Your content is slowly turning to be my Holy Bible in learning about colours, never missing a single video of yours . That’s great amount of precious info out there. Thank you so much for putting your work n sharing your thoughts to us. Lots of love ❤️
My daughter and I might have set some kind of record with the wild and crazy first paints purchases. We started at the same time on opposite coasts, decided to buy different sets and swap half pans. We ended up with something like 150 different paints from about 9 brands. I learned a lot just sorting and swatching them, learning the different feel of paint from a purchased pan, paint fresh from the tube, and paint from a cured tube-to-pan. I would not recommend what we did to anyone else, but we are both super color nerds so it was exactly right for us.
your joy when you talk about watercolors is sooo contagious! i took the candy store approach for sure, and bought lots of opaque pigments without knowing i love transparent paints now. ❤❤❤ ahhh memories!
I am so guilty of making uninvited palettes for people hahaha!! (some were invited) lol but I just love it so much! And one of my friends picked it up and is now illustrating a book with the palette I made her! Best feeling ever sharing the joy of the pigments
💥 Oto is SO RIGHT❗ ~~~ E.g. In the beginning of my watercolour journey, I bought approx "40 plus" tubes of colour that I absolutely loved!! FOLLOWING THAT, I bought 20 or more tubes that I THOUGHT I would need. After that, I learned about a specific set of two toned separating colours. AND THEN I found ... 'Qor Water Colour Paints.' 😃 SMH! After I collected 130+ tubes, EVERY ONE OF THEM SAT ON TOP of MY DESK FOR 4 YEARS. 🌧 I was SO OVERWHELMED that I didnt know where to begin ! Every day I would research for hours, days and then months and more. ❤ (With all of my heart... I will truthfully say that, if I did not find Otto's channel, I'd still be confused. Her information is beyond and above any wc channel that I've ever seen.) She has taught me so much that I could actually teach someone else now. I thank her for that. ~~~ ⬛ If I could turn back the clock, I would buy a split primary set and add a good mixing Pink. (Not a watered down Red nor a Red-Pink. I'd look for a bright Pink/ medium hue without White in it. Then I'd add a shimmery Silver and also a true 14K or 24K Gold. Probaly a Sepia too. (Approx 10 colours is everything one needs.) ✔This would help me learn to mix my colours well, AND loose all the unnecessary stress❗ Once and awhile I think of all the years I could have been practicing to paint. "But I am thankful that I don't (and didn't) give up easily! " haha 🤗 - Apologies for the long comment.
I'm the weirdo who collects and uses ALL the colours! I'm never overwhelmed more is more. I mix watercolour and goauche and mix custom colours and dupes using empty half and full pans. Tip look for tins at the dollar store and use sticky back magnets (dollar store) Amazon has bulk empty pans. In Canada I get them for 14 cents-25 cents each (don't pay more wait for a sale). You can also get the dr. ph martens hydrus and add that to gouache or watercolours and mix so it can be palleted. I love multi pigment mixes and think mud is a myth I enjoy all opacities and qualities of watercolour and continually learn and take notes. I'm making a multiple hand made pallet and colour mixing books now! I paint a variety of sibjects more realism to semi realism and cartoony BUT I prefer the most accurate colours. I use both lightfast and fugitive but I KNOW when and which are which. I have smaller travel sets and larger studio tins. I can lay them all out around and pre-wet them then paint very fast rapidly switching between paintings to dry areas. I paint way more and get way more paintings done now vs having more limited colours and limited pre-mixed colours. BUT I'm also NOT a beginner! LOL. For a beginner I recommend (and add if you lack) The split primaries! Next add a 'neutral' primary (even if its a custom mix), and a good neutral black ( A neutral tint, Lamp black, Sepia, paynes grey, etc.) You can also make a custom mix My fav vibrant black mix (super intense almost glowing deep rich black); M graham Anthraquinone Blue and Terra rosa. OR any red-brown and greyish dark blue. Then add other more neutral versions of primaries : Yellowochre/raw sienna (yellow), Indian red/Terra rosa/burnt sienna/light iron oxide (red), Paynes grey/Anthraquinone blue/indego/maya blue (Blue). These can be mixed to make more muted or muddy realistic tones great for landscapes, etc. ALSO can be subbed in to change or intentionally dull other 'primary' mixes and allow more quick mixing and variations. If you like opaque colours (I do your allowed there is more than one right way to watercolour!) Add gouache, titanium buff/buff titanium and Napels yellow! I love naples yellow! Well I love all colours but anyway. These colours allow the milky look I prefer for human skin, rocks, sand, human painted architecture, seashells, etc. Use Buff titanium for 'vintage' pastel dupes. Use opaque gouache titanium white for amazing results and opacity as well! Naples can be the colour of the sunlight itself and be used to replace white as a warm-white in mixes! Nickle quin Azo Gold/ Nickle quin Azo yellow/quin gold; PY 48 + PY 150 MAKES the most AMAZING realistic plant/leaf mixes! It can be mixed with Pthalo Green Pg7 to make the main greens of plants and more of the gold for the sunlight shining through the leaves or the highlights! Always get certian briget magenta/pink tones as these will otherwise be impossible to mix. Like she said as vibrant as possible because you can mute, dull and pale but can't increase vibrancy! I recommend PV19 as useful for a variety of 'cool reds' with maximum lightfastness and transparency. Also PR 122 (such as Van gogh rose can be helpful to get certian colour mixes and hues) I also adore many others. Van gogh Carmine (pr 176), etc. If you are ok with fugitive pigments Get neon watercolours! The opera set of 14 5ml; tubes by Paul Rubens allows even more colours now. You literally couldn't get these colours and mixes before! if you don't want too much neon I still highly reccomend a good opera pink for florals and the most vibrant 'reddish' tones. And neon yellow but its surprisingly hard to find (but as i recently discovered) the only way to get certain colours. Just a good opera yellow and opera pink with a very vibrant cobalt teal blue and a pthalo blue will allow the brightest possible brights. dr. ph martens radiance are also good in this category. AND the original Alizarin Crimson PR 83 which is gorgeous but fugitive. Shop based on your geographical location and the best prices for where you are or can/do travel too. DON'T waste money on brands that are ridiculously overpriced where you live IF there are more local options that are just as good. Example ONLY buy Holbein IN Japan! Stalk sales, take notes and check your art supply stores, online and Amazon. Write down the desired item and the prices at all the places and check back again, and again then pounce on a deal! Finally I'll repeat you can premix your own custom mixes to save time later. If you set up a specific unified pallet you can also look into the 'mother colour' technique and mix colours from the same base tones to ensure harmony as well. You are also allowed to do art the way YOU prefer and use all the colours if that brings you joy or a limited selection if THAT brings joy joy. Do what YOU prefer, not what others prefer. You are the one living YOUR life!
Wow!!! I sure need you as the little angel sitting on my shoulder and whispering all of your wonderful wisdom and encouragement in my ear as I am beginning my exciting journey into the magical world of watercolors. At 66 years young, I decided to pick up my far too long neglected passion for art and am enjoying every single minute! I only wish that I could absorb just a fraction of your knowledge!
PS: I hope you don't mind, I took copious notes. Fortunately, I do have the best grade of the warm/cool primaries as well as your suggested neutrals, paynes grey and sepia. I also just recently purchased DS Opera Pink. On a crazy whim, 2 months ago, I purchased a lovely set of 36 gouache by HIMI (?) and have yet to use them. It never occurred to me to try mixing them with any of my watercolors, but, why ever not? Thank you for all of your super tips. By the way, I just love your joyful philosophy! 🎨
@@deborahgoodwin3426 I put the comment here to help people, please do take notes! The Himi/ Miya are my favorites and yes I mix them and use them along side watercolours! I do advise clearly labeling and swatching out (labeled) swatches so that you know what is gouache and what is watercolour for when you want to go 'pure' with one or the other. I got most of my truly useful knowledge I shared in this comment in the last 5 years or so and you can learn as you go. Joy even leads to better results as its WAY easier to make good art when you are enjoying yourself! You can also label and note when a supply is lightfast or fugitive just to keep in mind for when it might matter. Also really try lots of different papers and go with what YOU enjoy not what everyone else says is 'superior' try to see what you actually like and go with that! Best of luck I hope you have a great time!
