I don’t typically limit my palette to one brand – I will use lots of colors from different brands – but I thought it would be a fun exercise to try to come up with the paints I would choose if I could come up with, say, a 12-color palette from any given brand.

My post on My Favorite Watercolor Paints By Brand is a good resource for this exercise, but there, while I listed all the paints that I particularly prefer from each brand, I didn’t make an effort to make them into cohesive palettes. In this post, I’ll try to make palettes you could actually use from a single brand’s catalogue.

⭐ marks paints I particularly like, and would choose in this brand even if I weren’t making a single-brand palette. (not necessarily colors on my current palette)

❓ marks paints I have not actually tried, but chose based on the catalog/assumptions. Take these recommendations with a grain of salt. 

Artist Grade

Da Vinci

This is my most-used brand at the moment! Nearly every color they have is, in my opinion, an extremely solid choice. And some of these colors are ones I only like in Da Vinci (Cobalt Blue, Cerulean Blue). I swatched every color they had at the time in 2023. The paint names are affiliate links to the Da Vinci website.

1. ⭐ Arylide Yellow FGL (PY97) – Solid primary middle yellow. I mildly prefer this bold and warm yellow, but slightly lighter/cooler Da Vinci Yellow (PY154) is also good.
2. ⭐ Quinacridone Red (PR209) – I can’t resist adding my favorite pinky sunset coral! The DV version is especially smooth and grades evenly in skies.
3. ⭐ Red Rose Deep (PV19) – A warm, bold quin rose with lots of range.
4. ⭐ Perylene Violet (PV29) – I increasingly love this dark maroon red for mixing up dark colors and mysterious shadows. This is a new color as of 2025 for Da Vinci.
5. ⭐ Ultramarine Blue (PB29) – One of my favorite ultramarines, a very bold masstone. (They have French and GS ultramarines but I just love the middle/basic one.)
6. ⭐ Cobalt Blue (PB28) – My favorite Cobalt Blue. Saturated and medium granulating.  Makes lovely skies.
7. ⭐ Cerulean Blue Genuine (PB36) – My favorite Cerulean, strong and granulating, nice in mixes, especially with Indian Red.
8. ⭐ Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15) – I like the red shade of Phthalo Blue because it’s so convenient for skies, but the more typical green shade is another good choice.
9. ⭐ Phthalo Green (PG7) – A balanced green that is on the yellow side for a PG7, great for mixing all kinds of greens. To go even yellower, try PG36.
10. ⭐ Raw Sienna (PBr7) – Rich color; useful earth orange-yellow hue, making light browns with blues. If you want a yellower alternative that makes greens, DV also has a great Yellow Ochre (PY43).
11. ⭐ Terra Cotta (PR102) – Semi-opaque natural earth orange with a lovely texture. Mixes gorgeously with Ultramarine Blue and Cobalt Blue to make a range of grays and browns. 
12. ⭐ Indian Red (PR101) – Opaque and granulating earth red, mixes gorgeous grays with blues, especially Cerulean.

Daniel Smith

This is one of the brands I’m most familiar with. I swatched every color on their 2022 dot card and I’ve used some of them quite a bit. There are a handful of colors I strongly prefer in their DS formulation, notably my crucial earth triad of Indanthrone Blue, Transparent Red Oxide, and Monte Amiata Natural Sienna.

