Painting

After 30 hours of research, digesting both forum discussions and Amazon verified purchases, along with our own personal testing, we found that the Schmincke brand of watercolors were the best watercolor paints for professional artists.

Not only did the Schmincke watercolor paints have excellent lightfastness ratings, but their  high pigment concentration gave artists greater control over the layers in their painting – a critical aspect when watercoloring. In addition, Schmincke’s 139 colors should suit just about anyone’s color requirement.

Now when it came to reviewing watercolor paints for beginners (i.e. students) and intermediates, the Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors was the best buy.  This set by Winsor & Newton not only rivaled many of the professional grade paints on our list, but it was capable of producing vibrant colors at an affordable price.  We found the best alternative to the Cotman watercolors were the Van Gogh watercolors by Royal Talens.

Summary Of The Best Watercolor Paints

• Best Watercolor Paint (Professionals) – Schmincke Horadam Watercolors
• Best Watercolor Paint (Beginners)  – Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors
• Runner-Up (Beginners) – Royal Talens Van Gogh Watercolors

Why You Should Trust Us

We spend a lot of time both researching and digesting all things when it comes to watercolors.

Whether it was our expansive review of the best watercolor brushes, watercolor pencils, or papers, we understand the importance that quality art supplies make.

Not only will our in-depth research guide you to better performing art supplies, but it will also ensure that you don’t waste your money.

While we understand that no product on our list will make any artist miraculously better, we do understand that a quality watercolor paint will provide the artist with much greater control over the medium.

It’s through this process that we are completely transparent and want to serve you as best as possible.

Furthermore, none of the listings below have been paid for.  Our reviews are completely unbiased and aren’t being skewed in any way through backchannel communications with the company listed.

The 7 Best Watercolor Paints For Beginners

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors

Winsor & Newton has been both an established and highly regarded name within the art world for years.  The quality of their watercolor paints both at the professional and student level are second to none.

The Cotman line of watercolors have been recommended by the art community as a whole not only due to their incredible lightfastness rating of either I or II (indicating that its either very good or excellent), but equally impressive is their permanence.

According to this chart provided by Winsor & Newton you can see all the colors within the Cotman line fall within the permanence rating of being either AA or A (extremely permanent or permanent):

It’s with ratings like these that many professional artists find themselves still relying on Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors throughout their entire career – they are just that good.

Coming in both tube and pan form, you are able to purchase these watercolors to suit your preferences.

Even though these watercolors do come as a set, you are able to purchase tubes individually from retailers like Blick Art Materials for a pretty affordable price.

Coming in sets of 6, 10, 12, 14, and 24, you can get a set that not only fits your budget, but enough colors to get you started.

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Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: The Classics

This Classics starter set by Prima Marketing has all the essentials when it comes to watercolor painting.

Coming with 12 half pans, not only will you have all the key colors that you will find yourself using in just about every painting, but the transparency properties of the paint itself were impressive for a starter set.

Like the Cotman watercolors, the pans within the Classics set can be purchase individually both from their website or at Amazon.

This will not only save you money as an artist, but if you are looking for a specific color in your piece, you can easily replenish.

As great as this watercolor paint is for a student, one aspect that we and other artists loved was the palette.

The metal palette not only has generous mixing areas, but also wells that you can use to truly pull out range within the colors themselves.

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Reeves 24-Pack Water Color Paint Set

Reeves has been at the center of the art world since 1766 and is owned by Colart (same company that owns a variety of art brands including Winsor & Newton).

Like its sister company Winsor & Newton, Reeves puts together quite a compelling offering of 24 different colors in this rather large 10ml watercolor tube set.

With such an expansive color offering, normally you would expect to pay a lofty sum – however, it’s quite the contrary.

With a price tag hovering around $15 bucks (at the time of publication), this set is definitely a great pick for those budding artists that want to get into the world of watercolors but don’t necessarily want to pay the high price of admission.

As expansive as this set may be, there are a couple of missing components.

Like most sets that come in tube form, you don’t get a mixing palette or brush.

So, you will need to pick up a few extras upon checkout.

Accessories aside, the colors within this product will certainly pop, and the consistency of the paint itself is manageable.

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Royal Talens Van Gogh Watercolors

Bearing the instantly recognizable name of the Dutch Post-Impressionism artist Vincent Van Gogh, these high quality watercolor paints by Royal Talens are among the best you can find at an entry level price.

While not nearly as expansive as the 24-set offered by Reeves, the 12 color set of 10ml tubes will produce extremely vibrant colors that rival most professional paints on our list.

Not only can you easily mix these paints together to produce breathtaking colors, but each of the watercolor paints contained within this set are rated at an excellent lightfastness (the highest possible rating):

Source: RoyalTalens.com

+++ Notes an excellent lightfast rating.

This will ensure that the colors you place on the watercolor paper will remain just as vibrant for years to come.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly for you reading at home, is the transparency qualities of these paints.

You will be able to achieve very subtle effects that will build up great atmospheres within your pieces when using the Van Gogh watercolors.

Beyond the set of 12 tubes included, you will also get a round nylon size 6 brush along with a plastic palette with a mixing area.

If you have the budget, this is one of the best kits for beginners.

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Daniel Smith Introductory Watercolors

While some artists may argue that you need a tube for every color that you plan on using in your piece, this set of introductory watercolors by Daniel Smith takes quite the opposite approach.

Containing only 3 warm and 3 cool colors, this set puts the onus on you to become a resourceful artist through mixing.

While mixing (in most instances) will generate duller colors, Daniel Smith’s finely ground pigments will do just the opposite.

Their vibrancy coupled with stellar lightfastness and transparency make for an artist grade paint at a beginner’s price.

As evident in this video, the range of colors that you can make with these 6 5ml tubes is remarkable:

While this set is only for 6 key colors, Daniel Smith actually makes a range of more than 235 colors in total!

Therefore, if you fall in love with these 6 colors (which we think you will), you can easily add more to your studio by purchasing them individually.

The Introductory Watercolor set by Daniel Smith is a barebones set, so don’t expect to find a starter brush or palette included – you will need to purchase those separately.

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Sennelier La Petite Aquarelle Watercolor Paint Set

French based company Sennelier has quite the remarkable set of half pan watercolors for beginners.

These honey-based watercolors not only will shine a bit more vibrant than most, but will retain their vibrancy with nearly all the colors included in the kit delivering an excellent lightfastness rating.

As indicated in their color chart:

 

Unlike the Daniel Smith Introductory Set that we reviewed, this 24-color set takes a back seat to mixing – allowing you to focus squarely on painting.

However, for those artists looking to dial in the exact color for their preference, you will be happy find that the Sennelier palette does come with a mixing area (which will further save you a few bucks when purchasing the set).

But another really cool feature about this palette is for the plein air watercolorists, underneath the pan tray you will find a hand strap that can keep the palette secure.

This is a hugely underrated feature that we think a lot of plein air artists will completely fall in love with.

Overall, this set definitely gives the Winsor & Newton Cotman a run for its money!

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Grumbacher Academy Watercolor Paint

While we recently fell in love with the Grumbacher gesso, equally impressive in their wide array of art supply offerings is their introductory watercolor set.

Containing a plastic palette for tube storage and mixing coupled with an assorted hair brush, you will have everything (with the only exception being paper and water) ready to get started with painting immediately!

The 12 colors within Academy watercolor painting kit will flow like butter and will produce some amazing and vibrant results.

While the lightfastness and consistency of the paint is incredible, what we really liked was the color guide on the Grumbacher website.

This helpful guide not only tells you the lightfastness rating per ASTM, but it also discloses the pigment information.

For instance, if you were using Alizarin Crimson, the exact color used was PR83.  So, if by chance you run out of this particular color mid painting, you can go to the store and cross reference the color code (PR83) with other brands and get a very close color match (consistency, pigment concentration, and performance may differ).

While this might not seem like too big of a deal for some, but for those artists looking to paint a large-scale piece, this reference number is extremely important.

Lastly, for those looking to upgrade their Academy series paints, Grumbacher does offer a professional level paint with their Finest Watercolor series.  These will have all the professional qualities like better transparency and higher pigment density – you can typically buy those paints individually at select online retailers like Blick Art Materials.

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The 6 Best Watercolor Paints For Professional Artists

Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Half-Pan Paint Metal Set

Established in 1881, this German based art supply maker puts together a compelling lineup up paints that do a terrific job in not only delivering the artist with professional grade paint, but equally amazing is their reference documentation:

In true German form, the reference color guide that Schmincke provides for the Horadam watercolors is unlike anything that we have ever seen.

For each color that they produce (139 in total), you have a German and English description of the paint itself, the color index name, opacity and glazing properties, lightfastness, stain rating, and finally granulation:

When reviewing their production process, you can see just how much time goes into making a single pan of watercolor paint (4 months in total):

Given that the pigment colors are the exact same between both their pans and tubes, you can easily swap out the products with one another and get expected and reliable results.

For the animal conscious or vegan artists reading, the Schmincke pans do rely on ox gall – a common ingredient derived from cows that is used as a wetting agent.

For professional grade watercolors it really doesn’t get much better than this collection from Schmincke – and most artists tend to agree.

As evident in the 4.8 out of 5.0 review (with over 129 written at the time of publication) on the Blick Art Materials website, professionals love these paints often stating that they deliver a ‘vibrant hue’ to a more emphatic ‘well worth the price!’.

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Holbein Watercolor Set

Containing everything that watercolorists are looking for in a quality paint set including high pigment volume, permanence, transparency, and uncompromising materials, this watercolor paint by Holbein has it all.

With 24 5ml tubes packed into this expansive yet affordable set for professionals, you will have all the necessary colors that you could possibly want.

Perfect for artists who work on a much smaller scale, the 5ml tubes will have plenty of legs, and this is due in large part by quality paint found in each tube.

Like any quality watercolor, when you run through an entire tube, you can easily buy replacements at either your local art store (given Holbein’s wide distribution), or if you can wait a couple of days you can buy them online at retailers like Blick (only carry 15ml tubes individually) and Amazon.

To really stress just how good these watercolors truly are, here were a few paintings we found that really showcase not only the beautiful colors attained but the subtle transparency other artists have achieved with the Holbein’s.

Professional’s looking for archival quality, these paints wont crack and will easily retain their vibrancy for years.

A quick visit to the Holbein website you will be able to see the entire color chart of all 24 colors included in the kit along with their permanence rating, intensity, transparency, and more:

 

Furthermore, for the artists who paint on a slightly irregular basis, a simple rewetting of the Holbein’s will awaken them for easy reuse.

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M. Graham Watercolor Paint Set

A quick visit to the M. Graham website will not only guide you through their entire paint making process, but reinforces the time and care that they put into making their artist grade products.

Dedicated to only using some of the finest natural pigments in their wide color selection, their attention to pigment load is second to none as you can see here:

Why does a high pigment load matter?

For the artist it means less paint is required while also giving you greater range over the transparency of the layers you plan on painting in your piece.

But furthermore, M Graham is one of the few manufacturers that use honey in their watercolor paint.

But why honey?

When used properly, it prevents the paint from fully drying out when placed on the mixing palette.  Therefore, when you go to reawaken the paint after several days of disuse, you won’t experience any problems getting your paint back to its original form – a common issue for some of the student grade watercolor tubes.

Now you might wonder if the inclusion of honey may have an effect on lightfastness.

When we reviewed the M Graham color chart, almost all of their paint had an ASTM Lightfastness rating of either I or II.

Of their 70 colors offered 61 had Lightfastness I, 8 had Lightfastness II, and only 1 had Lightfastness III (Alizarin Crimson).

Furthermore, like the Grumbacher color chart, M. Graham provides the pigment composition of each paint – allowing you to substitute easily with other brands (of course some small variation in consistency and hue is expected):

If you haven’t tried out the M Graham professional watercolor paints, they are worth a look.

Artists have been pleased with their naturally vibrant results and incredible lightfastness.

Lastly for the environmentally conscious artists out there, you will be happy to know that M. Graham has a completely non-toxic manufacturing process and is fully powered through 100% renewable energy – how is that for an eco-conscious company!