I too like to use a large number of colors. However If I store my pans in normal palettes this soon gets overwhelming. Therefore I made a round palette from Fimo clay (a little larger than the etchr palette) and after multiple layers of varnishing, arranged my paints according to the color wheel (lighter colors inside, darker colors outside). Only a tiny drop of paint fits into each well which is perfect for me because I use only small amounts of each color. You can also store your favorites from dot samples in these wells (strip the dry paint dot from the paper, put it upside down into the well, add a small drop of water on the paper rest on its backside, remove the paper rest with tweezers).
LOL I'm glad to know there are lots of other people out there who think putting together a palette for someone else is SUPER fun! "Inducting" ... snort ... totally! I also included some paper samples. :)
I'm laughing so much about the statement "your friends will probably send you pallets whether you ask them to or not." I thought I was the only one who did that! I have a friend in another town who started painting WC tutorials with me over zoom. I've already sent her 3 pallets without her asking! 🤣🤣🤣 (She was using a horrible super-cheap pan set, and I COULDN'T STAND IT!!!)
Goodness gracious, where were you when I now see that I needed you desperately several months ago when I began my watercolor journey?? Lordy, I am far too embarrassed to confess just how many colors/pallets ( both tubes and pans) that I am now the not so proud owner of. Least to mention, far poorer for, as well. As you can well imagine, so many of my early choices were of paint pallets/sets that seemed on the surface to be quite desirable due to their attractive advertising and/or their affordable prices. At this point in time, I can now say, there will probably be some very happy local children who will be the beneficiaries of lots of paint to dip their toes (and brushes too) into the wonderful world of watercolor!
I watched Denise Soden color samples from many brands. I will be watching yours as well. I have found that I like Davinci, Am. Journey, and Holbein most often. I’m a nerd and want to know as much as possible about subjects.
I had used a really cheap set of tubes from a craft store, but I would consider my first palette to be the Daniel Smith split primary tubes. I still love them and continue to buy split primary when I’m trying a new brand or type of paint.
My first palette was Cottman student grade.still have it but slowly replaced it with professional level pans. Now I’ve moved on to other paints! But that took years, and lots of paintings.
So I love the scientific approach you offer behind things and the depth. But you helped my color theory so much with encouraging the split primary. I added neutral tint and had a everything pallette
I went through many watercolor sets as a kid, but if you were to ask the one I started using when I wanted to get in watercolour seriously, then my first (and only) is a 20 colour student grade Koi Sakura set (student grade is kinda expensive in art stores where I'm from and any professional brand I've to buy from 3rd parties). I still use it and I really like it, though I do have a Royal Talens Van Gogh I got recently. However, since there are 20 colours, I find myself using some colours less and some more (I'm almost out of their Payne's Grey and Yellow Ochre while two yellows, two blues and three greens remain untouched). Right now I want to upgrade to a more professional palette, preferably one I could build myself. I'm moving to the UK soon for my studies and I'm not entirely sure which brands and colours I would like in this new set - I've heard Daniel Smith being really good but one look at the price at Jackson's and my heart sank. Meanwhile, W&N has gotten a lot of mistrust recently though I do like their gouache line immensely. Schminke is another brand I've heard all good things about. Holbein and Turner is expensive no matter where I am unless I go back to Japan (which I've been three times) and raid their nearest art store, but I do like both their acrylic gouache lineup too. Can anyone recommend good brands (and specific colours/alternatives) for a split primary palette? Doesn't matter what brand, as long as I can get it at a Jackson's no problem and won't break the bank since I'll be building it in the UK. A few greens, greys, neutral earth tones (brown/ochers), and a deep black will also be appreciated, since I paint lots of animals and landscapes. Thank you!
I didn't know what to expect from the title, because there are so many videos like that forcing opinions on others. But you proved to be the best once again and I LOVE your approaches. To buy colours that speak to you and buy affordable brands to get to know what the person actually likes or the split primary are the BEST ways to put together a first palette. From now on I'll refer anyone to this video when I'm asked how to do this. This is such an important video, thanks for making it! Can't wait for more of your art wisdom. :)
Thanks To! This was like the little encyclopedia of options! I am now on a "tuned only, one pigment + excellent lightfastness" colour choice phase. I can then put together any palette by switching removable half or full pans. It is good to start with 12-16 colours. You can mix anything out of these anyway. I am even making a palette just with my granulating single pigments, which I can mix into any colour combination, rather than buy the expensive super granulating collections. I look forward to your third part in this trilogy.
Absolutely adore this video!!! Especially the very true parts about asking a friend for help and choosing the option that is least intimidating so that you’ll actually use your paints!
For beginners - I still recommend the Cotman pan set. It's small, very portable, dries well so it doesn't make a mess, and it gives you an idea of what watercolor can do. Watercolor may not be what you like. You may prefer Acrylic or Oil with a longer working time and more control. Beginner sets can help you figure that out. Right now I'm seeing Cotman pan sets for $16. Just so you know, that same exact set was $30 in 2011. It's an incredible value for a beginner because then you save money for other things like paper and tape. And the point isn't to stress about art, it's just to create. Limitation, especially in art, exists in the mind. Sure, student grade may not be as powerful, but you still get about 10-12 paints for the same as you'd buy one Daniel Smith tube. And many of those are the exact same pigment, just not as highly loaded. Oto's point in starting with professional is her opinon, as she has clearly stated. I agree with her IF you absolutely know you want to pursue watercolor as your chosen medium. Like myself, I knew how frustrating watercolor would be to understand as a medium, but I also knew I had to learn it. But I started with Cotman and moved on to professional grade pigments later on. If you are not sure, get a beginner set and save time and money.
I share your opinion. While Cotman is not the BEST quality, I think that buying top-quality paints is too expensive, as a beginner just learning to smear colors together to learn mixing and color theory. An expensive palette would have made me too anxious about wasting paint, and I would not have enjoyed my experiments. People will quickly graduate to better paints, and you have to admit that Cotman has some really nifty plastic palettes, that can easily be refilled with those paints. I do still have a small sketcher's palette with Cotman in it, and I really like it for ink and wash on the go.
@@OhJodi69 If you adjust the $30 in 2011 for U.S. inflation, 11 years later it would cost roughly $39.52. The fact that it's more than half off what it was is great for beginners. I think it's because social media has pushed beginners to buy more professional grade materials. And let's be honest, how many tunes of professional watercolor are sitting out there not being used after years in a box? Very few people continue beyond the beginning stages.
@@majrminer I think also WN began making Cotman in China around that time. I actually like Van Gogh a bit more for a student paint (I use some with my professional paints, even), but Van Gogh isn't widely available in the US, and Cotman has such a wide variety of palette types, that I think it's a good value for beginners. I actually have three Cotman palettes, which I bought mainly because I liked the function of them, LOL, and added my better paints to it. So I now have these little wrapped cotman pans, like kids have legos, lol
@@OhJodi69 You're probably correct about the change in manufacturing. That's unfortunate. I'd rather pay more to support local jobs 100% of the time. I may be in the minority there, but I mean that. Also, many Cotman paints are still single-pigment paints. This means that the color and qualities of the pigment are the same as the professional version, but perhaps not as much pigment load. Yl most people would hardly notice a difference in application. The people looking at your work would never know. Cotman's Viridian was single-pigment (at least it used to be). Oddly, I found through my own sets that Cotman Viridian is for some reason the same pigment as many other brands' Phthalo Green (Blue Shade). Not sure why they did that, but extremely close in color. The only difference is a traditional Viridian will be granulating and slightly less staining, but again, who will really know a difference? This goes back to the original point - beginners SHOULD go with beginner paints as long as they learn about pigments and color mixing and want to save money in learning. There's no need to buy 20 colors either, not initially. For all you beginners - using 20 colors in a painting is the fastest way to ruin cohesiveness. Cotman pans are cheap. Cotman tubes are also great, just a bit more expensive and you get more paint than in the pans.
