List of Vegan Art Supplies

UPDATED ON November 28th, 2023

Vegan art supplies can be hard to find, so I want to make it easier with this list.

What’s not vegan about art supplies?

vegan art supplies

Art supplies have traditionally used many ingredients from slaughtered or trapped animals. For example, paints, mediums, and even papers may contain bone char, gelatin, ox gall, rabbit collagen, eggs, carmine, and shellac. Natural paintbrushes are made from the hair of sables, pigs, and squirrels.

Many higher end art supply companies use animal ingredients because these companies have been around in some cases for hundreds of years and use traditional recipes. But traditional doesn’t necessarily mean better. As you’ll see in this list, vegan art supplies are available in both student and professional grades. 

A good artist can make do with whatever tools are available.

It’s up to all of us who believe that animals shouldn’t suffer so we can express ourselves, to use our consumer power to support vegan products, and to effect change. Not only can we make sure we only purchase vegan art supplies, but we can also contact companies and let them know there’s consumer demand.

Here’s the thing.

A lot of companies I’ve contacted aren’t sure whether their products are vegan. But as more and more customers have called or e-mailed with questions, these companies have started to look into their supply chains to check, was something tested on animals, was something refined with animal ingredients, etc.

The supplies on this list, to the best of my knowledge, contain no animal products and were not tested on animals. I’m gradually adding footnotes to the source of information for how I know a product is vegan. Due to the nature of changing formulas, I can’t guarantee that this list is 100% accurate, but if you’re interested in a certain product, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to see how recent the communication was from that brand, and judge for yourself.

I urge you to contact art supply brands to double check vegan status, or just let them know you’re looking for vegan products and don’t stand for vague answers.

This post may contain affiliate links.

Vegan Art Supplies: Jump to different sections on this page.

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VEGAN ART SUPPLIES



Vegan Acrylic Paint
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Golden Acrylic Vegan except paints that include Bone Back pigment (it’s not only shades of black that have this). See Golden’s list of paint’s containing bone black. Blick
Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic New information: Vegan except Ivory Black, Paynes Grey, Neutral Grey V5, Permanent Green Deep, Prussian Blue Hue, Hookers Green Deep Hue and Basics: Neutral Grey, Black, Blue Grey, Parchment Blick
Liquitex Soft Body Acrylic

New information: Vegan except Ivory Black, Paynes Grey, Neutral Grey V5, Permanent Green Deep, Prussian Blue Hue, Hookers Green Deep Hue.

Blick
Daler-Rowney Cryla and Cryla Flow Vegan except Ivory Black Jacksons
Daler-Rowney System3 Vegan except Raw Sienna Blick
Daler-Rowney Pearlescent Liquid Acrylic Ink Vegan. Blick
Culture Hustle Various acrylic paints Vegan-run company Culture Hustle
Holbein Heavy Body Acrylic Vegan except Ivory Black. Blick
Windsor & Newton Artists’ Finity Acrylic Color Vegan except Ivory Black and Payne’s Gray. Amazon
Windsor & Newton Galeria Flow Forumla Acrylic Color Vegan except Ivory Black and Payne’s Gray. Blick
Amsterdam Acrylic Standard Series Vegan. Blick
Utrecht Acrylic Vegan except for Ivory Black. Blick
Blick Artists Acrylic Paint Vegan except for Ivory Black. Blick
Schmincke PRIMAcryl Vegan except for Ivory Black. Blick
Schmincke Akademie Acryl Color Vegan since 2013. Blick
Schmincke College Acrylic Vegan since 2013. Student quality. Blick
Schmincke Aero Color Professional Vegan since 2013. Liquid acrylic. Blick
Grumbacher Academy Acrylic Vegan except colors with PBk9 made from bone char. Blick
Liquitex Basics Student-grade. Vegan except for Neutral Grey, Black, Blue Grey, Parchment, Prussian Blue Hue. Blick
Pebeo Mat Pub Vegan. For poster, banner, and mural painting. Blick

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Vegan Adhesives/Glues
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Uhu All Glue products Vegan. Blick
3L Adhesive Runner Vegan. For scrapbooking. Amazon
JudiKins Diamond Glaze Vegan. Amazon
Modge Podge Adhesives Vegan. Blick
Weldbond Universal Adhesive Vegan. Blick
Sugru Moldable Glue Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Binders (for making your own paint)
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Natural Earth Paint Gum Arabic Powder Vegan. Made from sap of acacia trees, it is used in watercolor and gouache as a binder. Natural Earth Paint

NOT Vegan Binders
Brand Product Line Info
Schmincke Casein Binding Medium (50 088) Contains casein.
Schmincke Watercolour Binder (50 820) Contains oxgall.

