How to Choose Watercolor Paints
Selecting paint colors is a challenge for many new artists or aspiring artists. With so many brands and colors to choose from, getting the watercolor paints that are best suited to the artist's or student artist's styles and preferences is sometimes challenging. A good paint selection can not only prevent fading in watercolor paint, but also can improve or change the painting. Poor paints can result in paintings that fade and diminish over time.
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Instructions
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1
Write a list of the colors that are needed. Watercolor paints have several colors and shades available. If the specific color is unknown, but the pigment is known, write down the pigment that is needed instead of the color.
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2
Select watercolor paints that are sold separately in tubes. Tubes allow for mixing colors without ruining the paint and are usually high quality when compared to the preassembled trays.
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3
Turn the paint tube to the back and look at the lightfastness number. This determines the quality of the paint and how resistant to fading the paint is. Lightfastness numbers of 1 or 2 are good. Any number higher than 2 should be avoided. Student paints will typically have lightfastness numbers of 2 while artists' paints will have lightfastness of 1. Keep in mind that artist paints are more expensive than student paints.
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4
Look at the color and pigment. The color is determined by the letter at the front, such as R for red or Y for yellow. The number after the pigment letter determines the exact color and shade of the paint.
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Test the color on a piece of paper with a paint brush. Though the lightfastness and pigmentation information is available, company labels might not always reflect what the artist wants. Look at the color and determine if the color is appropriate for the painting project.
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Purchase the watercolor paint that the test shows is the best product for the project.
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Tips & Warnings
Companies often make changes to paints for various reasons, such as suppliers changing supply availability or cutting budget costs, so test the paint before purchasing every time new paint is needed.
References
- Photo Credit splotches of watercolor paint on white textured paper image by R MACKAY from Fotolia.com
