Key Takeaways
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A travel watercolor setup comes down to four items: dried pan or tube paint, a water brush, cotton or 300gsm paper, and a cloth for blotting.
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Paper matters as much as the paint. Thin sheets buckle once they get wet, so a travel kit needs 300gsm or cotton pages to hold a wash flat.
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Paint at postcard size so a piece finishes in about fifteen minutes, set the light and shadow shapes before any detail, and dry each page before closing the book.
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Tobio's Kits pairs 12 paints with a 300gsm cotton sketchbook, while Grabie and Funto add a pad or journal, and Winsor & Newton Cotman sells pans without paper.
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Tobio's Kits fits a full painting setup (palette, paper, and brush) into one pocket-sized box built to survive a trip without extra gear.
What Does a Travel Watercolor Setup Need?
Traveling with watercolors works once the paint is dry and the water is contained, which is a smaller fix than most painters expect. Wet tubes and a rinse jar make the medium awkward away from a desk, and a hardened palette plus a water brush solves both problems at once.
The part that catches painters out is supply. Paper is consumed far faster than pigment, and a palette bought without a matching sketchbook leaves you hunting for the right weight in an unfamiliar town. Kits also vary in what the word kit covers, since some include only a palette.
Tobio's Kits Watercolor Kit includes the walnut palette, 12 paints, a cotton sketchbook, and a water brush in one box, so you don't have to source anything separately before departure. Sketchbook and paint refills are sold separately for longer trips.
Tobio's Kits: Everything You Need to Start Painting, In One Box
Complete Starter Kit | Ages 6+ | No Art Experience Needed
Tobio's portable watercolor kit puts everything in one compact box (pans, paper, and a wooden palette) so you can start painting right away, whether you're at home or on the go. No separate shopping, no guesswork. Just open the box and paint.
✓ A truly portable all-in-one kit, not just the wooden palette (unlike cheaper lookalikes)
✓ Pre-sketched Beginner Workbook with 30 guided illustrations, so no drawing required
✓ Curated supplies that work together, designed for beginners without the overwhelm
✓ Great for ages 6+ and thoughtful gift-givers who want to give something meaningful
Creativity should feel welcoming, not overwhelming.
What to Pack When Traveling with Watercolors?
Paint That Travels Dry
Pans are blocks of dried pigment that re-wet with a damp brush. Tube paint squeezed into palette wells and left to harden behaves the same way. Either format works on a trip, as long as the paint is dry before you put the palette in a bag. The failure case is wet tubes carried loose, where a cap works open under pressure.
12 colors cover most outdoor subjects, since scenes away from home rely on earth tones, two or three blues, and mixes made from a warm red and yellow. More colors add weight without much reach.
Paper That Holds Water
Thin sketchbook paper buckles as soon as it gets wet, and paint then pools in the ridges. Cotton paper and 300gsm sheets absorb water without significant warping. The pad needs to be small enough to hold steady on a lap or a tray table, since anything requiring a flat surface stops being portable.
Bound sketchbooks outperform loose sheets on a trip. The cover protects finished pages, and the work stays in sequence instead of collecting as a stack to sort later.
A Water Brush
A water brush has a hollow handle that holds water. Squeezing it pushes water through the bristles, wetting and thinning the paint without a jar, bottle, or tap. Wiping the tip on a cloth clears the color before the next one.
One medium round brush covers most work. A small detail brush is worth adding if space allows. Two brushes are enough for any trip.
A Palette & Small Extras
Mixing requires a flat non-absorbent surface. Wood and metal both work. Wood weighs less and does not rattle against other items in a bag. A cloth or an absorbent wristband handles blotting, and a clip holds pages down in wind. A fineliner suits painters who sketch outlines before applying color.
A travel setup comes down to dry paint, sturdy cotton paper, a water brush, a flat mixing surface, and a few blotting extras.