1. ⭐ Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97) – A good primary middle yellow. I prefer this to the PY3 Hansa Light that’s in the starter set. Azo Yellow (PY151) is also good (cooler).
2. New Gamboge (PY110, PY97) – A warm, orangey yellow, but still primary enough for a triad. For single pigment options, Permanent Yellow Deep (PY110) or Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65) are also great.
3. Pyrrol Scarlet (PR255) – Pop scarlet, bold and lightfast. Included in the DS Starter Set.
4. Quinacridone Red (PV19) – Warm, reddish primary magenta option. Quinacridone Rose (PV19), in the DS Starter Set, is also great and cooler/more magenta.
5. ⭐ Indanthrone Blue (PB60) – I love the violet tone of DS’s Indanthrone. One of my all-time favorite paints. 
6. Phthalo Blue Green Shade – DS has such bold phthalo colors, which can make them hard to handle, but I like their wide value range. Phthalo Blue Green Shade is a true classic, and Pyrrol Scarlet complements it. Red Shade is also a great option, and Venetian Red complements it.
7. Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7) – Bold, very cool Phthalo Green option. Mix with yellow-orange or gold to mute to a naturalistic leaf green.
8. ⭐ Rich Green Gold (PY129) – My favorite PY129, mixes nice greens.
9. ⭐ Quinacridone Gold (PY150, PO48) – Warm, caramel-like, glowing “golden hour” yellow.
10. ⭐ Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7) – Granulating yellow-toned earth color that I find to be the best of all possible worlds between Yellow Ochre and Raw Sienna. Similar hue to Quin Gold, but much more earthy mixes.
11. ⭐ Transparent Red Oxide (PR101) – One of my all-time favorite earth oranges. Incredibly useful. Makes lovely neutral grays and browns with Ultramarine or Indanthrone. That said, it is tough to pick between this and Quinacridone Burnt Orange (PO48), a semi-retired pigment that DS is the only purveyor of, and which is also a lovely, very vibrant earth orange.
12. ⭐ Venetian Red (PR101) – opaque earth scarlet with soft granulation.

Holbein

I find this brand very solid as well! Vibrant colors and some of my favorite mixes. I’ve never found a dot card for this brand, so this is going off the fairly idiosyncratic mix of colors I’ve tried.

1. Imidazolone Yellow (PY154) – Bold middle yellow. Or try Imidazolone Lemon (PY175) for something cooler.
2. ⭐ Isoindolinone Yellow Deep (PY110) – Lovely single-pigment yellow-orange. Nice mixer.
3. Pyrrol Rubin (PR264) – A lovely strong crimson which is found in Jane Blundell’s Ultimate Mixing Palette (but I think the Holbein version is nicer than DS). Holbein’s Permanent Alizarin Crimson, a mix of PV19 and PBr25, is also great in this slot, but it mixes more like a pink.
4. ⭐ Quinacridone Magenta (PR122) – Cool, bold, primary magenta. My favorite PR122. Holbein’s Quin Red (PV19), a reddish rose, is also great for this slot.
5. Ultramarine Deep (PB29) – Deep and subtle with lovely granulation.
6. ⭐ Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15) – I like all of Holbein’s Phthalo colors and there’s no real reason for me to choose this one over their Yellow Shade (PB15:3, aka Green Shade), except that this the one I actually have on my palette at the moment.
7. Hooker’s Green (PG7, PY150) – I really like this bright, yellow-green which I think is great for foliage. For a single-pigment Phthalo Green, go with Viridian Hue (PG7) or Bamboo Green (PG36).
8. ⭐ Yellow Ochre (PY42) – Opaque and smooth with deep rich color. I like this one even more than Da Vinci’s, which is saying something for an earth color. Holbein’s Raw Sienna is also acceptable (and more transparent), but I found it somewhat weak.
9. ⭐ Perylene Maroon (PR179) – A warm-hued and smooth version of this useful maroon that neutralizes Phthalo Blues perfectly and mixes with Quin Red to make deep crimson.
10. Imidazolone Brown (PBr25) – Holbein is plagued by a lack of useful earth options. I don’t love their Burnt Sienna. I chose this red-brown because it is at least interesting.
11. ⭐ Payne’s Grey (PBk6, PB15, PR122) – One of my favorite Payne’s Greys; it’s just a lovely balance between greyish and bluish, just the right “step” from indigo toward dark gray without hitting black.
12. ⭐ Titanium White (PW6) – Although you can get by without white or by using gouache when you want it, I find that Holbein’s is my favorite watercolor white. It’s bold and opaque, nearly as much as gouache, but rewets very well, unlike gouache, so is suitable for a to-go palette.

MaimeriBlu

Not one of my favorite brands; I have found the paints I have tried to be generally of low tinting strength with some having a sticky/unpleasant texture. What continues to intrigue me, though, is that this is entirely a single-pigment brand, and it has some interesting and unusual pigments!

I used Jenna Rainey’s MaimeriBlu swatch video to see what some of these look like. 

