🌿 TIME STAMPS 00:00 Intro 01:03 Buying watercolors at Amazon 02:44 Buying watercolors at Blick 04:44 Buying watercolors at Jackson's 06:13 Artist quality watercolor comparison 06:30 Paul Rubens (used as control) 09:08 Daniel Smith 10:18 Da Vinci 11:30 Isaro 12:12 Jackson's 13:05 Lukas Aquarell 1862 14:16 Roman Szmal 15:25 Schmincke 16:25 Sennelier 17:28 White Nights
I use White Nights & Roman Szmal, they are my favorites. I also use Paul Rubens. Great informative video, thanks for all the information on the watercolors and light fastness information.
Thank you for the video 🎉 here where I live (Central Europe) the most affordable watercolors are Shinhan, Rosa, White Nights, and Renesans Poland, so for that reason, most of my watercolors are from these brands.
Awww you didn’t try QoR watercolor mini palette! It’s amazing!!! The pans wet with a damp brush, no spraying necessary. The colors are artist grade single pigments. They use aquazol as the binder, check it out!
Thank you for this video--as a newbie to watercolor (and I live in Washington State) I've been using Daniel Smith almost exclusively, though with a few Winsor Newton, Schminke and Maimeri Blu thrown in. Oh, and Qor. I can't really judge them yet--many have almost exactly the same colors under different names, and it becomes very tough to tell the difference. So no real favorites yet, just habituated use at this point. Your video was very helpful, though in that I hadn't even heard of many of these brands, and will look into them for sure!! Thanks also for your info on Amazon--I had just come to the same conclusion about the "seconds" issue myself with something completely different. So thanks again--I'm now subscribed and look forward to seeing more!!
🌷 Welcome! I feel like I should give Daniel Smith more of a chance. I haven’t because they don’t seem to make full pans which are my preference. Maybe in the new year, I’ll pick a few additional tube colors and see how they dry. I’d really like to support a “homegrown” business!
This is a great video! I’d love to hear your perspective on the Rembrandt paints. I actually bought the giant set a few years ago on Amazon and I love the selection but feel like the paints do some funky things as they dry. I also recently got some Roman Szmal and I love the colors, but also find they dry in the pans quickly after wetting them, but it may be the honey combination of the honey base and the dry winters in Maine🤷🏻♀️
I haven’t tried Rembrandt, but their student grade sister Van Gogh also has a drying shift, mixed colors sometimes separate, etc. So it makes sense that some of the Rembrandt colors would as well, though maybe not to the same extent. Honey should actually make paints stay stickier, not dry. But I also find Roman Szmal difficult to re-wet. It might vary by batch - or it could be because my Ohio house is ridiculously dry!
I love Rosa gallery paints. They are my go to for everyday painting. Very affordable. My favourite paints are Roman Szmal. I have no trouble rewetting where I live and the colours are unbelievable
If your in Canada and you order from Jackson’s Uk, be prepared to pay an exorbitant import fee because they don’t charge you the appropriate taxes at purchase. I bought a large order of $200 and the Courier charged me $35 even though I had free shipping.
What a lovely compilation! I’ve tried all of the above, but I mostly use Schmicke, because it’s always been the most easily available brand where I live. My first couple of half pans that I bought from my pocket money were a few pans from Schmincke. A few years later I unexpectedly won a 24 full pan set of Schmincke Horadam in a painting competition, which started my watercolour journey. The old Lukas were OK, but I found them to be quite opaque. I haven’t used the new version of those paints, so I cannot judge them now. Paul Rubens are OK for beginners who don’t know yet wheter watercolours are for them. I wouldn’t use them for important work, as I don’t really trust their lightfastness. The same goes for White Nights. I love working with them, but I’ve noticed that some colours tend to change quite a bit with time. Sennelier are my favourites for layering. I find they make the most beautiful reds! Isaro and Roman Szmal are new to me, I like them a lot, but I rarely reach for them. I guess I need to give them more love. ;)) Same goes for Da Vinci and DANIEL SMITH; I like them, but I use them only occasionally. One reason might be, that I prefer working with full pans rather than tubes. They are just more comfortable to use, and less of a hassle to set up. I’d add my almost favourites to the mix, the Holbein watercolours from Japan. They weren’t easily available in the EU prior to now, but companies seem to have discovered them recently. I love that they don’t spread as easily as other brands like Daniel Smith or Qor. It makes detailed work so much easier. And if you combine them with brands that spread easily you can get lovely effects AND super details.
