20 Best Watercolor Sets For Beginners (2023 Updated)

Pack after pack these hold their color. Other brands vary per batch. It is so nice to be able to buy these in small amts because I may do a water painting one day. using all the blues, some greens and purples.

Then another day use vibration colors of pinks, oranges and red. I love how I can order this set over and over and ALWAYS have paint that matches flawlessly to the previous set i purchased. If you love Bob Ross and need many of those colors.

this has just about every color. if not all the colors you will need. These are acrylic and not oil. Bob Ross paints with oil based paint. We cannot use oil based as we have animals who will die by the vapors.

This is an amazing set that allows us to ‘Bob Ross’ without the dangerous fumes. Seriously these paints are consistently smooth, blend nicely and create amazing pieces. I hope this set never goes away because it’s such a great array of colors.

My family paints and sometimes we sell our work. We are not ‘top millionaire painters who are known globally’ but we are known locally. If you want bold colors for novice to avid artists, these are a must.

You will want to buy large tubes of white and black as these tubes are simply too small for hue work. But other than that, best paints around. Oh, skin shades will not be found in this set. You will need to seek multiple brands to get enough colors for skin shading.

Sadly, the few ‘skin color sets’ that exist are limiting so I suggest if you are painting people in true skin tones (ie not doing abstract colors and art), take your time and research. It is worth it.

For nature, architectural and still life (minus human skin tone), this set will do it all.

to finish a painting project (I tried using acrylics, but it just didn’t work out right). Funny that my 20+ year-old tubes of Chinese White died sometime along the way-lol. The consistency is nice and creamy and it was easily dilutable and blendable.

I didn’t try the other colors, but now I’m inspired to paint more. The inclusion of the metallic shades is a bonus! (Four stars because I haven’t tried the other colors yet. ).

This watercolor value pack is a good deal. Although, these watercolors are not level 3 or higher, they appear to work well on my acid free watercolor paper. I really do most of my work in oils or acrylics, I try watercolors every now and then.

I also use the watercolors to do a pre-work up of a painting that I am planning to do in another medium. This is a good paint set for a beginner who is serious and don’t waste painting supplies.

Winsor & Newton’s Cotman Watercolors are a critical complement to my Winsor & Newton’s Professional watercolors. The call for a lighter, more delicate wash is an ongoing need in the art of watercolors.

And when this need arises, I use my Cotmans. However, when I’m looking for a deep, rich opaque color effect, I reach for my Professional watercolors and the need is fulfilled. They always provide the nuances that make my watercolor paintings as delicate or dramatic as I need them to be.

The balance is always perfect.

Why I gave Cotman Watercolour 20 Tubes Set 5 stars is the history I have had with them. These watercolour are awesome. They are affordable, color are gorgeous when they dries. They are perfect for someone learning watercoloring.

As a person get some time with working with different watercolors, they find that Cotman is better than what they were told. I have had pictures I did with Cotman years ago and the colors are still brillant.

Great affordable set. Colors are vibrant and even, and paint rewets well on the palette; I definitely think the tubes perform better than the pans and find them more convenient if you’re not painting on the go.

I don’t find these to be chalky. Of course professional grade is better, but for everyday purposes I really can’t complain about these, and not feeling too precious or stingy about materials is usually more valuable to my practice than higher quality paint.

These paints are semi-moist, but not like others Ive used. The consistency is almost like a gel. Im still trying new ways to use them. The colors are nice. They blend well. Im finding that they go down easier when I use a lot of water.

The little brush is nicer than it looks. It keeps a nice point.

I loved this so much! The colors were so vibrant, and they were really creamy and smooth. I don’t believe there is anything they need to change about the product! I would recommend this for any artist who is on a budget but wants quality supplies.

This was like painting with Van Gough watercolors, except these cost less!.

These are high quality. We received them as a birthday present for our daughter and they’re better than all the other kid brands. Rich pigment, clear color (not chalky like some).

These paints are very high quality and have the least amount of granularity compared to other watercolors Ive used like Kuretake Gansai and Daniel Smith. Not only are they smooth on paper but these pans seem to take to the water in a brush very well.

