10 Best Watercolor Paints in 2021 (Artist-Reviewed)

Susan has a Master of Fine Arts in Oil Painting, has been a glassblower since 1998, and is a former drawing professor. So naturally, we thought to ask her to help us write and review this article.

Her "painted drawings" are oil on paper and employ cartoon imagery to explore issues, ironies, and paradoxes in modern societies, often inspired by urban life in Tokyo. She has participated in juried exhibitions in the US and Japan. You can check out her work on Behance!

To choose the best watercolor paints, we took into consideration the following:

• Making sure they are artist-grade
  
• Choosing from a variety of formats, like tubes, pans, pencils and more

Don't forget to check out our buying guide after the products to make sure you have all the information you need to make a good decision about watercolor paints.

We've chosen these watercolors with a variety of artists in mind, so you're sure to find something that will spark your creativity. All products were hand-picked by Susan. These are high-quality watercolor paints for beginners and experienced painters alike!

One of the first questions beginner watercolorists ask themselves when choosing paint is "What's the difference between pan paints and tubes?" This is a good question, but there are many more you should consider to find the right paints for your needs.

Let's look at what watercolor paint actually is! All paint is made up primarily of a pigment and a binder. In the case of watercolors, the binder is gum arabic, a tree sap. It allows washes with water while ensuring that the pigment stays adhered to the paper. There are also usually wetting agents and preservatives added to prevent mold.

Pigments are what give the paint its color. These are what you need to pay attention to when choosing paints. A single-pigment paint will be easier to blend and mix because the results will be reliable. Paints with more than one pigment could be unpredictable when mixed with others.

Many pigments come from traditional, natural sources, although some are heavy metals and not non-toxic. The names of pigments can vary by manufacturer, so watercolors often have codes; if you find a pigment you like and want to buy it from a different maker, look for this code.

Keep in mind that all paints, depending on quality and ingredients, may be more fugitive or lightfast. Fugitive means the color can easily fade over time and when exposed to UV rays, while lightfast paints stay true to their original appearance.

Therefore, this is another thing you should look for on the paints. Manufacturers will use different types of marks, like + to +++++, or numbers and so on. You'll need to check each color, as lightfastness varies even within sets.

Manufacturers list whether the color is transparent, translucent, or opaque using symbols. Although some watercolorists obsess about the differences, for the most part, if you add enough water, you can get a transparent application from an opaque color.

One exception may be white. All whites are opaque, and using them will often dull the color they're mixed with. In fact, many watercolorists never let white paint touch their palette, preferring the luminosity of using the white paper instead. It should also be noted that gouache is merely a term for opaque watercolors.

In theory, all you need to paint any color you like are three warm and three cool colors of reds, blues and yellows. That's why we chose our Daniel Smith set as our top pick. But in reality, there are SO many fun watercolors to choose from! Why stop at six colors, and why stop at tubes or pans?

Most people think of pans when they picture watercolor paints. Indeed, even children are familiar with these. They come in sets or as individual cakes which can be removed and replaced or refilled from a tube color. They are easy to re-wet.

Tube colors are a good choice for people who use larger amounts of paint. They can be squeezed onto a palette, and can be re-wetted, although it may take a bit longer to activate them. A sponge laid on top or a few spritzes from a spray bottle, plus waiting a few minutes, will save your brushes from scrubbing to moisten dry paint.

Liquid watercolors, not to be confused with dyes or inks, are true watercolors with intense, vibrant colors. Think of them as concentrated colors that are ready to be diluted further. These are a great choice for techniques such as airbrushing, too.

Why limit yourself to using brushes? Watercolors are available in the form of drawing media, too! These aren't just gimmicks, either; you can find high-quality artist-grade materials with exceptional lightfastness and responsiveness.

Watercolor pencils, sticks (also referred to as crayons or pastels) and markers are a ton of fun and can be used in a myriad of ways, from drawing and then wetting to drawing onto pre-wetted paper. You can also find these products made for children, however, so make sure you're buying the right quality for your needs.

In addition to paints for kids, there are two grades of watercolors. You may not need to spend a lot depending on the results you want. Student quality watercolors are usually chosen because they're cheaper, although still a step up from kids' paints. The Cotman line from Winsor and Newton is probably the best-known. 

Student paints contain a higher percentage of the binder, gum arabic, and possibly also fillers. They often use cheaper modern alternatives to expensive traditional pigments, are therefore classified as "hues," and may not be as lightfast or intense. Hues can also produce unreliable results when mixing.

Artist-grade paints use quality ingredients and have a higher pigment load. This means there is more pigment in proportion to the binder, although the percentage varies by manufacturer. 

The difference in price between student and artist quality is not as vast as with oil paints, and a little watercolor goes a long way, so it's our opinion that most people should purchase artist-grade paints. That's why we chose those for our product list.

We asked Susan to help us solve some of the mysteries surrounding watercolors, so before you start your Internet search, read on!

As was discussed in the guide, watercolor paint is made of pigment in a gum arabic binder, sometimes with preservatives and agents to improve flow. In children's watercolors, all of these will be non-toxic. But some traditional pigments are highly toxic. Lead can be used to make white, cadmium for red, and so on.

These are not dangerous to paint with, however! The particles of these heavy metals are not absorbed into the skin. You don't want to ingest them, so wash your hands after painting, and don't eat snacks while painting as a safe practice. And, while it won't kill you, be careful not to mistake your beverage for your brush water (we've all done it once!).

For the most part, yes - especially paints designed for use by children. On fabric, laundry detergent or bleach will usually take care of it. If you happen to get some spatters on the wall and they've dried, try rubbing alcohol, dish detergent, baking soda, or a melamine sponge ("Magic Eraser"). 

If a paint is highly staining, you may have more trouble, though, so try to get to spills before they dry. Even better, use a drop cloth when painting!

You can paint on raw, unprimed canvas with watercolors. However, the canvas will suck up most of the paint and it will be impossible to control. Most people probably want to know if you can paint on primed canvas.

Oil painters prime their canvasses (usually; Helen Frankenthaler was famous for not priming hers) with acrylic gesso. The reason for this is that the solvents used with oils will eventually eat away the fabric, and the gesso creates a barrier to stop this.

However, you can't really put watercolor on most gessoes with good effect. A general rule is "fat over lean." Oils can go over acrylics, and acrylics over watercolors; but going the opposite direction, with thinner media on top, doesn't work well. Lean media won't really stick to fat. So your best bet is to get a canvas that's primed with a ground specifically for watercolor, like ones made by Fredrix.

We've picked out some other great art materials for you to stock your studio with. Check them out while you're waiting for your paint to dry!

Want to see what Amazon shopper like when it comes to watercolor paints? Check out which products are most popular.

Updated by: Susan Lucier-Ogawa, 11/11/2021

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