@@KeyLimeInk Actually I wouldn’t exactly go by brand when it comes to transparency, but rather have a look at the pigments. Quinacridones and Phthalos are the most transparent, whereas earth tones and cadmiums are notoriously opaque. I usually like to work with a very restricted palette of no more than 4 to max.5 colours, so it’s quite easy to pick the most transparent tones no matter what brand. (That doesn’t mean that I don’t like large palettes, I love them and like to play with them, but when it comes to real paintings I like a limited choice. ☺)
Very informative video! Personally, I think Daniel Smith makes the best tube watercolors. For ready to use pans, I like the quality of Schmincke. Roman szmal are great paints but difficult to get where I live (though maybe the east coast dispatch has changed things in that regard, I will definitely have to look).
Lukas 1862 watercolorscwere bought by Daler Rowney and they made some changes to pigments that are not for the best. Jerrys Artarama still has a decent price but don't necessarily trust the pigment codes on their website. It's such a shame, they were such a good value and had a pretty vintage look to them.
I agree! Lukas did have a pleasing look. I think I read somewhere Schmincke has a plan in place to prevent ever being bought out by a conglomerate. I wish more companies would take those steps.
Interesting selection. Surprised to not see Winsor & Newton or Qor on the list. Also the da Vinci water colors are technically student grade but still really good.
Thanks! I just started playing with QoR and will report once I have a better feeling for them. They’re definitely a different breed with the unique binder. I’ve only tried a handful of Winsor & Newton colors, and I do like the ones I have. I’ve heard quality has slipped, though? Perhaps I missed their glory days?
I need to pull mine back out! If it’s ever possible to order White Nights open stock colors again, I’d like another pan (or twelve) of their turquoise. 😊
Some of these we can't buy in the UK, boo. I used to love White Nights, but nowhere I can find in the UK sells them any more due to the Ukraine war. I LOVE Roman Szmal, but the price has gone up quite a lot here.
🌿 TIME STAMPS
00:00 Intro
01:03 Buying watercolors at Amazon
02:44 Buying watercolors at Blick
04:44 Buying watercolors at Jackson's
06:13 Artist quality watercolor comparison
06:30 Paul Rubens (used as control)
09:08 Daniel Smith
10:18 Da Vinci
11:30 Isaro
12:12 Jackson's
13:05 Lukas Aquarell 1862
14:16 Roman Szmal
15:25 Schmincke
16:25 Sennelier
17:28 White Nights
I use White Nights & Roman Szmal, they are my favorites. I also use Paul Rubens. Great informative video, thanks for all the information on the watercolors and light fastness information.
Great review, thanks so much ❤❤
This was a really helpful and enlightening review! Thank you!
You’re welcome. 😊
My favourite reasonably priced paints are the Van Gogh ones. If they're available in your country I recommend. Available at Jacksons.
Thank you for the video 🎉 here where I live (Central Europe) the most affordable watercolors are Shinhan, Rosa, White Nights, and Renesans Poland, so for that reason, most of my watercolors are from these brands.
I discovered da Vinci watercolors through you and I really love them! Great, informative video!
Awww you didn’t try QoR watercolor mini palette! It’s amazing!!! The pans wet with a damp brush, no spraying necessary. The colors are artist grade single pigments. They use aquazol as the binder, check it out!
Thank you for this video--as a newbie to watercolor (and I live in Washington State) I've been using Daniel Smith almost exclusively, though with a few Winsor Newton, Schminke and Maimeri Blu thrown in. Oh, and Qor. I can't really judge them yet--many have almost exactly the same colors under different names, and it becomes very tough to tell the difference. So no real favorites yet, just habituated use at this point. Your video was very helpful, though in that I hadn't even heard of many of these brands, and will look into them for sure!! Thanks also for your info on Amazon--I had just come to the same conclusion about the "seconds" issue myself with something completely different. So thanks again--I'm now subscribed and look forward to seeing more!!
🌷 Welcome! I feel like I should give Daniel Smith more of a chance. I haven’t because they don’t seem to make full pans which are my preference. Maybe in the new year, I’ll pick a few additional tube colors and see how they dry. I’d really like to support a “homegrown” business!
This is a great video! I’d love to hear your perspective on the Rembrandt paints. I actually bought the giant set a few years ago on Amazon and I love the selection but feel like the paints do some funky things as they dry.
I also recently got some Roman Szmal and I love the colors, but also find they dry in the pans quickly after wetting them, but it may be the honey combination of the honey base and the dry winters in Maine🤷🏻♀️
I haven’t tried Rembrandt, but their student grade sister Van Gogh also has a drying shift, mixed colors sometimes separate, etc. So it makes sense that some of the Rembrandt colors would as well, though maybe not to the same extent.