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Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Set

Perhaps one of the most popular and well established brands on our list is Winsor & Newton.

With the Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors being one of the most popular brands for beginners thanks in part to their incredible performance and their friendly price tag, many artists will often upgrade to their professional series once they have fully outgrown the Cotmans…

…and with good reason!

The Professional line of watercolors that Winsor & Newton puts together is equally impressive on all fronts.

From their single pigment source found in 78% of all their colors, you will not only get extremely pure colors, but also consistent results.

It’s through this reliance on a single source that you can really pull out the pigment as they say and create stunning transparency and build several layers in your piece.

Of course, for the toxic heavy metals like the Cadmiums they mix their nearest similar color in order to produce striking results.

For the professional artists reading, the permanence of the Winsor & Newton’s are second to none with 98% of their entire line of colors achieving either an A or AA rating.

This will not only ensure that your piece looks the same as the day you finished it, but further generations will be able to view your artwork with the same vibrant colors that you originally intended.

One aspect that we really loved about this 12 color 5ml tube set by Winsor & Newton is that it comes with a mixing palette.

While we would be willing to bet that all professionals reading this likely have a palette within their studio, for the intermediates looking to jump to the next level and feel like they have outgrown the Cotman’s will definitely appreciate this addition.

Given the price for the quality of the paint received, like the Cotman’s the Professional series by Winsor & Newton is not only an affordable watercolor paint, but will compete with even the finest watercolors on the market.

While the 5ml tubes are pretty small, you can purchase individual paints through this page on Amazon or at the Blick Art Materials website when you need to refill.

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Sennelier L’Aquarelle French Watercolor Paint

While we took a look at the Sennelier La Petite student focused watercolor set, we wanted to turn your attention to their professional series.

Providing many of the same great features that were loved in the student set, you get those plus a higher pigment concentration based on natural materials where possible.

So, when it comes to the honey and Kordofan Gum Arabic mixture, you will be able to pull out the pigment fully and have complete and total control over the transparency.

Like the M. Graham paint, the honey composition found within these buttery watercolor paints can be rewetted with complete ease.

Furthermore, the honey will prevent the Sennelier’s from cracking – making them absolutely perfect for professionals looking for unmatched archival ability.

Printed on the front of every watercolor tube you will see the excellent lightfastness of these paints displayed.

Of the entire lineup of paints made by Sennelier, only two aren’t rated as Excellent for lightfastness – Alizarin Crimson (Good Lightfastness) and Opera Rose (Average Lightfastness).

You can see a full list of all the colors and their respective lightfastness rating along with their transparency here in the following chart.

Like most professional watercolor paints, Sennelier does offer them on an individual basis.  So, if you know what you are doing and want to build your own color profile or need a refill check out this listing at Blick Art Materials.

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Rembrandt Watercolour Set

The same company that makes the Royal Talens Van Gogh watercolors comes their professional series paints bearing the same name as the famed Dutch artist Rembrandt.

Featuring all the trademark features that make a professional watercolor paint stand out from the student varieties including excellent lightfastness, terrific transparency, intense and well saturated colors, you can really build up an environment in your next piece of artwork with this paint by Royal Talens.

Unlike many of the professional paints reviewed so far, the Rembrandts come in a half pan form – making them not only perfect for travel use, but will still be incredibly brilliant despite the form of the paint itself.

While the included red sable brush is a nice to have but not a must have for many artists experienced in watercolors (as you probably already have your own set of brushes you prefer), if you have a drawing or painting background and looking to dive in head first into the world of watercolors with this paint set, then you definitely can’t go wrong!

Now, if you are purchasing this as a gift either for yourself or someone else, the beautiful wooden professional box Rembrandt offers everything you could possibly want to begin your watercoloring career – except the paper of course!

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Watercolor Paint Comparison Table

Product	Price	Colors Included	Skill Level	Form	Brush Included?	Palette Mixing Area?
Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Color	$	12	Beginners	Half Pans	Yes	Yes
Watercolor Confections: The Classics	$	12	Beginners	Half Pans	No	Yes
Reeves 24-Pack Water Color Paint Set	$	24	Beginners	Tube (10ml)	No	No
Talens Van Gogh Watercolors	$$	12	Beginners	Tube (10ml)	Yes	Yes
Daniel Smith Introductory Watercolors	$	6	Beginners	Tube (5ml)	No	No
Sennelier La Petite Aquarelle Watercolor Paint Set	$	24	Beginners	Half Pans	No	Yes
Grumbacher Academy Watercolor Paint	$	12	Beginners	Tube (7.5ml)	Yes	Yes
Holbein Watercolor Set	$$	24	Professionals	Tube (5ml)	No	No
M. Graham Watercolor Paint Set	$$	10	Professionals	Tube (15ml)	No	No
Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor Set	$$	12	Professionals	Tube (5ml)	No	Yes
Sennelier L’Aquarelle French Watercolor Paint	$$$	18	Professionals	Half Pans	No	Yes
Rembrandt Watercolour Set	$$$	48	Professionals	Half Pans	No	Yes
Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Half-Pan Paint Metal Set	$$$	12	Professionals	Half Pans	No	Yes

Buying Advice

When purchasing watercolor paints, there is a whole lot to consider, here are the essentials that you need to know:

Tube vs. Pans

As you may notice, many of the best watercolor paints we reviewed come in two primary forms:

• Tubes
• Pans

While largely producing the same results when it comes to watercoloring, there are some nuances about these forms that may give the artist preference of one over the other.

Watercolor Tubes

With everything being equal, when it comes to comparing these two forms, tubes tend to be a bit more vibrant in color and will be much easier to mix (as the paint comes out in liquid form).

Setting up tubes does require a bit of additional work.  First and foremost, you will want to make sure that you have a watercolor palette with not only mixing areas but wells too.

This not only ensures a better organization than if the paints were placed on a traditional artists palette commonly used in oil or acrylic paints, but it will help to preserve the paints longer as well (ultimately saving you money).

Like pans, paint that has been expressed from a tube into a palette can be rewetted to help reduce waste, however, the preservation of the paint may not last as long when compared to a pan.

While most watercolor paintings tend to be much smaller in nature, especially when compared to oil and acrylic paintings, tubes do allow you to paint at a much larger scale as the paint can easily be expressed from the tube (as opposed to constant rewetting of a pan).

When purchasing tubes individually or as a set you will see that they generally come in 3 sizes:

• 5ml
• 10ml
• 15ml

If it’s your first time trying out a tube or you plan on painting a smaller scale piece, a 5ml tube should be more than enough.

Not only will the 5ml tube be cheaper, but it will also give you the opportunity to test out the watercolor paint and see if it meets your expectations.

Watercolor Pans

Pans on the other hand do tend to be a bit more travel friendly as they can be used just about anywhere (assuming you have either a cup of water or water brush handy).

In addition to their travel friendly nature, pan colors (like tubes) can be purchased individually.  This allows you to switch out pans easily within your palette.

Conversely, pans do tend to be slightly less vibrant compared to their tube counterpart, however, if you are still at the beginner or student level, this likely will go unnoticed.

When it comes to size, you will find that watercolor pans come in two main varieties:

• Full pan (20mm x 15mm)
• Half pan (20mm x 30mm)

Again, just like the tubes we mentioned above, if it’s your first time trying out a particular paint, we recommend opting for the smaller size allowing you to fully test out the paint before investing in a full pan (assuming they offer this size).

What Really Is The Difference Between Student and Professional (Artist) Grade Watercolor Paint?

Now when it comes to selecting watercolor paints, you will find that the price can vary wildly between both the student grades and professional (artist) grade paints.

To further support this notion, when looking on the Blick Art Materials website, here is the price chart for the Van Gogh student grade watercolors:

This equates to a cost of $0.33 per ml.

And here is a look at the price chart for the Daniel Smith Professional watercolors:

For the Alizarin Crimson it costs $0.69 per ml (15ml size).

That’s a 109% increase in price between the two products!

Note: If you were to calculate out the Amethyst Genuine, the cost is $1.15 per ml, or a 248% increase over the student grade version!

So, you might be asking yourself:

Is it really worth paying (at minimum) twice the price for a tube of paint?

Well, it depends.

If you are just starting out with watercoloring, we would recommend going with the beginner or students sets.

However, for those that are a bit more seasoned of an artist (or have a background in painting or drawing), even at the intermediate level, we would suggest upgrading your palette to the professional or artist grade offerings.

Here’s why:

With student level paints, the pigment itself is largely made through synthetic ingredients.

What does this mean?

A watercolor paint based on synthetic pigments won’t be nearly as vibrant when compared to an artist grade quality.

As found with professional paints, they mostly use natural pigments.  Therefore, if you get a Burnt Umber watercolor paint, it was in fact sourced from the natural earth pigment.

When selecting professional watercolor paints, it’s always advised that you purchase a paint (when possible) made from a single pigment.  Mixed pigment paints may lead to unintended or uneven results depending on how the well the manufacturer conducted the mixing when making the paint.

However, there is a caveat to this when it comes to both student and professional grades:

Whenever you see the name ‘Hue’ added on to the name (ex: Cadmium Red Medium Hue, Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue, etc.) these don’t contain the mineral or the natural pigment source listed on the side of the tube or pan (as evident with cadmium, it’s a very toxic heavy metal), but instead contains a mixture of pigments to achieve the same color.

Now when it comes to painting, when looking at these two types of paints closely, you will find that artist grade paints in tube form tend to be much more buttery and pleasant to work with.

Consistency aside though, with professional grade paints, you will also be able to pull out the paint quite a bit more.

This will allow you to have beautiful gradients and remarkable transparency within your artwork.

What Is Lightfastness

When reviewing watercolor paints, you will often see the term Lightfastness listed on the side of the tube or pan.

This is incredibly important when painting with watercolors.

As stated on the ASTM website (a body that oversees the labeling of art supplies), they describe in great detail on how lightfastness is determined.

The ASTM rating scale is as follows:

• Very poor lightfastness = V
• Poor lightfastness = IV
• Fair lightfastness = III
• Very good lightfastness = II
• Excellent lightfastness = I

When picking out a professional watercolor paint, you will always want to go with a watercolor that has been rated at a Very Good or Excellent lightfastness.

Paints of lesser quality will be susceptible to fading within a few years and could completely change the look of the painting.

Now there are a few ways that you can combat lightfastness.

First off, never hang your painting in direct sunlight.  The UV rays emitted by the sun will slowly deteriorate the paint and ultimately bleach the colors.

Humidity can also influence the painting colors itself, so if possible, display paintings in a dryer environment.

Lastly, when hanging your painting, put it in a frame with a UV resistant glass.  This will help to preserve the colors that you intended when painting the piece.

Watercolor Paints Need Watercolor Brushes

In order to get the most out of your watercolor paints, it’s important to get a brush that is compatible with watercolors.

All too often student artists will try to adopt a one size fits all approach with their paint brushes.

But this is severely misguided.

Acrylic and oil brushes aren’t designed for water retention, nor are they well made for the lighter pigment load.

Ultimately it will show in the final piece that you create.

Therefore, we recommend picking up a few watercolor brushes when just getting started.  Even some of the synthetic brushes we reviewed can begin to rival the highly-revered kolinsky sable brush when it comes to performance.

Watercolor Paper Is Equally As Important As The Paint Itself

If there is one single aspect of watercolor painting that can really make a difference when it comes to results, it will undoubtedly be the paper itself.

Watercolor paper is specially made for artists looking to not only employ a variety of techniques within their work, but it will also feature key absorbency aspects.

So, whether you plan on conducting the classic techniques including:

• Wet on wet
• Wet on dry
• Dry brush
• Dry on wet
• Flat or gradient washes

Or even sprinkling salt on your painting, watercolor paper can withstand just about anything you throw at it.

While we recently compared and reviewed the best watercolor papers currently on the market (Hint: it was this Aches Watercolor Block), you will find that they come in a wide variety of forms and production types.

