Caran d’Ache paints also come in caked pan form, which is a benefit for some artists who enjoy working in this format. They manufacture their paint with calcium carbonate, which can make dried colours appear chalkier than some of the brands that don’t use this ingredient. Daler Rowney Aquafine Gouache As the pigments in this gouache are very finely milled, there is little granulation in terms of pigment separation. Granulation isn’t usually expected from a gouache paint, as it is usually associated with creating flat areas of colour, but I have seen it occasionally in some other brands. However, across some of my more wet swatches of the Holbein Gouache, you can see how the pigment pools in some areas. I prefer to use a hot press paper, which doesn’t usually encourage this effect as a cold press might, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it as a lover of a soft texture!

This palette covers most bases for what would be considered a traditional mixing palette. For my own palette, if I had the choice, I might consider adding a cool lemon yellow instead of Spring Green, and a cooler red, such as a Quinacridone or Carmine, instead of Edo Violet, to have a full range of colours that I enjoy mixing. I might have swapped Taisha Brown for an Ochre or an Umber too, but this is a very personal preference, and certainly doesn’t impact the performance of what these twelve tubes of paint can do. If you definitely prefer a more traditional palette, you could try the Holbein Gouache Set of 12, which covers warm and cool primaries; however, if you like to try something a little different that still covers all the bases for colour mixing, the Irodori Summer Palette could work well for you. In watercolor, pigments are ground into an extremely fine powder, and mixed with a binder usually made of gum arabic. They also often contain other modifiers such as honey, glycerin, ox gall, water, and even fluorescents. Sometimes called opaque watercolor, gouache is a popular water-based paint that is used by artists and designers. Its opacity, brilliance, and matte finish make it a favored choice for illustration work, including posters and comics. While you can buy these paints individually, the best way to immerse yourself in everything this medium has to offer is with a set. If you are selling your work, make sure to get acid-free paper. Use gouache with any artist quality watercolour sketchbook or surface.In general, Holbein paints are not cheap but for the quality and smaller sets price does make sense and you are getting the value for the dollar. The more single pigment colours, such as the cadmiums are more expensive than the premixed designer colours such as brilliant yellow. Winsor and Newton provide alternatives to the genuine cadmium colours that are non toxic. Attributes: Smooth application, great choice for students and sketchbook work, comes in pan format, vivid colours I’ve been hearing about Holbein a lot, and many artists recommend it across Facebook communities and Reddit. Hello Keith, thanks for mentioning Roger Hilton’s gouache paintings- they are really beautiful. They are most likely protected behind UV glass when they are on display- lots of well-known artists’ works are sensitive to light so it’s standard practice! I would suggest doing a controlled lightfastness test by painting swatches of the paints you use and covering half of each swatch with an opaque material. If you place them in a south-facing window for around 4 months (during summer is better) and then remove the opaque cover, you’ll get a pretty good idea of how lightfast they are. UV glass is one way of giving them extra protection if they need it. Another thing you could try is an archival UV varnish with a matt finish (like this one). However, I would definitely test it before applying it to a painting you really like, as the varnish might change the tonal values of the work. Once you’ve tested the paints and taken some steps to protect the paintings if they need it, then you can inform your buyers of the material longevity of your studies, and how best to look after them.

Five of the colours use single pigments in their mixes. This means that some of the colours, for example, ultramarine or burnt umber may look different compared to other brands.

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Firstly, the texture of the paints was very smooth and fluid, thinner in consistency than the buttery, heavy body acrylics. This made them very easy to use undiluted but I was concerned that this would mean that they wouldn’t be as opaque as I would like. I was pleasantly surprised that when not thinned down with water, they were very opaque, which really opens up possibilities when painting, such as adding highlights and details towards the end. You can see from my test that the white and yellow were slightly less opaque but a further layer of paint would sort that out. The paint is highly opaque and can be used on a variety of surfaces, including paper, board, and canvas. I use these brands because they are extremely opaque and have a beautiful consistency. But while doing these brand comparison tests, I found out there is a wide range of consistencies in gouache brands. If you like one of the brands I don’t like, it’s because we are used to different consistencies, and that’s OK! Honestly you can get used to anything with enough practice.

Traditional gouache is a water-based paint characterised by a matt, opaque finish. Like watercolour, it uses gum Arabic as a binder, but because it contains opacifying agents it offers a velvety application of colour, fast drying time, and high opacity. It is a medium often used in illustration and design because a matt surface is easier to digitally reproduce and it lends itself to bold, graphic painting techniques. Traditional gouache is also used by many watercolour artists because its opacity can be very useful for adding highlights and details on top of the luminous transparency of watercolour. The two mediums can also be used interchangeably.Use the opaque matte colours on their own, or combine it with artists watercolours to bring transparency to the painting. The colour range is fairly limited, but they supply an excellent range of primaries, earth tones and all the essential colours to mix a full chromatic range. M. Graham make a fantastic watercolour range too, if you’re interested in finding out the differences between watercolour and gouache, read our guide. Although I prefer acrylic paint, I have worked with all water-based paints (other than egg tempera) and I will say the acrylic gouache paint was easy enough to use, although it did take me a couple days to adjust to the difference. After some trial and error, I discovered the best palette to use was a small metal one. If a wet palette is left overnight, one is likely to end up with a watery mess. I found this out the hard way! In summary, Holbein Acrylic Gouache Paints are vibrant and highly saturated, don’t flake or lift when dry, and they give you a beautiful painting or drawing with a velvety matte finish. I truly enjoyed painting with them and would recommend them to anyone who wants to use a gouache paint that has acrylic tendencies.” Traditional gouache is often divided into two categories- Artist and Designer gouache. But what do these mean in practice and what do they mean for painters? The simple answer seems to be that one caters for fine artists, and the other for designers and illustrators. However, choosing a paint should not be about categorising the kind of art you make, but about what each paint has to offer. In this article, I compare the characteristics of artist and designer gouache and what it means for your painting. I also compare the characteristics of seven ranges of gouache to help you choose the best one for your practice.