4 Tips to Paint When Traveling
1. Work Small
A postcard-sized painting takes around fifteen minutes and dries before a group moves on. Full-page work outdoors usually ends in a wait for the paper to dry, which is when the kit gets packed away unfinished.
2. Block in Light & Shadow First
Outdoor light shifts within the hour. Fixing the large shapes and the shadow direction before any detail keeps the painting coherent even after conditions change, because the structure is already committed to paper.
3. Photograph the Scene Before Starting
A reference photo taken at the outset preserves the light as it was at that moment. You can then finish anything left unfinished later at a hotel or at home without guessing.
4. Dry Each Page Before Closing the Book
Wet color transfers onto the facing sheet and marks both pages, which is the most common way travel sketchbooks are spoiled. Holding the page open with a clip for a few minutes prevents it.
Working small with a compact palette and sketchbook lets painters capture scenes quickly before outdoor light shifts.
Portable Watercolor Kits to Consider
1. Tobio's Kits Watercolor Kit: Best All-in-One Kit for Travel
The Watercolor Kit holds a walnut wood palette, 12 student-grade paints supplied as tubes that fill the palette wells, a 60-page 300gsm cotton sketchbook, a travel water brush, an absorbent wristband, a metal art clip, and a digital guide. It is listed at $32 (£28) on tobioskits.com, currently discounted from $70 (£61) with a second kit included, and carries a 60-day satisfaction guarantee.
The Beginners Workbook sells separately for $11.54 (£10) and bundles with the kit at a reduced price. It is the strongest option on this list for travel because it is the only kit here that pairs a pocket-sized palette with cotton paper heavy enough to take a wash. It also sells refills for both the paper and the paints, so you don't have to substitute anything mid-trip.
Feedback centers on the tiny form factor, zero setup or water supply, how fast novices produce work, and its appeal as a present.
Reviews on the Tobio's Kits site average 4.76 out of 5 across 7,090 reviews. Recurring themes are the pocket size, the fact that no water source or setup is needed, how quickly complete beginners get started, and its popularity as a gift.
2. Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Set: Best for Painters Who Already Own Paper
Cotman is Winsor & Newton's student range, which is below the artist-grade Professional line. The Sketchers' Pocket Set, which the brand used to sell as the Sketchers' Pocket Box, holds 12 Cotman half pans and a travel brush and sells for $38.49 on winsornewton.com.
Beyond that brush, the box holds nothing else, so painters supply their own paper, water container, and case. It suits anyone who already owns a sketchbook and a brush they like.
Reviewers repeatedly praise the vivid pigments, travel-friendly format, and overall finish, though the bundled brush and paper cost draws complaints. (Image source: Winsor & Newton)
The set averages 4.9 out of 5 across 28 reviews on the brand site. Buyers highlight color vibrancy, portability, and paint quality, while criticisms focus on the included travel brush and the need to buy paper separately.
3. Grabie All-In-One Premium Watercolor Set of 50: Best for a Large Color Range at Low Cost
Grabie sells the All-In-One Premium Watercolor Set of 50 at $29.99. The tin holds 50 colors, five detail brushes, a water brush pen, an art sponge, a waterproof fineliner, and a 140lb paper pad with a swatch sheet. The tin format is larger and heavier than a pocket palette, so check the dimensions against bag space before treating it as a travel kit.
Shoppers praise how bright and numerous the colors are relative to cost, while noting tiny pans and swatch sheets that don't align. (Image source: Amazon)
Grabie's product page carries 104 reviews for this set, and the brand's widely stocked 50-color Amazon listing averages 4.7 out of 5 across more than 7,000 ratings. Buyers praise pigment vibrancy and the color count for the price, while recurring complaints include the small size of the individual pans and a color layout that doesn't always match the swatch sheet.
