3 Professional Watercolor Supplies That Experienced Artists Need
If you’re a beginner in your artistic niche, you might have considered transitioning to a real pro.
And when you do, you will need to step up your watercolor art supplies, too!
If you want to know the professional watercolor supplies to upgrade first, then read this article until the end.
Let’s get started.
Professional Watercolor Supplies #1: Paint
In the world of painting, one of the first (and most important) watercolor supplies to upgrade is your paint.
But how do you choose the right paint?
Below is a checklist of what to look for in a watercolor paint.
Watercolor Pigment
You may have noticed by now that watercolor art supplies vary in price.
Although not all expensive watercolor paints have nice quality, you can rely on their pigment to measure the results.
That said, the best watercolor paint usually contains pigments that are finely ground.
Thus, resulting in a more vibrant color on paper.
Not only that but watercolor paints with fine pigments smoothly glide on the paper surface more than basic ones.
So, how do you know if a watercolor paint has fine pigments?
While there’s no specific color scale for this aspect, you can look for the product label with words like “professional” or “artists’ watercolors” when buying.
Watercolor Tubes and Pans
To set the tone straight, watercolor tubes and pans work just fine when it comes to painting, in general.
But to give you an idea of how both watercolor supplies work, here’s a quick description:
| Watercolor Tubes | Watercolor Pans |
| Can be used immediately | Must be rehydrated with water before using |
| Great for a large painting project | Color pigments are pressed to form a ‘cake’ |
| Can be used to refill empty watercolor pans | Easy to carry around |
| Pro: Have a more concentrated amount of color | Pro: Pans can last a really long time |
| Con: Paint will dry out if the lid isn’t tightly closed | Con: Not suitable for large projects that need more paint and need time to achieve the consistency you want |
Lightfastness Level
If you want your paintings to last, you’ll need really good-quality watercolor paints that are certified with either of the following standards:
Lightfastness refers to color retention or how long a paint can fade under sunlight exposure.
Professional Watercolor Supplies #2: Brush
Upgrading to more high-quality or expensive watercolor supplies is not entirely mandatory but is the artist’s preference.
However, if you really need to, here are a few professional watercolor brushes to consider:
| Natural Brushes | Synthetic Brushes |
| Usually made from sable, squirrel, badger, and ox hairs | Artificially made of nylon or polyester |
| Pros: Work well with oil and watercolor paints; gives more character to your artwork as it leaves brush strokes when used | Pros: Work well with acrylic, oil, and watercolor paints |
| Cons: Cannot withstand acrylic paint; more expensive | Cons: There’s a considerable difference in the results in terms of color spreading and application, in general. |
Professional Watercolor Supplies #3: Brush Pen
Commonly known as brush pens, watercolor pens are now a thing in the artistic scene.
That’s because watercolor pens offer the best of both worlds: watercolor paint and a brush!
What’s more convenient is that you don’t need water to activate your watercolor paint if you have it in a pan.
You can just use it the way you normally do on a regular pen, making your strokes more controlled.
Watercolor pens may differ in usage, so you can also enhance your artwork using brush markers.
