Favourite Materials Part 2

Colours

I’m back with the second part of my favourite materials breakdown! This time I’ll be going over specific colours of the some of the mediums I mentioned in part one, pointing out ones I did (and didn’t) like.

Choosing colours is very personal to each artist. If you go for a more muted and natural palette, you probably won’t be as interested in bright pinks and purples. Maybe you’re like me and hoard greens, or you only like non-granulating colours. It’s one of those things that takes trial and error to find out which colours you’ll actually use.

I’d like to start out with a couple basics for when I start choosing a palette:

1. Start small

   I don’t want to spend a lot of money all at once so I limit my colours and try not to buy greens, purples, oranges etc until later.

2. Focus on warm/cool

   It’s pretty standard to start making a palette by selecting a warm and cool version of red, blue and yellow. I usually follow this, but I know I don’t use cool yellows or cool reds much so I substitute them with other things.

3. Read Pigment info

   It’s easier to get clean mixes when you’re using paints with single pigments. Learning to read paint tubes helped me make smarter buying decisions.

Now when it comes to dry media like pastels, I still follow these rules but I’m a lot looser with it. They can mix to a point, but it probably won’t be as vibrant. I like to buy sets and then add extra colours as I go. I’m going to list the ones I reach for the most in those cases.

Watercolours

W&N = Winsor and Newton

DS= Daniel Smith

H= Holbein

From left to right:

W&N Winsor Yellow

W&N Winsor Yellow Deep

DS Quinacridone Gold (great for mixing skin tones!)

W&N Scarlet Lake (This one is fine, but I’d like to try a different brand some day)

DS Pyrrol Red (LOVE this red! It’s super strong and vibrant)

W&N Alizarin Crimson (This is a staple in a lot of palettes, but I never use it. Like ever)

W&N Opera Rose (Magentas are tricky because they’re often not lightfast. I use them instead of cool reds though. Great for mixing.)

W&N Quinacridone Violet

W&N French Ultramarine

W&N Prussian Blue

W&N Indigo (super dark blue, almost black)

DS Moonglow (This one separates in a really cool way, the swatches are too small to really show it off)

DS Shadow Violet (another one with a cool effect)

W&N Colbalt Turqoise Light

H Terre Verte

H Olive Green

W&N Hookers green (This green is very easy to turn either warm or cool, so it’s great for a basic palette)

DS Buff Titanium (Love this one! Neutralizes colours well and also mixes great skin tones)

W&N Yellow Ochre

W&N Brown Ochre

W&N Raw Umber

DS Burnt Umber

DS Hematite Genuine (This one is good for making granulating mixes)

H Payne’s Grey (This one is basically the same as the Indigo, you definitely don’t need both)

H Neutral Tint (This one is also very similar to indigo and payne’s grey)

DS Lunar Black (Granulating Black, looks similar to hematite genuine)

H Ivory Black (Non-granulating black)

As you can see, I have a few colours I could probably get rid of. I try to use paint up and then try something new, so these are all added at different times. It’s a bit of a lifelong project to cater it to your needs.

Gouache

I use only Winsor and Newton Designers Gouache. The palette I use has less spaces so I’ve been more selective.

From left to right:

Primary Yellow (I decided to have just one yellow on my palette, so I chose one that doesn’t lean particularly warm or cool)

Naples Yellow (It’s closer to a pale flesh so very useful for skintones)

Orange Lake Light

Flame Red

Bengal Rose (Another magenta I substitute the cool red for)

Brilliant Green

Permanent Green Deep

Cerulean Blue (I don’t really recommend this one unless you really like the colour. It’s pricey $$$)

Sky Blue (Not a huge fan of this one either)

Ultramarine Deep

Prussian Blue (This one doesn’t dry in a palette well, but it’s a really rich, deep colour)

Primary Blue (This is a really bright, clean blue so I prefer it over cerulean or sky blue. It’s a recent purchase and I’m very happy with it!)

Yellow Ochre

Burnt Sienna

Burnt Umber (Doesn’t work in a palette!!! Mine turns to literal dust and refuses to rewet)

Jet Black (I’ve tried Jet black and Ivory black, and Ivory turns crumbly while Jet black is easy to rewet)

Titanium White (I get these in the bigger tubes! Super opaque)

Neocolor ii’s

I bought the 30 set initially, which gave me a lot of great colours. I’ve slowly added to the collection, and these are my favourites:

Light Cobalt Blue (Hue) (661)

Light Grey (003)

Flesh (042)

Russet (065)

Pink (081)

Burnt Sienna (069)

Moss Green (225)

Light Olive (245)

Raw Umber (249)

Scarlet (060)

Salmon Pink (071)

Dark Green (229)

Golden Ochre (033)

Beige (403)

Pale Yellow (011)

Sahara Yellow (521)

Apricot (041)

And that’s my palettes! With oil pastels and pencil crayons I buy sets, and either they aren’t available open stock or I don’t have any particular favourites so it’s not really worth pointing them out.

I hope this helps someone! I have trouble picking out certain colours (like blues) so I love to hear what others use. Actually if anyone has a dark brown gouache they like let me know, I’m still on the hunt.

I wanted to quickly mention a couple things I’ve been enjoying this month also!

• I played Dredge on the Switch and LOVED it. You play as a fisherman and just drive your little boat around fishing, and it’s calming but also kinda spooky? If that sounds like something you’d be into there is a demo you can try.

• Halfmoonjoe on Youtube/Twitch is my new favourite thing to listen to in the background. His Nancy Drew playthroughs are so funny.

• Currently obsessed with Griff, if you’ve been looking for new music they’re worth checking out!

Have a great rest of April everyone!