Twenty White Gouache and White Watercolor Brand Comparisons

When I want a bright white highlight on a sketch, I often count on white gouache to do the job. All whites are created equal, right? Wrong. In fact, even all Titanium Whites are not created equal. On my sketches, I've noticed if a brand of white gouache isn't a brilliant white, or isn't opaque enough, or has an annoying sheen to it. Whether this is due to different brands of the pigment itself, or differences in the color of the binders, the whites are not the same. Consistency, texture, ease of application, and sheen also vary, which affect their use and appearance.

Over the years, as I accumulated and used new gouache and watercolor whites, I made swatches of them on gray paper to see how they measured up against one another. Today, I noticed that there were 20 swatches on the sheet, so I thought it was time for a little Reveal Party.


"Acryla Gouache" is not included in this write up. That uses an acrylic binder, and is therefore acrylic paint, not gouache. It's an unfortunate (and I feel misleading) misnomer. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with using it, but this post is about gouache and watercolor paints that remain resoluble in water, not acrylic.

It can be a little tricky deciphering photos with subtle variations on a computer screen. The differences when looking at the actual samples in person are more striking. There are clear winners and losers in the group, with a fair number falling into the middle zone. I gave the highest ratings to the brightest, cleanest, most opaque whites that I've sampled.

Disclaimer: These are my own opinions, based on the way I happen to use white gouache and watercolor in my work, and my own testing, which did not include all available brands. Also, any recommendations or criticisms regarding white do not apply to any other colors of the listed brands. There are brands I love for some colors even though they have terrible whites. In other brands, I may only like the white and the other colors don't impress me. Feel free to share your opinions regarding white gouache and white watercolor in the comments.

WHITE GOUACHE RESULTS
Winner:
Turner Design Gouache White (Titanium White, PW6) -- Nothing else matched its brilliance. I generally don't like to list only one brand as a winner, but the Turner White pops out on the page, in a class of its own among the gouache swatches. Sparkling white straight from the tube, with a slightly more fluid consistency than many, the Turner is my personal favorite. It also happens to be a bargain at about $4-5 (depending on whether or not there's a sale happening) for a large 25ml tube here at Jerrys Artarama. My favorite picks are not usually among the most reasonably priced, so even I've been surprised by how much I love the Turner White Design Gouache.  I've found that sometimes the tube needs to be kneaded a bit if it's sat for awhile, or when it's new. Storing it upside down, sitting on its cap, seems to avoid the separation issue. Since the tube is so large, I transfer it into small, air-tight containers, such as ink sample vials, to take along in my sketch kits. This gouache goes everywhere with me. The less stiff texture makes it extremely easy to use straight from the tube or vial, and still delivers the opacity I need. You don't have to stir it, or dig it out and dilute it, to get a workable consistency. EDIT AND DISCLAIMER: These comments apply only to the White Turner Design Gouache, and do not constitute a recommendation of any other colors in the Turner line, nor of the Turner White Acryla Gouache.

Second Place Tie (Excellent):
Holbein Artist's Gouache Permanent White (PW6) -- Nearly as white as the Turner, and provides good coverage.
Utrecht Designers Gouache Permanent White (PW6) -- Very close to the Holbein in color, great opacity.

Other Good Choices:
Schmincke Horadam Gouache Titanium White (PW6) -- Color is similar to the Holbein, but has a glossy sheen, instead of the matte finish that we expect in gouache.
Maya Gouache White (No pigment info)  -- Bright and opaque, but these don't handle as well as the other gouache brands listed. One of the Maya whites is brighter than the other, but there is nothing in the set that states pigments or names the colors.
Arteza Gouache Titanium White (PW6, tube #A101) -- The Arteza gouache set I have came with two tubes of different whites, so make a note of the tube number if you order. The other white (A163), also states that it's Titanium White on the chart, but behaves like Zinc White.

Not even close (Off-white or not opaque): Some look a lot more yellow/off-white in person than they do in the photo.
M. Graham Gouache Titanium White (PW6) -- very yellowish tinge
Lukas Gouache Extra Fine, Opaque White (PW5, PW6) -- very yellowish tinge
Da Vinci Gouache White (PW6) --- yellowish tinge
Arteza Gouache White (PW6, tube #A163) -- not opaque enough
Dick Blick Designers Color White (From a very old set) -- yellowish tinge
Pelican Opaque Watercolor Set, Chinese White tube-- not opaque enough nor bright enough
Winsor Newton Designers Gouache Zinc White -- If you want to tint your paint while staying fairly transparent/translucent, this would be the way to do it. However, most of us turn to white gouache because we want the opacity.

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WHITE FOR HIGHLIGHTS AND COVER-UPS ONLY: If you only use gouache for highlights and/or cover-ups, these two are also great. They're comparable to the Holbein (my second place choice) in brilliance, and opacity is as good as the Turner. The manufacturers state they are not supposed to be mixed with paints.  That is why I am listing them as a separate category. I don't know why you can't mix them with your paints, but it's probably a good idea to take the manufacturer's word for it. I plan to find out why, and will update this post when I have that information.

1. Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White -- I've been using this for ages! It has a clean, bright white, with a consistency that's thicker than most gouache. If you like your white super thick, or need to cover something up, this might be your favorite. It comes in a glass jar which is a bit bulky and heavy to travel with, not to mention the pitfalls of carrying glass around. I transfer some into ink sample vials and small air tight containers, and never travel with the glass jar. The Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White is a bit thixotropic, so stirring before use will loosen up the consistency a little. I still need to mix it down with some water when I use it.  It's very concentrated.

2. Daler-Rowney Pro White -- Very close in quality and consistency to the Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White.

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WHITE WATERCOLOR RESULTS
When I want to use white in combination with watercolors, I generally use white gouache rather than white watercolor. I happen to have a few tubes of white watercolor, so I included them on my test page. I haven't tested enough brands of white watercolor to be able to give a full overview of all the main brands, so I'm just listing a few that I've found to be exceptionally clean, bright white.

1. QoR Watercolor Titanium White (PW6) -- Best of what I've got in white watercolors.  Super bright white, clean color, disperses very well, rehydrates easier than most if it dries out. Not as opaque as gouache, but hey, this is watercolor. It's supposed to have finer pigment with greater dispersion, and it does.
2. Winsor Newton Artists Watercolor Titanium White (PW6) -- Nearly as bright and clean as the QoR. Very slight sheen.
3. Holbein Watercolor Chinese White (PW6) -- Similar to the Winsor Newton, with more of a sheen

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I hope this has been useful to those of you who are shopping for white gouache, or use it in your work. If your results are different from my own, please feel free to share them in the comments.

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