(Part 2) Best products from r/Watercolor

Bee watercolor paper 140# 50 sheets for like $15. Super great deal 100% cotton. It is a cheap but still good quality (leaps and bounds better then canson XL) Here is a copy paste from when my aunt asked for suggestions:

Paper:
https://www.amazon.com/Bee-Paper-Cotton-Watercolor-6X9-Inch/dp/B004KPLLGS/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1513898261&sr=1-3&keywords=watercolor+bee

This is the paper I have brought with me. If she is mostly doing lettering 90 is probably good enough.. and she can always watch youtube videos on how to 'stretch it' if it buckles too much for her... its cheap and great quality.. I will say that cansen XL which is fairly easy to find is not very good and will end up being more frustrating then helpful.

Brushes:

https://www.amazon.com/Aqualon-Royal-Langnickel-Handle-6-Piece/dp/B003DM1LLO/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1513898417&sr=1-3&keywords=aqualon+royal+and+langnickel

for beginners this is a great set.. heck i've been thinking of getting a set. the bottom of the brushs can be used as a 'scrapping tool' super handy.

ok and onto the paint. I will give you a few different kinds cause... i'm like that.

Personally I am of the camp of using a limited palette and mixing. I think it ties the painting together more. So personally i would go with 6-10 colors. A warm and cool of Yellow, Blue, and red along with some more earthy tones such as burnt sienna (a reddish brown) burnt umber (a dark more blue toned brown) and yellow ochre which is a earthy/orangy yellow.

Student grade pants:
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour Sketchers Pocket Box - $13 12 half pans

The cotman set is great value. It is highly pigmented super affordable. I have this set. I have given this set to my friends as gifts. It comes with a little brush.

Prima Marketing Watercolor Set: Tropical - $20 - These I have not used but i have heard great things about them. Jillian has a set.

Professional grade:

Daniel Smith Split Palettle - $33 This is probably one of my favorite brands of watercolors. This would be great for beginners because it doesn't come with white or black so they wont be used as a crutch. it is a split palette and mixing with them is easy. very high quality. huge fan.

Turner Watercolor 5ml tubes -$36 on amazon

Turners Wateroclor 5ml 18 colors tubes - $20 on Jerry's art a rama same set on amazon for twice as much. but you need to pay for shipping. These are the most economical pro paints you can find. Its really good quality (higher pigment load then the cotmans which means you need less paint/can use more water) but they are in tubes so you'd need to get a palette to go with it. which i'm a huge fan of this style It is what you used. i would just make sure not to close it all the way until the paints are dry to prevent mold.

Oh more notes on palettes. You could use old porcelain plates from good will. just wipe away the liquid and let the blobs of paint dry on the plate. good times.
I hope this helps!

For someone just starting out, quality paper is the most important thing followed by paint and brushes. I recommend shopping online as you'll pay 2-3x more locally (unless you have a Blick store nearby, they usually match their online prices) and you can set your girlfriend up nicely without breaking the bank. I'm not sure what you're looking to spend so I'll try to give you a decent range of options.

Paint

Cotman and Van Gogh are the student versions of professional brands (Winsor Newton & Rembrandt) and the most often suggested for beginners. They come in pans (dried paint blocks you swipe with a wet brush to reactivate) and tubes. Though these are student grade they're both used professionally and very high quality. They're lightfast (won't fade with exposure to sun), use the same pigments that the professional brands do (though with a smaller amount) and are both very reasonably priced. And if she enjoys painting and looks to upgrade in the future, she could pick up the Professional version with minimal relearning how the paint performs (All brands behave a little differently on paper).

Of the two I would suggest Van Gogh as they're extremely vibrant, the pans are very easy to rewet (Cotman pans are difficult to get pigment from in my experience, and for someone learning to paint having to scrub a pan with a brush will be frustrating. The tubes better.) and come in nice compact travel sets that have a built in palette for mixing. The Set of 12 Pans is plenty to start with, you can mix a wide variety of colors from that. The 18 pan + 2 tube set is a great option as well as it gives you a nice variety of warm and cool primaries as well as convenient greens and earth colors, it comes with a small brush and sponge, I'd go with that one. The larger sets of 30-48 aren't necessary as they're mostly colors that are mixed from the single pigment paints included in the smaller sets, but if you think she'd enjoy having a ton of colors available without having to mix those are something you can look at too.

