The best watercolour paints to let your creativity run wild

Let your creativity flow with these watercolour paints.

A woman painting with water colours

by Isabel Martins |
Updated on

Watercolour paints are incredibly popular and it's easy to see why. Aside from making beautiful paintings, watercolour painting is something everyone can do; from professional artists to newbies.

Additionally, painting is excellent for centring yourself and just taking some time to not focus or think about anything stressful.

When it comes to selecting the best watercolour paints for you, there are a few things to consider, including how pigmented the colour is. The more pigment in the colour, the richer and more vibrant it will be.

Furthermore, some paints can granulate, meaning they will leave a texture when dry, so make sure to check if the paint you purchase does or doesn't do this, as it can completely modify your painting.

We've decided to round up the best watercolour paint sets that you can purchase right now, whether you're a beginner or a professional artist.

Make sure to check our FAQs section underneath our roundup if you have any further questions on watercolour painting, too.

The best watercolour paints set available right now:

Editor's pick

Although it's slightly expensive, this is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best watercolour paint sets available right now. Featuring an intense, rich colour that doesn't dry out easily, you'll be able to calmly create your masterpieces, without constantly worrying that the paint will dry up.

Best value for price
Price: $14.49
Alternative retailers
Michaels Stores$19.99View offer

A brilliant watercolour paint set, this product comes with a pocket brush and the paints are seamless to use, so you don't need to be a professional to use it. The set itself is uber compact and lightweight, so it's ideal for any commuter or student.

Best watercolour paint set for beginners
Price: $12.20
Alternative retailers
Michaels Stores$15.19View offer

Just started getting into watercolour painting? This Daler Rowney set is brilliant for newcomers and beginners. This budget-friendly set offers 12 different colours, allowing for plenty of creations to be made. We also love how light and free-flowing the colours are.

Best for professionals

If you're more of a professional artist, or your daily routine involves painting, consider this luxury, high-end product from Sennelier. With this set, you'll receive beautifully vibrant colours, and paint that easily activates when wet, meaning they're extremely easy to use and won't quickly dry out, unlike other products.

Best watercolour paint set for sketching
Price: $64.39

A full and vibrant 36 colour paint set, this watercolour paint set has everything you could ask for and more. Each paint pan is fairly large and the colours are smooth, rich and super light. The only slight downfall is that these watercolours don't react in the same way as most, meaning once they hit the paper, they don't move around much. Once you become used to them, they are seamless to work with. Plus, this makes them perfect for adding colour to designs and sketching!

Best watercolour set for variation

Rrp: $75.18

Price: $69.71
Alternative retailers
Michaels Stores$84.74View offer

Need a super varied watercolour set? This product from Daniel Smith comes with 10 different 5ml colour tubes, but they're all pretty diverse. The quality of the colours is superb and they activate and mix easily with water, too.

Recommended
Price: $59.95

Love the first Graham 10 set but find it too expensive? Graham also offers a five colour paint set. This is ideal for anyone who paints more as a hobby or just doesn't require that wide of a variety of colours, you're still getting high-quality, rich paint colours, but on a budget.

Best budget watercolour paint set

Are you new to watercolour paints, or just looking to spend as little as possible? We've got the most budget-friendly watercolour set available. It's super affordable and the colours are brilliant quality.

What are the most vibrant watercolours?

The Daniel Smith set offers the most varied set of watercolours and the most vibrant, too.

What are the best quality watercolour paints?

The high quality of watercolour paints we've seen is the Graham set, followed closely by Winsor & Newton.

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Isabel Martins is a Commercial Content Writer for What's The Best, specialising in technology.

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