1. ❓ Primary Yellow (PY97) – Looks like the most useful middle yellow. I tried the cool PY175 but found it fairly weak.
2. ❓ Indian Yellow (PY65) – Although they offer some unusual warm yellows (PY139 and PY183), I think the classic hansa yellow deep is likely the most reliable. I also liked their Cadmium Yellow Deep (PY35) when I swatched it out, though I don’t normally go for cadmiums.  
3. Pyrrole Red (PR255) – Pyrrol Scarlet equivalent.
4. Permanent Carmine (PR176) – This is said to be a less lightfast pigment than PV19, but Kim Crick finds MMB’s main PV19, Primary Red Magenta, to be less strong than other brands’, so I went for the more unusual pigment. The color is a cool red similar to Alizarin Crimson; DS has it as Carmine. 
5. ⭐ Potter’s Pink (PR233) – This is my favorite Potter’s Pink! 
6. ❓ Ultramarine Light (PB29) – Just choosing a staple color here. I found their Ultramarine Deep quite weak, so I’m going with the devil I don’t know, but I’m not sure I have high hopes. 
7. ❓ Primary Blue Cyan (PB15) – Again just going for a basic. I haven’t liked most of the blues I have tried from Maimeri TBH.
8. ❓ Cobalt Turquoise (PB28) – Looks like a nice bold version, similar to DV and SH. Color-separating teals pair well with Potter’s Pink. 
9. ⭐ Mars Brown (PR101) – A very interesting granulating PR101 brown.
10. ❓ Venetian Red (PR101) – Seems similar to DV Indian Red.
11. ⭐ Sepia (PY164) – Rare pigment. Very dark, opaque brown. Recommended by Kim Crick. 
12. ⭐ Neutral Tint (PBk26) – Rare pigment (Spinel Black). A smooth, flat, transparent black, useful darkening all sorts of mixes and painting silhouettes. My favorite version of this pigment is Rembrandt’s, but this is a good backup if the MaimeriBlu brand is more available to you. 

Mijello Mission Gold

I don’t have a dot card here, and I haven’t tried all these paints, so take this one with a grain of salt as well. I have found all the colors I’ve tried to be very bold and bright, great for intense color lovers. They may tend toward melting in moist climates.

1. Permanent Yellow Light (PY154) – A good solid version of this primary yellow.
2. Permanent Yellow Deep (PY65) – A strikingly bright version.
3. Cherry Red (PR209) – A nice bright version of my favorite sunset scarlet. For a more middle red option consider Permanent Red (PR112) or Permanent Red Deep (PR254). 
4. Permanent Magenta (PR122) – A solid version of this primary magenta, and used in many MI commercial mixes. For rosier options, consider Permanent Rose (PV19) or Rose Madder hue (PR176).
5. ⭐ Brilliant Opera (PR122, BV10) – My favorite super-bold Opera Pink. 
6. Ultramarine Deep (PB29, PV15) – An extremely bold, electric, granulating, complex, violet-toned ultramarine. 
7. Cerulean Blue (PB15:3) – Actually a Phthalo Blue Green Shade.
8. Viridian Hue (PG7) – Actually Phthalo Green Blue Shade used in mixing many greens. Also consider Bamboo Green (PG36, aka Phthalo Green Yellow Shade); they should be approximately interchangeable in mixes. 
9. ⭐ Green Gold (PY150) – A lovely Nickel Azo Yellow.
10. Perylene Maroon (PR179) – My favorite Perylene Maroon by hue, though it is very sticky.
11. Red Brown (PBr25) – A bold reddish brown used in many MI commercial mixes. Use to mute down blues and greens, or mix luscious earth tones. Another option is Perylene Maroon (PR179); this was my favorite Perylene Maroon in the Oto Kano dot card.
12. Payne’s Gray (PB15, PV19, PBk6) – A very bluish Payne’s Grey, similar to Winsor & Newton’s. 

Rembrandt by Royal Talens

A line I know very little about, so this is mostly conjecture.

