Getting Started With Watercolors: The Basics

Have you ever found yourself fascinated with watercolors' delicate and luminous nature? There's beautiful transparency and freshness to it that isn't as easily duplicated through mediums such as oil or acrylic. Watercolor painting is an incredibly versatile medium that can provide a subtle effect that can accent or create elaborate, bold colors and patterns for a painting that has head-turning appeal.

However, it is also a painting medium that has long been associated with difficulty. You might hear that it is a medium challenging to master, as it can be known to be unforgiving and unpredictable. Mistakes may be difficult to correct at first, and learning to control the water on your brush or paper can be the most complex challenge to overcome. Nevertheless, if you've been considering trying watercolors, you shouldn't be discouraged. Half the fun of watercolors is their unpredictability and how unexpected moments can turn into something unique and beautiful.

The most complex decision you may be facing is figuring out where to begin. What do you need when getting started with watercolors? How much is too much? What paints are the best quality, and which paints are the best and most affordable? What paper works and what doesn't? Do brushes matter?

If you find yourself at a loss for where to start, take a deep breath in and join us as we go over everything you need when getting started with watercolors.

The Basics
There are only 5 most basic art supplies you need to begin with watercolors.
1. Paper
2. Brush
3. Watercolor paints
4. Water
5. Mixing palette

Anyone can begin watercolor painting with these items on hand. However, not all of these items are created equally. What does that mean?

Paper Matters
What's in a paper? Any old piece of paper will do, won't it? Unfortunately, your paper does matter when it comes to practicing and learning. Have you ever played with watercolor paints as a child—or watched a child paint with them using, for example, generic printer paper or paper in a notebook meant for writing? If you have, or even if you haven't, trying to paint with watercolors on paper not meant to handle water soon becomes a very frustrating mess.

What happens when you watercolor paint on 20lb paper or paper for writing?

• Water on writing or cheap paper will immediately buckle or warp. Buckling and warping create an uneven, wrinkled surface where your paints will run or pool.
• Paper not meant for watercolors will become extremely weak when wet, meaning something as simple as a brushstroke, or going over a place twice with your brush will create paper piling (rolling up) or worse—tear.

When it comes to your journey in learning watercolors, one of the important choices is ensuring your paper has been created specifically for watercolor. What are the best watercolor papers?

The Best Affordable Watercolor Paper:
What is important when looking for the right watercolor paper is its weight. For instance, generic printer paper is roughly 20lbs or 75 gsm (Grams per Square Meter.) A paper that is weighted between 20lbs/75 gsm to roughly under or at 100lb/270 gsm is generally not hardy enough to handle the water you will use for painting. The ideal paperweight you will be looking for is 140lb or 300 – 360 gsm. Which brands of watercolor paper at this weight are the most affordable for a beginner?
• Canson XL Watercolor
• Canson Montval Watercolor
• Fluid Watercolor Paper
• Strathmore 400 Series Watercolor
• Cheap Joe's Cardmaker Watercolor Paper Killamanjaro 140lb

The Best High-End Watercolor Paper:
If you can purchase the best, high-end watercolor paper, you'll notice that these papers occasionally come in weights higher than 140lb, and some are made from 100% cotton. What is fantastic about cotton, or high-weight watercolor paper, is that it can take more significant amounts of water without issue. The stronger the paper, the more they allow you as an artist to play with various effects such as wet washes or wet-in-wet painting, and a more remarkable ability to layer when working on underpainting and watercolor blooms. Some of the best high-end watercolor paper on the market today are:
• Saunders Waterford 200lb cold-pressed watercolor paper
• Saunders Waterford Watercolor 300lb Rough sheets of paper
• Arches 300lb watercolor
• Arches 300lb Bright White cold-pressed watercolor paper
As a beginner, if you are worried about wasting paper as you learn, it's perfectly acceptable to go with a more affordable option for practice.

The Brushes
Does it matter what brush you use with watercolors? What about what the brush materials are? Most importantly, it is critical to use brushes specially marked for and made for watercolors? Why?
• Watercolors, acrylics, and oil paints all have different chemical compositions that interact differently with different brushes.
• A watercolor brush's construction and shape are also different from that of other brushes specific to other mediums.
• Acrylic brushes are designed to deal with the viscosity and drying time of acrylic paints, and the rougher handling acrylic brushes tend to go through.
• Watercolor brushes are optimized to work with the fluidity of water and delicacy of both the watercolor paints and the techniques used to paint them.

Synthetic or Natural Hair Brushes?
As a beginner, whether you choose synthetic or natural typically comes down to your budget. Synthetics are fantastic to start with to get the feel of a brush and practice techniques. Naturals brushes (kolinsky sable, red sable, fox, squirrel, ox, and goat) use real hair from the animal that have natural ridges and scales within the hair strand which makes a natural hair brush hold more water better than smooth synthetics.
If it is feasible and within your budget, we recommend purchasing natural hair watercolor bristles because natural means you spend less time having to re-wet and work with your brushes.

Which Brush Shape?
The best shape for your watercolor brushes as a beginner will be round brushes. Round brushes are the most versatile as their shape makes them suitable for tiny details, delicate lines, and broad, bolder strokes and washes.

Which Size Brushes?
When buying your first brushes, we highly recommend three-round brushes. One small (size 2-3), one medium (5-6), and one large (10-12). Because of how adaptable round brushes are, they are genuinely the only three sizes you will need to learn in the beginning.

The Paints
As a beginner, there's no rush to run out and purchase the most expensive watercolor paints. You will undoubtedly be using too much or too little as you learn on your journey toward the perfect balance between water and paint, how to mix it, and what works best. However, that doesn't mean you should be using any old set from the bargain basket.

There are fantastic watercolor paints that are bright, well-pigmented, and at a perfect price not to break the bank while you experiment. It's possible to have quality pigmented watercolors at affordable prices without compromising or worrying about muddy colors. For the best of both worlds (color, performance, and cost) we highly recommend your first set of paints come from:
• Winsor & Newton
• Cheap Joe's Sketchmaker
• American Journey

We also advise starting with a smaller pan of mostly primary colors to help you learn about color mixing and color theory and how watercolors react to one another when layered. Having too many colors to choose from can often feel overwhelming as a beginner. The most important aspect of learning a new hobby is having fun and enjoying it!

With the right paper, brushes, and paint, you'll build a solid foundation to begin your journey with watercolors! While this doesn't cover nearly all of the great tips and tricks or techniques for a beginner—this is a fantastic starting point!

We hope we've been able to help you and inspire you to make more art!