Canson XL is a surprisingly good affordable non-cotton paper, it's what I started with and did not discourage me from watercoloring. Eventually I got the cheapest cotton paper I could find, Bee 140# cold press, and that was even better for learning. Now that I'm more confident it doesn't seem as scary to use up the pricier papers, though to beginners I feel like starting with the absolute best cotton paper can make you feel bad for making mistakes. I remember being amazed by the vibrancy and big pans in the White Nights set too, great recommendations!
I have two empty watercolor xl from the canson sitting on my shelve. Not Cotton be damned. I love m becaus euh. I love to doodle in those. or make tiny thumbnail paintings. Not like you will sell those. If pple want them I can always scan them in,lol.
I started drawing and using watercolors after my son passed...nights became long. Now, I do it because it satisfies something in me. Came from a professional background (medicine) and the frivolity of "art" was never part of my life...lol older people ramble...I just wanted to say that I love your videos and binged on them one night...look forward to each and everyone...I did purchase the Kuretake set. I will purchase another beginner set just to get my art legs ( kinda like sea-legs)...again, thank u for sharing your expertise and your talent
I'm sorry about your son. There are a couple of doctors in my family. They paint as a hobby. Other family members are professional artists. I want to start painting. However, I currently cannot afford art supplies. I have never attempted, because I want everything to look perfect from the beginning! Weird.
To be honest I saw your comment and I’m so happy because I feel the exact same. I’m in the field of education and sometimes I feel very frustrated and stressed. I began watercolor after years and years of leaving it in the dustbin and began to start doing it again as a form of “art therapy” and it was excellent!
No, older people do not ramble. You are more intelligent than most. Younger generations were not taught to be gracious and thoughtful. Also, they are not as inforned eventhough they might be "educated."
I love that this review was done as a "paints that don't get in the way" kind of thing. While I absolutely love granulating colors now and even intentionally seek them out the first time I ran into watercolors that granulated I was soooo frustrated and gave up on watercolors for a hot minute because I thought it was an issue on my end and I was just too dumb to figure out how watercolor worked. :'D
I feel ya. I thought I hated watercolor until, oddly enough, I found a set REALLY CHEAP with a coupon code. I purchased them just to have and eventually, like a year later, pulled them out to attempt a background on a piece. That background turned out miserably, but when I wet the paints I kinda became obsessed. I still pretty much suck with watercolor, but they're really really FUN!
Especially for the European market I would like to add the Van Gogh student grade 12 Color set. They are only between 13 and 17 Euros (in Germany) and I started with them and used them for half a year and upgraded to senellier after that. They are great for mixing and since this is something I would say is most important for learning how to use watercolours they have great value for their price.
When I started with watercolors, I was contemplating between van Gogh and Sonnet. One of the reasons I chose Sonnet over van Gogh was the number of colors and the size of the pans. I got the 24 full pans Sonnet set on sale for €19 (also Germany). But even on their regular price they are still cheaper than van Gogh's 24 half pans set. I think the Paul Rubens MeiLiang 48 colors set for €30 is also a better pick for beginners.
What I just recently tried and really recommend as a student "learning" line of paints are the van gogh watercolours. Since they are available in different halfpan sets and tubes with all the information and performance needed for a great price, they are my top beginner recommendation. The Lukas studio fourteen halfpan set is a great value for money and near perfect colourselection to learn from as well, while they perform as great as van gogh in my experience. PS: I really enjoyed this video for beginners with a different approach than the basics that are everywhere on youtube👍🏻 PPS: I am really glad that I am not the only one who doesn't like the winsor and newton cotman paints. When I was relatively new to watercolours, the twelve colour cotman set frustrated me a whole lot. The tinting strength of the alizarin and the ultramarine were non-existend and it just couldn't get my head around the fact that it was so difficult to mix bright violets/purples or deeper darks when it's a recommended split primary set for beginners. Gladly, I had other watercolours already at that point and simply switched over. I love their professional line of paints though!
xara art I have an old, maybe 10 or 12 years old small cotman set and loved it, also bought a 24 colour set around three years ago, was hugely disappointed. My professional set got around the same time has gfrown on me, and I have added to it, some colours really stand out as lovely, but the aureolin is visibly dulling and greying badly, I will replace it sometime and only save the empty half pan, as W&N pans are different sized from most sets.
I love Van Gogh's. There are few paints (such as Turquoise Green and one of the browns) that don't work for me, but the rest are very good for what they are. I'll take them over Cotman any time of the day.
i really love van gogh watercolours! and i rarely see people reviewing/using it i used to paint with pentel and koh-i-noor watercolours and it was such an important step up for me when i bought van gogh’s because the quality its so much better! and i ended up finally painting something that i didn’t hate at the end lol
Hooray for kneaded erasers! I was *that* child as well, in school, when it came to sort of compulsively kneading them when bored. :-D Thanks for the lessons and wisdom for today!
I think that even once you start using nice watercolor paper you should always keep around a stack of cheap stuff for swatching, practicing color theory, and color thumbnails/mockups. Hell, i even use mine for things like birthday cards or other disposable gifts.
I actually love my Windsor and newton watercolor set, although I do agree that they are not as pigmented as they could be, therefore I lose a lot of saturation in my artwork. But it was that or Artist Loft at my local craft/art store. I think I made the right choice :) but in the future I’ll be on the lookout for some of your recommendations ;)
urgh artist loft. I have so much artist loft stuff because for my birthday and christmas I always get the same stuff. Thankful to get art supplies, but three separate artist's loft water colour tube sets is a lot.
:o!!! You should definitely give the Decandent Pies set a try! And gosh. I've been meaning to try that Tropicals set for so long. XD Trying something alongside you would be such a special experience!! 🥰🥰🥰
a little tip, in case you store your kneaded eraser in one of these little plastic boxes, cut a piece of paper to size and stick it inside on either the top or the bottom of the box. That way the eraser won't stick to both sides and hinder you from opening the box, it'll be way easier. Just wanted to share that with you guys!^^
The first set i got was the Cotman 45 set and i think having a lot of colors actually helped me learn which ones i use a lot and those that i don't need at all and how i can just mix them myself. Like how i realized i really really liked Raw Umber or that Dioxazine Violet is essential for my style of painting. Eventually i upgraded to professional paints but still use that set for reference.
rabid heartbeats I originally bought the Artists Loft Tube watercolour set and realized I couldn’t make the purple/violet I wanted ,so I got the W&N Cotman in Dioxazine Violet. I recently made a piece where I mainly used it, and I could tell it was an upgrade from Artists Loft, from what I could tell, it was great for me!
This is such a great overview and I agree with your paint selection. I started out with Derwent Inktense pencils and felt so fancy when I upgraded to a Cotman palette. The physical palette itself is still my favourite, it's so perfect for travelling. The paints however... I swatched out all my paints this week and was shocked to see how pale the Cotmans actually are. And it takes so much work to get the pigment out! Now I'm using van Gogh tubes and White Nights pans, as both are rather affordable in Estonia. They're all gorgeous and vibrant and exactly what I need at this stage. Plus I recently splurged on three tubes of Daniel Smith (they're really expensive here!) to get some beautiful granulating extras. I did learn a lot with my Cotman set, but now that I have used better ones, it's so difficult to do anything with them. Might just clear out that palette and use it with a self-made colour selection for travel paintings.
I like the Cotmans. I only ever bought them to see if they are really as horrible as people say, and I ended up loving them. If I had to recommend paints to a beginner, I would have definitely included them in my recommendations, along with Lukas studio and Van Gogh. Schmincke Akademie is great, too, but it is kind of pricey in comparison to the other brands, even here in Germany. I think White Nights are really good, too, as are Sonnet, even though the latter feels a little weird to me sometimes. I found out that they use a synthetic binder, maybe that is why I find them a little different. And as for a good paper in the affordable range, I love Fabriano watercolour. The one that only says WATERCOLOUR , nothing else. I think it is a wonderful paper for the price. And for brushes, meh, I am fine with anything that holds enough water and has a good tip, as long as it is synthetic.
