Travel Watercolour Palettes: Top Picks for Artists on the Go

Finding the right supplies for painting outdoors or on the move can often be a headache. Between leaky tubes, bulky palettes, and missing colours, inspiration can fade before you even make the first brushstroke. For nomadic artists, urban sketchers, and all creatives who love to capture the moment, a compact and well-designed travel watercolour palette isn't a luxury—it's an essential.

This guide is here to help you choose THE portable watercolour set that perfectly suits your creative style. We have scrutinised the essential criteria and selected products that combine quality, ingenuity, and portability. Your only mission? To find inspiration.

Buyer's Guide?: How to Choose Your Travel Watercolour Palette??

Before taking the plunge, a few key points deserve your attention to ensure you make the right choice. Good travel art supplies must tick one essential box?: practicality.

1. Format?: Pans or Half Pans??

Nearly all travel sets rely on watercolour in pans. These small, solid blocks of paint are simply perfect for use on the go?: they don't leak, activate instantly with a wet brush, and last a very long time.

• Half Pans?: This is the most popular format for portable kits. Their small size allows you to pack a maximum number of colours into a feather-light case.
• Full Pans?: More generous, they contain more paint and offer a larger surface area that's more comfortable for bigger brushes. However, they are less common in sets designed to be ultra-compact.

2. The Number of Colours?: Finding the Right Balance

It's tempting to go for the palette with the most colours. However, with travel watercolours, opting for a smaller number of high-quality pigments is often a much smarter move. A good palette of 12 to 24 well-chosen colours is enough to create an infinite range of shades through mixing. For a beginner's watercolour kit, it's also an excellent exercise that forces you to master colour theory.

3. The Extras That Make a Difference?: The All-in-One Studio

The best travel palettes are true Swiss Army knives. Keep an eye out for the small details that will make your life easier in the field?:

• Mixing Palette?: A lid or a fold-out surface with wells for creating your shades is non-negotiable.
• Water Brush Pen?: Some kits include this magic brush, which saves you from carrying a separate water pot.
• Sponge?: Essential for correcting a mistake or simply wiping excess pigment from your brush.

Recommended Watercolour Palettes

Here are our top picks, models chosen for their clever design and nomadic spirit.

Faber-Castell Creative Studio Solid Watercolours – 48 colours

Why we love it?: This palette manages the challenge of offering an XXL range of colours in a format that doesn't sacrifice portability. It's the ideal solution for those who want a maximum number of ready-to-use shades without the need for mixing.

Key features?:

• 48 vibrant colours?: An ultra-wide spectrum for total creative freedom.
• Detachable mixing palette?: Incredibly convenient for cleaning and organising your workspace.
• All-in-one design?: The kit includes a quality brush, turning the box into a true portable studio.
• Sturdy case?: The solid plastic withstands bumps and perfectly protects the pans.

Who is it for? For artists, from beginners to experts, who are looking for absolute versatility and direct access to a rainbow of colours without being weighed down.

SAKURA Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box – 24 colours + Iridescent Medium

Why we love it?: The SAKURA Koi watercolour box is a true classic among artists on the go. This version stands out with its iridescent medium, perfect for adding pearlescent and shimmering effects that will give a unique touch to your creations.

Key features?:

• The creative extra?: In addition to the 24 base colours, the iridescent medium allows you to add luminous finishes and magical reflections.
• SAKURA quality?: Pigments renowned for their intensity and excellent blendability.
• Pocket studio?: The ultra-compact case includes a mixing palette and has been designed for maximum efficiency in the field.

Who is it for? For artists and illustrators who love to experiment and spice up their watercolours with special effects, all in an ultra-convenient, pocket-sized format.

SAKURA Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box – 18 colours

Why we love it?: This is THE gold standard of portable watercolour sets for the adventurous artist. Even more compact than its larger 24-colour counterpart, it embodies the perfect balance between a selection of essential shades and absolute portability.

Key features?:

• Ultra-portable?: Its pocket-sized format slips into absolutely anything, from a handbag to a jacket pocket.
• Just the essentials?: The 18 colours have been chosen for their mixing potential, enough to cover 99% of situations.
• Clever design?: Like other models in the Koi range, it includes a water brush pen and an integrated mixing palette.

Who is it for? For the quintessential urban sketcher, the creative hiker, or the minimalist traveller looking for a reliable, lightweight, and complete kit for sketching scenes on the fly.

Organisation: The Key to Creativity

Organisation is the secret to unleashed creativity, whether for your pigments or your daily essentials. To keep your passions well-ordered, the right storage solutions can make all the difference.

Discover our selection of tea boxes and other storage solutions to keep your passions neatly organised.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What's the difference between tube and pan watercolours for travel? For travelling, pans are king. They are blocks of dry paint that activate with a little water?: no risk of leaks and no need for an extra palette to prepare your colours. Tubes, which contain a paste-like paint, are much better suited to the comfort of a studio.

2. Is a beginner's watercolour kit good enough for travel? Yes, absolutely! Most beginner kits are designed to be versatile and include a selection of 12 to 24 essential colours. Being compact, they are an excellent starting point for painting on the go and allow you to practise mixing without being weighed down.

3. How do I care for my travel watercolour palette? It's very simple. After each session, let the pans air-dry before closing the box to prevent mould. A quick wipe of the mixing palette with a damp cloth or sponge, and you're all set. Store your kit in a dry place, away from direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.