Watercolor and gouache paints for school and hobby use

Watercolor and gouache paints for art class and hobby painting

Watercolor and gouache paints are part of the basic kit in art class and are popular for painting at home too. In this category you'll find paints in pans, tubes and sets, from the school paint box to individual gouache colors for bold pictures.

The difference between watercolor and gouache

Watercolors are translucent: applied with plenty of water, they let the surface show through and allow soft transitions. Gouache contains more pigment and filler, so it covers strongly and dries matte. This lets you paint light colors on a dark background too. The opaque paints in the classic school paint box sit in between: applied thickly they cover well, heavily diluted they look translucent.

The paints are water-based, so brushes and palettes are easy to clean with water. For wet techniques, thicker painting paper works best because it buckles less.

• Watercolors for transparent effects
• Opaque gouache paints for bold areas of color
• Paints in tubes, pans or sets
• For school, art class and hobby painting

Tip: Gouache shifts slightly in color as it dries: light shades often turn a little darker, dark shades a little lighter. So test mixes on a scrap first.