As a watercolor painter, I understand the importance of selecting the appropriate materials to achieve desired results in my artwork. One crucial aspect of this is the choice of watercolor paints. With so many brands and colors available, it can be challenging to determine which paints will best suit my needs.
The second most important thing you need to consider when painting in watercolor is watercolor paint. Watercolor paints come in different forms. They are tubes and in pans. In the 18th century, tubes became very popular to help in Plein air painting. Since then, it has become trendy because of Its easy usability.
It is crucial to be knowledgeable about the materials used in my craft. By understanding the science behind watercolor paints, anyone make informed decisions about which paints to use, allowing me to achieve my desired results in my artwork. This guide serves as a valuable resource for any painter looking to enhance their skills and deepen their understanding.
Pans are very popular for ink and wash technic and quick sketches or color sketches. They come in a box, in a set of 6 or 12 or 24, or even 36 for some brands. Usually, pans are for small types of Plein air painting. Artists usually use tubes for large paintings or studio work.
Pans are unsuitable for experimental watercolors or artworks with lots of paint to create textures.
Pigment depends on three essential characteristics of colors. Hue, chroma, and tonal value.
Hue is the color of the pigment. This means when you say the color green, that is the hue. Artist usually uses the term hue when they describe colors.
Chroma is the saturation of the color. Pigments with high chroma mean that pig Benz is highly saturated, or the density of the pigment is very high.
Hue, chroma, and tone are important concepts in understanding watercolor pigments and how they interact to produce a wide range of colors.
Hue refers to the basic color of the pigment, such as red, blue, or yellow. Chroma refers to the intensity or saturation of a color, with high chroma colors being vivid and intense, and low chroma colors being more muted or washed out.
Tone refers to the lightness or darkness of a color, with high-tone colors being lighter and low-tone colors being darker. When it comes to watercolor pigments, tone is often controlled by adding water or white paint to the pigment, which can significantly affect the final result.
It’s important to consider hue, chroma, and tone when selecting watercolor pigments, as they can have a significant impact on the final painting. High-chroma, high-tone colors will provide a bright and vivid effect, while low-chroma, low-tone colors will create a more muted and subdued look. Understanding these concepts can help artists select pigments that will achieve the desired results in their paintings.
Tonal value is the lightness or darkness of the color or tone. Tonal value is independent of human chroma. This is the most important thing to building a composition.
There is widespread confusion between high chromatic value and high tonal value. For example, some Red with high chromatic value can be described as saturated rate, and the end with low chromatic value can be described as shabby red. And both dramatic values can have a different levels of tonal value.
Watercolor paints come in two categories. Student-grade quality and professional-grade quality. You may start with student-grade quality paints if you start your painting journey. Still, once you start to understand the paint and paper behavior, I recommend using a professional level of paint.
It is essential to understand the behavior of pigments to be succeeded. Watercolor pigments behave differently with the paper and with the type of pigments. This behavior defines the texture and values in the painting. So, it is essential to use professional-level watercolor pigments to get the desired output.
The critical quality of professional-grade watercolor pigment is its granulation and transparent quality. Artists use these qualities to define the subject of the paintings.
Watercolor paint is a mixture of very tiny, microscopic pigment particles mixed in a liquid paint vehicle that includes the binder. The binder holds the pigments in suspension. This is the most important thing to making watercolor paint, and just because of this binder, we can apply these colors with the brush that dries onto paper, boards, or any other medium.
If you read through this article, you would know exactly the ingredients of paint and how it is made, clearing some confusion.
The liquid vehicle in watercolor is a mixture of binder (gum Arabic), plasticizer (glycerine), humectant (corn syrup, honey), and some extender or filler, dispersant, and water.
Pigment Categories
The watercolor type depends on the quality of the mixtures that bind pigments. For example, some brands add one or more highly reflecting substances as brightener coma to adjust the brightness of colors.
Pigments are divided into four categories.
- Natural Inorganic: materials extracted from earth or natural mineral deposits.