Not to go too far beyond the scope of this article, if you are just getting started with watercolors, you will want to make sure you get a paper that exhibits these two key features:

• Cold press or rough
• At least 140lb (300 gsm)

This will ensure that the paper can withstand several layers of a wash and won’t be susceptible to any warping.

Watercolor Paint Grades Aside, It’s All About Practice

If you are just starting watercolors for the very first time, don’t waste your money on professional (artist) grade supplies.

While they can be incredibly superior to the student grades, when it comes to making any form of artwork, whether its oil, acrylics, and yes, watercolors, it’s all about the talent of the artist that really matters.

While we never want cheap/inferior supplies to get in the way of a determined artist, when it comes to watercoloring, the most important aspect isn’t lightfastness, transparency, or pigment concentration of the paint, it’s about the talent of the artist.

So, if you are truly just starting out, the following will be more than enough to get you well on your way:

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket Box
• Arches Watercolor Block
• Watercolor Brush Set

Get out there and start painting!

After several hours of research, reading artists first-hand accounts on all the popular scanner types, reviewing forum discussions, and sifting through Amazon verified reviews we found that the Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII was the best scanner for artists.

Not only did the Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII produce accurate color representation, but its versatility, impressive native resolution of 9600 x 9600 dpi and fast startup times made it simply the best overall scanner for artwork.

Whether you intend to scan watercolors, sketches, or small scale paintings, the CanoScan 9000F will not only be a great way to digitally backup your portfolio, but capture your work in the most accurate representation possible.

For those artists on a more restricted budget, we found that the Epson Perfection V39 was a great alternative to the CanoScan 9000F. While not nearly as high in resolution nor packing nearly as many additional software offerings, the Epson V39 was a compact scanner that quickly captured artwork perfect for social media sharing.  In addition, the Epson V39 has a removable lid allowing for scans of virtually any sized artwork.

Here’s a comparison of all the scanners that we reviewed:

Product	Hardware Resolution	Price	Color Depth	Greyscale	Max Scan Area	Dimensions	Weight	Scan Slides Or Negatives
Epson Perfection V600	6400 x 9600 dpi	$$$	48-bit	16-bit	8.5″ x 11.7″	11″ x 19″ x 4.6″	9.0 lb	Yes
Epson Perfection V370	4800 x 9600 dpi	$$	48-bit	16-bit	8.5″ x 11.7″	11.2″ x 16.9″ x 2.6″	6.2 lb	Yes
Canon CanoScan LiDE220	4800 x 4800 dpi	$	48-bit	16-bit	8.5″ x 11.7″	9.9″ x 14.4″ x 1.6″	3.4 lb	No
Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII	9600 x 9600 dpi	$$$	48-bit	16-bit	8.5″ x 11.7″	18.9″ x 10.7″ x 4.4″	10.1 lb	Yes
Epson Perfection V39	4800 x 4800 dpi	$	48-bit	16-bit	8.5″ x 11.7″	9.9″ x 14.4″ x 1.5″	3.4 lb	Yes

Review of The Best Scanners For Artwork

Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII

If you are familiar with Canon, chances are that you have heard of their ‘Mark’ line.

Synonymous with uncompromising quality, the CanoScan 9000F Mark II carries on the namesake by providing a scanner that simply delivers breathtaking results.

Featuring the highest resolution of all the scanners on this list at a jaw-dropping 9600 x 9600 dpi (for film), it’s just so easy to forget how far scanners have come in recent years.

Not only will the 9000F provide best in class scans with perfect 48-bit color depth, but the FARE Level 3 technology employed will ensure that the artwork you scan will be free of any defects, dust, or scratches.

When scanning in your artwork, whether its watercolor paintings, drawings, etc. each scan on the 9000F will take about 7 seconds.

This allows you to go through your catalog of artwork and get them posted to your digital portfolio, website, social media channel quickly.

Of all the scanners, the 9000F is definitely a workhorse!

Now depending on the scale of your artwork, the 9000F does feature a standard 8.5” x 11.7” glass plate.  Therefore, for artwork outside of this scale, it will need to be scanned in sections and then stitched together in a photo editing software.

To further complicate this, the 9000F’s lid does only open to 90-degrees making it limited in the scale (larger pieces will likely need to be photographed instead of scanned).  If you are adamant on scanning very large pieces, then you will want to consider the Epson Perfection V39 as the lid can be completely removed (however, expect a downgrade in resolution quality).

When you aren’t scanning in your artwork daily, the Canon 9000F photo scanning features are second to none.  Featuring a transparency unit, you can scan in a wide array of film negatives and slides.  You will have a fun time going through old family photos as the 9000F will restore them beautifully.

If there were any major downside to the 9000F, it would be the footprint.  At 18.9″ x 10.7″ x 4.4″, it will take a fair bit of surface area that will make even the largest desks feel a bit more cramped.

Lastly, the price.

Unlike the nearly speced Epson Perfection V600, the 9000F does come in quite a bit cheaper (and with more options included). 

Bottom Line: When it comes to scanning your artwork, the 9000F is simply the best option available for you.  The impressive resolution and quick scans will allow you to concentrate on your artwork rather than the scanner itself.

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Epson Perfection V39

The Epson Perfection V39 is, without a doubt, the best scanner for student artists and small studios.

Competing directly with the CanoScan LiDE220, the V39 shares many of the same features of its primary competitor.

First off a small footprint size, at only 9.9″ x 14.4″ x 1.5″, the V39 is almost identical size to the LiDE220 except for being just .1” thinner.

Like the LiDE220, the V39 is powered by only a single USB cable, making it not only great for portability, but also for organizational purposes.

While the resolution in the V39 doesn’t match the 9000F, it does still carry an impressive 4800 x 4800 dpi.

But specs aside, what really makes the V39 stand out from every other scanner on this list is the removable lid.

This scanner was designed for large scale paintings.

Without having to battle with a lid getting in the way of your piece, you can scan in sections of your large-scale drawings or paintings onto the standard 8.5” x 11.7” glass panel.

To help your workflow even more, the Epson V39 comes packed with the Epson ArcSoft stitching software (Windows only).  This will help to bring your individual scans into one complete picture with perfect quality.

While not featuring a transparency unit nor trays for scanning in negatives, the Epson V39 is a bit limited if you are looking for a scanner to be used in a variety of capacities.

But as an artwork scanner, you just simply can’t beat the form nor the speed of the scans.

After setting up the software that comes with the V39, you can customize the buttons on the front of the scanner and optimize your workflow to share your artwork in only a few clicks.

Bottom Line: A quick and compact scanner that will take high quality scans of your artwork.  While not as versatile as some of the others on this list, if you are a beginner or intermediate wanting to digitally archive your work, the V39 is a great pick.

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Epson Perfection V600

The Epson Perfection V600 is definitely a worthy contender for being a top-notch scanner for artwork.

When it comes to scanning, the V600 has it all:

• High resolution (6400 x 9600 dpi)
• Ability to scan sketchbooks
• 48-bit color depth
• Incredibly fast scanning speeds
• Improved Epson Photo software

Whether you plan on scanning in vibrant watercolor paintings or grayscale drawings, the Epson V600 will not only provide accurate color reproduction, but will expertly capture the super fine pencil and brush strokes that you originally made when making your artwork.

Furthermore, watercolorists will love that the Epson V600 is also able to capture the natural ripples found in both cold press and rough watercolor paper types.

Of course, if you are looking to remove this natural texture found in watercolor paper, when tuning the image in your favorite photo editor or the Epson ArcSoft software included, you have total control.

One of the most important aspects of scanning artwork will be the resolution.  While the V600 is capable of scanning at a resolution of up to 6400 x 9600 dpi (still not as high as the Canon CanoScan 9000F), most artists using this scanner will likely not need go this high – especially if the intent on the scan is for social media sharing.

However, if you want near lossless quality, you will want to make sure you have a computer with ample storage and memory to handle the larger (several hundred MB) files that this scanner produces.

While the focus of this article is finding the best scanner for artwork, for those looking to also use this for personal use, the V600 ability to scan in old photographs is equally impressive.

The built-in transparency lid (accessible by sliding up the document pad) has trays to hold slides, 35mm negatives, and even medium format panoramic film.

When it comes to retouching old photographs, the free DIGITAL ICE software included with the V600 is stellar.  What would have cost several hundred dollars of few years ago to have a restoration artist to retouch a photograph, the smart technology employed by Epson now can remove not only dust from old photos, but also surface scratches as well.

The lid on the V600 only opens to 90-degrees.  For oversized artwork, you will need to scan it in sections.

Once each section of your artwork has been scanned, you can then stitch it together in your favorite photo editing software.

Lastly, the speed.

While not nearly as important when compared to document scanners, the Epson V600 speed will largely depend on the resolution that you plan on scanning in your artwork at.

For lower (but still amazing looking) resolutions, you can get your artwork scanned into your computer in under 20 seconds.  The fast LED bulb that the V600 uses (same found in the other scanners we reviewed) doesn’t require warming up – allowing you to scan your artwork immediately.

Bottom Line:  The V600 is an impressive offering from Epson.  The accurate color resolution will give you near lossless quality when scanning artwork.  The transparency unit is also great for making high resolution scans of various film formats.  If you are looking for a scanner to showcase your artwork in the best possible ligh, then the V600 is a sound choice.  We just wish it were a little bit cheaper.

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Canon CanoScan LiDE220

There is a lot to love from Canon in this affordable yet powerful scanner.

First off, the form factor.

With a footprint of only 9.9″ x 14.4″ x 1.6″, the LiDE220 is almost the smallest and slimmest scanner we reviewed (the V39 is just 0.1” thinner).

This makes it a perfection option for those artists looking to have a scanner in dorm rooms or cramped living quarters.

Secondly, we really loved that this scanner was powered through USB.  This not only makes it extremely portable, but it will be one less cable you need to worry about when setting up the scanner.

But form factor and cables aside, the most important aspect of a scanner is of course the quality of the scan itself.

With a 4800 x 4800 dpi, it’s among the lowest of all the scanners listed in this review.

While not suited for professional work or near lossless archival quality, the lower resolution found in this scanner will still make it terrific for selling prints and posting your work to social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest.

The accurate color representation will ensure that the vibrant watercolors translate well digitally.

Like the Epson V600, the LiDE220s lid only opens to a 90-degree angle.  Therefore, if you plan on scanning in larger pieces of work, you won’t have the full flexibility found in either the Epson V39 or Epson V370, but you should still be able to stitch together the artwork in either the photo editing software included by Canon or through your favorite photo editor.

As was mentioned earlier, the LiDE220 is a barebones scanner.  While it can scan in old photographs, there is no transparency unit or tray included for scanning 35mm film negatives or slides.

But given the sub $100 price tag, it’s still a great value for artists looking to scan in their drawings or paintings.

Bottom Line: It’s an efficient scanner that gets the job done.  While we would still pick the Epson Perfection V39 over this unit, for those who like Canon’s intuitive software, the LiDE220 is this still a great pick.

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Epson Perfection V370

The biggest art-friendly feature of this scanner especially when compared to the other scanners we reviewed (with the only exception being the Epson V39), is the that the V370 lid can lay completely flat (as opposed to a 90-degree angle).

With this unique design, you truly can scan in your artwork at any size. Once scanned you can bring it to the included Epson ArcSoft Scan-n-Stitch software (or your preferred photo editing software) and have a perfect digital representation of your work.

But where the V370 falls behind compared to some of the others we reviewed will be its resolution quality.

At only 4800 x 9600 dpi, it’s definitely not at the top of our list when it comes to resolution (that award goes to the Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII), however, if you are just starting to build a collection of your portfolio, this still should be enough.

But not all is lost:

Unlike the other higher end scanners on the market that carry a price tag north of $200, the V370 costs only a fraction of the price at around $109 (at the time of publishing).

Making it one of the best value scanners you can buy (with the only exception to this being the Canon LiDE220).

When you aren’t scanning in your artwork, the V370 does come with a tray that can scan in both your 35mm film negatives and old slides – allowing for great digital archival of old family memories.

The speed of the scanner isn’t nearly as fast as some of the others reviewed, however, if you aren’t scanning several hundred pieces of artwork or photos, then it probably won’t be a big deal for most.

