Watercolour painting is one of the most expressive and rewarding mediums for artists. But if you’ve ever walked into an art supply store or browsed online, you’ll know just how overwhelming it can be to pick the right watercolour paint set. Should you go for tubes or pans? Student or professional grade? Affordable beginner kits or high-end brands?
In 2025, there are more choices than ever, making it essential to choose a set that matches not only your budget but also your art style. Whether you’re a hobbyist, student, or professional, the right paint set will influence the colours, textures, and techniques you can achieve. This guide will help you navigate the options and find the best watercolour paints for your needs.
What to Look for in a Watercolour Paint Set
Choosing the right set isn’t just about picking pretty colours. Here are the key factors to consider:
The difference between student-grade and professional-grade paints lies in pigment concentration. Student paints are cheaper but contain more fillers, while professional paints have stronger pigments for vibrant results.
2. Pigments
Single-pigment colours blend more cleanly and produce consistent results. Multi-pigment colours are fine for beginners, but if you value precision, look for sets that clearly label pigments.
3. Lightfastness
Lightfastness measures how resistant a paint is to fading. If you’re selling, gifting, or displaying your work, professional paints with excellent lightfast ratings are worth the investment.
4. Portability
If you love painting outdoors or while travelling, pan sets are compact and easy to carry. Tubes are better for studio work, where you need more paint for larger washes.
5. Price
Budget is a big factor. A beginner watercolour set should be affordable yet reliable, while a professional watercolour paint set is more of a long-term investment.
Best Watercolour Paint Sets for Beginners
For new artists, affordability and ease of use are key. These beginner watercolour sets are great starting points:
Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolours
Affordable yet reliable, Cotman paints are designed for students. They have a good balance of pigment strength and price, making them one of the most trusted entry-level sets.
Sakura Koi Watercolor Field Sketch Set
Perfect for hobbyists and travellers, this compact kit comes with vibrant colours and a water brush, making it ideal for sketchbooks and outdoor painting.
Arteza Premium Watercolour Set
Arteza offers bright, easy-to-rewet colours at a budget-friendly price. They’re great for experimenting with techniques without breaking the bank.
Reeves Watercolour Sets
A very affordable choice for students or young artists. While not as pigmented as premium paints, they are perfect for early learning and practice.
Best Watercolour Paint Sets for Professionals
Professional artists need paints that offer consistency, richness, and permanence. These are some of the best watercolour paints for pros:
Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolours
Highly regarded for their unique pigments, Daniel Smith paints are vibrant, lightfast, and blend beautifully. Their “Primatek” series, made from natural minerals, is especially popular.
Schmincke Horadam Aquarell
Known for exceptional pigment quality and smooth application, Schmincke paints rewet easily and provide stunning transparency — perfect for glazing techniques.
Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolours
This range is consistent, vibrant, and trusted worldwide. With excellent lightfastness and a wide colour selection, it’s a favourite among established artists.
M. Graham Watercolours
Formulated with honey for a smooth, rewettable texture, M. Graham paints are highly pigmented and flow beautifully on paper. Ideal for artists who value intense colour saturation.
Student vs Professional-Grade Watercolours
The main difference comes down to pigment quality:
Student-grade paints: Cheaper, often contain fillers, and less vibrant when diluted. Great for learning and practice.
Professional-grade paints: More expensive but deliver unmatched vibrancy, transparency, and permanence. Best for serious artists who sell or display their work.
Beginners may start with student-grade sets, but upgrading to professional paints will dramatically improve colour quality and control.
Tubes vs Pans: Which is Better?
Tubes: Ideal for studio artists or those painting large works. They offer strong, immediate colour and are great for mixing big washes.
Pans: Compact, portable, and easy to use for quick sketches and travel. They’re more economical for beginners and outdoor artists.
There’s no “best” option — it depends on your art style. Many professionals even use a mix of both.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Paint Set
Invest in good paper: Even the best watercolour paint set won’t perform on low-quality paper. Use at least 300gsm watercolour paper for best results.
Start small: A palette of 8–12 colours is enough to learn mixing techniques.
Keep brushes clean: Dirty brushes can muddy your colours.
Experiment with techniques: Try wet-on-wet, glazing, and dry-brush methods to get the most from your paints.
FAQs About Watercolour Paint Sets in 2025
1. What is the best beginner watercolour paint set? Winsor & Newton Cotman and Sakura Koi sets are excellent beginner-friendly options in 2025.
2. Are professional watercolour paints worth the price? Yes. Professional paints have higher pigment concentration and better lightfastness, making them ideal for serious artists.
3. Should I buy tubes or pans? Tubes are best for large-scale work in the studio, while pans are compact and travel-friendly.
4. How long does a watercolour paint set last? With proper use, professional sets can last years thanks to their strong pigment load. Student-grade paints may run out faster.
5. What are the best watercolour kits in 2025? Daniel Smith, Schmincke, and Winsor & Newton remain top choices for professionals, while Cotman, Arteza, and Sakura Koi are great for beginners.
Conclusion / Final Thoughts
Choosing the right watercolour paint set depends on your skill level, budget, and artistic style. Beginners may lean toward affordable sets like Cotman or Arteza, while professionals often invest in brands like Daniel Smith or Schmincke for their superior pigments and permanence.
The most important thing to remember is that your paint set should inspire you to create. Whether you’re painting quick sketches outdoors or detailed studio pieces, the right set will make your art more enjoyable and expressive.
