Watercolor Tubes vs. Pans: Which One is Right for You?
"A Detailed Guide to Understanding the Advantages & Disadvantages of Watercolor Tubes and Pans"
Introduction: Choosing the Right Type of Watercolor Paint
When starting with watercolors, one of the most common questions artists face is:
Should I use watercolor tubes or pans?
While both are widely used, each has unique advantages and disadvantages depending on your painting style, workspace, and level of experience.
Understanding the differences between watercolor tubes and pans will help you make an informed decision that best suits your artistic needs. In this blog, we’ll explore:
✔ The pros and cons of watercolor tubes and pans
✔ Which one is better for different painting styles
✔ Tips on how to use each type efficiently
By the end, you’ll be able to choose the right watercolor setup for your creative journey.
1. Watercolor Tubes: Features, Pros & Cons
🎨 What Are Watercolor Tubes?
Watercolor tubes contain wet, highly concentrated pigment in a liquid or semi-liquid form. They are designed for easy mixing and allow artists to create custom color blends on palettes.
✅ Advantages of Watercolor Tubes:
✔ More Pigment, Richer Colors
Tubes contain highly concentrated pigment, producing vibrant, intense colors that pop off the paper.
✔ Easy to Mix and Blend
Since tube paints are already in liquid form, they dissolve quickly with water, making them ideal for smooth, even washes.
✔ Perfect for Large Paintings & Washes
Need to cover a big area? Tubes allow you to mix more paint at once, making them great for background washes and large compositions.
✔ Long-Lasting (If Used Properly)
You can squeeze small amounts onto a palette and use them as needed. They don’t dry out completely when stored properly.
✔ Can Be Used Like a Pan
Once dried on a palette, tube paints can be reactivated with water—just like a pan set!
❌ Disadvantages of Watercolor Tubes:
❌ Messier & Requires More Setup
Squeezing out paint, mixing colors, and cleaning palettes take extra time. Unlike pans, tube colors aren’t pre-organized in a compact box.
❌ More Paint Waste if Not Used Correctly
Beginners may squeeze out more paint than needed, leading to unnecessary wastage.
❌ Less Portable
Tube sets are bulkier than compact pan sets, making them less ideal for travel or plein-air painting.
💡 Best For: Artists who work in studios, prefer strong pigments, and need large amounts of paint for washes.
2. Watercolor Pans: Features, Pros & Cons
🎨 What Are Watercolor Pans?
Watercolor pans are small, dry blocks of pigment that are activated with water. They come in half-pans or full-pans, stored in a compact, portable palette.
✅ Advantages of Watercolor Pans:
✔ Portable & Travel-Friendly
Pans are compact, lightweight, and easy to carry, making them perfect for plein-air painting and travel sketching.
✔ Less Mess, No Waste
Unlike tubes, pans don’t dry out or waste excess paint—you use only what you need!
✔ Quick & Easy Setup
Dip a wet brush in a pan, and you’re ready to paint—no need for palettes, extra mixing, or squeezing paint out.
✔ More Organized
Colors are pre-arranged in a fixed palette, making it easy to see and pick colors while painting.
✔ Great for Small Paintings & Sketches
Since they are easy to control, pans are ideal for small artworks, travel journals, and quick sketches.
❌ Disadvantages of Watercolor Pans:
❌ Less Pigment, More Effort to Reactivate
Pans contain less concentrated pigment than tubes, requiring more water and brushwork to get strong color intensity.
❌ Not Ideal for Large Washes
Trying to mix a large amount of color from a pan can be frustrating—you’ll need to keep reloading the brush, which slows down the process.
❌ Harder to Mix Custom Colors
Since pans come in pre-set colors, mixing new shades in large quantities is more challenging.
💡 Best For: Artists who paint outdoors, travel frequently, or prefer a clean, simple setup.
3. Watercolor Tubes vs. Pans: Which One Should You Choose?
Choose Watercolor Tubes If…
✔ You want stronger, richer pigments
✔ You frequently paint large-scale artworks
✔ You love mixing custom colors
✔ You need smooth, even washes
Choose Watercolor Pans If…
✔ You paint on the go (plein-air, urban sketching)
✔ You prefer a compact, organized setup
✔ You create small paintings, quick sketches, or travel journals
✔ You want less mess and minimal cleanup
💡 Pro Tip: Use both! Many professional artists combine tubes and pans—pans for sketching and travel, and tubes for studio work and larger paintings.
4. How to Get the Best of Both Worlds
🔹 Convert Tube Paints into Pans: Squeeze tube paints into empty half-pans, let them dry, and use them as a pan set.
🔹 Use Pans for Quick Work & Tubes for Detailed Painting: Start a piece with pans for a light base layer, then add rich tube colors for depth.
🔹 Keep a Small Travel Set of Pans for Sketching: Even if you prefer tubes, a small travel palette helps for outdoor painting sessions.
💡 Tip: Always use artist-grade paints in both tubes and pans for the best results!
Final Thoughts: The Right Choice Depends on Your Painting Style
Both watercolor tubes and pans have their strengths and weaknesses. The best choice depends on how you paint, where you paint, and what you prioritize.
🎨 If you love expressive, large-scale paintings and bold washes, go for TUBES.
🎨 If you love travel sketching and minimal setup, go for PANS.
🎨 If you want the best of both worlds, use BOTH in different scenarios.
At the end of the day, the right tools will enhance your watercolor journey—so experiment, practice, and find what works best for YOU!
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✅ How to use both tubes and pans for the best results
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Now see, you gotta buy the tubes and put them into a pan!