DANIEL SMITH Hand Poured Watercolor, Half Pans, Ultimate Mixing Set with 15 Watercolor Half Pans, 15 Empty Half Pans, 2 Plastic Travel Cases (total 32 pieces) 285650009

I love these watercolors. There is a nice assortment in the palette and they flow beautifully from my brushes. Can't wait to expand my color choices even further.

I have been wanting to get this set since I started with watercolor almost 3 years ago. I had never seen it on sale until a few weeks ago. I picked up one and I am happy I finally did. This set is the best of both worlds the colors are perfect for mixing but also economical if you got it on sale. I am a fan of this tiny plastic pallet because it is easier to carry around as it is light. This pallet has also been updated since it came out about 6 years ago! Love Daniel Smith Paints!

The palettes are great! I was looking for something that could go hiking with me and these will NOT pop open on accident.The mix of colors is the real star, though. They are a fantastic toolbox to get started with, or even add to an existing collection. If you've never used Daniel Smith watercolors before they are incredible. Most of this palette is heavy on its ability to dye, but there's a few that are granulating as well. The included empty palette is a sirens song - I filled mine with more Daniel Smith combinations, the Primatek sampler set especially. They are not cheap watercolors but wow do you get what you paid for. The only other brands I can think of that compare are Winsor & Newton's professional line (not the Cotman line), and Roswell for their cool pigment sources - and Daniel Smith remains my favorite of the three. I highly recommend treating yourself, if you've never used the highest quality of water colors you will be blown away by the difference between something like Crayola, Arteza, the Cotman line, and this.

I do botanical illustration and found this a wonderful set of colors. I personally prefer pan colors even for studio work. I just find it easier to use less pigment, but that is a personal preference. In my opinion Daniel Smith offers the best of both varieties. Unlike some other brands, the tube colors can be added to the pans without affecting their quality or characteristics. For advanced painters, Julia Trickey has a book which provides color charts for all the mixtures of these palette colors.As to whether these paints are for beginners, I think that depends upon the stage of "beginning." At the start, it might be best to become familiar with just a few pigments-- even just the 3 primary colors-- to learn about their mixes. A later stage beginner, however, might find the palette useful. In any case, it is best for beginners to begin with artist quality paints like these rather than student brands. The latter are often gummy or generally of poor quality so as to be discouraging.

Love Daniel Smith and the bonus empty pallet was perfect for the additional colors I purchased.

The Daniel Smith paint and the color selection for the Ultimate Mixing Set is great. However, as many have noted already, the box is very poorly designed. It seems to be intended for just storing the paint instead of being an integrated palette. It totally lacks practical functionality. Not sure what the DS design team was thinking of. Fortunately, there are workarounds. In my case, I used the extra Koi 12-color set I had. The cover of DS box can be easily removed with a wiggle. The thin paint tray of Koi is adhered to the box with a double sided tape and can also be easily removed with a pull. The DS box without the cover fits nicely inside the Koi box. See photo. It’s really too bad DS did not release the Ultimate Mixing Set half pans in a palette like this.

Daniel Smith watercolor paint is expensive and these are small half pans. But, the assortment is good. If you understand pigment and/or have a color wheel. these 12 colors allow you to mix a multitude of shades.When I got "serious" about my watercolor painting, I looked for the most transparent, pigmented brand available. Price really wasn't an object. DS paints work well for my painting style, which is several thin washes to build up color slowly. The set is compact, so packing it up is easy. ONE HUGE disappointment is that the lid on the palette doesn't open flat, so you can't use it as a mixing area, unlike other brands palettes. The empty palette that comes with the set is a plus. I filled it with my DS primatek and Jean Haines paint.

Couldn’t wait to receive these. They are even better than I thought they would be, and I had high expectations! Perfect for travel love, love them