Sketching pencils and Putty Rubber. As in the scetching section. To get down the idea onto paper. Some skip this stage and go strait into the paint
You should get reasonable results with the simplest of watercolour starter sets, as you get more involved you will doubtless collect more paints, brushes and a variety of helps and gadgets. There are two basic types of watercolour the tubes or the solid block, it is down to the individual as to which type you will feel the happiest with There is a line of thought that if you spend enough money your paintings will improve, where quality equipment helps, time and practice will be more use in the long run.
Brushes, you may want to invest in a set or buy individual brushes, the essentials are, a good quality wash brush, a series of round brushes ranging in sizes from 0 to 5 and flat brushes from ½ inch to 1 ½ inch. This is very much a rough guide and will very much depend on the type of work you want to do. For example if you intend to paint small flowers a 4 inch brush will not be a lot of use to you, or if you are painting wall sized frescos a 00 sized round brush will be equally unhelpful so when selecting brushes consider the scale of painting you are intending to start.
A tip on brushes, I have always preferred nylon brushes for most things, but I mix of natural hair (usually sable) with the nylon works well with watercolour. You get the water retention and flow of the natural brush and the spring back quality of the nylon, a good combination, in my opinion. Though for fine work I still end up with nylon, as I find it holds the point better and for longer.
Water pot, if you are only intending to paint indoors a jam jar is fine, but if you are intending to go out and about painting a water container with a sellable lid is essential. |
There actually there are loads of toys and gadgets you can buy, including things like masking fluid, Masking fluid.
A handy tip that I have just recently come across, if you sketch with a watercolour pencils instead of graphite pencils your lines will fade into the painting, rather than standing out.
A tip, don't leave brushes tip down in the water, what you will end up with is bent brushes and they are not easy to paint with. |
