It would be nice if some of the professional-grade watercolour makers would sell a small set of 6 primary colours, so beginners could experiment/learn with professional-grade watercolours (keeping the cost at same level a beginner would pay for student-grade - perhaps including smaller amounts to keep cost down). I think your point about a beginner getting frustrated with paints that are hard to re-wet or not pigmented enough is very valid.

@onemig00

6 жыл бұрын

Sennelier does. It has a 6 pan starter and an 8 pan mini set :)

@glorioskiola

6 жыл бұрын

Daniel Smith has just that kind of set. It is called the essentials set. It is a split primary set, with a warm and cool version of each primary, 6 little tubes in all.

@zanerobbins7604

6 жыл бұрын

Mary Algar i feel like a lot of brands already have this... Sennelier has a 6 pan starter set, M. Graham sells an introductory set of 6, Daniel Smith has a set an introductory set of 6, and many other brands carry small sets that contain primaries and some earth tones.

@Cheripie506

4 жыл бұрын

Miameriblu has an introductory set as well. 5 or 6 colors I believe.

@viridian4388

3 жыл бұрын

Ok, do artist not care about pigmentation then? I always wondered why the Cotmans were so crappy, or perhaps artists liked to build up 10+ layers and that's why there "wasn't enough pigment" in the paints.

I love the Van Gogh Student grade paints, they are awesome. I agree, I don't know how they can be called student grade. I also have Rembrandt and I really love them.

I still reach for my Van Gogh's over my professional sets, I just love them so much! Glad to see you doing another review, you do them so well.

@valasafantastic1055

6 жыл бұрын

Katherine Sullivan I did more research into lightfastness, price and quality; van gough are full artist grade and upper tier of that! Despite the marketing as a ‘student’ grade.

I am in The Netherlands, and Van Gogh paints are here almost in every art store. If you want / need some, I am happy to ship you whatever you need. Thnx for your video :)

I've had my 15 half pan van gogh pallete since 8th grade, my art teacher gifted it to me as a competition prize (yearly event).

@duntemdraws310

5 жыл бұрын

Miss Niyuu oh my god im jealous

Really interesting comparison, the Van Gough really do seem to shine here. As someone who has used Cotman on and off for more than 40 years, I can say one thing - it was not always like this. It was good paint, consistent quality and in the UK well priced and available in every High Street. I didn't need to go to an art store, I could pick it up at the local magazine /bookstore like W H Smith, or any other stationary shop in the High St. - Also at the time there was little else to compare it with, just Daler Rowney Georgian watercolour or school grade Reeves ...and Cotman won hands down for quality and availability back then. Cotman was also the only brand to offer the very practical 21ml tubes and this appealed to many painters and academic institutions. So I think historically it has been carried along by this high reputation and fond memories for many of us. Times have however changed and there are many other high quality brands now just a "click" away and many are much better quality and value. Winsor Newton is not the company it once was and regardless of its still great professional range, it sold out when it came to Cotman and its other lower tier product ranges. I think my main observation with cotman is the inconsistency of quality now, I can still get some good paint, especially in the 21ml tubes but I've had a lot disappointment with pan sets I've purchased for students and some of the smaller tubes which were gritty in texture, hard to rewet and even variations in colour. Here in the UK however, the Cotman 21ml tubes still have a strong following among the growing number of prominent "Hake style" painters, and this continues to push the brand.

@biazacha

4 жыл бұрын

I've seen several comments regarding the gap between the quality of the tubes and pans; they both do have different formulas but still disappointing. Is really interesting see the pov of a long timer consumer.

@milosmihajlovic1867

2 жыл бұрын

Van Gogh has more pigment and the cynths are ground unlike the Cotman series and the one coming from the UK, Rembrandt professional watercolors are much better than W&N professional (it's just strong marketing at W&N, just like Daniel Smith who copied Rembrandt only added some of his colors to the technological process), this division is frightening, these are the best, these are not, etc., Van Gogh are very intense colors and you need to know how to work with them, they are above student colors, moreover some masters use some VG paints especially Dusk series (high granulation paints) that Cotman does not have, in watercolor everything must be professional if you want to become a master of the same, while I used VG in tubes I found better colors than some "professional paints" and well-known manufacturers, VG is the closest to Holbein professional colors that are also very intense used by Chen, only he dilutes each color with Opaque white. You should pay attention because many Van Gogh colors come from China and that has nothing to do with what Royal Talens produces - one of the leading manufacturers of painting equipment in the world. you get colors of a professional character, greetings and happy work.

@milosmihajlovic1867

2 жыл бұрын

When working with them, you need to dilute them a lot with water, and if it is possible to add Arabic tires to them, you get what is written in the last sentence.