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Vegan Brushes
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Princeton Aqua Elite Vegan. Synthetic kolinsky brush for watercolor. Handle made with FSC wood. Blick
Princeton All synthetic brushes Vegan. Handles made with FSC wood. Blick
Royal & Langnickel Menta Series Synthetic. Advertised as 100% Cruelty-Free. Royal Brush
Amazon
Da Vinci Brushes Casaneo brushes (watercolor) Vegan. Da Vinci Brushes website says “We recommend the da Vinci CASANEO assortment also to all those artists who prefer a vegan life style.” Made in Germany, certified green manufacturing with sustainable wood handles from European forests Blick
Raphael Kaerell Synthetic sable. Considered one of the closest matches to real sable. Vegan. Blick
Mimik Synthetic hog brushes Vegan. Amazon
Jackson’s Studio synthetic watercolor brushes Vegan. Amazon
Blue Heron Synthetic calligraphy or Sumi-E brushes Vegan. Blue Heron
Dynasty Faux Camel Watercolor Canister of Brushes Student-grade. “Vegan, cruelty-free, and comprised of biodegradable components. The unpainted wood handles are sourced from FSC-managed forests…” Vegan. Blick

 

NOT Vegan Brush Materials
Name Description
Sable May be listed as sable, Kolinsky sable, Kolinsky red sable, these brushes are made from sables, martens, or minks.
Kolinsky Made from Siberian weasels.
Squirrel May be listed as squirrel, Russian blue squirrel.
Badger Made from badgers.
Camel Hair Not made from camels but from hair from captive or killed goats, squirrels, oxen, ponies, or a mix from more than one type of animal.
Hog Bristle May be referred to simply as bristle or natural bristle. Also Chungking bristle.
Chungking Bristle A type of hog bristle.

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Vegan Brush Cleaners
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Winsor & Newton Brush Cleaner & Restorer Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Brush Cleaners
Brand Product Line Info
   Coming soon  

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Vegan Canvas
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Blick Premiere Artist Canvas Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Chalk
Brand Product Line Info Availability
S&S Worldwide Chalk Vegan. Amazon
Chalk City Chalk Vegan. Amazon
Wee Can Too Veggie Sidewalk Chalk Vegan. We Can Too

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Vegan Charcoal
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Derwent Charcoal XL Blocks Vegan. Blick
Derwent Charcoal Pencils Vegan. Blick
Nitram Arts Fine Art Charcoal Vegan. Blick
Winsor & Newton Vine and willow charcoal Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Construction Paper
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Pacon Tru-Ray Construction Paper Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Crayons
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Azafran Crayons Vegan. Amazon
Wee Can Too Veggie Baby Crayons Vegan. Wee Can Too
Colors of Nature Crayons Vegan. Out of business
NOT Vegan Crayons
Brand Product Line Info
 Crayola  Crayons Produced using stearic acid. Stearic acid can be from plant or animal sources. Crayola says theirs is animal-derived.
Stockmar Wax blocks and crayons Contains beeswax.

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Vegan Gelatin Printing Plates
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Gelli Arts Reusable gelatin plates for monoprinting. Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Gesso and Grounds
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Golden GAC 100 Acrylic Polymer Vegan. Blick
Liquitex Black Gesso Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Gesso and Grounds
Brand Product Line Info
Gamblin Traditional Gesso  Contains rabbit skin glue.

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Vegan Gouache
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Daler-Rowney Designer’s Gouache Vegan except Neutral Grey 2, Paynes Grey, Lamp Black, Cool Grey 1,2, & 3 and Warm Grey 1,2, &3. Statement here. Blick
Holbein Acryla Gouache Vegan.  Blick
Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache Vegan except Ivory Black, Winter Green, Raw Sienna, Spectrum Yellow, Intense Blue, Sky Blue, Light Purple, Prussian Blue, Linden Green, Flame Red, Burnt Umber, Bengal Rose, Primary Blue, Lamp Black, Spectrum Violet. Blick
Schmincke Akademie Gouache Vegan since 2013. Student gouache. Blick
Arteza Gouache Vegan. Amazon
NOT Vegan Gouache
Brand Product Line Info
Schmincke Horadam Gouache All colors contains gelatine and oxgall.
Schmincke HKS Designers’ Gouache All colors contains gelatine and oxgall.
Schmincke Calligraphy Gouache All colors contains gelatine and oxgall.
M. Graham Artists’ Gouache All colors contain honey.

