Which watercolor paints are best for beginners and won't fade quickly?

Hey Jason. When I honestly first started with watercolors, I was worried about my paintings fading quickly because the colors seemed to lose their vibrancy after a few weeks. I had a basic set and didn't want to splurge on new ones right away & so I experimented with different techniques to make them last longer. I tried mixing the paints more thoroughly and applying thinner layers and but that didn't make much difference.

What really helped was switching to higher quality paper that absorbed the paint better and prevented it from breaking down over time. I already had some archival paper lying around from an old sketchbook, and using that instead of cheap stuff made the colors hold up much better without any fading. It turned out the paper was key to preserving the pigments.

I also started framing my finished pieces under glass and keeping them out of direct sunlight, which solved the issue completely. Now my early paintings still look as bright as when I made them, all without buying anything new.

I've been dabbling in watercolors for a couple of years now, and as a beginner myself at first, I totally get the worry about colors fading fast. What I learned is that looking for paints with good lightfastness ratings can make a huge difference; those are the ones that hold up against light exposure over time. For starters, it's smart to go with sets that use more permanent pigments, you know, the kind that don't shift or dull out quickly even if you're experimenting a lot.

Mixing colors sparingly helped me too, since overworking the paint can sometimes lead to uneven fading. And hey, storing your palette in a cool, dark place when not in use keeps everything vibrant longer. Works great. Once I figured that out, my pieces stayed bright for months without any issues, and it made the whole process way more fun without stressing over longevity.

Choose artist-grade pigments for better lightfastness and lightly seal finished pieces with fixative.

Keep them out of direct sun.

As a beginner, aim for artist grade paints with clear lightfastness info. Look for ASTM I or II and favor single pigment colors since they mix cleaner and tend to last longer on paper.

A compact palette that stays bright over time would be ultramarine blue PB29, phthalo blue PB15, quinacridone rose PV19 or a permanent alizarin substitute, pyrrole red PR254, a transparent yellow such as PY150 or PY97, plus earths like burnt sienna and raw umber based on PBr7 or PR101. Skip dyes and fluorescents including opera and the traditional alizarin crimson PR83 since they fade, and be wary of convenience mixes that hide fugitive pigments. If you already own a set, use the pigment codes on the labels to sort the keepers for finished pieces, and save the rest for studies. Keep finished work out of direct sun for extra insurance. Easy win.