Watercolour painting

[Xylophonics]

Hello, I have started doing watercolour painting during lockdown , using an old set I have - the colour is a bit limited.
Any experts out there who could recommend a good set to get? Prefer the blocks in a set to tubes.

It depends how much you want to spend.

St Petersburg White Nights is one of the best value watercolours on the market. The paint is reasonable quality and comes in sets of 12, 24 or 32 pans.

There are better quality paints available, but they are more expensive. It’s worth it if you think this will be a long term hobby, but they’re definitely more of an investment. The best brands, in my opinion, are Daniel Smith, Winsor Newton (Professional, not the Cotman series) and Schmincke Horadam. All of these companies sell sets.

The one thing I would say is that you don’t actually need a massive range of colours. It’s possible to mix pretty much any colour with 6-8 colours and there’s something to be said for learning how to do that. I started with this set (it’s tubes, not pans) and a small tube of burnt sienna. After more than a year of painting daily, I still hadn’t finished any of these tubes, so don’t let the small size of the tubes put you off. They’re super concentrated.

www.artsupplies.co.uk/item-daniel-smith-watercolour-essentials-set.htm

If you add tube paint to a palette and let it dry for a few hours, it will act exactly like paint from a pan, so don’t be too put off by tubes. They are just as easy to use as pans

I just did some googling and came across this set which may be more along the lines of what you are looking for.

It more expensive than the White Nights ones I suggested above, but for a set of this size and quality it’s a really good price

www.cassart.co.uk/painting/watercolour-paints/painting-sets/winsor-newton-artists-watercolour-lightweight-metal-box-set-of-24-half-pan-assorted-colours.htm

Thanks for your reply, that's very helpful!
I will look into those suggestions. xx

Winsor & Newton Cotmans are a great price and good student quality. You really don’t need to spend £££ on professional grade stuff yet (if ever). I paint with Cotmans at home and at classes, and even sell a few.

Learning to mix pigments is a vital skill, and will make your paintings look far more harmonious. It’s one of those things that’s hard to put your finger on when looking at the finished painting, buts you’ll feel something is “off” if you use too many pigments. Therefore it’s not such a great idea to buy a big box with loads of colours in, you either won’t use them or you’ll end up disappointed in your work. Bear in mind most books you might buy to learn watercolour are sponsored by a paint manufacturer, so they’ll insist you need every colour they produce in your paintbox but you DON’T. If you get a warm and cool of each of red, blue and yellow, you will be well away.

Thanks ocicat, v interesting- yes I'm definitely still learning how to mix and get the range of colours I want. Will continue to practice.