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Vegan Graphite
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Derwent Graphite blocks and XL blocks Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Graphite
Brand Product Line Info
Caran D’Ache Graphite leads Contains fat from killed animals.

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Vegan Ink
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Dr. Ph. Martin Black Star India Ink Vegan. Blick
Dr. Ph. Martin Bombay India Ink Vegan. Blick
Dr. Ph. Martin Tech Drawing Ink Vegan. Blick
Daler-Rowney F.W. Artists Inks Vegan. Blick
Culture Hustle BLINK Vegan-run company. “The blackest black ink.” Culture Hustle
Faber Castell TG1 Drawing ink Vegan. Amazon
Winsor & Newton Calligraphy inks Vegan. Blick
Daler-Rowney Pearlescent liquid acrylic inks Vegan. Blick
Koh-I-Noor Transmix Media Inks (9065) Vegan. Blick
Koh-I-Noor Special Ink (9066) Vegan.  
Speedball Super Pigmented Acrylic Ink Vegan. Amazon
Speedball Relief Ink Vegan. Blick
Speedball Fabric Block Printing Ink Vegan. Blick
Cranfield Caglio Safe Wash Etching Ink Vegan. Blick
Cranfield Traditional Etching Ink Vegan except Bone Black BKC1824, Silver, Gold Blick
Cranfield Caglio Safe Wash Relief Ink Vegan. Blick
Cranfield Caglio Traditional Relief Ink Vegan except Silver and Gold Blick
Cranfield Water-based Relief Ink Vegan. Jackson’s
Cranfield Litho Inks Vegan.  
Cranfield Letterpress Inks Vegan.  
NOT Vegan Ink
Brand Product Line Info
Speedball Super Blank India Ink Contains shellac.
Royal Talens India Inks Contain shellac.
Royal Talens Waterproof Drawing Inks Contain shellac.
Sennelier Shellac Ink Contains shellac.

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Vegan Markers
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Chartpak ADMarkers Vegan. Blick
Chartpak Spectra ADMarkers Vegan. Amazon
Copic All markers Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Markers
Brand Product Line Info
Zig Brushables “They include animal derived oil as moisturizer.”

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Vegan Masking Fluid
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Talens Liquid Masking Film Vegan. Amazon
Da Vinci Paint Co. Masking Fluid Vegan. Da Vinci
Dr. Ph. Martin Frisket Mask Liquid Vegan. Blick

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Amazon
Vegan Mediums
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Liquitex All mediums Vegan. Blick
Grumbacher Acrylic mediums Vegan. For acrylic. Blick
Natural Earth Paint Impasto Medium Vegan. For oil paint. Things Human
Grumbacher Watercolor mediums. Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
QoR Synthetic Ox Gall Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
QoR Watercolor Medium Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
QoR Lift Aid Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
Da Vinci Paint Co. Gum Arabic Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
Da Vinci Paint Co. Iridescent Watercolor Medium Vegan. For watercolor. Blick
Da Vinci Paint Co. Watercolor Medium Vegan. For watercolor. Blick