No one can say you didn't give them a fair trial, lol! I have the Cotman compact set and a few Van Gogh tubes, and I much much much prefer the Van Gogh (or even the Lukas student grade line). I think Cotman (Winsor & Newton) has much better marketing, much better distribution and a lot of cute packaging options, but the quality is a bit lacking. My Cotman set was made in China, though, I hear they were a little better when they were made in England or France. As I've read in another comment, I would recommend anyone who wants a first set to go for the White Nights, which are described as artist grade by the manufacturer, but are almost just as affordable as student grade. I would love to see your review on them too!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Milena! I'm nothing if not through haha.

@milenabdesign

6 жыл бұрын

Oh, I forgot to wish you a happy birthday!! I am late, so double wishes!

@milosmihajlovic1867

2 жыл бұрын

Van Gogh are much better than the Cotman series, they are more pigmented and working in several layers is literally different from W&N which have many flaws in many colors, for example Van Gogh is drawn to professional colors and today there is controversy whether they are professional, I used Schmincke for a long time and gave a lot of money and then I took 70 Van Gogh colors and the difference is so absurd, I would classify VG in super professional colors because some colors are better than Rembrant, Oxid Black is the color I mix with the most and gives the same as Schmincke only differs in price and when you compare it, quality-price VG are by far the best colors on the market and KI Noor professional which cost less than a whole set of VG of 72 colors are perfect (yet almost a century and a half longer real colors than Royal Talens) and cost 60 e 18 pans, and VG 72 250e.

@milosmihajlovic1867

2 жыл бұрын

Jesi iz Srbije?

I know I’m late to this video but thank you so much for making it! I am putting together my first tin of watercolours after using those chalky cheap ones for years. I’m not exactly professional so I thought I’d start off with student grade, but wasn’t sure whether to go for Cotman or Van Gogh ☺️ You’ve just saved me a fortune in wasted pennies: Van Gogh it is! 💖

Here in Middle Europe (I'm from Poland) our standard beginner solution is to go for artist grade Russian or Polish paints. They are either a bit more expensive than Cotman/ Van Gogh or even cheaper (depends on the pigment, but moreless 1 full pan Roman Szmal costs 2 half pans Cotman, 1 full pan White Nights costs 1 half pan Cotman, and 2 half pans Renensans cost 1 half pan Cotman). They range from decent quality (White Nights) to superb (Roman Szmal). I wonder if maybe in US there are also some very local brands making cheap artist grade paint - I mean if they put less money in marketing and distribution and sell only locally, they might afford to have better prices.

Very interesting. I’ve only just realised Van Gogh are so good, I’d seen them around and not really noticed, Cotman are just better known I guess.

Glad to see someone else say about how hard cotmans are to rewet, I actually bought tubes for them and found that much much easier (even dried on the palette) so not sure why though. Makes me wonder about the sakura koi paints as well. (Or how some people view cheap Kohinoor s because I have a set with 4 circlets that make some of the brightest and darkest colours I've ever managed. Probably helps that it's a dye based paint though) Also happy birthday. C:

June 2023, I just bought a van Gogh pocket box aka travel set, basic colors at Blick. They also had the pocket box in natural color set.

Happy birthday Denise! Hope you a have great day and a year worth of experience more! Lovely video and a great in-depth review, again! 😀 I've been sick for over a week now and this really lifted my mood! Keep up the good work!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I hope you feel better soon and thank you for the birthday wishes!

Now it’s Nov. 2022….5 years later. Van Gogh wcs, that I have come to really love….almost as much as my artist grade…are much more widely available now. Besides Amazon, Blick and maybe Jerry’s sells them and Jackson’s in the U.K. has them at very good prices, and others too and there are smaller retailers who offer them now too, but at less competitive prices than the bigger retailers I mentioned. My local art supply store sells only 2 tube sets.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!!! Thanks for doing this video, very informative as always! :)

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Victor, on both counts!

Happy, Happy Birthday!!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Pat!

Both have a similar price in my country (Brazil) so is great to see a side-by-side comparision like this; I'm considering start using watercolors in my sketches and didn't want to waste my good stuff but all my student grade were donated years ago. lol

Happy Birthday.

Love comparison videos!

Great video! I absolutely agree with your assessment of these paints and favor the Van Goghs for the same reasons. Had I started out with the these, it would've been a more pleasant experience.

Happy Birthday 🎂🎉🎂🎉🎂🎉!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Bev!

I like Cotman watercolors. I neither find them underpigmented nor difficult to get out of the pan. I had seen so many bad reviews on Cotmans that I initially just bought them to see how bad they really are, and I used them and ended up liking them a lot. I use lot of different watercolors in different qualities, and while the Cotman watercolors of course do not measure up to artist grade paints, I do not, by any means, find that they have a problem holding their place against the other student grade watercolors by the big known brands. Sure they have their shortcomings here and there, but then again so does Van Gogh. Also, with the transparency thing, it does, in a way, sound like it would make sense that a watercolor would be less transparent because it contains more pigment, but when you think about how transparent many highly pigmented artist watercolors are, you see that there is probably a different reason for the difference in transparency. With Van Gogh I have made the experience that many of their colors (not all, but quite a few) leave white residue in my water, and that is probably the direction to look into to answer this opacity question. I do like Van Gogh through, they are great paints for what they cost. I just belive that while people are often extremely harsh on the Cotmans, they are, for whatever reason, very willing to overlook the shortcomings in the Van Goghs.

