The Differences Between Beginner, Amateur, and Professional Grade Paints.

If you go to an art supply store, you will typically find 3 grades of paint. The 1st and lowest quality is student/beginner, the 2nd is amateur/hobbyist, and the 3rd is professional/artist grade paint. This article will describe the differences between each, including why prices between them vary.

Note: Just like paints; brushes, papers, canvases, etc. also vary in grade.

There really aren't official terms to the grades of paint, but you may see these descriptions (or similar) referenced in art stores and online.

Types of paint: All artist paints follow this 3 tier grading system in some way. So it doesn't matter if you are using acrylic, watercolor, oil, gouache, tempura, etc.

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Student/Beginner Paint (Level 1)

This type of paint is made as affordable as possible, while holding true to the type of paint it is (oil, watercolor, acrylic, etc.) Because they're meant to be cheap, they're not made of quality ingredients. They contain various fillers, and the color will fade/change sooner over time (possibly in just a couple years). These paints are typically non-toxic, but also not quite as vibrant as higher grades.

This type is marketed for beginners because they're an affordable way to try different paint types. All types of paint act differently and require different ways of working with them. It's best to try it first before investing money into higher quality ones.

As someone who's graduated to using professional paints, I still use these for warm-ups, sketches, and messing around with new ideas.

You can tell if a paint is level 1 usually by the fact that they don't have any information about the paint on the packaging. This would be information like lightfastness, pigments codes (PR7, PB16, PY72, etc.), opacity, and other qualities the paint has. Well known paint brands also don't usually make this level (such as Windsor & Newton, Sennelier, M. Graham, Holbein, etc.)

Notes: Sometimes beginner artists get frustrated while making, and think it's their incapability/lack of experience. It's good to note that cheaper art supplies can also be the cause of this. For example, cheaper watercolor paints don't spread nearly as far through the water on paper as higher quality ones will.

I would say, if you find yourself passionate in painting, that is when you should try a higher grade paint.

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Amateur/Hobbyist Paint (Level 2)

Many notable paint brands will only carry level 2 or 3 paints, and they'll name them differently to make it easier to differentiate them. For example, Windsor & Newton's level 2 line is called Cotman, where their level 3 line is simply called Professional paints.

There are more subtle differences between level 2 and 3, which can make it a little hard to decide on buying one over the other. When you get to the point of buying either, you want to learn more about how to read paint labels, so you know what to look for. This again includes lightfast ratings (which differ between brands) and pigment codes.

The biggest difference between level 2 and 3 is the quality and number of pigments used to create the paint. It's best to only buy paints that are made of 1 pigment, otherwise the color can be off when mixing later on. This is one way level 2 paints can be cheaper though. They use 2 or 3 pigments to make it look like the 1 pigment paint. These will always be labeled with the word hue (such as cadmium yellow hue). If you look at this paint's label by Windsor & Newton's Cotman line, you'll see it lists PY65 and PY97 (two yellow pigments).

It's also very important to be familiar with lightfast (also known as permanence) ratings at this point. Usually 1 pigment paints will have a higher rating than multi-pigment paints. A higher lightfastness means they'll last the longest. The color won't fade/change as quickly (given the painting is kept a reasonable distance out of direct sunlight over time).

This level of paint is great for getting started in painting more seriously. It's a good starting point to get familiar with common paint names, reading labels, and figuring out your favorite colors.

Note: Brands will use the same paint names (like Viridian or Ultramarine), but they may be made of different pigments. It's good to know the paints you have by pigment, so you don't buy the same one twice.

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Professional/Artist Paint (Level 3)

This level of paint is the most expensive because it is made of higher quality ingredients and has been formulated to have more desirable attributes.

For the most part, these paints will be made of 1 pigment and will have a high lightfast rating. Do note though, due to the nature of how certain pigments are acquired/made, it may be impossible for the professional version to have the highest lightfast rating or to be made of only 1 pigment.

These paints are also made to work differently, so they're easier to use. For example, level 3 watercolor paints lift more easily from the pan, and will lift with more pigment per brush load. They also spread further across the paper, and can create granulation effects.

I highly recommend if you're intending to sell original paintings, you use level 3 paints. As a professional artist, it's expected that you're using quality materials and your painting will last decades.

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Handmade Paints

It's harder to determine the quality of a handmade paint because their attributes can vary widely. Some may be made of high quality pigments, but not formulated the same as a typical level 3 paint, and vice versa.

It's certainly a little riskier to buy handmade ones, depending on what you're looking for and are used to. They can however carry qualities you won't see even in professional paints though. One of my favorite handmade watercolors is made to disperse 2 colors at once, which is very exciting and not quite the same if you simply mixed the two.

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Metallic, Pearlescent, Iridescent, & Interference Paints

There are a variety of miscellaneous paints that offer shiny qualities. There are different names for them, but may include metallic (gold, silver, bronze, etc.), pearlescent, iridescent, & interference. It's hard to find information on them as a whole, but you may be able to find more information for specific paints on the brand's website.

Pictured above are watercolors from Daniel Smith's Luminescent line. Each indicate an excellent lightfast rating.

I have however seen various paints by Liquitex that aren't ASTM rated. Whenever paints say they're not rated (or nr), I would assume they're not lightfast. Pictured below is Iridescent White by Liquitex.

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Florescent/Neon Paints

Despite the brand, any paints that are florescent or neon are fugitive (not lightfast). It should be obvious by looking at them, but the packaging and paint label should indicate this. Paint labels will either say something like fluo or florescent.

*Pictured to the right is the label of Sennelier's professional watercolor Opera Rose.