This is the most concise & informative video I’ve found on watercolours for beginners. I’ve searched the internet for these answers. Thank you so much this has been extremely helpful 🤗
As a first time watercolor painter, after watching many reviews, I started off using the Windsor and newton watercolor set. I paired this with an acid free cotton pad and am incredibly happy with the results! I painted a very vibrant parrot and i found the windsor set to have a vibrant but soft pigment, I've loaded the video on the page to see the colour intensity of the painting.
I started with the “Jerry Q Art” watercolors on Amazon...super cheap and shockingly good, now I’ve updated to a custom palette with Q.O.R., M Graham, and Daniel Smith
Fantastic video!! One watercolor paint option I would add to your list of "paint that doesn't get in your way" (love the categories by the way!) is the Pretty Excellent Paint. It's has fantastic colours that mix and mingle they travel like watercolor paints should, pigments are rich, there seem to be lots of single pigment paints in it as they don't muddy easily when mixing. The price is sensational! Half what Paul Rhuban is and they are made from the same company. Downside is they come in a tin of 36 colors and don't list the pigments. So it can be overwhelming and doesn't encourage mixing to gain understanding of how colours mingle. However, in conjunction with a book or some video tutorials this would be excellent for learning some mixing. Oh and I agree Cottman isn't my thing either. I did get that to start out with when venturing into student grade and nearly gave up on watercolor painting because it didn't work well with me. But luckily I tried other paints and discovered I adore watercolor painting and am not half bad at it... with decent brushes, paper and paint. :) I look forward to checking out more of your videos!!
I used the St. Petersburg White Nights (12 set) since I started out with watercolors. A teacher/artist recommended these because they are so good. And honestly it was the BEST decision to buy them because 1. I got used to work with a "limited" color palette and 2. because I was blown away by how amazing the colors are and now, about 1.5h years later, my main medium is watercolor :)
Stone Henge aqua hot press paper is the best paper! Buying a dot card from daniel smith on blick is like $4.00 and a fun cheap way to test good watercolors.
I enjoyed this video ☺️ I’ve been using the Winsor and Newton Cotman colours this past few months and agree. The colour pigment varies a lot colour to colour!! I just have the pocket sketch set (so 12 colours) and am also not in love with the colour selection in the set.
my first watercolors were the sonnet ones cause I watched your review and was pleasantly surprised since I live in Russia and they're really affordable. I love them. I love the 16 pan set so much. atm I'm slowly upgrading to white nights purchasing the individual pans one by one when I have some extra cash. thank you so much for your work, your tips and reviews, it makes me less scared to experiment and actually paint. from Russia, with love. (also the first white night colour I purchased was Payne's Grey and I'm in love)
I'm completely in love with white nights, I started with the 12 set and I'm slowly buying single pans of interesting colors. For me is the only brand that I really want to complete the entire collection 💕
I wish I had discovered you sooner!!! I just LOVED this video and am now going to power-watch everything else you have produced. Also, in reading most of the comments, it sounds like you have a great following of intellingent, informed, creative and upstanding folks so...I’d like to be a part of this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us in such a happy format 😁 really did love your goodbye ❤️
I have watched quite a few beginner supplies videos and I think yours has been the best. Your reasoning was more relatable to me and although I have not heard of some of your selections, I am not upset for the MANY paints I have purchased since beginning (less then one year ago). Great video.
I took your recommendations and ordered my first set of watercolors set from sonnet :) I got the 24 color set. I appreciate your guidance on watercolors for beginners. I painted with oil and acrylic and even some cheap watercolors but I'm unsatisfied with cheap watercolors. I needed more pigment. I will definitely let you know how I like the sonnet watercolor! Yay so excited
Pretty excellent 36 pen is 20$ much cheaper than the last one she said and I think it's worth going for if you want to play with all the colors and you have no idea what you're doing I'm scared to even mess it up I don't know what the f*** I'm doing I'm just starting I used to use colored pencils fashion designing work prior to that my sketches was in crayons. I'm trying to get comfortable with paint and it's just so many colors it's confusing and I don't want to make a mess but I guess I just got to get down and dirty.
Amazing video as ever... And I miss your watercolor making series they were so satisfing to watch and this video was very informative...💕💕 and you are very close to 100k yayy!!!! Love you from a small youtuber..
It's not a bad set! I think she's just trying to say that as a beginner not having a homogeneously easily activated and high tint paint isn't ideal. I personally love my set (:
thank you so much for this video. I started picking up watercolour painting again after a few years of disappointing results. I finally have made a few pieces that I am happy with. I didn't realize how much of a difference the paper made until I finally decided to try it out (both hot and cold-pressed cotton).
i super agree! when i first bought watercolours it was the winsor & newton cotman set of 36 or something and when i did use them i learned nothing about how to mix and i never got to know and understand each paint's properties.. i recently bought a select few white knights and schminke paints (because they were on sale) and i'm actually LEARNING so much! and inspired to paint much more often!
I can’t stress enough how important kneeled erasers are for me! Plus they’re super fun to play with 🤗 although I’m not a beginner with watercolors now, I found this extremely helpful! I wish I could have had your knowledge and advice years ago when I began using watercolors!
Hi Arleesha's husband! I recently bought some White Nights watercolors and I absolutely love them. It seems like everything is just easier to control with them
Noooooo not my precious Winsor and Newton!! 😱😱😭 This was very helpful! I’m shocked that Arteza paper made the list! I’ve learned that paper makes a HUGE difference when it comes to painting...
I'm an art teacher and primarily an oil painter, my older brother has started painting with watercolors recently but he buys the cheapest stuff because he doesn'tlike to spend money on himself. I'm looking to get him something nice to explore his new hobby and out of all of the videos I've watched on the subject this was the most helpful and informative.
I have the Cotman (16 halfpans) and the professional set (24 colours) of W&N and the Cotman makes me frustrated. The colours mixed are mostly muddy and hard to blend together so... ...but I love my prof. set that was a gift to me... A big THANK YOU! for this informative video.
I’d definitely recommend the Mozart Art Supplies KOMOREBI watercolor set of 40. Half the colors are traditional and Half are neon and pearlescent so the add a little fun. They’re great for sketchbooks and scan work, they’re enjoyable to work with, half the palette isn’t so good for lightfastness rating, however I love them for fun quick work.
I have a 12 color cotman set and I like it but I bit the bullet as a beginner and purchased a holbein selection with ox gal and my washes are like silk. I am also very fond of a little Sakura Koi travel set I was given, really great little set you should try it.....
Love this! I am just starting out again! I picked up the Paul Rubens 12 colour palette and love it. ANNND started taking your courses on Skillshare. I am very grateful, thank you. My grade 1 son loves watching you too!
That was fun. Thank you for this video. I've been using a MeiLiang watercolour set that I got as a birthday present about a year ago. I think unfortunately, being used to this so long means I couldn't quite cope with better known sets like Winsor & Newton Cotman, which tends to have its paint feeling blotchy when wet and chalky when dried. With this in mind, I'm trying to decide whether I've developed a bad habit from using MeiLiang. Actually, I was flirting with the idea of buying White Nights or Paul Rubens when I came across a comment elsewhere that both are quite similar to MeilIang. I still find this surprising because MeiLiang is about £30 cheaper than both. I'm too poor to buy White Nights or Rubens to see whether this commenter was right. lol
Hi Arleesha, thank you for sharing your thoughts about these watercolors. It is very hard for a beginner when trying to determine what we should be using. I am just starting to get REALLY serious about my watercolor education so I am trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I have just found your channel and I’m very impressed with your presentation so I will be returning. Thank you again. See you soon. Take care, Stay safe. ~Barbara
Love the editing and information in this video! 💖 just watched it through to the end and maybe I'm a dum dum but would it be okay to ask for you to clarify what "link" in the description you were referring to @ 16:25? I couldn't find anything that looks like it beside the affiliate links :) tysm!
