If you are a beginner and want the best acrylic paint set you can get to start out with, you have to think of what you really need to get going. I suppose that technically you need paint. You could use your finger and paint on your walls. Personally, I don’t want to use my fingers and paint on my walls so I am going to need a little more in my starter kit.
To me, I want everything I need except my hand and some water. This means I need paint, brushes, a canvas, some kind of easel, and preferably at least a palette. With at least these pieces I can set up and start actually painting. Following that logic, all of the kits I have on my best acrylic paint set list contain these pieces at a minimum. You won’t find cheap sets that include nothing but paint and brushes because they are really worthless to the beginning painter.
Whether you are buying a paint set for adults or kids, you need everything.
Starting off the list of the best acrylic paint set you can get is this basic, but complete kit, the U.S. Art Supply 39-Piece Acrylic Artist Painting Set. It includes 22 different brushes, 12 colors of paint, 2 canvases, an easel, and a color wheel.
There is nothing fancy in this acrylic paint set with brushes at all, but what you do get is a very function kit with reasonably good quality components at a good price. That is why it tops my list. Everything you need to start painting right now, and nothing in the box that will let you down. I am particularly pleased with the little metal easel which at this price point I was expecting it to be destined for the trash can. To my surprise, it is remarkably stable with the sized canvases included in the kit.
No, I don’t want to try and paint a 20″x24″ canvas on it, but for what you get with the kit, it is remarkably usable.
The next step up the best acrylic paint set list is this S & E TEACHER’S EDITION Complete Acrylic Paint Set. For about $15 extra dollars you move to 24 paints, a set of paint knives, some foam brushes, 4 more canvases, and extra palette, a smock, and a nicer easel. It is hard to argue the value of this kit!
In fact, I would say this is the best value for your money of any acrylic paint set with easel on this best acrylic paint set list.
One downside here is that the brushes are not that great of quality, passable, yes, but you will soon want something better. I am also not a huge fan of the easel. It is nicer than the previous metal one, but also less stable. I really like the sliding top where it grabs the canvas but the whole thing is a bit light. This is easily solvable by setting something on the back of the stand with some heft. A couple of books work just fine.
Overall it really is a great value even with the little quibbles.
This Complete Acrylic Paint Set by Glokers. ups the ante by including nicer brushes, paint knives, canvases, easel, and a wooden palette. Everything about this kit (except the paints) is just a lot nicer than previous kits on my best acrylic paint set list.
Why except the paint? There is nothing wrong with the paints, they are fine acrylic paint for beginners, there just are not as many as the previous kit, 12 12ml paints in this kit vs 24 12ml paints in the previous kit. Technically I suppose you can mix all the colors that the previous kit could, but you still only start with half the total quantity of paint.
I can overlook that because the brushes and easel are far and away superior to the previous kits. Even if you discount everything else, the brushes and easel upgrades more than earn the extra money you pay for this kit over the previous one.
Meeden makes some amazing kits, not the least of which is this MEEDEN 66-Piece Acrylic Painting Set with Solid Beech Wood Table Easel which not only includes everything the starting artist needs from a best acrylic paint set, but does it with high-quality components that will last the artist long after they run out of the paint that comes with this kit.
Speaking of paints, this kit comes with 48 colors, each in a 22ml tube. That means you get 1056ml of paint as compared to the previous kit’s 144ml. Talk about a steal! And before you ask, yes, these are excellent paints, almost professional acrylic paint if you ask me.
You might notice that this kit only includes four canvases, but before you get disappointed, note that three of them are 9″x12″ while the largest canvases in the previous kit were 8″x10″. Oh wait, I said four canvases in this kit, the fourth is 11″x14″! But you say that quantity is more important than size when just starting out? True enough, which is why this kit includes an acrylic painting pad with 15 sheets of 9″x12″ paper to practice on before you ever touch a canvas!
Also included are a wooden palette (my favorite type of palette), and a paint color wheel to help you mix the right color. In addition, these are the best acrylic paint brushes of any kit listed here.
This is the second best acrylic paint set on this list if you are serious about getting started in acrylic painting.
My absolute favorite kit on this list is the MEEDEN 70-Piece Premium Acrylic Painting Set – Solid Beech Wood Easel box. Take the previous set which, as you read, I kinda gushed over, and add a serviceable set of paint knives and build the easel into a beautiful wooden box that stores all your painting supplies and you have this kit.
Yes, this kit removes one of the canvases and shrinks another to 8″x10″, but the tradeoff is well worth it in my opinion. Having a place to store everything, particularly one that goes wherever the easel goes, is just too nice to discount the price of a couple of canvases. It is not just big enough to store what it included in the kit but extra brushes, more paints, a pencil for sketching, some rulers, and much more.
You could even store a small Sta-Wet Palette inside the box on top of your paints!
I hope you enjoyed my article on the best acrylic paint set!
