Best watercolor kits for beginners (2026): start painting today
I started with an $8 Prang set from a college bookstore. The paint was chalky, the brush was awful, and I thought I was bad at watercolor. Turns out the materials were just working against me. When I upgraded to a $25 Van Gogh set, my paintings improved overnight. Not because I suddenly became more skilled, but because the paint actually did what I expected it to do.
That experience is why I'm specific about what I recommend for beginners. You don't need expensive supplies, but you need supplies that work. A $15 set that frustrates you into quitting is worse value than a $30 set that makes you want to keep painting.
Everything on this page is tested for approachability. I'm not recommending the "best" paint in absolute terms. I'm recommending the kits that will give you the smoothest experience as you're learning basic techniques like wet-on-wet, color mixing, and layered washes.
Showing 6 of 6kits · Updated April 2026
Daniel Smith Essentials Set
Daniel Smith is for the beginner who has already decided watercolor is their thing. The six-tube Essentials set gives you professional-grade pigments that mix beautifully, and you'll immediately notice the difference if you're coming from a cheaper set. Colors are more transparent, they layer without going muddy, and they rewet smoothly.
The catch: tubes only, no palette, no brush. You need to supply your own setup. That's fine if you already have a palette and brush from a previous kit. Less ideal if you're starting from scratch. For total beginners with nothing, I'd point to the Tobio's or Van Gogh instead. For the "I've been painting for two months and want better paint" beginner, Daniel Smith is the upgrade.
- Professional-grade pigments at a mid-range price
- Tubes last 8+ months with regular use
- Over 240 colors available in the line
- Tubes only, no palette included
- Setup barrier for total beginners
The same pigments professionals use, in a smaller starter quantity. At $45-55, you get artist-grade paint for about the same price as a premium student set. The move for anyone past the "am I going to stick with this?" phase.
Tobio's Watercolor Kit
This is my top pick for the person who hasn't committed to the hobby yet. The Tobio's kit has everything: palette, paint, brush, paper. Open the box and you're painting in 30 seconds. No decisions about which brush to buy, no hunting for watercolor paper, no separate palette.
The paint is decent. Not the best on this list, but good enough that you won't be frustrated. More importantly, the kit's design means you'll actually use it. I've given these as gifts and every single person painted with it within the first week. That hit rate matters more than pigment purity when you're deciding whether watercolor is for you.
- Most portable kit tested
- Clever magnetic palette design
- True all-in-one (paint, brush, paper, palette)
- Small painting surface
- Experienced painters may want richer pigment
The kit that actually goes everywhere with you. Best all-in-one setup I've tested for grab-and-go painting.
Van Gogh Watercolor Pocket Box
Best paint quality in a beginner-friendly format. The Van Gogh 12-pan set has paint that's bright, blends smoothly, and forgives the heavy-handed water application that beginners tend to start with. At $25-35, it's the sweet spot between "too cheap to work" and "too expensive to justify for a new hobby."
You'll need to buy a brush and paper separately. That's an extra $15-20. The included brush is fine for getting started but you'll want to upgrade to a size 8 round within a month or two.
- Best paint quality per dollar I have found
- Sturdy metal tin doubles as palette
- Good 12-color range that covers the basics
- Included brush is average
- Limited to 12 colors
The kit I recommend to basically everyone who asks what to buy. $25-35 for paint that punches well above its price. Boring advice, but boring advice is often right.
Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers Pocket Box
The teacher's recommendation for a reason. Cotman is consistent, available everywhere, and the replacement pans are easy to find. If you're following a specific tutorial or class, Cotman colors are what most instruction materials are based on.
Paint quality is slightly behind Van Gogh in my testing, but the difference is small at this level. Beginners won't notice. The real advantage is that Cotman has the widest distribution of any student-grade watercolor, so you can walk into almost any art store and find replacement pans when you burn through ultramarine blue (you will).
- Consistent quality batch to batch
- Replacement pans available everywhere
- Layers well for student-grade paint
- Slightly less vibrant than Van Gogh in side-by-side tests
- Included brush is nothing special
The set art teachers have been recommending for decades. Reliable, widely available, and the quality is consistent. If you can find it cheaper than Van Gogh or you value easy replacement pans, it is a solid pick.