Really enjoying your channel and learning about watercolor, it can be really overwhelming as a noob but you break things down into chunks that make it a bit easier. =)
I totally agree on the W&S Cotmans! My first purchase of watercolours was a Cotman travel set and I found them so frustrating. The effort required to get any colour out of them was discouraging and I could easily have given up right there.
i dunno i learned on em they weren't half bad for me and i used them forever before i upgraded people need to buck up and not be so quick to give up on a medium
One of the most helpful getting started videos on watercolours yet! Thank you for touching on the sketching, paper and brushes too. Subscribed after this one, thank you.
Watching this at 12 am in Philippines I love your videos , You are the reason why I bought a 24 color set of Sonnet watercolors and I thank you for that😊
Thank you so much for this video! I've been using the Winsor + Newton Cotman watercolours (I've only been taking watercolours 'seriously' for the past month or so) and found this really useful for taking the 'next step' and trying things out I've had my eye on the White Knight set but now I know about the Sonnet set I might have to treat myself! Love your videos I've been lurking for a little while and just wanted to thank you for all the info I've picked up from watching you ❤
I started off painting with watercolour with a big set of cheap chalky watercolours and drawing paper.... loved it. Don't know why but that ungodly combination is what got me into watercolour, maybe I just had low standards. (wouldn't recommend starting with that sort of stuff though)
I have the cotman set, it was my first actual watercolor set (I had one before but it was super opaque, I don't even remember the brand), and while I really enjoyed this set when I got it, I totally understand what you're saying. Some of the colors just seem less pigmented and really hard to mix, and the color selection is a bit off (12 colors, that with the white one is actually 11, and no payne's gray). They look beautiful but they felt a bit limiting at the time, I always used watercolor pencils along with them. I just bought a White Nights set and I'm still witing for it to arrive, but listening to your thoughts about it made me really happy. Oh, by the way, I loved the pencil section on your video! Its rare to see any coverage on that topic, I found it really interesting. I usually go with watercolor pencils (the derwent inktense) and with a color that goes well with the pallete of the piece I'm painting, so they mix well when I add water. All in all, amazing video!
as a beginner (startet Okt20) I started with a small starter set of winsor newton, very soon I didn't liket them. I added 2 tubes also of WN because I was unhappy with some mixes. and I didn't like those either. I gave them away. I then got a set of 12 colours by white nights in a large box, and added about 15 extra. although I liked most of the single colours on its own, I wasn't happy with most of the mixes. and it did bother me, that so much colour went into the water. so much pigment. hard to clean for me. kind of disappointed. then I started with a 12 colour set of tubes (mix of schmincke and a few talens rembrant) all shads recommended by an artist, who also teaches. I knew his work and loved it. although he does landscapes and I do abstrakt and flowers as well (trying). later I added 4 of those he called nice to have. plus 2 I wanted for bright flowers. and now I am happy. most of them transparent. till now I am not so sure, if that shift in what I like went hand in hand with what I have learned about mixing. when I selected the white night colours I did't pay any attention on if they were transparent or not. cool or warm. that might be. I still have those, but somehow I don't like to play around with them, because I like the others better. I want to use them up over the years. I only know, I don't want to try winsor and newton again although there must be one or two shades that are good and wood work with my pallett. but somehow I don't want to :-D still sad, that they didn't work so well at the start of my jouney I guess.
I own the Van gogh watercolor set (the travel set in a plastic box) and I believe that they're really great for beginners. Rewet easily & very pigmented. They don't move a ton but they're super fun to play with as a beginner.
Thank you so much! I find your channel to be so inspiring for a beginner! I wish I had watched this before I got the winsor newton set because you are SO right about the tinting. I have had it for a couple of months and my yellows are almost gone and I feel like I have nothing to show for it but lots of attempts at color mixing ;) I have White Nights on the way! Thank you so much for all this great info and beautiful art
I know this is old but if you buy the less expensive Faber castell 12 set of colored pencils ..most of those ..like the red, pretty much erases entirely which is what I use primarily. Just a quick tip for anyone who light have these on hand already
What a nice video, I always look forward to seeing more of your content! I've been thinking of picking up watercolor again since it's been a few years since I dabbled in it and this just might be the push I need. :)
i have and know most about the gansai and cotman. and i agree with your comments on both of them. gansai are beautiful and fun to work with, but definitely shouldn't be cofused with watercolours. and cotman, i have had troubles with them for 20 years since i bought them for school. i wish they asked us to buy 3 primary colours of horadams back then instead. also, i discovered about your channel this week and glad to have done so. thank you.
Where was 13:26 when I was looking for 6 colours to choose from white nights! I did actually end up choosing a few of those ones and I've been considering expanding my collection so thank you!
First time I really found something to splurge on was the white nights watercolors, got a set of 36. As a beginner it's really fun to play with because it seems like the paint never runs out or decreases so I don't have the fear of wasting nice paint preventing me from creating. But for practical use I pick out six basic colors like cad red, yellow, I think ultramarine and Prussian blue as well as burnt umber and sienna. Those can help mix just about any color that it needed. And then if there is a specific color I need, I just take it from the set. The light blue is trash though in my opinion. Great price point for the quality. And the box is janky but I don't really travel with them so I don't mind.
I love kneeded ereasers. Faber castell is my favoriete go to ereaser. And my go to sketchbook is canson mixed media paper. I buy A4 and A3 i love these sketchbooks. I love to paint large and the A3 sketch pad of canson mixed media is perfect for that. The A4 sketchbook i buy for on the go. 😊👍🏾👋🏾
You and your husband are so cute!! About the video, I'm looking for an upgrade on my student Pentel set and I'm really torn between the Paul Rubens 24 set and the White Nights individual pans. To be honest, I'm inclined to buy the Paul Rubens one because is way cheaper and easier to get. Jackson's shipping taxes to Brazil are too expensive for me 😭 Thank you for you insights!
Thanks for this video and for your clear explanations about why you recommend certain things over others. You are a good teacher! You are also easy to listen to and watch- your sense of humor is wonderful!
I have seen a LOT of watercolour instructional videos and I must commend you for the criteria for evaluating that you have chosen and your logical presentation. Great job.
Paper is the number 1 thing I always recommend spending extra money on. It makes such a huge difference having good paper. I have cheap and pricey paints. Paper, for finished pieces is always 100% cotton. Brushes I think are more subjective. We all like different things. Black Velvets were recommended to me when I started. And as a beginner I was not a fan. They were too soft for me.
Great video, Arlee. Great info for beginners. While I agree that cotton paper is the way to go, I have to take issue with your terminology. Wood-based papers are principally cellulose but cotton-based papers have a higher percentage of cellulose in them because cotton is very nearly 100% cellulose. You can verify this on Wikipedia or any number of internet sites discussing cotton (outside the art world because this "cellulose vs cotton" jargon is so prevalent in the art world).