1. ❓ Transparent Yellow Medium (PY128) – This is a risk on a pigment I’ve never seen anywhere else, but it looks good, lightfast and nontoxic per artiscreation. For a more tried-and-true primary yellow pigment, I might go for Azo Yellow Light (PY154).
2. ❓ Azo Yellow Deep (PY110) – Isoindolinone Yellow Deep equivalent. They also have a PY83, Azo Yellow Medium, which is less lightfast but I like the orange-yellow color.
3. ❓ Benzimidazolone Orange (PO72) – Another risk on an unusual orange pigment I’ve never tried. Usually Benzimidazolone Orange refers to PO62; this looks like a deeper orange than that. They also have a more typical transparent red-orange PO71 called Pyrrole Orange, and a super-bright Brilliant Orange (PO64), but Kim Crick says this is fugitive.
4. ❓ Permanent Red Medium (PR255) – for a scarlet, or they have multiple options for a middle red like Permanent Red Deep (PR254), Perylene Red (PR149), Perylene Red Deep (PY178)
5. ❓ Quinacridone Rose Reddish (PV19) – Rembrandt has multiple shades of Quin Rose, including QR Rddish, QR magenta (PR122, more bluish) and one just called “Quinacridone Rose” (another PV19). I tend to like the really warm pinky shades so that’s why I went for reddish. They also have a Permanent Red Violet (PV19) which I’ve tried – I thought it would be like a quin violet, but is actually quite bright and looks to me almost identical to PR122 magenta, so that’s another good middle magenta option. If you like the darker magentas, they also have a Benzimidazolone Violet (PV32), equivalent to Daniel Smith’s Bordeaux.
6. ❓ Ultramarine Deep (PB29) – I don’t know why they call this deep since I didn’t see a light.
7. ❓ Indanthrene Blue (PB60)
8. ❓ Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15) – I have no reason for choosing this one in this line except that I saw Jay Nathan swatch it out and it looked nice.
9. ❓ Azomethine Green Yellow (PY129)
10. ❓ Yellow Ochre (PY42, PY43) – They also have separate PY42 (Transparent Oxide Yellow) and PY43 (Gold Ochre), as well as a Raw Sienna made from PY43. All of these are listed as transparent. I can’t really tell a basis for deciding between them.
11. ❓ Transparent Oxide Red (PR101)
12. ⭐ Spinel Grey (PBk26) – A really nice striking black!

Rockwell Canada

Another brand I’ve not tried, but the Canadians I follow love them. They have various series including Charm (evidently equivalent to supergranulating) and Magic (unusual mixes). I chose my selections from their basic Classic Watercolors line. My initial feeling looking at their catalogue is there’s a lot of fugitive pigments here, but there’s also gems if you look carefully. Here’s my shopping list if I were to buy a complete palette from them.

1. ❓ Yellow Lemon (PY3) – This opaque, marginally lightfast lemon is not my favorite primary yellow, but their middle primary yellow is PY1, which gets a lightfast rating of V on Art Is Creation. Rockwell gives all its paints, including this one, its top lightfast mark of three plus signs (+++); they don’t admit to any variation within their own line, which is useless. Let’s hope it gets better from here.
2. ❓ Permanent Deep Yellow (PY65) – I do like this orange-yellow.
3. ❓ Fire Orange (PO73) – They had some scarlets but they were fugitive pigments, so I chose this reddish orange instead, from which you could mix a scarlet or red with magenta.
4. ❓ Rose Red (PR122) – This looks like a good primary magenta; they also have a PV19 red called Peachblow listed in the Dragon set.
5. ❓ Lake Source Blue (PB10) – I’m adding this purely out of curiosity because I can’t find the pigment even on Art Is Creation. It could very well be fugitive. I just have no idea. It looks like a pleasant violet-blue.
6. ❓ Ultramarine (PB29) – They also have an Ultramarine Deep listed in the Dragon set.
7. ❓ Blue Sky (PB17) – I’ve never seen this pigment, so I’m curious about it. It looks similar to PB16 turquoise. Maria Smirnova uses this in her sky palette.
8. ❓ Cobalt Turquoise (PG36)
9. ❓ Viridian Hue (PG7) – They also have a Spring Green listed as PG7 but looking more yellow. Not sure how that works. Maybe it’s mislabeled PG36.
10. ❓ Gold Ochre (PY43) – This is their yellow ochre. They say it’s transparent.
11. ❓ Burnt Sienna (PR101) – This is their transparent red oxide.
12. ❓ Mars Brown (PBr6) – Slightly unusual granulating deep brown pigment.

