I am of the mind that if you keep the right expectations, any watercolor paper can work. A lot of people might say “cotton paper is always the best,” or “Arches paper is always the best,” but the reality is that we all have different budgets and expectations. If we know some of the challenges to expect with a given paper, we can work with it and learn to use it effectively! The important thing is to create art with the supplies that you can afford, and learn how to use them. With that said, here are some of my favorites:

Bee Watercolor Paper (Amazon) – This paper is 100% cotton and I purchase the 140 lb. cold press. Steer clear of the lower weight, as it may be too thin. It wets nicely and stays moist longer than cellulose. I frequently purchase 50-packs of the 6×9 inch size, but there are several options available! This paper wets and re-wets nicely, and lifting of color is easy if you use that technique. For staining colors, test first to make sure it will lift.

New York Central (Amazon)- This paper is also 100% cotton and I purchase the 140 lb weight, 5×7 inch size for my videos. I have purchased both hot and cold pressed and have been pleased with both. The cold press has a nice texture and the hot press is fairly smooth. The paper holds moisture nicely, re-wets well, and I can lift color after drying with some light scrubbing. For staining colors, test first to make sure it will lift.

Artist’s Loft (Michaels) – This paper is cellulose, 140 lb. cold pressed and is a great budget brand. It has its challenges, but I have been pleased and had a lot of fun playing with it. You can often find it on sale for 25% off or more. If you’re using cellulose paper, you are more likely to get “blooms” due to uneven wetting of the surface. One thing I notice about cellulose papers is that the water sits on top more than absorbs into the paper, which can lead to uneven drying. Adding a second coat is also a challenge because you can easily lift the paint underneath. However, knowing these challenges going in (and in some cases, you WANT the extra texture) will prepare you to enjoy this paper. With some care, this is a great paper to experiment with. It’s also great for mixed media projects due to the heavier weight, and the paper has a nice textured surface.

Fluid 100 (Amazon) – This paper is 100% cotton, and I purchased a small block to try in the 140 lb cold press. I love the way the colors blend on this paper. It has a smoother surface than Bee or New York Central. Colors are more challenging to lift after drying, so if you are a color lifter, you may have challenges with this paper. Check out this video to see how the paper performs under very wet conditions.

Arches (Amazon) – This paper is commonly referred to as the “gold standard” of watercolor paper. It is a pleasure to work with, and I own a few pads of the 140 lb cold pressed 9×12 inch paper. It is more costly per square inch than the other brands listed above, but if you’re looking for high quality paper, definitely give this a try.

I own several palettes of watercolor paint, and all of them I have been very pleased with! Depending on your goals, you may find one that best suits your needs.

MozArt Komorebi (Amazon) – This was the first palette I purchased to unbox, swatch, and review on YouTube. These are Japanese watercolors, full pan size, and highly pigmented. Not only that, but the palette I purchased comes with 40 colors, including neons and metallics, which provides a nice variety of convenience colors. If you’re looking for lightfast ratings, I have reached out to the company for that information and to date, I still await the response. While I wouldn’t use these watercolors to sell original artwork (due to lack of lightfast ratings), they are a joy to use and if you are scanning art to make prints, the lightfast ratings won’t matter anyway for sold artwork. If you’re painting as a hobby, you may not mind one way or the other. With this palette, as well as many premade palette sets, you may want something more long-term because as you run out of colors, you will not be able to purchase single pan refills. Check out this video for a full unboxing and swatching.

MeiLiang 48-color palette (Amazon) – I unboxed and reviewed this palette and it was a wonderful experience. The half pans of color are bright, easy to mix, and wet beautifully. As with the MozArt palette, single colors are unavailable for purchase. Lightfast ratings are excellent with the exception of the metallic colors, and are listed on the packaging. The tin is also great, with mixing wells built in. They have also released a 36-color set of tubes and a newer larger palette, but I have not tried these yet. However, I imagine they are of similar good quality. MeiLiang is a part of the Paul Rubens company.

Winsor & Newton Cotman Field Set 14 Colors (Amazon) – I have had this palette for a few years now, and I also have Cotman colors in tubes. Winsor & Newton is a well known brand for quality watercolors, and the Cotman line is their student grade of paint. This budget palette is high quality, portable, and has all of the standard colors needed for mixing. Colors can be purchased individually in open stock in both pans and tubes, so if you run out of a color, it is easy to replace. This brand is also available at most local art supply stores and carries a wide variety of colors.

Marie’s Masters watercolor (Amazon) – Marie’s Masters might be the most reasonably priced artist grade watercolor paints. I purchased a 12-tube set, plus a few other single colors and used them to fill my own custom palette. The colors are beautiful and wet wonderfully, and might be one of my favorite watercolors I’ve ever used. They are more challenging to purchase, as they are different than the student variety, which is more common to see at retailers. Jerry’s Artarama and Amazon, among a few other retailers carry a great selection at reasonable prices. I did an unboxing and review on YouTube.

I most commonly use a variety of three brands of acrylic paints. I use Liquitex Basics, Creative Inspirations, and Golden.

