How To Buy A Watercolor Set 101

🌿 FIND my favorite art supplies for bullet journaling, functional planning, and watercolor
--- www.amazon.com/shop/keylimeink...
🌿 SHOW NOTES
I've tried 24 different watercolor brands over the years. Today I’m offering my most important tips for buying a watercolor set.
🌿 RECOMMENDED ART SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES
Art Whale
--- 24 Half Pans: amzn.to/3Yw9B4w
--- 48 Half Pans: amzn.to/3XPAEGy
(Made in China by a company based in Florida; student grade)
Cotman
(I don’t mind Cotman overall, but the box I have is not designed well and is sold as "colors may vary.” I prefer Art Whale or Niji by Yasutomo)
Canson XL Watercolor Paper
--- at Amazon: amzn.to/3NtgePq
--- at Blick: shrsl.com/3uzf8
(FSC Certified; used for all my watercolor swatching)
Da Vinci
--- 12 Full Pans: davincipaints.com/da-vincis-w...
--- Open Stock Tubes at Blick: shrsl.com/3ufrq
--- Open Stock Tubes at Da Vinci: davincipaints.com/shop-da-vin...
(Made in California; artist quality)
F Club Empty Watercolor Pans
--- full: amzn.to/3H4DcLk
--- half: amzn.to/3Wgj3Gt
Kim Crick’s Problem Pigment List
--- www.kimcrick.com/pages/fugiti...
Isaro
--- Open Stock at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3L6yHBg
(Made by a small business in Belgium; artist quality)
Jackson's (house brand)
--- Open Stock: tidd.ly/3XKQSE6
(Made in France; between student grade and artist quality)
Lukas Aquarell 1862
--- 24 Half Pans: amzn.to/3DTaIBH
(Made in England by a company based in Germany; between student grade and artist quality)
Mei Liang
--- 36 half pans: amzn.to/3wntduj
--- 48 half pans: amzn.to/3wnaQ8U
(Made in China; less than 50% of the colors are lightfast; only for painting in sketchbooks; craft grade)
Niji by Yasutomo
--- 12 Half Pans at Amazon: amzn.to/3LGWLeV
--- 12 Half Pans at Blick: shrsl.com/41qom
--- 24 Half Pans at Amazon: amzn.to/41SOytW
--- 24 Half Pans at Blick: shrsl.com/41qon
(made in China by a company based in California; I prefer the color selection in the 24 set; student grade)
Paul Rubens Artist
--- 48 Half Pans: amzn.to/3QvIxxb
(made in China; between student grade and artist quality)
Roman Szmal
--- Open Stock at Jackson's: tidd.ly/4cI83u0
(made in Poland; artist quality)
Schmincke Horadam
--- Open Stock Pans at Blick: shrsl.com/4370b
--- Open Stock Tubes at Blick: shrsl.com/4370e
--- Open Stock Pans and Tubes at Jackson's: tidd.ly/3XKR0U6
(made in Germany; my favorite artist quality watercolors; I recommend purchasing individual colors rather than ready-made sets)
Van Gogh
--- 12+3 Half Pans at Amazon: amzn.to/3fsHRvt
(made in The Netherlands; good starter set but I find the colors more subdued than most other brands; student grade)
White Nights
--- 35 full pans: amzn.to/3QC9EXu
(made in Russia; newest set with mostly lightfast and transparent colors; artist quality)
🌿 NO LONGER AVAILABLE OR NOT RECOMMENDED
--- Artibox, Artistik, Artsy, GenCrafts, Jane Davenport Brights, Loew Cornell, Prang, Sakura Koi, Superior, Tinge
🌿 DISCLOSURES
KeyLimeInk is an affiliate of Amazon, Blick, Da Vinci, Etsy, and Jackson's. Art Whale, Da Vinci, Isaro, Jackson's, Lukas, Mei Liang, Niji, and Schmincke sent samples for review.
🌿 TIME STAMPS
00:00 introduction
00:40 budgeting for brushes and paper
02:39 don’t feel like you need the most expensive, popular brands
03:53 don’t limit yourself with craft grade / drugstore paints either
05:10 basic criteria: pigment numbers
07:36 basic criteria: movable pans in a useful tin
11:00 basic criteria: three necessary colors
13:55 basic criteria: lightfastness
17:45 choosing based on company values
28:10 availability

[@KeyLimeInk]

🌿 TIME STAMPS
00:00 introduction
00:40 budgeting for brushes and paper
02:39 don’t feel like you need the most expensive, popular brands
03:53 don’t limit yourself with craft grade / drugstore paints either
05:10 basic criteria: pigment numbers
07:36 basic criteria: movable pans in a useful tin
11:00 basic criteria: three necessary colors
13:55 basic criteria: lightfastness
17:45 choosing based on company values
28:10 availability

[@heatherk255]

I was *literally* searching Google for beginner watercolour sets an hour before you uploaded this 😅 Great timing! Going to watch this in the morning 😄

[@KeyLimeInk]

Hope it helps!

[@heatherk255]

Very helpful ! Thanks so much for sharing

[@tbelsom]

Great video. Jerry’s Artarama carries the full line of Lukas paints. They are in the US.

[@gautambiswas7338]

00:03 Consider budget for brushes and paper as important as paints
02:39 Don't limit yourself to drugstore paints
07:40 Choose a watercolor set with a useful tin for easy organization.
10:17 Buy a watercolor set with movable pans and a useful tin for mixing areas.
15:35 Ensure to use light-fast paints to prevent fading over time.
17:49 Key factors in choosing a watercolor set
22:31 Different watercolor brands and their origins
24:51 Scha and Veno are environmentally focused and widely available watercolor sets.
29:40 Start with a beginner set to understand colors before investing in artist-grade paints.
Crafted by Merlin AI.

[@gautambiswas7338]

Many thanks for this very helpful video. I just ordered the Winsor & Newton Cotman 12 colour set, before I saw your video. I thought Winsor & Newton was a good brand, but it doesn't find any mention in your video? I am a beginner.

[@KeyLimeInk]

Cotman paints are excellent! My issue with them is that the pocket boxes are sold as "colors may vary" which makes it hard to recommend because I don't know what pigments you're going to receive. If you're happy with the selection you received, yay!