@tenientemantequilla4307

Жыл бұрын

Yes! I now marked the VG in the watercolor I want to try, but, I also do not understand really the bad comments about cotman. I do not have had the problems mentioned here (as hard to re-wet the paint)and, I actually find them a beautifol transparency very proper of watercolor.

Happy birthday Denise!! I wish you all the best for this coming year :) I remember Cotman being my first what-I-thought-was-more-pro set many, many years ago. Coming from nothing, Cotman does the job, but once you get to better quality paints it's impossible to return to Cotman XD

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I completely agree Eve! Thanks so much for the birthday wishes :)

Hullo Denise! I was trying to find a beginners video paint set video and I do enjoy your videos so I started here! Even though this is older it is still a good video! I did want to note that Jerry's has a wide range of Royal Talens paints and they do even have plenty of Van Gogh paints, even open stock!

Happy birthday, denise. Hope you have a good one.😊😊🎉🎉🎉

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Alissa!

My "first" watercolor set was the pentel with 12 colors in tubes. It's cheap, probably wasn't great, but hey, it didn't make me hate watercolor 😅

So cool

Finally someone sharing my opinion about Cotman. I always hear others saying they're the best and I can't agree to that. I mean I understand that are the ones which are easiest to get all over the world, my personal student grade favourite is Schmincke Akademie and Van Gogh on the second place. I know that Schmincke Akademie is very hard to get outside of Germany and they're really expensive for student grade paints. And they seem to have changed the formula over the years because my 28 years old paints are much more like Horadam than new Akademie paints, but they're still great paints and at least here in Germany often enough on sale to get for a small amount of money. And the 12 pan set comes without a white, which is rare nowadays. But to be honest with so many cheap alternatives on artist grade paints, I always recommend buy those instead. For example for a Cotman 16 half pan set you pay in Germany around 45 Euros and for Rosa Gallery artist grade 28 full pan set you pay 39 Euros. So you get much more paint for less money. They also offer single pigment sets and I think the small 12 full pan single pigment set is a great starter and also a great travel set. (Used mine often in our holidays). It costs around 27 Euros in Germany. And if someone has really a small budget they also offer student grade paints which are really good as well and cost very little. (Think around 15 Euros for the 24 full pan set).

My local JoAnnes has a nice watercolor supply section and they have all the Van Goh watercolor pan sets. I like Van Goh as well.

An excellent and welcome review as I just ordered a set of the Van Gough. 🤗. I recently took a class from a wonderful British lady who was such a darling and so careful about making her new “learners” feeling as if she was talking down to them. But when it came to her paints, W&N of course, she said to just get in there and beat them up a bit if they were dry. Now I understand why. LOL.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Haha! Yeeep! They get quite hard don't they!

Van gogh is great water color i have one of them and iam in love with it

Happy birthday, have a great day! I prefer Cotman than van Gogh too. I used them for years but now I prefer prof. paints Daniel Smith, W&N, Schmincke or Rembrandt depending the colour/pigment. No more pans but tubes.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Pili!

The only place that sells Van Gogh in my city happens to be the only place that I can get Daniel Smith and Qor as well. All open stock, tubes and pan sets, and in both 5 and 15ml for DS. It also happens to be a locally-owned business, so that makes me happy. :> Anyway, I'm so grateful for this video, and you in general. I've recently gotten into watercolor as a medium after seeing an artist I admire do wonderful things with it. Before then my only experience had been with a Cotman travel set my husband purchased me a few years ago for my mixed media artwork. For the longest time, I'd only ever thought of watercolors as washed out and blobby, difficult to work with and incapable of making striking images. When I did get around to giving the medium an honest shot I quickly became very discouraged, as I couldn't get them to behave the same way other artist seemed to. I was somewhat ignorant of the difference between student and artist-grade (beyond the price) so I just experimented with what was cheapest and based my opinions on that. I didn't really know what I was doing and treated the paint like my primary medium (markers) since they were both transparent. I also had no idea of the importance of the paper, and the (proportionately) lesser importance of brushes or anything about pigments, granulation, etc. I was kind of lost. But now, thanks to you, I'm not -as- lost anymore. I've still got a bunch to learn, but finding your channel was the springboard I needed to jump into this beautiful medium. Your videos alone have educated me on so, so much and I continue to learn even more each time I tune in. Watercolor now one of my favorite mediums (and a bit of a minor obsession) and I've got you to thank for it. So thank you, Denise. I almost gave up on watercolor until I stumbled upon you. Keep up the good work. You're amazing.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your incredibly kind words and for sharing your experiences along your watercolor journey!