Lastly, the scan to cloud button is a wholly underrated feature.  Not only will the artwork that you scan be instantly accessible everywhere (great for sharing with others from your smartphone), but also will back up the photos as well.

Bottom Line: The V370 is a compelling offering in the Epson Perfection line.  While not offering nearly as many extras compared to others on the list, the V370 is perfect for beginner or intermediate level artists looking to backup and share their artwork.  Scans will capture the essence of your pieces extraordinarily well.

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Why Were Only Epson And Canon Scanners Reviewed?

During our research, we found that many of the very best scanners for artwork were either from Canon or Epson.

While this may seem biased from the onset, when looking at all the other manufactures they either had subpar reviews or featured a roller design.

When preserving artwork, passing them through a roller could inadvertently tear fragile surfaces or may induct heat into the scanning process.

This becomes an especially important if you are using a scanner at a professional level and plan on either selling a piece or want it perfectly preserved.

Furthermore, roller type scanners are not compatible with either paintings done on canvas, sketchbooks, or other non-traditional surfaces.

When scanning artwork, you will also want to look for scanners that are flatbed (which Canon and Epson offer quite a few variants) and can produce accurate color reproduction.

Hardware vs. Digital Resolution

One key factor to look out for when selecting the best scanner for artwork will be the native resolution of the scanner itself.

When buying a scanner, we recommend having a resolution of at least 4800 x 4800 dpi.  Not only will a scanner of this quality be able to capture the essence of a painting or drawing perfectly, but it will be at an acceptable resolution if you plan on making additional edits to the piece in a photo editing suite.

Now one aspect you may notice when looking at scanners is that there is an additional resolution often stated next to the native resolution.  This is often the software enhanced resolution (often referred to as Interpolated).

We often disregard this feature as it’s not a true representation of the original scan as the software has made up data points.

We would never recommend scanning at this increased resolution as the results may become distorted and not match the true original piece when viewed up close.

Film & Slide Scanning Is A Nice To Have Not A Must Have

While not particularly a factor that we were looking for when selecting the best scanner for artwork, however, when looking at the marketplace many scanners are built with photographers in mind.

Therefore, if you plan on using your scanner beyond just capturing your artwork, many of the models we looked at offered trays for old film types including 35mm and slides.

This can be a nice way to share old family photos or even generate inspiration for many artists.

When investing in a brand new scanner, it’s at least worth a consideration if you ever plan on digitizing those old boxes of photographs that are sitting in your basement or attic!

Important Tips To Follow When Scanning Artwork

Scanning artwork is a lot different than scanning a photograph.

Particularly, when scanning watercolors you will always want to press firmly down on the lid as the scan is happening.

This will prevent any of the warped areas of your painting from looking blurry.  This becomes especially important if you plan on scanning the pages from your watercolor sketchbook.

Furthermore, for the oil painters looking for a scanner, you will want to make sure that you scan your piece before a varnish is applied.

A matte look to your paint will ensure that the bright LED lamp found in scanners doesn’t produce reflective results when capturing your work.

Gesso is an important studio staple for any level of artist.  Whether you are just starting out or are a professional artist, a few layers of gesso to any traditional or non-traditional surface be it canvas, wood, metal, etc. will allow both acrylic and oil based paints to latch on with complete ease.

But gesso is more than just a primer that is applied prior to painting.

When applying a few coats of gesso to a surface and then lightly sanding it down, it can create an incredibly toothy surface that will allow you to have greater control over your paint as an artist.

Applying gesso to your canvas and then smoothing it out will allow you to be able to paint the detail areas of your artwork with absolute ease.

But in order get the best results, you must use a quality gesso.

Here’s a comprehensive list of some of the very best gesso’s that painters have recommended time and time that really showcase their work in the absolute best possible light.

Liquitex Professional Gesso

While normally we would always recommend student grade art materials to beginners, gesso is the only exception to this rule.

The Liquitex lineup of gesso is not only affordable, but comes in a wide array of options allowing to you get just the right one for the type of artwork you plan on painting.

But beyond their impressive size options (10 total), you also can get the gesso itself in a variety of colors.

Now you might be wondering why this is necessary when painting on a white canvas…

…and that would be a fair guess.

However, for those artists looking to paint on glass or perhaps wood, a clear coat of gesso not only will allow your paint to stick with ease, but it will showcase the beauty of the raw material beneath the gesso itself.

Liquitex gesso is non-cracking and doesn’t yellow as time wears on, making it preferred among professionals for the amazing archival qualities.

But beyond just color and size, Liquitex also offers their gesso in a variety of weights.  While we are focusing on just their plain gesso today, know that they do offer a ‘Super Heavy Gesso’ and ‘BASICS gesso’.

Super Heavy is perfect for adding depth to your painting by generating enormous peaks and valleys while the BASICS gesso is well suited for student or classroom use.

If there were ever a brand name that is synonymous with gesso, then it’s definitely going to be Liquitex.

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Grumbacher Gesso

While Liquitex may be the first brand that artists think of when they hear the word gesso, a close second to them will be Grumbacher.

A trusted art supplier since 1906, Grumbacher makes their gesso right here in the USA.  This Leeds, Massachusetts based company offers a wide array of acrylic mediums including transparentizers, varnishes, mattes, paste, and of course, gesso.

With the ability to be used on just about any surface, once applied, the thick Grumbacher gesso will provide a matte-like surface that will be free of any gloss whatsoever (a common problem when dealing with some other gesso’s).

Secondly, the drying time of this gesso, given that it’s an acrylic base as opposed to oil will be rather quick (under 20 minutes).  This allows you to not only apply a coat to your canvas relatively quickly, but it will allow you to get on to the more important things, like painting.

As one artist pointed out, the Grumbacher gesso does included calcium carbonate in the container (i.e. marble dust).

This helps it to provide a much greater tooth to the surface that ultimately will yield you better results.

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Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic White Gesso

UK based company Winsor & Newton, primarily known for their fine oil and acrylic paints has an outstanding acrylic gesso that student and professional artists absolutely love.

As demonstrated in this excellent (and relevant) video, you can see Paul walk us through how just how drastically different the Winsor & Newton gesso is compared to others:

But it gets better:

As great as the Winsor & Newton gesso may be, it equally has an affordable price tag that even rivals some of the student offerings we looked at.

With such a high pigment concentration and a quality acrylic resin that is important in ensuring that the gesso sticks to the surface that its being applied, the Winsor & Newton gesso will be able to provide consistently reliable results every time you use it within your studio.

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Golden Acrylic Gesso

One art supply company that brings a lot of clout to the world of paints and mediums will be Golden.

Packaged in a stout 8oz jar, the gesso that Golden delivers is perfect for the painters with very specific preferences in their gesso product – one that runs slightly thinner than most as see here:

With the ability to deliver a bit more flexibility when dried, the Golden gesso is perfect when applied to a stretched cotton canvas that isn’t nearly as taught when compared to a linen canvas.

Based on artist feedback when drafting this article, we learned that many professionals that like to paint on aluminum or other metallic surfaces found that the Golden gesso performed the best – especially when 4 coats were applied in differing directions.

The amount of tooth that is provided by the gesso will allow even the best kolinsky sable brushes to really shine when they run across the surface.

Like other gesso’s reviewed in this article, Golden does offer up their product in a variety of sizes and consistencies.  So, if you are looking for a clear or even black gesso, they should be able to suit your needs.

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Handy Art Acrylic Gesso

Maker of non-toxic glues, gesso, paints, and more, USA based Handy Art has been serving up art products since 1974.

As common with most art supply companies, Handy Art offers their product at varying levels, including the following:

• Designer’s Palette (Professional)
• Handy Art (General Use)
• Little Masters (Budding Artists – Kids)

Like many of the gesso’s we reviewed, Handy Art’s products are also non-toxic and conform to ASTM D 4236.

Providing a smooth matte finished when applied to any surface, Handy Art’s gesso will allow the paint loaded onto the end of your brush to grip with ease.

With a 32oz container, the Handy Art gesso is among the best valued gesso on our list – making it terrific option for artists who are watching their budget.

However, for the professionals that want a bit more from a gesso, as we eluded to just a minute ago, their Designer’s Palette series has received high marks and currently has a perfect 5.0 rating on Amazon (at the time of publication).

The Designer’s Palette will come not only with a higher pigment concentration, but a thicker consistency which will ultimately allow for a much more receptive texture – especially key when composing your painting.

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Art Advantage Acrylic Gesso

This thinner, yet non-yellowing gesso by Art Advantage is another great gesso for those artists out there on a restricted budget or are attempting to use this medium for the very first time.

Available in white, grey, and black, you can select the best gesso for the project at hand.

But one of the features that we really loved about this gesso and the reason why we included it on our list was its incredibly quick drying times.

Unlike some of the other heavy or thicker gesso’s mentioned in this article, you can expect the Art Advantage to be dry to touch within a few minutes.

Of course, given that this is a bit more of a budget brand compared to some of the others listed, based on our research we found that some artists found consistency issues.  However, on the whole, most artists were pretty happy with what Art Advantage was able to offer at such an extraordinarily low price.

And like all gesso’s, given that this is an acrylic base, soap and water will be able to clean your hands in no time.

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Having the right type of plein air easel can make the difference between enjoying painting outdoors, and well, keeping you contained with the four walls of your studio.

That’s why we wanted to do the research for you in this complete roundup of the best easels to use when going to paint outdoors. 

Based on our review, we found that the Jullian Paris Half Box was the best traditional French easel for all mediums, while the much more modern (and lightweight) En Plein Air Pro aluminum easel perfect for professionals.

Additionally, we also reviewed a variety of lesser used field easels and pochade boxes.

Summary Of All The Plein Air Easels We Reviewed

Product	Price	Weight	Construction Material	Folded Dimensions	Max Surface Size	Type
Jullian Paris Half Box French Easel	$$	11lbs	Birchwood	23″ x 11.5″ x 6.5″	34″	French Easel
U.S. Art Supply Coronado French Style Easel & Sketchbox	$$	8lbs	Beechwood	17″ x 6.5″ x 22″	34″	French Easel
Mont Marte French Box Easel	$$	8lbs	High-Grade Seasoned Wood	18″ x 8″ x 24.2″	34.5″	French Easel
En Plein Air Pro For Oil & Acrylic	$$$$	3.3lbs	Aluminum	22″ x 12″ x 8″	22″	Metal Easel
Sienna All in One Pochade Box	$$$	6.8lbs	High-Grade Seasoned Wood	14.75″ x 11.25″ x 5.5″	17″	Pochade Box
Guerrilla Painter Pochade Box	$$$	5lbs	Basswood	10″ x 13″ x 5″	12″	Pochade Box
Ohuhu Aluminum Field Easel	$	1.9lbs	Aluminum	22″ X 3.9″ X 3.4″	33.4″	Field Easel
Daler Rowney Portable Wooden Artist Easel	$	5.5lbs	Wood	33 x 5 x 3″	26″	Field Easel

 

Reviews of The Best Plein Air Easels

Jullian Paris Half Box French Easel

A respected brand that has been in the art supply world for over 70 years is Jullian Paris from France.

Jullian Paris simply understands the artist and all the necessarily aspects to painting outdoors successfully.  Whether it’s their sturdy canvas carriers, smaller pochade boxes, or their large variety of easels, you are sure to find the essential supplies to make the plein air painting experience a pleasant one.

So, why do artist love this particular French easel?

First off, the slim profile.

With a total footprint (when folded) of only 23″ x 11.5″ x 6.5″, you can easily sling this easel over your shoulder and head out to your spot without having to worry about it dropping supplies or having it randomly open.

Whether you are using acrylics, oils, watercolors, or any other mediums, you will find that the drawer within the easel will provide more than enough space to store the essentials.

This includes additional storage for solvents (i.e. odorless mineral spirits or turpentine), mediums like Galkyd, Liquin, or linseed oil, and even room for your palette knives.