Agreeing with you on palette size. The one bit of the good doctor's advice that I disagreed with was that beginners could start with 20-30 colours. I'd recommend starting in single figures with a half full palette box then expanding to 12-16 over time as you start to identify holes in your palette.
I actually copied your palette from your colour theory series a while back. I have since learned a lot about how I paint and I started modifying it to my own needs and preferences. But to start out copying yours from back then was exactly what got me over the fear of creating an unusable palette mess 👍
That’s so awesome as the way you used it is exactly how I intend the color wheel palette to be used! It’s a starting point to learn about colors, then adapt to your taste.
I love the phrase the colors you like to see might not be what you like to paint with. It's so true. There are colors I love to look at but when I go to use them they don't work
Loving your deep dive into all-things-watercolor. Can't help noticing that your Color Wheel Palette is also a version of a Split Primary palette. Instead of each color being split 2 ways, into a warm and a cool version only, yours are split 3 ways, so you have basically 3 yellows, 3 reds, 3 blues and 3 greens! This is actually similar to my own palette, which kind of developed itself from years of painting in oils. BTW, loving your textile journey, as well. I'm a weaver.
My very first set was a Cotman travel set. The first palate that I “made” was a mix of Winsor and Newton and Terry Madden paints in a plastic palette. I love some of the Terry Madden colors but sadly you can no longer get them. I need to see if I can find dupes for some of the colors. I still use that palette. But my 3 favorites are Schminke, Daniel Smith and Roman Szmal. I recently purchased a Senellier travel palette during Jackson’s watercolor sale but I’m saving it for Christmas. I have a few Mijello and Qor colors as well that are lovely but find that I reach for the other 3 brands more. That’s 1/2 the fun is finding colors that speak to you! But it can get pricey.
What a lovely video! You have such wonderful empathy for new folks (thank you for not using technical words for the color wheel, etc.) Your "split primary" palette made so much sense to me, right from the start - I had already bought equivalent paints before I viewed it, & you made me feel smart, LOL. And you are correct: if you hate a color, no matter about the color wheel, you will never want to paint with it. For me, that's ultramarine (blue). I'm using anthraquinone blue instead - even though it's not an exact equivalent, at least I use it. Thanks Dr. Kano!
For my first palette, I went all-in and "bought" (in quotes because I used Amazon rewards points rather than actual money) the full Winsor & Newton Cotman (yes, I know, student grade, shush) studio palette that contains the whole range minus the fancy new metallics that I'm just not interested in. My reasoning was that it would give me the opportunity to play with every color in the range, get to know them and how they play together, and decide which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I could do without or just mix myself. I was able to whittle 40 colors down to 28, because I have to have ALL the blues. Those 28 are in a separate palette of full pans, because like you half pans are just too small for me. I'm working my way slowly through dot cards from other brands' professional lines to see which ones look and feel the best to me, and which colors are the most analogous to what I already know and love, or that I might like even better than what I have in my palette already. Once I've zeroed in on what brand(s) speak to me most strongly, my plan is to gradually replace colors by ones and twos as they run out with professional equivalents so I'm not breaking the bank.
Too many colors is def overwhelming! I asked for a 12 color kuretake gansai tambi set for my birthday, but generously got given the 48 set. Which is a lot! I just put the 12 colors in a tin as a start :p. They're the set with the more pastel colors so not sure they make a great 12 color palette though :p. Also followed a tutorial recently and just took out the 5 colors that resembled the colors they used for that. On the other hand there's this super gorgeous new kuretake 24ii set that just got released, and it's soooo up my alley. Before I settled on using this brand I just bought a few basic colors from different student grade brands and then settled on kuretake gansai tambi. The paint seemed quite nice to work with, I like the big pans, and they have nice colors. It's a bit unhandy though because there's no pigment info so when trying to copy someone from a video or something, or if I see color mixing recipes, that's hard. Def appreciate that you start with the candy store approach, that's basically sorta what I'm doing now! (with some logic of that I might need things that are a little like dplit primaries maybe)
I'm doing the whole limited range thing with my gouache. I have about 24 colors of M Graham and Winsor&Newton Designer's Gouache in a small palette, and just ordered one of the last colors for the range- Cobalt Turquoise Light. I'm pretty confident with my watercolors, but gouache I'm still learning. So I have student grade gouache for practice (Arteza, Himi/Arrtx) and have the M Graham/W&N small range for when I'm more experienced. It's been a fun art journey and I'm still learning loads from your videos being self taught, I never had anyone teach me about watercolor/gouache specifically. So I appreciate your mini lessons here!
Awesome. I stared with Winsor & Newton student grade, eight colors. When I was finished with the class I couldn't wait to get rid of those paints and graduate to professional quality. So I got similar colors in a different brand (Sennelier) and just fell in love with the process.
This is such a great video. Thank you for making it. After a devastating breakup, I decided to either go on a year long Eat, Pray, Love type trip or create the art studio of my dreams. I choose to create the art studio, even though my painting experience is limited and I like almost every medium. I did your first suggestion and bought every single art supply I have ever wanted, in every medium I've ever been interested in. My studio literally looks like a small art store. It's beautiful and completely overwhelming and I will never be able to use all of my art supplies. Thankfully there's this amazing art program for people with mental challenges so anything I end up not liking can be donated to them. Going forward, I'm going to take your suggestion and find 1 or 2 abstract or extremely loose watercolor artists I like and recreate their palette. I adore neutrals with pops of colors so hopefully I can find someone on TH-cam who likes that color combination also.
Thanks a lot dear dr oto. I love the way you organized this video. Is cool to upgrade palettes, is a way to feel that some colors are just not for one anymore.... hahahaha, and some others become more important
If you have the money to spend you could buy dot cards from specific brands you're interested in and see what you like from that before buying tubes/pans. There's usually enough paint on there to do a small painting with at least. I think for expensive brands like Daniel Smith it would really help to decide and experience what you like for yourself first. Some foreign brands send them by letter mail so it's cheap to ship to another country.
I wouldn't want to paint with a split primary palette long-term, but it makes a good base set to build off of. Very easy to progress into a color wheel, or to make sure your basics are checked off before adding whatever other colors strike your fancy.
I've been putting together my first custom palette, and I'm doing a combination of the full spectrum and warm and cool primaries. I've chosen warm and cool versions of every color. I also am trying to keep it transparent, but occasionally there is a "****, I really like cobalt teal" sort of thing. So I think I'm following most of your suggestions? Haha. PS: If you want someone to send people to, for student level watercolors, Kimberly Crick is on YT and has a website. Setting up this palette, I've watched you, Denise Soden, and Ms Crick.
Even as a hardened Winsor & Newton fan, I have to say that the best all in one starter selection is probably the Daniel Smith essentials set of six split primary tubes. Combine this with a tube of raw sienna (for some earthiness and for some greys when mixed with the French ultramarine) and an empty palette with room for 12 colours (so a bit of growing room for when the new artist wants to try other colours) and you're away.
I started 15 years ago with split primary, my very first palette was the WN Cotman. I absolutely loved it and I still have it. I can't throw it away but I can't stand those colours anymore, they look so dull and boring for me now. Then I found Daniel Smith and now I'm a happy penniless creature living in a super colorful world 😂 Thank you for these useful videos, it's a pleasure listening to other artists' knowledge and experience!