Hb day densie !!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Min!

@mindrawsstuff3562

6 жыл бұрын

In Liquid Color no problem enjoy your b day

This was very helpful. My first (and only) watercolor set is the cotman pans. When I first got them they were hard to get the color out and I went back to just using acrylic paints. I think I will try the van gogh's since my local Blick has them at the same price as the cotmans.

@InLiquidColor

5 жыл бұрын

There's also been a lot of talk lately! My sister just got the Cotman set and they rewet beautifully! I couldn't believe it. I think they must have reformulated them, though I can't confirm it, as the colors are so much brighter and easier to use than they used to be.

I don't get how van gogh is student grade - they are super pigmented, very light fast, nice and transparent - and student grade paint is supposed to be less pigmented? It's also pretty expensive so I really don't see why it is classified as student grade. I have used these points for over a year and they are really great, not like my other student grade ones

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I agree, I think they are among the highest grade student watercolors alongside Schmincke Akademie. Van Gogh I think are a bit pricier for us here in the US at least because of the overseas situation. I don't remember exact prices, but I got mine open stock in Hungary and there was a HUGE difference in price between Van Gogh and Royal Talens professional line Rembrandt.

@Ameriix_

6 жыл бұрын

I don't know how much it is where you live, but I got mine in a local art store and it cost around... 60$ maybe? A set of 24 half pans. My country is VERY expensive and art supplies have ridiculous prices. Anyways, I'm just surprised that they are student grade. I'm pretty young and Im not a professional on watercolor, but I do sell my art so I want to use professional supplies and make sure the customers are satisfied. And now when I know that these are still student grade... I kinda feel bad using them and then selling the art for 15$?

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I don't think you have to worry about that :) They're a very high quality student grade.

@Ameriix_

6 жыл бұрын

Ah thanks x3

@valasafantastic1055

6 жыл бұрын

I have tested and researched lightfastness and price etc. I classify the Van Gough as full artist grade after considerations regardless of marketing and price.

Thank you.

Van Gogh were the first student paints I used. I prefer them over Cotman for many reasons.

I haven’t tried Cotman, so I can’t judge them personally, although I did notice throughout the video that your brush stayed in the Cotman pans much longer just trying to get pigment out. When I was first playing with watercolor, using that Walmart stuff, it was a tube of Van Gogh Prussian blue that showed me not all watercolors are created equal. There was such a vast difference that I barely touched the other paints after that, and is the reason for my "monochrome period". I did some research and went with Daniel Smith from that point on. Great video, as usual, and Happy Birthday!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Heather! Indeed, there are many options for watercolors, and of course along with that there are many different opinions and preferences!

Both Blick and Artist & Craftsman have Van Gogh.. The Artist & Craftsman store near me in Pittsburgh even sells pans open stock!

Good video, wish I had seen this a few months ago.I started painting again after a long time. Long story. I got a Winsor Newton Cotman set and have replaced about half the colors. Actually the dark colors and yellows seem okay. But really got frustrated with the Alizarin crimson-- seems to really wash out after it dries. Some of the others do this as well. Also replaced the phtalos, as I am doing mostly landscapes and they are really tricky,

@duntemdraws310

5 жыл бұрын

astrog8tr what did you replace the crimson with? Its my least favorite color in my tube set exactly because of how dull it is

Blick on Market in SF has the tubes of Van Gogh. There about $5 for a 10mL tube. I like the Van Gogh, but I like the Cotmans, too. I’ve never had trouble rewetting. Thanks for the review.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Good to know! Thanks Joy!

Your Van Gogh Burnt Sienna must be the old version. In my newly acquired set, it is now made of only PR101, more reddish than the standard artist version, but dark enough to pass :)

I absolutely agree with your review--Van Gogh paints are a much better student paint! My other favorite are the Sennelier Aquarelle. I searched YT for a Van Gogh vs Sennelier comparison and no one has made one--I'd love to know your thoughts on which is better since I can't decide between them. 🙈

@InLiquidColor

5 жыл бұрын

Great idea! I have the La Petite set aside to review :)

Happy Birthday! I started with the cotman watercolors when I began painting. I always thought there was something strange about them , my burnt umber and sepia were so hard and impossible to lift any pigment from. I also find that they don't give nice clean mixes, so I always had to use a huge range of colors in my paintings. I've since upgraded to mghram and daniel smith and I don't encounter these issues. I really won't recommend cotman for a beginner, I find them very frustrating.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Amy! I'm glad you got to upgrade :D

I just happen to work in an Art Supply store, Van Gogh has come out with a 1/2 pan rack of 40 colors, so they are coming to the stores along with empty 12 and 24 boxes

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

:0 ooo how exciting!

