Affordable Watercolor Supplies for Beginner-Intermediate Levels

A concise look at my time-tested favorites

Hello, everyone! Hope your 2025 is off to a great start. Today, I decided to revisit one of my most frequently asked questions: what supplies do you recommend for beginner-intermediate watercolor artists?

One of the many wonderful things about watercolor is that you can make vibrant work with inexpensive materials. In fact, I used these basic materials exclusively for my first three years as a professional artist! If you’re taking my watercolor online classes or working through my watercolor book, these supplies are a great place to start.

In this list, I provide two different brand options for each kind of materials.

For beginner-intermediate levels, I recommend pre-hardened paint sets vs. tube sets because everything is already set up for you. Nowadays, I use Daniel Smith tube watercolors because I use up so much paint and their pigments tend to be more lightfast, meaning that they won’t fade as much over the years. However, I still use the palettes below while traveling and practicing my skills and they produce great results.

Name of set: Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Color Paint Sketcher’s Pocket Box

Cost: Around $21 USD

What I like about it: All the projects in my watercolor workbook are created using these exact colors. Because you can mix up every color of the rainbow using only primary colors, this simple set is everything you need. The included travel paintbrush is also nice, but it’s very small so I’d recommend getting a couple other paintbrushes as well. See the paintbrush section below!

Name of set: Sakura Koi 24 Assorted Watercolors Field Sketch Set with Brush

Cost: Around $30 USD

What I like about it: This set has a few more color options than the Winsor & Newton set, so if you’re unfamiliar with mixing colors this will make it a bit easier to get started. The brush pen is fun because it actually holds water in the handle, which means that you don’t need to pack a jar of water to take with you if you’re painting while traveling or hiking. However, I’d recommend getting a brush set in addition to the brush pen, since it can sometimes be hard to control how much water comes out of the brush pen.

A few good brushes make a huge difference! Cheaper brushes often lose bristles while you’re working, which is very frustrating. Brush care is really important to make sure that your brushes don’t fray or become misshapen. Try not to leave them bristles-down in your water cup while working, and rinse them and allow them to dry flat or upright when you’re done for the day. While both brush options provided below are technically considered “student grade”, I still use them regularly for my work because I find them to be high enough quality.

Name of set: Winsor & Newton Cotman Short Handle Brush Set

Cost: Around $19 USD

What I like about it: This brush set of four contains the brush sizes and shapes that I use most often in my work. There’s a Round 1, 4, & 6 and One Stroke 3/8".

Name of set: Princeton Select Artiste Series 3750 Paint Brushes

Cost: Around $15 USD

What I like about it: This brush set of five assorted brush sizes and shapes. While these brushes are advertised for being watercolor, acrylic, OR oil brushes, I think they’re an amazing set for watercolor. And they’re extremely affordable!

When it comes to paper, I’m willing to splurge a little bit because I have much better luck with nice paper. Cheaper paper often bends and buckles more from the water, and it isn’t as forgiving when blotting up mistakes (sometimes cheap paper tears).

Name of Paper: Arches Cold Pressed Watercolour Paper 140 Lb.

Cost: Around $42 USD

What I like about it: This Arches paper—and the slightly heavier 300 lb. paper—is what I use for all my final artwork, and I use the Strathmore paper below for my practice paintings and sketches. Arches paper is thick enough that you can blot up mistakes when you need to, and it comes pre-stretched in a block so that your paper won’t bend or buckle while you’re painting.

Name of Paper: Strathmore Cold-Pressed Watercolor Paper 140 Lb.

Cost: Around $11 USD

What I like about it: This is a more inexpensive alternative to the Arches paper, but it will still give you pretty nice results. This paper comes on a spiral ring, so it isn’t pre-stretched. Because of that, it helps to tape it down to a table with artists’ tape while you’re working so that you don’t get weird buckling when water is added to the page. This is my favorite paper for practicing new techniques and working on my skills. You can also purchase Strathmore paper in watercolor block form if you’d rather not tape it down.

I’ve listed a few other materials that you’ll need below. However, there’s no need to have a specific brand for these materials and you might already have them around the house.

• Jar of water

• Paper towels

• Eraser

• Sketching pencil. I prefer a light, hard pencil like a 2H–4H so that I can easily erase my lines.

• Artist tape. This is an acid-free tape that you can use to tape your paper to the table if you don’t have a pre-stretched paper block. This keeps the page from buckling with water.

So there you have it! You can curate a quality, long-lasting watercolor setup for around $80. Compared to many other pastimes, this is a low barrier to entry. I hope this helps jumpstart your painting journey!

---

January Book-of-the-Month: Stunning Watercolor Seascapes by Kolbie Blume

So far in the Nature Art Book Club, I’ve reviewed an illustrated book of bird folklore, a seasonal nature guide created entirely of pressed plants, and a year-long sketch journal kept by a Kentucky produce farmer. This month, we’re taking a look at a totally different kind of nature art book: a watercolor workbook. This is a beginner-friendly guide to painting oceans, lakes, and rivers through 25 step-by-step watercolor projects. I try my hand at one of the tutorials in this review and learned some tricks along the way—check it out here.

---

In other news… my next exhibit opens this week!

My traveling Tiny Worlds exhibit opens at the Nutting Gallery at West Liberty University on January 15th. Join us for the free opening reception at 5pm, followed by a free book talk and signing in fine arts room 209 at 6pm. Here’s the press release for the event—feel free to share with folks who might be interested.

---

Also, I was so delighted to be interviewed by Ranger Rick Magazine

This video about nature journaling will accompany the March issue of Ranger Rick, a long-standing kids’ conservation magazine that’s produced by the National Wildlife Federation. We subscribed to Ranger Rick when I was little, so it was very exciting to get to chat with their raccoon mascot for this interview. Maybe you can share it with a nature-loving kid in your life!