I LOVE YOUR SYSTEM !!! 🤩 Your playlist series on ‘Super Easy Color Theory’ answered sooooo many questions for me! 💖 I’ve shared the link many times ✨Thank you 💝
A really great and informative video, I have students asking me about a starter palette all the time, and I think from now on I am going to link as many of them as possible to this! Thank you very much. Also agreed on getting very excited when friends ask about paint... 😂
Thank you for this pleasant video❤I'm not new in watercolor and already have more than 48 colors of different brands(mostly Rosa Gallery and Rembrandt)😂but I enjoy the fact of presents in my art commode. Mostly I use 28 colors
J’ai commencé directement avec une palette extra-fine de Sennelier 24 demi-godets + le set de couleurs primaires de Daniel Smith afin d’apprendre le mélange des couleurs. J’avais déjà une bonne connaissance théorique sur l’aquarelle, et à force de voir des vidéos sur TH-cam avec ces belles couleurs, j’ai craqué et j’ai tout de suite voulu avoir la meilleure qualité de matériel 😬😅 Ensuite j’ai tout de même acheté une palette Winsor et Newton Cotman, afin de pouvoir me faire la main, et ne plus être bloquée de peur de gâcher du matériel onéreux.
As a beginner, I liked the idea of spending a minimal amount of money to get started. A decent student grade paint set like Cotman, Phoenix, Niji, Mei Lang, etc… are usually good enough if it’s a 12-24 color set. Cheaper paper is fine too. I’m using Gencrafts watercolor paper. It’s a “wood blend” but it’s cheap and good for practicing on. As far as brushes go, you can get some good inexpensive synthetic brushes like Taklon. My point is to get decent student grade stuff and paint with it. The cost of the materials if expensive will prevent you from painting. If you’re not as worried about the expense, you’ll be more willing to risk a painting failure. You can’t get good without practice. Practice will make you better with watercolors, not sitting and staring at your obscenely expensive paints, paper and brushes.
When I first got into watercolor 20 years ago I did the buy random colors that make me go "oooohhhh pretty!" thing. And then life happened and I didn't paint for about a decade. This go round I'm trying to be more rational about things, so I try to stay out of the art supply stores, but I do drool at manufacturers' websites. 😆
My first pallet was a da Vinci pallet. It was recommended by an artist because they were more affordable. I bought all the colors i wanted. Then I got a hair up my but and decided I needed to have a Sennelier pallet. So I have two mijello 33 well pallets full of Sennelier. Sennelier is my fav.. but almost 60 colors… and the tubes were not $3 or $4!! I still wasn’t satisfied but I didn’t understand why. I was still learning watercolor but I always felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Then I ran across your series on making a color wheel pallet! Ahhhhh the skies opened up! I’m now in the process of moving the colors I need out of the two big mijello pallets and into a smaller one that looks like yours and I’m going to do it this way until I understand what I’m doing and how I want my colors to work. And wow thank you for explaining all that. I went out and got the Steven quiller book to for more geeking out. I think I’ll start out with 12 colors at first. I’m making one out of Sennelier and one out of Qor.. I was curious tho.. you said you didn’t like opaque colors and I noticed you chose cad orange so did you figure out something else for the orange or are you using that one?
How do I find that Steven quiller color chart you showed? Can you show us your room? I am interested in your your white bookcases and cubes. What are they and where did u get them. Tfs
From my personal experience, if I had to start a new palette entirely from scratch with a small budget, I'd get: A cool yellow, a magenta and a cyan, along with a black (or a Payne's Grey), a mid-green (like, one that doesn't lean too much to yellow nor blue) and a brown (probably a Caput Mortuum or a Burnt Umber). The CMY triad covers all the basic mixing needs, a black and a brown will help make sure I can mix darker and/or more muted colors (but both create slightly different mixes) and the green is for convenience (but also helps create more vibrant green color mixes). And that's probably what I'd reccomend to anyone else building a small starter palette- not nececarily the black+brown+green, but rather a CMY primary triad, and then whatever three colors the person might want. It's the best way to cover the basics but also get fun, personal colors to fit your personal needs (which the split primary can't accomodate for if you want to get JUST six colors)
Dear Dr Kano, My grand daughter will start watercolor painting. Can you please recommend the split primary colors in Holbein brand, as his father is working in Japan. Thanks
I went with option 4, then I went mad with random colours (option 1), and now I'm aiming to do 2 and 3 by copying your 12 colour pallete 😂 So I'm that kind of art supply shopper!
“The colors you like to see is not the color that you like to paint with” is so true! I hate seeing ultramarine, but I can’t imagine painting without it. I don’t like split primary palettes even if you have to stick to just six colors. I would rather go for a transparent mid-yellow (py154 or 151), something like a quin red (the warm version of pv19), ultramarine, cerulean blue, phthalo green/viridian, and burnt umber/phthalo blue/indanthrone blue, depending on your preference. ;) I developed this palette for myself based on what my art teachers suggested for learning years ago. Over fifteen years of painting I never found any use for cool yellows or for warm reds in my style.
I feel the same for Ultramarine... but it's so useful for mixing. Your palette sounds really interesting actually. Thanks for sharing your favourite selection.
Can anyone help me out with particular paints that spread rapidly when applied wet-in-wet (brand and pigment)? The old PO49 Quin Gold does this incredibly well, and I use it in certain paintings as my last tube is nearly gone. I asked Daniel Smith and they never respond, which is disappointing considering how many hundreds I have spent on their paints. This spreading quality is probably an action of the pigment, as I believe the binder used in all Daniel Smith paints is the same and not all paints spread rapidly or at all wet-in-wet. Looking for other pigments that can spread rapidly and push other colors wet-in-wet. I realize handprint addresses this as a pigment quality, but I'm looking for quick tips from people who actually use these types of pigments. Thank you for your help!
QOR paints are specifically created to due this. They have a proprietary binder. I only have a few of their colors (Quinacridone Magenta. Swoon!). They all spread nicely.
@@lisamessina5952 Thank you, Lisa. I believe it's called aquasol? Also, I don't think Handprint includes Qor because he stopped updating the site years ago. I tried Holbein and they have good prices, but I didn't think the paints were as good as D.S. on cotton, nor did I find one with fast spreading qualities. They feel a bit different than D.S. Interestingly, not sure if you know this, but magenta paints tend to mix higher chroma than any other red, including the palette favorite Quin Rose. That can be helpful info when you want a portion of your painting to stand out and contrast against the rest, no matter which color you're mixing from it. Again, thanks. 🙏🏻
As a general rule, transparent colours are more likely to disperse like this than opaques. I remember reading in a Hazel Soan book about how she uses sepia for wet into wet leopard spots because it's opaque and you get slightly fuzzy spots. If she used a transparent brown (burnt sienna say) then it would just spread out and you wouldn't see any spots.
yes you can, but they themselves don't deliver over seas. They have a contract with another company that specialises in sending items oversea. I've no idea what the price of this second company is like or what their service is like though.
Hello there I have a confusing question well to me mostly ugh...lol I want to choose a colours but I need one for my picture book and one for my sort of cartoony family protraits. What do I do. I do feel mixed up should I even start with one or Help me please
First, tell us what country you live in. Prices vary greatly between countries, and we can suggest brands and palettes that are available and affordable where you live.
Dr- I think using the term “pre-made” is somewhat derogatory to the sets. My experience with higher end manufacturers, Schmincke and Sennelier in particular, is that the paints chosen for, say a 12 pan palette, are in fact fairly well thought out and are strategic choices from their lines. By name you may end up with some unfamiliar choices, but once used and some experience gained you can readily see that some thought went into the process of choosing the colors.
Your content is slowly turning to be my Holy Bible in learning about colours, never missing a single video of yours . That’s great amount of precious info out there. Thank you so much for putting your work n sharing your thoughts to us. Lots of love ❤️
Yes!!!
My daughter and I might have set some kind of record with the wild and crazy first paints purchases. We started at the same time on opposite coasts, decided to buy different sets and swap half pans. We ended up with something like 150 different paints from about 9 brands. I learned a lot just sorting and swatching them, learning the different feel of paint from a purchased pan, paint fresh from the tube, and paint from a cured tube-to-pan. I would not recommend what we did to anyone else, but we are both super color nerds so it was exactly right for us.
your joy when you talk about watercolors is sooo contagious! i took the candy store approach for sure, and bought lots of opaque pigments without knowing i love transparent paints now. ❤❤❤ ahhh memories!