Furthermore, this half box easel comes packed with a fairly large palette of 15.5” x 11.5” (that’s a 178” square inches of space!).  This should be more than enough room to get you through the day of mixing colors and fully capture the essence of the landscape.

But it’s the details that really set this easel apart and the reason why artists seek out Jullian Paris easels by name.

Included with the easel is an artist’s cloth that can attach onto the front of the easel:

This rugged cloth will be perfect for ensuring that you keep your hands clean while painting and that no pigment transfers to the canvas when you are working on the details.

Secondly, the adjustment nobs:

On either side of the easel you can adjust the high of the clamps to place your canvas along with the angle of which you are painting.  This allows for no compromise when painting outdoors – so you can focus on your work rather than the easel itself.

For a French easel, it really doesn’t get any better than this.

Not only does it have ample heft to ensure it doesn’t move when the winds pickup, but the birchwood frame will be able to withstand the raw elements.

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En Plein Air Pro For Oil & Acrylic

The En Plein Air Pro is without a doubt the best professional plein air easel on the market today.

While the Jullian Paris French easel was designed for the artist in mind of the 1800s, the En Plein Air Pro has been designed for the artist of today.

There is a lot to really love about this easel.

First and foremost, the weight.

Totaling up at 3.3lbs, you can go to the most obscure locations imaginable and not be weighed down by a heavy wooden box.

The lightweight aluminum frame will allow you to set up your studio immediately rather than having to take a 10-minute rest from fatigue.

But even nicer is that instead of a shoulder strap that might run down your arm when walking, the En Plein Air Pro comes with its very own custom made backpack.

This not only makes for easier organization, but having the weight evenly distributed on your back as opposed to a single arm makes the traveling process much more comfortable.

As great as the lightweight design is, it gets even better with the layout.

Instead of having a drawer like most French easels, this easel lays everything out in front of you.

For the Oil & Acrylic easel (they also offer an easel for watercolorists), you have two cup holders to place your solvents and mediums.

This will help to prevent any spillage which is not only harmful to the environment, but also prevents excess costs by way of loss product to you.

Another feature not found in most plein air easels are brush holders.

Usually needed to be purchase separately, this easel comes with 14 holders in total.

This not only gives you easy access to your brushes, but will prevent the bristles from being damaged if stored upside down in a jar.

Lastly, and perhaps the best part of this easel is the palette.

Rather than having to hold your own palette while painting, which may become tiring, this easel offers an expansive 9” x 18.5” mixing area.

Allowing you to easily find the right color of the subject you are painting without having to worry about running out of room.  The flat design of the palette also allows you to add solvents or mediums without worrying of it running either off the side of the palette or into the other mixes.

However, there are a few catches with this easel:

First and foremost, it will be the price.  Of all the plein air easels we reviewed, this one is 3x the average cost, putting it out of reach for some.

However, as an professional artist, the efficiency and design you get out of this easel is second to none.

Last but not least, storage.

Other than the backpack that comes included, there is no onboard storage for your supplies.  So, you may find yourself reaching into the backpack to refill the paint or sift through your palette knives.

While likely not a deal breaker for some, it’s at least worth mentioning.

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Sienna All in One Pochade Box

The Sienna Pochade box is a perfect alternative to the full French easels mentioned above but at a fraction of the size.

Akin to a briefcase, the compact form factor will allow you to set up a studio anywhere you go.

In a truly portable nature that takes up just over a single square foot of space it won’t be over bearing when compared to some of the other larger boxes on the market.

But what we really loved about this pochade box from Sienna is its versatility.  With a universal tripod mount on the bottom of the box, you can affix a tripod and convert this into a full French style easel.

When it comes to storage, the Sienna is second to none.

With a roomy interior you can store full sized bottles of your solvents, paint tubes, palette knives and more…

…but its what’s on the underside of the box that you will really love:

Next to the tripod mount, you have two slots to store canvas panels.

So once you are done painting, you can slide them in and not worry about the wet paint getting accidentally bumped while in transport.

The slide storage area allows for up to two 9” x 12” panels.

Overall, if you are looking for a bit more versatility when it comes to painting en plein air and don’t need a full easel, then this option by Sienna is simply one of the best alternatives available.

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US Art Supply French Easel

If Jullian Paris is one of the most popular French brands when it comes to easels, on the other side of the Atlantic you will find US Art Supply’s easels to be equally popular.

Coming in at a slightly lower price tag than its French counterpart, US Art Supply still packs all the essentials when it comes to a French easel.

Offering up a variety of wood construction types:

• Beechwood
• Black Cherry
• Walnut

You can find the perfect finish that complements your personal design aesthetics and surroundings.

One part of this easel that artists loved though was the metal lined drawer:

With the metal barriers, you are able to segregate your supplies to conform to your needs, not the easel.

This will not only make you more efficient as a painter, but organized as well.

Efficiency becomes a key aspect when painting outdoors simply due to the fact that weather can change in a moment’s notice and you only have a limited amount of time before the sun sets or it completely changes how a landscape will look.

Like other French easels reviewed, the US Art Supply Coronado easel can accommodate rather large canvases (up to 34”) and you can also adjust the angle of the canvas once on the easel.

Here is an excellent tutorial on how to set up the US Art Supply French easel in under 3 minutes.

While the video is of the Half Box easel, the process is identical across the US Art Supply lineup:

At 8lbs total, not only is it easy to carry, but the easel should stay put when painting.  Making it a perfect outdoors easel.

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Guerrilla Painter Pochade Box

Found at popular online art retailers like Blick Art Materials and Amazon comes this popular pochade box by Guerrilla Painter.

While not as nice in the finishing qualities of the Sienna pochade box that we reviewed, the Guerrilla Painter box has it where it counts.

Double the panel storage as the Sienna you can store up to 4 9” x 12” canvas panels within the box or a single 9” x 12” stretched canvas.

The wet painting storage alone makes this box one of the best to own if you plan on making your plein air painting either an all (or multi) day affair.

With a comfortable leather strap on the side, when carrying the 5lb basswood box, your arms won’t get too terribly tired allowing you to set up and start painting immediately once you reach your destination.

If you are also a photographer and have a few tripods laying around your studio, you will be happy to learn that this pochade box, like the Sienna, contains a universal tripod mount on the bottom.

This can arguably make for a more study base than some of the French easels that we looked at (depends on the quality of the tripod you plan on using).

The easel itself is contained to the lid, but with the adjustable bracket you have 180-degree motion, allowing you to place it upright for your oil and acrylic paintings or completely flat when laying down a watercolor wash.

Equally impressive in this pochade box is the storage.  With room for all your essential paining supplies and perhaps even a midday snack or two, you can keep all your gear well organized without having to worry about space.

While we wish that this pochade boxes and others like it came with a shoulder strap, for the versatility and value, it’s really hard to beat this offering.

Great for any medium, it’s definitely a solution for artists who like to paint in all sorts of situations.

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Ohuhu Aluminum Field Easel

This aluminum field easel by Ohuhu is perfect for the beginner plein air artist that is a bit intimidated by both the setup and price of some of the other offerings we reviewed.

Weighing in at only 1.9lbs, you can truly take this easel with you anywhere.

Whether you are taking a weekend hike or want to paint a cityscape without drawing as much attention that a full French easel would, the Ohuhu easel is incredibly discreet.

Of course, given that this is a barebones easel, there are a lot of things absent within this product.

Most notably will be the lack of any brush holders, storage compartments, handles, or palettes.

Therefore, if you plan on going with this one, you will want to make sure you have the essential supplies already on hand (also covered in this article).

As lightweight as an aluminum field easel may be, for those artists looking to take this to a coast line or valley where sudden gusts of wind could be an issue, there could be some problems especially if a large canvas is mounted.

Unlike some of the other plein air easels weighing over 10lbs, it won’t take much for this easel to move, making it a bit harder for some artists to work on for extended periods.

However, given the inexpensive price, this easel still is great for beginners looking to get outdoors and paint.

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Daler Rowney Portable Wooden Artist Easel

One of the biggest setbacks (and advantage) with the Ohuhu aluminum easel was its weight, at 1.9lbs, it doesn’t take much wind to suddenly move the easel.

It’s for this reason that some beginner plein air artists may prefer wooden field easels like this one from Daler Rowney.

With a bit more heft at 5.5lbs, it will be able to withstand most sustained winds, ultimately allowing you to concentrate on your piece rather than worrying about your easel falling over.

Like most field easels, the Daler Rowney will also be absent of any of the bells and whistles you may see on traditional French easels or pochade boxes.

So, if you are looking for brush storage, cup holders, or wet painting carrying options, you will need to make sure that you bring a backpack to account for all for this.

To make transportation a fair bit easier, this easel does come with a carry case that you can put around your shoulder for greater comfort.

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Mont Marte Black French Box Easel

The most striking French easel that we reviewed was this offering from the Australian company, Mont Marte.

In an elegant dark stained finish, this easel has a much more pronounced look when compared to the others mentioned in this article.

Finish aside, the most important aspect of any easel is how it will perform, especially when outdoors.

First up, transporting the easel:

The wooden design of this easel puts it at about the same weight of other French easels at 8lbs (with no supplies stored).  Therefore, you shouldn’t expect any pronounced muscle fatigue when carrying to an obscure location.

This relatively lightweight design is pretty remarkable given the dimensions:

But there’s a catch:

The biggest gripe that artists have about this easel will be that it only contains a handle and no shoulder strap or bag.

While not necessarily a deal breaker for most, when compared to other easels at a similarly priced, it’s definitely a sticking point.

But beyond transporting the easel, you will be happy to find all the essential adjustment levers to ensure not only a secure canvas while painting, but also comfort for you.

The drawer of the easel is standard and can store all the necessarily supplies that you plan on taking with you.

Furthermore, Mont Marte does include a full-size palette that measures in at 11.2” x 18”.

Overall, this is a pretty good French easel that can serve plein air artists extraordinarily well.

If you plan on using the easel more for studio work rather than plein air, then even if the easel doesn’t come with a shoulder strap, then it will be a great selection.

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Types of Plein Air / Portable Easels

When looking at all the plein air easels, you will find that they fall into 4 main categories:

• French style
• Pochade box
• Custom
• Field

We wanted to take this time to outline both the advantages and disadvantages with each one of these varieties:

French Style – French style easels were popularized in the 1800s with the Impressionism art movement.  Instead of painting in the confines of the studios as the masters have done before them, plein air artists including Van Gogh and Monet took their artwork outside.

While it doesn’t seem necessarily as groundbreaking now as it did then, it still was a seismic shift in the approach to landscape painting.

With this in mind, French Style easels are designed to account for everything an artist would need when painting throughout the day.

Without the convenience of a car that an artist could go back and restock, the French easel was designed to pack essential supplies including the paint, solvents, palette knives, brushes, towels, and of course the canvas.

It’s with this intent that you will see easels like those from Jullian Paris have drawers and palettes included within the easel itself.

Of all the plein air easels, the French easel is still one of the more moderately priced options on the market.

Usually costing around $100, it not only is affordable for beginners, but professionals can fully appreciate everything the French easel has to offer.

The French easel is also great for those artists in smaller studios or dorms that pack away everything once they are done painting.

French easels are collapsible and can be stored away easily within a closet or under a bed when not in use.

Pochade Boxes – Rivaling the French easel in portability, pochade boxes are perfect for painting on location. 

With a small footprint of typically no more than a single square foot, pochade boxes are often used for both outdoor and indoor paintings.

One nice feature found in many of the more modern pochade boxes will be their tripod mount.  With the ability to attach any standard tripod used for photography, you can easily transform a pochade box into a makeshift French easel.

Pochade boxes also have much more storage for the essential art supplies.

One feature that really sets the pochade box apart from all other plein air easels will be their wet canvas storage department.  As seen in both the Sienna and Guerilla pochade boxes, artists were able to store up to 4 panels or even a full stretched canvas into the box while its being transported.

Of all the plein air easels, pochade boxes do tend to be the costliest of the bunch.  Typically costing upwards to $200 (tripod not included), they are often used by professional artists.

The biggest drawback to the pochade box beyond the price however will be canvas size.  Most pochade boxes are unable to accommodate surfaces longer than 20”.

