DND Favorite Things: Ecoline Liquid Watercolors. These watercolors are all the rage on social media! Do they live up to they hype? Here are my two cents!
DND Favorite Things: Ecoline Liquid Watercolors
These bright liquid watercolors are one of the latest additions to my art supply collection. They are made in the Netherlands by the Royal Talens company. The colors are gorgeous and I’ve been having so much fun playing with them!
They also come in a Brush Pen form. My Ecoline Brush Pens are on the way, so I’ll be sharing a full review of those in a coming DND Favorite Things post!
Where can I buy them?
You can get them on Amazon. They’re popular right now, so they go in and out of stock a lot!
Do they come in a wide array of colors?
It sure does! The Ecoline Liquid Watercolors come in 46 transparent colors and 2 opaque colors (white and gold). You can check out the Ecoline color chart here.
Are they lightfast?
No, so you’ll want to store you work in a portfolio to keep the colors bright.
Lightfast? What does that even mean?
Lightfastness is a property of an ink/paint/watercolor that describes how resistant to fading it is when exposed to light. Materials that resist this light-induced fading are called lightfast.
Are they permanent/waterproof?
No, they are not waterproof when dry. The benefit of this is that you so you “reactivate” them with water and keep working on them even after they’ve dried.
How do they compare to the Dr. Ph Martin’s Bombay India Inks?
The main difference is that the Bombay Inks are permanent when dry, and the Ecoline Liquid Watercolors are not. Which gives you a good reason to get both!
Which you use really depends on the end goal of the project. The Bombay India Inks are lightfast, permanent, and totally waterproof when dry. The upside of the Ecoline Liquid Watercolor is that it’s easier to fix mistakes since it’s non-permanent. The Bombay India Inks are “inks” and the Ecolines are a “liquid watercolor”.
I painted the below ampersand art with a combo of both.
This piece was done with a combo of the Ecoline Watercolors and Bombay Inks.
DND Favorite Things
Check out my past Favorite Things Art Supply reviews here.
If you have additional questions about the Ecoline Liquid Watercolors that I didn’t address in this post, leave me a note in the comments!
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This is so nice! I had never thought of using Ecoline. I’m Dutch and for me this is just stuff we used at primary school to do art projects with – blowing into it with a straw to make runny patterns and spattering it with a toothbrush and a spatterscreen to make airbrushlike art (usually ruining clothes in the process). Never thought of just painting with it. I’ll make sure to get some and try it out.
Hi! I’m new at art in general, but as far as the lightfast in concerned, is there anything I can add to the finished art or to the ecoline ink to make it so I can frame my work and keep it bright?
Hi Allison! I add this to mine to increase lightfastness: https://www.amazon.com/4oz-High-Acrylic-Paint-Color/dp/B00E4PLGUU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486020204&sr=8-1&keywords=golden+high+flow+titanium+white
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Wondering if you mix the High Flow Acrylic Paint with liquid watercolor or you apply a layer after the watercolor dried? I havent use that before. Sorry if I asked a stupid question XD
Hi Candice! I might it right into the watercolors. 🙂
Since you’re using a white acrylic medium, does it alter the color at all? Or do you add so little that it doesn’t matter? Thanks!
I don’t add any acrylic medium. I add water or use them straight. If I add the lightfast medium, it doesn’t really affect color because it’s pretty transparent.
Sorry I misunderstood is as a medium although it is Acrylic Paint. I know that typically you don’t mix acrylic with watercolor, so it doesn’t alter the composition of it either? How much do you typically add?
Thanks! I’ll pick some of that up. Is there paper I can use with both the watercolor and tombow brush pens?
If you want to use your Tombow’s on it too, go for “Hot Press” watercolor paper. It’s smoother so it’s gentler on your Tombow tips! 🙂
I just bought the Ecolone liquid watercolor and not sure how to use them! What do I use with them? Nibbed pens or paint brushes? If paint brushes, what paint brushes do I use? What paper? Do I use water at all? Does the liquid watercolor last long? Sorry for all of the questions.
Hi Rebekah! I use 140lb cold press watercolor paper (by Canson) and I have a basic set of watercolor brushes. The ones I use most are the no 1, 4 and 6 round brushes. How much water you add depends on how opaque and bright you want your colors to be! I don’t use much water because I like mine super bright. I’m working on a video tutorial to show how I did the paintings in this post. 🙂 I use my Dr. Ph Martin’s with my dip pen but haven’t tried ecoline with my dip pen yet! They’re similar in consistency though so it should work the same.
hey,I so want those markers so I can do some cool font,I did everything it told me to so I hope I get those?I just started doing fonts and I would like do use those markers for starters.and so I can out line my drawings,I do art to,I’m pretty good at it and using these markers would really help???
hello Nicole, what’s the difference between Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus watercolor and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay ink? thank you 🙂
Hi Sandra! I believe the Hydrus are non-permanent and non-lightfast and the Bombays Inks are.
Thank you Nicole ! I read the description on their website and they said both are lightfast and permanent but if I read well, Hydrus are not waterproof…maybe it’s a kind of ink between Ecoline and Bombay… i think i will try Bombay and Hydrus! 😉
Oh yes, that sounds right! It’s hard to keep them all straight. I have the Bombay but not the Hydrus. 🙂
Hello! Doctor here.
Our product lines can be a little confusing since we specialize in liquid color and only liquid color. Let me try and clear a few things up.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Radiant Concentrated Watercolors: These are the closest thing to Ecoline, product wise. Radiant is dye-based, extremely concentrated and more vibrant than just about anything else you’ll ever try. Because it is dye based it’s not lightfast or waterproof. Available in 56 colors.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor: These are pigment-based liquid watercolors. They are lightfast, waterproof, and archival grade when dry. Available in 36 colors.
Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India Inks: These are pigment and water based inks. They are a little more opaque than Hydrus and flow like something between a traditional ink and a watercolor. These are also lightfast and waterproof when dry. Available in 24 colors.
If you have any questions or comments, you are free to contact us anytime at [email protected].
Are there any pens/markers I can’t dip into the watercolors? I’m thinking maybe sharpies cause they’re permanent but unsure.. Tombows can be dipped, correct?
Tombows can be dipped. I’d say no for Sharpies but I’m not for sure on that one!