Top 5 compared
The best watercolor paint sets
A relaxing hobby that’s easy to start: wet a brush, pick a color and paint.
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The top 5 at a glance
Watercolor paint mostly comes as little cakes of dry color in pans, which wake up with a wet brush. Pans last a long time and travel well. Big beginner sets give dozens of colors in one box, while smaller sets sold as artist-grade trade range for richer pigment, and a few colors mix into many more.
Most sets come with brushes, a water brush pen that holds water in its handle, or both, and many have somewhere to mix colors, in the lid or a built-in palette. The thing to add is paper: ordinary paper buckles once it gets wet, while watercolor paper is made to take water and stay flat.
What matters
- Metallic or pastel shades, if it’s for cards and journaling.
- A metal tin or sturdy case, if it’ll travel.
- Washable, non-toxic paint for younger painters.
#1ARTISTRO 50-Color Watercolor Paint Set
$10–$20
Fifty richly pigmented colors in a compact metal case with a built-in mixing palette and eight brushes, from fine liners to broad wash brushes, so paper is the only thing left to buy. Between them, the brushes handle a wide sky wash and the fine stems of a flower in the same painting.
What owners say: Bold, highly pigmented color and a compact case that suits small pieces and travel are the draws, and there’s everything a beginner or a seasoned painter needs to start.
A closer look: Start with a light wash and build color in layers, letting each one dry before the next. Painting a swatch of all fifty on a scrap of paper on day one makes the right color quicker to find, and the metal case keeps pans and brushes together for class or a trip.
- Packs up for class trips
- Liner and wash brushes
Best for: Skies, flowers and fine detail
- Colors
- 50
- Brushes included
- 8 brushes
- Mixing palette
- Yes
- Case
- Metal case
#2Artecho 100-Color Watercolor Paint Set
$10–$20
Its hundred shades include 35 metallics, 4 fluorescents and 10 soft pastels, for journaling, lettering and card-making sparkle. A pencil, a sharpener, a sponge, a color chart and two sheets of paper share the tin with the brushes, so a card can be sketched out and painted right away.
What owners say: Beautifully pigmented and easy to use, it pleases beginners and advanced painters alike, and the brushes and test paper in the tin are a welcome extra. Size divides owners: handy for travel, but the pans are tiny.
A closer look: With 51 classic colors plus the metallics, it’s more of a lettering, journaling and card-making set than a landscape painter’s palette. More water gives soft, transparent washes and less gives strong color, and the velvet bag keeps the tin from getting scratched in a backpack.
- Metallic, fluorescent and pastel shades
- Pencil, sharpener and sponge
- Color chart included
- 2 sheets of paper
Best for: Handmade cards with some shine
- Colors
- 100
- Brushes included
- Water brush + nylon brush
- Mixing palette
- –
- Case
- Tin with velvet bag
#3Art Philosophy Watercolor Confections: The Classics (12 colors)
$20–$30
Twelve highly pigmented colors in a small metal tin from Prima Marketing’s Art Philosophy line, sold as artist-grade paint. The box holds just the twelve pans, so it suits someone who already has a brush or two and wants richer color than a beginner’s box gives.
What owners say: Vibrant pigment that mixes into a huge range of shades wins owners over, and the small tin travels well for journaling and sketching.
A closer look: Mixing is half the fun with only twelve colors: a blue and a yellow give a whole run of greens, and a touch of brown calms anything too bright. Nothing holds the pans in the tin, so a dab of poster putty under each one keeps them from sliding around.
- Sold as artist-grade paint
Best for: Richer color for journals and sketchbooks
- Colors
- 12
- Brushes included
- None
- Mixing palette
- –
- Case
- Metal tin
#4Winsor & Newton Cotman Field Pocket Set (12 half pans)
$20–$30
Winsor & Newton’s pocket field box packs 12 Cotman half pans, a pocket brush, a sponge, three mixing areas, a 1.2 fl oz water bottle and a clip-on water pot into a box small enough for a jacket pocket. Cotman is the firm’s student range, which keeps the price down by swapping the costliest pigments for cheaper ones.
What owners say: It really is pocket-sized: one owner carries it in a jacket with a postcard pad, another compares it to a chalkboard eraser. They like the colors, the three mixing areas and having everything needed to paint outdoors.
A closer look: Fill the little bottle before setting out and clip the water pot to the side of the box, and you can paint standing up on a walk. A drop of water on each pan a minute before starting softens the paint, so the first strokes come out strong rather than pale.
- Fits a jacket pocket
- Clip-on water pot
- 1.2 fl oz water bottle
- Sponge included
- Student-range paint
Best for: Sketching walks and painting outdoors
- Colors
- 12
- Brushes included
- Pocket brush
- Mixing palette
- Yes
- Case
- Plastic box
#5GETHPEN 48-Color Watercolor Paint Set
Under $10
Forty-eight colors in a light plastic box whose lid doubles as a mixing palette, with three paintbrushes and a water brush pen, enough to try watercolor. The paint is washable and quick-drying, so a slip on the kitchen table wipes up.
What owners say: A good value, owners say, and better than one’s first set; they like the pigmented colors and the many shades of green. It suits older kids and new painters, though the plastic lid broke for some.
A closer look: It’s an easy way to find out whether watercolor sticks before spending more, or a set to keep in a teenager’s art drawer. Leave the lid open for a few minutes after painting so the wet cakes dry before it’s closed.
- Washable, quick-drying paint
- Non-toxic paint
- For ages 13 and up
Best for: Seeing if watercolor is for you
- Colors
- 48
- Brushes included
- 3 brushes + water brush pen
- Mixing palette
- Yes
- Case
- Plastic box
How they compare
Swipe sideways or rotate device to see all 5.
| Feature | #1ARTISTRO 50 | #2Artecho 100 | #3Art Philosophy Classics | #4Winsor & Newton Field Pocket | #5GETHPEN 48 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Most colors | Best for outdoors | Best budget | ||
| Picked Rating | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.3 |
| Price | $10–$20 | $10–$20 | $20–$30 | $20–$30 | Under $10 |
| Colors | 50 | 100 | 12 | 12 | 48 |
| Brushes included | 8 brushes | Water brush + nylon brush | None | Pocket brush | 3 brushes + water brush pen |
| Mixing palette | Yes | – | – | Yes | Yes |
| Case | Metal case | Tin with velvet bag | Metal tin | Plastic box | Plastic box |
| Best for | Skies, flowers and fine detail | Handmade cards with some shine | Richer color for journals and sketchbooks | Sketching walks and painting outdoors | Seeing if watercolor is for you |
| Buy now | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon | Amazon |
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