--- title: "Daniel Smith Dot Cards: 266 Watercolors on 5 Sheets" canonical: "https://stationerytimes.com/guides/daniel-smith-watercolor-dot-cards/" description: "Daniel Smith Watercolor Dot Cards explained: 266 watercolors and 22 gouache colors as dried dots on five letter-size cards, the 66-dot card and how to use them." category: "Accessories" type: "Watercolor dot cards" published: 2026-10-23 updated: 2026-10-23 author: "Ellis Penhale" publisher: "Stationery Times" sources: 8 products: - name: "Daniel Smith 266 Watercolor + 22 Gouache Dot Cards (1900485)" brand: "Daniel Smith" brand_origin: "United States" made_in: "United States" material: "Dried Extra Fine watercolor and gouache paint on watercolor paper (Daniel Smith)" price_band: "$$$ ($20–75 per item, typical US retail, October 2026)" manufacturer: "Daniel Smith (Seattle, Washington)" model: "1900485" mpn: "001900485" gtin: "743162036134" url: "https://danielsmith.com/product/dot-cards" --- # Daniel Smith Dot Cards: 266 Watercolors on 5 Sheets > Daniel Smith Dot Cards are sheets of paper dotted with dried paint, one dot per color, that you wet to try a color before buying the tube. The full set (1900485) holds all 266 Extra Fine watercolors plus the 22 Extra Fine gouache colors on five letter-size cards. A smaller 66-dot card covers about a quarter of the range. - URL: https://stationerytimes.com/guides/daniel-smith-watercolor-dot-cards/ - Category: Accessories - Author: Ellis Penhale - Published: 2026-10-23 - Updated: 2026-10-23 ![Daniel Smith dot cards: five letter-size cards fanned out, the front card covered in rows of labeled paint dots](https://stationerytimes.com/images/raster/daniel-smith-watercolor-dot-cards-16x9.png) *The five dot cards, letter size (1 mm = 0.8 px).* Original drawing (SVG): . Drawings © 2026 Stationery Times, reusable with credit under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). ## Product facts | Product | Brand | Brand origin | Made in | Material | Released | Price range (typical US retail, October 2026) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Daniel Smith 266 Watercolor + 22 Gouache Dot Cards (1900485) | Daniel Smith (by Daniel Smith (Seattle, Washington)) | United States | United States | Dried Extra Fine watercolor and gouache paint on watercolor paper (Daniel Smith) | – | $$$: $20–75 per item | - Made in (Daniel Smith 266 Watercolor + 22 Gouache Dot Cards (1900485)): United States. Amazon US's listing for the 266 + 22 dot card set says "Handmade in the USA" (read October 23, 2026), and Blick says the Extra Fine Watercolors on the cards are handmade in the USA. Daniel Smith's own product page was behind a bot check when we tried to read it. Source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGX1GPP9 ## Key takeaways - The full set (1900485) has 288 dots: all 266 Daniel Smith Extra Fine watercolors and all 22 Extra Fine gouache colors. - St. Louis Art Supply describes the set as five letter-size cards, 8.5 × 11 in (216 × 279 mm). - Each dot is printed with the color name and pigment information, so the cards double as a swatch library. - The 66-dot Try-It card (1900501) holds 24 PrimaTek, 12 quinacridone, 6 cadmium hue, 18 Luminescent and 6 other colors. - Daniel Smith is based in Seattle, and Amazon's listing says the cards are handmade in the USA. ## What are Daniel Smith Dot Cards? **They are cards of watercolor paper printed with labels and dotted with real, dried paint, one dot per color, so you can try every Daniel Smith color for the price of a few tubes.** Wet a dot and it turns back into paint. Daniel Smith, a Seattle paint maker, puts all 266 of its Extra Fine watercolors on the full set, including the PrimaTek mineral colors and the Luminescent shimmer colors. It also adds a dot of each of its 22 Extra Fine gouache colors, so you can try that medium too. ## What's on the 266 + 22 dot card set? **288 dots on five letter-size cards, each printed with the color name and pigment details.** Art Supplies UK lists the name, series number, code number and color information next to each dot. | Spec | Daniel Smith 266 + 22 dot cards | |---|---| | Model | 1900485 (SKU 001900485, GTIN 743162036134) | | Watercolor dots | 266, every Extra Fine watercolor | | Gouache dots | 22, every Extra Fine gouache | | Cards | 5, letter size, 8.5 × 11 in (216 × 279 mm) | | Labels | Color name and pigment information | | Made in | USA (Amazon listing) | Card count and size come from St. Louis Art Supply; a UK retailer lists the sheets as 28 × 22 cm, close to letter size. ![One Daniel Smith dot card, 216 × 279 mm, drawn to scale over an A5 sketchbook page, 148 × 210 mm](https://stationerytimes.com/images/daniel-smith-watercolor-dot-cards-size.svg) *One card is letter size, a little more than twice the area of an A5 page.* ## How do you use a dot card? **Touch a wet brush to a dot, let it soften, and paint a swatch.** Daniel Smith says each dot is big enough to add plenty of color to a painting, so the cards work as a travel palette as well as a test sheet. Daniel Smith suggests three uses: - **Build your own palette.** Compare colors and pigments side by side before you buy tubes. - **Keep a swatch library.** Paint every dot once and label the swatches. - **Paint on the go.** The cards are light and the dots rewet well, Daniel Smith says. When a dot runs out, Daniel Smith's advice is simple: you loved that color enough to buy the tube. For ideas on which colors to put together, Sanzo Wada's [A Dictionary of Color Combinations](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/dictionary-of-color-combinations-sanzo-wada/) is a pocket book of 348 two- to four-color sets you can try matching from the dots. ## Which dot card should you buy? **Buy the full 266 + 22 set to explore the whole range, or the 66-dot card for a cheaper sample of the best-known colors.