If you wanna ball out a little bit and get her some professional paints, Da Vinci has a ton of pan and tube set options. The 12 Full Pan Set again has everything she'd need getting started. They're as good as any brand out there. The pans are also twice the size of the student brand options and will last a very long time.

There's a ton of great paints out there, I suggest these because they're great value as well as quality and don't include a lot of the weird and rarely used colors you find in a lot of sets. I'd go with pans because they're ready to go as soon as you open them, you don't have to wait for the tube paint to dry for a day or two before you can store it or take it with you, they're very attractive gifts that are nice to look at (if you look on youtube you'll see 100s of videos of people just opening them and showing them off) and you can refill them with your own tube paints later on once you know what you like and start building your own palette. This time of the year there's tons of deals out there so if you find a nice set of Winsor Newton or something on amazon that's a great snag as well. Just avoid "store" brands like Artist's Loft or Masters Touch, or the tons of really cheap chinese sets you'll find online.

Paper

100% Cotton is the way to go. It can handle any technique and can take a ton of water without buckling or falling apart. Even the nicest paint will appear dull on poor watercolor paper and they can't handle much water before they start to give out. It can be a little pricey but it's well worth it. Again there's tons of brands but Arches is the most used and it's excellent so I don't wanna bog you don't with a bunch of brands. You could also grab a 22x30 inch sheet of Arches and tear it into a variety of smaller sheets (this is the most common and frugal way). Cold press is medium textured, Hot Press is smooth and Rough is obvious. Cold press is the most versatile so I'd start there. I don't use sketchbooks but if you're looking for something like that I've heard these are good.

Brushes

Brushes are personal preference, some people only use one for everything and some people like a variety of size and hair types. If you wanna keep it simple a 10 or 12 Round is a good workhorse that can handle small detail and a larger wash. There's sets if you wanna get her a few to see what she likes. Synthetic or a blend is where I'd start as real sable or squirrel is pretty expensive. There's water brushes that aren't "traditional" but are popular for sketching or coloring ink art and are easy to use.

Hope this helps!

$100 will get you pretty far! obligatory ymmv, a lot of supplies depend on what and how you paint (do you paint large or small? do you paint outside a lot and need a travel kit? and so on), etc, etc, but here is how i would spend the money:

• paints
  
  kuretake gansai tanbi, 36 color set - the best set of watercolors i have used and relatively cheap, the colors are vibrant, mix well, and set beautifully.
  
  
  
• paper
  
  probably where most of the money should go after upgrading your paints. i like the strathmore 500 series and the canson papers for sketching and learning. other higher end brands that are recommended a lot are arches, bee paper, and fluid 100. definitely try out both hot press and cold press, people usually develop a preference but one is not necessarily better than the other.
  
  
• brushes
  
  honestly, brushes are not that important as long as they are not frayed or shedding. i've seen tons of professionals use and recommend this cheap set by grace art. i also like the princeton neptune brushes.
  
  
• extras
  
  if you still have money left, i would suggest trying something cool like metallic and pearlescent paints if it interests you. or use the money towards other mediums if you want to branch out.

Rick Surowicz’s YouTube channel is awesome: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_RHSK_GEIoVTF-QNKDRvgA

I recommend his podia “Rocks and Water” was worth every penny: https://ricksurowicz.podia.com/rocks-and-water

Joseph Zbukvic’s book is amazing. It’s out of print, but you can find a pdf here: https://archive.org/details/ZbukvicCompressed

Ron Hazell’s Book Painting Water in Watercolor is a great resource for painting water: The Artist's Guide To Painting Water In Watercolor: 30+ Techniques https://www.amazon.com/dp/144033725X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_1QpCDb00QVENB

