Starter Watercolour Set - Review

Here's all the nitty gritty!

I tested a bunch of starter/beginner/introductory paint sets from a range of brands, with the goal of including some really cheap options, and those that fit into what Jacksons Art call ‘mid-range’ and ‘excellent’ quality paints.

The upper limit was £40, I had no lower limit, though in reality I would not expect to get a useable set for under £10.

From cheapest to most expensive:

Aldi - £3.50

White - Yellow - Orange - Red - Pink - Purple - Dark Blue - Light Blue - Turquoise - Mid Green - Brown - Black.

- a bit of a silly giggle really,they do look bright and tempting for children or anyone who really has no idea about watercolour paint (perhaps someone intending to buy a gift for someone else).

They are, unsurprisingly, awful. Tons of binder and filler, no real pigment, horrible sticky gel texture that, once diluted to the point of useable, results in a barely visible pale stain. Into the bin with them, even tiny children deserve something better.

Daley Rowney - Aquafine £9.80.

Lemon yellow – cadmium yellow hue – vermillion hue – aliz crimson – Prussian blue – ultramarine – leaf green – viridian hue – yellow ochre

Included small handle Aquafine range medium round brush.

Aquafine is Daler-Rowneys budget/student range, Jacksons list them as ‘mid-range’ and I think thats fair.

The tin includes roughly half pan (though I actually think these are smaller than their Aquafine half pans you can buy in twin blister packs, two complementary colours in each pack) nuggets of semi-dry paint, in a pre-formed plastic tray. Whilst you could refill these I suspect the plastic won’t last long and you’d be better getting rid of it once the paint is nearly gone and replacing with the half pans, direct into the tin. You can buy stick on magnets to secure them to the metal tin.

The Aquafine range is also available as 8ml tubes.

I was pleasantly surprised that this paint wasn’t as bad as I had expected. It isn’t as well pigmented as other paints I am used to but it is a student range, that is why they are cheaper. They are a little chalky and grainy, and I think due to fillers, felt a bit gouache-y to use.

The set includes a nice range - if not what I’d have selected - to get you started and the brush is nice quality which really helps. The paint names and lightfast information is included with the set, but you’ll need to go to Daler Rowneys site to get the pigment numbers.

Temu ‘Gorgione’ 50 set - £10.15

I didn’t have high hopes for this set and I wasn’t wrong. Slightly smaller than a standard half pan, pre-formed nuggets of paint plopped into a preformed plastic tin liner.

The tin itself is pretty solid and you could repurpose this, particularly if you can find a metal insert to act as an inner tray, as it is very deep.

Thats really about the best thing I can say for this set. The colours are not as underpigmented as I expected but mixing quickly results in muddy tones. Crucially for me, there are no names for any of the paints included and of course, no pigment information or lightfast ratings either. Even if there were, I would not entirely trust that info to be accurate.

If you wish to just colour in stamps or line drawings and intend to keep them in sketchbooks or scan and use digitally, these may be ok (if you can get past the ethical issues that come with buying from Temu) but for me, no thankyou.

Roman Szmal - Aquarius starter set £14.60

Lemon Yellow - Aquarius Red - Ultramarine Light - Aquarius Green - Caput Mortum

Jacksons list these as ‘excellent’ and I would agree. The set is 5 full pans and these are slightly larger than standard full pans, in a cardboard sleeve. So the saving there is obviously in not providing a tin or a brush. The cardboard tray and sleeve is not too flimsy but it isn’t going to last forever around water and paint.

I enjoyed swatching these out, the names and pigment information is supplied (no lightfast info but this is available elsewhere online). Their pans are available as open stock and range in price from as little as 3.40 for a half pan, to as much as £32 (Lapis Lazuli (afghan)), as their pricing is not standard across the range, but dependent on the pigment used, as is the case with many artist grade paints.

The set gives you the three basic primary colours and a nice warm brown and a deep rich earthy green. Interestingly, bought seperately these five pans would set you back £35.50 from Jacksons, so it is a significant saving if you like all five colours!

Tons of pigment, wet up very quickly and were very pleasant to use. If I didn’t already have a ton of watercolour paints, I would buy more of these. As a beginner set, whilst they are significantly cheaper than seperate pans, I personally feel a split primary set of six would have been better, but each to their own. As a hook into buying more of their product, this is excellent, but you would need to buy some more to make all the colours you would reasonably need.

Jackman’s - Primary Colours Warm and Cool Starter Set £24.95

Hansa Yellow - Diarylide Yellow - Pthalo Blue (Green Shade) - French Ultramarine Blue - Pyrrole Red - Quinacridone Magenta

This is a true split primary set and the only one I actually found within the criteria I set for this review.

