Holiday Guide Addendum

As we get down to the wire with the holiday gift season, here is a short list for suitable gift suggestions for budding artists that might enjoy some quality watercolor sets:

1. Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils set of 12 would be a good start.
2. Caran D'Ache Supracolor II set of 18 watercolor pencils another nice option.
3. Caran D'Ache Neocolor II set or 10 or 15 watercolor crayons. A personal favorite which I carry everywhere.
4. Holbein Artists' watercolors set of twelve 5 ml tubes.
5. Winsor & Newton Artists' watercolor half pans gift set. A classic choice.
6. Daniel Smith Watercolor Sticks - a couple would make a neat stocking stuffer.

Ooops forgot to mention a couple of tools to use with these sets:
Pentel Aquash or Kuretake Niji waterbrushes - make an ideal bundle with the watercolor pencils and watercolor half pan sets.
For traditional round Kolinsky sable brushes, I would suggest researching if the following might suit your needs:
- Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Round Brush, for I really like my #4 for some loose sketching.
- Escoda Kolinsky-Tajmyr Sable Pointed Round Series 1212 & 1214, a responsive brush manufactured in Spain.
- Raphael Kolinsky Red Sable Fine Pointed Round Series 8404, I still have to try one of these, but I have seen it mentioned often as a popular choice for comic book inkers.