If you are new to watercolors, you might think what to buy first. A paint set looks simple until you start adding brushes, paper, palettes, water cups, and storage.
That’s why, when I came across Tobios watercolor kit, it caught my attention. It promises a small, ready-to-use setup with paint, a water brush, a palette, paper, and a clip in one box.
It sounds perfect for beginners, but a useful kit has to do more than look cute online. The paint needs to blend well, the brush needs to feel easy to control, and the paper should not fall apart after a few wet layers.
In this Tobios watercolor kit review, I will break down where it works, where it feels limited, and who should actually buy it. Let’s start!
Quick Verdict
- Best for: Complete beginners, journalers, travelers, and casual sketchers.
- Main strength: You get paint, brush, paper, palette, and accessories in one compact kit.
- Paint quality: Good for practice, especially the blues and earth tones.
- Weak points: The sketchbook buckles with too much water, and the brush tip is not precise.
- Buy it if: You want a simple starter kit. Skip it if you already need better paper, brush control, or artist-grade paint.
In This Page
First Impressions and Unboxing
The Tobios Watercolor Kit looks good right out of the box. It is small, tidy, and easy to understand.
I liked the layout straight away. The walnut wooden palette gives the set a more finished feel than basic plastic beginner kits.
Though it’s not a full serious watercolor setup, it is a beginner travel kit.
What Arrives in the Box
My kit included 12 watercolor tubes, a wooden mixing palette, a refillable water brush, a cotton paper sketchbook, a built-in art clip, an absorbent wristband cloth, and an illustrated watercolor guide.
The paints are not pre-filled pans. You squeeze the paint into the palette wells yourself. I used a small pea-sized amount in each well, then left the palette open for 24 to 48 hours so the paint could dry.
It made the kit much cleaner to use.
Once dry, the paint can be used like a pan set. Just add a drop of water before painting. It helps with rewetting, which simply means dry paint softens again when water touches it.
1. Paints: 12 Watercolor Tubes
The set includes 12 small watercolor tubes. The colors are enough for basic sketches, swatches, flowers, skies, loose landscapes, and small journaling pages.
I did not find pigment codes on the kit. Pigment codes tell you what color ingredients are used. It is normal for beginner sets, but it means you should not expect full artist-grade color control.
In my use, the blues and brown tones felt stronger. The red and yellow needed a little more paint to look rich on paper.
Tip
Add one drop of clean water to each dried color and wait about a minute before painting. It helps the paint soften, so you do not have to scrub it with the brush.
2. Water Brush: Medium Round
The water brush is useful for quick painting because the barrel holds water. You do not need a separate cup for basic use.
The downside is the tip. Mine worked well for loose strokes, but it did not keep a sharp point for long. That made tiny lines harder.
Use it for washes, leaves, skies, and simple shapes. For fine details, use a separate small round brush.
Try this: Squeeze the barrel gently to clean the tip between colors. Do not squeeze too hard, or the page gets too wet.
3. Wooden Palette with Thumb Ring
The wooden palette is the best part of the kit. It feels compact, looks nice, and gives you small wells for the paint.
The thumb ring helps when painting outdoors or away from a desk. The mixing space is small, but enough for beginner work and quick studies.
The wells are not huge, so do not overfill them. A small amount of paint is enough.
4. Mini Sketchbook
The mini sketchbook is good for light practice.
It works for swatches, small sketches, and soft washes. It does not handle heavy water well. When I used a wetter wash, the page started to bend.
That does not ruin the kit, but beginners should know this before blaming the paint.
Test one page first. If the paper bends, clip it down or tape the edges before painting.
5. Binder Clip and Absorbent Wristband Cloth
The binder clip is quite useful. I used it to hold the sketchbook open and to keep pages flat while painting.
The absorbent wristband cloth is for managing extra water and mess while painting. It works best for wiping the brush lightly or keeping your hand area cleaner.
When painting outside, clip the palette to the sketchbook cover. It gives you a steadier setup without needing a full desk.
Paint Performance and Swatch Testing
How I Tested the Paints
I tested each color in the included Tobios sketchbook and Fluid 100 Cold Press watercolor paper. I did this because paper can change how paint looks and behaves.
On both papers, I tested color strength, layering, and rewetting. Rewetting means how easily dry paint becomes usable again when you add water.
I also painted a simple landscape using only the Tobios kit, so I could see how it works in a real beginner setup.
1. Color Payoff and Transparency
The colors are good enough for beginner work. Most shades sit in the semi-transparent range. It means you can still see some of the paper through the paint, especially in lighter washes.
On the included sketchbook paper, the colors looked softer. On Fluid 100, they looked cleaner and stronger.
The blues and browns gave me the best results. The yellow needed more paint to show well, and it looked a little chalky when layered. The black is usable, but I would not lean on it too much.
For shadows, I got better results by mixing blue and brown. It gave me a softer gray that looked more natural than straight black.
2. Mixing Ability and Color Range
The 12 colors give you enough range for flowers, skies, leaves, loose landscapes, and small sketchbook work. For a beginner, that is plenty.
The weak spots are purples and clean greens. The purples came out dull unless I used a strong blue and red mix. The greens were useful, but not bright and clean unless I mixed carefully.
My best advice is to make a small mixing chart before your first real painting. Mix each color with the next one and label the results. It takes 15 minutes and saves a lot of guessing later.
