Watercolor Palette vs Set vs Tubes: What Should You Buy First?

What People Mean by "Watercolor Palette"

A watercolor palette can mean three different things, which is why the shopping results get confusing. Some artists use the word for a ready-made pan set. Some use it for an empty mixing tray. Others mean the personal group of colors they paint with, such as a 12-color landscape palette or a 24-color botanical palette.

For buying, separate the meanings first. A watercolor set includes paint. A tube set includes paint in squeezable tubes. An empty palette usually does not include paint unless the product page says it does. That one distinction prevents the most common beginner mistake: buying a beautiful empty mixing tray and then realizing there is no color inside.

PRS already has a detailed chemistry guide to watercolor pans vs tubes. This article answers the next buying question: which complete setup should you choose first?

The Three Buying Paths

There are three practical routes. You can buy a ready-to-use set, buy tubes and add a palette, or build a custom palette from individual colors. Each path has a different friction point.

"A beginner does not need the largest color count. They need a setup that removes friction: paint, water, paper, and a palette that makes the next brushstroke obvious."

Fast Recommendation by Painter Type

Use this section if you want the short path. It is deliberately practical because watercolor buying can become a rabbit hole of beautiful tins, specialty colors, and terms that sound more important than they are.

Best first set

Paul Rubens 24-Color Artist Grade Set

Best when you want a clean starter palette with a portable metal box, strong pigment, and enough range without turning color choice into homework. Price: $44.99.

Best all-in-one

52-Color Travel Watercolor Set

Best for gift buyers and absolute beginners who want paint, paper, brush, sponge, pencil, and pen in one case. Price: $30.00.

Best studio tube route

24-Color 12ml Watercolor Tube Set

Best if you want fresh tube color for bigger washes, studio work, and a separate mixing palette. Price: $30.00.

Choose by Painting Situation

The cleanest way to choose is by situation, not by product label. A watercolor palette for plein air has different requirements than a palette for a large floral wash at a desk.

If you are a true beginner

Start with a pan set. Pans force you to activate only the paint you need, so you waste less. They are also harder to contaminate than a wet tube palette because the color wells stay separated until you mix. The 24-Color Artist Grade Set is a practical starter choice because it has enough range for daily painting without overwhelming the learning process.

If you paint outside or in a sketchbook

Choose a travel set. You want a case that opens quickly, closes cleanly, and does not leak in a bag. Tube paint can travel, but it adds caps, plastic bags, and a wet palette problem. A portable set like the 52-Color Travel Watercolor Set is built for that kind of painting.

If you paint large washes

Choose tubes plus a separate palette. A pan set can make a big wash, but you spend time re-wetting, scrubbing, and lifting color. Tubes let you squeeze enough paint for a sky, background, or large botanical wash in one motion. This is where the 24-Color 12ml Tube Set makes more sense.

If you want shimmer or specialty color

Buy a specialty pan set rather than trying to build it from tubes. Metallic, pearlescent, and glitter colors are easiest to use as solid pans because you can activate a small area and keep the rest clean. The 48-Color Metallic Full-Pan Set is a better fit for cards, accents, lettering, and decorative layers than a standard tube palette.

How Many Colors Should Your Palette Have?

For most people, 12 to 24 colors is enough to learn watercolor well. Twelve teaches mixing. Sixteen gives you a few extra convenience colors. Twenty-four is the sweet spot for painters who want more earth tones, secondaries, and ready-to-use accents without turning every painting session into a color hunt.

Very large sets are not wrong. They are just less efficient as a first learning tool. If the set is for travel journaling, gift giving, or casual creative play, a 36 or 52 color set can be delightful. If the set is for building skill, fewer colors usually teaches faster.

Do You Need an Empty Palette?

You need an empty palette when you buy tubes, refill pans, or want to build a personal color layout. You do not need one if your set already includes a metal case or folding tray with mixing wells. Many beginners accidentally overbuy here: they purchase a pan set with a built-in mixing area and then add another palette that sits unused.

An empty palette becomes useful once you know your favorite colors. At that point, you can group warm colors on one side, cool colors on the other, and leave large wells for common mixes such as sky blue, foliage green, skin tones, or shadow neutral. That layout saves time because your hand learns where color lives.

If you are not sure yet, wait. Start with a set that already has a mixing area. Add a larger palette when your paintings begin to need repeated mixes or bigger wash puddles.

The Hidden Cost Difference: Pans, Tubes, and Sets

Sticker price is not the full cost of a watercolor setup. A $30 tube set can be excellent value, but only if you also have a palette, paper, brushes, and the discipline to squeeze small amounts. A $30 travel set may contain less paint by volume, but it can be the better first purchase because it removes every setup cost except water.

Think in terms of cost per finished session, not only cost per milliliter. Tube paint gives more wet color when you need volume. Pan paint gives better control when you are learning. A complete set gives the lowest decision cost because you can open the box and paint.

If you are buying for skill growth, choose the setup you will use three times a week. That usually beats the setup with the largest theoretical value. A palette sitting unopened is the most expensive palette in the room.

Common Buying Mistakes

Most bad watercolor purchases come from mismatching the format to the way you actually paint. Here are the mistakes I would avoid first.

Mistake 1: Buying a huge set to avoid learning mixing

A large color count feels safe, but it can slow you down. When every green, orange, and purple is already in the case, beginners often skip the mixing practice that teaches water control and color temperature. If your goal is learning, a compact 16 or 24 color palette is more useful than a giant collection.