This might be the most informative and helpful art video I have ever seen! wish I could like this video more than once! I've been wanting to check out your skillshare classes for a while now and this video just makes me want to even more! Thank you for making such quality content 💕✨
Hello Arleebean. I paint whit Pebeo 24 watercolours set 12 ml tubes and it cost 19,09 euro,s. I also paint whit oil paint and i bought 7 giant tubes of 200 ml of oil paints and i ordered magenta oil. It comes in june. These oil paints are priced from 8,64 to 15,00 euro,s per 200 ml tubes. Pebeo watercolours and oil paints i reccoment for a bigginer painter like myself or if you,re on a budget. They are inexpensive,they have a decent paint amount,they have great pigments, they are eazy to layer,they don,t get in you,re way they are fun to learn on and you learn how watercolours and oil paints work. These paints are my go to paints and my go to paint colours. And i,ve you don,t wanna buy the Pebeo 24 watercolour set don,t worry they have a 12 and a 18 tube watercolour set aswell. Now on to my favoriet brushes. OMG i have so many diffrent sizes of brushes. Its crazy how many brushes i have. I have flat,angular,fan,round and filber brushes. I wanna make my own watercolours set. I have my colours already. I paint whit Alizarin crimson,Cadmium primary Yellow,ultramarine blue,tittanium white,intense black Silver,Gold and magenta. I love magenta. I use these colours for my oil paints and my watercolour paints. You can use these colours in oils,watercolours and acrylic paints. I bought my brushes on alliexpress in sets of 12 and i ordered 5 packs of diffrent sizes and shapes of brushes. I love these brushes. They hold allot of water and walnut oil. They are my favoriet brushes ever. This is my second time i buy these brushes of alliexpress. Then i have detail brushes also of alliexpress and i love them too. Then i have some brushes i bought from my budget art store and i bought the round,the flat and line brushes just because they were so so so low in price that I just had to buy them😂😂😂😂😂😂 yeah i am a brush addict😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I love you,re watercolour art suplies Arleebean.
hey yall! just wanted to say how much i LOVE the white nights watercolor, theres a set of 12 for around 20$ that great for beginners ( i got mine for 18.50) and now that im an intermediate-ish painter i still find myself reaching for them, only downside is the packaging, bulky plastic
What about the Van Gogh watercolor set by Talens? It's kinda' basic, there's a warm yellow, a cool yellow, a warm red, a cool red, and so forth. The only down side is that there is a Chinese white in the set. I took mine out, and put a dioxide purple in it. (I think the purple is a Van Gogh color as well.) I think it's a good starter set, and it's not too high priced. I definitely like that you recommended starting with good paper. Paper is sooo key with watercolor. Also, I don't know if beginners do this, but way back when I did more planned watercolors, I usually drew out my design on regular paper, then used tracing paper to transfer the design to the watercolor paper. I find that sometimes the kneaded eraser can leave some sort of oily film, and when I was a beginner that really frustrated me. Anyway, I shared your video, because I know some folks in my sketch group who find watercolors hard.
I made the mistake of buying the Gansai Tambi as my first actual watercolor set simply because in Asia, they are cheaper and they are just more available. I think I might have to buy some Western watercolors to really get the "watercolor" experience. Paul Rubens are a really good option because aside from the great selection of colors.... The packaging is amazing.
Thank you for this video. Wish I had it a little sooner. lol I bought the Japanese paints when they were the hot topic on youtube thinking they would be a great option getting back into watercolors. They are nice paints but have been "in my way" paints for sure. I want to glaze and it messes up. Its hard doing a video like this Im sure because there are so many opinions and personal preferences that impact the topic with watercolor but every video out there on where to start is helpful. Thank you.
I cant find the giveaway link!!! T___T Oh well, I'm sure it'' show up. Also, thank you for making this channel. I stumbled across it during a rut in my art and I hadn't picked up watercolours in ages, but you inspired me to do it again and it's even better than I remember. By chance, my Michaels had just put ALL of their Daniel Smith on clearance too, so I got the whole line at around six dollars a tube and I can never go back. Thanks Arleesha, your videos are so chill and helpful and generally just nice to have on in the background while I work, you're a huge reason why I've started painting again. (My IG is Milkshimmer if you ever see my liking everything you do ever)
It's in the description now! Sorry about the wait. ♥ And thank you so much for your kindness and support! I'm so glad you're getting back into painting. :D
I am planning on buying White Nights watercolors - set of 24 and few additional pans , like lamp black for monochromatic paintings :), I started with Phoenix set of 12, upgraded to R&L set of 24 (still student grade, but a tiny bit better). :)
I really enjoyed your video. I pay the bills making adult coloring books, but I've recently become obsessed with watercolor. My first decent set was Eachgoo. I bought them thinking I'd never use them but after they sat around for a year I finally pulled them out to attempt a background on a page. The background sucked, but I fell in LOVE with watercolor after years of thinking I absolutely HATED the medium. I'll admit, I'm a bargain shopper so I've tried every affordable set out there and SO SO many different papers. My absolute favorite set is Quinshan. They're really really affordable and I'm always pleased with the results. :)
Hi. Gravitate to the opinion that as a beginners you shouldn’t use very cheap and muddy watercolors. I’m from Russia. At first when starting I bought Sonnet because they are cheaper butt was uninspired with how they mixed and overall. And I wasn’t really into watercolors until my mom bought me 12 colors set of White nights. The difference I felt!!! The colors were so nice. Nowadays I still mostly use White Nights. But also in my sketches , when I draw outside I use Van Gogh 15 colors set. I also would recommend it for beginners. It’s a nice set of colors, colors are pretty rich and not muddy also mixing nicely. Kinda wanna try Schmincke professional watercolor set. But it’s hella expensive for me.
I have the green set of colors that you recommended beginners shouldn’t use and now I get why I’ve been struggling so much with them 😂 ill have to watch your video on using the gansai set
I've found the WN Cotman paints to be better from tube than the pans and even then better for smaller 4x6 and 5x7 paintings. For anything larger I tend to use my M. Graham tubes. :D
The Paul Rubens watercolors also have another option which is the student grade version but they are very close in quality and that is the Mei Liang or Pretty Excellent watercolors and they are very nice to work with, highly recommend them especially if you you are on a budget and starting out they are around 20.00 to 25.00 dollars on Ebay and Amazon plus they come in a cute teal tin
“24 colors are the maximum”
Me who has 36 colors: 👁👄👁
Me who has 48 colors 👁👄👁
I have 36 too... I have the pretty excellent watercolour pan set before I move onto a better brand
Me who has 12 ;_;
I'm no better, either 😅
@@Oof-bp4wb It just means that there are probably more pigments being used that may or may not be colors you can just mix on your own
She makes me feel so comfortable... like she’s such a loving mom teaching me art...
She definitely reminds me of my grade school art teachers. They were chill and gentle with their students.
You and your husband look so cute together😊
Thank you so muuuuuuch. He's a pretty cute guy. :3
arleebean und ich
Canson XL is a surprisingly good affordable non-cotton paper, it's what I started with and did not discourage me from watercoloring. Eventually I got the cheapest cotton paper I could find, Bee 140# cold press, and that was even better for learning. Now that I'm more confident it doesn't seem as scary to use up the pricier papers, though to beginners I feel like starting with the absolute best cotton paper can make you feel bad for making mistakes. I remember being amazed by the vibrancy and big pans in the White Nights set too, great recommendations!
I have two empty watercolor xl from the canson sitting on my shelve. Not Cotton be damned. I love m becaus euh. I love to doodle in those. or make tiny thumbnail paintings. Not like you will sell those. If pple want them I can always scan them in,lol.
@@joyfulldj What do you mean by scan them? Thanks
This probably means that she scans the paintings with a scanner and gifts or sells them as prints.
They are super good but be careful the block bend easely
I started drawing and using watercolors after my son passed...nights became long. Now, I do it because it satisfies something in me. Came from a professional background (medicine) and the frivolity of "art" was never part of my life...lol older people ramble...I just wanted to say that I love your videos and binged on them one night...look forward to each and everyone...I did purchase the Kuretake set. I will purchase another beginner set just to get my art legs ( kinda like sea-legs)...again, thank u for sharing your expertise and your talent
Debi Sieger I am so sorry for your loss, I can’t imagine. I’m glad to hear that art gave you the outlet you needed. God bless you sweet mama! 💕
I am sorry for your loss :( It must feel terrible but it’s good that art has helped you de-stress. I wish you the best of luck in painting!
