HISTORY
The history of watercolours dates back to 100 AD, after the invention of paper in China. After arabs introduced paper manufacturing in Spain, it was spreaded through Italy and the rest of Europe.
In the watercolour techniques the colours are diluted in water. The pigments are binded with honey, arabic gum or glicerin. Watercolours are always transparent paints, unlike gouache, where they are opaque. These paints fade with the passing of time under the light effects and, just like it happens with the rest of the colouring media, the quality of watercolours is higher when they have more pigments.
Mastering the watercolour technique takes time, and it is also important to take into account the kind of watercolours that adapt to our needs and preferences.
FORMATS
Watercolours come in the following formats:
Pans: this is the most traditional format. Pigments are dry and they have to be mixed with water and a brush in order to activate them. Winsor & Newton has a really useful pocket set ideal for travelling, and the Rembradt series are also good. Japanese are experts in sumi-e watercolour (for traditional calligraphy). One of the best Japanese sets is Gansai Tambi by Kuretake: their colours are very vivid because they are thought to be used alone.
Winsor & Newton | Rembrandt | Kuretake
Tubes: the colours are liquid, so the amount of water needed to activate the pigments is not so big. These watercolours are creamier than the pans, because the amount of binders are bigger. Tube watercolours are cleaner and last longer (because they have more quantity than pans and the amount required to paint is minimal). Tube watercolours can also be disposed on trays and dried to dry to be used exactly as those from pans (ideally it is better to add some honey or a similar substance to avoid cracking). The downside of watercolour tubes is that they can dry after a while not being used, even if we never open the tube at all, but there are tricks to revive them.
Many brands work in tubes format, and the best would be Sennelier, together with White nights. An economical and valuable option is Daveliou.
Sennelier | White nights | Daveliou
Bars: they can be used both dry and wet. Its consistency is similar to soluble pastels, and they activate with water. Winsor & Newton and Derwent produce this format although, technically speaking, Derwent’s bars are soluble inks.
Winsor & Newton | Derwent Inktense
Liquid watercolours: they are the most vivid watercolours because they use thinners together with the pigments. However, these watercolours have a lower lightfastness, so the illustrations can fade with the passing of time. The best liquid watercolour brands are Ecoline and Dr. Ph. Martin.
Watercolour pencils: they look like normal pencils, but they activate when water is applied. When used dry, the colours are paler than normal dry coloured pencils. Once water is applied, the result we get is similar to the traditional watercolour, with the advantage of we can control better the area to cover. Indeed, watercolour pencils allow a more accurate result.
A good watercolour pencil will have saturated pigments and will not leave strokes on the paper that are visible after water is applied. In addition, water can be applied either on top of the dry colour on the paper or applying the wet brush on the point of the pencil and from there to the paper.
The most popular watercolour pencils are Derwent Inktense, Albrecht Dürer by Faber-Castell and Mondeluz by Koh-I-Noor.
Derwent Inktense | FC Albrecht Dürer | Koh-I-Noor Mondeluz
Watercolour markers: just like watercolour pencils, but in marker format. This is one of the most used tool for illustrators. The most popular watercolour markers are those from Winsor & Newton, although there are cheaper options such as MozArt.
PAPER
Regarding the ideal paper to use with watercolours, the thickness is important in order to put up with the water (any paper that is less than 300 grams is not suitable). It is always better to choose an acid-free brand, so the paper won’t turn yellow with the passing of time. Watercolour paper is sold in different formats, from the smallest A5 to A3. There are many options and brands in the market, but it is advisable to start with smaller papers. One clever paper set is Canson mix media, because it can be used for pastel, watercolour and other techniques.
BRUSHES
When it comes to the tool to mix water with the pigments, we can choose from paintbrushes or water brushes. We have a wide variety of paint brushes, but we need to know the size and shape in order to choose the best one for our needs. The quality is also important, because cheap paintbrushes tend to loose hair that ends up on top of our picture, which is annoying. Watercolour brands normally also offer paintbrushes, and I think one of the best ones is Winsor & Newton. Water brushes, on the other hand, are excellent to use with watercolour pencils and the only problem would be controlling the amount of water we push out of the pen everytime we are going to apply it on the paper. In that sense, it is important to choose a brush that does not leak. Pentel is a good brand that specializes in both paintbrushes and water brushes.
CONCLUSION
Watercolour is a technique that needs time to be mastered, because it is about applying layers and this needs time for the water to dry. To handle water means not to apply too much and not to apply too less. It is not the best technique for beginners, but it is relaxing and elegant.
It is also important to know the format that applies best to our necessities. If you want to work on small details, it is better to use watercolour pencils. For bigger extensions, landscapes or sceneries the best option is watercolour pans or tubes. For illustrators or graphic designers, the best alternative are watercolour markers.
Learning to draw 