I made a custom watercolour palette for a friend using my tube paints. They requested transparent and non-granulating, so this is a little information about my choices (not all paints fit the request). I concentrated on single pigments but included a couple of convenience mixes. All of these should be lightfast.
Paints with a * next to them could make up a split primary (i.e. warm/cool red-yellow-blue) mixing palette. Paints with a + could make up a secondary mixing palette.
Paints
*+ Magenta (Derivan)
PV19, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Non-staining
Very cool red, a good mixing colour for a Cyan-Magenta-Yellow trio.
Quinacridone Coral (Daniel Smith)
PR209, Semi-Transparent, ☀️ Extremely permanent”, Non-staining
A warmer cool red, a nice pink. This pigment is highly recommended by both Handprint and Kimberly Crick but I haven’t had the chance to use it much.
+ Pyrrole Red (Derivan)
PR254, Semi-Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Staining
A more neutral red.
Perylene Maroon (Holbein)
PR179, Semi-Transparent, ☀️ Holbein 3/4, Staining
A very deep, dark red. Try mixing with Phthalo Green for a black.
* Transparent Pyrrol Orange (Daniel Smith)
PO71, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Low staining
Daniel Smith’s version of this pigment is a very warm red. Try mixing with phthalo blue for a black.
*+ Nickel Azo Yellow (Daniel Smith)
PY150, Transparent, No, ☀️ Excellent, Low staining
Warm yellow in hue, almost brown when applied at full strength. The nickel makes it slightly toxic so handle with care.
* Lemon Yellow (Daniel Smith)
PY175, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Low staining
A more cool yellow.
Sap Green Permanent (Art Spectrum)
PY129 + PG7, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Staining
A convenience mixture bright green. (Note that it has the same green pigment as below!)
+ Phthalo Green (Derivan)
PG7, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Staining
A very blue-leaning green, useful as a base for mixing other, more natural greens.
Shadow Green (Holbein)
PBk31, Transparent, ☀️ Holbein 3/4, Semi-staining
A very very dark green, actually uses a pigment that is classified as black.
*+ Phthalo Blue (Derivan)
PB15.3, Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Staining
A cool blue, good for the Cyan in your CMY(K) trio.
*+ UltraBlue (Derivan)
PB29, Semi-Transparent, ☀️ ASTM I, Granulating, Non-staining
A warm blue. A very well-known pigment, which is why I’ve included it even though this version granulates heavily.
Ultramarine Violet (Rembrandt)
PV15, Semi-Transparent, Granulating, ☀️ Rembrandt 3/3, Non-staining
Another granulating colour, but I wanted to include a purple in this set! My tube of this had almost completely separated from the binder and I had to pour it all out, mix it and scoop it back into the tube so I’m not sure I’d buy this version again.
Spinel Grey (Rembrandt)
PBk26, Transparent, ☀️ Rembrandt 3/3, Non-Staining
A lovely neutral black/grey pigment. One of very few non-granulating black pigments. A new paint to me that I haven’t actually used yet!
Neutral Tint (Qor)
PY42 + PR122 + PB15:3, Semi-Transparent, Granulating, ☀️ ASTM II, Staining
In theory you can use this to darken/neutralise any colour. My tube comes out very brown though and I’m not sure it’s supposed to. Worth experimenting with this to see if you like it!
Raw Sienna Natural Deep (Art Spectrum)
PBr7, Semi-Transparent, Granulating, ☀️ ASTM I, Non-staining
Burnt Sienna Natural (Art Spectrum)
PBr7, Transparent, Granulating, ☀️ ASTM I, Non-staining
Raw Umber (Qor)
PBr7, Semi-Opaque, Granulating, ☀️ ASTM I, Semi-staining
Burnt Umber (Holbein)
PBr7, Semi-Transparent, Granulating, ☀️ Holbein 4/4, Non-staining
This classic group of earth pigments are mostly semi-transparent and granulating. The two Art Spectrum ones have a tendency to crack when dry so I’ve stirred in some glycerin, but they still could be difficult to rewet.
Imidazolone Brown (Holbein)
PBr25, Transparent, ☀️ Holbein 4/4, Low staining
Very similar to Burnt Sienna but transparent and non-granulating.
Brands
Art Spectrum: Australian brand. These paints are designed to be used wet from the tube, not dried in a palette, so I always add glycerin to them to prevent cracking. They have a lot of specialty colours designs for Australian landscapes.
Daniel Smith: American brand, known for their specialty granulating paints but also has a gigantic range. Excellent quality but quite expensive (especially when buying in Australia) so I tend to only get 5mL tubes.
Derivan: Another Australian brand. I would probably classify these are student grade but they do provide pigment information and most paints held up to my lightfastness testing. I add glycerin to them as they tend to set very hard.
Holbein: A Japanese brand, known for producing very transparent, mostly non-granulating paints that don’t move a lot in water. Very high quality, I like them a lot.
Maimeri Blu: Italian brand. Quite reasonably priced and good quality.
Qor: American brand, uses a synthetic binder. They specialise in vibrant paints that move a lot in water but for some reason I only have earth/neutral tones.
Rembrandt: Dutch brand, Royal Talens. I haven’t spent a lot of time with them yet but they seem promising, binder separation issues aside.