- Natural organic: pigments that are extracted from animal or plant matter. They are no longer used and are not lightfast.
- Synthetic Inorganic: created by combining chemicals and raw materials. Most of the pigments in the world are produced in this way.
- Synthetic organic: carbon-based, often made from petroleum compounds.
Watercolor paints are usually non-toxic except if they have some hazardous component like cadmium or cobalt compound; nothing would happen if the small amount is swallowed. But please see doctors if children swallow a significant amount.
All commercial artists in this world use paint with synthetic pigments.
Properties of pigments:
Granulation:
Granulation appears as visible pigment particles of the diluted color applied with a wet brush. It is more visible on textured paper. Not all colors have the same level of granulation. The artist uses these characteristics to increase the visual impact of the painting; wouldn’t it be necessary.
Staining:
Staining is the presence of a color that is difficult to remove from the paper after being applied. Staining is minimized in good brands. Depending on the dispersants, Staining can be removed from the paper when wet, or the paper can be rewetted and lifted with a tissue or paper towel.
Pigment with a minimum particle size can get stuck inside the paper fiber and become significantly harder to remove; hence, Staining is created.
When a large amount of humectant is used, deep penetration in the paper increases. This Causes Staining that is hard to remove.
High proportion use of gum Arabic binder creates a coating that can easily dissolve. So, pigment with a high proportion of gum Arabic binder or gum arabic washes may help remove the stain easily.
Paper quality can play an essential role in the paint being stained less. The hot-pressed paper has a smooth surface, so the pigment cannot get into the paper fiber; instead, it stays on the surface, and the pigment can be removed easily.
Opacity:
When any color has a lack of translucency is called opacity of that color. The color’s opacity depends not only on the thickness of the pigments but also on the kind of color and concentration of pigment and binder in that color. Usually, the more pigment added to the mixture of colors will create more opacity. An artist needs both transparent and opaque colors. The colors that are high in the cadmium range are usually opaque.
Flocculation:
When pigment particles are clumped or gathered is called Flocculation. Along with granulation, Flocculation creates a subtle effect popular with watercolor artists. It also Maintains the homogeneity of a watercolor wash.
Lightfastness:
Lightfastness is the color’s ability to resist fading in sunlight or artificially accelerated conditions. The American Society of Testing and Materials has set a standard for the performance of pigment’s lightfastness. They are marked as lowest to permanent. Society tests the color’s lightfastness and rates it according to its performance. When no test is done, it is marked as not listed, which doesn’t mean they lack lightfastness but are not yet tested.
Do professional artists use watercolor?
Watercolor became popular among professional artists in the 18th century as a medium for Plein air painting. Its quick-drying process and transparent quality made it an ideal tool for this. The versatility of it solidified its position as a crucial tool for artists producing stunning works of art.
In classical watercolor painting, painters intend to use more transparent paints. Opaque paint, such as gouache, can be used but not more than 10%. There are some opaque paints in the cadmium range used in watercolor paintings.
Various artists use different types of watercolor paints of different brands. The most common brands are Winsor and Newton, Daniel Smith, Holbein, art supplies, etc.
The quality of pigments is different in different brands. Some pigments in some brands are very good at granulating, while the same pigments in other brands may not be as suitable.
For an amateur artist, the best advice is to try different pigments from different brands and see what suits their purposes. Most professional artists use multiple brands, and none stick to only one. So, when you want to buy any watercolor pigments, you should buy from multiple brands from both cool and warm ranges for opaque and transparent pigments.
Choosing the suitable watercolor paints
Paint manufacturers are very commercial these days. This usually happens due to small companies handing over to the big companies or availability of the pigments, or simply just to do business by creating new pigments with the combination of existing ones.
It is the shared nature of a beginner to choose the pigments simply with the name. Beginners buy paint from famous brands like Winsor and Newton, Daniel Smith, Holbein, art spectrum, etc. It is important to remember that pigments with the same name may not result same. For example, burnt Sienna is an essential color widely used, but burnt Sienna from Daniel Smith and burnt Sienna from Winsor and Newton are entirely different. Winsor and Newton burnt Sienna has some rent tone to it. In the same way, cobalt turquoise from these two brands is entirely different.
