Ah, the age-old question when it comes to watercolor supplies: Should I use pans or tubes?
So let me share general pros and cons of both pans and tubes. And then I want to show you how I use them. And keep in mind, that how I use them may not be the same way you or other use them. This is a practice I’ve developed over the years. Check this page if you want to see what supplies I work with.
Pros of watercolor pans
1. Watercolor pans are beginner friendly
I know there are artists out there that say that you should invest in tube paints from the beginning. I don’t think that’s necessarily wrong to say. But since most of my audience are brand new to watercolors, I still recommend watercolor pans. They’re easy to use because they’re similar to what you probably dabbled in as a child. It’s familiar.
2. They come with helpful starting colors
Most brands’ watercolor pan sets have a set of colors that are wide ranging. It’ll usually include 2 yellows, 2 reds, 2 blues, a green or two, an earth color, and a payne’s gray or black. This is great because you have two versions of each primary color, and a few other convenience colors.
This Winsor & Newton Cotman travel set was my first and it was well loved. I haven’t touched it in years, but I keep it as a reminder of how far I’ve come.
Watercolor pans are pre-arranged palettes of color. There are some brands that organize colors based on subject matter like landscapes, galaxy, neutrals, etc. Others may specialize in metallic colors like the Finetec Coliro pictured above.
3. Watercolor pans are portable
Are you an artist on the go? Then pans is what you need! Pan paints can come in smaller sizes and allow you to paint outdoors. All you need is a water brush and a sketchbook, and you’re off! Most palettes come with a thumb hole so that you can hold the palette in one hand as you paint with the other.
4. Watercolor pans are cost effective
The makeup of pan paints have less pigment than tube paints and have more filler elements. The amount of pigment drives the overall price. So the less pigment there is, the more affordable it is. In general, pans will be more cost effective than buying individual tubes. And you’d be surprised at how long they last!
Cons of watercolor pans
1. Not ideal for large-scale paintings
My Winsor & Newton travel set got me through the first year or two of painting. But I quickly realized that I was very limited on how much paint I could pick up because I was limited in the brush size that I could fit in the small paint pans. This meant that I was limited to the paper size on which I could paint. It’s not impossible, but if I wanted to paint a large landscape, I either have to work really quickly or else I’d run out of mixed paint.
2. Mixing areas are limited
Which brings me to my second con and that is that mixing areas are limited. Yes, larger pans have larger mixing areas. But then you can fit more colors, and you’re still limited on how much you can mix. I used to designate certain mixing areas for certain groups of colors. But over time, that went out the window, and I just did whatever I pleased. The mixing area size can also limit how large of a brush you can fit in it. Because of this limitation, I sometimes use an extra palette (plastic or porcelain) to mix.
3. Hard on brushes
Since you have to activate your dry paints with water, you have to rub your brush on the paints a little bit. Over time, this can be damaging to your brush. Remember to be gentle.
4. Difficult to keep clean (palette wise and paint color wise)
Okay, who else forgets to clean their palette? Don’t be shy… I know I’m one of them. I just forget to clean it, honestly. Another downside is that the paint pan can also get very dirty. You may have accidentally dipped your brush loaded with a blue in a yellow pan. You can clean it and fix it. But it’s annoying and in general hard to keep clean.
Pros of watercolor tubes
1. Fresh colors
Tubes are great because each time you squeeze out paint, you’ll get fresh paint. It’s uncontaminated. It’s clean. And you know the color you’re going to get.
2. Customize your palette
You can use tube paints like pan paints by buying half or full pans like these and squeezing them out. And letting them dry. And then you’d use them like pan paints. The pro of using tubes is that you can choose whatever colors you want in your palette instead of buying a pre-made palette. I would only recommend this to people who have a good idea of which brands they like, and which colors they like. And that’ll take some time to develop. Nevertheless, it’s a great advantage to have to tube paints to create a palette that is your style.
