ARTISTRO 48 Color Watercolor Paint Set - Portable Paint Art Kit with Palette and Brush Pens - Travel Water Color Set for Adults, Professionals, Kids - Art and Painting Supplies - Gift Idea

I already owned the travel set, and based on it's amazing quality and value, decided to buy the metallic/ chameleon set also. Here is my experience and opinion of both these fine products: 1. Travel set: I have a lot of water color sets and options, such that I really try to limit my purchases. But, sometimes a set is so good, especially for a budget friendly price that its worth owning--this is that set. I have not personally found a better performer for the price point!! Especially when I consider that this is a Chinese made art supply!! I'm sure there are better watercolors in the world...but they're all going to come from Europe and Japan, not China. So, those better paints will cost a bit more than this set. This set is literally better quality than many other sets at a similar price from the crafts store. Paint handles like watercolor should! It's not faint, it's not thick and chalky. This is a seriously good set for a beginner or casual hobbyist. Ideal for a teen or college age creative too! The travel set includes a range of standard type watercolors which are well pigmented and do granulate slightly! With cheaper sets like this, I personally expect more variability in the quality of paints (meaning that some will produce a better looking finished product than others with regard to the amount and quality of pigments). With this set, all the standard paints are rich and while there are slight differences between them, they're all useable. Now, this set also contains a few neon colors and metallics. That's where the quality takes a nose dive. Of course neons and metallics are tricky for almost any medium or company-- plenty of companies have a solid line of standard colors, and then somehow fail to produce neons and metallics that compare to the regular line. I have some very inexpensive neon paints that are way more pigmented and produce a better looking color saturation than these neon paints--but they are really chalky, almost like gouache in texture. So, hard for me to say about these...they still handle better than cheaper paints, but they're simply lacking some of the qualities of the standard color range. To me, the metallics are even worse. It's easy to find much better generic metallic paints than what's offered in this set. I notice that there's not a lot of reviews for both sets at once, not a lot of reviews for the metallic set and I feel like there's a reason for that: maybe most people would not buy the stand alone metallic set after sampling what's already included here. Travel set also includes some small watercolor papers, a few tools, and a handy guide with color names. It's very easy to transpose some of these colors when you swatch them out, so double check. One final thing to note: these paints aren't in removable pans. These are like cheaper paints in that they've obviously been made in some other mold, then glued in here. They look almost like they were formed in a long strip then sawed down to these sizes. So there's space between the pat of paint and it's section in this travel palette. That really really affects how these paints perform in way I consider negative. I always mist my paints with water to activate them. That method still helps a bit with this set, but not like it should! Meaning I had to mist the palette at least 6 times when I swatched it out and still yet had to come in and do most of the activation with a very wet brush. That does affect the control of the paints! These paints seem to need more water than what I would expect. It's not an insurmountable issue, and overall, I am very happy with this product, especially for the price. That's just a thing to keep in mind. 2. Metallic/ Chameleon set: They were very smart to include swatch sheets of both white watercolor paper and black card stock!! Most of these paints are awful on the white paper, but they really deliver a nice effect over black! Now, there's a ton of overlap between these paints and the metallics included in the travel set. You can compare the names in my photo where I show the Travel set on top (metallics are listed last on that swatch sheet) with the black and white metallic swatch sheets. Some of these, like the purple and green simply shouldn't have been repeated between these sets--theyre not good enough quality to justify them being included in any set that costs more than $5!! Seriously. And while the Gold has the same item name and number, it is invisible on white with this set, yet is plainly visible on white with the Travel set. That might be an issue for some people who specifically need a gold that can deliver. I think the Travel set is all around an excellent set, and I would recommend it strongly. If you don't already have some decent watercolors, then definitely invest in the travel set. The Chameleon set is more of a novelty item. If you're just looking for classic metallic watercolors, or jewel tones...you can honestly find what you're looking for at half the price of this set!! I would offer recommendations, but I think that's outside the scope of this review. This Chameleon set is really just for the person who has money to burn on novelty art supplies...or who is looking for that certain something that isn't readily available. I do give them credit for that-- having colors with a slight iridescent chameleon effect. I bought this set because it's the first I have found that offers that kind of paint. Plus, the travel set is stellar, so I had high expectations. To be fair, the paints in this set aren't too bad. Some of them granulate a bit. They do handle well. They seem like a quality product, it's just that there's numerous good classic metallic sets on the market that offer better color saturation for less money. But still, I don't want to discourage anyone from getting this set!! I am glad I have it. It's well packaged with the same extras as the travel set. The tin has a beautiful iridescent finish, too. I think the Chameleon set is ideal for someone like me who already has several sets of classic metallic watercolors but is looking for a different effect. My actual complaint about this set is that there's a lot of overlap between it and the travel set, so that destroys value for price if you already own the travel set. I wish this set would have only been new, Chameleon tones, with none of the classic metallics.

These metallic watercolors are amazing. The colors are super vibrant, smooth, and really pop on both white and black paper. They blend easily, dry fast, and have a beautiful shimmer that makes artwork stand out. The set comes nicely packaged and includes everything you need to start painting right away. Great for beginners or experienced artists. Definitely worth it — I’m extremely happy with the quality and the results!

