Jazz: Paint and Paper Demo

I know I've already done one of these demos, but I only did it for paper - not for paint as well. It occurred to me that if most people are using cheap paper, they're probably using cheap paints as well, so I thought I'd combine the two to show you how much better quality paper and paint looks than the cheap stuff. I think the picture speaks for itself.

I keep getting asked how I make my watercolors so bright, and this is how: I use the good stuff. Most people back away from that, thinking it's uber-expensive, and it is, if you don't know where to shop. For example one sheet of watercolor paper (22" x 30" or so) at an art store will cost you $8. But online I can get a pack of paper that makes that same sheet cost $3. Divide that sheet up into what I used for this demo, and the cost of paper for this painting was about 45 cents for the good stuff, and 30 cents for the cheap stuff. Not much of a difference in the end, huh?

Also, the paints don't have to be stupidly expensive either. The pan of crappy paint I used for this demo probably cost like $2. Yes, that's cheap. But it's utter crap. Tube paints cost more, but here's what you do: buy the student grade. Grumbacher makes some great paints that you can get at cheapjoes.com for $2 per tube, as opposed to $6 per tube at the art store. I actually prefer and use Winsor & Newton Cotman paints, which I mainly used for this demo. I also like Winsor & Newton's professional paints. Those are more expensive, but they have a wider selection of colors.

But wait! At $2 per tube, that still adds up!! Yes, it does, if you buy them all. But if you know which basic ones to buy, you can mix thousands of colors from those. Plus, if you just start with a few, you can add tubes of paint as you go -- and as you figure out what you want and need. Every artist paints with a slightly different pallet. Listed below are my usual suspects:

Burnt sienna (nearly every painting I do has this)
Raw sienna
French ultramarine
Prussian blue
Cerulean blue
Winsor blue (thalo blue works too, and it's cheaper)
Scarlet lake
Alizarin crimson
Payne's gray
Lemon yellow
Cadmium yellow
Golden ocher (not commonly used, but I like it)

I seriously have a ton of paint by now, and those are the ones I typically use. I have other guest stars (like sap green), but I mix most of my colors -- especially my blacks and grays.

Again, I'm not an expert by any stretch, and I only did this as a demo, not a tutorial, since I'm just learning myself. But since people keep asking how I get my colors so bright, I thought I'd offer up a quick glance at the tools I use. I hope this helps, and please ask if you have any questions!!

P.S. Since I didn't put this in fan art, please note that Jazz belongs to Hasbro or HasTak or someone who's basically not me.