Tubes or Pans?

Tubes or Pans?

Luckily, there are not so many serious manufacturers of watercolor paints in the world, otherwise we would be stuck in choosing the right decision.

Paints, without going into details, are made of pigment and binder (such as honey or Gum Arabic).

Paints come in three levels: children's, student quality, and professional. The difference between them is that professional paints have much more pigment relative to the binder, while children's paints have the opposite. Of course, the quality of the pigments and binders also differs.

Inferior pigments fade quickly in the light, and if the binder is of poor quality, the paints dry quickly on the palette and need to be soaked for a long time before each use, if they have not already turned into stone.

Therefore, a high price is not only about quality, but also about convenience. But if you are just starting to learn, you can limit yourself to student quality paints.

The second aspect to consider is the packaging format: paints are sold in pans and tubes.

Pans are more suitable for outdoor small drawings, because they are easy to pack and unpack. Tubes, on the other hand, are convenient for creating large works indoors. They can be squeezed onto the palette depending on the size of the work and the colors in the picture.

In addition, paints usually run out unevenly, so it is convenient to buy tubes of different sizes. For example, I almost never use purple, so I buy a 5ml tube, unlike ultramarine, which disappears at lightning speed.

If you don't want to spend money on two types of packaging, then start with tubes right away. Buy a compact, airtight palette with a tight-fitting lid, by "Mijello", and use it as a palette on the go.

Pay attention to brands such as "Windsor&Newton", "Sennelier", "Schminke", "Daniel Smith ", "Rembrandt", "Mijello", and there are a few more. These are high quality brands, so if you start with one of them you will not regret.

Summary

Think what is right for you to start with according to your needs.