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Vegan Oil Paint
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Winsor & Newton Artists Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black, Blue Black, Carmine. Blick
Winsor & Newton Winton Oil Color Vegan except Ivory Black, Raw Umber. Student-grade. Blick
Winsor & Newton Griffin Alkyd Fast Drying Oil Colour Vegan except Ivory Black. Blick
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour Vegan except Ivory Black. Blick
Daler-Rowney Georgian Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black, Prussian Green and Coeruleum Hue. Read the statement here. Blick
Daler-Rowney Artists Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black and Blue Black. Read the statement here.  
M. Graham Oil paint Vegan except Ivory Black, Lamp Black, Paynes Gray, Sap Green, Olive Green and Van Dyke Brown. Blick
Holbein Artist Oil Vegan except Blue Black, Ivory Black, Neutral Grey, Sepia, Van Dyke Brown, Foundation Grey.  Blick
Holbein Ecoise Oil Vegan except Ivory Black, Van Dyke Brown. Blick
Holbein DUO Aqua Oil Vegan except Ivory Black, Sepia. Blick
Holbein Vernet Superior Oil Vegan except Ivory Black. Blick
Gamblin Artists Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black, Van Dyke Brown, Payne’s Grey, Terre Verte, Asphaltum which contain PbK9 from cows’ bones. Blick
Gamblin 1980 Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black, Van Dyke Brown, Payne’s Grey, Terre Verte, Asphaltum which contain PbK9 from cows’ bones. Blick
Gamblin FastMatte Alkyd Oil Colors Vegan except Ivory Black, Van Dyke Brown, Payne’s Grey, Terre Verte, Asphaltum which contain PbK9 from cows’ bones. Blick
Grumbacher Pre-Tested Oils Vegan except colors using PBk9 made from bone char. Blick
Grumbacher Academy Oil Vegan except colors using PBk9 made from bone char. Blick
Grumbacher Max Water Mixable Oils Vegan except colors using PBk9 made from bone char. Blick
NOT Vegan Oil Paint
Brand Product Line Info
Utrecht Artist Oils Not vegan.
Utrecht Studio Oils Not vegan.
Schmincke Norma Professional Oil Colors Contains beeswax.
Schmincke Mussini Oil Colors Contains beeswax.

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Vegan Oil Pastels
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Pentel Oil pastels Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Oil Pastels
Brand Product Line Info
Holbein Artists’ Oil Pastels Contains hydrogenated oil from slaughtered cows according to Holbein.

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Vegan Palette Paper
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Bienfang Multi-Palette According to Dick Blick, “…the vendor of the Bienfang Multi-Palette has confirmed no animal derived ingredients are used to make it…”

Blick

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Vegan Paint Markers
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Pebeo Pebeo Acrylic Markers / DecoMarkers Vegan. Blick
Liquitex Professional Paint Markers Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Pastels
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Colors of Nature Pastels Vegan. Colors of Nature
Derwent Pastel blocks Vegan. Blick
Derwent Pastel pencils Vegan. They’re like pastels in pencil form so you can get fine detail. Blick
Schmincke Pastels Vegan except for Black (099) which contains PbK9 from bone char. They have alternative blacks. Blick

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Vegan Pastel Papers
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Clairefontaine Pastelmat papers and pads Vegan. Blick
       
       
NOT Vegan Pastel Papers
Brand Product Line Info
Canson Ingres Pastel Papers Sized with gelatin.
Canson Mi Teintes Sized with gelatin.

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Vegan Pen Cleaner
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Speedball Pen Cleaner Vegan. For cleaning dip pens, fountain pens, technical pens. Blick

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Vegan Pens
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Pilot   Vegan. Amazon
Chameleon All. Vegan. Amazon
Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph Pens Vegan. Blick
Koh-I-Noor Rapidosketch Pens Vegan. Blick
Kuretake ZIG ZIG Memory System Writer Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Pencils
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Faber Castell All pencils, pens and erasers Vegan Blick
Faber Castell  Polychromos pencils Vegan Blick
Derwent Coloursoft pencils Vegan Blick
Derwent Metallic pencils Vegan Blick
Derwent Pastel pencils Vegan Blick
Derwent Graphitone pencils Vegan Blick

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Vegan Pigments
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Culture Hustle Pigments Vegan-owned company. Culture Hustle
Natural Earth Pigments Vegan. Things Human
Colors of Nature Pigments Vegan. Colors of Nature

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Vegan Poster Paint
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Chroma Opaque Poster Colours Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Sizing
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Gamblin PVA Size. More archival than rabbit glue. Vegan. Blick

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Vegan Sketchbooks and Mixed Media Papers
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Strathmore all sketchbooks Vegan. Blick
Strathmore Bristol pad (for pen and ink). Vegan. Blick
Canson XL Mixed media papers Vegan. Blick
Colors of Nature Bamboo mixed media papers Vegan. Colors of Nature
Hahnemühle All papers and sketchbooks Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Sketchbooks and Mixed Media Papers
Brand Product Line Info
Khadi Rag Paper (210gsm and above) Sized with gelatine.
Stillman and Birn  All sketchbooks. The books are bound with animal-based adhesive though the paper itself is vegan.