3. Rewetting and Consistency
After letting the paint dry in the palette for 48 hours, I added one drop of water to each color and waited about a minute.
The paints rewet better than I expected. I did not have to scrub hard to pick up color, and the mixes stayed fairly clean.
The consistency is smooth for a student-grade kit. It is not rich like higher-end tube paint, but it does not feel cheap or gritty in normal use.
One note: do not overfill the wells. A pea-sized amount is enough. If you fill them too high, the paint can stay tacky for too long and make the palette messy when you travel.
Paper, Palette, and Brush Usability
1. Sketchbook Performance
The sketchbook is fine for practice.
Light washes and simple swatches worked okay. But when I used more water, the paper started to bend. When I scrubbed one area too much, the surface began to rough up.
That roughing up is called pilling. It happens when wet paper fibers start breaking apart.
For quick practice, the sketchbook is useful. For finished work, use better watercolor paper.
2. Palette Feel and Well Size
The wooden palette is the best part of the kit. It feels compact, clean, and easy to hold. The thumb ring helps if you paint outside or away from a desk.
The wells are shallow, so they work best with small amounts of paint. The mixing space is also small, but it is enough for quick studies and beginner paintings.
Cleaning the palette was easy. I wiped the mixing area with a damp cloth and let it dry open.
If you outgrow the included paints, you can refill the wells with better tube colors later. That makes the wooden palette useful even after the starter paints are gone.
3. Water Brush
The refillable water brush is convenient. It keeps water in the barrel, so you do not need a cup for quick sketching.
That makes it great for travel, swatches, and casual painting.
The downside is control. The tip on mine softened quickly and did not keep a sharp point for long. Water flow also takes practice. If you squeeze too hard, the page gets too wet fast.
Use the included water brush for loose washes, small shapes, and simple color work. For fine lines, use a normal round brush.
Once you feel comfortable, a Princeton Neptune round brush is a good upgrade. The Neptune line is synthetic squirrel, made for watercolor, and is known for holding a lot of water while still coming to a clean point.
Portability and Travel Test
I used the Tobios kit in a café and a park. It is small, light, and easy to carry portable travel kit. The wooden palette, paint tubes, water brush, sketchbook, clip, and wristband cloth all fit into a setup that feels made for quick sketching.
The best part is that I did not need a full painting station. No cup, no large palette, no extra bag of tools. I could sit down, open the kit, add water to the brush, and start.
The binder clip was more useful than I expected. In the park, I used it to keep the sketchbook open and hold the palette steadier on my lap.
Use a small rubber band or hair tie around the wooden case when carrying it in a bag. The latch worked, but I would not trust it loose beside keys, chargers, or other hard items.
Pros and Cons
- All-in-one convenience: everything you need to start painting immediately.
- Good pigment quality for the price, especially the blues and earth tones.
- Portable and travel-friendly design.
- Thoughtful accessories like the binder clip and sponge.
- Rewets well and layers decently.
- Water brush tip splays and lacks precision.
- Shallow palette wells limit brush loading.
- No pigment information or lightfastness ratings provided.
Comparison with Top Beginner Alternatives
| Feature | Tobios Watercolor Kit | Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pocket Set | Arteza 12-Color Half Pan Set | Paul Rubens 48-Color Set |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Image |
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| Color Format | 12 liquid watercolor tubes | 12 half pans | 12 half pans | 48 solid cakes or pans |
| Paint Quality | Student-grade, decent rewetting, weaker yellow and red | More consistent student-grade paint | Consistent and decent quality | Stronger color payoff, smoother feel |
| Best For | Absolute beginners who want one complete portable kit | Beginners who want better paint and can buy paper separately | Hobby painters who want quality colors to test | Advancing beginners who care more about paint quality |
| Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Buy This Kit
- Complete beginners who feel overwhelmed by art supply choices and want a curated start.
- Gift buyers looking for a thoughtful, all-in-one present for a creative friend or family member.
- Travelers, journalers, and urban sketchers who need a compact, grab-and-go setup.
- Parents seeking a mess-free introduction to watercolor for older children and teens.
- Intermediate painters who already own quality brushes and paper, you’ll be frustrated by the limitations.
- Anyone prioritizing artist-grade pigments and lightfastness for archival work.
- Those who prefer painting large washes; the small palette and brush won’t suffice.
If you fall into this category, consider the Daniel Smith Essentials Introductory Watercolor Set paired with a Princeton Neptune brush and Fluid 100 paper for a much higher-quality experience.
Three cool primary colors: Hansa Yellow Light, Quinacridone Rose, and Phthalo Blue (GS), and three warm primary colors: New Gamboge, Pyrrol Scarlet, and French Ultramarine.
3/4″ aquarelle water paint brush and 3 round watercolor brushes in sizes 2, 6, and 10
Loose-sheet pochette format
Welcomes wet-in-wet, dry-brush, ink, gouache and mixed media better.
Final Verdict
The Tobios watercolor kit is a genuinely convenient, beginner-friendly entry point that removes the paralysis of choice. For $25–$30, you get a functional set that lets you start painting within minutes of opening the box. The paints are better than expected, and the portable design is excellent.
If you’re a complete beginner who wants a no-fuss, all-in-one kit to test the waters, buy it. If you already have some experience or are serious about watercolor, invest in a better brush and paper from the start, and consider the Winsor & Newton Cotman set for superior paint vibrancy.
