Why I 'needed' new watercolours
I've done my research and went for the obvious choice: Winsor and Newton. The reviews were good and I had some vouchers to spend as well. I also bought two types of paints: a few professional ones and a Cotman set, which is Winsor and Newton's student line (albeit a bit more affordable).
The shop
I went for the Cotman Sketchers Pocket Box (Winsor and Newton) which was £8.49 (RRP £18.75) without the voucher and 7 individual Winsor and Newton professional half-pans - each between £3.55 and £4.95, depending on the series they were part of (RRP between £5.90 and £8.80).
The Cotman sketchers pocket box
I honestly think these are amazing value. The set is so cute and has really good colour options for someone trying watercolours out for the first time.
There are 12 paints:
- Yellows: Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Yellow
- Reds: Cadmium Red Pale Hue, Crimson Alizarin
- Blues: Ultramarine, Intense Blue
- Greens: Emerald Green, Sap Green
- Other: Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, China White
The set comes with a small cute brush that I have not really used yet, but expect it comes handy when actually sketching on the go.
Cotman test sketches
Winsor and Newton professional watercolours
I don't know why - maybe because these were more expensive than the Cotman ones, but I have not used these properly in any of my sketches. I did, however, wanted to show them in here. I went for 6 basic colours and one I could use for darkening:
| Tip #1 Theoretically, if you've got these 6 colours (cadmium and lemon yellow, cadmium and quinacridone red, cerulean and ultramarine blue) and a white, you should be able to render any colour you want. |
I did not want to 'invest' in a proper pan for the few professional watercolours from the beginning, so I have used an old watercolour pan and double-taped all the colours down. Not the best looking out there, but saved me £15!
Conclusion
Also, if you decide to paint big (A3+), maybe go for tubes instead of pans. I've done less than 10 sketches on A5s and am currently working on my first A3 and noticed that my favourite colours already have a considerable dent in the pan.
And that's it! Hope this helps some of you. As such, if you've got any tips on choosing watercolours and using them please feel free to share them in here.
Taaa!