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Vegan Tape
Brand Product Line Info Availability
IPG Artist Tape Vegan. Blick
IPG Kraft paper tape aka Butcher’s tape aka Watercolor tape Vegan.

Blick

ChartPak All Graphic Tapes Vegan. Amazon

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Vegan Watercolor Paint
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors Vegan except Ivory Black, Sepia, Payne’s Grey. Blick
HI Chromatics All. Vegan brand based in Hawaii. HI Chromatics
Kaia Natural Watercolors Watercolors Vegan, plastic-free, non-toxic, artist quality. Vegan company!  closed.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolors Vegan except for Viridian Hue, Raw Umber, Ivory Black. Blick
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors Vegan including the regular watercolors and pearlescent and starry watercolors. Blick
Amazon
Colors of Nature Watercolors (pan and tube) Vegan. Vegan company.  out of business
Dr. Ph Martin Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor Vegan. Blick
Dr. Ph. Martin Radian Concentrated Watercolors Vegan. Blick
Dr. Ph. Martin Bleedproof White Watercolor Vegan. Blick
Royal Talens Rembrandt Watercolors Vegan except for Lamp Black (702) which contains pigment made from bones. Blick
Maimeri Blu Watercolors Vegan except for 484 Van Dyck Brown, 486 Sepia, 514 Payne’s Grey, and 535 Ivory Black. Blick
QoR Modern Watercolors Vegan except Ivory Black. Blick
Da Vinci Artists’ Permanent Watercolors

Now all vegan!

Vegan except for Sepia, Payne’s Gray, Lamp Black, Davy’s Gray, Ivory Black.

Blick
The Art of Soil Select watercolors and the Climate Inspired Palette. All vegan colors are listed as vegan in the description. The Art of Soil
Finetec Mica Pigment Pearl Watercolor Vegan. Also used in calligraphy. Amazon
Utrecht Watercolors Vegan except for Ivory Black and Payne’s Gray. Utrecht
Schmincke Akademie Aquarell Vegan since 2013. Student watercolors. Blick
Grumbacher Academy Water Colors Vegan except colors with PBk9 made from bone char. Those non-vegan colors are Cerulean Blue Hue (A039), Davy’s Gray (A064), Hooker’s Green Light Hue (A107), Ivory Black (A115), Blick
Stockmar Color Wheel Paints The three color wheel paints (red, yellow, and blue) are vegan. None of their other watercolors are vegan. Amazon
Holbein Artists’ Watercolors Vegan except Ivory Black. See correspondence note below. Blick
Holbein PAN Watercolors Vegan except Ivory Black. See correspondence note below. Blick
NOT Vegan Watercolors
Brand Product Line Info
Stockmar Watercolor paints are not vegan (except for the three color wheel colors which are vegan). Contain ox gall according to Stockmar website.
Jack Richeson Yarka St. Petersburg Watercolors Not vegan according to Dick Blick.
M. Graham Artist Watercolors Honey-based.
Sennelier L’Aquarelle French Artists’ Watercolors Honey-based.
Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Contains oxgall.
Mijello Mission Gold Watercolors Contains honey.
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Water Colour Not vegan according to Winsor & Newton.

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Vegan Watercolor Paper
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Canson Heritage Watercolor Paper Vegan. Blick
Canson Montval Watercolor Paper Vegan. Blick
Canson Moulin du Roy Watercolor Paper Vegan. Blick
Fabriano All except Secolo XIII, Romo, Esportazione Vegan. Blick
Hahnemühle All watercolor papers. Vegan. Blick
Legion Stonehenge Aqua Watercolor Paper Vegan. Blick
Strathmore All except 500 Series Gemini Vegan. Blick
NOT Vegan Watercolor Paper
Brand Product Line Info
Arches All watercolor paper. Sized with gelatin.
St Cuthberts Mill Bockingford watercolour paper. Made with wool.
Fabriano Secolo XIII, Romo, and Esportazione Not vegan according to company.
Strathmore 500 Series Gemini “created with animal byproduct” – probably gelatin.
Winsor & Newton Artists’ Water Colour Paper, Saunder’s Waterford Paper, Cotman Water Colour Paper “Contains animal derived ingredients” according to company.
Royal Talens Rembrandt 100% cotton watercolour paper. Not vegan according to company.