Therefore, should your artwork call for larger scale pieces, then you will want to consider other options.

Custom Easels – For artists with a large budget, outdoor easels like the En Plein Air Pro are built on a more custom basis.  They will usually be inspired by a French easel by having many of the key components, but will be much more light and functional.

Custom easels are more of niche product and can really vary in design from one manufacturer to another.

If you are considering such an easel, its best to reflect on everything you require out of an easel before making your purchase.

Field Easels – Often the cheapest option available for plein air painting will be the field easel.

This type of easel is a barebones offering that provides the artist with just a canvas holder.

Field easels are perfect for artists who may be painting close to their home or car where they can store the rest of their supplies.

The lightest of all the easels mentioned so far, field easels are also great for those who may have a bit tougher time carrying a full French easel into an obscure location.

Secondly, field easels are also great studio easels for beginners.  Not only are they inexpensive, but their slim design won’t get in the way and can be easily stored and set up.

Depending on where you plan on spending your time painting outdoors, if you live in a windy area, it’s often recommended by artists that you go with a wooden field easel.

While typically weighing a few more pounds than its aluminum counterpart, wooden field easels will be sturdier.

Easels Based On Medium

When selecting a plein air easel, many of the options covered within this article can be used for just about any medium.

The most important factor that comes between both watercolors and oil/acrylics will be the tilt of the canvas itself.

The naturally thin composition of watercolors will require a bit more slanted of a surface in order to prevent the pigment from running down the watercolor block while painting.

In addition, you will also need an area to place a cup for your solvent (water, odorless mineral spirits, turpentine, etc.).

French easels, pochade boxes, and custom easels usually account for this requirement.

However, should you go with a field easel, you will need to have a separate stool or desk to hold the solvent for you.

Other Items You Might Want To Consider When Painting Outdoors

When painting outdoors, comfort is everything.

Therefore, it’s important that when you pick up a brand new plein air easel that you also consider a few accessories to go along with it.

Based on our research and feedback from other artists who have been painting outdoors for years, here were a few products that are highly recommended:

Easel Umbrella – With the ability to clip onto the easel or canvas itself, field umbrellas will prevent you from being rained on while in a light sprinkle and also block out the sun.

Secondly, the shade that these umbrellas provide allow you to get accurate colors throughout the duration of your painting.

Wet Canvas Carrier – While wet canvas carriers are a part of the pochade box, for artists going with a French or field easel, then you will want to also pick up a separate canvas carrier.  They will ensure that your piece gets back to your studio without any accidents along the way.

View Catcher – This little tool helps you to isolate colors of a landscape to get accurate reproduction in your piece.  While it might seem like a novelty item, after a few uses you will never want to leave home without it.

For artists wanting to employ the grid method in their work, this alternative to the view catcher above is perfect for achieving paintings with proper scale.

How To Use A French Easel

When unboxing a French easel, you will be met with a variety of screws and nobs that can seem a bit intimidating at first.

To help you along with the unboxing process, we found this excellent video from Blick Art Materials that walks you through the entire process (and in only 1 minute):

Whether you check out the creative streams on Twitch, follow the immensely popular #watercolorsketch hash tag on Instagram, or watched any YouTube tutorials on watercoloring, chances are that you may have seen some watercolorists using a water brush.

While relatively new in the world of art supplies, especially when compared to your standard watercolor brush that has been around for ages, water brushes not only give you an incredible amount of portability (key for painting watercolors en plein air) but they are quickly finding their way into studios and backpacks everywhere.

We compared and reviewed 9 different water brushes and found that the Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush to be simply one of the best water brushes on the market.

It’s smart rubber push button not only regulates water flow (which is a common challenge faced when using these types of brushes), but it was able to produce stunning results.  The Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush was able to pull out a range of colors and had a synthetic bristled tip that sprung back to a point with great reliability.

As great as the Caran d’Arche Aquarelle brush was, we would be remiss if we didn’t also acknowledge the stellar performance of all the other great water brushes listed in this article.

While we will deep dive into the reviews in just a quick minute, here’s a comparison of the water brushes we looked at:

Product	Bristle Type	Price	Variety Pack	Tips Available	Refill Design	Reservoir Size
Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush	Synthetic	$$$	Y	Round (S,M,L)	Pump/Syringe	20ml
Sakura Koi Water Brush	Synthetic	$	N	Round (S,M,L)	Reservoir tank	4ml, 9ml
Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush	Synthetic	$$$	Y	Round (S/F, M, L), Flat	Reservoir tank	6ml
Derwent Water Brush	Synthetic	$$	Y	Round (S,M), Chisel	Reservoir tank	~6ml
Kuretake Water Brush	Synthetic	$$	Y	Round (S,M,L)	Reservoir tank	~9ml
ProArtistSupply AQUAnaut	Synthetic	$	Y	Round (S,M,L)	Separate Tool	8ml
Holbein Water Brush	Synthetic	$$$	Y	Round (M,L)	Reservoir tank	~8ml
Yasutomo Water Brush	Synthetic	$$	N	Round (M)	Reservoir tank	7ml (5.5ml for mini)
Piston Water Brush	Synthetic + Animal	$$$$	Y	Round (S,M,L – Animal + Synthetic), 2 Pocket Brushes	Syringe	~6ml

The Best Water Brushes

Overall Best Water Brush – Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush

Best Water Brush For Calligraphy – Kuretake Fude Water Brush

Best Water Brush For Intermediates – Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush

Best Water Brush For Beginners – Sakura Koi Water Brush

Review of The Best Water Brushes

Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush Review

There is a whole lot to love about this water brush by Caran d’Arche.

Known for their stellar watercolor pencils, Caran d’Arche sets the standard when it comes to water brushes.

One of the biggest hurdles that comes to using water brushes is control over the flow of water.

As you will quickly see in our compilation of reviews, many of the brands we reviewed just simply have a barrel design.

While some watercolorists would argue that the barrel design (that can be pressed to emit more water) is fine for most purposes, when it comes to making a watercolor painting, even just a little bit extra water can really change the dynamic of a piece…

…and it’s this reason why we loved the Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush so much.

It simply puts you, the watercolorist, in complete and total control over the flow of water.

Beyond the water flow regulator, the Caran d’Arche is absolutely perfect for travel.

With the incredibly easy to use pump style (syringe) system, you can fill up your brush and head out the door:

The total reservoir size is an impressive 20ml – making it less likely you will need to refill during the course of your painting.

Like most water brushes, the Caran d’Arche brushes come with synthetic bristle tips which perform as expected.

However, it’s worth noting that the fine tip brush included is more akin to a marker rather than a brush.

This is great as it gives you additional stroke variety to employ in your next piece.

Overall, the Caran d’Arche Aquarelle Brush is everything you need and could possibly want in a water brush.

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Sakura Koi Water Brush Review

Of all the water brushes featured on this list, the Sakura Koi Water Brush is undoubtedly one of the most popular brands – with perhaps the Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush as the only exception.

Whether you watch art tutorials on YouTube or even sign up for some private online art classes, chances are that you probably have seen the Sakura Koi at work.

So why is the Sakura Koi so popular?

First off, the price.

Ringing up at a fraction of the cost as the Caran d’Arche and others reviewed, the Sakura Koi water brushes typically cost less than $10 bucks.

This makes it incredibly affordable for beginners to get their feet wet so to speak with water brushes without having to lay out too much money.

Now, there are inevitably a few catches to the Sakura Koi’s:

First up, reservoir size:

Unlike other water brushes that may have a reservoir up to 20ml, the Sakura Koi only offers either 4ml or 9ml capacity.

While definitely not a deal breaker for some, the small design naturally will require more frequent refills.

This could in turn result in a natural break in work flow a bit too frequently for some watercolorists (of course you could purchase a few of these and have them on hand).

The second issue with these:

Tip variety.

Unlike several of the brands reviewed, the Sakura’s are sold separately.

While it gives you more versatility to pick and choose what you want, if you do want additional brush types, you will need to purchase them together (which we fully recommend).

Having a variety of brush types will not only give you a whole lot more range in your artwork, but will help strengthen your experience as a watercolorist.

Sakura does offer their brushes in the following sizes:

• 4ml reservoir – Small, Medium, Large
• 9ml reservoir – Small, Medium, Large

Now as far as travel factor, the Sakura’s do travel nicely as the barrel does separate from the brush and has its own individual plug.

This ensures no leakage in your purse or backpack ultimately making it great for plein air watercolorists.

While these brushes are great for beginners, they do tend to grow on you as you reach more intermediate and professional levels.

Lastly, if you plan on doing calligraphy work with these brushes, you can simply pour in some ink into the barrel and use this as well!

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Pentel Arts Aquash Water Brush Review

Whether you are looking for a water brush that works well for calligraphy or are looking to upgrade an existing water brush, the Pentel Arts Water Brushes are extremely versatile.

Not only do they feature the widest variety pack of any of the options listed, but they have a slightly larger reservoir at 6ml.

While still not matching the Caran d’Arche in reservoir size (20ml), the Pentel brushes still can keep you going for quite some time before you will need to stop and refill.

As we eluded to earlier, the tips offered with this brush are simply amazing.

When you pick up the set, you get the following:

• Fine (Round)
• Medium (Round)
• Large (Round)
• Flat

While the first three round types are standard in most water brush sets, the flat brush also included will make this perfect for those looking to write calligraphy or create jarring effects in their paintings.

Like the Sakura Koi’s the Pentel’s can be purchased individually (which makes it really beginner friendly), or as a set (a much better deal).

While the barrel design can be susceptible to leakage in that it doesn’t have a restrictor valve like the Caran d’Arche, most watercolorists do find that the barrel itself does a great job at regulating water flow.

With plenty of practice, a simple light squeeze of the barrel should allow you to get the right amount of water to the paint and paper.

Lastly, the versatility of the Pentel’s are nearly unmatched.

If you want to try your hand at acrylic or ink, the open barrel design allows you to test out different mediums.

While ink may be susceptible to staining the interior of the barrel, you will be happy to know that the Pentel’s are dishwasher safe – making cleanup a breeze!

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Derwent Waterbrush Review

Makers of the amazing watercolor pencils, Derwent puts together a fine collection of water brushes.

Coming both individually and as a set, Derwent offers their water brushes with the following tip types:

• Small (round)
• Medium (round)
• Chisel

The versatility of these nearly matches that of the Pentel Aquash brushes.  With the ability to be used for watercolor, calligraphy, and ink mediums.

You can expect a steady flow of the water (or ink) from the Derewent’s that produce controlled and predictable results.

Also similar to both the Pentel and Sakura lines of brushes, Derwent has also employed the barrel design that will need to be gently squeezed in order to express the water.

But another nice feature of the Derwent water brush is the anti-roll design.

All too often art supply companies completely miss the mark on how artists actually use their supplies.

Whether it’s through watercolor markers or water brushes, you will commonly see barrels with a flush cylindrical surface.

But why does this matter?

Well if you are painting ‘en plein air’ or simply at your local coffee house, an uneven table, surface, etc. will make your brush simply roll off the edge.

It’s not only distracting, but could lead to either damage of an exposed bristle tip or worse, losing the brush accidentally.

Needless to say, the Derwent’s anti-roll design is a wholly underrated aspect that simply doesn’t get enough acknowledgement found in other reviews.

Lastly, the bristle performance on these water brushes are terrific and should create stunning gradients when pulling out the pigment in watercolors.

Their ability rivals that of other water brushes we reviewed.

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Kuretake Fude Water Brush Pen

Hailing from the land of the rising sun, these Japanese manufactured water brushes are remarkable to say the least.

Seasoned artists may instantly recognize the Kuretake name as they have been experts in calligraphy-based writing tools for over 100 years.

Like the Caran d’Arche, Kuretake offers up their collection of water brushes in 3 varieties:

• Small (round)
• Medium (round)
• Large (round)

While absolutely stunning performance for a watercolor painting (likely the majority of our readers), the calligraphists will want to take notice of this brush.

