- TypeWatercolor
The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood, and canvas.
Watercolor paint consists of four principal ingredients:
-Pigments, natural or synthetic, mineral or organic;
-Arabic gum as a binder to hold the pigment in suspension and fix the pigment to the painting surface;
-Additives like glycerin, ox gall, honey, preservatives: to alter the viscosity, hiding, durability or color of the pigment and vehicle mixture; and
-Solvent, the substance used to thin or dilute the paint for application and that evaporates when the paint hardens or dries.
Watercolor paints are available in two forms: tubes or pans.
The majority of paints sold are in collapsible metal tubes in standard sizes (typically 7.5, 15 or 37 ml.), and are formulated to a consistency similar to toothpaste.
Pan paints (actually, small dried cakes or bars of paint in an open plastic container) are usually sold in two sizes, full pans (approximately 3 cc of paint) and half pans (favored for compact paint boxes).