The colors themselves are rudimentary and basic but blend well into natural tones so they have a wide range of use. One thing I will say if you are intending to buy from Sennelier are that these paints are best suited to layering techniques – and they do this very well.

I have only been using watercolor on and off for about 3-4 years now so I’m by no means a skilled painter. But from the other products I’ve explored, the way I’ve seen Sennelier paints used by professionals, and my own personal experience is that they do best with layering and don’t get as rich and dark as other brands.

I would highly recommend these to anyone wishing to invest in a quality set of watercolors, im extremely pleased with this set for its quality and price point. Happy painting :).

This 12+6 was my first foray into professional watercolors. I’ve been thinking of taking the plunge for a while but the price tags always deterred me. I’m so happy I finally gave in though! It really is so different from student-grade paints.

It’s incredibly easy to rewet and sometimes I find myself picking up too much pigment- something that would’ve never happened with my student-grade paints! I’m ready to take on some professional watercolor classes and am so excited to work with it, since all I’ve done so far is swatch and create color mixes.

I didn’t give it 5 stars only because I think some of the color choices are a bit strange. Would’ve liked more single pigment colors for mixing but the paints are so lovely and smooth. I overlook it lol.

But perhaps a more professional artist would have a different take on the choices. #sweepstakes.

I’ve been holding off on buying Sennelier paints because of their price point but since they were discounted nicely I decided to splurge and get the 12+6 half-pan set along with some tubes to round out the set.

These are beautiful, transparent colors that activate with no effort at all. I’m happy to add Sennelier to my collection of artist-quality watercolors. If I had any critical feedback on this particular set its that I’m not fond of one of the bonus colors containing PW (the Cinerous Blue).

Why on earth add on single color that was like that when the rest don’t contain white? I also felt this set lacked a good pink/magenta color and a good transparent warm yellow so those were a couple of my tube additions that I purchased.

That said, this is a great value and introduction to their pan paints, which I feel were generously filled (some even a bit over-filled. ).

I purchased these watercolors for my grandson that is 23 months old. He was very excited with the paints and he caught on quickly with how to use them. They were not messy and he was able to make colorful lines on his art paper.

We did use a separate little bowl for water that suctioned onto his table.

I know that these are means for kids and so I should not expect too much, but they fell a little short for me. I bought them for my 2 year old son to introduce him to painting. The colors are great, but the paints start to turn into a bit of a mess when they get wet, almost sticky and there is not much paint in each one.

My son has only used it twice and a few of the paints are half gone already. A little disappointed.

I liked how large the paints are. Makes for easier access for little hands. The paint itself was rather hard. Took a bit of work to get it going. I was disappointed the paint wasn’t more vibrant on paper.

Had a pale watery look.

This product is made by Royal Talons, in the Netherlands, and is the lower cost alternative to Rembrandt watercolors. I thought about buying the Rembrandts because they apparently use single pigments for each color, but the price was more than I wanted to pay.

I may still end up getting some eventually. I liked the reviews I read about the van Gogh colors, and I liked the look of the palette of colors. So far, in using the set of 24, I have been pleased with how cohesively the included colors work together.

There’s a luminosity about the set that I enjoy. It is certainly not on the level of Sennelier, but it provides a color environment that I enjoy. The best part of it is the colors seem to work together really well.

A cohesive set. It looks to me like these colors also carry a good pigment load. As I put the colors down onto the paper, there is a glow and intensity that is beautiful.

Colors are so bright and easy to use and blend. Tube paints can be used to refill pans and half pans with no change in consistency or color. Highly recommended. Especially with a great coupon.

I ordered this set to add some metallics to my palette. I love how beautiful the colors are and the versatility when used on light or dark backgrounds

I haven’t done any watercolor since art class in high school (nearly 30 years ago!). But I have had a fire in me to try it again so I thought this would be a nice set for me to jump back in. This set had just about every color that I would want or need.