I am so guilty of making uninvited palettes for people hahaha!! (some were invited) lol but I just love it so much! And one of my friends picked it up and is now illustrating a book with the palette I made her! Best feeling ever sharing the joy of the pigments
💥 Oto is SO RIGHT❗
~~~
E.g. In the beginning of my watercolour journey, I bought approx "40 plus" tubes of colour that I absolutely loved!! FOLLOWING THAT, I bought 20 or more tubes that I THOUGHT I would need.
After that, I learned about a specific set of two toned separating colours.
AND THEN I found ... 'Qor Water Colour Paints.' 😃 SMH!
After I collected 130+ tubes, EVERY ONE OF THEM SAT ON TOP of MY DESK FOR 4 YEARS.
🌧 I was SO OVERWHELMED that I didnt know where to begin !
Every day I would research for hours, days and then months and more.
❤ (With all of my heart... I will truthfully say that, if I did not find Otto's channel, I'd still be confused. Her information is beyond and above any wc channel that I've ever seen.) She has taught me so much that I could actually teach someone else now.
I thank her for that.
~~~
⬛ If I could turn back the clock, I would buy a split primary set and add a good mixing Pink. (Not a watered down Red nor a Red-Pink. I'd look for a bright Pink/ medium hue without White in it.
Then I'd add a shimmery Silver and also a true 14K or 24K Gold.
Probaly a Sepia too.
(Approx 10 colours is everything one needs.)
✔This would help me learn to mix my colours well, AND loose all the unnecessary stress❗
Once and awhile I think of all the years I could have been practicing to paint.
"But I am thankful that I don't (and didn't) give up easily! "
haha 🤗
-
Apologies for the long comment.
I'm the weirdo who collects and uses ALL the colours! I'm never overwhelmed more is more. I mix watercolour and goauche and mix custom colours and dupes using empty half and full pans. Tip look for tins at the dollar store and use sticky back magnets (dollar store) Amazon has bulk empty pans. In Canada I get them for 14 cents-25 cents each (don't pay more wait for a sale). You can also get the dr. ph martens hydrus and add that to gouache or watercolours and mix so it can be palleted.
I love multi pigment mixes and think mud is a myth I enjoy all opacities and qualities of watercolour and continually learn and take notes. I'm making a multiple hand made pallet and colour mixing books now! I paint a variety of sibjects more realism to semi realism and cartoony BUT I prefer the most accurate colours. I use both lightfast and fugitive but I KNOW when and which are which.
I have smaller travel sets and larger studio tins. I can lay them all out around and pre-wet them then paint very fast rapidly switching between paintings to dry areas. I paint way more and get way more paintings done now vs having more limited colours and limited pre-mixed colours.
BUT I'm also NOT a beginner! LOL.
For a beginner I recommend (and add if you lack) The split primaries! Next add a 'neutral' primary (even if its a custom mix), and a good neutral black ( A neutral tint, Lamp black, Sepia, paynes grey, etc.) You can also make a custom mix
My fav vibrant black mix (super intense almost glowing deep rich black); M graham Anthraquinone Blue and Terra rosa. OR any red-brown and greyish dark blue.
Then add other more neutral versions of primaries : Yellowochre/raw sienna (yellow), Indian red/Terra rosa/burnt sienna/light iron oxide (red), Paynes grey/Anthraquinone blue/indego/maya blue (Blue). These can be mixed to make more muted or muddy realistic tones great for landscapes, etc. ALSO can be subbed in to change or intentionally dull other 'primary' mixes and allow more quick mixing and variations.
If you like opaque colours (I do your allowed there is more than one right way to watercolour!) Add gouache, titanium buff/buff titanium and Napels yellow! I love naples yellow! Well I love all colours but anyway. These colours allow the milky look I prefer for human skin, rocks, sand, human painted architecture, seashells, etc. Use Buff titanium for 'vintage' pastel dupes. Use opaque gouache titanium white for amazing results and opacity as well! Naples can be the colour of the sunlight itself and be used to replace white as a warm-white in mixes!
Nickle quin Azo Gold/ Nickle quin Azo yellow/quin gold; PY 48 + PY 150 MAKES the most AMAZING realistic plant/leaf mixes! It can be mixed with Pthalo Green Pg7 to make the main greens of plants and more of the gold for the sunlight shining through the leaves or the highlights!
Always get certian briget magenta/pink tones as these will otherwise be impossible to mix. Like she said as vibrant as possible because you can mute, dull and pale but can't increase vibrancy!
I recommend PV19 as useful for a variety of 'cool reds' with maximum lightfastness and transparency. Also PR 122 (such as Van gogh rose can be helpful to get certian colour mixes and hues) I also adore many others. Van gogh Carmine (pr 176), etc.
If you are ok with fugitive pigments Get neon watercolours! The opera set of 14 5ml; tubes by Paul Rubens allows even more colours now. You literally couldn't get these colours and mixes before! if you don't want too much neon I still highly reccomend a good opera pink for florals and the most vibrant 'reddish' tones. And neon yellow but its surprisingly hard to find (but as i recently discovered) the only way to get certain colours. Just a good opera yellow and opera pink with a very vibrant cobalt teal blue and a pthalo blue will allow the brightest possible brights. dr. ph martens radiance are also good in this category. AND the original Alizarin Crimson PR 83 which is gorgeous but fugitive.
Shop based on your geographical location and the best prices for where you are or can/do travel too. DON'T waste money on brands that are ridiculously overpriced where you live IF there are more local options that are just as good. Example ONLY buy Holbein IN Japan! Stalk sales, take notes and check your art supply stores, online and Amazon. Write down the desired item and the prices at all the places and check back again, and again then pounce on a deal!
Finally I'll repeat you can premix your own custom mixes to save time later. If you set up a specific unified pallet you can also look into the 'mother colour' technique and mix colours from the same base tones to ensure harmony as well. You are also allowed to do art the way YOU prefer and use all the colours if that brings you joy or a limited selection if THAT brings joy joy.
Do what YOU prefer, not what others prefer. You are the one living YOUR life!
I like having a big palette with a lot of colors. It just makes me happy.
Wow!!! I sure need you as the little angel sitting on my shoulder and whispering all of your wonderful wisdom and encouragement in my ear as I am beginning my exciting journey into the magical world of watercolors. At 66 years young, I decided to pick up my far too long neglected passion for art and am enjoying every single minute! I only wish that I could absorb just a fraction of your knowledge!
PS: I hope you don't mind, I took copious notes. Fortunately, I do have the best grade of the warm/cool primaries as well as your suggested neutrals, paynes grey and sepia. I also just recently purchased DS Opera Pink. On a crazy whim, 2 months ago, I purchased a lovely set of 36 gouache by HIMI (?) and have yet to use them. It never occurred to me to try mixing them with any of my watercolors, but, why ever not? Thank you for all of your super tips. By the way, I just love your joyful philosophy! 🎨
@@deborahgoodwin3426 I put the comment here to help people, please do take notes! The Himi/ Miya are my favorites and yes I mix them and use them along side watercolours! I do advise clearly labeling and swatching out (labeled) swatches so that you know what is gouache and what is watercolour for when you want to go 'pure' with one or the other. I got most of my truly useful knowledge I shared in this comment in the last 5 years or so and you can learn as you go. Joy even leads to better results as its WAY easier to make good art when you are enjoying yourself! You can also label and note when a supply is lightfast or fugitive just to keep in mind for when it might matter. Also really try lots of different papers and go with what YOU enjoy not what everyone else says is 'superior' try to see what you actually like and go with that! Best of luck I hope you have a great time!
I too like to use a large number of colors. However If I store my pans in normal palettes this soon gets overwhelming. Therefore I made a round palette from Fimo clay (a little larger than the etchr palette) and after multiple layers of varnishing, arranged my paints according to the color wheel (lighter colors inside, darker colors outside). Only a tiny drop of paint fits into each well which is perfect for me because I use only small amounts of each color. You can also store your favorites from dot samples in these wells (strip the dry paint dot from the paper, put it upside down into the well, add a small drop of water on the paper rest on its backside, remove the paper rest with tweezers).
