To be absolutely honest, I have no clue why I started my swatch book. I remember walking into one of my favorite art shops and coming out with a Maruman sketchbook. I didn’t have a plan for it — I just liked it. The kind of purchase that needs no justification.
For a while, it just sat on my shelf, quietly waiting. Then one day I was organizing my art supplies — you know that kind of productive procrastination where you tidy everything instead of actually creating — and I decided to swatch my colored pencils. I didn’t want to use loose sheets of paper because I knew exactly what would happen to them: filed away somewhere unreachable, never to be seen again.
The spiral binding felt right. Flat, sturdy pages that stay open. So I started going through my colored pencils one by one, then moved on to my watercolor paints. I wasn’t thinking about usefulness. I wasn’t following any system. I was just doing it, almost without thinking, the way you sometimes start the most useful habits.
I had no idea at the time how much I’d reach for that book.
What’s Actually in There
What started as a simple colored pencil swatch session slowly turned into something much more comprehensive. My Prismacolor pencils were first, then my Derwent Inktense pencils, then Derwent Coloursofts. After the pencils came the Sai Akashiya watercolor brush pens, which are a joy to swatch because the colors are so vivid and the pens glide beautifully across paper.
Then the watercolors. All my Mijello Mission Gold paints are in there, along with a base color mixing chart so I can see at a glance what happens when I combine them. All my Winsor & Newton paints have their own section too. At this point, the book has become a proper personal catalogue of everything I own.
And it’s not finished. I still have my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils to add, and I’m planning to include my Umton Gouache when I eventually get around to buying it — yes, I’m swatching paints I don’t even own yet. Ambitious, or slightly obsessive? Probably both.
The Moment I Realized It Was Actually Useful
When I came back to watercolor painting after a long break, I sat down with my Mijello paints and realized I had never properly swatched them. I knew I loved them, but I didn’t have a clear record of what I actually had — or whether everything was still in working order after sitting unused.
So I went through every tube, one by one. Some of the paints had dried out a little, but I could reactivate them with a few drops of water, and they came back perfectly. That process alone was worth it — it was like taking inventory and reconnecting with my supplies at the same time.
But the swatch chart turned out to be useful in ways I hadn’t expected.
Why Swatching Is Worth Your Time
There are a few reasons swatching works so well, and none of them are obvious until you’ve actually done it.
- Colors lie. A colored pencil that looks burnt orange in the barrel might go down on paper much lighter, almost peach. A watercolor that looks like deep forest green in the pan can dry to something much more yellow. You genuinely cannot trust the cap, the barrel, or even the name on the label. You have to see the color on paper to know what it actually does.
- Your memory is not as reliable as you think. I was convinced I knew my supplies well enough. I did not. When you have sixty-plus colors across multiple mediums, the differences between similar shades blur together in your head. The swatch book removes the guesswork entirely.
- It also stops you buying duplicates. How many times have you picked up a color in a shop thinking you didn’t have it, only to get home and find three almost identical shades already in your collection? With a swatch book you can check before you buy — or at least feel the appropriate guilt when you buy a fourth similar blue anyway.
How to Start Your Own
Here’s what I’d say to anyone thinking about starting: don’t wait for the perfect system.
You can do this in a sketchbook like I did, or on separate sheets of paper. Both work. I prefer the book format because it functions like a personal catalogue — everything in one place, organized, easy to flip through. If I’m ever traveling and want to bring a reference, I can make a separate sheet of just the colors I’m packing. But the book stays home as the master record.
The only rule I’d insist on: label everything. Color name, brand, medium.
Whatever format you choose, just start. Swatch one set of pencils. One row of paint. It doesn’t have to be complete to be useful.
What’s Still on My List
As I mentioned, the book isn’t finished — and honestly, I don’t think it ever will be, and I like that. Art supplies have a way of accumulating, and the swatch book grows with them. Faber-Castell watercolor pencils are next on my list, and then the Umton Gouache when that eventually makes its way into my life.
There’s something oddly satisfying about a swatch book. There’s something deeply calming about sitting down with your supplies, going through them one by one, making a mark, writing a name. No pressure to create anything. The outcome is simple and wonderful at the same time: every color I own, side by side, a whole book full of joy, and a cast of characters waiting to become the protagonists of my next painting.
Do you keep a swatch book? I’d love to see how you organize yours — drop a comment below or share it with me on Instagram!
