How to Begin Your First Daniel Smith Watercolor Collection

There are SO many watercolor supplies on the market today! It can feel totally overwhelming if you're a beginner thinking about trying watercolors for the first time, or someone who wants to invest in a special watercolor palette, and no idea where to start! 

Which watercolor brand should you buy? If you have a limited budget - which colors should you start with? 

Today's YouTube video on my mixed media channel is all about what I WISH someone had shared with me before I started building my first watercolor collection!

I'm in LOVE with a watercolor brand called Daniel Smith. If you're new to Daniel Smith watercolors, these tubes are pricey, but if you want to try watercolor, I recommend cutting through the cluter on the shelves at your craft store and choosing something that will give you a quality experience from the very beginning.

You can absolutely try something cheaper that gives you more colors for less money, but I guarantee you'll go back to the store looking for something better in time, and you'll spend MORE on trial and error with your supplies than if you had selected one or two shades of Daniel Smith watercolors to play with from the start.

To me, there is just something magical about how Daniel Smith watercolors look when you put them on paper. They have some GORGEOUS granulation properties in them that make me feel like I'm working with raw elements directly from the earth when I paint!!

In today's YouTube video I'm showing you EXACTLY how to build your first Daniel Smith watercolor palette! 

A watercolor palette is simply a case to hold a collection of colors. Many brands carry sets of prefilled palettes, but typically I prefer to create my own.

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!!  

​There are multiple ways to go about making your own palette. The one above contains tiny, removeable squares called half pans. I buy them empty so I can squeeze my favorite colors into them and create an entire palette of beautiful options to paint with. 

Alternatively, you can select a watercolor palette that has indentations or little wells in it - like the one shown below- to hold your colors. You choose whichever style you like best to work with! 

As you'll see- when you squeeze watercolor tubes onto your own palette- the paints look much darker here than they do when you add water to them and put them on paper! Because of this- it's SUPER EASY to wet your brush and think you're dipping into black, when it's actually indigo, green or purple!! 

To help yourself remember which colors live where in your palette, you'll want to create a little "key" for yourself. This is called color swatching. You can cut out a piece of watercolor paper to fit inside your palette, or you can swatch in your watercolor sketchbook, etc.  

I bought this adorable, long watercolor sketchbook and have decided to use this to swatch the colors I'm dropping into a new palette with only my absolute FAVORITE Daniel Smith watercolor shades!  

​Be sure you watch the video to see just how I do this so you can replicate it at home for yourself whenever you're ready! In the video I also give you my recommendations about which colors you might want to start with if you have a limited budget or just need some ideas on where to begin!!

I also love using Silver Black Velvet watercolor brushes, but if you need help selecting a watercolor brush - I've got an entire VIDEO on this subject ready and waiting FOR YOU!! 

​I hope you find this helpful and I can't wait to see what you create!!! I think you're going to LOVE the world of watercolor - especially if you're using Daniel Smith!! 

See ya back here next week!!