Watercolor palette (for a beginner)
Presumably up to 12 colors.
Question: should it be a “CMY/K” based palette? and/or, should it be “warm+cool primary colors” a.k.a. “split primary triad”? should it be “pure pigments”?
I was initially recommended the Walter & Newton (Cotman) brand as a cheaper alternative to Schmincke (Akademie). Since then, I found out that the Roman Szmal brand (hereafter shortened to RS) seems also highly regarded, and actually of better quality (comparable to pro W&N / Schmincke grades paints) while much cheaper than those intial ones (at least in my home country of Poland, where Roman Szmal is based). The RS paints seem to focus on pure pigments. I also found that the Renesans brand seems based in Poland too and even slightly cheaper, while also a serious one, but I haven’t watched any reviews yet.
There isn’t very much RS content on youtube yet; one video seems to build up a purely-RS “beginner” palette, though I’m not super sure how much it is universal vs. tailored at the specific person composing it. The components seem to be:
- PG50☠+PV19 “Misty Morning” Note: what to replace with to avoid toxicity?
- PR176 “330 Permanent Alizarin Crimson” "mixes very nice violets"
- PR149 “373 Perylene Scarlet” "a poppy red; not too warm but it would mix beautiful oranges"
- PY150 “308 Nickel Azo Yellow” "you can’t beat those mixes it makes for greens especially"
- PBk31 “409 Perylene Green” "deep forest green & mixes wonderfully with the Nickel Azo Yellow"
- PB27 “219 Prussian Blue” "mixes excellent greens […] note: lightfastness concerns - not worried because painting not for display"
- PB29 "221 French Ultramarine"
- PG50☠ “408 Cobalt Teal” Note: what to replace with to avoid toxicity?
- PV29 "402 Perylene Violet"
- PY74 “206 Hansa Yellow Medium” "it really is a yellow yellow"
- PBr7 “137 Natural Umber Reddish” "it’s just a really nice brown that I think would mix really well"
- PW6:1 “201 Buff Titanium” “a warmer tone gray”
Another set, from a commenter on the video above:
- Buff Titanium
- Azo Yellow
- Gamboge Hue
- Pyrrole Red
- Quin Pink
- Indigo Hue
- French Ultramarine
- Phthalo Blue Turquoise Shade
- Autumn Gree
- Transparent Gold Ochre
- Transparent Oxide Red
- Aquarius Violet
Yet another set, called “Wild Curiosity”, from Lee Angold (via, via), IIUC with official cooperation with Roman Szmal brand (?):
- 308 Nickel Azo Yellow (PY150)
- 266 Gamboge Hue (PY95)
- 354 Aquarius Orange (DPP tentatively PO107? a.k.a. Cosmoray Orange?)
- 332 Quinacridone Magenta (PR122)
- 359 Potter’s Pink (PR233)
- 337 Indanthrone Blue (PB60)
- 414 Cobalt Sea Blue (PB28)
- 344 Ocean Blue (PB15:3 PBr24) Note/question: why not use “103 Phtalo Blue (Green Shade)” instead (PB15:3), and mix it with PBr24 (listed below) manually?
- 234 Naples Yellow Deep (PBr24)
- 132 Cyprus Raw Umber Deep (PBr7)
- 409 Perylene Green (PBk31)
- 363 Autumn Green (PY150, PR122, PG36)
A RS set that seems well-received and recommended as versatile seems to be the “Roman Szmal Urban Sketching set” (12 half-pans), also known occasionally as “Marek Bądzyński set” (seems to be composed by that artist). The set comprises of:
- PY138 352 Quinophthalone Yellow
- PR255 319 Pyrrole Scarlet
- PR122 332 Quinacridone Magenta
- PB29 254 Ultramarine Intense
- PW6+PB15:1 226 Blue Sky
- PB29+PBr7+PV19 259 Shadow Grey
- PY110+PG7 252 Sap Green Light
- PY150+PBr25+PB29 346 Aquarius Green
- PW6:1 201 Buff Titanium
- PY43 109 Gold Ochre
- PBr7 120 Italian Burnt Sienna
- PBr7 130 Cyprus Burnt Umber Deep
A Schmincke Akademie set (#75750) I got at a decent price, described as a “Special Colour Selection”:
- PW6 111 opaque white
- PY35☠ 224 cadmium yellow hue
- PR255 332 cadmium red hue
- PV42 336 magenta
- PB29 443 ultramarine
- PB15:3 448 cyan
- PG7 551 brilliant green
- PY151+PG7 552 may green
- PY42 660 yellow ochre
- PBr7 664 burnt umber terre
- PB15:1+PB66 442 indigo
- PBk6 782 black
I also noted some explorations of a CMY/K-based beginner/universal palette on the “watercolor-cmy” page.