Painting for Beginners: How to Choose Your First Painting Set

Starting your painting journey is an exciting adventure, but choosing your first supplies can quickly become overwhelming. Acrylic, oil, gouache... Faced with a multitude of options, it's hard to know where to begin. Which medium is truly right for you and your creative ambitions?

This guide is here to help. We'll break down the specifics of each type of paint and present a selection of kits that are perfect for getting started. The goal: to give you all the tools you need to find the beginner's paint set that will unleash your creativity, without drowning you in technical jargon.

Buyer's Guide: Criteria for Choosing Your First Paint Set

Before we get to our selection, let's review the essential criteria for making the right choice and getting a great start in the world of fine arts.

1. The Type of Paint: Acrylic, Oil, or Gouache?

This is the first and most important decision. Each medium has its own characteristics, which affect both the final result and your working process.

• Acrylic Paint: Water-based, it dries very quickly and becomes completely permanent. It's the epitome of versatility: you can use it straight from the tube to create texture or dilute it with water for a watercolour-like effect. An acrylic paint set is the top choice for beginners, thanks to its ease of use and cleanup.
• Oil Paint: The historic medium of the great masters. Made from pigments bound with oil, it offers unparalleled richness and depth of colour. Its main advantage? A very slow drying time, which gives you plenty of time to work the material, create subtle blends, and even correct your mistakes over several days. An oil paint kit is for those who want to learn classic techniques with patience and method.
• Gouache Paint: Also water-based, gouache stands out for its perfectly opaque and matte finish. Its biggest difference from acrylic: it remains water-soluble even after drying. A wet brushstroke, and you can rework it as much as you want! Gouache paint, especially from Talens, is a favourite among illustrators and graphic designers for its ability to create clean, vibrant blocks of colour.

2. The Colour Palette and Format

There's no need to break the bank on a myriad of tubes to get started. A basic set with an essential colour palette (primaries, white, black, and a few earth tones) is more than enough. It's actually the best way to learn how to create your own shades by mastering colour mixing. The 12 ml paint tubes are an ideal format: they are economical and allow you to experiment without worrying about waste.

3. The Right Surface

The surface is just as crucial. What will you be painting on? Acrylic and oil are perfect for painting on canvas, but they also adapt very well to wood, cardboard, or heavyweight paper. Gouache, on the other hand, prefers paper, cardboard, or wood. In any case, make sure your surface is clean and, if necessary, prepared with a coat of primer (the famous gesso).

Beginner Paint Sets We Recommend

We have selected three sets from the Royal Talens Art Creation range. This Dutch brand is a benchmark for its quality student-grade materials, offering an excellent balance between performance and price for budding artists.

TALENS ART CREATION Acrylic Paint Set | 12 x 12?ml

Why We Love It

The ideal entry point into the world of acrylics. Its pasty consistency can be used straight from the tube to work on texture, or it can be diluted with water for transparent effects. Once dry, the paint has a satin finish and becomes water-resistant, allowing you to layer colours without the risk of the ones underneath bleeding.

Advantages:

• Versatile Palette: 12 well-chosen colours to tackle any subject.
• Quick-Drying: Perfect for progressing quickly and applying multiple layers.
• Excellent Adhesion: Sticks to almost anything (canvas, paper, wood, stone...), as long as the surface is clean and not too porous.
• Easy Cleanup: A little soap and water are all you need to clean your brushes before the paint dries.

Who is it for? Ideal for beginners who want an easy-to-use, versatile paint that's perfect for experimenting without any hassle.

ART CREATION Oil Paint Set | 12 x 12?ml

Why We Love It

An excellent gateway into the world of oil painting. Formulated with quality pigments and vegetable oil, its texture is rich and creamy. Its key strength: a very slow drying time, which leaves you free to mix colours on the canvas, create subtle gradients, and touch up your work for hours, or even days.

Advantages:

• Intense Colours: Pigmentation that ensures depth and chromatic richness.
• Wet-on-Wet Work: Ideal for the "wet-on-wet" technique, blending, and modelling.
• Essential Palette: The 12 basic colours (primaries, earth tones, black, white) to create all your shades.
• Exceptional Durability: Once dry, the paint is extremely resilient and retains its brilliance for years.

Who is it for? For patient and methodical artists who wish to learn classic techniques and who like to take their time perfecting their work.

TALENS ART CREATION Gouache Paint Set | 12 x 12?ml

Why We Love It

Gouache is a medium in a class of its own, halfway between the opacity of acrylic and the solubility of watercolour. This Talens gouache set is appealing for its matte, velvety finish, which eliminates glare and provides a very graphic look. Its greatest strength is its reversibility: even when dry, the paint can be reactivated with a wet brush for any corrections or blending.

Advantages:

• Opaque and Matte Finish: Perfect for clean blocks of colour with no visible brush strokes.
• Fast-Drying: Dries in minutes, a real plus for illustration and design work.
• Easy Touch-ups: The paint remains reactivatable even when dry, offering total flexibility.
• Vibrant Colours: A palette of 12 bright shades for creations that pop.

Who is it for? The go-to set for illustrators, designers, art students, and anyone looking for a graphic, matte finish with the freedom to make corrections.

Looking for Other Options?

These three sets are excellent starting points. But every artistic journey is unique. Want larger palettes, more generous tubes, or to discover other brands? The possibilities are endless. To explore a more complete selection, take a look at our dedicated painting category.

? Discover Our Full Range of Canvas Paints

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the easiest paint for a beginner?

Without a doubt, acrylic paint. Its fast drying time lets you see results quickly, it can be thinned and cleaned with water, and it doesn't require any potentially toxic solvents. It's the simplest and safest solution for painting at home.

Do I need to buy brushes and a canvas separately?

Yes, these sets only contain the paint tubes. You will need to separately purchase basic supplies: a few brushes, a palette for mixing, and a surface (canvas, drawing paper, etc.). Many beginner brush kits are available and perfectly complement these sets.

Can you mix the colours from a 12-tube set?

Absolutely! That's the whole point of an essential colour palette. With the primary colours (yellow, magenta, cyan), plus black and white, you can theoretically create any colour. These sets are specifically designed to encourage you to experiment and become a pro at mixing.

By the Joybuy Product Recommendation Officer