Watercolor paint sells in two formats: solid pans (small dried cakes of pigment in a half-pan or full-pan plastic well) and creamy tubes (metal squeeze tubes of moist paint). Both produce identical finished paintings when handled correctly. They differ in how the painter sets up a session, how much paint is available for large washes, and how portable the kit is. For a beginner deciding which to buy first, the decision usually depends on where and how the painting will happen rather than on color quality.
How pan watercolors work
A pan is a small plastic well filled with dried watercolor pigment. To use a pan, the painter wets a brush, touches it to the pan to dissolve some pigment, and transfers the color to a palette or directly to the paper. The pan rewets continuously throughout a session.
Pans come in two sizes: half-pans (about 1.5 grams of pigment, the standard format) and full-pans (about 3 grams, twice the volume). Most travel sets use half-pans; some artist-grade sets use full-pans for popular colors.
A pan set typically includes 12 to 48 pans in a metal or plastic case with an integrated palette lid. The case folds open for painting and closes to protect the paint and any work-in-progress. The format is built for transport and for plein-air (outdoor) painting.
How tube watercolors work
A tube watercolor is paint in a moist, semi-liquid form sold in 5ml, 14ml, 21ml, or 37ml metal tubes. The painter squeezes a small amount onto a palette (porcelain, plastic, or enamel), wets the brush, picks up paint, and transfers it to the paper. Tube paint can be used immediately (wet) or left to dry on the palette and rewetted like pan paint.
A tube set is typically sold in 6, 12, 24, or 36 tubes packaged in a cardboard box. The painter supplies a palette and storage system separately.
Tube paint has a higher initial pigment concentration than pan paint, so the first wash from a fresh tube squeeze is more intense than rewetted pan paint. After drying on the palette, the concentration difference diminishes.
Workflow and setup time
A pan set is ready to paint in 30 seconds. Open the case, wet the brush, and start.
A tube set requires palette setup before painting. The painter squeezes a small amount of each color onto the palette’s wells, lets the paint dry slightly (5 to 15 minutes), and then paints. The dried tube paint on the palette behaves almost identically to pan paint and rewets the same way.
For a 30-minute painting session, the tube setup time is a substantial fraction. For a 2-hour studio session, the setup is negligible. For travel and quick sketches, pan is dramatically faster.
Some painters keep a “tube palette” set up permanently in the studio, refreshing colors as they run out. This combines tube paint with pan-like workflow but requires a dedicated palette and workspace.
Portability and travel
A pan set is built for portability. A pocket-size set (Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket, Sennelier Travel) measures roughly 4 by 6 inches and weighs 4 to 8 ounces. It fits in a backpack, a purse, or even a large pocket. Combined with a water brush (a brush with a refillable water reservoir in the handle) and a small sketchbook, the entire watercolor kit fits in one hand.
A tube set is less portable. The tubes themselves are small, but the palette is bulky, and the squeeze-out-and-dry workflow is awkward outdoors. Some travel painters use tube paint pre-loaded into empty half-pans (the painter fills the pans manually, lets them dry, and uses them like a pan set thereafter), but this is a setup task that takes a weekend.
For plein-air painting, urban sketching, and travel, pan is the practical choice. For studio-only work, tube and pan are interchangeable.
Color intensity and mass tone
For most washes, pan and tube produce indistinguishable results. The pigment dissolves in water and behaves the same way regardless of whether it was originally dried in a pan or squeezed from a tube.
For mass tones (very saturated, undiluted color used straight from the source), fresh tube paint produces more intense results. A pan rewets to about 70 to 90 percent of fresh tube concentration, depending on age and how often the pan is wetted. For very dark passages and saturated color work, this 10 to 30 percent difference can matter.
The fix for pan painters who need high saturation: use a small dropper to add a drop of water directly to the pan a few minutes before painting, letting the pigment soften thoroughly. The resulting wash approaches fresh-tube intensity.
Cost per square foot of painting
Tube paint is roughly 30 to 50 percent cheaper per gram of pigment than pan paint, when comparing equivalent quality and brand.
A Winsor & Newton Professional 5ml tube costs about $15 and contains about 7 grams of paint. A Winsor & Newton Professional half-pan costs about $7 and contains about 1.5 grams of paint. Per gram, the tube is meaningfully cheaper.
For a high-volume painter (one painting per day, full-sheet work), tubes pay back in materials cost within months.
For an occasional painter (one painting per week, small format), the cost difference is small in absolute terms and pan is worth the convenience premium.
Common starter products
Winsor & Newton Cotman. The most common beginner brand. Student-grade pigments at moderate prices. Available in both pan sets (Pocket Plus 24-Half-Pan, $50; Compact 21-Half-Pan, $40) and tube sets (12-tube 8ml, $30; 24-tube 5ml, $50). Decent color, durable cases.
Daniel Smith Essentials. Artist-grade tubes in a 6-color introductory set ($25 to $35). Some of the best pigment quality available at any price; the 6 colors are well-chosen for mixing. Pan sets less commonly available.