I'm sorry about your son. There are a couple of doctors in my family. They paint as a hobby. Other family members are professional artists. I want to start painting. However, I currently cannot afford art supplies. I have never attempted, because I want everything to look perfect from the beginning! Weird.
To be honest I saw your comment and I’m so happy because I feel the exact same. I’m in the field of education and sometimes I feel very frustrated and stressed. I began watercolor after years and years of leaving it in the dustbin and began to start doing it again as a form of “art therapy” and it was excellent!
No, older people do not ramble. You are more intelligent than most. Younger generations were not taught to be gracious and thoughtful. Also, they are not as inforned eventhough they might be "educated."
I love that this review was done as a "paints that don't get in the way" kind of thing. While I absolutely love granulating colors now and even intentionally seek them out the first time I ran into watercolors that granulated I was soooo frustrated and gave up on watercolors for a hot minute because I thought it was an issue on my end and I was just too dumb to figure out how watercolor worked. :'D
I feel ya. I thought I hated watercolor until, oddly enough, I found a set REALLY CHEAP with a coupon code. I purchased them just to have and eventually, like a year later, pulled them out to attempt a background on a piece. That background turned out miserably, but when I wet the paints I kinda became obsessed. I still pretty much suck with watercolor, but they're really really FUN!
Especially for the European market I would like to add the Van Gogh student grade 12 Color set. They are only between 13 and 17 Euros (in Germany) and I started with them and used them for half a year and upgraded to senellier after that. They are great for mixing and since this is something I would say is most important for learning how to use watercolours they have great value for their price.
That's a really great point! I haven't gotten to try Van Gogh paints myself, but I've heard really great things about them. :D
When I started with watercolors, I was contemplating between van Gogh and Sonnet. One of the reasons I chose Sonnet over van Gogh was the number of colors and the size of the pans. I got the 24 full pans Sonnet set on sale for €19 (also Germany). But even on their regular price they are still cheaper than van Gogh's 24 half pans set.
I think the Paul Rubens MeiLiang 48 colors set for €30 is also a better pick for beginners.
What I just recently tried and really recommend as a student "learning" line of paints are the van gogh watercolours. Since they are available in different halfpan sets and tubes with all the information and performance needed for a great price, they are my top beginner recommendation. The Lukas studio fourteen halfpan set is a great value for money and near perfect colourselection to learn from as well, while they perform as great as van gogh in my experience.
PS: I really enjoyed this video for beginners with a different approach than the basics that are everywhere on youtube👍🏻
PPS: I am really glad that I am not the only one who doesn't like the winsor and newton cotman paints. When I was relatively new to watercolours, the twelve colour cotman set frustrated me a whole lot. The tinting strength of the alizarin and the ultramarine were non-existend and it just couldn't get my head around the fact that it was so difficult to mix bright violets/purples or deeper darks when it's a recommended split primary set for beginners. Gladly, I had other watercolours already at that point and simply switched over. I love their professional line of paints though!
xara art I have an old, maybe 10 or 12 years old small cotman set and loved it, also bought a 24 colour set around three years ago, was hugely disappointed. My professional set got around the same time has gfrown on me, and I have added to it, some colours really stand out as lovely, but the aureolin is visibly dulling and greying badly, I will replace it sometime and only save the empty half pan, as W&N pans are different sized from most sets.
I love Van Gogh's. There are few paints (such as Turquoise Green and one of the browns) that don't work for me, but the rest are very good for what they are. I'll take them over Cotman any time of the day.
i really love van gogh watercolours! and i rarely see people reviewing/using it
i used to paint with pentel and koh-i-noor watercolours and it was such an important step up for me when i bought van gogh’s because the quality its so much better! and i ended up finally painting something that i didn’t hate at the end lol
Thanks for the tip, adding to wishlist.
Hooray for kneaded erasers! I was *that* child as well, in school, when it came to sort of compulsively kneading them when bored. :-D Thanks for the lessons and wisdom for today!
I tore them into smal pieces and then shaped each piece as a tiny cube, then smashed them into one whole eraser again and again xd
I think that even once you start using nice watercolor paper you should always keep around a stack of cheap stuff for swatching, practicing color theory, and color thumbnails/mockups. Hell, i even use mine for things like birthday cards or other disposable gifts.
I actually love my Windsor and newton watercolor set, although I do agree that they are not as pigmented as they could be, therefore I lose a lot of saturation in my artwork. But it was that or Artist Loft at my local craft/art store. I think I made the right choice :) but in the future I’ll be on the lookout for some of your recommendations ;)
urgh artist loft. I have so much artist loft stuff because for my birthday and christmas I always get the same stuff. Thankful to get art supplies, but three separate artist's loft water colour tube sets is a lot.
How about this!!! I'll finally pick up the Decadent Pies in your honor and you the Tropicals :D
Sending lots of love your way xoxoxoxoxox
:o!!! You should definitely give the Decandent Pies set a try! And gosh. I've been meaning to try that Tropicals set for so long. XD Trying something alongside you would be such a special experience!! 🥰🥰🥰
20:30 dunno why, but that whole session of "bye-bye" feels so genuine to me, kinda makes me feel warm inside. thank you
I second that!
a little tip, in case you store your kneaded eraser in one of these little plastic boxes, cut a piece of paper to size and stick it inside on either the top or the bottom of the box. That way the eraser won't stick to both sides and hinder you from opening the box, it'll be way easier. Just wanted to share that with you guys!^^
thank you!
The first set i got was the Cotman 45 set and i think having a lot of colors actually helped me learn which ones i use a lot and those that i don't need at all and how i can just mix them myself. Like how i realized i really really liked Raw Umber or that Dioxazine Violet is essential for my style of painting. Eventually i upgraded to professional paints but still use that set for reference.
I have the same set and yes dioxazine purple is an amazing color
rabid heartbeats I originally bought the Artists Loft Tube watercolour set and realized I couldn’t make the purple/violet I wanted ,so I got the W&N Cotman in Dioxazine Violet. I recently made a piece where I mainly used it, and I could tell it was an upgrade from Artists Loft, from what I could tell, it was great for me!
I also really like raw umber.
This is such a great overview and I agree with your paint selection. I started out with Derwent Inktense pencils and felt so fancy when I upgraded to a Cotman palette. The physical palette itself is still my favourite, it's so perfect for travelling. The paints however... I swatched out all my paints this week and was shocked to see how pale the Cotmans actually are. And it takes so much work to get the pigment out!
Now I'm using van Gogh tubes and White Nights pans, as both are rather affordable in Estonia. They're all gorgeous and vibrant and exactly what I need at this stage. Plus I recently splurged on three tubes of Daniel Smith (they're really expensive here!) to get some beautiful granulating extras. I did learn a lot with my Cotman set, but now that I have used better ones, it's so difficult to do anything with them. Might just clear out that palette and use it with a self-made colour selection for travel paintings.
I like the Cotmans. I only ever bought them to see if they are really as horrible as people say, and I ended up loving them. If I had to recommend paints to a beginner, I would have definitely included them in my recommendations, along with Lukas studio and Van Gogh. Schmincke Akademie is great, too, but it is kind of pricey in comparison to the other brands, even here in Germany. I think White Nights are really good, too, as are Sonnet, even though the latter feels a little weird to me sometimes. I found out that they use a synthetic binder, maybe that is why I find them a little different. And as for a good paper in the affordable range, I love Fabriano watercolour. The one that only says WATERCOLOUR , nothing else. I think it is a wonderful paper for the price. And for brushes, meh, I am fine with anything that holds enough water and has a good tip, as long as it is synthetic.
This is the most concise & informative video I’ve found on watercolours for beginners. I’ve searched the internet for these answers. Thank you so much this has been extremely helpful 🤗
As a first time watercolor painter, after watching many reviews, I started off using the Windsor and newton watercolor set. I paired this with an acid free cotton pad and am incredibly happy with the results! I painted a very vibrant parrot and i found the windsor set to have a vibrant but soft pigment, I've loaded the video on the page to see the colour intensity of the painting.
i love how much you care about the experience of people who wanna start!
