but behaves decently)*
- Centenaire (not affiliated)
- Clairefontaine Fontaine*
- Winsor&Newton Professional*
- Fabriano Artistico*
In this piece you can see how much the paper texture and quality can influence the painting.
Little Helpers
With the items above you have a basic setup already. But there are a few little helpers, that you might want too. You might own some of them already though.
- Graphite Pencil* (doesn’t matter which one, but I like these a lot)
- Kneadable Eraser* (a normal one will do in the beginning as well)
- Eraser* (This one doesn’t smudge and is good if you’re drawing as well. But use what you already own first.)
- Wahi Tape or Masking Tape*
- maybe Titanium White Gouache* (or if you have a white gel pen, ink or marker)
* Affiliate links to Amazon were used where possible to help support the site and database. I will receive a small commission when these are used for purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
Another little landscape which I used very limited supplies for.
Make A Lot From Little
Now you have everything you need to paint. Paint for real, without any limitations. Because most of the time this is exactly what I use to paint.
The biggest advantage to start instead of building up your stash is, that you gain experience and get to practice and increase your skills. You will be able to build your style and get to know your preferences when painting. With this decisions about how you can expand your set will be easier for you. Will you need marker, watercolor pencils, liners? You will be able to estimate it for yourself on how to expand your setup. Everything is extra.
If you buy a lot in the beginning, you’ll risk to get lost in your supplies and end up not using some or most of them. It can lead to increased frustration because you don’t have the experience yet to use it properly. (Masking fluid… I’m talking about masking fluid here.) And painting should be a fun learning experience. No matter what you paint or which style you chose to pursue.
So start small and get into your new hobby! Maybe you’ll even find a suiting tutorial that you like on my blog. If you have any questions or want to talk about art and supplies, you’re welcome to the most wonderful watercolor community on Discord.
Have a great and creative time!
Lana