Brush Lettering with Watercolor Supply List

If you’re an Every-Tuesday subscriber, then you already received this brush lettering with watercolor supply list in your inboxes yesterday 🙂 It’s too useful of a resource not to share, so I wanted to also bring it into the blog this week. Having the right supplies can be a serious road block when you’re just getting started, and a costly one at that. After going through my fair share of supply testing (and cash), I’ve compiled a list of my absolute favorites. For those on a budget, or if you’re not sure if this is for you, I’ve also included a separate list of comparable, lower priced items 😉 My newest master course, Brush Lettering with Watercolor is now open if you’d like to put these supplies to use!

Grab the full, master supply list as a clickable pdf here!

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Here are a few of my favorites from the list and why I love em 🙂

Tube Watercolors

tube watercolors

Premium option: Sakura Koi Tube Watercolors
Budget friendly: Pentel Tube Watercolors

notes
In my experience, the Koi watercolors are a bit more vibrant and less thick/dry than the Pentels, so they’re a bit easier to work with, but both yield equally beautiful outcomes.

Pan Set Watercolors

pan set watercolors

Premium option: Winsor & Newton Cotman Half Pan Studio Set
Budget friendly: Sakura Koi or Artist’s Loft

notes
The Winsor & Newton pans are very concentrated and vibrant for pans. The Koi pan set is a really nice alternative to the Winsor & Newton, but if your budget is extra tight, the Artist’s Loft is a great starter set for experimenting!

Concentrated Watercolors

concentrated watercolors

Premium option: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Watercolors
Budget friendly: Color Splash Liquid Watercolors

notes
I’ve been using my Hydrus set for almost a year and I haven’t used half of any color yet. They’re extremely vibrant and so fun to work with! I haven’t tried the Color Splash, but it has some great reviews, so it seems to be the best alternative. There really aren’t any middle-ground options aside from purchasing Hydrus bottles individually.

Watercolor Paper

watercolor paper

Premium option: Strathmore 140# cold press
Budget friendly: Canson 140# cold press

notes
I’ve been using the Canson for a while now and I still love it. It gets a bit wavy with saturated washes, but for lettering, it’s really ideal. The Strathmore has a bit more tooth, or deeper texture, which is the greatest difference between the two.

Waterbrushes for Lettering

waterbrushes

Personal favorite: Pentel Aquash (purchase 1 instead of the 3 pack for budget friendly option – my fav size is the small)

notes
If you haven’t used a waterbrush before, I can’t recommend getting one enough! They are really easy and fun to use and eliminate the need for a water cup entirely!

Watercolor Paintbrushes for Lettering

watercolor paintbrushes

Premium option: Winsor & Newton Series 7 no. 0 + 1 round (no.1 is my favorite)
Budget friendly: da Vinci Round no.1

notes
The kind of paintbrush you use really does make a difference when it comes to lettering. It *is* an investment, but it’s a brush you’ll use forever. I’ve had my Series 7 no.1 for over a year, leaving it hours on end in a dirty water cup and it cleans up and behaves like new every time. I totally get wanting another option here, so I would recommend the da Vinci.

Pick up your free brush lettering with watercolor supply list here!

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Brush Lettering with Watercolor, the ultimate course on creating eye catching, colorful brush lettering, is now open!