So, it is very confusing for a beginner artist to find out what paint to use or buy when any professional artist recommends any pigment with the current because the results may not be the same.
Testing them is the best way to find out what pigment to use. I recommend two used pigments from different brands, test them, and find your choice.
This personal list should not be created only with the color name; there are other attributes to consider.
Selecting Primary Pigments:
Selecting the standard pigments used by famous artists can be an excellent way to start. Usually, start with the primary colors from the warm and cool range. This means getting yellow, one from the warm range and another from the cool range, and blue from the warm and cool range, in the same way, getting rid of the warm and cool range.
You will need one white and one neutral color, like Payne’s grey or neutral Tint. You can create almost all types of colors out of these colors. If you have a good understanding of color wheels, it will be easier to make more secondary and tertiary colors.
What are Warm Colors and cool colors?
In general rules, warm colors are red-orange and yellow families, whereas cool colors are in green, blue, and purple families. This is a general theory. Having said that, in the warm color range, there can also be cooler colors. This means some colors may be cooler than adjusting colors in the warm range. In the same way, in cool color Rangers, some colors can be warmer than others. So, there are no specific rules to define which color is warm and what is cool. This is a comparative judgment.
Primary colors for Winsor and Newton would be Winsor yellow ( PY 175 ), Winsor blue (Red shade) ( PB 15), and permanent rose (PV 19 ).
For Daniel Smith, the primary color range would be perylene red (PR 178), Hansa yellow medium (PY97), and French ultramarine (PB 29).
Three cool primary colors for Daniel Smith are Hansa Yellow Light, Quinacridone Rose, and Phthalo Blue.
On the other hand, new gamboge, pyrrol scarlet, and French ultramarine will be the warm colors in Daniel Smith Brand.
Secondary colors and the mixture of two primary colors. They are usually in the middle of two primary colors in the color wheel. Orange is in the middle of red and yellow, purple is in the middle of red and blue, and green is in the middle of yellow and blue. Examples of secondary colors are orange, purple, and green.
Tertiary colors are the mixture or combination of primary and secondary colors. They usually take the primary color name and secondary color name combined with a hyphen. For example, yellow-orange, red-orange, yellow-green, blue-green, etc.
You can make any color with six primary color palettes (from the cool and warm range) and white pigment.
Selecting pigments from different brands
It is always a good idea to select pigments from different brands. Different brands have different qualities of the same pigments with different mixes. Depending on your painting type, try using the same pigments from different brands and see what suits you.
After doing lots of test paints and practices, you will know which brands you will need for specific pigments. Do not get confused with the pigments name; when selecting pigments, note down the color codes and then find the exact color code with different brands when you are sure about what pigments you will use. This will help you find the same range of colors from different brands, and it will be easier for you to choose suitable pigments for your palette.