Liron Yancosky’s YouTube is really good: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChJff_wMy_bByb0jFTfw0xw

I love Tim Wilmot’s videos as well because he explains so well as he goes: https://www.youtube.com/user/timwilmot

Stan Miller hasn’t updated in a while, but his videos are really helpful: https://www.youtube.com/user/Stanleylestermiller

Cotton is def. the best. Arches watercolor paper is really good but it’s also very pricey. I would hold off on buying that just yet and buy some more affordable paper to get started

The canson XL watercolor paper pads are a good start, strathmore also sells some packs of precut paper on amazon

Once you develop your technique and feel more comfortable splurge on the arches paper :)

Some people also like bee watercolor paper as practice paper. But I hate it lol it’s kind of thin and not my jam.


Edit: I have to add. If you live in the US. I’ve actually had good luck and my local Ross stores. I’ve found strathmore watercolor pads for $2.99

Assuming you're from the US, here are a few recs from Amazon. But also check out other art supply sellers as they often have sales that beat Amazon prices (Cheap Joes, Dick Blick's, Jerry's Artorama, Art Supply Warehouse).

Bee Paper is a good, affordable alternative to the expensive (but fantastic) Arches. Whatever paper you get, it should be cotton (not wood pulp) or "rag", 140 pound, and cold pressed.

Robert Simmons makes some great synthetic brushes, but Amazon doesn't sell sets really. Princeton Neptunes are pretty good, and are on Amazon. Good brushes for a starter kit are a #8 and 12 round, 1" flat wash and maybe a #4 for detail work.

A lot of people here like the Koi Travel Set but I don't do plein art, and like tube paint, so I haven't tried it yet.

[edit-a word]

I've used Rembrandt (meh) and Derwent pencils - the Derwents are nice on the go, but my favourite so far is this:

https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Colour-Sketchers/dp/B00004THXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491486681&sr=8-1&keywords=winsor+and+newton+watercolor

The Cotman sketchers kit. I have three tubes added to it - Payne's Grey, Ultramarine Violet and Leaf Green. There's three mixing spaces in the top, I just leave a bit of each colour squeezed in the top because it dries between uses, and I find it to be a good 'complete' colour kit.

If you want the 24 pan set, it's here: https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Water-Color-Metal/dp/B001M6VMTY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491486681&sr=8-2&keywords=winsor+and+newton+watercolor

I like the half pans for sketching, but if I'm doing professional illustrations in my studio, I usually use tubes (Holbein or Winsor and Newton are my faves). I do keep going back to the red in the Cotman pans though!

Good luck!

Ooooh yes, there's a few things like this on my Amazon wishlist.

Arches watercolor paper is expensive but worth the cost.

Kolinsky Red Sable brushes are the best. I didn't really believe it until I bought this set. Amazing.

I can get a pic of some samples tonight for you. I did swatches when I got them. I'm not sure exactly where my old notebook is, and I've been testing out a cheap field kit lately, so I don't have any paintings easily available.

https://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Paint-Set-Professional-Christmas/dp/B07DNPYF3J

This is what I'm trying right now. They're surprisingly decent! I mean, they're not the quality of the Kuretake, but they're super portable, and the sponge for cleaning the brush is connected by velcro, so it's easy to clean.

Cool! If you like drawing buildings I recommend d picking up https://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Made-Easy-Dover-Instruction/dp/0486404730

Awesome book on prespective.

Water in my experience is a lot trickier. Again, you've got a great start by using thinner lines on the stems to show they're behind a transparent object. Since the thickness of the stems is similar below and above the water level, you could make the line even thinner (like, super thin implied baby lines) when it's underwater. Or, you could forego linework completely and rely on colour to show the form (which I think looks super cool with watercolours).

I think using a thin line for the water surface worked well. A way to push the depth further would be to use perspective. Continue the water line around the back of the vase to show the surface of the water as a flat circle, instead of a curved 2D line - image searching 'cylinder in perspective' can show I mean. If you do this, it's best to be consistent and do the same with the vase as well, otherwise it looks kinda weird.