For student-grade WC, I'd stick to tube paints if you want to explore washes and blending with a limited or split palette. While I'd prefer D.Smith or M.Grahams, I have a limited budget right now. I haven't painted since college in the late 70s, so I have to work on my technique.I just got a set of Royal&Langnickel tubes, which I've heard are actually VanGoghs. I'll buy a few more VanGoghs to fill in the gaps in my limited palette. I've read a number of favorable reviews about student-grade VanGoghs, so I figured I'd try them. The Cotman's are ubiquitous in the local hobby-craft stores, but quite expensive for what they are...Online you can find 24-tubes R&N sets for under $15, that's less than one-tube of W&N, M.Graham or D.Smith even online. And 12ml tubes of VanGogh for less than $3/tube.

@t.bunker2511

6 жыл бұрын

UPDATE: I bought the R&LN set primarily to work-through color-theory -- limited palettes, split-primaries, mixing greens and grays, etc. -- so I wanted a wide color palette. Working in color-theory uses a lot of paint since you need a clean brush for each mixture or sample swath. The 24-color 21-oz set through Amazon was $16 here in the US -- for comparison 8-oz. tubes of Cotman are $6-each at the various local Crafts/Hobby chain stores here. ( 1/24th of cost per oz.) Even online from Blick or CheapJoe's, a 24-color palette of Cotman or VanGogh would have been over $65 for only 8-oz or 10-oz tubes. So far the color pigment-quality isn't too-bad considering the price-point, though the Burnt Umber and Raw Umber are questionable. The 24-color set includes an Ultramarine and Phthalo-Green, but no Phthalo-Blue, Paynes Gray or Neutral Tint. Black isn't very-useful, but typically a semi-transparent White is used for mixing flesh-tones. I save the Black mixing gray washes for Grisaille studies and ink pen-and-washes. ...I did find the tube-paint dried and cracked very-quickly in the palette, so maybe I'l try adding some Glycerine.

love the video. What is the lightfastness of the Cotman & an Gogh?

Thx!

Hi! :) Does your Van Gogh Azo Yello light not have PW6 in it? :O - mine has and their online card (don't know how old it is) has so too. Did they change that since then or maybe you missed it?

I think availability is definitely a factor as cotman are everywhere and relatively cheap. I haven't tried VG, but out of my two student sets I much prefer Lukas Studio to cotman. Cotman work... But require more elbow grease, and I find as a result of all the scrubbing, they don't go as far as other student brands.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I haven't gotten to try Lukas, but look forward to someday!

I recently bought some white nights watercolours, and it really has made me enjoy watercolour so much more after only having cotman watercolours for years. I have always found them hard to rewet and I've found that the colours in cotman aren't very vibrant, and this has put me off. I know white nights have their own problems, but that aside, for me they make using watercolour a much nicer experience Edit: I've found that in the UK if you go to any art supply store, well any I've been to, they almost exclusively stock winsor and Newton paints, it's very hard to find others paints so I feel like beginners tend to go for it in particular because it's easily available whereas other watercolours you would have to order online.

@sarahhavillamelooliveira5825

4 жыл бұрын

Can you tell me the white nights watercolor problems? I may buy them.

Great job! I love my Van Gogh paints. The quality of the line is more like my professional paints, so I think the 'student' lable is so unfortunate. BTW... I'm exhibited!

@valasafantastic1055

6 жыл бұрын

Katherine Sullivan I categorize them as full artist grade after more research regardless of the official label.

have you tried white nights? I'd love to hear your thoughts about it because they're considered professional grade but the price is similar to cotmans and van gogh.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I have not, but they're on my Amazon Wish List!

At the end with the color triangle, which one is which again?...

I never understood what you referred to when you said the cotmans were difficult to lift because I found them easy to lift, until I bought a Daniel Smith tube and a bunch of Van Gogh tubes and now I reeeally understand what you mean

@InLiquidColor

5 жыл бұрын

Hehe that'll do it!

Have you noticed variation in colors when comparing Van Gogh paints bought in Europe vs. those bought in N. America? I bought some on my last visit to the US and the AZO Medium was almost a completely different color.

@InLiquidColor

5 жыл бұрын

Oh shucks, no I only have my colors that were from Europe.