I started with the “Jerry Q Art” watercolors on Amazon...super cheap and shockingly good, now I’ve updated to a custom palette with Q.O.R., M Graham, and Daniel Smith
Fantastic video!! One watercolor paint option I would add to your list of "paint that doesn't get in your way" (love the categories by the way!) is the Pretty Excellent Paint. It's has fantastic colours that mix and mingle they travel like watercolor paints should, pigments are rich, there seem to be lots of single pigment paints in it as they don't muddy easily when mixing. The price is sensational! Half what Paul Rhuban is and they are made from the same company.
Downside is they come in a tin of 36 colors and don't list the pigments. So it can be overwhelming and doesn't encourage mixing to gain understanding of how colours mingle. However, in conjunction with a book or some video tutorials this would be excellent for learning some mixing. Oh and I agree Cottman isn't my thing either. I did get that to start out with when venturing into student grade and nearly gave up on watercolor painting because it didn't work well with me. But luckily I tried other paints and discovered I adore watercolor painting and am not half bad at it... with decent brushes, paper and paint. :) I look forward to checking out more of your videos!!
I used the St. Petersburg White Nights (12 set) since I started out with watercolors. A teacher/artist recommended these because they are so good. And honestly it was the BEST decision to buy them because 1. I got used to work with a "limited" color palette and 2. because I was blown away by how amazing the colors are and now, about 1.5h years later, my main medium is watercolor :)
Stone Henge aqua hot press paper is the best paper! Buying a dot card from daniel smith on blick is like $4.00 and a fun cheap way to test good watercolors.
I enjoyed this video ☺️
I’ve been using the Winsor and Newton Cotman colours this past few months and agree. The colour pigment varies a lot colour to colour!! I just have the pocket sketch set (so 12 colours) and am also not in love with the colour selection in the set.
my first watercolors were the sonnet ones cause I watched your review and was pleasantly surprised since I live in Russia and they're really affordable. I love them. I love the 16 pan set so much. atm I'm slowly upgrading to white nights purchasing the individual pans one by one when I have some extra cash. thank you so much for your work, your tips and reviews, it makes me less scared to experiment and actually paint.
from Russia, with love.
(also the first white night colour I purchased was Payne's Grey and I'm in love)
I'm completely in love with white nights, I started with the 12 set and I'm slowly buying single pans of interesting colors. For me is the only brand that I really want to complete the entire collection 💕
I wish I had discovered you sooner!!! I just LOVED this video and am now going to power-watch everything else you have produced. Also, in reading most of the comments, it sounds like you have a great following of intellingent, informed, creative and upstanding folks so...I’d like to be a part of this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us in such a happy format 😁 really did love your goodbye ❤️
I have watched quite a few beginner supplies videos and I think yours has been the best. Your reasoning was more relatable to me and although I have not heard of some of your selections, I am not upset for the MANY paints I have purchased since beginning (less then one year ago). Great video.
Would love to see an updated video on what watercolors you love that shine by themselves!
Yes, please, it would be nice.
I took your recommendations and ordered my first set of watercolors set from sonnet :) I got the 24 color set. I appreciate your guidance on watercolors for beginners. I painted with oil and acrylic and even some cheap watercolors but I'm unsatisfied with cheap watercolors. I needed more pigment. I will definitely let you know how I like the sonnet watercolor! Yay so excited
Pretty excellent 36 pen is 20$ much cheaper than the last one she said and I think it's worth going for if you want to play with all the colors and you have no idea what you're doing I'm scared to even mess it up I don't know what the f*** I'm doing I'm just starting I used to use colored pencils fashion designing work prior to that my sketches was in crayons. I'm trying to get comfortable with paint and it's just so many colors it's confusing and I don't want to make a mess but I guess I just got to get down and dirty.
My aunt is bringing me to an art school, so thank you for this video, this helped me a lot
Amazing video as ever... And I miss your watercolor making series they were so satisfing to watch and this video was very informative...💕💕
and you are very close to 100k yayy!!!!
Love you from a small youtuber..
Thank you!! And the paint making series will be back. :D I just haven't been making much paint lately.
I just bought the Winsor and Newton Cotman set last week lol.
It's not a bad set! I think she's just trying to say that as a beginner not having a homogeneously easily activated and high tint paint isn't ideal. I personally love my set (:
thank you so much for this video. I started picking up watercolour painting again after a few years of disappointing results. I finally have made a few pieces that I am happy with. I didn't realize how much of a difference the paper made until I finally decided to try it out (both hot and cold-pressed cotton).
i super agree! when i first bought watercolours it was the winsor & newton cotman set of 36 or something and when i did use them i learned nothing about how to mix and i never got to know and understand each paint's properties.. i recently bought a select few white knights and schminke paints (because they were on sale) and i'm actually LEARNING so much! and inspired to paint much more often!
I can’t stress enough how important kneeled erasers are for me! Plus they’re super fun to play with 🤗 although I’m not a beginner with watercolors now, I found this extremely helpful! I wish I could have had your knowledge and advice years ago when I began using watercolors!
Hi Arleesha's husband!
I recently bought some White Nights watercolors and I absolutely love them. It seems like everything is just easier to control with them
Noooooo not my precious Winsor and Newton!! 😱😱😭
This was very helpful! I’m shocked that Arteza paper made the list! I’ve learned that paper makes a HUGE difference when it comes to painting...
I'm an art teacher and primarily an oil painter, my older brother has started painting with watercolors recently but he buys the cheapest stuff because he doesn'tlike to spend money on himself. I'm looking to get him something nice to explore his new hobby and out of all of the videos I've watched on the subject this was the most helpful and informative.
Love your teaching style. Very informative while not having an overwhelming amount of information. Thank you 👏🏻
I have the Cotman (16 halfpans) and the professional set (24 colours) of W&N and the Cotman makes me frustrated. The colours mixed are mostly muddy and hard to blend together so... ...but I love my prof. set that was a gift to me... A big THANK YOU! for this informative video.
This video is fantastic. Well done, put together, and so clear and organized. Thank you!
I have same feeling about Cottman's. They were my first "pro" watercolors, but I've quickly switched to Aquarius watercolors. Those I love to use
Thankyou for being so straight forward and honest. This video was super helpful, and incredibly informative, thankyou for creating it!!✌🏻
I’d definitely recommend the Mozart Art Supplies KOMOREBI watercolor set of 40. Half the colors are traditional and Half are neon and pearlescent so the add a little fun. They’re great for sketchbooks and scan work, they’re enjoyable to work with, half the palette isn’t so good for lightfastness rating, however I love them for fun quick work.
I have a 12 color cotman set and I like it but I bit the bullet as a beginner and purchased a holbein selection with ox gal and my washes are like silk. I am also very fond of a little Sakura Koi travel set I was given, really great little set you should try it.....
Love this! I am just starting out again! I picked up the Paul Rubens 12 colour palette and love it. ANNND started taking your courses on Skillshare. I am very grateful, thank you. My grade 1 son loves watching you too!
That was fun. Thank you for this video. I've been using a MeiLiang watercolour set that I got as a birthday present about a year ago. I think unfortunately, being used to this so long means I couldn't quite cope with better known sets like Winsor & Newton Cotman, which tends to have its paint feeling blotchy when wet and chalky when dried. With this in mind, I'm trying to decide whether I've developed a bad habit from using MeiLiang.