Another theory about line weight applies to objects in perspective - the further an object is from the viewer, the less detail the viewer sees, so the line work should be thinner as the object moves back.

You've got the right idea about using colours to show some reflection on the surface of the water. I think by using perspective to turn it into a flat plane instead of a line, it'll also make it easier for you to visualize when you try to add those reflections.

As for colouring underwater, that's... something I'm still learning myself lol

There's lots of information out there on the internet about perspective and colour theory that goes into way more depth (hah) than I can, but if you're looking for books check out Color and Light by James Gurney and Perspective Made Easy by Ernest Norling.

Thanks! The lines were done with XS Faber-Castell, which utilize India Ink. I love their pens :)

Edit: This is the set I use


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HF562K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_WBH8ybEFZKG9D

I use Arches 100% cotton paper. To stretch the paper I soak it in a water bath for about 10 minutes then place it on a board and tape the edges down using butchers tape (some masking tapes seem to work ok as well). I use staples for larger papers. Let it dry then remove it when you are ready to paint. The stretching helps with absorption and reduces buckling when using a lot of water.

You can also get paper in a block that has the sheets glued on all four sides. This prevents the need for stretching as the paper is held down onto the block. Sheets are more versatile and easier to work with IMO.

A couple other sets that are nice: Professional grade:
http://www.amazon.com/Kuretake-Japanese-Traditional-Professional-Crafters/dp/B00KERVO72/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1449459549&sr=8-3&keywords=watercolor+professional

http://www.amazon.com/Gogh-Professional-Watercolor-Travel-Strathmore/dp/B00NP250SC/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1449459549&sr=8-17&keywords=watercolor+professional

If you think Student grade is more apt then a good option IMO:
http://www.amazon.com/Sakura-XNCW-24N-24-Piece-Assorted-Colors/dp/B001OVG40E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449459659&sr=8-1&keywords=watercolor+koi

Get the Princeton series 3750 brushes. They are very cheap for a good quality brush. Strathmore 400 series paper is a good watercolor paper to start with. If you're looking for paints, then use these. https://www.amazon.com/Daveliou-Watercolor-Paint-Set-Non-Toxic/dp/B00QCC2AD0/ref=sr_1_3?crid=19XSN9LL7DE48&keywords=daveliou+watercolor+paint+set&qid=1554261383&s=gateway&sprefix=davelio%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-3

Unfortunately, I cannot read Japanese, so I can't read the specs on the paper. However, it looks like it's very thin. Maybe it's intended for calligraphy, not sure. For watercolor painting, you typically want a very thick (at least 300gsm/140lb) paper that has a high cotton content or is 100% cotton. These will allow you to paint using wet-on-wet techniques and will not warp as much as thinner paper. I use this: https://www.amazon.com/Strathmore-361-9-Watercolor-Press-Sheets/dp/B0027AAIS0 and it's a good value.

The best way I know how is to start by masking the trees with a masking fluid like this one and then painting the background first (you can drag your horizon line all the way over the dry masking fluid so it looks more continuous). Then you take up the masking fluid with something like a rubber pick-up block like this. And then paint in your trees at the end. I also prefer this way so that if I'm trying to do a flat or gradient in the sky or ground, I can assure that the gradient or flat wash is the same all the way across the paper easier.

Otherwise, the way you've done it works fine if you've got a steady hand and good pencil guides. You could also potentially start with the background and just leave the tree spots empty to start (requiring a good pre-sketch) but you can run into the same troubles with wonky, not quite lining up horizon lines.

I don't think your piece looks all that silly. I like the color scheme you've got going.
One thing I just thought of, if you continue to do without masking fluid for now, consider a bit of the principles of atmospheric perspective and that things farther away from the viewer generally get lighter and lower contrast. Part of what draws the eye to the horizon line so much and highlights the fact that it doesn't match up quite right is that it's one of the areas of highest contrast. Either make that blue lighter as you get closer to the horizon line, or the purple sky darker as you move towards it to draw the attention to other parts of the scene instead.