If you like supergranulating/color-separating mixes, there are lots to choose from here as bonus colors. Palaiba Diamond Blue is really nice for example (but you could mix it from colors I included here, Ultramarine and Viridian Hue).

Roman Szmal

Very well-regarded, I (Logan) personally have not tried them as they only come in pans and use honey, two things I tend not to like. Hanna loves them; don’t miss Hanna’s review of her extensive collection.

1. Aureoline Yellow (PY151) – Hanna’s favorite, though it only comes in full pans. Another unusual full-pan options in their line is Isoindolinone Yellow Light (PY109). If sticking to half pans, consider Quinophthalone Yellow (PY138). Brand exclusives PY168, PY61 fade per Kim Crick.
2. Gamboge Hue (PY95) – For warmer yellows, you also might consider Indian Yellow Hue (PY108) or Permanent Yellow (PY139); or for half pan options, PY110, PY65, or PY181!
3. ❓ Pyrrole Scarlet (PR255) – A tried-and-true. Hanna likes Quinacridone Scarlet (PR N/A), which is also brand exclusive, but I was concerned it looks similar to Deep Scarlet which I rarely use. Other interesting unusual options: Anthraquinone Scarlet (PR168), Aquarius Red (PR214), Raspberry Red (PR272).
4. ❓ Quinacridone Warm Pink (PV42) – A high chroma midpoint between process magenta and red.
5. ❓ Ultramarine Pink (PR259) – added out of curiosity. Not many brands have this.
6. ❓ Ultramarine Intense (PB29) – I’m not sure how to choose between their many ultramarines, but who can pass up intense?
7. ❓ Phthalo Turquoise (PB16) – Looks very pretty
8. ❓ Cobalt Teal (PG50) – Seems very similar to Hanna’s fave Cobalt Sea Blue (PB28), but I like the slightly more greenish color.
9. ❓ Sap Green (PY150, PG7) – It’s more versatile to have both colors, but I like this bright mix
10. ❓ Venetian Yellow Earth (PY43) – Chosen from among Hanna’s earth yellows, also one I like.
11. ❓ Terra Pozzuoli (PR102) – Chosen from among Hanna’s earths because I like the chromatic orange-red color, but it only comes in a full pan. Monte Amiata Burnt Sienna looks nice of available half-pan options.
12. Cyprus Deep Burnt Umber (PBr7) – Hanna gave me a mini pan of this and I weirdly loved it even though I don’t usually go for brown. It’s rich and dark.

Rosa Gallery

Have not tried this brand, but I heard that it is cost effective in Europe. So if I’m ever in Europe…? Key links: Kim Crick, Jane Blundell

1. ❓ Azo Yellow (PY151)
2. ❓ Golden Yellow (PY110)
3. ❓ Madder Rose (PR254, PV19) – they also offer Pyrrole Red (PR254) and Bright Red (PO73, PR254), which are both solid reds and more distinct from the magenta I’ll also definitely take, but I just love pinks.
4. ❓ Magenta Rose (PR122) – Kim Crick’s favorite PR122! Looks like it gets really dark.
5. ❓ Quinacridone Lilac (PV19) – Quin Violet equivalent; Kim Crick endorsed
6. ❓ Ultramarine Spectral (PB29) – a high-chroma, red-leaning, dark-ranging PB29
7. ❓ Bright Blue (PB15:3)
8. ❓ Emerald Green (PG7)
9. ❓ Aureoline Green (PY150, PG7) – they also offer just PY150 and just PG7, but I’ve been really into yellow-greens lately
10. ❓ Yellow Ochre (PY42, PY43)
11. ❓ Golden Brown (PY42, PBr7)
12. ❓ Madder Brown (PR101, PR264)

Schmincke Horadam

Another line I have fully swatched. Many people swear by Schmincke; I find the transparent colors tend to cauliflower a lot for me, but I have to acknowledge they’re vibrant and lovely. I tend to like their opaque colors.