Actually, I was flirting with the idea of buying White Nights or Paul Rubens when I came across a comment elsewhere that both are quite similar to MeilIang. I still find this surprising because MeiLiang is about £30 cheaper than both. I'm too poor to buy White Nights or Rubens to see whether this commenter was right. lol
Hi Arleesha, thank you for sharing your thoughts about these watercolors. It is very hard for a beginner when trying to determine what we should be using. I am just starting to get REALLY serious about my watercolor education so I am trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible. I have just found your channel and I’m very impressed with your presentation so I will be returning. Thank you again. See you soon. Take care, Stay safe. ~Barbara
I just bought the 12 pan White Nights. They are so pretty! I can't wait to learn all I can about watercolor.
Hi! I just want to notice that There's no "Aqua Color" watercolours anymore. They're called "Vista Artista" and have no sets, only single pans.
Love the editing and information in this video! 💖 just watched it through to the end and maybe I'm a dum dum but would it be okay to ask for you to clarify what "link" in the description you were referring to @ 16:25? I couldn't find anything that looks like it beside the affiliate links :) tysm!
It's in the description now! Sorry about the wait. ♥
@@arleebean thank you!
Am I being a little bit on the dumbdumb side or is there no link to the giveaway? 😱
It's in the description now! Sorry about the wait. ♥
@@arleebean you da best ❤
Really enjoying your channel and learning about watercolor, it can be really overwhelming as a noob but you break things down into chunks that make it a bit easier. =)
I am a new subscriber. Thank you for your advice.
I totally agree on the W&S Cotmans! My first purchase of watercolours was a Cotman travel set and I found them so frustrating. The effort required to get any colour out of them was discouraging and I could easily have given up right there.
i dunno i learned on em they weren't half bad for me and i used them forever before i upgraded people need to buck up and not be so quick to give up on a medium
@@charliebaker1427 I know a lot of people like them, but I just couldn't get on with them at all. Whereas the W&N professional ones were lovely.
One of the most helpful getting started videos on watercolours yet! Thank you for touching on the sketching, paper and brushes too. Subscribed after this one, thank you.
Watching this at 12 am in Philippines
I love your videos , You are the reason why I bought a 24 color set of Sonnet watercolors and I thank you for that😊
Thank you so much for this video! I've been using the Winsor + Newton Cotman watercolours (I've only been taking watercolours 'seriously' for the past month or so) and found this really useful for taking the 'next step' and trying things out I've had my eye on the White Knight set but now I know about the Sonnet set I might have to treat myself! Love your videos I've been lurking for a little while and just wanted to thank you for all the info I've picked up from watching you ❤
This is the most useful guide I've ever watched
I started off painting with watercolour with a big set of cheap chalky watercolours and drawing paper....
loved it. Don't know why but that ungodly combination is what got me into watercolour, maybe I just had low standards. (wouldn't recommend starting with that sort of stuff though)
I have the cotman set, it was my first actual watercolor set (I had one before but it was super opaque, I don't even remember the brand), and while I really enjoyed this set when I got it, I totally understand what you're saying. Some of the colors just seem less pigmented and really hard to mix, and the color selection is a bit off (12 colors, that with the white one is actually 11, and no payne's gray). They look beautiful but they felt a bit limiting at the time, I always used watercolor pencils along with them. I just bought a White Nights set and I'm still witing for it to arrive, but listening to your thoughts about it made me really happy. Oh, by the way, I loved the pencil section on your video! Its rare to see any coverage on that topic, I found it really interesting. I usually go with watercolor pencils (the derwent inktense) and with a color that goes well with the pallete of the piece I'm painting, so they mix well when I add water. All in all, amazing video!
as a beginner (startet Okt20) I started with a small starter set of winsor newton, very soon I didn't liket them. I added 2 tubes also of WN because I was unhappy with some mixes. and I didn't like those either. I gave them away. I then got a set of 12 colours by white nights in a large box, and added about 15 extra. although I liked most of the single colours on its own, I wasn't happy with most of the mixes. and it did bother me, that so much colour went into the water. so much pigment. hard to clean for me. kind of disappointed. then I started with a 12 colour set of tubes (mix of schmincke and a few talens rembrant) all shads recommended by an artist, who also teaches. I knew his work and loved it. although he does landscapes and I do abstrakt and flowers as well (trying). later I added 4 of those he called nice to have. plus 2 I wanted for bright flowers. and now I am happy. most of them transparent. till now I am not so sure, if that shift in what I like went hand in hand with what I have learned about mixing. when I selected the white night colours I did't pay any attention on if they were transparent or not. cool or warm. that might be. I still have those, but somehow I don't like to play around with them, because I like the others better. I want to use them up over the years. I only know, I don't want to try winsor and newton again although there must be one or two shades that are good and wood work with my pallett. but somehow I don't want to :-D still sad, that they didn't work so well at the start of my jouney I guess.
I own the Van gogh watercolor set (the travel set in a plastic box) and I believe that they're really great for beginners. Rewet easily & very pigmented. They don't move a ton but they're super fun to play with as a beginner.
Thank you so much! I find your channel to be so inspiring for a beginner! I wish I had watched this before I got the winsor newton set because you are SO right about the tinting. I have had it for a couple of months and my yellows are almost gone and I feel like I have nothing to show for it but lots of attempts at color mixing ;) I have White Nights on the way! Thank you so much for all this great info and beautiful art
I know this is old but if you buy the less expensive Faber castell 12 set of colored pencils ..most of those ..like the red, pretty much erases entirely which is what I use primarily.
Just a quick tip for anyone who light have these on hand already
Thank you for the video. I personally love my whitenights set so I was so happy to see that you recommend it as a good brand to have!
What a nice video, I always look forward to seeing more of your content! I've been thinking of picking up watercolor again since it's been a few years since I dabbled in it and this just might be the push I need. :)
I think the Honorable Mention watercolors are the Yarka set. They were insanely cool. I tried them out once from an uni mate.
i have and know most about the gansai and cotman. and i agree with your comments on both of them. gansai are beautiful and fun to work with, but definitely shouldn't be cofused with watercolours. and cotman, i have had troubles with them for 20 years since i bought them for school. i wish they asked us to buy 3 primary colours of horadams back then instead.
also, i discovered about your channel this week and glad to have done so. thank you.
unfortunately, I have COTMAAAAN!!! AND THE BIGGEST SET TOO!!!
lol!! :)
Nothing wrong with Cotman :)
@@JaneBeata you heard her! 😆😂
@@majeddraws5104 well Kelogsloops and Agnes-cecile use Cotman so dont feel like you own the wrong supplies :)
@@JaneBeata I was just kidding! 🙂
@@JaneBeata by the way, thank you for your reply. You introduced yourself to me... And I know you're an active youtuber... 🙂
Where was 13:26 when I was looking for 6 colours to choose from white nights!
I did actually end up choosing a few of those ones and I've been considering expanding my collection so thank you!
First time I really found something to splurge on was the white nights watercolors, got a set of 36. As a beginner it's really fun to play with because it seems like the paint never runs out or decreases so I don't have the fear of wasting nice paint preventing me from creating. But for practical use I pick out six basic colors like cad red, yellow, I think ultramarine and Prussian blue as well as burnt umber and sienna. Those can help mix just about any color that it needed. And then if there is a specific color I need, I just take it from the set. The light blue is trash though in my opinion. Great price point for the quality. And the box is janky but I don't really travel with them so I don't mind.
I love kneeded ereasers. Faber castell is my favoriete go to ereaser. And my go to sketchbook is canson mixed media paper. I buy A4 and A3 i love these sketchbooks. I love to paint large and the A3 sketch pad of canson mixed media is perfect for that. The A4 sketchbook i buy for on the go. 😊👍🏾👋🏾
You and your husband are so cute!! About the video, I'm looking for an upgrade on my student Pentel set and I'm really torn between the Paul Rubens 24 set and the White Nights individual pans. To be honest, I'm inclined to buy the Paul Rubens one because is way cheaper and easier to get. Jackson's shipping taxes to Brazil are too expensive for me 😭
Thank you for you insights!
