Introducing some of the key properties of watercolour

and the many forms it comes in.

HOW IS WATERCOLOUR MADE?

PIGMENT…

Pigment is a dry powdery colouring agent sourced from plant roots, chemicals, nature, metal

reactions and precious stones. The rarer the source, the more expensive the pigment and the paint.

…COMBINED WITH GUM ARABIC

Gum Arabic is the binder for pigment in watercolour. It’s the sap from an Arabian tree, diluted

with water to form a liquid. It’s also used in chewing gum as well as glue and cosmetics!

WATERCOLOUR IS AVAILABLE READY

MIXED IN MANY FORMS

TUBES – 5ml/14ml

Tube watercolours give an intense, moist colour, so they’re good for large applications. We stock

Winsor and Newton professional watercolours in 5ml and 14ml tubes. A little bit of paint goes a very

long way so 5ml is the most popular size.

PANS

Pans are portable and economical. We sell lots of sets of these but we also sell individual

replacement pans in the ‘half pan’ size (pictured above). They re-dry once used, and are small so

very convenient for artists to carry around.

STICKS

Portable, hard set watercolour is used to draw on watercolour paint with controlled lines. It can be

combined with water to blend and spread.

MARKERS

Combining superior detailing with stunning colour vibrancy, Winsor & Newton's new Water Colour

Markers herald an innovative leap for the medium. Designed with twin nibs (a versatile brush and a

fine tip for detailing) the markers produce colours which can be wet and blended for superb effects.

BRUSH PENS

Brush pens are fluid watercolour paint contained in a pen, producing quick runny application of paint

with the precision of a brush. They’re portable and fun to use! Use them with other types of

watercolour, or dry drawing materials to add vibrant instant colour.

WATERCOLOUR TRANSPARENCY

TRANSPARENCY

Transparency is the degree to which light is allowed to pass through so that the

background behind can be distinctly seen.

Watercolour is a transparent paint, but some

colours are more transparent than others.

This depends on the pigment type. As

well as different prices and sources,

pigments have different levels of

transparency.

So what’s the opposite of transparency?

OPACITY

Opacity is the degree to which light is not allowed to travel through; the quality of

lacking transparency or translucence.

All colours in any paint type are either

opaque or transparent to some degree.

This depends on the pigment type. The

opposite of looking at the transparency is

looking at the opacity of a colour.

So how can you tell which is more

transparent and which is more opaque?

TRANSPARENCY CODES

All brands of paints use a code to identify how transparent or opaque a colour (and pigment) is.

Transparent

Semi-transparent

Opaque

Semi-opaque

USE OF PAINT

Use the transparent colours for creating depth with layers, and the more opaque colours for intense

blocks of colour. Playing around with a combination of colours is part of the fun of painting.

WHAT IF A CUSTOMER IS LOOKING

FOR A MORE OPAQUE PAINT?

GOUACHE

Gouache is made from the same ingredients as watercolours but has a high load of pigment and has

an inert filler added to make it opaque.

GOUACHE

The inert filler in gouache could be a zinc white pigment, alumina hydrate or chalk.

GOUACHE

Designers’ gouache is used by designers and graphic artists. This is because the matt, flat finish

makes it ideal for photographing and scanning, producing strong block colours.