When considering which set of watercolour paints to buy there are a number of factors to consider. If you are starting out then you probably don\u2019t want to spend too much money, just in case you don\u2019t enjoy your new hobby, however, you don\u2019t want to buy a cheap poor quality set that\u2019s not going to behave as it should and completely uninspire you – if this happens, then you probably will want to give up before you even really get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of you reading this may want to take the next step forward and buy a more expensive artist quality set. Or perhaps you want to build your own set, choosing your box, pans and paints for a totally unique collection to paint with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hope this post can cover most bases, whichever stage of your urban sketching journey you\u2019re at. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is probably going to sound a bit strange but take it from me, after walking around or travelling continuously with limited luggage space, lugging around a metal box of watercolours filled to the brim with pans of paint, it can actually get heavy and a bit annoying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you are planning on doing excessive amounts of travelling and have your watercolours with you everywhere you go I really advise taking this point seriously. Life on the road got better for me when I cut my tin size (and amount of paints I carried) by half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The size of your tin will also determine how much space you have for mixing<\/strong>. Take this into account when looking for the right set for you. Having as much space for mixing as possible is always useful, especially if you do no clean out your mixing spaces very often (guilty)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sets of watercolour paints will usually feature half-pans or full pans<\/strong>. This refers to the size of the plastic container which the paint fills up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This feeds into my next point as the larger \/ heavier the paint set the more paint it probably has in it. You will see watercolour sets with anywhere from 8 \u2018pans\u2019 (plastic containers that hold the solid cake of watercolour paint) through to 50!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something I learned fairly early on is that the higher number of paints in the set does not mean better. For a start, this makes the set heavier to carry around, as mentioned above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having too many paint colours can also make you a bit lazy, you won\u2019t learn how to mix colours as much as you would if you only had 8 of them as chances are you have a colour close to what you need in the set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a watercolour artist, painting in a studio, then the consideration of how many colours or the size of your set is not so important. As we are discussing urban sketching, portability is important for the reasons mentioned in the section on size and weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a beginner, I don\u2019t think you should consider this question too hard. Just get a set of paint formed into pans. Later down the line, you may want to consider using paint from a tube. In the long run, it\u2019s more economical, you can choose the pigments you want and you can pour the paint from the tube into an empty plastic pan and leave it to dry so it forms into a solid \u2018cake\u2019 of paint (see the later section \u2018Make Your Own Set\u2019 for more details).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artists are divided on which form of paint is best. As we know by now the term \u2018best\u2019<\/em> is relative and depends entirely on your own circumstances and preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNumber of Paints<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pans or Tubes?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n