I love the included palettes in the case and the extra room to store tubes of paint. My only ding is that I wish this was a set that I could add additional half pans to and upon research, you unfortunately can not.

But that wasn’t a deal breaker for me since I figure I will grow out of this set at some point and will upgrade. This is a great value and the paints are very nice. I would absolutely recommend these to a beginner/advanced beginner-honestly even a very experienced watercolorist would enjoy this set.

#sweepstakes.

The 10 tube set is great for new pilaf-painters or people who want to test out oil paints, as it comes with a variety of colors to choose from! The quality of the pigments is outstanding! Additionally, Windsor & Newton’s 10 tub set has a thick consistency, which can be difficult to work with for some projects but perfect for others! If it is too thick for your preference, I would suggest investing in some linseed oil, which can lessen drying time and make the consistency thinner.

I would also suggest buying a separate tube of white and black, as personally, I use those two colors the fastest. Overall, an amazing product for the price and for new oil painters! I have not found a problem with this product so far! :).

I have recently purchased some of these watercolors (the PINKS & VIOLETS set that I love + some singles) from another seller. But I’m glad to know Blick’s sells them and I can get fill-ins as needed.

These are just the “lesser grade” of Royal Talens Rembrandt artist grade watercolors. But so many artists who use them, don’t see that much difference and say they perform close to artist grade. That’s why I call them “semi-professional.

” They just have some lower cost pigments or less of the more expensive pigments and more fillers as all “student grades” do. But Royal Talens must have done a very good job in formulating these watercolors because people seem to really like them.

I watched one artist on YT who lives in the Netherlands, where Royal Talens is located, who’s used them for a long time, along with Rembrandt and says they’re very close in quality. I think the Van Gogh line is made in Mexico unlike the Rembrandt line that’s made in the Netherlands.

I really haven’t tried the other top brands’ student lines to compare, but I don’t think you would lose anything by giving them a go!.

After an early stage with Cotman, I purchased a VG pan set and then an assortment of tubes. Simply put, I should have started with this line. While my paint selection has now taken me to M Graham, DaVinci and Rembrandt as well, I remain impressed with VG and will continue to own and use it.

If your needs do not include lots of lively dispersion and granulation that you may find with higher end products, and you can cope with some higher opacity and the presence of brighteners in some colors, I think you’ll enjoy this line and appreciate its remarkable saturation and working properties.

Most earth colors are mixed with PBk (I don’t know why), but they seem to do the job fine. Otherwise, I’d suggest focusing on single pigment choices, and there are many in this expanded line. Standouts for me include Prussian, Ultramarine Deep, Azo Yellow Green and Indian Yellow.

These colors and more perform exceptionally well in tangent with the other mentioned brands. Incidentally, this amateur can note little difference between Van Gogh and Rembrandt, but a more experienced painter might.

If Van Gogh were all I could afford or had access to, I think I would still manage to be quite content as a watercolor hobbyist. Unexpected quality anyone can afford.

When I decided to make the leap into pursing watercolor as a hobby, I researched watercolors best for beginners and came across In Liquid Color’s youtube review of Van Gogh paints. Based on the strength of her review I chose to invest in the Van Gogh line.

Pros: * Vibrancy of color. * Dries beautifully on the paper. * Easy to rewet and start painting. * Pan laid out in color wheel order. Cons: * Pan included five metallic colors. I wasn’t sure how to incorporate them into my daily painting, and now I use them sparingly for accents.

* The joint on my 12-individual well wing feels a little “off. ” Overall, Van Gogh paints are a solid investment for anyone seeking high quality paint at a beginner level price.

I’m new to watercolor and assumed cheap paints would be fine to learn with. These were such a waste of money to me. A few of the colors had a nice consistency (though the pigment payoff wasn’t great) but the vast majority seem to have separated with flecks of pigment in liquid goo.

I finally did some research, what I should’ve done to start with, and bought a few basic colors of Blick brand. It’s a world of difference but even trying to mix one of these with the Blick paint just makes the final product muddy.

I rely heavily on reviews when making a purchase and just cannot figure out how this set got such great reviews. Maybe I got a bad batch? Bottom line these are useless to me.

