The materials library
Watercolour materials
Materials decisions are easier to make one at a time.
This page sorts the guides by the choice in front of you: paper, paint and pigment, brushes and palettes, and where to buy. Each entry says what its guide covers, so you can go straight to the one that answers your question rather than reading everything first. The guides do the explaining and the comparing. This page is the map.
Start here
Three decisions most painters meet first.
- Choosing paper as a beginner in the UK
The first paper purchase, with weight, surface, fibre and format in brief.
- Artist and student watercolour paints
How the two grades differ in concentration, formulation, colour range and value.
- What watercolour pigment codes mean
How to read the codes on a paint label, and what a code can and cannot tell you.
Paper
Surface, fibre, weight and format, and one direct comparison of two papers.
Your first paper
- Choosing paper as a beginner in the UK
The purchase decision, with routes to each detailed paper guide.
Surface and fibre
- What cold press means
The textured NOT surface, what it does and why papers within it vary.
- Hot press watercolour paper
The smooth surface, its strengths, its limits and the work it suits.
- Cotton and wood pulp watercolour paper
How the two fibre types differ, and whether the price gap matters for your work.
- Sizing in watercolour paper
Internal and surface sizing, and the signs of inconsistent sizing.
Weight and format
- Watercolour paper weight explained
What 190gsm, 300gsm, 425gsm and 640gsm mean in handling.
- Blocks, pads and loose sheets
Which paper format suits which way of working.
- How to stretch watercolour paper
When stretching is worth the preparation, and a soak and tape method.
Comparing papers
- Arches and Fabriano Artistico compared
Two artist papers compared for watercolour work.
Buying paper outside the UK
- Where to buy watercolour paper in the US
US paper buying by format and budget.
Paint and pigment
What a paint label tells you, how pigments behave on paper, and how to choose colours and formats.
Reading the label
- What watercolour pigment codes mean
The Colour Index code system and the limits of what a code predicts.
- Lightfastness in watercolour
How lightfastness is rated, and how to read a maker’s rating.
- Single pigment watercolours
What single pigment paints are, and how they differ from mixtures in the tube.
- Artist and student watercolour paints
The two grades compared by concentration, formulation, colour range and value.
How pigments behave
- Granulating pigments
What causes granulation, and how to use or avoid it.
- Staining and non staining watercolours
How firmly dried paint holds to the paper, and what that changes.
- Transparent and opaque watercolour pigments
How covering power changes layering and correction.
- Earth pigments in watercolour
The earth pigment family, compared code by code.
Choosing paint
- A core watercolour palette
How to build a small working set of colours.
- Half pans and tubes
Which paint format suits how and where you work.
Brushes and studio equipment
Choosing brushes by shape, size and fibre, and the tools that sit around paint and paper.
Choosing brushes
- Watercolour brush shapes
What each common shape does and the marks it favours.
- Watercolour brush sizes
Why size numbers vary between makers, and how to compare dimensions instead.
- Mop, quill and round brushes
Three related constructions compared by capacity, release and control.
- Kolinsky sable and synthetic brushes
How natural hair and synthetic fibre differ, and whether the difference is worth paying for.
Using and keeping
- How to care for watercolour brushes
Cleaning, drying and storage habits, and when damage is permanent.
- A watercolour travel kit
Five essentials to pack for painting outdoors.
- Watercolour palettes compared
Plastic, enamelled metal and porcelain mixing surfaces by visibility, weight and cleaning.
Buying and where to shop
When the question becomes what to buy or where, these pages take it from here.
- Choosing a first watercolour set
Which kind of set to start with, and what can wait.
- Where to buy watercolour paper in the UK
UK paper buying by format and budget.
- UK watercolour suppliers
Which UK retailer suits the purchase you are making.
- Four synthetic round brush ranges compared
A budget brush comparison based on published specifications, with its limits stated.