Acrylics are water-based paints made from acrylic resins. Many painters prefer them to oils. Acrylics are quick drying, durable, and adaptability to almost any surface. They can be cleaned from brushes simply with water. Watercolors are either transparent or opaque.
Transparent watercolors come in cakes, tubes, or pans.
Opaque watercolors, also called gouache, come in tubes. Fine watercolor papers are handmade, usually with a fairly rough surface. Much of the brilliance of watercolors is due to the whiteness of the paper, parts of which are often left unpainted. Watercolor brushes are made of either sable or camel's hair which is actually squirrel. Pastel is an art medium in which crayon-like sticks of soft powdered pigment bound with a gum substance are applied to paper.