I am in love with this paint set. It has a ton of colors, first or all, and they are very pigmented. Each tube doesn’t seem to have much paint in it when you first look; but when you mix it with a little water you will see it goes a long way.

I love that I can choose the exact consistency and maybe this is how watercolor paint normally is, but I’ve never had it like this before. I used them and my 10 year old and 6 year old used them and we all agree that they are awesome! But in particular, they really are super pigmented and can be watered down however you like it, which is great and I haven’t used other watercolor paint like this before.

If I ever run out of this paint I will definitely be ordering more of this particular set.

I recently ordered this 50 tube set of Gencraft Watercolor paint tubes and I have to say that this is really very high quality watercolor paint at a very reasonable price point. It was my first time trying watercolor paints that come in a tube rather than in a palette and I really do think that these watercolor paints are much easier to use than the ones that come in a palette.

They were beautiful and blended unbelievably well with one another. Each and every Gencraft item that I have purchased so far has been of very quality and has performed flawlessly. I can definitely say that I will continue to use Gencraft paint products for quite some time to come.

Lovely watercolour ink paint, the darker tones suit my artwork and saves me a lot of black watercolour paint. It is no problem to mix it with my normal watercolour paints. It comes in a cardboard box that will probably not withstand the test of time.

But i cannlive with that. Thinking of getting the gold paints of this brand as well.

I have already used these as shadows in a painting I am working on. High quality and can easily go from a light translucent wash to very opaque.

Awesome shades of grey tones, not just the usual boring shades of grey. Actually some nice warm tones, which I love!!

This is a great travel kit because it has everything you need in a convenient travel case. The brush works well, and the head of the brush is a good size for creating different size brushstrokes on a small, travel-size paper.

The colors have good opacity, and I appreciate that the small sponges come out of the case so they can be cleaned periodically. The mixing palette is so great to be able to get the colors you’re looking for without bringing a separate palette.

I purchased this watercolor set, having been pleased with the acrylics set. The watercolor set didn’t disappoint. All the colors one would need and a few that I really have no use for but you never know in the future.

For instance pearl finish colors. It is helpful with those the difference in the shades of blues and greens. Saves on mixing time. As with any paint set, some extra titanium whites would be nice.

The watercolors are amazing. I love the coverage with them. I used them with the watercolor ground from Daniel Smith on the non-porous items as slate tiles. I was able to get the absolute best painting I could have ever imagined.

The pigment in the paints is breathtakingly rich. The colors available in the 60 tube set is out of this world. I will be a return customer for sure. In fact, I just purchased the brush set and can not wait to see how beautiful that will be if it holds up to the other Arteza mediums I will certainly be in for quite a treat with the color available.

But back to the watercolors. I did 4 portraits with them and they came out brilliantly stunning. If you are looking for watercolors get them do not hold back you will regret waiting just do it. I recommend the 60 tube set.

Arteza is a marvelous artist company. I fully recommend any product from them even if never tried in the past. I am a professional artist I belong with FineArtAmerica and I have no issues selling my work using Arteza products.

They have the lightfast ratings on every tube of every color. GO BUY THEM NOW.

These watercolors are absolutely amazing, the colors are so vibrant and rich with life. I was so moved when I saw them that when I heard something comment on the next aisle over that they would like to do watercolors, I actually went to the other aisle to show him these brilliant colors.

He is a beginner so I actually showed him where to find other supplies to get started in his watercolor projects as well. I truly hope he is in enjoying them as much as me.

This set is quite attractive but note because they are watercolor they paint lighter than expected. I gave them only a 4 because the saturation is less than the pockets show; so if you want heavier coverage you’ll need to build it up in layers (like watercolor) However their luminescent sheen is quite unique and attractive and very hard to resist.

Very transparent, you have to use many coats or less water to get a strong color, but that’s what I wanted with my project. Just a hint of color with an iridescent effect. The pans are pretty shallow, but they served my purposes just fine.

So, I’m very pleased. They aren’t something I use every day.