LOL I'm glad to know there are lots of other people out there who think putting together a palette for someone else is SUPER fun! "Inducting" ... snort ... totally! I also included some paper samples. :)
I'm laughing so much about the statement "your friends will probably send you pallets whether you ask them to or not." I thought I was the only one who did that! I have a friend in another town who started painting WC tutorials with me over zoom. I've already sent her 3 pallets without her asking!
🤣🤣🤣
(She was using a horrible super-cheap pan set, and I COULDN'T STAND IT!!!)
It really reminds me of knitters handing yarn around, and I love it.
I set up a palette for a friend too;)
There it shows, that we have to share the love for the medium. Others just have to get the chance to enjoy the fun stuff too! :D
Goodness gracious, where were you when I now see that I needed you desperately several months ago when I began my watercolor journey?? Lordy, I am far too embarrassed to confess just how many colors/pallets ( both tubes and pans) that I am now the not so proud owner of. Least to mention, far poorer for, as well. As you can well imagine, so many of my early choices were of paint pallets/sets that seemed on the surface to be quite desirable due to their attractive advertising and/or their affordable prices. At this point in time, I can now say, there will probably be some very happy local children who will be the beneficiaries of lots of paint to dip their toes (and brushes too) into the wonderful world of watercolor!
I watched Denise Soden color samples from many brands. I will be watching yours as well. I have found that I like Davinci, Am. Journey, and Holbein most often. I’m a nerd and want to know as much as possible about subjects.
Watch your videos often since they are extremely informative and useful BUT never knew how adorable you are. Thanks for your you fantastic you tubes.
Thank you for putting together this video series! Looking forward to #3/3.
I had used a really cheap set of tubes from a craft store, but I would consider my first palette to be the Daniel Smith split primary tubes. I still love them and continue to buy split primary when I’m trying a new brand or type of paint.
My first palette was Cottman student grade.still have it but slowly replaced it with professional level pans. Now I’ve moved on to other paints! But that took years, and lots of paintings.
So I love the scientific approach you offer behind things and the depth. But you helped my color theory so much with encouraging the split primary. I added neutral tint and had a everything pallette
I went through many watercolor sets as a kid, but if you were to ask the one I started using when I wanted to get in watercolour seriously, then my first (and only) is a 20 colour student grade Koi Sakura set (student grade is kinda expensive in art stores where I'm from and any professional brand I've to buy from 3rd parties). I still use it and I really like it, though I do have a Royal Talens Van Gogh I got recently. However, since there are 20 colours, I find myself using some colours less and some more (I'm almost out of their Payne's Grey and Yellow Ochre while two yellows, two blues and three greens remain untouched). Right now I want to upgrade to a more professional palette, preferably one I could build myself. I'm moving to the UK soon for my studies and I'm not entirely sure which brands and colours I would like in this new set - I've heard Daniel Smith being really good but one look at the price at Jackson's and my heart sank. Meanwhile, W&N has gotten a lot of mistrust recently though I do like their gouache line immensely. Schminke is another brand I've heard all good things about. Holbein and Turner is expensive no matter where I am unless I go back to Japan (which I've been three times) and raid their nearest art store, but I do like both their acrylic gouache lineup too. Can anyone recommend good brands (and specific colours/alternatives) for a split primary palette? Doesn't matter what brand, as long as I can get it at a Jackson's no problem and won't break the bank since I'll be building it in the UK. A few greens, greys, neutral earth tones (brown/ochers), and a deep black will also be appreciated, since I paint lots of animals and landscapes. Thank you!
Great video. I wish I had seen this years ago when I was setting up my first palette. I have not heard anyone explain it quite so well.
I didn't know what to expect from the title, because there are so many videos like that forcing opinions on others. But you proved to be the best once again and I LOVE your approaches. To buy colours that speak to you and buy affordable brands to get to know what the person actually likes or the split primary are the BEST ways to put together a first palette. From now on I'll refer anyone to this video when I'm asked how to do this. This is such an important video, thanks for making it! Can't wait for more of your art wisdom. :)
What an enjoyable feel good video. Thanks for the smiles 🤗
Thanks To! This was like the little encyclopedia of options! I am now on a "tuned only, one pigment + excellent lightfastness" colour choice phase. I can then put together any palette by switching removable half or full pans. It is good to start with 12-16 colours. You can mix anything out of these anyway. I am even making a palette just with my granulating single pigments, which I can mix into any colour combination, rather than buy the expensive super granulating collections. I look forward to your third part in this trilogy.
Absolutely adore this video!!! Especially the very true parts about asking a friend for help and choosing the option that is least intimidating so that you’ll actually use your paints!
For beginners - I still recommend the Cotman pan set. It's small, very portable, dries well so it doesn't make a mess, and it gives you an idea of what watercolor can do. Watercolor may not be what you like. You may prefer Acrylic or Oil with a longer working time and more control. Beginner sets can help you figure that out. Right now I'm seeing Cotman pan sets for $16. Just so you know, that same exact set was $30 in 2011. It's an incredible value for a beginner because then you save money for other things like paper and tape. And the point isn't to stress about art, it's just to create. Limitation, especially in art, exists in the mind. Sure, student grade may not be as powerful, but you still get about 10-12 paints for the same as you'd buy one Daniel Smith tube. And many of those are the exact same pigment, just not as highly loaded.
Oto's point in starting with professional is her opinon, as she has clearly stated. I agree with her IF you absolutely know you want to pursue watercolor as your chosen medium. Like myself, I knew how frustrating watercolor would be to understand as a medium, but I also knew I had to learn it. But I started with Cotman and moved on to professional grade pigments later on. If you are not sure, get a beginner set and save time and money.
I share your opinion. While Cotman is not the BEST quality, I think that buying top-quality paints is too expensive, as a beginner just learning to smear colors together to learn mixing and color theory. An expensive palette would have made me too anxious about wasting paint, and I would not have enjoyed my experiments.
People will quickly graduate to better paints, and you have to admit that Cotman has some really nifty plastic palettes, that can easily be refilled with those paints. I do still have a small sketcher's palette with Cotman in it, and I really like it for ink and wash on the go.
@@OhJodi69 If you adjust the $30 in 2011 for U.S. inflation, 11 years later it would cost roughly $39.52. The fact that it's more than half off what it was is great for beginners.
I think it's because social media has pushed beginners to buy more professional grade materials. And let's be honest, how many tunes of professional watercolor are sitting out there not being used after years in a box? Very few people continue beyond the beginning stages.
@@majrminer I think also WN began making Cotman in China around that time.
I actually like Van Gogh a bit more for a student paint (I use some with my professional paints, even), but Van Gogh isn't widely available in the US, and Cotman has such a wide variety of palette types, that I think it's a good value for beginners. I actually have three Cotman palettes, which I bought mainly because I liked the function of them, LOL, and added my better paints to it. So I now have these little wrapped cotman pans, like kids have legos, lol
@@OhJodi69 You're probably correct about the change in manufacturing. That's unfortunate. I'd rather pay more to support local jobs 100% of the time. I may be in the minority there, but I mean that.
Also, many Cotman paints are still single-pigment paints. This means that the color and qualities of the pigment are the same as the professional version, but perhaps not as much pigment load. Yl most people would hardly notice a difference in application. The people looking at your work would never know.
Cotman's Viridian was single-pigment (at least it used to be). Oddly, I found through my own sets that Cotman Viridian is for some reason the same pigment as many other brands' Phthalo Green (Blue Shade). Not sure why they did that, but extremely close in color. The only difference is a traditional Viridian will be granulating and slightly less staining, but again, who will really know a difference?
This goes back to the original point - beginners SHOULD go with beginner paints as long as they learn about pigments and color mixing and want to save money in learning. There's no need to buy 20 colors either, not initially.
For all you beginners - using 20 colors in a painting is the fastest way to ruin cohesiveness.
Cotman pans are cheap. Cotman tubes are also great, just a bit more expensive and you get more paint than in the pans.
