How to Use Tobio's Watercolor Kit: Setup to First Painting in 8 Steps

Open the box and lay everything out: the walnut palette (two halves that close with magnets), 12 paint tubes, the water brush, the 60-page sketchbook, the metal clip, the wristband and the card with the link to the digital guide. The palette has 12 wells and a mixing area. If any part is missing, email support before you squeeze anything; the kit is covered by a 60-day guarantee.

Unscrew a tube and squeeze it into one well until the well is full, then move to the next color. Keep the colors in a sensible order, yellows next to reds next to blues, so mixing later makes sense; the palette setup post shows a layout. Leave the palette open overnight, or for a day in a damp room. The paint shrinks a little as it dries and may crack on top; that is normal and it rewets fine. You now have a pan set that you refill from tubes, which is cheaper than buying pans and the reason the kit is this small.

The mistake I made: closing the palette while the paint was still wet. It smeared onto the mixing side and I had to clean it. Give it the full night.

Unscrew the brush head from the barrel, fill the barrel with clean water under a tap or from a bottle, and screw the head back on. Squeeze the barrel once over a paper towel until the tip is wet. That is the only water you need for the whole session. One barrel lasts me two or three sketchbook paintings.

Slide the metal clip over the top of the sketchbook and hook the palette onto it, so the palette sits above the page like a small easel. Put the wristband on your brush hand. Now the whole kit is one unit you can hold in one hand on a train or rest on a knee in a park, and nothing blows away.

Touch the wet brush tip to a color and leave a drop of water on it for about 30 seconds. The dried paint softens and the brush picks up color. Dry watercolor is never dead; it only needs water. If a color seems chalky or weak, it is not wet enough yet. Give it another drop and a few more seconds, then stir the surface with the brush.

Squeeze the barrel gently to feed the tip. For a soft wash, squeeze until a bead of water forms on the tip and sweep it across the page. For a line or a detail, do not squeeze at all; the tip holds enough. Too much water puddles and lifts the color; too little drags. Between colors, wipe the brush on the wristband, squeeze once over the paper towel, and carry on. If you want a cleaner rinse, squeeze a few drops through onto the towel until it runs clear. The water control post goes deeper, and the mixing chart shows what the 12 colors make together.

Do not start with a painting. On the first page, paint one wet wash of a single color, let it dry, then paint a simple shape (a leaf, a circle) with less water, then a few thin lines with no water. Those three strokes are every technique in watercolor. Then pick an easy tutorial from the tutorials or a page of the Beginners Workbook, where the sketch is already drawn and you only add color. Easy paintings for absolute beginners is the list I give everyone.

Squeeze clean water through the brush until it runs clear, wipe the mixing area with a damp cloth, and leave the palette open until the wells are dry before closing the magnets. Do not scrub the wells; the dried paint is tomorrow's paint. Keep a little water in the brush if you will paint tomorrow, empty it if you will not. The full routine, including what not to do to the wood, is in how to clean your kit. When a well runs out, a set of 12 refills is $10.99.