I paint medieval and Renaissance art. This is the best replacement for shell gold I’ve found in 30 years. The multiple shades of gold allow for layering and shading just like extant pieces. The quality exceeds tube gouache, and there are excellent tube gouache options available.

The square pan gold’s are slightly better than the oval pans. The Finetec colors are just as great, good for mixing with regular gouache to give a slight sheen and depth, which is perfect when working on black backgrounds.

And, the colors are just fun to play with. Six stars.

I am a watercolor artist who has been using Holbein for at least 35 years. I love using metallics so I thought I would try these Finetec Mica watercolors. I have to say that I am disappointed. The colors are not true.

Example: the lightest pink comes out copper. Too dark. The colors are a bit muddy which does not enhance my watercolor but detracts from it. The only things positive are the fact that the pans are a generous size and the paint is a lovely consistency.

Thinking seriously of sending back. #sweepstakes.

Bought this for my mom for mothers days as she’s been really into watercolor lately and loves metallics. I can’t believe how beautiful these turned out! Now I’m going to have to get some for myself! You can have it more thin and shimmery if you add more water or lay it on thick to the point where it looks like acrylic paint.

Some of the colors are really unique like a metallic beetle shell which I love! Definitely buying more! Can’t believe how beautiful these turned out!.

My mother ordered me two sets of these off of amazon for christmas along with another one of your products as well as earlier this year she got me some other supplies. PROS: Over all each supply works very well for the sell price.

These water colors specifically are very vibrant in color and require little effort to get the color intensity you desire put of them. They re-wet well enough to fix small mistakes or to blend layers.

They dry at a decent rate so there is not worry of having to use a hair dryer if you are willing to wait. CONS: While the colors are very vibrant and have nice pigments they dry a little Matte. I myself prefer to not have a matt finish as it looks chalky to me however it is not as noticable as other matte finishes.

Some are less matte than others so that’s up to the user if it is an issue or not. Over all I am satisfied with the product. I am glad these were gifted to me and I will continue to happily use these watercolors and refer the brand to anyone who is asking for good quality budget supplies.

Many thanks to the Arteza company and all their hard workers who have made these wonderful product! Peace and love radical art dudes!.

These are great for home art. The school gave us a set of watercolor paints for virtual school, but my daughter was running out of a color, so I ordered these. When she used a project coloring a whole page blue, these paints did seem to get to the bottom more quickly than the other ones.

The upside of this, is that the paintings look nicer with this paint than other watercolors because there is more pigment going on the page. It does not bother me if I have to replace these often because I have 12 for just my two kids.

Now for the downside for us. My daughter says the brush that it comes with is really hard compared to her old one. So the picture is how her paints look. We have her old brush taped to the top of her paints because it won’t fit inside.

I do find it a little annoying that the brush is not as nice of quality as the one the school provided. The one in this set is more like painting with the wrong end of the paintbrush LOL. But I am still happy with this purchase.

This had more colors than the original paints we have. My daughter loves that it comes with two blue colors.

I bought this batch of paint palettes to use as Valentine’s gifts for my daughter’s kindergarten class & added a printed note on the inside “you color my world, Valentine!”. Note that each palette is individually wrapped in plastic.

The paint brush isn’t great quality but we’re not trying to make masterpieces here! For little kids, it works just fine. A great gift idea & I felt reasonably priced, considering you get 24 sets. Easier & more efficient than trying to visit 2-3 dollar stores to get enough for the class.

For many years I have given non edible treats out at Halloween. Kids get a ton of candy anyway. Their eyes really light up when I hand them pages of stickers, jars of bubbles, light sticks, small toys, coloring books, etc.

I think that these reasonably priced paint sets will be welcomed this year. I hope their parents agree. LOL!.

I love Daniel Smith watercolor paints. I am learning color mixing using only primary colors, and love the effect I can get with the different granulations in the pigments. Using only 3 colors makes the overall feel of the painting very harmonious and my colors don’t clash.

This is a great set to start with!.