3. More pigment means more vibrant colors
Watercolor tube paints have more pigment and less filler elements. That means that a little paint will go a long way because there is more pigment. It will also dilute less because of the greater number of pigment particles. All of this means that you’ll get very vibrant paintings.
4. Great for large-scale paintings
When I use tube paints, I’ll usually use a enamel tray like this, or a porcelain palette. I’ll use the small porcelain palette if I’m painting a small painting. And the large enamel tray if I need a lot of mixing area. You can also control how much paint you want to squeeze out. For large scale paintings, you will have to squeeze out more paint than normal , especially if you’re going to create a custom color. Then you don’t want to have to re-mix it later and risk not matching the originally mixed color.
Cons of watercolor tubes
1. Expensive
Due to the fact that there is more pigment and less filler elements, tubes are more expensive than pans. While some brands will have student-grade tube paints, they’re still a little bit more expensive than pans. And to be honest, the student-grade tube paints aren’t worth it because they’re still full of filler pigments and you’ll get lower quality paint.
2. Risk of paint drying out
I’ve had a few tubes completely dry up and it was impossible to open. So I’ve had to cut them up and squeeze them into a pan. Or I just gave up if I no longer cared about that color. Before screwing the cap back on, make sure that the area is clean. I just use a damp paper towel and wipe.
3. May require additional supplies
Since you don’t have a mixing area, you’ll need to buy a few more supplies in order to properly use tubes. You’ll need a mixing area whether that’s a small or large palette or the enamel tray that I mentioned before. You will need a way to cover your palette or tray in order to prevent dust from getting in. Plastic wrap or foil will do. And you may need larger brushes especially if you’re mixing up large quantities of paint for large-scale paintings.
4. Storage
Related to the previous con, you’ll need a storage solution for your tube paints. Even if you squeezed out your tube paints to be like pan paints, with a new tube, you won’t squeeze all of it into a single pan. So what do you do with all the leftover tubes?
There are a few ideas like displaying them on a peg board and using it as a cool backdrop. Or you can place them in a hanging organizer. I just keep them in this drawer and they’re in a plastic bin.
Beginner recommendation: Pan or Tubes?
Why use Watercolor pans or tubes? Ask yourself this first: Am I a casual or serious hobbyist? And when i say serious it doesn’t mean that the casual hobbyist isn’t serious. When I say serious, I just mean that you want to advance your skills and maybe eventually sell your art, turn them into prints, display at a show, etc.
In my opinion, if you’re more of a serious hobbyist, then I think tube paints are worth the investment. Or if you want to learn how to paint botanical, accurate paintings, then you need precise colors.
If you’re more of a casual hobbyist and want to use watercolors for relaxation at home, and maybe sell the occasional artwork, then I think pans will be sufficient. Or if you’re more into creating digital artwork, then you can always tweak your work digitally so you may not have to have the purest of colors via tube paints.
You can also ask yourself – do I want to paint on-the-go, or stay inside the studio. If you want the flexibility, go for a travel set of pan paints.
In the end, it really is your personal preference. I still recommend pan paints for beginners because whether you’re a casual or serious hobbyist, you won’t really know which one you are until you start. So start with something more affordable like pan paints. And if you find that you’re really falling in love with it or you want to dive deeper into selling your work, then upgrade to tube paints.
In my opinion, I don’t think you need to jump in head first and get all the expensive supplies. Yes, there are advantages to using the “right” supplies, but I know that most of my followers and subscribers are brand new to watercolors, and sticker shock is real. So I’m all for affordable options that will still give great results.
So what do you think? Do you have a preference between tube and pan paints? Which side do you root for? What do you use on a daily basis? Is there a pro or con that I didn’t mention? I’d love to hear from you!
Watch the video on pros and cons of watercolor pans or tubes
Buy me a coffee if you enjoyed this post!
I also have a FREE online course, Watercolor Basics for the Absolute Beginner, if you want to learn more!
