This post may contain affiliate links at no extra cost to you. Please read our full disclosure here to find out more.

Starting watercolor painting for the first time can feel overwhelming. With so many watercolor paints, brushes, papers, and art supplies available online, many beginner artists end up buying the wrong materials or spending far more money than they need to.

The good news is that you do NOT need expensive professional art supplies to begin painting beautiful watercolor landscapes, seascapes, wildlife scenes, and nature paintings.

In this guide, we’ll show you the best watercolor supplies for beginners in 2026 — including watercolor paints, watercolor brushes, watercolor paper, palettes, and essential accessories — all for under $150 TOTAL!

Whether you’re completely new to watercolor painting or returning to art after many years away, this beginner watercolor starter kit will help you start painting with confidence.

What Watercolor Supplies Do Beginners Actually Need?

One of the biggest mistakes beginner watercolor artists make is buying too many supplies too quickly.

In reality, you only need:

• A good beginner watercolor paint set
• A few quality watercolor brushes
• Proper watercolor paper
• A mixing palette
• Water containers and paper towels

That’s it.

With the right watercolor supplies, you can learn:

• Wet-on-wet watercolor techniques
• Color mixing
• Watercolor landscapes
• Water reflections
• Atmospheric skies
• Wildlife painting
• Beginner watercolor tutorials

Best Watercolor Paints for Beginners in 2026

When learning watercolor painting, your paints matter more than most people realize.

Cheap watercolor sets often contain weak pigments that make color mixing muddy and frustrating. A quality beginner watercolor paint set will help your paintings look brighter, cleaner, and more vibrant.

Recommended Beginner Watercolor Paint Set

Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors

The Winsor & Newton Cotman range remains one of the best watercolor paint sets for beginners in 2026.

Why beginners love them:

• Affordable ($23 for the set)
• Easy to mix
• Reliable pigments
• Widely available
• Excellent for learning watercolor techniques

Cotman paints are student-grade watercolors, but they still produce beautiful professional-looking paintings when used correctly.

Recommended colors for beginners:

• Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean Blue
• Burnt Sienna
• Alizarin Crimson
• Lemon Yellow
• Payne’s Gray
• Sap Green

These colors allow beginners to mix almost any landscape color they need.

Best Watercolor Brushes for Beginners

Choosing the right watercolor brushes can completely transform your painting experience.

Many beginners struggle because they use stiff craft brushes that don’t hold enough water.

Recommended Watercolor Brush Set for Beginners

Fuumuui 9-Piece Watercolor Brush Set

The Fuumuui 9-piece brush set has quickly become one of our favorite watercolor brush sets for beginner artists.

Why these watercolor brushes are excellent for beginners:

• Hold water beautifully
• Create smooth washes
• Fine points for detail work
• Affordable compared to professional sable brushes
• Perfect for landscapes, trees, skies, boats, and wildlife

These brushes are ideal for anyone learning:

• Beginner watercolor painting
• Watercolor landscapes
• Watercolor tutorials
• Paint along lessons

⭐️ Use Discount Code: BILL15 for 15% OFF at Fuumuui.com

Best Watercolor Paper for Beginners

If there’s ONE supply beginners should never go too cheap on, it’s watercolor paper.

Good watercolor paper allows:

• smoother blending
• softer skies
• better lifting
• cleaner washes
• stronger colors

Poor paper causes:

• streaking
• warping
• muddy colors
• frustration

Recommended Watercolor Paper

Baohong Rough Watercolor Paper

Baohong watercolor paper has become extremely popular with beginner and professional watercolor artists alike.

Why it works so well:

• Excellent absorbency
• Strong enough for wet-on-wet painting
• Affordable compared to premium cotton papers
• Fantastic for beginners learning technique

We recommend:

• Rough watercolor paper (the texture allows for more brush techniques)
• 300gsm / 140lb

This is the ideal beginner watercolor paper weight.

If budget isn't a problem then Arches Watercolor Paper is the cream of the crop! 300lb of Watercolor perfection! Save this for your masterpieces!

Essential Watercolor Accessories for Beginners

You don’t need many accessories to begin watercolor painting.

Watercolor Palette

A simple white deep-well mixing palette works perfectly.

Large white areas help you see your watercolor mixes clearly.

Water Containers

Two containers are best:

• one for dirty water
• one for clean water

Paper Towels

Paper towels help control water, create texture, and lift highlights.

Pencil & Kneadable Eraser

A simple HB pencil is perfect for sketching watercolor compositions before painting and this kneadable eraser from Faber-Castell won't tear your paper.

Beginner Watercolor Tips for Success

If you’re just starting watercolor painting, remember:

• Your first paintings do NOT need to be perfect
• Watercolor improves with repetition
• Simple paintings often look best
• Learning water control is more important than detail

Many beginners become discouraged too quickly.

The key is consistency.

Paint regularly, follow step-by-step watercolor tutorials, and enjoy the process of learning.

Free Beginner Watercolor Tutorials

At Let’s Paint Watercolors, we create free beginner watercolor tutorials every week designed to help artists of all skill levels improve with confidence.

Our tutorials include:

• Watercolor landscapes
• Seascapes
• Mountains
• Wildlife
• Boats
• Countryside scenes
• Misty atmospheric paintings
• Beginner watercolor techniques

Whether you’re painting your very first watercolor or improving your skills, we’d love for you to paint along with us.

📺 Visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@LetsPaintWatercolors

Looking for a friendly community and more "hands on" help and guidance? Join hundreds of other artists in our Facebook Subscribers Group.

⭐️ Join our Facebook Subscribers Group for:

• 100+ tutorials and sketches
• Downloadable line drawings
• Private watercolor community
• Ask Bill Holkham anything! (35 years of experience)
• Monthly giveaways
• Exclusive tutorials

👉 https://www.facebook.com/100090090181895/subscribe/

Final Thoughts: The Best Beginner Watercolor Supplies in 2026

You do not need expensive professional watercolor supplies to create beautiful paintings.

With:

• quality beginner watercolor paints
• good watercolor paper
• reliable brushes
• and regular practice

you can begin creating artwork you’ll be proud of surprisingly quickly.

The most important thing is simply to start.

Grab your watercolor supplies, enjoy the process, and let’s paint watercolors together.

— Bill Holkham Watercolor Artist and Teacher