I recently bought Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolor – Primatek Colors, Set of 6 from Cheep Joe’s and discovered that I really love them. The colors are great and they seem to have tiny bits of the gemstones that add gorgeous texture to my paintings.

Excited that Michaels carries this set! Extremely vibrant colors, great selection for mixing and starting a watercolor collection. Tubes are small but filled up all the way with paint, so much so that I’d advise being careful opening them so it doesn’t spurt everywhere.

I normall do not write reviews let alone about higher type products especially in the art department. My sister and I have been watching many You Tube channels regarding various watercolor and other forms of art material.

I decided to jump the fence and buy some Holbein watercolors, a big undertaking for me. i had found a bag of old paints and low and behold, my Aqua Duo oils were Holbein. Imagine my surprise. I purchased them as part of my art class at junior college had to pack away most of my supplies and forgot I had them.

Those are great. However to get back to Watercolors. My learning curve with watercolors so far is limited. In learning i kept wanting to use them like acrylics or oils. Not a good idea I found. Then I decided several days ago to jump in feet first and give it another try and opened up the box of Holbein again.

I absolutely loved the colors which are bright and clean. I found I could mix colors together without fear although I can still muddy the waters so to speak. But it is easier. I now have several projects to water color that will Hopeflly get me better at this form of art work.

Would I order Holbein again? Absolutely. , My sister has ordered some of their product and I also ordered their Acryllic 12 paints. Have made my color swatch but not painted with them yet. That’s one of my next projects in a day or so.

However, from what limited time I have used them, they are like butter in consistency to use. Anyhow, sorry this is so long.

Okay, what I have been trying to find is the basic three primary colors in watercolor that are pure colors. Cyan, Yellow, and Magenta. From these you can theoretically make all colors. Holbein has clean, bright, pure colors.

I only used Holbein Yellow, Quinacridone Magenta, and Pthalo blue, (yellow shade) in the picture I included. For the cat only I used Cobalt Violet light. You can see from the picture the secondary colors of Green, Purple and Orange.

I am happy with the secondary colors. No gray Purples or Olive Greens or brown Oranges. Just clean colors. Also, when I get Holbein watercolors. I get the advantage of painting in the Japanese non- dispersive color style, or by adding some Ox Gall I can paint the standard dispersive style where the color blooms out.

I have heard that Holbein has the finest ground pigments. Giving a brightness to the colors. I believe it! Thanks Blick for making Holbein watercolors available at such low prices! I have looked many places.

You have the best selection and the best price for Holbein watercolors! #sweepstakes.

Having tried many of the premium brands of aquarelles, I have finally settled on Holbein for most colors. They offer crisp, intense, consistent, brilliant color in a wide selection of colors. I find that I do not have unexpected color mixing issues with combinations that I do not frequently use, as in other brands.

I therefore assume that Holbein uses fewer pigment mixtures in their preparation. While not inexpensive (most fine things are not inexpensive), these paints offer good value and the service from Dick Blick (outstanding to say the least) makes it even better.

HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!.

I am a hobby beginner watercolorist with a disproportionate obsession with travel watercolor sets. I’ve never tried Zen Arts watercolor anything before but I’m very pleased with this very unique set.

I was initially attracted by how this set is designed to hold (and comes with) a pencil and a set of actual brushes as opposed to the water brushes that are usually popular for traveling. My favorite brushes (my uneducated opinion) are the Raphael travel brushes and these looked very similar.

They are somewhat, but the bristles feel very synthetic and do not seem to hold a lot of water. However, if you prefer the feel of a real brush over water brushes, these are pretty adequate. The holders will also fit most of my Raphael brushes if I wanted to switch them out.

The pencil is fine and a good thing to have in a travel kit. The watercolors themselves each came individually shrink-wrapped in plastic (took some time to remove); the blocks of color can then be placed into their individual “cells” inside the palette.

you can just drop some water into each cell before placing the block to help them stick inside. The info sheet claims the colors to mostly be of excellent lightfastedness with the exception of quinacridone rose, cobalt-free turquoise, cadmium-free red, and alizarin Crimson (these are “very good” instead of “excellent”), and vary in transparency/opacity.

