I want to start painting as a hobby. I never did it before but my friend said it's fun. I looked at some paints online, but there are so many kinds. I tried using cheap ones from the store, but they didn't work well. The colors were not bright. I need a set that's easy to use and not too costly. I have a small space to work in. What should I get? I want to make pictures of animals.
Go with ESRICH acrylic paint set if you want bright colors without spending much. The paints are more pigmented than the cheap store sets you tried and you get 24 colors and a compact table easel that fits a small desk, great for starting animal paintings.
Hi Mika. Start with a 12-tube student grade medium body set with good lightfastness and a non toxic seal and including a strong white, warm and cool primaries, and a couple of earth tones.
Use tubes with palette paper, a lidded water cup, and a mister, and work from a limited palette while testing mixes on a scrap for clean, accurate results.
Hey and starting painting sounds awesome, especially with animals as your subject, they're so fun to capture with all those textures and colors :) Since you've had issues with dull colors from cheap sets, I'd suggest looking for that model paints that are labeled as student-grade but with good pigmentation, you know, the kind that mix well and stay vibrant even when thinned out a bit.
For beginners, aim for a set with around 12 to that model colors to give you variety without overwhelming your small space, and maybe one that comes with brushes or a palette to keep things simple. Not too pricey, say under 20 bucks if possible. I remember my first set was like that and it made experimenting way easier, no regrets. Works great for building confidence on canvas.
I was in the same spot with dull colors from bargain craft paint and thought painting just was not for me. Switching to a basic student set made the difference because the pigment load is higher and the paint sits on the surface instead of shrinking and looking chalky.
If animals are your goal you do not need a giant rainbow. A simple set that covers warm and cool primaries plus a couple of earths will carry you a long way and you can mix everything else and grab ultramarine and a phthalo type blue for depth in shadows and eyes, keep titanium white handy for fur highlights, and add raw umber or burnt sienna to nail those natural browns. In a tight space paint flat on a small pad or panels, use a dinner plate with a damp paper towel as a quick stay wet palette so your mixes do not skin over, and you will spend more time painting than fighting your materials.