🎨 Ready to find your perfect watercolour kit in 2025? Choose a set that fits your style, pick up your brushes, and let your creativity flow.
It’s true that watercolour paint is merciless, but there are various methods to rectify errors, modify them, or even include them in your picture as “happy accidents.” A Magic Eraser may be used to “erase” watercolour paint that has dried or to blot up paint that is still moist. It’s also possible to use a different medium to cover up undesirable portions, turning your work into a mixed-media piece.
Requirements
Q-tips (cotton swabs)
Bristle brush
Sponges
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser (available online or in grocery stores)
Painter’s tape
squirt bottle
Paper cutter, scissors
Mixed media: gouache, Chinese white, white gouache, soft pastels, colored pencils, ink
Colour Permanence/Transparency
First, be aware that certain colours are more stain-resistant and hence more lasting than others. The alizarin red, Winsor blue, sap green and phthalocyanine blue are more like dyes that stain the paper and are difficult to remove entirely. But the Magic Eraser works better.
You may also avoid these hues by using non-staining colours, such as ultramarine blue and cadmium yellow for green.
Also, certain papers absorb more watercolour paint, making it difficult to dry the colours. Others, like Bockingford, Saunders, and Cotman, help raise hues. Experiment with your own papers to find out what works best.
Blotting Excess Watercolour paint
Be prepared with a soft cloth and/or a sponge. Watercolour paint is a fluid medium that, depending on the method and quantity of water utilized, may result in undesirable puddles or drips of water and colour. Having something to wipe the annoying drop or puddle will make the job go much more easily. It will also help protect colours from flooding if you use too much water.
Blot the paper and lift instead of scrubbing. You don’t want lint or ripped tissue on your watercolour paper. Blotting up with a soft cloth or tissue may also be used to create a cloud of organic forms in a wet wash. To create streaky clouds, apply a dry brush over the sky.
Natural sponges have distinct textures and effects than manufactured cellulose sponges. Both are blotting aids.
To lift big areas of colour, use a large flat paper towel, a clean synthetic cellulose sponge, or a sheet of blotting paper put flat. For tiny patches of colour, crumple a tissue or use a corner of blotting paper to absorb a little undesirable drop of colour.
Blotting paper is thicker than tissue and reusable. It may be used to produce cloud forms or replicate the texture of stones, for example.
Similar to excellent grade watercolour paint paper (pure rag or linen without wood fibres), but more absorbent due to lack of internal sizing. Bibulous paper is used by scientists to blot moisture off slides in the lab.
Q-tips, commonly known as cotton swabs, may be used to blot up tiny amounts of pigment.
Removing damp colour
To remove a wet or moist watercolour paint, gently blot it with soft tissue, sponge, or paper towel. The blotting method you select will affect the shape and texture of the raised region.
It is also used to create clouds and textured regions such as greenery in paintings.
Using a dry brush or q-tip over a wet area can help wick up and absorb more watercolour paint and moisture. After you’ve lifted all the watercolour paint you can, let it dry fully. To speed up drying, use a heated hairdryer.
Removing Dry Colour and Hard Edges
After the painting has dried, you may determine that certain sections are too dark, that you forgot to leave white spaces for highlights, or that some edges need to be softened. You may do this in numerous ways.
Using a moist sponge, brush, or q-tip, gently massage an area to take away the paint, wiping it with a dry soft cloth or tissue as you go. A q-tip is incredibly handy since it includes cotton on both sides, one for lifting colour and one for blotting it. On thicker paper, use a moist bristle brush to remove the colour from bigger regions. You can read about Using an Artist’s Paint Brush to Create Art by visiting http://paintsprayerhub.com/using-an-artists-paint-brush-to-create-art/
To soften a harsh edge, wipe it with a moist q-tip or brush it with a damp brush. A break in tone is a painted region that reveals a sharp line or discontinuity in colour when another layer (a glaze) is painted over it. Lifting dried colour softens it and creates subtle colour gradations.
Rinsing Paint with A Spray Bottle
If you need to rinse a wider area, use a direct stream spray bottle and wipe the water with a tissue, soft cloth, or paper towel. Use painter’s or artist’s tape to mask off and protect the desired area.
If you’ve painted on thick watercolour paint paper (140 lb or thicker), you may hold it under cold running water from the tap or dunk it in cold water in the sink while wiping off the watercolour paint. Dry it flat, blot it dry, and then blow dry it fully. While the staining of the watercolour paint pigments will not totally restore the white of your paper, it may be near enough to utilize for another watercolour painting or mixed-media project. You may reuse this paper for subsequent projects and save money.
Razor and sand
Small watercolour paint flecks or blots may be readily removed by gently scraping with the side of a razor blade or X-acto knife. Painting on light-weight paper (less than 140 lb) may easily tear.
Fine sandpaper may be gently scraped over the surface to lighten the top layer of colour. The sandpaper may also be used to smooth up overworked paper.
Chinese White or Opaque White Gouache
Mistakes may be covered over with opaque white gouache paint and then watercolour paint. Watercolour purists may disapprove of this method, and the area may be obvious. Also, a dark tint is harder to totally conceal. But it’s great for highlighting minor elements in your picture, like eyes.
Watercolourists utilize Chinese White, which is formed of zinc and is more translucent. It may be used to brighten and highlight regions.
Final thoughts
Although watercolour paint has a reputation for being merciless, there are various methods to correct errors, make improvements, or even include errors into your picture if you accept them as “happy accidents.”
