Valerie Scott

Co-signing the student set advice: in your budget a 10–12 color set with larger tubes and a big Titanium White beats those 24 tiny-tube assortments and is less likely to dry out in storage and... to keep paint open without fuss, grab a small matte medium and use a DIY stay-wet palette (damp paper towel under baking parchment) instead of relying on retarder. Also skip craft acrylics for canvas; student heavy body or soft body paints cover and mix better.