Talens Angora 36 Pan Watercolour Set

After years and years of watercolor and acrylic, I'm finally beginning to paint in gouache. I do have M Graham and Holbein artist's gouache (the kind that reactivates in water when dry) but was looking for matte, opaque watercolors in pans for just doing quick, on-the-fly paintings with bright convenience colors. I decided to give these a try because I love the Lyra student-grade opaque watercolor set I have and wanted even more colors. THESE ARE AWESOME. They are not like traditional watercolors- they are not easily activated with a wet brush. Instead, you have to spray the pans down, wait a few minutes, and then swirl a wet brush (go with a firm one) over the cake quite a bit to "activate" the paints. When you get them going, they are beautiful. very creamy and opaque, and they don't dry chalky or remotely shiny. I use them on toned paper for quick geometric patterns and mandalas- the kind of paintings where I just want a large amount of a pre-mixed color to fill in a solid area without any variation. Very flat. These are perfect- the colors are beautiful and bright and pop off the toned page when applied in thick, creamy layers. If you are looking for a large selection of "gouache"-like opaque, matte paint with the convenience of pans, look no further. (i also recommend the Lyra 24 color set, but this one has a lot more colors...)

This watercolor set is the best for the price. I use these Angora watercolors for my weekly art classes. They are a good mid grade student set with a decent array of colors. I do wish you could replace the colors that run out first (these are NOT replaceable pans). The mid blue color always goes first!

Love the color assortment and the intensity of the paint.

They arrived in order with no damage. They are very opaque. If you are not used to this type of watercolor it will take time to get used it. To me they seemed dry and difficult to work with no matter how much water I used, but it could just be a learning curve

Like any watercolor paints in these tiny 'pans' the colors are best applied when lightly dampened before use. I just put a couple of drops of warm water in each color before I'm ready to start applying to paper or cardstock, etc. and they go on smoothly. A nice range of colors that blend well, I test blends on the tray or on a piece of scrap of the same texture I'm using for my design. Best application and blending also depends on the type and texture of paper or stock being used. I use these until there's nothing left in the 'pan'.

My initial set was broken, and the company replaced it immediately - this is a great set for beginners. The colors are nicely saturated and blend easily. I’d never painted anything in the past and did not struggle to use this with some beginner brushes and tap water. If I had to pick one “con”, there are too many yellows that are too similar.

I own a few of these palettes. As always, good opacity, good flow, good pigmentation. Love this company.

Almost sent back because plastic box arrived with two pieces broken off leaving very sharp edges on lip. Too much trouble to send back. Arrived in Manilla envelope with no protection.

Lovely set of water colours subtle not heavy bodies good range of colours ready mixed for you to use straight from the box.