They swatch really well and I easily did a very quick and dirty beach scene with yellow ochre, cobalt-free blue, cobalt-free turquoise, and turquoise (and some white gouache), using the brushes that came with the set.

It also comes with a preprinted swatch card and a plastic sheet that can protect the paints from damp brushes. There were 2 extra colors tucked inside the palette next to a very foamy feeling sponge, an orange and perhaps a brown; I haven’t unwrapped and swatched them yet as there was no information about them and I’d have nowhere to put them.

The design is thoughtful and different. The only thing missing from this set for travel purposes is water or a water cup, but that actually probably makes this easier to carry when flying because you don’t have to worry about digging around for a liquid inside of your watercolor case when going through security.

My only complaints are that the plastic case and mixing palette area are very smooth, so water beads up really easily, and it can easily slip out of your hand while holding it. There’s a very thin ring on the back that can help you balance the palette in your hand, but it is very flimsy (I prefer to just set the palette down on something anyway as I have somewhat small hands).

I got this with a $15 off coupon for a total of about $26. It’s well worth it at that price. It also has its appeal in comparison to some of my other favorite watercolor travel sets, like the W&N Cotman field box or Kuretake travel palette, and definitely stands on its own as a palette.

I would really recommend this set first over many of the other cheap beginner watercolor sets you might find on Amazon.

Product Design & Packaging: I love the vibrancy of the case. The logo as well as the ‘Allegro’ sticker and overall design is beautiful. Definitely one of my favourite aspects of the set. The case itself is light, but sturdy enough that it’s very easy to put in your bag and take out at a moment’s notice.

It’s easy to set up, and I especially appreciate the splash guard, the sponge, and the amount and depth of mixing areas. One concern was if the paints would fall out of their pans, but after placing the set in various positions and carrying it around, they haven’t budged.

Other pluses are the pamphlet as well as the swatch card, which is of good quality. Additionally, there is just enough space to put in a napkin, which I use to clean the mixing areas. Quality & Performance: Brushes – One of the issues I’ve encountered with watercolour sets that come with brushes is that the quality is not good.

However, this was not the case with this set. The #5 round water-barrel brush is effective at rendering details and is easy to use. The barrel screws on securely and the cap easily fits on the top without falling off.

The #3 flat brush, even though synthetic, holds the paint well and distributes it well. Paint – The colours themselves are very pigmented and more opaque than other watercolours that I’ve used (which I consider a plus).

The Allegro selection of colours is also varied enough (I’ve noticed from the pamphlet that Allegro seems to be the only palette that has a black) yet still retains a ‘theme’. Since this is meant to be a travel set, the warmer, earthier palette works wonderfully for plein air sessions.

Cons: -Not sure if the colours match perfectly with the pamphlet’s references. Without the swatch card, it would be more difficult to gauge properly. -The sponge is not the most absorbent. After more than 24 hours and only a portion of the sponge used (not heavily), it is still damp.

– The mixing areas are a bit difficult to keep clean because of the quality of the material. Overall, this is a great travel watercolour set, especially for beginners. The price point I believe is fair for the quality, quantity, and variety of product ($19.

95). Definitely a must-have on my future travel packing list!.

Really liked this product it was pallet was well thought out. The brushes were pretty good, although I’m looking through my brushes to find a round bigger than the ones provided and I’ll likely have to cut it down and/or whittle it’s little to fit the holder.

But that’s a personal preference for a larger brush. I find myself reaching for this set a lot. The watercolors are very sheer and lift well. It has a good assortment of colors except there was no white.

They also included 2 bonus colors, another yellow and another brown (maybe burnt umber) why it wasn’t a white I don’t know or how long they will continue to be added. Pallet has a clear Mylar so you can close, while still wet and not dirty your brushes.

A sponge is included to wipe your brushes off. It does have a thumb ring and ample mixing area. The case closes well & tight. If I had any suggestions it would Be to add a white. Otherwise it’s a nice travel set.