Liquitex Basics (Amazon) – Liquitex Basics is probably the brand that everyone has in their back pocket. It is the most high quality reasonably priced paint with great coverage and body. It has smooth application, and the Liquitex acrylic mediums also work very well. They are a staple in my art supplies and are great for mixed media projects. They thin out nicely with water or medium for a more glazed finish and have a pudding-like consistency straight out of the tube. As for lightfastness, the company provides this information: “Liquitex paints are all rated ASTM I (excellent) or II (very good) and considered permanent and lightfast for 50-100+ years in gallery conditions. Our metallic and fluorescent colors are naturally less lightfast. The label states NR (not rated) – meaning that it has not been tested for lightfastness.”

Creative Inspirations (Jerry’s Artarama) – Creative Inspirations reminds me quite a lot of the Liquitex Basics line, in both quality and consistency, and is also very reasonably priced, even more reasonably priced than Liquitex. All colors in their line are rated Very Good or Excellent for lightfastness, and the color chart with ratings and transparency is available here.

Golden Fluid Acrylics (Amazon) – The Golden brand of paints is well known to be high quality, extremely pigmented professional grade paints. They are more expensive than the previously listed paints, but I own and use several. In order to keep costs down, I have purchased a few of my favorite colors, plus primaries for mixing. They are well worth the purchase and provide a very high pigment load in each drop of color. They mix well with other paints and mediums, and the fluid consistency out of the bottle provides some unique opportunities for art. Pigment data can be found here.

I love me a good mark making tool! From markers, to pens, to colored pencils, to watercolor pencils, I love to try them all. Thick lines, thin lines, and more. Like paints, if you know what to expect from your writing tool, you can really make some magic happen. I’ll post some of my favorites below and a short explanation of why I love them.

Elmer’s Painters (Amazon) – These paint markers are great. I purchased them at Hobby Lobby before I ever bought any Posca pens. They had a great sale going on at the time, and I haven’t really seen any of that brand outside of Hobby Lobby, but there do appear to be a few on Amazon. If you have a Hobby Lobby near you, you might want to shop local. Anyway, the black is AWESOME. They are pigmented, opaque, have different tip thicknesses, and write beautifully. I did an in-depth review here on several markers and pens. The white Painters pen leaked on me, but it may have just been a fluke. I use the black all the time in my videos, as well as Posca pens I have purchased since in other colors.

Posca Markers (Amazon) – These have a reputation and I don’t think I need to expand on that. I love using them and they’re great. When you’re using it on thirsty paper (think watercolor), you need a few coats of lighter color. However, over a nonporous surface like acrylic paint, it is pretty opaque on the first coat. I learned this with most white paint markers in general, especially chalk markers. The watercolor paper just soaks up the color, so it doesn’t coat well unless you go over it again. Some markers that I thought didn’t work, worked much better on a different surface, so just keep that in mind when you’re playing with your supplies.

Derwent Watercolor Pencils (Amazon) – I actually do NOT have a new set of Derwent watercolor pencils. However, I picked up a vintage 1980s set at an antique mall and it works like a dream. I imagine they have similar quality today, and their customer service was fantastic in helping me determine the manufacture date of my 42-color set. They are a great company and I will purchase more watercolor pencils from them when my vintage tin set runs out.

Sakura Pigma Micron Fineliner pens (Amazon) – for mark making that is also waterproof when dry, permanent and archival, go for the Sakura. They last a long time, are high quality, and come in many different thicknesses. I use them for finer detail and doodles when my markers are too thick. Be careful using these over wet media, and if you do, make sure to clean the tip thoroughly or it could stop working properly.

Gelly Roll white pen and Signo Uni-ball white pen (Amazon) – I love and hate my Gelly Roll. What I realized is that this pen, like the Uni-ball that I also love and hate, seem to make somewhat broken lines sometimes when I’m doodling over watercolor and thirsty paper. But I actually have come to love the broken lines and it goes along with my sketchy look. Besides that sporadic issue, the writing itself is VERY opaque, which I love. Some people swear by Gelly Roll, and some swear by Signo Uni-ball. To me, they perform similarly and I don’t see much of a difference, though the Uni-ball has a slight edge with the sturdy and heavier feel of the pen itself. Both of these brands also have different colors available, but I pretty much exclusively use the white in both. I do have a gold Uni-ball though and I like that too!

Faber-Castell Goldfaber colored pencil (Amazon) – I love these colored pencils, and you can purchase open stock at many local art and craft stores, so you can buy singles of favorite colors or any you run out of. These are very smooth and some of the lighter colors show very well on darker backgrounds and even black paper.

Crafter’s Square Metallic Marker (Dollar Tree) – OK I LOVE THESE MARKERS. And NO they are not very metallic like it says on the label, so don’t even think of getting them for that. However, these are some of the most beautifully colored opaque markers with just the slightest hint of metallic that you can barely see. I have four colors, one of them a beautiful rose gold color, and a blue that are both favorites. They will color over anything. Black background? No problem. They are also not waterproof, so you can go over them with water after they dry for a really pretty effect. If you want the lines to stay put, just put some sort of fixative over it to keep working with wet media or choose something else instead of these. But for $1.25 each, they are a steal. Tons of ink, and I use them all the time. They have a nice soft felt tip that comes to a fine/medium bullet point and they are CHEAP. (Update – mine are Crafter’s Square, but it looks like they changed the packaging to “Forever in Time.” These are the same markers, though.)