** Daniel Smith also mentions two small boxed mini sets. | Card | Model | Dots | What's on it | |---|---|---|---| | 266 + 22 dot cards | 1900485 | 288 | Every Extra Fine watercolor and gouache | | 66-dot Try-It card | 1900501 | 66 | 24 PrimaTek, 12 quinacridones, 6 cadmium hues, 18 Luminescent, 6 Extra Fine colors | The 66-dot card's contents come from its Amazon listing, which says it covers more than a quarter of the watercolor range. ## How do dot cards compare with a watercolor set? **A dot card is for testing colors; a set is for painting every day.** A set such as the [Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Set](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/winsor-newton-cotman-sketchers-pocket-set/) or the [Kuretake Gansai Tambi](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/kuretake-gansai-tambi/) holds enough paint in each pan for many paintings. | | Daniel Smith dot cards | Cotman Pocket Set | Gansai Tambi 48 | |---|---|---|---| | Colors | 288 | 12 | 48 | | Paint per color | One small dot | One half pan | One large pan | | Best for | Choosing colors | Sketching outdoors | Bright, opaque color | To swatch the dots, use real watercolor paper, such as a [Hahnemühle Harmony watercolor block](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/hahnemuhle-harmony-watercolor-block/), so granulation shows as it will in a painting. Our [best watercolor sets](https://stationerytimes.com/guides/best-watercolor-sets/) roundup lists the dot cards as the way to try colors. ## How much do Daniel Smith dot cards cost? **The full set sits in our $$$ band ($20–75); the 66-dot card is in the $$ band ($5–20).** Prices vary by retailer, so check a few. On October 23, 2026, Amazon's listing for the full set showed 4.7 stars from 112 ratings and 100+ bought in the past month. The 66-dot card showed 4.7 stars from 914 ratings and 200+ bought in the past month. ## Where are Daniel Smith dot cards made? **In the United States: Amazon's listing says the cards are handmade in the USA, and Daniel Smith is based in Seattle.** Blick also says the Extra Fine Watercolors themselves are handmade in the USA. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do you use a watercolor dot card? Wet a dot with a damp brush or a drop of water, let it soften, then paint a swatch on watercolor paper. St. Louis Art Supply suggests letting a couple of drops settle into the paint before you pick it up. ### How many dots are on the Daniel Smith dot cards? The full set has 288: one for each of the 266 Extra Fine watercolors and one for each of the 22 Extra Fine gouache colors. The smaller Try-It card has 66. ### Can you paint a whole picture with dot cards? Small ones, yes. Daniel Smith says each dot is big enough to add plenty of color, and suggests the cards for plein-air painting and travel journals; for larger work, buy tubes of the colors you like. ### Do the dot cards include gouache? The full 266-color set does: Daniel Smith added dots of all 22 of its Extra Fine gouache colors. The 66-dot card is watercolor only. ### Are Daniel Smith dot cards worth it? They cost far less than buying even a handful of tubes, so they're a cheap way to test granulating, shimmer and mineral colors before you commit. They won't replace a palette for regular painting. ### Is Daniel Smith an American brand? Yes. Daniel Smith is a paint maker based in Seattle, Washington, and its Extra Fine Watercolors are made in the USA. ### What paper should I swatch dot cards on? Use real watercolor paper, such as a 300 g/m² cotton block, so the swatch shows granulation and staining as it will in a painting. ## Sources - [Daniel Smith: Five Reasons Why You Need Dot Cards (266 watercolors and 22 gouache colors, name and pigment properties on each dot, 66-color set and mini boxed sets)](https://danielsmith.com/tutorials/five-reasons-why-you-need-dot-cards/) - [Daniel Smith: Watercolor Dot Cards product page (behind a bot check when read October 23, 2026)](https://danielsmith.com/product/dot-cards) - [St. Louis Art Supply: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Dot Card, 266 colors + gouache (five letter-sized cards; company still based in Seattle)](https://shop.stlartsupply.com/products/extra-fine-watercolor-dot-card-266-colors-gouache) - [St. Louis Art Supply: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor Dot Card, 66 colors](https://shop.stlartsupply.com/products/extra-fine-watercolor-dot-card-66-colors) - [Art Supplies UK: Daniel Smith 266 Watercolour + 22 Gouache Dot Try it Card (SKU 001900485, GTIN 743162036134; name, series and code number on each dot)](https://www.artsupplies.co.uk/p/daniel-smith-266-watercolour-22-gouache-dot-try-it-card) - [Amazon US: Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor 266 Watercolor and 22 Gouache Dot Card (model 1900485, handmade in the USA; ratings and rank read October 23, 2026)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGX1GPP9) - [Amazon US: Daniel Smith 001900501 Extra Fine Watercolor 66-Dot Try-It Card (contents by collection; ratings read October 23, 2026)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00US4UZ3A) - [Blick: Daniel Smith watercolor dot card (Extra Fine Watercolors handmade in the USA)](https://www.dickblick.com/items/daniel-smith-watercolor-238-color-dot-card/)