While the Kuretake’s use a synthetic bristle brush, the rich history in calligraphy that this company offers translate to a well performing water brush.

Expect to have ample spring and absorbency in the bristles that will ultimately deliver expected performance time and time again.

Now for the watercolorists out there, if you have experience with the Pentel’s we mentioned, you will find very similar properties with these Kuretake.

Most notably it will have the same squeeze barrel design for expressing water.

But what’s a big difference between the two is the rate of which water leaves the barrel.

With Pentel’s they tend to expel a bit quicker than Kuretake.

What doe this all mean?

In short, a bit more control is delivered with the Kuretake’s when painting detailed work.

However, if you are doing large washes, the Kuretake’s may be a bit tougher to use.

So, you will have to evaluate your own art preference before deciding on one water brush over another.

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AQUAnaut Water Brush

Featuring a small, medium, and large round bristle tip set, this AQUAnaut water brush goes toe-to-toe with some of the other great brushes featured on this list.

But unlike other brushes that require you to fill them up through a suction or pump type of design, the AQUAnauts come with their own separate syringe.

While some watercolorists may be turned off to the idea of a product needing a separate tool to fill their water brush (and this is completely understandable), we think that this is a pretty intuitive idea that might be found in more water brushes in the future.

The syringe can be especially useful if you decide to do your artwork with ink or other messy mediums.

If at a restaurant or even on a trail at your local state park, the syringe can ensure there is no waste of water or ink.

Which could be great for some reading this.

But what really counts is the performance of the brush itself.

With three synthetic varieties, you can not only get a wide range of strokes, but will be able to create artwork in a controlled manner.

The restriction of the water flow through the bristles is great…especially given the price.

For under $10 bucks you can’t really go wrong with this set.

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Holbein Art Water Brush

Like Kuretake, Holbein is a Japanese based art supply company that has been around for several years.

While not nearly as popular as some of the other water brushes on our list, their name has been respected on forums WetCanvas and ArtistsForum alike.

The Holbein water brushes cover just the basics when it comes to variety.

Within the package you will find two brushes (M, L).  One is great for larger areas of your painting (L) where you will be doing more of your general washes and large color blocks while the other (M) will be suited for the more detailed work.

Each of the barrels twist apart when you need to refill.  While not nearly as convenient as the Caran d’Arche’s pump design nor the Sakura Koi’s larger reservoir tank, for a water brush it’s acceptable.

But one accessory that many watercolorists will like is the inclusion of a sponge.  Instead of having to pay for your own watercolor sponge, Holbein smartly includes one into the package.

This not only can be used to clean out the tips of your brushes that may be loaded with a pigment, but watercolorists can use this to create really unique effects in their works.

Overall the Holbein’s are a nice duo of water brushes that will be perfect for beginners.

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Yasutomo Water Brush

Yasutomo has been an art supply company since the mid 1950s and largely specializes in a various Sumi-E (ink wash painting) related tools.

Their water brush seen here is a natural extension to this unique and Japanese painting style.  While one may infer that Yasutomo is straight from Japan like many of the other brands mentioned in this article, that assumption would be misplaced (they are based in California).

Offering up a water brush in 4 different varieties (each sold individually), you can find the following:

• Mini
• Small
• Medium
• Large
• Flat

Of the 4 brushes all but the mini holds 7ml of water within the barrel reservoir (mini holds 5.5ml).

A gentle press on the barrel will allow the water to flow from the reservoir to the synthetic bristles.

Expect to have a relatively good spring in the bristles with very little in the way of bleeding.

Compared to most water brushes, these ones tend to be geared towards the more intermediate to professional level artists.

When using the Yasutomo’s you can expect to be able to pull out the pigment relatively easy with increased water flow.

Not only will this make for perfect looking gradients, but the synthetic bristles on the tip should do a great job of retaining their shape with time.

While not nearly the cheapest water brush on our list (that’s reserved for the Sakura Koi’s), many watercolorists loved these brushes simply due to the flow control.

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Blue Heron Arts Water Brush

The last water brush on our list will be the Blue Heron’s.

Unlike every other brush mentioned so far, the Blue Heron’s are the only ones that feature an actual animal fiber (weasel, sheep, and rabbit).

When compared to the synthetic fibers, animal based fibers have the tendency to retain water at a much higher rate.

This is especially important for watercolors as you will be able to have much greater control over washes and detailed work as opposed to a synthetic fiber.

But there’s a kicker:

While animal fibers have a certain amount of ‘spring’ to them, especially some of the nicer kolinsky sable hair brushes we recently reviewed,  poor quality animal fibers can also wear incredibly bad when compared to a synthetic fiber and may need frequent replacement.

Fiber aside, the reservoir chamber on the Blue Heron’s very closely resemble the same piston/syringe design found in the Caran d’Arche making the refill process easy.

When it comes to variety, the Blue Heron’s offer 7 different variants of the round brush:

• Small, Medium, Large (Animal fiber)
• Medium, Large (Synthetic fiber)
• 2 Pocket brushes (Animal and Synthetic fibers)

While the round brushes at small, medium, and large are pretty standard, the plein air artists are going to love the pocket brushes.

At about half the size of most brushes, these brushes will be the ultimate in portability and convenience.

Perfect if an idea pops into your head while out on a trail or perhaps at work, the pocket brush can be incredibly nice to have.

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How To Use A Water Brush

While getting used to a water brush can take a bit of practice for some, after a few hours of painting, it will quickly become second nature.

Water brushes are straight forward in their use.

Here’s a great tutorial from Jennifer Coyle demonstrating the Pentel Aquash:

When looking at the options, you will quickly see they come in two main form factors:

One with a press release restrictor valve like the Caran d’Arche.  With this type of brush you press the button on the side of the barrel to begin the flow of water from the reservoir tank.

The other option is the barrel press design (found in all others we mentioned) where you firmly squeeze the barrel of the brush to begin the flow of water.

No matter the type of brush you go with, the painting process remains the same.

You will simply bring the water to the bristles and then load up your brush as you normally would when using a watercolor brush.

For attaining lighter hues, simply expel additional water from the barrel.

Once you are done with a color, instead of dipping the bristles into a jar of water, with a water brush pen you can simply ‘paint out’ the colors onto a paper towel or sponge.

 

Paper To Use With Your Water Brush

When it comes to using your water brush, you will always want to use a quality watercolor paper.

Watercolor paper, unlike standard paper, is designed completely differently and will have much better absorbency properties.

This not only ensures that your artwork doesn’t warp or wrinkle, but also give you greater control and texture for the water brush to latch onto.

If you are looking for recommendations on a particular watercolor paper, you can check out our recent article where we compared the best watercolor papers around.

Secondly, given that water brushes are more portable in nature, a watercolor sketchbook may be of greater interest.

If you are looking for a recommendation there, you can check out our full reviews of watercolor sketchbooks.

A quality watercolor marker can strike the right balance by marrying both the best properties of a water brush and traditional watercolor paint.

Their unique characteristics allow the watercolorist to have complete control over the piece of work they are creating.

Not only can you achieve similar light-wash effects as you would with a traditional watercolor paint, but you can also get extraordinarily deep and vibrant colors as well.

When reviewing the best watercolor markers available for watercolorists, we found that the Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers were simply the best.

Not only did they exhibit all the key qualities that a watercolorist will look for when selecting a marker (line control, dissolvability when mixed with water, color vibrancy, etc.), but Tombow also had the widest color selection and were incredibly reliable.

Here’s a comparison of the watercolor markers that we reviewed:

Product	# of Markers	Price	Dual Tip?	Purchase Individually?	Includes Blender Marker?
Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers	95	$$$$	Y	Y	Y
Winsor & Newton Water Color Markers	12	$$$	Y	Y	N
Letraset Aqua Marker	12	$$	Y	N	Y
Bienfang Watercolor Brush Pens	12	$$	N	N	Y
MozArt Supplies Brush Pen Set	20	$$	N	N	N
TANMIT Dual Tip Art Markers	60	$$	Y	N	N
US Art Factory Watercolor Markers Set	20	$$	N	N	Y
Tropic Desire Watercolor Markers	20	$	N	N	Y
Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers	12	$$	Y	N	N

Summary Of The Best Watercolor Markers

• Best Watercolor Marker Overall (Including Professionals) – Tombow
  • Runner Up – Winsor & Newton
• Best Watercolor Marker For Intermediates – Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers
• Best Watercolor Marker For Beginners – Tanmit Dual Tip Art Markers
• Best Watercolor Marker For Travel – Tropic Desire Watercolor Markers

Reviews of The Best Watercolor Markers

Tombow Dual Brush Pen Art Markers

The gold standard when it comes to watercolor markers will be this set by Tombow.

The Tombow marker is amazing in every single way.

First off, color selection:

Unlike many of the watercolor markers featured in this list with a limited color selection (typically coming in packs of 12 to 24), this Tombow set comes with a staggering 95 colors (+1 for the blender marker).

Why does a vast color selection matter?

Accurate color representation.

One of the inherit drawbacks to watercolor markers will be color mixing.

Sure, the pigment will dissolve effortlessly when exposed to water, but when mixing colors from markers, it is terribly difficult, even for professional watercolorists to manage color selection.

Therefore, having a wide array of colors from the start will not only make for pleasing and expected results, but will also ensure less mistakes or general frustrations while painting.

While the color selection of the Tombow kit are second to none, the markers themselves are downright terrific.

Featuring a dual tip design (brush tip + fine tip), you have a wide range of brush strokes that you can employ within your artwork.

The brush tip features synthetic fibers that can paint either very fine or very broad strokes, ultimately giving you even greater control of your piece as you are painting.

The pigment within the brush has an exceptional light fastness rating and is also acid-free.

But it gets better…

The pigment within the barrel is great for reworking as well.  So, if you are a watercolorist that finds themselves working on a piece over several days, just simply adding water back to your piece will allow the pigment to lift from the paper and get reworked.

Now there is one aspect about these pens that we absolutely loved, and that’s the smart cap design.

You may notice when looking at these that they have a small notch on the cap.

But why?

This prevents the markers from rolling around when placed on your desk!

Not only will this help you stay organized, but it ensures that no markers roll off and you lose one (especially if you bring these to your local coffee shop).

While this set does come with a desk stand, the little notch on the cap is a wholly underrated feature that you will come to appreciate with time.

Secondly, the Tombow set does include a blender marker which give you additional control and options over your piece.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important aspect of this set is the markers self-cleaning feature found within the tips.  Unlike other cheaper/poor performing watercolor markers where the tip may ‘muddy’ when mixed with different colors, the Tombow’s are self-cleaning.

This ensures accurate color representation throughout the entirety of your artwork.

Overall, if you are looking for uncompromising performance, then you must go with this set by Tombow.

Note: The Tombow markers can be purchased individually.  Therefore, if the pigment runs dry in one marker, you can head over to a large art retailer like Blick and restock for an affordable price.

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Winsor & Newton Water Color Markers

A close runner up to the amazing Tombow markers was this set from Winsor & Newton.

The name recognition that Winsor & Newton carries in the art community is second to none.

Primarily known for their oil or acrylic based paints, Winsor & Newton makes an amazing set of watercolor markers (Note: they also recently purchased Letraset – also featured on this list).

So, what makes the Winsor & Newton watercolor markers so special?

Like any quality watercolor marker, they feature a dual tip design with one end being a fine nib while the other end has a synthetic bristle brush design.

This not only makes them perfect for calligraphy or other lettering styles, but also for craft work as well as watercolors.

The dual tip design will give you a range of strokes (both small and broad), along with terrific control over the final results.

As nice as the dual tip design may be, the most important aspect will be dissolvability/blending when exposed to water along with the vibrancy of the pigment.

These markers by Winsor & Newton deliver on both fronts.

First and foremost, the dissolvability is downright terrific.

When making a stroke with these markers, when you take the included blending marker or simply a wet brush to the stroke, it will unlatch from the paper effortlessly allowing you to pull out a wide range of hues.

This not only guarantees uncompromising performance but equally amazing results.

