Watercolor Pencils, ZIG Markers, Ranger Markers, Spectrum Aqua Markers... - Part I

Let's talk a little bit about the individual pencils/ markers and the papers needed to get the best results:


Watercolor pencils:

The perfect medium to start. I love the Close to My Heart watercolor pencil set since it gives you a good variety of colors for the start. This set includes 24 pencils and with the water blending you can create even more colors and shades.
They are easy to use and you can pretty much color on regular cardstock with them. Use them as "regular" pencils or with a little water to blend.
If you are a starter, that's the item for you!

ZIG Markers:

Another great medium to use, but I would consider these once you got a little familiar with the water coloring technique. I started with a 12 pen set, which again contains the basic colors, but I ended up liking them so much that I bought a couple of extra colors. Made by Kuretake, these pens have a brush like tip. They are very juicy and with the right paper you will be able to blend marker to marker. They can also be blend with a water brush. 

Regarding papers, I tried a couple different ones and if you have those markers and they haven't been working for you, well it might be due to the paper you used. The paper that worked the best for me was Bristol mixed medium or the Strathmore Bristol 100lb paper. So with this set of pens you would need special paper to get them to work. Otherwise, great pens and awesome results (see a card I made later next week!)
You can find them at different retailers like SimonSaysStamp.com, EllenHudson.com or others.

Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paints:

These very creamy and bright colors are awesome, but nothing for beginners. How to shade, how much water you have to use, how to control the water, all this is important for a great result with these colors. They are a bit pricey, so if you just start with water coloring, maybe you look for some other options before investing in these. 

This been said, check out our brand new Close to My Heart annual Idea Book and see the new watercolor paints we have to offer and so much more...

For either of these forms of watercolor paints, beside the pencils, you need Watercolor Paper to archive any coloring. 

Check back tomorrow with more to come ....