Thanks for this video and for your clear explanations about why you recommend certain things over others. You are a good teacher! You are also easy to listen to and watch- your sense of humor is wonderful!
I have seen a LOT of watercolour instructional videos and I must commend you for the criteria for evaluating that you have chosen and your logical presentation. Great job.
What is your all-time favorite brand...since your opinion has changed from your other video?
Paper is the number 1 thing I always recommend spending extra money on. It makes such a huge difference having good paper. I have cheap and pricey paints. Paper, for finished pieces is always 100% cotton. Brushes I think are more subjective. We all like different things. Black Velvets were recommended to me when I started. And as a beginner I was not a fan. They were too soft for me.
Great video, Arlee. Great info for beginners. While I agree that cotton paper is the way to go, I have to take issue with your terminology. Wood-based papers are principally cellulose but cotton-based papers have a higher percentage of cellulose in them because cotton is very nearly 100% cellulose. You can verify this on Wikipedia or any number of internet sites discussing cotton (outside the art world because this "cellulose vs cotton" jargon is so prevalent in the art world).
This might be the most informative and helpful art video I have ever seen! wish I could like this video more than once! I've been wanting to check out your skillshare classes for a while now and this video just makes me want to even more! Thank you for making such quality content 💕✨
Woman, you read my mind! Thanks for helping me find the middle ground between grade school and luxury materials.
Hello Arleebean. I paint whit Pebeo 24 watercolours set 12 ml tubes and it cost 19,09 euro,s. I also paint whit oil paint and i bought 7 giant tubes of 200 ml of oil paints and i ordered magenta oil. It comes in june. These oil paints are priced from 8,64 to 15,00 euro,s per 200 ml tubes. Pebeo watercolours and oil paints i reccoment for a bigginer painter like myself or if you,re on a budget. They are inexpensive,they have a decent paint amount,they have great pigments, they are eazy to layer,they don,t get in you,re way they are fun to learn on and you learn how watercolours and oil paints work. These paints are my go to paints and my go to paint colours. And i,ve you don,t wanna buy the Pebeo 24 watercolour set don,t worry they have a 12 and a 18 tube watercolour set aswell. Now on to my favoriet brushes. OMG i have so many diffrent sizes of brushes. Its crazy how many brushes i have. I have flat,angular,fan,round and filber brushes. I wanna make my own watercolours set. I have my colours already. I paint whit Alizarin crimson,Cadmium primary Yellow,ultramarine blue,tittanium white,intense black Silver,Gold and magenta. I love magenta. I use these colours for my oil paints and my watercolour paints. You can use these colours in oils,watercolours and acrylic paints. I bought my brushes on alliexpress in sets of 12 and i ordered 5 packs of diffrent sizes and shapes of brushes. I love these brushes. They hold allot of water and walnut oil. They are my favoriet brushes ever. This is my second time i buy these brushes of alliexpress. Then i have detail brushes also of alliexpress and i love them too. Then i have some brushes i bought from my budget art store and i bought the round,the flat and line brushes just because they were so so so low in price that I just had to buy them😂😂😂😂😂😂 yeah i am a brush addict😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I love you,re watercolour art suplies Arleebean.
hey yall! just wanted to say how much i LOVE the white nights watercolor, theres a set of 12 for around 20$ that great for beginners ( i got mine for 18.50) and now that im an intermediate-ish painter i still find myself reaching for them, only downside is the packaging, bulky plastic
What about the Van Gogh watercolor set by Talens? It's kinda' basic, there's a warm yellow, a cool yellow, a warm red, a cool red, and so forth. The only down side is that there is a Chinese white in the set. I took mine out, and put a dioxide purple in it. (I think the purple is a Van Gogh color as well.)
I think it's a good starter set, and it's not too high priced.
I definitely like that you recommended starting with good paper. Paper is sooo key with watercolor.
Also, I don't know if beginners do this, but way back when I did more planned watercolors, I usually drew out my design on regular paper, then used tracing paper to transfer the design to the watercolor paper. I find that sometimes the kneaded eraser can leave some sort of oily film, and when I was a beginner that really frustrated me.
Anyway, I shared your video, because I know some folks in my sketch group who find watercolors hard.
I made the mistake of buying the Gansai Tambi as my first actual watercolor set simply because in Asia, they are cheaper and they are just more available. I think I might have to buy some Western watercolors to really get the "watercolor" experience.
Paul Rubens are a really good option because aside from the great selection of colors.... The packaging is amazing.
Thank you for this video. Wish I had it a little sooner. lol I bought the Japanese paints when they were the hot topic on youtube thinking they would be a great option getting back into watercolors. They are nice paints but have been "in my way" paints for sure. I want to glaze and it messes up. Its hard doing a video like this Im sure because there are so many opinions and personal preferences that impact the topic with watercolor but every video out there on where to start is helpful. Thank you.
I cant find the giveaway link!!! T___T
Oh well, I'm sure it'' show up. Also, thank you for making this channel. I stumbled across it during a rut in my art and I hadn't picked up watercolours in ages, but you inspired me to do it again and it's even better than I remember. By chance, my Michaels had just put ALL of their Daniel Smith on clearance too, so I got the whole line at around six dollars a tube and I can never go back. Thanks Arleesha, your videos are so chill and helpful and generally just nice to have on in the background while I work, you're a huge reason why I've started painting again. (My IG is Milkshimmer if you ever see my liking everything you do ever)
It's in the description now! Sorry about the wait. ♥ And thank you so much for your kindness and support! I'm so glad you're getting back into painting. :D
Now I`m in love with Pinax watercolors! It`s russian company, but made in korea. I mix pinax and white nights!
I agree totaly, Sonnet is much stronger and as a beginner I enjoy it much more than I did Cotman travel set.
I am planning on buying White Nights watercolors - set of 24 and few additional pans , like lamp black for monochromatic paintings :), I started with Phoenix set of 12, upgraded to R&L set of 24 (still student grade, but a tiny bit better). :)
I really enjoyed your video. I pay the bills making adult coloring books, but I've recently become obsessed with watercolor. My first decent set was Eachgoo. I bought them thinking I'd never use them but after they sat around for a year I finally pulled them out to attempt a background on a page. The background sucked, but I fell in LOVE with watercolor after years of thinking I absolutely HATED the medium. I'll admit, I'm a bargain shopper so I've tried every affordable set out there and SO SO many different papers. My absolute favorite set is Quinshan. They're really really affordable and I'm always pleased with the results. :)
Hi. Gravitate to the opinion that as a beginners you shouldn’t use very cheap and muddy watercolors. I’m from Russia. At first when starting I bought Sonnet because they are cheaper butt was uninspired with how they mixed and overall. And I wasn’t really into watercolors until my mom bought me 12 colors set of White nights. The difference I felt!!! The colors were so nice. Nowadays I still mostly use White Nights. But also in my sketches , when I draw outside I use Van Gogh 15 colors set. I also would recommend it for beginners. It’s a nice set of colors, colors are pretty rich and not muddy also mixing nicely. Kinda wanna try Schmincke professional watercolor set. But it’s hella expensive for me.
I have the green set of colors that you recommended beginners shouldn’t use and now I get why I’ve been struggling so much with them 😂 ill have to watch your video on using the gansai set
I've found the WN Cotman paints to be better from tube than the pans and even then better for smaller 4x6 and 5x7 paintings. For anything larger I tend to use my M. Graham tubes. :D
Your videos are great. Thanks for the important info. I'm still figuring out watercolor but I'm sucked in.
The Paul Rubens watercolors also have another option which is the student grade version but they are very close in quality and that is the Mei Liang or Pretty Excellent watercolors and they are very nice to work with, highly recommend them especially if you you are on a budget and starting out they are around 20.00 to 25.00 dollars on Ebay and Amazon plus they come in a cute teal tin
I love your glasses ❤️