1. ⭐ Aureolin Modern Hue (PY151) – A cool-leaning transparent yellow that handles gorgeously. Pure Yellow (PY154) is my pick if you want a more middle yellow, or Indian Yellow (PY154, PY110) for a more warm yellow.
2. Transparent Orange (PO71) – Bright and clear orange. Lovely to look at.
3. Vermilion (PR255) – A transparent version of Pyrrol Scarlet with a pleasant effervescent quality. Geranium Red (PR242) is very similar. 
4. Purple Magenta (PR122) – Lovely true magenta. Magenta (PV42) is another option that has a very similar hue to DS Quin Rose.
5. Perylene Violet (PV29) – Deep, warm, muted violet/maroon great for mixing dark warm colors.
6. Delft Blue (PB60) – They offer two PB60 indanthrone blues; this is the most violet-toned, which I prefer and which I think fills a gap better in this palette. 
7. Ultramarine Finest (PB29) – Notable for being low-granulating. Great for skies. If you want one of the most granulating ultramarines around, though, try their French Ultramarine.
8. Phthalo Blue (PB15:1) – Somewhere between a red-shade and cyan phthalo blue.
9. ⭐ Cobalt Turquoise (PG50) – My favorite SH color and my favorite PG50 of all time! Opaque, bold, bright, granulating, seafoam turquoise. 
10. Titanium Gold Ochre (PBr24) – An opaque sunset yellow/gold. If you prefer transparent colors, Transparent Yellow Ochre is an unusual option. 
11. English Venetian Red (PR101) – A semi-opaque, granulating, earthy red-orange. Again, I’m avoiding transparents here due to my Schmincke problems, but they do offer a Transparent Sienna (PR101) which is closer to my typical TRO pick. 
12. Schmincke’s Payne’s Gray (PR101, PB29, PBk7) – Not so much a Payne’s Gray as a neutral tint, great for silhouettes and monochrome. 

Sennelier

Easy to rewet honey-based brand that I find unpleasantly sticky, but to each his own. The colors really are gorgeous. I have tried a handful.

1. Yellow Sophie (PY93) – A lovely cool yellow with an unusual pigment. I’ve also been told that Sennelier Yellow Light (PY153) is very good, and you could always go with the classic PY150 (Nickel Azo Yellow), which they call Yellow Lake.
2. ❓Indian Yellow (PY153, PY154) – An orangey-yellow with the highly-rated PY153 pigment.
3. French Vermilion (PR242) – A gorgeous pop scarlet. Rose Dore Madder Lake (PR255) is said to be more lightfast but I didn’t find it as magical. Opt instead for Sennelier Red (PR254) if you prefer a more middle red, or Sennelier Orange (PO73) for an orange.
4. Quinacridone Red (PR209) – Quin Coral equivalent, one of my pet colors
5. ❓Rose Madder Lake (PV19) – Sennelier’s take on a quin rose. Purple Helios (PR122) should also be a good primary magenta option.
6. ❓Ultramarine Light (PB29) – I have no reason to choose one Ultramarine over another; I haven’t tried any of Sennelier’s. But I tend to like the versatility of light ultramarine.
7. Blue Indanthrone (PB60) – Oto Kano’s favorite indanthrone, just an all-around good version that’s a middle neither-cold-nor-warm dark blue hue with nice handling.
8. Prussian Blue (PB27) – First came to my attention as Kolbie Blume’s favorite Prussian Blue, and now it’s mine too. It is dark but has a lovely intense cyan undertone that makes it more versatile as a primary blue than the more muted Prussian Blues I’ve tried.
9. ❓Turquoise Green (PG50) – I like this fun, granulating, bright-turquoise pigment. I have also heard good things about Sennelier’s Cerulean Blue or Cerulean Blue Red Shade, which interestingly are made from the Cobalt pigment PB28 (or used to be? they may be PB35 now. Check the label.)
10. ❓Olive Green (PG36, PY150, PBr23) – An interesting leaf mix. Choose Sennelier Green (PG36) for a brighter, single-pigment green option. (Oddly enough they only offer a Yellow Shade and not a Green Shade of Phthalo Green.)
11. ❓Raw Sienna (PBr7) – You know I like a transparent PBr7 Raw Sienna. 
12. ❓Burnt Sienna (PBr7) – As Sennelier don’t offer a PR101 Transparent Red Oxide, their classic PBr7 Burnt Sienna would have to meet my Earth Orange needs.