Honey should actually make paints stay stickier, not dry. But I also find Roman Szmal difficult to re-wet. It might vary by batch - or it could be because my Ohio house is ridiculously dry!
I love Rosa gallery paints. They are my go to for everyday painting. Very affordable. My favourite paints are Roman Szmal. I have no trouble rewetting where I live and the colours are unbelievable
Yay! I’m glad you found your watercolor happy places.
If your in Canada and you order from Jackson’s Uk, be prepared to pay an exorbitant import fee because they don’t charge you the appropriate taxes at purchase. I bought a large order of $200 and the Courier charged me $35 even though I had free shipping.
Thank you for letting us know. I’ve never had to pay a duty in the US because the minimum threshold for a purchase here is $800.
What a lovely compilation! I’ve tried all of the above, but I mostly use Schmicke, because it’s always been the most easily available brand where I live. My first couple of half pans that I bought from my pocket money were a few pans from Schmincke. A few years later I unexpectedly won a 24 full pan set of Schmincke Horadam in a painting competition, which started my watercolour journey.
The old Lukas were OK, but I found them to be quite opaque. I haven’t used the new version of those paints, so I cannot judge them now.
Paul Rubens are OK for beginners who don’t know yet wheter watercolours are for them. I wouldn’t use them for important work, as I don’t really trust their lightfastness.
The same goes for White Nights. I love working with them, but I’ve noticed that some colours tend to change quite a bit with time.
Sennelier are my favourites for layering. I find they make the most beautiful reds!
Isaro and Roman Szmal are new to me, I like them a lot, but I rarely reach for them. I guess I need to give them more love. ;))
Same goes for Da Vinci and DANIEL SMITH; I like them, but I use them only occasionally. One reason might be, that I prefer working with full pans rather than tubes. They are just more comfortable to use, and less of a hassle to set up.
I’d add my almost favourites to the mix, the Holbein watercolours from Japan. They weren’t easily available in the EU prior to now, but companies seem to have discovered them recently. I love that they don’t spread as easily as other brands like Daniel Smith or Qor. It makes detailed work so much easier. And if you combine them with brands that spread easily you can get lovely effects AND super details.
Thank you for sharing your journey! Which brand have you found to be the most transparent overall? I’m guessing Sennelier?
@@KeyLimeInk Actually I wouldn’t exactly go by brand when it comes to transparency, but rather have a look at the pigments. Quinacridones and Phthalos are the most transparent, whereas earth tones and cadmiums are notoriously opaque. I usually like to work with a very restricted palette of no more than 4 to max.5 colours, so it’s quite easy to pick the most transparent tones no matter what brand. (That doesn’t mean that I don’t like large palettes, I love them and like to play with them, but when it comes to real paintings I like a limited choice. ☺)
Very informative video! Personally, I think Daniel Smith makes the best tube watercolors. For ready to use pans, I like the quality of Schmincke. Roman szmal are great paints but difficult to get where I live (though maybe the east coast dispatch has changed things in that regard, I will definitely have to look).
Lukas 1862 watercolorscwere bought by Daler Rowney and they made some changes to pigments that are not for the best. Jerrys Artarama still has a decent price but don't necessarily trust the pigment codes on their website. It's such a shame, they were such a good value and had a pretty vintage look to them.
I agree! Lukas did have a pleasing look. I think I read somewhere Schmincke has a plan in place to prevent ever being bought out by a conglomerate. I wish more companies would take those steps.
@@KeyLimeInki hope that's true because I love schminke.
Interesting selection. Surprised to not see Winsor & Newton or Qor on the list. Also the da Vinci water colors are technically student grade but still really good.
Thanks! I just started playing with QoR and will report once I have a better feeling for them. They’re definitely a different breed with the unique binder.
I’ve only tried a handful of Winsor & Newton colors, and I do like the ones I have. I’ve heard quality has slipped, though? Perhaps I missed their glory days?
Da Vinci are professionnal paints …
Yellow ochre, ultramarine and paynes grey
White Nights all the way for me for 12 years. I have been able to buy single pans and tubes on Ebay.
I need to pull mine back out! If it’s ever possible to order White Nights open stock colors again, I’d like another pan (or twelve) of their turquoise. 😊
@@KeyLimeInk I order mine single pan or tube off ebay
Some of these we can't buy in the UK, boo. I used to love White Nights, but nowhere I can find in the UK sells them any more due to the Ukraine war. I LOVE Roman Szmal, but the price has gone up quite a lot here.