Winsor & NewtonCotman Watercolor Paint Set, Sketchers' Pocket Set, 12 Half Pan w/ Brush

The media could not be loaded. Several years ago, I decided to follow some tutorials from my high school art book and take watercolors more seriously. I bought quality paper (Strathmore, cellulose 300 gsm; at the time, I wasn't aware of the difference between cotton and cellulose) and a decent watercolor set without compromising my finances. Good watercolors can be quite expensive. So, in December 2016, I ordered this sketch set that was on discount, and I have no regrets. I can proudly say that these were my first watercolors from a reputable brand, even though they are student/academy quality.- The box/presentation: The plastic box doesn't feel cheap; it's very sturdy. However, since the lid doesn't come off, it's sometimes difficult to clean the edge where the hinge of the mixing tray is. To address this, I carefully remove all the half pans and wash the entire box from time to time. It has a small and compact size. The closed box measures 13x6 cm.- Colors / Half-Pans: The colors seemed very good to me at that time, with excellent pigmentation. While they can't compare to professional watercolors, they were a great option for a beginner who wanted to enjoy learning the technique. Many purist watercolorists may disagree with the inclusion of white, but I found it useful for adding details and experimenting with pastel colors. The ability to experiment made it worthwhile to have in the set. The set includes two yellows, two reds, two blues, and two greens, each in warm and cool versions, plus three earth tones. This selection helped me learn how to mix colors to get the shades I wanted. Initially, seeing a palette of 48 colors was overwhelming, but this smaller set was more manageable. I would have preferred if they had included the pigment numbers on the side, but it only lists the color names. However, you can find this information on the official Winsor & Newton website.- Brush: I still have the brush that came with the set, but it's not for daily use. It serves the set's main purpose, which is to make sketches, but I usually painted on 9x12 inches paper (the size of the notebook I bought at the time), so I often used larger brushes. The round brush is of decent quality and good for making details.I'm very happy to have learned the basics of watercolor technique with this set.Below, I will share the pigments for this set, if it helps anyone:- Lemon Yellow Hue: PY175- Cadmium Yellow Hue: PY65, PY97- Cadmium Red Pale Hue: PR255, PY65- Alizarin Crimson Hue: PR206- Ultramarine: PB29- Intense Blue (Phthalo Blue): PB15- Viridian Hue: PG7- Sap Green: PB15, PG7, PY139- Yellow Ochre: PY42- Burnt Sienna: PR101- Burnt Umber: PBr7, PY42- Chinese White: PW5

Quality is great, the colour bright and enjoyable to use. Even if you aren't a big watercolour person these are great to just have in your art box.

I have been an artist all my life and I have used Winsor & Newton paints forever. Many watercolor projects for home and college senior thesis or simple small pocket sketching, it doesn't matter. W & N for this small size are wonderful for taking anywhere. The Colors are vibrant or easy to pale with water, no graininess whether rainbow colors or metallics. The quick convenient brush is well protected and all around quality. Use 'em with joy!

After reading reviews for various brands and sets, I purchased this one due to the positive remarks from experienced watercolor users and the affordable price (it was on sale).I'm completely new to watercoloring, so I appreciate the basic information this set comes with (which color is good for back splash, which is good for layering on top on dry paint, how certain paints affect the other when mixed, etc.).The colors are beautiful and the color chart that comes with it doesn't do them justice.Upon opening the colors, I discarded all the wrappers which had the color numbers on it. Thankfully the box has the color names that can be matched with the color chart.Lastly, the brush is tiny! I know it was small for the sake of fitting in the travel kit, but it is a bit too small for my liking. However, I bought this as a starter kit so I wouldn't have to go crazy buying each item individually. It gets the job done of allowing me to experient with the medium to see whether or not I would want to invest more into it. So it works.I painted in a regular journal that had thicker pages. I understood I was taking a risk by doing so, but thankfully it did not to warp the paper much when making the color chart. That being said, I don't know if the color will show differently on actual watercolor paper.