Very pleased with this product! I purchased 15 of these for a water color Christmas card workshop hosted by my church. The paints are highly pigmented, they blend well and they layer nicely. I saw some people complaining about the size, but I think the size is perfect and the paint cakes go a long way! The only “issue” I could see (really more like a slight inconvenience) is with the travel brushes. About 6 out of the 15 I ordered don’t hold into place when you put them together, but this can be remedied by wrapping a small piece of masking tape around the joint during use. I love the tins! They’re very sturdy and beautiful! The tins are easy to clean, I just take out the whole plastic part (be careful not to crack it, it’s sturdy but I can see it also being easy to crack if not careful) and then scrub out the tin with soap and water in the sink. I am by no means a professional watercolor artist, but I know enough to teach a group of women at my church. I think these sets are a great quality for the price! The brushes aren’t bad either, they hold paint well, but they’re small. It would be hard to do a wash with these brushes but they work great to use in small notebooks or cards.

This is a good set for beginners. A lot of different colors to work with, although color names are not identified. I guess I can name them myself!!

Cute! Perfect for painters of all stages. I enjoyed the color payout of the pigments, and I enjoyed the experience working with these paints. It's a simple travel set of watercolor paints that comes with a water brush - just about everything you'd need from a travel set of watercolor paints. I've enjoyed painting fruits and greenery with this set. The depth of color builds up nicely in-between drying. I was skeptical about which travel kit to buy, this one or a prestige-brand's product that was three times the price of this ARTISTRO kit... I'm glad I made the more economical choice, as an artist of 30+ years of experience, because these paints work well - especially for what I enjoy painting (Holiday Cards, Birthday Cards, Portraits, etc...). Just look at everything that's included, it's a fantastic option for budding new artists!

I’m really happy with the watercolor paints I just bought. The colors look great and feel vibrant on the page, which makes painting really enjoyable. I’m just starting out with watercolor, but this set feels very beginner-friendly while still giving nice, rich results. The variety of colors is perfect for experimenting and learning different techniques. So far, I’m impressed with how smooth they apply and how easy they are to work with. This seems like a great starter set for anyone getting into watercolor painting.

This little turquoise palette tray with not just two but three mixing wells and a great little mini waterbrush with a good point is a steal for the price, even for adults, for urban sketching or vacation. Some people are getting this for their kids and really, I think their kids are lucky! Adults love turquoise too! I use Daniel Smith for fine pieces, but for a sketchbook that is closed this dye-style ink is fine. The colors are well-selected and fairly transparent and staining. I bought this at the used price and there was nothing wrong with it; it was brand new and not a dent. The little tiny brown brush they don't even need to put in there. All you need is the waterbrush. With some watercolor magnets you can put half pans or 12 full pans in here. Actually I was able to add some additional colors to it and the tin will hold up to 21 single pans if you wish to add some more favorites. This was a steal for the tin alone, and I see others buying it for that reason. I still have not painted with these paints but I have softened, them and added glycerin and gum arabic; they are a little gouachey looking now, but not falling out of the pan. I will keep experimenting. The dark green is an unusual color similar to ultramarine and yellow; but not really olive. It would say it is more like perylene green. The only blue is something like Phthalo Blue but possibly prussian blue. The turquoise colors looks like phthalo green with white added. The are similar to inktense; dye-based colors which means some of the colors will not lift easily if you don't like them. I still have not painted with it but I will soon.

I recently bought this and woah! For 29$ this set of watercolor is superb. I bought the Premium Home set. It comes with a pink soft carrying case. Inside the watercolor tin set, there is a palette. There is a little ad paper thingy that shows Artistro's social media. There is a printed swatch sheet, and a cusrom paper swatch sheet. There is a waterbrush, a small watercolor brush, an eraser, a triangular pencil, and a sponge. There is also ten sheets of watercolor paper. I like how Artistro provides supplies you might need for watercolor or any other media. I really like the set. The watercolor itself feels nice to paint with. It is a little chalky, but I don't really care about it. The watercolor is very saturated, even with a lot of water it still is very opaque and vibrant. I don't know if it is lightfast (resistance to light) or not, there is no ASTM or Blue Wool or any other lightfast information. Judging by price, I highly doubt this is lightfast. The watercolor brush is amazing to use. I assume it is a piston waterbrush, as it has a button to allow water out of the brush, unlike your normal barrel waterbrush where you just squeeze the barrel for water to come out. The brush does get stained though, this does not affect the watercolor though. The sponge is also great, although I have only used it for acrylic paint. The small brush is pretty convenient for making small details and maybe outlining. The printed swatch sheet is not that accurate though, so I recommend using the custom paper swatch sheet. The watercolor paper is just great. I haven't seen any buckling (paper drying unevenly and crooked) or warping (paper bending due to water.) It is a unique size though, I rarely ever see paper in that shape. The watercolor does not pill up pieces of paper. Also, the pans are removable in the Premium Home set. They are not glued to the pan. So storing them sideways, upside down, or slanted will cause the watercolor pans to fall out. There are numbers on the bottom of the pans though, so if the pans fall out and you want to put them back in the original order, follow the numbers on the printed swatch sheet and put them where they should be. You can make your own order of you'd like. The removable pans is something I like a lot, because if I need to clean the tin, I can take all the pans out and make cleaning easier. If you need only a few or one specific color for an art piece, you can take the pans you need out of the tin. If there is no more watercolor in the tin, the box can still be a storage box for small items like pencils. Probably my favorite thing about this set, is that it has both fluorescent/neon and metallic colors. You can actually make any color in this set metallic or fluorescent, you just need to be careful and pick the right colors. If you take some of the metallic colors, and add lots of water, you can make a nice gloss or metallic finish for your watercolor masterpiece. Unfortunately, the metallic colors are chalky. This may disappoint some people, but this does not bother me at all. Overall, this watercolor is amazing and I totally recommend it.