Agreeing with you on palette size. The one bit of the good doctor's advice that I disagreed with was that beginners could start with 20-30 colours. I'd recommend starting in single figures with a half full palette box then expanding to 12-16 over time as you start to identify holes in your palette.
I actually copied your palette from your colour theory series a while back. I have since learned a lot about how I paint and I started modifying it to my own needs and preferences. But to start out copying yours from back then was exactly what got me over the fear of creating an unusable palette mess 👍
That’s so awesome as the way you used it is exactly how I intend the color wheel palette to be used! It’s a starting point to learn about colors, then adapt to your taste.
Best palette for me: empty W&N metal palette from the 1850s in mint condition 🥰😍🥰🥰💕
Oh, and it has to be cheap; it’s just iron, after all 🙄
Thank you Oto. Your 12 color pallets helped me so much to understand color theory and the color wheel.🥰
I love the phrase the colors you like to see might not be what you like to paint with. It's so true. There are colors I love to look at but when I go to use them they don't work
Loving your deep dive into all-things-watercolor. Can't help noticing that your Color Wheel Palette is also a version of a Split Primary palette. Instead of each color being split 2 ways, into a warm and a cool version only, yours are split 3 ways, so you have basically 3 yellows, 3 reds, 3 blues and 3 greens! This is actually similar to my own palette, which kind of developed itself from years of painting in oils. BTW, loving your textile journey, as well. I'm a weaver.
Colour is my favourite bit too ❤️
Your website is so great! Thank you for all you do. You just light up when talking about color and helping others. God Bless you Dr. Oto!
My very first set was a Cotman travel set. The first palate that I “made” was a mix of Winsor and Newton and Terry Madden paints in a plastic palette. I love some of the Terry Madden colors but sadly you can no longer get them. I need to see if I can find dupes for some of the colors. I still use that palette. But my 3 favorites are Schminke, Daniel Smith and Roman Szmal. I recently purchased a Senellier travel palette during Jackson’s watercolor sale but I’m saving it for Christmas. I have a few Mijello and Qor colors as well that are lovely but find that I reach for the other 3 brands more. That’s 1/2 the fun is finding colors that speak to you! But it can get pricey.
What a lovely video! You have such wonderful empathy for new folks (thank you for not using technical words for the color wheel, etc.) Your "split primary" palette made so much sense to me, right from the start - I had already bought equivalent paints before I viewed it, & you made me feel smart, LOL. And you are correct: if you hate a color, no matter about the color wheel, you will never want to paint with it. For me, that's ultramarine (blue). I'm using anthraquinone blue instead - even though it's not an exact equivalent, at least I use it. Thanks Dr. Kano!
For my first palette, I went all-in and "bought" (in quotes because I used Amazon rewards points rather than actual money) the full Winsor & Newton Cotman (yes, I know, student grade, shush) studio palette that contains the whole range minus the fancy new metallics that I'm just not interested in. My reasoning was that it would give me the opportunity to play with every color in the range, get to know them and how they play together, and decide which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I could do without or just mix myself. I was able to whittle 40 colors down to 28, because I have to have ALL the blues. Those 28 are in a separate palette of full pans, because like you half pans are just too small for me. I'm working my way slowly through dot cards from other brands' professional lines to see which ones look and feel the best to me, and which colors are the most analogous to what I already know and love, or that I might like even better than what I have in my palette already. Once I've zeroed in on what brand(s) speak to me most strongly, my plan is to gradually replace colors by ones and twos as they run out with professional equivalents so I'm not breaking the bank.
Too many colors is def overwhelming! I asked for a 12 color kuretake gansai tambi set for my birthday, but generously got given the 48 set. Which is a lot! I just put the 12 colors in a tin as a start :p. They're the set with the more pastel colors so not sure they make a great 12 color palette though :p. Also followed a tutorial recently and just took out the 5 colors that resembled the colors they used for that.
On the other hand there's this super gorgeous new kuretake 24ii set that just got released, and it's soooo up my alley.
Before I settled on using this brand I just bought a few basic colors from different student grade brands and then settled on kuretake gansai tambi. The paint seemed quite nice to work with, I like the big pans, and they have nice colors. It's a bit unhandy though because there's no pigment info so when trying to copy someone from a video or something, or if I see color mixing recipes, that's hard.
Def appreciate that you start with the candy store approach, that's basically sorta what I'm doing now! (with some logic of that I might need things that are a little like dplit primaries maybe)
I'm doing the whole limited range thing with my gouache. I have about 24 colors of M Graham and Winsor&Newton Designer's Gouache in a small palette, and just ordered one of the last colors for the range- Cobalt Turquoise Light. I'm pretty confident with my watercolors, but gouache I'm still learning. So I have student grade gouache for practice (Arteza, Himi/Arrtx) and have the M Graham/W&N small range for when I'm more experienced. It's been a fun art journey and I'm still learning loads from your videos being self taught, I never had anyone teach me about watercolor/gouache specifically. So I appreciate your mini lessons here!
I bought some Holbein oil (not watercolor) color while I went to Japan. Good quality!
Awesome. I stared with Winsor & Newton student grade, eight colors. When I was finished with the class I couldn't wait to get rid of those paints and graduate to professional quality. So I got similar colors in a different brand (Sennelier) and just fell in love with the process.
This is such a great video. Thank you for making it. After a devastating breakup, I decided to either go on a year long Eat, Pray, Love type trip or create the art studio of my dreams. I choose to create the art studio, even though my painting experience is limited and I like almost every medium. I did your first suggestion and bought every single art supply I have ever wanted, in every medium I've ever been interested in. My studio literally looks like a small art store. It's beautiful and completely overwhelming and I will never be able to use all of my art supplies. Thankfully there's this amazing art program for people with mental challenges so anything I end up not liking can be donated to them. Going forward, I'm going to take your suggestion and find 1 or 2 abstract or extremely loose watercolor artists I like and recreate their palette. I adore neutrals with pops of colors so hopefully I can find someone on TH-cam who likes that color combination also.
Thanks a lot dear dr oto. I love the way you organized this video. Is cool to upgrade palettes, is a way to feel that some colors are just not for one anymore.... hahahaha, and some others become more important
If you have the money to spend you could buy dot cards from specific brands you're interested in and see what you like from that before buying tubes/pans. There's usually enough paint on there to do a small painting with at least. I think for expensive brands like Daniel Smith it would really help to decide and experience what you like for yourself first. Some foreign brands send them by letter mail so it's cheap to ship to another country.
I wouldn't want to paint with a split primary palette long-term, but it makes a good base set to build off of. Very easy to progress into a color wheel, or to make sure your basics are checked off before adding whatever other colors strike your fancy.
I've been putting together my first custom palette, and I'm doing a combination of the full spectrum and warm and cool primaries. I've chosen warm and cool versions of every color. I also am trying to keep it transparent, but occasionally there is a "****, I really like cobalt teal" sort of thing. So I think I'm following most of your suggestions? Haha.
PS: If you want someone to send people to, for student level watercolors, Kimberly Crick is on YT and has a website. Setting up this palette, I've watched you, Denise Soden, and Ms Crick.
Even as a hardened Winsor & Newton fan, I have to say that the best all in one starter selection is probably the Daniel Smith essentials set of six split primary tubes. Combine this with a tube of raw sienna (for some earthiness and for some greys when mixed with the French ultramarine) and an empty palette with room for 12 colours (so a bit of growing room for when the new artist wants to try other colours) and you're away.
Such practical advice
This was sooo helpful. I love watching your videos:)) Thank you.
Love your ideas in this video!
I started 15 years ago with split primary, my very first palette was the WN Cotman. I absolutely loved it and I still have it. I can't throw it away but I can't stand those colours anymore, they look so dull and boring for me now. Then I found Daniel Smith and now I'm a happy penniless creature living in a super colorful world 😂
Thank you for these useful videos, it's a pleasure listening to other artists' knowledge and experience!
