Materials / Supplies

You can expect any hobby to have a learning curve at the beginning, and one of the most common problems we get stuck with when starting is "What materials do I need?" Here, I list down some of my recommended materials for artists through different stages in their art journey: beginner, hobbyist, advanced learners. Hope this helps! :)

Start your Watercolor Journey!
Here are some of my recommended art supplies for complete beginners!
Fabriano Watercolor Paper
Not the best watercolor paper for making wet washes but good for starters especially if you're focused with details!
Baohong Watercolor Paper
Your experience with watercolor would mostly heavily rely on your paper - make sure it's the best quality!
Watercolor Journal
Tokyo Finds Journal is good for daily practicing and experimenting with watercolor. The texture is similar to hot-pressed watercolor papers.
Acrylic / Gouache Brushes
I still use these up to this day! These are cheap and have smooth, even bristles.
Watercolor Detail Brushes
Details can be taunting especially with the wrong tools! These Scrivo brushes can last you a year to practice details in watercolour.
Watercolour Brush Set
Recommended by beginner to advanced artists, these will give you an array of brush types to work and experiment with!
Watercolor Mop Brush
Useful tool for covering a huge surface area in painting or for making big strokes.
Winsor and Newton 5mL Tubes
If you're opting for a better investment for beginners, Winsor and Newton Cotman paints are the paints to go
Colored Writing Pens
If you're looking for cheap gel pens, consider your wish granted!
Watercolor Plastic Palette
This was my first watercolor storage and up until now, it's intact.
Step up your Watercolor journey!
If you're ready to take your watercolor journey (and ready to get into the rabbit hole of endless supplies of amazing art supplies), here are some materials I would recommend!
Student Grade Watercolor Paints
The freedom of practicing loose watercolor sketches comes with the expense of your art supplies. It would be a shame to use up all your professional paints for practice, so an artist-grade but equally good paints are my go-to.
Holbein Watercolor Paints
If you're ready to step up your game with professional paints, Holbein is a good place to start. They're not as expensive as other professional brands but will give you great quality.
Watercolor Paints
I enjoy using some of Nevskaya Palitra's vibrant paints, especially the purples, reds, and oranges.
Arches Full Sheets
If you're ready to try out bigger sheets but don't want to splurge on a block, I highly recommend buying a full sheet which you can cut to your preferred size. Art Caravan offers different brands of papers (Arches, Fabriano Artistico, Clairefontaine)
Big-sized Watercolor Blocks
Hahnemuhle "Andalucia" blocks is one of the papers I fell in love with aside from Arches. They are amazing for practicing bigger pieces!
Watercolor Papers
I'd still recommend Baohong since it's as good as "Arches" but way cheaper
Watercolor Brushes
Synthetic Brushes are now as good as real hair brushes and one brand I had a happy experience with be it for acrylic, gouache, or watercolor, is Borciani Bonazzi. Art Caravan offers different lines from the brand.
Narrow down and be Selective!
At this stage you're probably deep into the world of watercolor, experimenting with a lot of materials, until you realize you have your "favorites". This is when you start to become aware of what you actually just need and settle with those, so you become wiser in building your space. Here are some of the materials that I use now!
Watercolor Paints
Though I started my journey in watercolor hoarding for supplies, I have now narrowed my paints to Daniel Smith watercolor tubes. I purchase mine from Art Caravan.
Watercolor Brushes
The brushes I use are a combination of old and new, and synthetic and real hair ones. In general, my go-to is Borciani Bonazzi Unico Line.
Watercolor Paper
Ever since I discovered you can cut smaller sheets from a full sheet of Arches or Fabriano, that's what I have been doing ever since for commissioned works. I get mine from Art Caravan and they deliver them to me either same day or the next.
Watercolor Paints (Student Grade)
The freedom of practicing loose watercolor sketches comes with the expense of your art supplies. It would be a shame to use up all your professional paints for practice, so an artist-grade but equally good paints are my go-to.
Watercolor Brushes
Aside from Borciani Bonazzi brushes, I like to bring my Etchr brushes with me when I'm painting outside since it comes with a nice pouch.
Watercolor Sketchbooks
I wasn't a sketchbook person not until I started working for Etchr and discovered the beauty of it. Working with several artists across the globe, I discovered the liberty of doing experiments in your sketchbooks.
Beacons
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