This might not be helpful because I have not tried Kremer. I love Schmincke though. They are not sticky. About transparency, there are both transparent and opaque colours so you have to look at a chart to see which ones would suit you. There is a beautiful brochure at Schminkes website, with lots of information. If you like granulating paint this is probably not the brand for you.
One thing I have noticed about Schminkes paints is that they seem to rewet extremely easy on the paper when you apply wet paint next to it. Therefore I prefer not to use it if I want to use much pigment.

From choices above I vote for Holbein because others I did not use. Now I use mostly holbein, Mgraham and Daniel smith

To me, Handprint.com seems to only favour US and UK brands. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. I too was surprised that they were lukewarm about Schmincke since so many artists recommend it and it looks so great. They seem to hate certain brands that other artists love. Just goes to show that it’s more than just pigment that makes a watercolour favourable to one artist over the other.

Kremer is very granulating. Teoh with Parka Blogs has a great review here.

I have both a few pans of Kremer and a couple dozen tubes of Schminke and I love them both. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

I wouldn’t favour Holbein for transparency. They have very vibrant colours but a lot of them are opaque because of added white. But I have a weird mix of Holbein, so maybe I just haven’t experienced their transparent colours.

Sennelier are very transparent, I wish I could recommend a way to make them work for you. But I guess that consistency is very polarising. I happen to love it.

From what I have seen in the Lord of the Rings films, New Zealand is beautiful. Best of luck with the move. As someone who is also moving a long distance soon, I completely understand the quandry of what to buy before moving.

You should never start with a brand, instead start with pigments and work backwards towards the best option to get those pigments. Even those who love Schminke, those famous artists, will swap out a color or two for other brands like Daniel Smith. Sets are almost never a good choice.

The thing is that these are just pigments. The brand isn’t nearly as important as what is in the tube, which is generally pigment with gum arabic and other additives. They do vary how they grind the pigments, so Schminke is preferred by those who want more staining style pigments – “Ultramarine Finest” for example is a lot different than regular ultramarine, so this gives you options, but it’s still Ultramarine.

Kremer sells pigments primarily, so you can probably just get a jar of raw pigment and mix it up yourself with gum arabic and glycerin, add honey if you want. ( and other additives ). Might be worth looking into, you could possibly get a lifetime supply. But switching brands to whatever is there locally should not be a big deal, just try to get the same pigments you are used to.

To me, Handprint.com seems to only favour US and UK brands. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. I too was surprised that they were lukewarm about Schmincke since so many artists recommend it and it looks so great. They seem to hate certain brands that other artists love. Just goes to show that it’s more than just pigment that makes a watercolour favourable to one artist over the other.

The reasoning behind his opinions is referencing test results, and he is using a set process of evaluating the paints which is largely based on scientific methods. Few artist have actually been able to do such in depth side by side testing of paints, so his opinions are from a unique vantage point.

It’s really understandable that the english brands will do better ( Winsor Newton kind of developed tube colors and the first use of glycerin which was critical for pan colors ). The other brand that did very well was Daniel Smith, which at the time was owned by the founder, and also had it’s own testing laboratory. I think what his tests indicate is less about brands and more about pigments themselves.

He was critical in his review of the Schmincke Line, but individual tests seemed to indicate Schminke did very well for many pigments, but tends to be more finely ground, and like he said it does vary. Some pigments like Indrathrene which vary in quality across all brands were less lightfast than the Daniel Smith version, but when I asked Susan Harris-Tustain about her use of Indrathrene, she said she did her own lightfastness test and also opted for Daniel Smith.

Generally I think Schminke is a good choice if the pigment quality isn’t dependent on brand, and where you prefer more finely ground ( and thus less granulating and more often staining versions ) This is why botanical artists and those who use lots of glazes really prefer this brand.

Sounds like you are much like me, cost is critical. The problem is sets don’t provide real value, rather they get you to buy colors you won’t all use.

You can choose individual pans, and you only need to get 6-9 colors, a 12 color set is a lot, especially when the choices in that set aren’t exactly what you need. Handprint recommends a set of 7 colors for beginners, others on the forum have others they recommend. You ONLY need 3 colors to mix all the colors possible, which really saves a lot of money.

Further a pan is 3-6 mL in size ( for half and full ), while a tube is 15mL, making your own pans is a lot cheaper. Even cheaper is just buying pigment and making your own paint – and that is Kremers primary business.

I would suggest figuring out the pigments you want, then go and buy some from Schminke, others from Kremer, and others from Daniel Smith. Student grade is just fine too, especially for things like burnt sienna ( which is series 1 usually ) if from a better line of paint like Van Gogh or Cotman. If you are not sure. I would however just get less tubes of paint, and get the better stuff.

You are in New Zealand, another artist is in New Zealand named Susan Harris Tustain. She recommends her own workshop supplies[/url]. Again the set she recommends includes colors you should not get like alizarin crimson, you are much better off getting individual colors as tubes than any set. Even she buys other brands like Daniel Smith instead of some of these more fugitive colors. But it does list Parker Art Supplies as being in New Zealand and Australia, and their prices for Daniel Smith don’t seem too expensive. Probably a good starting point for you.

( Just looking at parkers australian website, a series 1 tube I paid $12 USD for, is being sold for about $19 in australian dollars, which is about $15 in USD, not sure how to see what that companies prices are in New Zealand, but it seems well worth it if you strongly prefer this brand. )

There is also an Australian brand of watercolors you should look at as well.

Kremer are superb if you are an advanced watercolorist, and you will not be transporting them for plein air as some of the pans run
They are specialized paints not your average paints like Schmincke
I love them

I have not used Schmincke
But you cannot go wrong with Schmincke as they are paints with a solid reputation

Terry, are you not dealing with Kremer because of the pigments themselves or some problem with the company. I’m considering them as well.