Watercolour supplies for beginners: a basic guide

October 15, 2026

Watercolour supplies for beginners come down to four things: a box of student-grade watercolour pans, proper watercolour paper (the most important item), two or three round brushes or a water brush, and a couple of water jars with a cloth. You do not need anything else to start painting and, in fact, fewer supplies will help you learn better.

Here I explain what to choose in each case, which mistakes to avoid and which products are a good gateway into the world of watercolour.

Watercolour supplies list for beginners

• Watercolour pans: a set of 12 to 36 colours is more than enough.
• Watercolour paper: in a pad or sketchbook, with a good weight.
• Brushes: a medium round, a small one for details and, if you like, a water brush.
• Two water jars: one for rinsing the brush and one with clean water.
• Palette for mixing (many boxes have one built into the lid).
• Kitchen roll or a cloth to control how wet the brush is.
• Masking tape to hold the paper down and get clean edges.
• An HB pencil and a kneaded eraser for the initial sketch.

Watercolours to start with: pans, tubes or Japanese

Watercolours are mainly sold in pans and in tubes. To start with, pans are more practical: they come neatly arranged in a box, there is no waste and you can take them anywhere. Tubes are useful when you need a lot of paint for large backgrounds.

Winsor & Newton Cotman

Cotman is Winsor & Newton’s student range and one of the most recommended for beginners. It offers bright colours, rewets well with water and the case is compact and convenient. It is a way to learn with reliable materials without jumping to the professional range.

Kuretake Gansai Tambi

Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolours have a slightly creamier texture and very vivid colours, with some metallic or pearlescent shades depending on the set. They are much loved by illustrators looking for a cheerful, saturated finish, and the set of 36 gives you plenty of scope to experiment.

Tip: do not get hung up on having lots of colours. Learning to mix from a few shades (a warm and a cool yellow, red and blue) will teach you more about colour than any huge box.

Watercolour paper: where you should not cut corners

If there is one rule in watercolour, it is this: the quality of the paper matters more than the quality of the paint. Unsuitable paper buckles, pills and does not let the water flow, and it will make you think watercolour is not for you.

Look at these aspects:

• Weight: look for paper of around 300 gsm. Below that, paper tends to buckle a lot with water.
• Composition: cotton paper absorbs and releases water more evenly and gives you more working time; cellulose paper is cheaper and fine for practice.
• Texture: fine grain (cold-pressed) to start with; smooth (hot-pressed) if you want detail and line; rough if you like pronounced textures.

For daily practice, a glued block such as the Clairefontaine Goldline Watercolour is a convenient option. And if you fancy painting outdoors or keeping an illustrated journal, a watercolour sketchbook like Moleskine’s is very practical thanks to its format.

You will find more sketchbook and pad options in our guide to the best sketchbooks for drawing.

Water brushes and traditional brushes

To start with, two synthetic round brushes are all you need: a medium one for washes and backgrounds, and a small one for details. A good round brush should form a fine point when wet.

Water brushes are a very practical alternative: they have a barrel that you fill with water and, when you squeeze it, it dampens the tip. That way you can paint without a water jar, ideal for painting outdoors, while travelling or on a small table. The Pentel Aquash is one of the most widely used by illustrators who do urban sketching.

Bear in mind that with a water brush, controlling the water works a little differently: to clean off the colour, you squeeze gently and wipe the tip on a cloth. It takes a few minutes to get used to, but after that it is incredibly convenient.

Water-soluble alternatives to experiment with

If you like mixing techniques, some materials behave like watercolour when you add water: watercolour pencils, water-based markers or water-soluble crayons such as Caran d’Ache Neocolor II, which let you lay down intense wax strokes that you can then dissolve with a damp brush. They are fun for children’s illustration and for adding texture.

If you are drawn to markers with a watercolour effect, our comparison of the best markers for illustration explains which ones can be blended with water.

Common mistakes with your watercolour supplies for beginners

1. Using ordinary drawing paper. This is the number one mistake. With watercolour paper, everything changes.
2. Overworking an area. Watercolour demands decisiveness: the more you go over it, the muddier it gets.
3. Not waiting for it to dry. Painting over a wet layer creates unwanted blooms and backruns (although sometimes they are used on purpose).
4. Forgetting the white of the paper. In traditional watercolour, whites are reserved, not painted.
5. Dirty water. Change the water often or use two jars to keep your colours clean.

If you want to understand better how light and colour work before you paint, the book Color and Light is a great reference. You will find it alongside other titles in our selection of books to learn to draw.

Frequently asked questions

Which watercolours are good for beginners?

A box of student-grade pans, such as Winsor & Newton Cotman, or a set of Japanese watercolours such as Kuretake Gansai Tambi. Both let you learn with satisfying results.

What paper weight do I need for watercolour?

Around 300 gsm is recommended. It holds water well, buckles less and lets you build up layers.

Is a water brush good for learning watercolour?

Yes, especially for painting outdoors and at a small scale. For large backgrounds and big washes, combine it with a traditional round brush.

Can I use watercolour in an ordinary sketchbook?

Only if the paper is heavy enough and designed for wet media. On thin paper, watercolour will buckle the page and soak through.