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Watercolor Pencils
Brand Product Line Info Availability
Derwent Inktense Pencils Vegan. Blick
Derwent Inktense Blocks Vegan. They’re not really pencils, more like water soluble pastels. Blick

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I hope you found this list of vegan art supplies helpful.

REFERENCES – brands listed in alphabetical order.

  • Arteza – Reader forwarded e-mail from customer service 7/2/2021 – “We have confirmed with our manufacturer that our gouache paint does not contain animal derived products.”
  • Blick – Artists’ Acrylics – e-mail received 12/28/2017:
    “I can confirm that the Blick Paints are all vegan, once again save the Ivory Black, I will be responding with our animal testing policy as soon as possible.”
  • Canson – e-mail received 1/8/2018: “The only papers that have a gelatin sizing on them are the Mi-Teintes and Ingres pastel papers. Some conflicting information may have occurred when the Arches brand paper was formally distributed by us, as those papers had a gelatin size. Heritage has since been released by Canson in order to have a professional paper line of watercolor paper that did not use gelatin. Additionally, Canson does not test on animals.”
  • Chameleon – e-mail received 7/9/2018: “You’ll be pleased to know that our Chameleon Pens contain no animal-derived components and are vegan. We also we do not test on animals.”
  • Chartpak, Inc. – e-mail received 10/4/2017 included list of vegan products – awaiting animal testing info.
  • Chroma – e-mail received by reader 7/1/2020 from Chroma customer service saying that according to their raw material suppliers, the materials do not include animal ingredients and are not tested on animals.
  • Clairefontaine – e-mail received 9/4/2018 “I confirm you that our Pastelmat papers are totally vegan. We do not use any ingredients from animals. The sizing does not contain animal gelatin.” e-mail received 9/10/2018 regarding glue in the pads, “Actually, I meant the whole Pastelmat product is 100% vegan.”
  • Clearprint – e-mail received 10/4/2017 included list of vegan products – awaiting animal testing info.
  • Copic – e-mail received from Nancy 7/6/2018 in response to a question asking whether their inks and nibs are vegan and whether they test on animals: “Copics are vegan and do not test on animals.”
  • Cranfield – e-mail received by reader 1/7/2020: Due to the rising interest in this area we have started investigating our supply chain in order to gain a better understanding of whether animal products may, or may not, be involved higher up the supply chain. In general terms our inks are made from Linseed oil and pigments (metal oxides, Carbons and synthetic organics), and we do not use beeswax, honey or animal gelatine.  We don’t carry out animal testing on our inks, neither do we request or require any third parties to carry out any animal testing on our behalf, however; we’re not fully informed on some of our raw materials as they are processed through what can be a long and complex supply chain. To our knowledge our inks do not contain animal based materials, with the current known exceptions to being: Traditional Etching Bone Black BKC1824, Traditional Relief Silver & Gold, Traditional Etching Silver & Gold”
  • Da Vinci Paint Co. Watercolors – e-mail received from Da Vinci 11/11/2021: “Ivory Black has been discontinued and the PBk6 (carbon black) used to make Payne’s Gray, Lamp Black, Sepia and Davy’s Gray is vegan. Our supplier of PBk6 has confirmed that it is made from feedstocks of mineral origin and it is not made from feedstocks of plant or animal origin. Our entire watercolor range is vegan.”
    e-mail received from Da Vinci customer service 9/30/2017: “Our watercolors do not contain ox gall or honey or other ingredients derived from animals. The only colors using animal derived ingredients are the few which contain pigment Black 6 or 9 (PBk6 or PBk9).  Colors that do not use these pigments do not contain animal ingredients. The pigment content is available under each swatch on our watercolor category page https://www.davincipaints.com/category-s/124.htm
  • Daniel Smith Watercolors  – e-mail received from customer service 10/2/2017 said, “Thank you for your question. Our products are not tested on animals, nor contain animal derived ingredients except the colors that contain pigment pBK9. pBK9 is found in the following colors only: Sepia, Ivory Black, Payne’s Gray”
  • Derwentofficial vegan product list, last checked 7/31/2018