Paul Rubens 36-Color Tube Set
The budget tube option. 36 colors for under $30 is a lot of paint for the money. The quality varies color to color (blues and earth tones are better than reds), but for a beginner experimenting with color mixing, having 36 options to play with is fun.
The tubes require a separate palette, which adds setup time and cost. If you're okay with that and want the most color variety for the least money, Paul Rubens works. If ease of use matters more, go with a pan set.
- 36 tubes of paint for under $30
- Good blues and earth tones
- Tubes let you control pigment amount
- Quality varies between colors, reds can be chalky
- Possible batch inconsistency
Suspiciously cheap, but the paint is actually decent. Blues and earth tones are solid. If you are on a tight budget and want tubes, this is the best option I have found under $30.
Grabie Premium Watercolor Set
The cheapest kit on this list that I'd still recommend. The paint is fine. The brush is basic. The included paper is thin. But everything you need to start painting is in the box, and the price is about $20-25.
I wouldn't buy this for myself, but I understand why it sells. If budget is the biggest concern and you want to try watercolor before spending real money, Grabie will get you started. Just know that better paint exists and the upgrade is worth it once you decide to continue.
- Everything included to start painting
- Decent color selection for the price
- Works as a gift
- Brush and paper quality are basic
- Paint is fine but nothing memorable
The cheapest kit on this list that I'd still recommend. It will get you painting. It will not make you fall in love with watercolor the way better paint would. If budget is the top concern, it works.
Here's what actually matters when you're starting: paper, a decent brush, and paint from a brand you've heard of. That's the whole list. You don't need 48 colors. You don't need a $15 masking fluid. You don't need a special eraser. Six to twelve colors, one round brush (size 8), and a pad of 140lb watercolor paper. Total investment: $30-50.
Paper matters more than paint brand. I mean this literally. Good paint on bad paper looks terrible. Decent paint on good paper looks fine. If you have $40 to spend, put $25 toward a kit and $15 toward a pad of Canson XL or Fabriano cold-pressed paper at 140lb. Your paintings will look better than if you spent the full $40 on expensive paint and used printer paper.
Start with a small set and figure out which colors you actually use. Most beginners reach for ultramarine blue, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre constantly. They rarely touch the greens because mixing your own green from blue and yellow looks better. Buying a 36-color set means paying for 20 colors you won't use much. A 12-color set lets you learn to mix, and mixing is where the real skill development happens.
Don't buy the cheapest kit you can find. A $5 set from a dollar store will make you think you're bad at painting when you're not. The paint won't blend, the colors will be dull, and the brush will shed hair on your paper. Spend $20-30 on a real kit from Van Gogh, Cotman, or Sakura Koi. The difference is night and day. That said, don't go past $50 for your first set either. You need to develop preferences before expensive paint makes sense.
If you want the best paint per dollar, the Van Gogh Pocket Box at $25-35. If you want everything included and zero setup, the Tobio's kit at $30-40. If you know you'll stick with painting and want to skip the beginner-grade stuff, the Daniel Smith Essentials at $45-55. All three are good starting points for different reasons.
No. A $25-40 kit from a known brand (Van Gogh, Cotman, Sakura Koi) is plenty for learning. The paint quality at that price point is good enough that you won't be fighting the materials. Save the $80+ professional sets for after you've developed your own preferences and technique.
Pans. They're less messy, ready to use immediately, and they teach you to control the water-to-pigment ratio by feel. Tubes are better once you're comfortable mixing colors and want to work on larger pieces. You can always squeeze tube paint into empty pans later if you want both options.
Paper. This is the one thing that's not optional. Buy a pad of 140lb (300gsm) cold-pressed watercolor paper. Canson XL is around $8-10 and works fine for learning. A separate size 8 round brush ($10-15) is also worth it since kit brushes are usually mediocre. That's it. Start painting.
Paint something today. Seriously. Don't watch 20 tutorials first. Mix some color on a wet page and see what happens. Then start with the basics: flat washes, graded washes, and wet-on-wet. YouTube has thousands of free beginner watercolor tutorials. I found that painting 15 minutes a day taught me more than binge-watching technique videos.