I really like the look of Van Gogh but I bought the Cotman set of 45 solely for the palette. I wish they sold that separately. Now just need to aggressively use it all up so that I can replace the paints with another brand… 😅

@Rachel-dv2zy

Жыл бұрын

Meeden sells really nice tin travel pallettes on Amazon if you need one sooner! I have had mine for a year now and I love it

i really wish i would have seen this video before i bought any paint. i now have the cotmans and after watching a ton of research, i should have gone with something else. live and learn

Thanks! I do not know why I was recommended Cotman paints when they suck. Aren't pigmented enough, are chalky and the blues especially are impossible to pick back up. I had no problem wetting them first, but I have to say... Van Gogh paints are sooo much prettier and lovelier. (And cheaper in Europe)

@justacatwhocantype

3 жыл бұрын

Here in Germany the prices for Van Gogh and Cotman are about similar. Van Gogh is a little bit cheaper (not even 50 cents) when you buy single pans, but in turn there are Cotman sets that are cheaper than Van Gogh sets.

Totally agreed, I don’t understand why cotman is so highly recommended. It was my first set as a beginner, it wasn’t an enjoyable experience, especially after i got the schmincke akedemic set to compare with. And it was not cheap, about $30-40 for a travel set from Michaels.

Hi Denise, happy birthday! I have the cotman. They are not bad but not vibrant enough. I use them on my sketchbook but not really often. Thank you for this comparison 😘

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Azzu!

What are the most versatile 3 primary color would you recommend cozz I will buy van gogh individual tube and planning to make my own set. Im into portrait btw

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

In their brand, I'd pick azo yellow light, quin rose, and phthalo blue (or ultramarine if you want granulation).

@sooyaa311

6 жыл бұрын

ooooohhh thank uuu very much this helped me alot!!!

After trying out both Cotman and VG, I actually prefers Cotman more(marginally). I find that VG has a bigger drying shift in colour and the mass tone sometimes dry a little glossy. Cotman also mixes slightly better. Having said that I'm comparing a 24 half pan w&n Cotman to a 12+3 VG. With this set I'm also having problem getting dark colours even mixing Payne's Grey and Burnt Umber together. Might be rookie mistake thou

Van Gough is full artist grade strangely marketed as if they are student grade. They are as good as all of the full artist grade I’ve tried with the exception of my parole red Holbein artist watercolours which I believe to be superior. The longer I use them the more convinced of their awesomeness! Now to watch the video. Yes I despise the cot an ‘burnt sienna’ I got the dr.ph. Martens hydrus liquid concentrated watercolours for burnt sienna but as van gough are so good I think I’ll need to get a tube of the burnt sienna in the near future, as I want to replace the Cottmans in my palette. Overall a great video thanks.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

The Van Gogh are different from Royal Talens professional paint (Rembrandt) but they do perform very well.

That's odd that you can't find van Gogh anywhere I live in New York Upstate New York and I have seeing them everywhere like Michaels hobby lobby and all of my local art stores I wonder why

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Oh how interesting! Must be regional!

I love van gogh so much also. Think my all time favourite has to be holbein without a doubt. Maybe you should have holbein v van gogh 💖💖💖

@InLiquidColor

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Emma! Holbein is a professional brand so it's not a fair comparison. I do have a top 10 professional brands video if you're interested though!

Joanns Carrie’s Van Gogh both open stock AND in several of the sets offered. . . At least my local one does! They have them for a great price per tube in my opinion. Same price per tube for larger tubes compared to cotman and considering they are def better pigmented and easier to activate they would beat cotman for me now, I’ve been using cotmans for months and got a 12 color sample of Van Gogh with the watercolor trip book I got and they are simply amazing. Near professional quality in all pigments and on par in most!!

@InLiquidColor

2 жыл бұрын

That's so cool to hear!

Van Gogh is available at Hobby Lobby

happy bday!! i love your videos and dont understand why people recommend cotman too hahah

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Luisa!

I spent my time with searching their photos

Hello, thank you for this interesting comparision. I already saw other of your videos and from what i understand it seems rhat you are a good painter using professional quality paint. For that reason im wondering why would you use student grade if you already played with professional grade? Is it worth to have both student and professional grade? You are not the only one doing that and i don't really understand 😄 thank you for your feedback!

@InLiquidColor

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Lola. This is a five year old video. I do not use student paints anymore unless its for a video.

I've never seen a decent priced Van Gogh ever in Australia (where everything is overpriced), even online. We don't have Amazon here either. Cotmans are pretty cheap and easy to find on eBay. I think the main deciding factor for me was packaging. The Cotman Sketcher's Box (not the one you have, but the one that's usually more popular) is a very, very good box. The Van Gogh 12 pan set has the top row with a giant waste of space right in the middle, which they could have used to fit three more pans, or left a gap for storage or something. (I think they had a special set with 15 pans, but I've never seen one of those either). I've been pretty satisfied with my Cotmans, but that might be because I don't have a large enough set of anything else to compare it to.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

I am always so sorry to hear about the trouble of getting art supplies in Australia! Have you tried Jane Davenport? They're not professional grade, but I think she's local! I totally agree that the Cotman boxes are great and that could easily be a deciding factor as well.