  • Dick Blick Heavyweight Cotton Canvas – e-mail received from Dick Black customer service 9/29/2017, “I have confirmed that our Blick Premier Heavyweight Cotton Canvas is vegan.”
  • Dr. Ph. Martin – e-mail from customer service received by reader 3/22/2020: “Nope! No animal ingredients in any out of products. We use a proprietary synthetic polymer to achieve waterproof properties most normally associated with shellac.” AND E-mail from customer service received by DCV 3/15/2019: “All our products are free of animal parts and animal testing. “
  • Golden – acrylic paint and animal testing statement here. (Last accessed 3/6/2021)
  • Grumbacher – e-mail received 10/4/2017 included list of vegan products – awaiting animal testing info.
  • Hahnemühle – Their website, as of at least September 2020, says “All papers are vegan. Hahnemühle fulfils this criterion when it comes to glue. We have been sustainable and pioneers in this field for a long time: we use exclusively synthetic glues and have been doing so since the 1970s. To explain: glue is in every paper. It binds the fibres (cotton linters or cellulose) and makes the paper paintable.” and “All Hahnemühle papers are vegan.” 
  • Higgins – e-mail received 10/4/2017 included list of vegan products – awaiting animal testing info.
  • Holbein – After a reader claimed that the Holbein products we listed were not vegan, I went back and forth with the company, eventually corresponding with the US Vice President who double-checked with headquarters in Japan and confirmed (January 2018) that the paints we had listed were indeed vegan and they sent a product list, however they did not respond to claims from the reader of knowledge of animal products being used in the manufacturing process but not present in the final product. E-mail received 2/26/2018 from customer service says “I can only say that as far as we can confirm, the list is correct. However, it is possible that the ingredients or components may change in the future and we cannot guarantee it will be free of animal components.”
  • IPG – IPG did not respond to e-mails but Dick Blick heard back from them and e-mailed me 5/29/2018 and 5/30/2018 that the artist and kraft tapes are vegan and that IPG does not test on animals.
  • Khadi Papers – e-mail received 1/8/2018: “Thank you for your mail, the only papers we sell which are sized with gelatine are the cotton rag papers that weigh 210gsm and above. So the 100gsm and 150gsm cotton rag papers, Hemp, Lokta and Himalayan papers you mentioned are all gelatine-free!”
  • Koh-I-Noor USA – e-mail received 10/4/ 2017 included list of vegan products – awaiting animal testing info.
  • Kuretake – e-mail received 2/9/2018: “Regarding the Gansai Tambi watercolor, we can confirm that during the manufacturing process at Kuretake the products are vegan. However, it is not possible to accurately confirm back to the supplier of ingredients at a raw material level.” E-mail received 2/5/2018: “We confirmed that ZIG Memory System Writer is also vegan.” E-mail received 2/7/2021: “Please be noted that ZIG Brushables are not vegan, as they include animal derived oil as moisturizer.”
  • Liquitex – e-mail received 8/28/2017: “Thank you for your interest in Liquitex.  Yes, all of our mediums are vegan and have not been tested on animals.” e-mail received by reader 1/14/2020: “None of our products are tested on animals. The following colours contain animal derivatives in our soft body range – Ivory Black,Paynes Grey, Neutral Grey V5, Per green Deep, Prussian Blue Hue, Hookers Green Deep Hue. In our Ink Carbon black, Burnt Umber, Iridescent bright Silver, Neutral Grey 5, Prussian Blue Hue, Raw Umber, Perm Sap Green, Transparent Raw Umber, Muted Turquoise, Muted Violet. Heavy body, Ivory Black, Paynes Grey, NeUtral Grey V5, Per green Deep, Prussian Blue Hue, Hookers Green Deep Hue and Basics, Neutral Grey, Black, Blue Grey, Parchment, Prussian Blue Hue.”
  • MaimeriBlu – e-mail received 10/2/2017: “I can assure you that we do not test our products on animals and in the Maimeriblu watercolour range only one pigment in the Maimerblu range is not suitable for vegans, i.e. Pbk 9 which is contained in 484 Van Dyck Brown, 486 Sepia, 514 Payne’s Grey and 535 Ivory Black.” Note, that at first one person wrote back that the watercolors were not vegan but another person then chimed in who seemed more up to date on the current formulas.
  • Mijello – Mission Gold Watercolors – e-mail received 10/6/2017:
