Choosing your first watercolor paints is a big deal. Watercolor paints unlike many other paint mediums, last a long time. For reference, we’ll be talking about watercolor paint that comes in pans and tubes, not about watercolor inks, pencils, or markers in this article.

There are a variety of factors to consider when doing your research. I would however recommend that regardless of your desire to start watercolor, you choose the best watercolor paints from a quality brand to ensure you have a positive experience. This goes for all supplies. There’s nothing worse than buying a cheap set to save money only to end up becoming frustrated with the paints themselves.

Below I break down some of thing to consider to help you choose the right brand and type of paint for your needs.

Professional Vs. Student Grade

Watercolor paints come in two grades: professional/artist grade and student/cotman grade. The difference between the two is the quality. While professional grade paints have higher quality pigments and less fillers, student grades have a high filler ratio to pigments, which means they don’t perform as well. The pigments in watercolor paints are from nature and come from sources like charcoal, insects, and rocks, for example. Some pigments are rarer and therefore more expensive, which can increase the cost of certain color paints.

Here are the key differences:

Professional-Grade

• higher quality pigments means the paint performs better
• less fillers, higher pigment content means these will be rich in color
• tend to be lightfast, which means they won’t fade in sunlight
• more expensive

Artist-grade

• lower quality pigments
• more fillers means a lower pigment ratio thus affecting color richness and blending abilities
• generally not lightfast, so they’ll fade in sunlight.
• more affordable

Pans Vs. Tubes

Watercolor comes in either pans or tubes. How you like to use your watercolor is something to consider here. Do you want to buy a set? Make your own set with your chosen colors? Do you want something travel-friendly? Or do you like using watercolor paint fresh from the tube?

When I first started out, I used a student-grade pan set that I quickly graduated from when I fell in love with watercolor, and later purchased a set of Holbein Watercolor Tubes to create my own palette with empty half-pans like this. I’ve come to realize that I love the ability to grab my paints and supplies and take them on the go if I need to, or to put them away when I’m finished without the mess of tubes. But you might find you love mixing fresh paint on a ceramic palette (like this one) directly from a tube and don’t mind the extra storage that tubes require.

Pans and tubes from the same brand and grade are exactly the same. So say you want to purchase a Winsor & Newton student-grade pan set. If you purchased the colors in tubes, you’d be getting the exact same product, you just wouldn’t have to wait for the paint to dry if you wanted to make your own pan set. The same is said if you squeeze the paint from the tube.

Here are some differences, pro, and cons between pans and tubes:

Pans

• travel-friendly, especially if you buy a pre-made set.
• come in sets that give you in a variety of colors and options to choose from
• there may be colors in sets you’ll never use or are too close in color
• generally more affordable

Tubes

• can be used fresh or dried down
• you can customize your palette to your liking with specific color and even a variety of brands
• come in sets or individually
• are pricier

How to Choose?

Here are some things to keep in mind when considering what paints to purchase:

• Budget
• Lightfastness
• What subjects will you be painting?

If you’re serious about watercolor painting, I suggest making the investment in good quality paints. Even student grade-sets like those by Winsor & Newton are great to start out with. But if you know you like to have the best, go for artist-grade like Holbein. Keep your budget in mind. The best watercolor paints for YOU are the ones that are you are able to afford and fit your needs.

Budget

If you can only afford a small set of paints, then choosing a basic set like the Winsor & Newton student-grade sets are going to be what you want. These give you enough paints for mixing so you can tackle your subjects.

Lightfastness

Lightfastness is something you’ll want to consider as well. If you are plannong on displaying your work, you’ll want to keep it framed behind glass and use professional-grade paints. If you’re simply into keeping a daily sketchbook or journal then student-grade paints may be all you need.

Painting Subjects

Lastly, think about the types of subjects you want to paint. Is it portraits? Tropical botanicals? Food illustration? Botanical Illustration? Or just want to experiment with the basics? Narrowing down your options this way will help you determine if getting a basic primary set of watercolor paints or purchasing separate paints to customize your own palette is the better option.

For instance, if you like painting landscapes that are dark and moody, then you’re not going to need a set with 108 tubes in it because chances are you’re not going to use all those colors. And if you want to focus on building skills like color mixing, then a basic set with primary colors and an additional black and white paint, may be all you need. I highly suggest you look at color mixing recipes to see what you can achieve and the type of palette you’d work best from. This will save you money and you can always add to your watercolor paints collection as you go.

Below are a few of the best watercolor paints from brands I personally love and have used extensively over the years.

Best Brands

• Holbein Artists’ Watercolor
• Daniel Smith Watercolor
• Winsor & Newton Watercolour
• Paul Reubens
• Schmincke
• Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections

I hoped this article helped you choose the best watercolor paints to fit your needs. Now get painting!