@jessicalao6323

6 жыл бұрын

In Liquid Color I've had a look the palettes and the colour selections are a bit weird. I'd rather have a better mixing palette tbh, but it's good to see that they have other watercolours on their website at a fairly decent price. Thanks.

@carolusastabrataasta5481

5 жыл бұрын

On the other hand, cotman is certainly more expensive in Indonesia. why is it like that I wonder. Australia and Indonesia is not that far away, yet van gogh is cheaper here. Perhaps Royal Talens didn't see Australia as potential market?

@artycraftyalchemy5360

5 жыл бұрын

@@carolusastabrataasta5481 I bought Van Goghs for $3au a tube in Bali, I didn't realise what a great deal it was or I would have bought so many more than the 8 I did get... I think our imports have super high taxes unfortunately :( Almost all watercolours and watercolour paper is super expensive!

@soliferi

4 жыл бұрын

buy from jacksonsart.com , though i feel bad for the local stores trying to sell cotman pocket set for over $100 xD they tell me its the importer prices.

Yes! I really love using my Van Gogh paints over Cotman, basically because of all the reasons you mentioned. I think people recommend Cotman so much because it's availability and seriously, they do make great watercolor pallette/kit options for everyone.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

There is something to be said for good marketing and ubiquity, which Cotman has excelled in, but we are lucky to live in a time with vast internet resources for those willing to do a little digging :)

RIP PO48, denise's favorite color :c we are all widows of the dead Quinacridone Burnt Orange....

cotman tubes reactivate really easily

hah we actually have a brand the us does not have much.. thats not often... i painted a lot with both sets and maybe because the van gogh was my mum's and it got old, but it felt like painting with chalk or like a cheap reeves gouache... so getting over to cotman was a blessing.. at this point i don't like either.. my advise if you are a beginner would be buy the yarka or, as known in the eu,white nights, you pay 10 euro more but its a full pan and you get the joy of a reasonable good paint so you get to know how to mix properly. both brands will do fine i painted a year with just these two studentbrands... but having to buy artist paint ontop of student paint would not be my advise for one on a budget... these 3 sets i own and i can tell you .. just save 10 euro more and you have a lovely good starterset wich is worth your money. If you think of buying sakura koi, pay 5 extra and you have artist paint... ps; happy birthday 😊 ps 2 pre wetting cotman is advised,true... but thats with almost any student grade paint.... or at least,the ones i have...

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the birthday wish and thoughts on Yarka. The Van Gogh's must have been old perhaps because mine are the opposite of painting with chalk! They're lovely to rewet :)

@joyfulldj

6 жыл бұрын

pigment list can be found here,if you so wish to so look in to that www.nevskayapalitra.ru/eng/brands/white_nights i was mistaken on the yarka as you can see on the product list, however i hope you have use to this. Only fair to rectify this. info can be found on lindsay weirig her channel as she did a swatch on the yarka, if no info there,feel free to ask her, someone from her followers or herself will know this on the yarka's. I believe they are very similar pigment wise though.

Strange. I am reading the comments, who say Cotman are not good watercolor, when I actually have the 12 tube set, (bought here in mexico by, 50bucks) and, despite for me it was expensive, I actually like them, even when I have Schmincke Horadam(my little babies) and Maimeri venezia.

sennelier la petit best colors ever

Who wants top professional colors and the price is ok, I recommend KI Noor, the colors are top quality, they achieve literally the same as Schmincke, Rembrant, W&M, Sennel .... and they cost 60e, while for such a set, for example, Schmincke, you would have to pay at least 300e or Van Gogh (colors are the best of all student lines and I can freely say that they are professional, and after all colors will not paint on their own, watercolor (especially watercolor atmosphere) is the most difficult technique in painting, and how they introduced black and Chinese white) which has the properties of gouache, everything has changed in watercolor, do not be surprised how the great masters in very saturated colors leave a trace of the brush because everyone has their secrets (use of gouache, honey, diluted Chinese white in a bottle to wet part of the painting, and mix with certain colors that they developed over decades of work, for example Zbukvich's paintings cannot be imagined without "tons of" Chinese white ", Alvaro without black gouache, Djukarić - a multitude of gouache in saturated regions

daler rowney aquafine student pans are supposed to be ok, havent heard anything good about their tube version though.

@aliencreation8744

6 жыл бұрын

Everything you just said is completely wrong in every way. 🤦‍♀️Facepalm.

@aliencreation8744

6 жыл бұрын

It’s still wrong, Georgian is only an oil paint offering, we are talking about watercolours. They definitely have a line above Aquafina called artist watercolour. Argue all you want I bought some and know this for certain.

@aliencreation8744

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah, no disrespect but handprint really screwed up, Rowney literally invented pan watercolours, it’s not a new company.

Hippo Birdy 2 Ewes!

Cotmans are some of my first “higher level” paints. They are commonly sold, and are good quality for a reasonable price, so that’s why. No major issues and no supply issues.