Sennelier l’Aquarelle. Premium French watercolor with honey-based binder. Pan sets ($60 to $150) and tube sets ($40 to $200) available. Beautiful color, slightly more expensive than competitors, beloved by serious watercolorists.
Mijello Mission Gold. Korean artist-grade tubes with strong pigment intensity at competitive prices. 24-color set around $80 to $100.
Holbein. Japanese artist-grade tubes (no whiteners, very pure pigments). 12-color set around $60 to $80. Some colors lift more readily than competitors.
For our broader watercolor testing methodology, see our /methodology page.
Color choice and palette building
A pre-made set provides 12 to 24 colors selected by the manufacturer. Some choices are excellent (the colors mix well together); some include unnecessary or duplicate colors.
Building a custom palette from individual tubes or pans provides better control but requires research. A useful starter palette for landscape and urban subjects:
Warm yellow (cadmium yellow, hansa yellow, or new gamboge). Cool yellow (lemon yellow or nickel azo yellow). Warm red (cadmium red light or pyrrol red). Cool red (alizarin crimson, permanent rose, or quinacridone red). Warm blue (ultramarine blue). Cool blue (phthalo blue or cerulean blue). Burnt sienna. Yellow ochre. Sap green or viridian. Paynes gray.
Ten colors cover most landscape, urban, and figure subjects. Add colors only when a specific subject demands them (cadmium orange for fall foliage, dioxazine violet for shadows, etc.).
Reasonable buying paths
For an absolute beginner deciding whether watercolor is for them: Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket Set, 12-color, around $30. Add a Cotman Series 111 round brush size 6 ($10) and a small sketchbook ($10). Total under $50.
For a beginner committed to learning: Winsor & Newton Cotman 24-color set or Daniel Smith Essentials 6-tube set. Around $50 to $80. Add three good brushes (round size 4, 8, and 12) and 9x12 cold-press watercolor paper.
For a painter ready to invest in artist-grade: a 6 to 12 color custom palette of Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton Professional, or Sennelier l’Aquarelle tubes. Around $90 to $180 for a starter pigment kit, then refill as colors run out.
The honest framing: pan vs tube is a workflow decision, not a quality decision. Most beginners are happier with pans for the first year because of portability and setup speed. Some painters never switch. Others move to tubes once studio painting becomes the primary mode. Either path produces good paintings; pick based on where the painting will happen.
Frequently asked questions
Should a beginner buy pans or tubes of watercolor?+
Pans for most beginners. A 12-color or 24-color pan set (Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket, Sennelier travel set, Mijello Mission Gold) costs $25 to $80, comes in a portable case, and is ready to paint immediately with no setup. Tubes work better for studio painters who mix large washes and want maximum color intensity, but they require palette setup, drying time management, and a stable workspace. Most beginners paint at kitchen tables and travel with their kit; pans fit that workflow.
What is the actual difference in color quality between pans and tubes?+
Almost nothing when the pigment is the same. Manufacturers like Winsor & Newton, Daniel Smith, and Sennelier use the same pigments in both formats. The difference is concentration and rewetting behavior. Fresh tube paint releases color more readily than rewetted pan paint, so a tube wash can reach slightly more intense saturation. For 95 percent of paintings, the difference is invisible. For dark mass-tone passages or saturated single-color work, tubes have a small edge.
Are student-grade watercolors good enough or do I need artist-grade?+
Student-grade is fine to start; artist-grade is meaningfully better once technique improves. Student-grade lines (Winsor & Newton Cotman, Daniel Smith Academy, Holbein Cotman) use lower-cost pigments and more filler, which produces decent but less vibrant color. Artist-grade lines (Winsor & Newton Professional, Daniel Smith Extra Fine, Sennelier l'Aquarelle) use higher-quality pigments with less filler, producing better lightfastness, color mixing, and granulation. For the first three to six months, student-grade is fine. Upgrade to artist-grade once consistent technique justifies it.
How many colors does a beginner watercolor set actually need?+
Six to 12 well-chosen colors. A useful starter palette: a warm and cool red (cadmium red light, alizarin crimson), a warm and cool yellow (cadmium yellow, lemon yellow), a warm and cool blue (ultramarine, phthalo blue), a brown (burnt sienna), a black or dark mixer (Payne's gray or sepia), and optionally a green (sap green or viridian) and a violet. Twelve colors handle almost any subject through mixing. Larger pre-set kits often include colors that go unused; the curated 12 is usually a better starter.
Is the Winsor & Newton Cotman Pocket Set worth $30?+
Yes for absolute beginners. The Cotman Pocket Set includes 12 half-pans, a small mixing palette, a travel brush, and a hard case for around $30 to $40 in 2026. The pigments are student-grade but consistent, the case is sturdy enough to travel, and the format encourages painting in places where a full studio kit would be impractical. For an outdoor sketcher or a beginner deciding whether watercolor is the medium, it is the standard recommendation.
Taylor Quinn
Taylor Quinn writes for The Tested Hub.