The first thing that you need when you are stocking up for doing watercolors is brushes. The basic minimum that you need is a 'round' brush. If you are not planning to buy a large number of brushes then a size 8 is a good choice to start with. Eventually you will also need size 10 and 12 at least. These brushes are made from sable, squirrel hair or synthetic material. But the best material for a brush is sable because it gets back into shape easily, holds the paint well and can hold good quantities of pigment.

Brushes are also available in the shape of flat brushes. Starting with one that this about half an inch long is a good idea! Half inch, one inch and an inch and a half are good sizes to have. A mop brush or an oval brush is needed to get in larger amounts of water on to the surface.

The basic colors that you need to get started include the warm and cold versions of all primary colors. Black and white colors are also necessary. Ivory black and Chinese white are the ones that you should opt for. Some of the other colors that you may want to get include cobalt blue, cerulean blue, burnt sienna and raw sienna.

Watercolor paper is available in various blocks and sizes. In most cases water color paper is 22 inches by 30 inches. While some paper is smooth and slick, there is other kind of that is slightly more textured. When you buy paper for water colors you will also need to specify the weight. The weight ranges between 90 pounds and 300 pounds.