Mistake 2: Buying tubes without a mixing plan

Tubes are powerful, but they are not automatically easier. You need a mixing surface, enough palette space, and a habit of squeezing small amounts. Otherwise the first week becomes a cycle of too much paint, muddy wells, and wasted color. Tubes are best when you want volume or repeatable custom mixes.

Mistake 3: Treating metallic colors like a main palette

Metallic and shimmer sets are excellent second palettes. They shine on cards, lettering, highlights, night skies, decorative botanical details, and mixed media accents. They are not the best only palette if you need natural skin tones, neutral shadows, or transparent landscape washes. Buy shimmer as an add-on, not as your entire learning system.

Mistake 4: Ignoring the paper

If a wash dries streaky, blooms strangely, or pills the surface, beginners often blame the paint. Sometimes the paint is fine and the paper is the problem. A modest pan set on decent watercolor paper will usually teach more than premium paint on weak sketch paper.

How to Build a Palette That Still Makes Sense Six Months Later

The best first palette should not trap you. It should give you a clean path to grow. Look for three things: refillability, a sensible color range, and a physical case you actually like using.

Refillability matters because your favorite colors run out first. A set with removable or refillable pans lets you replace the colors you use most instead of buying a whole new case. A sensible color range means you get primary colors, earth colors, a few convenience greens or violets, and enough neutral options to paint shadows. A usable case sounds minor, but it matters. If the lid, wells, or spacing annoy you, the palette slowly stops being your daily tool.

For a first serious path, the 24-Color Artist Grade Set is strong because it gives enough color range for daily painting without pushing you into a huge palette too early. If you later want more control over big washes, add a tube set. If you want decorative effects, add a metallic companion instead of replacing the core palette.

When Tubes Become the Better Choice

Tubes become the better choice once you notice a repeated need for more paint volume. That can happen when you paint skies, large florals, loose landscapes, portraits with repeated skin-tone mixes, or anything that requires one big puddle of consistent color.

The advantage is not only volume. Tubes let you make stronger mixtures quickly. You can squeeze a fresh bead of pigment, add water, test the value, and keep working. With pans, you can reach similar strength, but it takes more brush movement and more time. On a small sketchbook page, that delay barely matters. On a full sheet, it does.

Tubes also pair well with limited palette painting. For example, you might work from a warm yellow, cool yellow, warm red, cool red, warm blue, cool blue, a brown, and a dark neutral. That custom system is elegant, but it requires enough experience to choose colors with intention. That is why tubes are a second-step recommendation for many artists, not a first-step rule.

When a Complete Set Is the Smarter Purchase

A complete set is the smarter purchase when the real barrier is starting. This is especially true for gifts, class supplies, travel sketching, and casual creative routines. The all-in-one format matters because it removes the hidden shopping list: brush, pencil, paper, sponge, pen, case, and basic color range.

That does not make complete sets less serious. It makes them efficient. If the recipient paints once because everything is in one box, the set has done its job. You can always upgrade paper or brushes later. The first win is getting color onto paper without another hour of shopping decisions.

The 52-Color Travel Watercolor Set fits this role: not because every beginner needs 52 colors, but because a complete kit is useful when the buyer wants one clean box that can go from shelf to painting session immediately.

"The best palette is not the one with the most wells. It is the one whose layout helps you make the next decision faster."

The Paper Variable Most Palette Guides Ignore

Your palette choice matters, but paper can change your results even more. A beautiful tube mix still looks dull on weak paper. A good pan set can look professional on properly sized cotton paper. If your goal is smoother washes, cleaner lifting, and richer dry color, pair the paint decision with the paper decision.

For a deeper surface breakdown, read the PRS guide to hot press vs cold press watercolor paper and the practical watercolor paper guide for beginners. If you are building a complete starter kit, our watercolor supplies for beginners list is the better companion article.

Paper pair

Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper Pad

Pair with pan sets when you want forgiving washes, stronger absorption, and more texture. Price: $18.99.

Special effect

48-Color Metallic Full-Pan Set

Use as a second palette for shimmer accents, card details, and decorative layers. Price: $33.00.

A Simple Decision Tree

Still stuck? Use this sequence.

1. Do you already own watercolor paint? If no, buy a set. If yes, consider an empty palette.
2. Will you paint mostly outside, in class, or in sketchbooks? If yes, buy a pan set or travel set.
3. Will you paint large backgrounds or repeat the same mixes? If yes, buy tubes and a larger mixing palette.
4. Are you buying a gift? Choose a complete set with paint and basic accessories so the recipient can start immediately.
5. Are you trying to improve fastest? Choose fewer colors, better paper, and paint more often.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a watercolor palette the same as a watercolor set?

No. A watercolor set includes paint. A palette may be an empty mixing tray, a metal case with pans, or an artist's chosen color group. Always check whether the product includes actual paint.

Should beginners buy watercolor tubes or a pan set?

Most beginners should start with a pan set because it wastes less paint, travels better, and keeps setup simple. Tubes become more useful when you paint larger washes or want a custom studio palette.

How many colors should a beginner watercolor palette have?

A beginner palette should usually have 12 to 24 colors. Sixteen colors is enough to learn mixing; 24 colors adds useful convenience without becoming too crowded.

Do I need a separate mixing palette?

You need a separate mixing palette if you use tubes or make large mixes. If your pan set has built-in mixing wells and you paint small, you can wait.

What is the best watercolor setup for travel?

A compact pan set or travel set is best for travel because it closes cleanly, has no tube caps, and usually includes a built-in mixing area.

Can I put tube watercolor into an empty palette?

Yes. Many artists squeeze tube watercolor into palette wells or empty pans and let it dry. Use thin layers and leave it open until fully cured before closing the lid.