    Unfortunately, they do currently contain honey, which as an animal byproduct, is not vegan-friendly. A full list of ingredients is available on our website, www.mijelloart.com, in the MSDS link under the “resources” tab.”
  • Nitram Arts – re: charcoal, e-mail received from customer service 8/1/2018: “Thank you for your inquiry – you are not the first to ask this. Yes, you can be assured that it is 100% vegan.”
  • Pacon – re: Tru-Ray Construction Paper – e-mail received from Blick customer service 10/1/2020 – “I was able to confirm that the Pacon Tru-Ray Construction Paper is vegan”
  • Pebeo – list received from customer service 9/21/2021
  • Royal Talens – e-mail received 2/5/2018: “Regarding Rembrandt watercolor, the lab said: Only color number 702 contains boneblack pigment in the Rembrandt watercolor assortment. All other colors are free of any animal ingredients.” E-mail received by a reader 1/20/2020 and forwarded: “No finished product or ingredient composed of the latter has been tested on animals.” “As for animal by-products, I should also include along with the pigment PBk9, we use shellac as a binder for our Talens India Drawing Inks.” E-mail received by a reader 10/3/2022 and forwarded: “All products under the Royal Talens umbrella (including Amsterdam, Cobra, Ecoline, Fine-Tec, Rembrandt, Talens Art Creation, Van Gogh, etc.) are considered vegan-friendly and cruelty-free, with the sole exception of our Talens Indian Ink & Talens Waterproof Drawing Ink, which uses the secretion of a specific beetle in the formulation of the shellac. Otherwise, no animal products or by-products are used in any of our products, and no testing on animals is ever done.” Royal Talens blog post published 6/30/2020, retrieved 2/8/2023: “All of the glues in the Royal Talens range have a synthetic base and are therefore vegan, except for Rembrandt 100% cotton watercolour paper.”
  • Schmincke – product list and e-mail received 1/8/2018: “Our AKADEMIE ranges are totally free of animal products.”
  • Speedball – e-mail received 3/4/2019: “In talking with our technical team, I have confirmed that our Pen Cleaner would be classified as vegan, but that our Super Black India Ink would not as it contains shellac.” E-mail received 3/5/2019: “I have confirmed with the technical team here that the Super Pigmented Acrylic Inks are vegan.” E-mail received by reader 1/7/2020: “I checked with our lab and all our relief inks and fabric block printing inks are considered vegan. They contain no animal products and are not tested on animals. The Printmaster range inks have been discontinued and are no  longer available.”
  • Stillman and Birn – e-mail received 1/8/2018: “All of our papers are made with vegetable-based sizing and so the papers can be considered vegan. However, all of our binding processes — hardcover, softcover and wirebound — are made with some for of animal-based adhesive.”
  • Stockmar – Their website includes a vegan FAQ accessed on 1/26/2021.
  • Strathmore – vegan FAQ on their website here. (Accessed January 2019)
  • Utrecht acrylics – e-mail received 12/29/2017:
    “After contacting our manufacturer I can assure you that save the non-vegan pigments the paints are free of animal products and are not tested on animals. Regarding the Blick brand the same holds true but because we are a general retailer we do not currently have a model for animal testing and each item we carry defers to the manufacturer’s policy at this point in time.”
  • Utrecht statement about watercolors here. Also e-mail received 7/23/2021, “Utrecht Artist Watercolors are vegan with the exception of the colors Ivory Black and Payne’s Gray.”
  • Utrecht oils – e-mail received 7/23/2021
    “Utrecht Studio Oils and Utrecht Artist Oils are not vegan…”
  • Wee Can Too – as of 1/2/2018 – company website says “All our art supplies are edible, dairy free, vegan, and do not contain artificial dyes or chemicals”
  • Winsor & Newton – re: charcoal – e-mail received from customer service 8/1/2018: “Our charcoals are made of willow wood. No animals or animal bones are used in the process.” And, re: brush cleaner – e-mail received from customer service 2/28/2019: “Brush Cleaner is manufactured wholly from synthetic or manufactured materials and does not contain any raw materials produced from or substances derived of animal origin.​ The manufacturing process does not use any ingredient of animal origin nor does this product come in contact with animal products during storage and transportation.”
  • Yarka Watercolors are NOT vegan – e-mail received from Dick Blick customer service 9/29/2017 about several things: “…however the Yarka Watercolors are not [vegan].”