Winsor & Newton Designers' Gouache

Winsor & Newton have been producing Designers Gouache since 1935 and to this day continue to offer the finest artists' gouache range available.

Today the Designers Gouache range benefits from significant developments in technology and is smoother, flatter, more opaque and more brilliant than ever before.

Designers Gouache colours are a range of opaque water colours, mainly used by designers, illustrators and commercial artists to create vibrant illustrations in solid colour. Gouache is also widely used in fine art as an opaque water colour.

The Brilliance and Opacity of Gouache
The brilliance of colour achieved with the Designers Gouache range is stunning, every colour is bold and vibrant as a result of the meticulous toil that goes in to selecting the pigments, the quality of those pigments and concentration of the pigment in the colour.

Well known to illustrators, animators and designers, it is also popular among other artists who appreciate its unique qualities. Opacity, a matte-finish and a quick drying time are some of the hallmarks of this aqueous paint.

Gouache and transparent watercolor are made with similar ingredients— finely ground pigment and gum arabic are traditionally used in the manufacture of both mediums. Gouache also contains an inert pigment, such as balance fixe or precipitated chalk, which gives the paint its characteristic opacity and increases its brightness. This addition results in a paint that has outstanding covering power and a thicker paint film than transparent watercolor.

Although gouache is water-soluble, its working properties are quite different from transparent watercolor. The slightly heavier body of gouache lends itself to uniform color fields and precise linework. Transparent watercolor makes use of the white of the paper for tonal variations. The opaque nature of gouache makes it less suitable for washes; instead, create a range of tones by tinting with white.

As it dries, gouache creates a paint film instead of absorbing into the page; for this reason a toothy yet smooth surface such as illustration board is the preferred substrate. Panels primed with acrylic gesso or DANIEL SMITH Watercolor Ground also make an ideal foundation. Use soft natural or synthetic brushes for a smooth, fl at fi nish. To create a paint film that does not lift when re-wet, mix your gouache with GOLDEN Super-Loaded Matte Medium. This acrylic medium will retain the velvet finish of gouache while creating a paint film that is not water-soluble when dry.

Works painted with gouache should be framed behind glass or coated with a spray varnish to protect the surface of the paint film. Varnishes may change the look of the paint, making the color appear more saturated and giving the surface sheen.