Winsor & Newton

WN’s dot card is not complete, but forms my basis for understanding their line. The ‘Winsor’ colors are usually very solid basics. WN paints tend to dry hard, so they may need to be carefully activated, but they’re useful for moist climates.

1. Winsor Yellow (PY154) – A bold primary yellow, neither cool nor warm. For something cooler, try Winsor Lemon (PY175).
2. Winsor Yellow Deep (PY65) – A very nice version of PY65 Hansa Yellow Deep.
3. Transparent Orange (DPP) – Deep, bold orange.
4. Scarlet Lake (PR188) – Similar hue to Pyrrol Scarlet, but transparent.
5. Permanent Rose (PV19) – Warmer than most; a very bright, lovely PV19 rose.
6. Smalt/Dumont’s Blue (PV15) – A unique granulating violet-blue, more violet than Ultramarine Blue but more blue than a typical PV15 Ultramarine Violet.
7. Ultramarine Green Shade (PB29) – A cheaper Ultramarine with a hue similar to Cobalt.
8. ⭐ Phthalo Turquoise (PB16) – My favorite version of PB16; a bit more muted than Phthalo Blue, and gets really dark and mixes gorgeous greens.
9. Perylene Green (PBk31) – This can be a tricky color because it tends to be weak. Winsor’s version is relatively bold.
10. ⭐ Naples Yellow Deep (PBr24) – A wonderful opaque warm yellow that’s very vivid for an earth color or muted for a bold color; in dilute makes perfect sunset yellows and mixes wonderful sunset corals with PR209. Another earth yellow option I like is Gold Ochre (PY43), a very orange-toned version of yellow ochre.
11. ⭐ Venetian Red (PR101) – A nice version of this opaque earth orange-red, warmer than Indian Red with a lovely richness.
12. Payne’s Gray (PB15, PBk6, PV19) – A very blue-toned dark gray. 

Student Grade

Cotman by Winsor & Newton

Winsor & Newton Cotman is the student-grade brand I started with! Student grade paints are noticeably weaker and less pleasantly-textured than pro grade, but some intense colors, such as Phthalos, are still strong enough to be good. Note that Cotman tends to be much cheaper per tube in premade sets rather than open stock, and no set I have seen matches these preferences exactly, though the 20x 5ml tube set comes close. If you’re at a point of individually cherry-picking tubes, you are probably ready to try pro grade anyway.

1. Lemon Yellow Hue (PY175) – very cool, lightfast yellow, suitable for mixing very bright greens. I believe Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue (PY175, PY97) would be a good alternative but I have not tried it.
2. Cadmium Yellow Hue (PY65, PY97) – A deep, warm, orangey yellow similar to DS New Gamboge. Note that all Cotman colors are nontoxic, this does not actually contain cadmium.
3. Alizarin Crimson Hue (PR179) – As long as you don’t expect this to be anything like Alizarin Crimson, it’s a useful middle red similar to Perylene Red.
4. Permanent Rose (PV19) – Bright and useful mixing pink, though sadly not as strong as I would like it.
5. Dioxazine Purple (PV23) – If buying for children, be aware this is VERY staining. It doesn’t really need to be more intense so it’s also one that it worth getting in student grade if you’re mixing and matching.
6. Prussian Blue (PB27) – Strong, dark, mixes a lovely Indanthrone hue with Dioxazine Purple.
7. Intense Blue (PB15) – Phthalo/Winsor Blue Green Shade equivalent. As an intense pigment, this is a good candidate to get in student grade. Cotman’s Turquoise (PB15, PG) is a good alternative that is slightly more greenish, but still usable as a primary cyan.
8. Viridian Hue (PG7) – Phthalo/Winsor Green Blue Shade equivalent. As far as I can tell this is hard to distinguish from the artist-grade version. They also have a PG36, Intense Green, but I haven’t tried it, and my concern is that as it’s a more expensive pigment sold for the same price it may be weaker.
9. Raw Sienna (PY42, PR101) – Transparent earth yellow that is admittedly slightly weak, though stronger than its WN pro grade equivalent. Choose Yellow Ochre if you prefer something strongy and opaque.
10. Light Red (PR101) – Strong, opaque earth red that is almost as strong as pro grade Venetian Red. (I would typically recommend an earth orange, but the Cotman Burnt Sienna is disappointingly weak.)
11. Payne’s Gray (PBk7, PB29, PB15) – Very dark black/gray that dilutes to a moody slate blue.