I went with a mijello 24 that I'm happy with

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KJEWMY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can purchase it at most hobby/art stores like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Here's a link to what I use on Amazon. If you read the reviews, some of the reviewers posted pics of how they used it in some of their art pieces. https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Masking-Fluid-75ml/dp/B005P1ROEY/ref=sr_1_3?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1503581563&sr=1-3&keywords=masking+fluid

Thanks! I use this Winsor & Newton set. (I use barely half of them!)

Took a look for you, but the 8x8 is currently sold out so probably not to be fixed soon.

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Since I'm also from NL I took a look at my local shop and found this one: https://www.antoondejong.nl/fabriano/aquarel-pap-fabr-water-20x20-200g-20v-gf 20x20cm is around 8x8inch, i think. Though not a sketchbook.

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They also have sketchbooks, but no square ones. They do have Hahnemule watercolor sketsbooks though, I use one and it's very nice.

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[edit]

I do also have an aunt who is in the arts scene in the UK (more caligraphy and some watercolor) and could ask her but she's working on some tight deadlines so I don't know when she'll answer. But I also checked on amazon and: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ArtWay-Studio-Casebound-Sketchbook-Hardback/dp/B06Y5WB1NZ

Though: suitable for light washes. Slight buckling will occur when using watercolours and inks (from the text)

It's out! :) https://www.amazon.com/That-Will-Burn-Judd-Mercer-ebook/dp/B072LJZ2SC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496066609&sr=8-1&keywords=all+that+will+burn

It looks like these. They're spectacular!

I use:

https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Masking-Fluid-75ml/dp/B005P1ROEY

Some artists suggest that you split the difference of the bottle once you own one so that you can save half for later and avoid drying out the whole bottle as it tends to react to air very poorly, speeding up the drying process of the contents inside when uncapped during use.

https://www.amazon.com/Canson-Watercolor-Textured-Charcoal-100510941/dp/B004M59O4C/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2K9R1XAH6SP9K&keywords=canson+xl+watercolor+paper&qid=1571544728&sprefix=canson+xl+%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-2

Masking fluid is this stuff that you paint over parts of your watercolor that you don't want to get painted. You rub it off your painting when you're done. I just started using it myself.

So I actually picked up this today, though it's not what I used for the Calvin & Hobbes one. I'm assuming the paper weight is in the lower left (140lbs/300g). I don't know how much I'll need for school, so I'm a little hesitant to use too much of it right off the bat.

When you say stretching the paper by getting it wet, do you mean lightly with a paintbrush, or soaking it and letting it dry? I've literally never used wed medium (other than ink for calligraphy), so I don't really know how this all works.

Oooh this is a fun game:

https://www.amazon.com/MEEDEN-Empty-Watercolor-Palette-Paint/dp/B01MRYR1VI/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303405&sr=8-40&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Cotman-Water-Studio/dp/B000XYHYI4/ref=sr_1_43?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303405&sr=8-43&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Field-Artist-Watercolor-Journal-Hardbound/dp/B075ZN6XT3/ref=sr_1_66_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303688&sr=8-66-spons&keywords=watercolor&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Artify-Watercolor-Miniature-Carrying-Flannelette/dp/B078SQT3NW/ref=sr_1_72?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303688&sr=8-72&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Smith-285610005-Essentials-Introductory/dp/B00WT5VRF6/ref=sr_1_94?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303776&sr=8-94&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Moleskine-Watercolor-Album-Sketchbook-Spanish/dp/8883705629/ref=sr_1_107?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303816&sr=8-107&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Paint-Brush-Brushes-Watercolor-Painting/dp/B00ZO90S1I/ref=sr_1_114_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303816&sr=8-114-spons&keywords=watercolor&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Block-Cold-Press-X12/dp/B0007XDHGO/ref=sr_1_115?ie=UTF8&qid=1526303859&sr=8-115&keywords=watercolor

https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Ph-Martins-400262-XXX-Watercolor/dp/B005TFSDF0/ref=sr_1_147?ie=UTF8&qid=1526304003&sr=8-147&keywords=watercolor

sorry for stupid long links