You get six five ml tubes, which are very generously filled, I recommend decanting some into some empty half pans or a ceramic palette!

Really really lovely to use, minimal binder, tons of pigment - these come in a cardboard box so you will need to supply your own and tin and half pans or ceramic palette, and that should be factored into the cost.

For those serious about learning to mix colours and paint professionally, I would recommend this set. The tubes are also available in a 14ml size in the same set (49.95), and you can add a travel brush if you wish (an extra £4).

If it is important to you, this is also a British company and the paints are all made in the UK.

Royal Talens Van Gogh - 12 + 3 set £26.50

Chinese white – Quinacridone rose – Prussian blue – Burnt umber – Paynes grey
Permanent lemon yellow – Permanent red light – Ultramarine deep – Sap green – Yellow ochre – Azo yellow medium – Madder lake deep – Cerulean blue (pthalo) – Viridian – Burnt sienna

Probably the best range of colours without being excessive, this set comes in a solid plastic case with mixing wells, a travel brush (not the best quality but certainly useable), and all the colour names, pigment detail and lightfast rating you could need.

The pans can be removed, but you may need to shop around to find the half pans or tubes sold seperately.

I was pleasantly surprised with these too, personally I’d swap out the white for a cool turquoise blue/green, but otherwise everything you need is there (I just don’t use white watercolour. I either leave the paper showing or use a white gouache later on and white watercolour paint typically is gouache, just rarely a quality one).

If you really need a set of half pans in a comprehensive, sturdy and useful case that includes a mixing palette, this is the one to go for.

Jacksons - own brand set of six currently £31.50 on promotion, normally £35.00

Yellow light – Ultramarine deep –Permanent sap green – Paynes grey –Perm. Alizarin Crimson Deep – Raw sienna.

This is a great set, probably the best value for money in terms of quantity of paint as these are huge 21ml tubes, you can really splosh this stuff around without panicking that you’re wasting materials!

It isn’t quite a primary set + extras however as the Permanent Alizarin Crimson Deep isn’t a primary red, however you will be able to mix plenty of colours from this selection, and the quality is absolutely fantastic. These are absolutely artists quality paint. The information on the tubes is also excellent - name, pigment detail, lightfast rating, transparency info, it’s all there!

If you want to start out painting pretty large pieces, using techniques that require wet paint direct from the tube or using palette knives, this is what I’d recommend, you have loads to play with!

Jacksons own brand watercolours are available in 10ml and 21ml tubes, and standard full and half pans, if you wanted to buy individually you could make up this same set of half pans for £18.72 (at current prices).

Golden - Qor - 37.50 Introductory set of six 5ml tubes

Hansa Yellow Light -Phthalo Blue (GS) - Ultramarine Blue - Pyrrole Red Light - Permanent Alizarin Crimson - Burnt Sienna (Natural)

These are marketed as having extremely high pigment loads, and that seems to be accurate, and the tubes come in a tin you can continue to use if you put some of the paints into half pans and attach magnets to them. The tin lid is white inside and formed into a series of wells to be used as a palette.

However, for what you get, six x 5ml, this is seriously expensive paint, and I am not sure its really necessary in a starter set. As open stock, Qor watercolours are available as 11ml tubes only, and prices vary depending on the pigment used. Qor include pigment detail and lightfast information on the tubes and their website also has extensive information. [Edited to remove out of date information. Qor’s lightfast ratings are industry standard, refer to their website https://justpaint.org/recent-qor-lightfast-testing/ )

I did like using these paints, but not sure I’d pay for them, however I am obviously biased, and already like and use a fairly large range of artist quality paints! If you like them, go for it, but do not feel as though you have to, to produce pleasing and professional results!

In Summary:

Value for money - quantity wise - Jacksons tube set.
Value for money - number of colours - Royal Talens Van Gogh.
Best under £30 split primary set - Jackman’s
Cheapest usable introductory tin/paint/brush - Daler Rowney


Much depends on what you want to do, what you want to create and where you want to use it. If you have a big studio space and can decant tubes into pans and stick them into tins, tubes do give you more bang for your buck. If you’re sitting at the kitchen table and need to be able to clear up quickly, or you want to paint ‘en plein air’ or ‘out in the freezing cold’, a set of half pans in a tin with its own palette is likely to be a better option for you.

Final thoughts - you don’t need the most expensive there is, nor do you need every colour under the sun to get started. Whatever you go for - do get started and use your materials, that’s what they’re for!


Sets purchased from: www.jacksonsart.com and www.jackmansartmaterials.co.uk and Aldi!