Comparisons of properties of some common pigments
| Brand | Pigment | Lightfastness | Transparency | Staining | Granulation |
| Daniel Smith | Cobalt Blue PB28 | Excellent | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Holbein | Cobalt Blue PB28 | Good | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Cobalt Blue PB28 | Excellent | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Yellow Ochre PY43 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Holbein | Yellow Ochre PY43 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Winsor & Newton | Yellow Ochre PY43 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Daniel Smith | Cadmium Red Light PR108 | Excellent | Semi-Opaque | Medium | Smooth |
| Holbein | Cadmium Red Light PR108 | Good | Semi-Opaque | Medium | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Cadmium Red Light PR108 | Excellent | Semi-Opaque | Medium | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Cobalt Teal PB36:1 | Excellent | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Holbein | Cobalt Teal PB36:1 | Good | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Cobalt Teal PB36:1 | Excellent | Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Neutral Tint PV55 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Holbein | Neutral Tint PV55 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Neutral Tint PV55 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Chinese White PW6:1 | Good | Semi-Opaque | Low | Smooth |
| Holbein | Chinese White PW6:1 | Good | Semi-Opaque | Low | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Chinese White PW6:1 | Good | Semi-Opaque | Low | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Sap Green PY150 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Medium | Coarse |
| Holbein | Sap Green PY150 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Medium | Coarse |
| Winsor & Newton | Sap Green PY150 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Medium | Coarse |
| Daniel Smith | Phthalo Green PG7 | Excellent | Transparent | High | Smooth |
| Holbein | Phthalo Green PG7 | Good | Transparent | High | Smooth |
| Winsor & Newton | Phthalo Green PG7 | Excellent | Transparent | High | Smooth |
| Daniel Smith | Burnt Sienna PBr7 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Holbein | Burnt Sienna PBr7 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Winsor & Newton | Burnt Sienna PBr7 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Daniel Smith | Burnt Umber PBr7 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Holbein | Burnt Umber PBr7 | Good | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
| Winsor & Newton | Burnt Umber PBr7 | Excellent | Semi-Transparent | Low | Coarse |
Comparing some common colors by brand
The table shows the properties of different paint colors from various brands. The properties analyzed include the code, color, brand, transparency, staining, and granulation. The code is a unique identifier for each color. The color name, brand name, and transparency rating are self-explanatory. The staining and granulation ratings are subjective evaluations of how well the color stains and how granulated it appears when applied to a surface. The color names include Cadmium Orange, Perinone Orange, Permanent Vermilion, Phthalo Blue, Prussian Blue, French Ultramarine Blue, Cerulean Blue, and others. The brands represented are Daniel Smith, DaVinci, Schmincke, Rambrandt, Winsor and Newton, Holbein, Art Spectrum, and Sennelier. The transparency ratings range from 1 to 4, with 1 being the least transparent and 4 being the most transparent. The staining and granulation ratings also range from 0 to 4, with 0 being the least staining/granulated and 4 being the most staining/granulated.
| Code | Color | Brand | Transparency | Staining | Granulation |
| PO20 | Cadmium Orange | Daniel Smith | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| PO20 | Cadmium Orange | DaVinci | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| PO20 | Cadmium Orange Light | Schmincke | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PO20 | Cadmium Orange | Rambrandt | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| PO43 | perinone orange | Daniel Smith | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PO62 | permanent orange | Daniel Smith | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PO36 | permanent vermilion | Art Spectrum | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| PO62 | Winsor Orange | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PO62 | benzimida orange | DaVinci | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PO71 | translucent orange | Schmincke | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PO73 | pyrrol orange | Daniel Smith | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PO73 | winsor orange RS | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PO75,PY154 | permanent orange | Rambrandt | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PO76,PO62 | brilliant orange | Holbein | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PR108 | cadmium yellow orange | Holbein | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PR108 | cadmium red orange | Holbein | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| PR108 | cadmium red orange | Sennelier | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PR108,PY35 | cadmium orange | Winsor and Newton | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| PB15:1 | winsor blue RS | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PB15:1 | phthalo blue | Schmincke | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| PB15:6 | phthalo blue (red shade) | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| PB15:3 | phthalo blue | Daniel Smith | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| PB15:3 | winsor blue GS | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| PB15:3 | manganese blue hue | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| PB15:3+PG36 | phthalo turquoise | Daniel Smith | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PB16 | phthalo turquoise | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| PB27 | prussian blue | Daniel Smith | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| PB27 | prussian blue | DaVinci | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| PB27 | prussian blue | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| PB27 | prussian blue | Holbein | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PB27 | prussian blue | Schmincke | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PB27 | antwerp blue | Art Spectrum | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PB27 | antwerp blue | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| PB28 | Cobalt Blue | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| PB28 | Cobalt Blue | Holbein | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| PB28 | Cobalt Blue Light | Schmincke | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PB28 | Cobalt Blue | Daniel Smith | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PB28 | Cobalt Blue Light | DaVinci | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| PB29 | French Ultramarine Blue | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| PB29 | French Ultramarine Blue | Rambrandt | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PB29 | Ultramarine Blue | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| PB29 | French Ultramarine Blue | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| PB29 | Ultramarine Finest | Schmincke | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| PB29 | Ultramarine Blue | DaVinci | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PB33 | manganese blue hue | Holbein | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| PB35 | Cerulean Blue | Rambrandt | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| PB35 | Cerulean Blue | Holbein | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| PB35 | Cerulean Blue | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PB36 | Cerulean Blue | Daniel Smith | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| PB36 | Cobalt Turquoise | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| PB36 | Cobalt Turquoise | Daniel Smith | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| PB36 | Cobalt Turquoise | DaVinci | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| PB60,PBK6 | Indigo | Daniel Smith | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PB15,PB19,PVK6 | Indigo | Winsor and Newton | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| PY3 | Hansa Yellow Light | DaVinci | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PY3 | Lemon Yellow | Schmincke | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PY3 | Hansa Yellow Light | Daniel Smith | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PY3 | Lemon Yellow | Art Spectrum | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PY35 | cadmium yellow | Winsor and Newton | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PY35 | Cadmium Lemon | Winsor and Newton | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PY37 | Cadmium Yellow Lemon | Holbein | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| PY35 | Cadmium Yellow Lemon | DaVinci | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| PY35:1 | Cadmium Yellow | Daniel Smith | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| PY35:1 | Cadmium Yellow Deep | Daniel Smith | 1 | 4 | 3 |
| PY40 | Aureolin | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| PY40 | Aureolin | Daniel Smith | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| PY37,PY42,PW4 | Naples Yellow | Holbein | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| PY35,PR101,PW4 | Naples Yellow | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| PY35,PR101,PW4 | Naples Yellow | Daniel Smith | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| PY65 | Winsor Yellow Deep | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PY65 | Hansa Yellow Deep | Daniel Smith | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PY83,PY95 | Indian Yellow | Holbein | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| PY97 | Indian Yellow | Daniel Smith | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PY153,PO62 | Indian Yellow | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| PY154 | Winsor Yellow Deep | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PBr7 | Raw Sienna | Daniel Smith | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| PBr7 | Raw Sienna | DaVinci | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Brown Ochre | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Sienna | Daniel Smith | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Sienna | DaVinci | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Sienna | Holbein | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Raw Umber | Daniel Smith | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Raw Umber | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| PBr7 | Raw Umber | DaVinci | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Raw Umber | Rambrandt | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Umber | Daniel Smith | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Umber | Rambrandt | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Umber | DaVinci | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PBr7 | Burnt Umber | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PO49 | Quinacridone Gold | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| PO49 | Quinacridone Gold | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| PR101 | Burnt Sienna | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| PR101 | Venetian Red | Daniel Smith | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| PR101 | Venetian Red | DaVinci | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| PR101 | Venetian Red | Rambrandt | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| PY42 | Raw Sienna | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| PY43 | Yellow Ochre | Daniel Smith | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| PY43 | Yellow Ochre | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| PY43 | Yellow Ochre | DaVinci | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PR23 | Crimson Lake | Holbein | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PR48 | Scarlet Lake | Holbein | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| PR83 | Alizarin Crimson | Rambrandt | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| PR83 | Alizarin Crimson | Winsor and Newton | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| PR83 | Alizarin Crimson | Daniel Smith | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| PR108 | Cadmium Red | Winsor and Newton | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| PR108:1 | Cadmium Red | Daniel Smith | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| PR108 | Cadmium Red Light | Holbein | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| PR112 | Parmanent Red | Holbein | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| PR170 | Parmanent Red | Daniel Smith | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PR188 | Parmanent Red | DaVinci | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| PR209 | Quinacridone Red | Winsor and Newton | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| PR209 | Quinacridone Coral | Daniel Smith | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PR209 | Cherry Red | Holbein | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PR216 | Brown Madder | Holbein | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| PR254 | Winsor Red | Winsor and Newton | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| PR254 | Pyrrol Red | Daniel Smith | 1 | 4 | 0 |