Me too 😂🤣😂
I LOVE YOUR SYSTEM !!! 🤩 Your playlist series on ‘Super Easy Color Theory’ answered sooooo many questions for me! 💖 I’ve shared the link many times ✨Thank you 💝
A really great and informative video, I have students asking me about a starter palette all the time, and I think from now on I am going to link as many of them as possible to this! Thank you very much. Also agreed on getting very excited when friends ask about paint... 😂
Thank you for this pleasant video❤I'm not new in watercolor and already have more than 48 colors of different brands(mostly Rosa Gallery and Rembrandt)😂but I enjoy the fact of presents in my art commode. Mostly I use 28 colors
J’ai commencé directement avec une palette extra-fine de Sennelier 24 demi-godets + le set de couleurs primaires de Daniel Smith afin d’apprendre le mélange des couleurs. J’avais déjà une bonne connaissance théorique sur l’aquarelle, et à force de voir des vidéos sur TH-cam avec ces belles couleurs, j’ai craqué et j’ai tout de suite voulu avoir la meilleure qualité de matériel 😬😅 Ensuite j’ai tout de même acheté une palette Winsor et Newton Cotman, afin de pouvoir me faire la main, et ne plus être bloquée de peur de gâcher du matériel onéreux.
As a beginner, I liked the idea of spending a minimal amount of money to get started. A decent student grade paint set like Cotman, Phoenix, Niji, Mei Lang, etc… are usually good enough if it’s a 12-24 color set. Cheaper paper is fine too. I’m using Gencrafts watercolor paper. It’s a “wood blend” but it’s cheap and good for practicing on. As far as brushes go, you can get some good inexpensive synthetic brushes like Taklon. My point is to get decent student grade stuff and paint with it. The cost of the materials if expensive will prevent you from painting. If you’re not as worried about the expense, you’ll be more willing to risk a painting failure. You can’t get good without practice. Practice will make you better with watercolors, not sitting and staring at your obscenely expensive paints, paper and brushes.
When I first got into watercolor 20 years ago I did the buy random colors that make me go "oooohhhh pretty!" thing. And then life happened and I didn't paint for about a decade. This go round I'm trying to be more rational about things, so I try to stay out of the art supply stores, but I do drool at manufacturers' websites. 😆
Amazing advices nyo!💖💖💖💖
My first pallet was a da Vinci pallet. It was recommended by an artist because they were more affordable. I bought all the colors i wanted. Then I got a hair up my but and decided I needed to have a Sennelier pallet. So I have two mijello 33 well pallets full of Sennelier. Sennelier is my fav.. but almost 60 colors… and the tubes were not $3 or $4!! I still wasn’t satisfied but I didn’t understand why. I was still learning watercolor but I always felt like I didn’t know what I was doing. Then I ran across your series on making a color wheel pallet! Ahhhhh the skies opened up! I’m now in the process of moving the colors I need out of the two big mijello pallets and into a smaller one that looks like yours and I’m going to do it this way until I understand what I’m doing and how I want my colors to work. And wow thank you for explaining all that. I went out and got the Steven quiller book to for more geeking out. I think I’ll start out with 12 colors at first. I’m making one out of Sennelier and one out of Qor.. I was curious tho.. you said you didn’t like opaque colors and I noticed you chose cad orange so did you figure out something else for the orange or are you using that one?
How do I find that Steven quiller color chart you showed? Can you show us your room? I am interested in your your white bookcases and cubes. What are they and where did u get them. Tfs
From my personal experience, if I had to start a new palette entirely from scratch with a small budget, I'd get:
A cool yellow, a magenta and a cyan, along with a black (or a Payne's Grey), a mid-green (like, one that doesn't lean too much to yellow nor blue) and a brown (probably a Caput Mortuum or a Burnt Umber). The CMY triad covers all the basic mixing needs, a black and a brown will help make sure I can mix darker and/or more muted colors (but both create slightly different mixes) and the green is for convenience (but also helps create more vibrant green color mixes).
And that's probably what I'd reccomend to anyone else building a small starter palette- not nececarily the black+brown+green, but rather a CMY primary triad, and then whatever three colors the person might want. It's the best way to cover the basics but also get fun, personal colors to fit your personal needs (which the split primary can't accomodate for if you want to get JUST six colors)
Dear Dr Kano, My grand daughter will start watercolor painting. Can you please recommend the split primary colors in Holbein brand, as his father is working in Japan. Thanks
Very wise advice 🙂
What do you think of Kuretake watercolor paints, specifically the Gansai Tambi 48 watercolor set?
I went with option 4, then I went mad with random colours (option 1), and now I'm aiming to do 2 and 3 by copying your 12 colour pallete 😂
So I'm that kind of art supply shopper!
“The colors you like to see is not the color that you like to paint with” is so true! I hate seeing ultramarine, but I can’t imagine painting without it.
I don’t like split primary palettes even if you have to stick to just six colors. I would rather go for a transparent mid-yellow (py154 or 151), something like a quin red (the warm version of pv19), ultramarine, cerulean blue, phthalo green/viridian, and burnt umber/phthalo blue/indanthrone blue, depending on your preference. ;) I developed this palette for myself based on what my art teachers suggested for learning years ago. Over fifteen years of painting I never found any use for cool yellows or for warm reds in my style.
I feel the same for Ultramarine... but it's so useful for mixing.
Your palette sounds really interesting actually. Thanks for sharing your favourite selection.
I am guilty. 🙍♀️🤷♀️ Love to induct people into the world of watercolor!
Can anyone help me out with particular paints that spread rapidly when applied wet-in-wet (brand and pigment)? The old PO49 Quin Gold does this incredibly well, and I use it in certain paintings as my last tube is nearly gone. I asked Daniel Smith and they never respond, which is disappointing considering how many hundreds I have spent on their paints. This spreading quality is probably an action of the pigment, as I believe the binder used in all Daniel Smith paints is the same and not all paints spread rapidly or at all wet-in-wet. Looking for other pigments that can spread rapidly and push other colors wet-in-wet.
I realize handprint addresses this as a pigment quality, but I'm looking for quick tips from people who actually use these types of pigments. Thank you for your help!
QOR paints are specifically created to due this. They have a proprietary binder. I only have a few of their colors (Quinacridone Magenta. Swoon!). They all spread nicely.
@@lisamessina5952 Thank you, Lisa. I believe it's called aquasol?
Also, I don't think Handprint includes Qor because he stopped updating the site years ago. I tried Holbein and they have good prices, but I didn't think the paints were as good as D.S. on cotton, nor did I find one with fast spreading qualities. They feel a bit different than D.S.
Interestingly, not sure if you know this, but magenta paints tend to mix higher chroma than any other red, including the palette favorite Quin Rose. That can be helpful info when you want a portion of your painting to stand out and contrast against the rest, no matter which color you're mixing from it.
Again, thanks. 🙏🏻
As a general rule, transparent colours are more likely to disperse like this than opaques. I remember reading in a Hazel Soan book about how she uses sepia for wet into wet leopard spots because it's opaque and you get slightly fuzzy spots. If she used a transparent brown (burnt sienna say) then it would just spread out and you wouldn't see any spots.
Can you order from the sikido store online?
yes you can, but they themselves don't deliver over seas. They have a contract with another company that specialises in sending items oversea. I've no idea what the price of this second company is like or what their service is like though.
Hello there
I have a confusing question well to me mostly ugh...lol
I want to choose a colours but I need one for my picture book and one for my sort of cartoony family protraits. What do I do. I do feel mixed up should I even start with one or Help me please
First, tell us what country you live in. Prices vary greatly between countries, and we can suggest brands and palettes that are available and affordable where you live.
@@OhJodi69 BC Canada
Dr- I think using the term “pre-made” is somewhat derogatory to the sets. My experience with higher end manufacturers, Schmincke and Sennelier in particular, is that the paints chosen for, say a 12 pan palette, are in fact fairly well thought out and are strategic choices from their lines. By name you may end up with some unfamiliar choices, but once used and some experience gained you can readily see that some thought went into the process of choosing the colors.
Perhaps "curated" works better? At least for the high-end, professional quality brands? :)
Camlin artist grade Watercolor tubes from India are great for beginners .. and they are CHEAP !