The vibrancy of the pigment also matches the Tombow markers.  Some respected watercolorists have stated that “[The Winsor & Newton markers] are absolutely beautiful and stunning watercolor markers”.

The storage of these markers is great for artists who want to watercolor en plein air.

Housed in a metal tin, you can slide these markers into your purse, backpack, or any other means and travel with ease.

However, there is a major drawback to these markers:

Color selection.

The largest pack size for these markers is 12.

This will require you to do quite a bit of mixing in order to get accurate color representation for your piece.

Now, we were able to find that Winsor & Newton does sell these markers individually.

When visiting Blick Art Materials, we found an additional 24 colors available.  This not only makes it a terrific option for refill purposes, but you can easily expand your color selection by purchasing only the colors you may need.

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Letraset Aqua Marker

These wide barreled markers by Letraset are a terrific option for beginners (and even kids).

Not only do they feature a dual tip for both fine and broader stroke sets, but the tips will be firm to ensure their structure over time.

Therefore, if you share art supplies with little ones, the firm heads on these can withstand a bit of abuse.

However, for those watercolorists reading this looking for a quality watercolor marker, fret not.

The Letraset’s do blend effortlessly when exposed to water – ultimately giving you that dynamic range of hues that you are seeking out.

The fine tip nib on the one end of the marker will be perfect for smaller scale pieces or detailed work.

One such case of where this fine tip nib could really shine is with botanical paintings.  If you are painting the skeletal structure of the leaf, the fine tip nib will create absolutely stunning results.

The light fastness (i.e. no prone to color dilution when exposed to light) of the Letraset markers are equally amazing.

You can expect to see the same stunning results an hour or month after you finished the piece.

Lastly, the blending marker that comes with the kit will be perfect for watercolorists not necessarily looking to use a watercolor brush to create a dynamic appearance to their work.

Overall, this is a quality set for a pretty affordable price tag.

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Bienfang Watercolor Brush Pens

Bienfang, a brand under the umbrella corporation Speedball, has been a respected art supply company for over 100 years.

Their dedication to the arts rivals some of the ancient European brands.

So how do the Bienfang watercolor markers carry the legacy?

Quite well!

Coming in either sets of 9 or 12, the Bienfang markers exhibit qualities that rival some of the nicer brands on the market.

Not only will you see great color vibrancy within their lineup, but you also see a pretty good light fastness as well.

The non-toxic and affordable nature of these watercolor markers make them not only great for beginners, but also kids!

But given that they are geared towards a more novice audience, there are inevitably going to be some major drawbacks.

First off, the Bienfang markers don’t feature a dual tip design – which severely limits your capabilities as an artist.

Under the cap you will find a synthetic bristle brush, giving you the option of three strokes – fine, medium, and broad.

However, unlike other markers we reviewed, the absence of a fine tip nib will prevent you from making detailed markings within your piece.

The reliance on an additional watercolor brush will definitely be needed if you go with this set.

Another drawback to this set is the ‘rollability’ of the markers themselves.  Unlike the Tombow’s that we loved, the markers are susceptible to rolling off the edge of your desk if accidentally nudged.

While definitely not a deal breaker for many, it’s worth mentioning for the more seasoned artists reading this.

But as we eluded to earlier, if you are purchasing these as a complete beginner or for the little ones, then they will be acceptable.

Their lower price tag coupled with fair performance still make them a compelling offering and ultimately the reason why we included Bienfang on this list.

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MozArt Supplies Brush Pen Set

Not to be confused with the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, these markers by MozArt are still considered to be a classic (and beautiful) watercolor marker.

Packaged in either 12 or 20 packs, these markers are extremely beginner friendly, and one that you should definitely consider if it’s your first foray into the world of watercolor markers.

Unlike the high price tag of the Tombow’s reviewed, these watercolor markers by MozArt are more in line with that of the Bienfang (although delivering nearly twice as many markers for the same price).

They feature a slender barrel with only one tip (also like the Bienfang’s).

While this limits your stroke variety to either fine, medium or broad, this should be more than enough for the watercolorists out there just looking to get comfortable in the medium.

If you are looking for additional versatility with these brushes, then you will definitely want to invest in a few additional watercolor brushes to use in tandem with this set.

The single brush tip does feature synthetic fibers that should spring back to a fine tip with each stroke that you make.

For beginning options available within the market, these are definitely worth of a consideration.

The wide color selection for the relatively low price point will be just enough for you to get comfortable in the medium before you decide to upgrade to some of the more professional options on this list.

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Tanmit Dual Tip Art Markers

Nearly matching the Tombow 95-piece set offering, this set by Tanmit is quite extraordinary with 60 different colors included.

As terrific as the color selection may be, equally amazing will be the price point.

With a price equal to that of both the MozArt and Bienfang markers, you get an unparalleled selection of markers at your fingertips.

But it gets better…

Not only does this set feature more markers at a comparable price tag to some of the others, it also features a dual tip design!

The Micron pen like fine nip on one end coupled with brush tip on the other, you allow you to have incredible control over your artwork.

It’s important to remember that the Tanmit markers are geared towards beginners.  Therefore, you won’t see nearly the same vibrancy as either the Tombow or Winsor & Newton markers.

Secondly you won’t see the same level of dissolvability when the pigment is exposed to water.

What does this mean?

When examining your artwork up close, expect to see some remnants of the original stroke you placed on the paper to remain.

While likely not a big deal for beginners or those using these markers for craft use, when performing at a professional level, it may limit the amount of control you have over the painting itself.

Overall though, these markers by Tanmit are an amazing buy considering their dual tip design along with the affordable price point.

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US Art Factory Watercolor Markers Set

By and far the most comprehensive beginners kit on this list will be this one by US Art Factory.

Not only does it include 20 watercolor markers, but you will also find a refillable water brush (which will be amazing for blending purposes), but also a pad of watercolor paper (12 sheets at 250 gsm), along with an eBook walking you through the basics (again, extremely beginner friendly).

The watercolor markers themselves feature a single synthetic brush end that will give you a few options for stroke width (fine, medium, and broad) ultimately giving you some control over your piece.

As many astute readers may notice, this is a single tip design, therefore the absence of a fine nib like that found in the Tanmint’s will be a bit of a drawback.

However, the performance of these markers will be on par with some of the nicer brands reviewed and should still produce stunning results.

The organized case that comes with the watercolor markers will make color selection a bit easier than a cylindrical case.

Overall, these markers are great for complete beginners, kids, and those looking for an inexpensive solution when using on various crafts.

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Tropic Desire Watercolor Markers

There is a lot to love in this 20-piece watercolor marker set by Tropic Desire.

First, the color selection.

With over 20 colors to choose from, you won’t have to rely on blending nearly as much as you may when using the Bienfang’s.

This not only makes it great for beginners, but also to create much cleaner and crisp colors.

The single tip design does limit you to only brush strokes, however, if you are looking for additional versatility, you may want to consider picking up a few watercolor brushes.

While the Tropic Desire markers produce vibrant results and a great light fastness, what we really liked about this set was the included travel case.

Truly embracing the nature of painting outside the four walls of your studio, these markers will be great for those watercolorists always on the go.

The canvas body coupled with the Velcro closure will ensure that your watercolor markers remain secure when being transported.

The additional loops within the travel case can be used for other key art supplies including brushes, pens, pencils, etc.

Lastly this set by Tropic Desire comes with a satisfaction guarantee.  They will refund your purchase should you be less than pleased with the performance of these markers (which we don’t think you will be).

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Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers

Known primarily for their alcohol-based markers, Spectrum Noir provides a comprehensive watercolor marker aimed squarely at the artist who are somewhere between both the beginner and intermediate levels.

Coming in a variety of color profiles including Primary, Essentials, Floral, and Earth, you can get the right set that suits your subject preference.

This not only reduces waste of purchasing markers that will likely never get used, but also allows you to save a few extra bucks as well (truly a win-win scenario).

So, what makes these markers stand out among so many others that we reviewed so far?

Their dual nib design.

With a fine nib on one side for detail work coupled with a brush tip on the other, you will total control over the creation of your piece.

But while this might not seem much from the onset (after all many of the watercolor markers we reviewed had this feature), this feature is typically reserved for those with a much higher price point.

The Spectrum Noir’s are not only incredibly affordable, but feature very similar characteristics found in the high-end offerings like Tombow and Winsor & Newton.

Most notably you will find that the Spectrum Noir’s have an excellent light fastness rating, hexagon designed barrel for roll-prevention and comfort, pigment dissolvability.

Overall, if you have tried some of the entry level options on this list and are looking to bring your watercolor marker set to the next level, then the Spectrum Noir markers are a fine consideration.

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Brushes To Use With Watercolor Markers

To have greater control over your artwork along with the ability to create stunning gradients, you will want to make sure that you have a few watercolor brushes on hand.

Unfortunately, with watercolor markers, one of the drawbacks is their limited control over line weight and pigment flow – so expect some constraint when using only the watercolor marker.

Now, when you use a top-rated kolinsky sable watercolor brush, not only will you get the quality ‘spring’ that snaps back to fine point, but you also have a variety of brush types (i.e. round, flat, rigger, spotter, wash, etc.) that you can use in your artwork.

So, if you plan on painting either a larger or smaller scale piece and want a bit more control over the artwork you are making, be sure you have a few watercolor brushes on hand.

Lastly, and this is perhaps the most important, is type of brush:

While we eluded to the quality found in kolinsky sable hair brushes, you will want to make sure that you get a brush made specifically for watercolors.

While most watercolor markers have well-performing tips made from synthetic fibers, there is just no way of matching the performance of a natural animal fiber.

Why?

Well natural animal fibers carry water a bit better along with a better bristle structure to compliment the much wetter environment when compared to other mediums (i.e. oil, acrylic, etc.).

Watercolor Markers Vs Watercolor Pencils

Both watercolor markers and pencils have very similar application methods.

Instead of having a liquid based pigment coming out of the barrel of the marker, with pencils you will have a hardened substance.

But unlike your traditional colored pencils that feature typically a waxed core, watercolor pencils will have a water-soluble core (meaning it will dissolve in water – creating the same effects as watercolors).

So how does all this apply to your next painting?

The most important difference between these two very similar mediums is their vibrancy.

Watercolor markers are much more vibrant that a watercolor pencil.

From the onset, watercolor pencils look no different than a standard colored pencil.  Whereas watercolor markers allow the pigment to flow more freely onto your paper and produce stunning results.

So why would anyone get watercolor pencils?

In short, watercolor pencils can help a watercolorist achieve much more subtle effects with their painting.  Secondly, their ability to go plein air (i.e. travel friendly) is unmatched.

Watercolor pencils are definitely worth looking at, however, we find that more watercolorists tend to gravitate towards markers over pencils simply due to their already liquid nature along with the intensely vibrant colors.

Lastly, the watercolor marker is a preferred option for those who want to get creative with either calligraphy or various crafts.

Best Paper For Watercolor Markers

When it comes to using watercolor markers, it’s important that you select the right type of paper.

While markers can traditionally be used on fine tooth drawing paper, using your new watercolor markers on them will ultimately yield poor results, here’s why:

Watercolor paper is manufactured in a much different manner than your traditional paper.

In the world of watercolor papers, you will see hot pressed, cold pressed, and rough.

Hot pressed paper is very similar to traditional paper that you might be accustomed to.

The surface is much smoother, but will exhibit some key absorbency issues.

Now when it comes to watercolor markers, you will largely want to either use cold pressed (often referred to as NOT – as in NOT hot pressed) or rough papers.

These papers not only have a great texture for the pigment and water to latch on to along the surface, but their absorbency is exponentially better than a hot pressed watercolor paper.

What does this all mean?

Well, you have much better control over your medium as an artist and it will reflect in the final results.

Secondly, the thicker paper will ensure there is no wrinkling or warping of the surface along with better long-term preservation (assuming you go with an acid-free paper).

If you don’t have any watercolor paper presently on-hand, then we would recommend checking out our guide to the best watercolor papers, there we review a variety of sheets and blocks.

These will give you the uncompromising performance you are looking for and will ultimately give you better results with your new watercolor markers.