I get a lot of comments and questions about the supplies that I use, what my favorite products are when it comes to working with watercolor. So below you’ll find some information about my favorite art supplies, along with links to purchase them! (Please note, I do receive a small commission on sales from the hyperlinks. Consider it an easy way to support me and allow me to continue sharing my knowledge online for free 😊)
Paper
Let’s start with paper first. I have a few favorites that I like to rotate between. There’s no real rhyme or reason, sometimes I’ll just grab for one over the others, or sometimes I’ll know I want to use a particular paper because the texture will be better for the design I have in my head*, sometimes there’s really no reason at all. My top three brands I would recommend are:
There are price differences with these as well, the Strathmore being the most affordable of the three.
*Please note, if you’re creating galaxy pieces with Tombow Dual Brush Pens, you’ll want to use Strathmore EXCLUSIVELY. This will give you the best results by far.
Paint
Now that we’ve covered paper, let’s talk paint! There are two different types of watercolor paint, pans and tubes. Most people have a preference towards one or the other…in my case I prefer pans, often I’ll buy tubes and empty them into clean pans, let them dry, and then I have my own custom pan set. But if you prefer working with paint that starts wet, tubes may call your name instead, and that’s totally alright! Here are my favorite watercolors, both a mix of pans and tubes, listed by price and level (note, you don’t need to start with the cheapest paint if you’re a beginner, and conversely you don’t have to get the most expensive if you’re more experienced! I tend to use a mix of all three, and tend to gravitate towards the one I list as a ‘beginner’ option pretty frequently, so there’s nothing saying you have to stick to this!)
Brushes
If you’re familiar with some of my videos on Instagram and YouTube, then there’s a good chance you’ve seen the comments asking about this one. That’s because my go-to brush isn’t always seen as the most traditional brush to use. I prefer water brushes over traditional brushes, especially for creating soft, blended skies because it allows me to work quickly and keep everything wet to create that seamless blend. That said, they may not be a favorite of everyone, and I don’t use them for everything I paint, so below you’ll find my top choices when it comes to water brushes, as well as my top picks for more traditional brushes too!
Ink Pens
When I’m creating my galaxy landscape pieces, two of the most important elements are the black and white pens I use. The black is used for drawing the line art landscape, and the white is used for adding the stars to the sky. (You can also use white acrylic paint, or Dr PH Martins Bleedproof White for stars) My absolute favorite black ink pen for drawing landscapes is Sakura Micron pens. They are waterproof, dry very quickly, and come in different nib sizes for large and small details. Below you’ll find links to both those, as well as the two pens I most often use for creating white stars.
Tombow Dual Brush Markers
I know it may be a bit odd that I’m singling out a specific product and brand here, and that it MAY not actually be considered watercolor, but with the way I typically use them and the number of questions and comments I get, it only felt natural to include a section specifically dedicated to some of my favorite art supplies. Tombow Dual Brush Markers are water based, meaning they can be blended with water, in the same way watercolor can be. Below I’ve included a few of my absolute favorite Tombow sets. One thing to note, when blending Tombow’s I like to use cold press watercolor paper, as it gets a similar end result to traditional watercolor. I’ve found that the best results are BY FAR on Strathmore Cold Press, so I recommend using that paper specifically when doing this technique. If you aren’t blending them with water, then any mixed media paper would work.