Winsor & Newton Cotman 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

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!

I just took up water color painting two months ago. I've been painting 3-5 days a week for 2 months. This was my first set of colors and I'm so happy I chose these!The good- the box is sturdy and well thought out, the mixing area is done well- the colors chosen for a beginner are perfect - it is possible to mix a larger range and variety of colors than I imagined (because I am a beginner and didn't know that much about mixing colors)- the paint in the pan are quite concentrated and last a long time- the paints are a really good quality - especially for the price, water colors can be very very expensive!The room for improvement- the box lid can be used for mixing but is difficult/impossible to remove, making it harder to clean- the brush that was included was poor (a number of the bristles fell out on first use) - it's ok I wasn't counting on using that brush as a main brushThe stuff I wish I knew/Wish they included some information in the box, that I learned from tutorials/googling stuff as a beginner:- make a color chart (like the one I included as a picture) of each color and where it is located. The pans are very dark and it's hard to know which color is which/remember which pan is which once they are unwrapped and put in place- I had no idea how to use Chinese White. I experimented with it and really wasn't sure/getting any results that were useful. Upon googling I even found it on the WN techniques page, not sure if external links are allowed, but it's meant to be used as a highlight after the other paint has dried (that makes so much sense now, sigh... learning can be hard)- You can mix gray/black on your own. I was confused why there was no gray/black included. And I am fine with it, I really like the color choices included and understand that just 12 colors has to be expertly selected (and it is!) but as someone who knew nothing, I really wish it didn't take me as long to figure out as it did.- There are two yellows, two reds, two blues, and two greens because each has a cool version and a warm version. If you mix a cool with another cool you'll get a more vibrant color. If you mix a cool with a warm it'll be a bit muted/muddy. It took me hours of tutorials to find this piece of information and learn it! So helpful!- I was advised that spraying the pans with a little bit of water from a spray bottle before using would make it easier to activate/work with the paints and I found this to be very true and helpful. I'm not sure if there is any harm or problem doing this, but I find it easier to work with the paints this way