Van Gogh by Royal Talens

Van Gogh is also a nice student grade with bold colors and some rare single pigments. Like Cotman, they are all nontoxic. Compared to Cotman, they are easier to rewet, and better suited to working from dry pans. I’ve painted the colors from a dot card but not worked with them extensively.

1. Transparent Yellow Medium (PY128) – An unusual pigment, also known as Azo Condensation Yellow. A transparent middle yellow.
2. Indian Yellow (PY83): Though not the most lightfast, it’s a beautiful traditionally deep yellow-orange color, and Van Gogh is the only brand I know of that sells it in a single pigment at present.
3. Vermilion (PR255/PO73) – While VG offers both a PO73 Pyrrol Orange and PR255 Pyrrol Scarlet equivalent, both of which are lovely, I prefer this mix which to me is the perfect balance of orange to red in a scarlet.
4. Carmine (PR176) – Somewhere between red and rose, similar to Alizarin Crimson. This is just a very pretty paint and handles gorgeously in VG. Like Indian Yellow, it may not be as lightfast as some other paints. (I don’t recommend VG’s Quin Rose; it’s very weak.)
5. Permanent Red Violet (PV19) – A violet-toned magenta somewhere between a traditional Quin Rose and Quin Violet; similar in hue to DS Quin Fuchsia (PR202). I’d pick this up for mixing purples.
6. Permanent Blue Violet (PV23): A deep cool purple, also known as Dioxazine Violet. In student grade, this is not as wildly untameable as it can be in pro grade.
7. Lavender (PB29, PV15, PW6): I really like VG’s Lavender, which is gorgeously granulating and not too chalky. (I am not as much a fan of their Ultramarine Blue, despite usually finding that a more useful color.)
8. Phthalo Blue (PB15): A lovely royal blue with a lot of range; like Diox Violet, it’s a bit easier to handle in student grade than in pro grade. Their Cerulean hue, a mix of PB15 and white, is also nice if you prefer a sky specialist, but I think Phthalo Blue is more versatile.
9. Phthalo Green (PG7): A standard Phthalo Green Blue Shade, useful for mixing greens. (Avoid Viridian, the same pigment but weakened.)
10. Azo Green (PY129): Equivalent to DS Rich Green Gold, a favorite pigment of mine and great for mixing naturalistic greens with PG7. (Indeed, VG’s Sap Green is a PG7/PY129 mix – I’d recommend it if I weren’t already recommending the parts.)
11. Light Oxide Red (PR101) – A semi-opaque earth red, similar to Venetian Red. My usual earth color option would be more like their Burnt Sienna (actually Transparent Red Oxide, an earth orange), but since this palette does not contain a violet blue to neutralize it, I think the redder shade would be more useful to mute the green-toned cyan blues.
12. Payne’s Gray (PBk6, PV19) – Equivalent to my favorite artist grade Payne’s Grays, nice and juicy. They say this is a mix of black and PV19, but I am sure there is also Phthalo Blue in there, as it’s rather blue-toned. Indigo is another option if you want it to be more of a straightforward dark blue.

Conclusion

There’s no reason to stick with one brand when shopping for paints; I like to mix and match. But if, for whatever reason, you find yourself shopping a single brand – like if you’re at an art store with only one brand or you’re taking advantage of a massive sale – I hope this list has helped you craft a balanced palette that’s usable on its own and also hits each brand’s “best of.” 

What great brands and/or colors did I miss?