4. Funto EXPLORER Watercolor Kit (Walnut Wood): Best for Wooden Palette Kit with Field Extras
Funto makes hand-poured color sets in a magnetic walnut palette and sells them as a complete kit. The 15-color version is listed at $34.99 on funtoart.com, with an 8-color version from $27.99, and both ship with a watercolor journal, a water brush, a collapsible water cup, a spray bottle, and a crossbody bag. The extra field gear suits painters who work standing away from a table.
Purchasers point to the small footprint, pigment strength, and how little else is needed outdoors, though magnet weakness and an unstable cup recur. (Image source: Funto)
The kit averages 4.9 out of 5 across 78 reviews on the brand site. Buyers cite the compact build, pigments, and completeness for outdoor work, while recurring criticisms include weak palette magnets and a collapsible cup that tips easily.
Portable Watercolor Kits Compared
|
Kit |
Paint |
Paper included |
Water brush |
Best for |
Price |
Rating |
|
Tobio's Kits Watercolor Kit |
12 tube colors, student grade |
Yes, 300gsm cotton, 60 pages |
Yes |
Beginners and travelers wanting one complete box |
$32 |
4.76/5 (7,090 reviews) |
|
Winsor & Newton Cotman Sketchers' Pocket Set |
Half pans, student grade |
No |
No, travel brush only |
Painters who already own paper and brushes |
$38.49 |
4.9/5 (28 reviews) |
|
Grabie All-In-One Premium Watercolor Set of 50 |
Pans |
Yes, 140lb pad |
Yes |
Larger color ranges at low cost |
$29.99 |
4.7/5 (7,000+ ratings, Amazon listing) |
|
Funto EXPLORER Watercolor Kit, Walnut Wood |
15 hand-poured pans |
Yes, journal |
Yes |
A wooden palette with field extras |
$34.99 (15 colors) |
4.9/5 (78 reviews) |
Travel-Ready Painting with Tobio's Kits
Tobio's all-in-one watercolor kit ships with paints, paper, water brush, and extras so nothing gets left behind.
The kits that actually get packed are the ones that need no decisions first. A setup assembled from separate purchases forces a judgment call before every trip about what comes and what stays, and that friction is why most travel kits stay in a drawer after one attempt.
We built our Watercolor Kit to remove that step, so the paper, water brush, wristband, and clip ship alongside the paints instead of being sold separately. Pack it once, then top up with our sketchbook and paint refills as you go. Shop the Watercolor Kit today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you use seawater for watercolor?
Seawater will move paint around, but the salt it leaves behind stops washes from drying evenly and dulls the surface once the page is dry. Tap or bottled water is the safer choice, and filtered water avoids the faint mineral film that hard water can leave on the paper.
Is it okay to paint on a humid day?
Humid air slows drying considerably, so washes stay workable longer and each page needs more time before you close the sketchbook. Dry conditions do the opposite and set hard edges quickly, so work in smaller areas at a time and keep the palette damp.
Can I fly with paint in my carry-on?
Dried pans and hardened palettes are treated as solids, so they pass through screening without counting toward the liquids allowance. Wet tubes have to fit the 3.4 ounce limit inside the quart-sized bag, and a water brush is best emptied beforehand. The officer at the checkpoint makes the final call.
Can I bring paint in checked baggage?
Water-based watercolor in pans or tubes travels in the hold without a volume limit, which suits full tubes and larger sets that will not fit the carry-on liquids rule. Solvent-based and flammable paints are barred from both the cabin and the hold, so check the label before packing.
Why buy the Tobio's Kits Watercolor Kit instead of a cheap lookalike?
Low-cost listings frequently ship the wooden palette alone, with no paint, paper, or brush included. Tobio’s Kits Watercolor Kit is a full set for ages 6 and above, backed by a 60-day satisfaction guarantee, with returns accepted within 60 days of delivery.
*Disclaimer: Tobio's Kits watercolor supplies are designed for ages 6 and above. As with all art materials, paints are not food-safe and should be kept away from the mouth. Best suited for beginner-to-intermediate painters. Visit Tobio's Kits to explore our full range of art kits and find the right set for you.