Great comparison! Grumbacher academy are also really great student quality paints... I can send you some if you want to try them. Also, Van Gogh paints are actually really easy to get in the US. You can find them at Michael's in store and online (where I got mine), they are online at Blick Arts, and even Walmart sells them online. Let me know if you want to try some grumbacher.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

As another commented said, it must be regional! VG is not available at any Michaels I've seen, or at my local art store. THey're definitely available online though if people are willing to look a tad further! I'd be happy to try out the Grumbacher if you'd like to send some samples. My PO Box is in the description :)

@thehomegrownartist214

6 жыл бұрын

In Liquid Color guess it is a regional thing. Let me set up a pallet for you and I'll send you some to try, I'd love to see what you think of them!

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you Barbara!

Van Gogh has more colors. You can get Van Gogh paint at JoAnn stores and online

I would like you to compare sprang student paint. It is very economical and I think better than the 2 brands you compared here.

@InLiquidColor

6 жыл бұрын

Was that autocorrect for Prang? They're on my list! I have a set that is awaiting review.

@onemig00

6 жыл бұрын

I don't think Prang is "better"... It fades (not as lightfast as the two used here) But if the artwork is meant to be just scanned, then it's the best. It creates all the watercolor effects you'd want to achieve at a fraction of the cost XD Either buy a Prang (beginner) or go straight to the professional brands if you want value for your money

@nou257

6 жыл бұрын

I have prang and that one is chalky as hell it creates that white film on my paper after a few layers :/

Dick Blick has van gogh online.

Van Gogh works as a professional, every bookstore in Europe has them, in 10ml tubes they are better and last a lot of time, even when painting every day.

van gogh or wincent& newton cotman or sonnet .......... which one betteR???????????????????💔💔💔

W n N are made in China too ....

Personally, I think the Van Gogh look like they have a tiny amount of chalk filler, like gouache. And burnt sienna is usually more orange, like that in the Cotman set. The Van Gogh burnt sienna seems closer to burnt umber, as far as I can tell from the video. All watercolour pans should be pre-wet and left to stand for ten minutes before use. I do this with all pan paints, wc and gouache. It makes them easier to work with.

Van Gough looks alot better

I'm actually not a fan of van Gogh and as someone who struggles with dispraxia I wouldn't recommend them but that's just me.

People recommend the Cotmans more because the price points are definitely NOT on the same level. Van Gogh 12 half pan set can be almost twice as expensive as the Cotman set 12 half pan sets. If you can afford to save up the extra money then it's not going to matter, but otherwise definitely USE WHAT YOU CAN GET A HOLD OF. Check your class privilege please. :)

@zanerobbins7604

6 жыл бұрын

Julia Tam most van gogh tubes and pans are the same price. I dont know where you got your set, but on amazon they usually cheat you a few dollars more for them. On blick a 10ml tube of van gogh is 2.74, but an 8ml tube of cotman is 2.98, and the "check your privilege" thing came off as super rude.

@nay5783

5 жыл бұрын

In Brazil, van gogh Is way cheaper than cotman, the same price as Sakura koi (the 15 color set of van gogh is 160 BRL, mad expensive, but way cheaper than cotman's 270 BRL). That "check your privilege" was unnecessary. Reality is different for everybody.

@sonyadeantonio

5 жыл бұрын

That's the thing with KZread. There are a lot brand snobs. Cotmans are great with transparency. That's why I like them, the WN professional and Schmincke are great too. Van Gogh is just so expensive in the US. I personally don't like tubes so Cotman schmincke akadamie is the way to go for me because I get more for my money. I put water in each of my pans before I dip my brush or mix colors on my palette any way. I get what u are saying though. I love her channel because I love the color swatches and I get to pick colors out of her videos.

@MissNiyuu

5 жыл бұрын

I'm from Germany and the set costs 15 euros, I don't know about conversion rates or what the cotmans cost but that doesn't sound like it's too much. Maybe they're just more expensive in the US because they're imported goods from Europe.

@MissNiyuu

5 жыл бұрын

I checked on amazon; the same van gogh watercolour pallete costs way more if you get it in a tin box instead of the plastic one.

Very useful, thank you. What I take from this is that if you like to paint cartoon style - (sorry girls, but all you do is unicorns and mermaids) then the Van Gogh set is for you. If your tastes are more naturalistic, the Cotman set takes it. And I hate to ask, but could you at least make a tiny effort to pronounce Van Gogh properly? He had a bad time of it in life, and it is poor thanks to mangle his name quite so badly.

Thank you for this but for god's sake, learn to pronounce Van Gogh.

@Lemu_with_a_shirt

3 жыл бұрын

Most people don't pronounce van Gogh "properly" it's just something you're gonna have to learn to live with. I get that it can be annoying, but that just happens in life.