Should I use pans or tubes, what’s the difference?

Both pans and tubes offer the same quality of watercolor, but they differ in how the paint is used and handled.

Pans  are compact, clean, and easy to control, making them a popular choice for travel, sketching, and everyday use. They also encourage a more gradual approach to color mixing, which can be helpful for building confidence and precision.

Tubes, on the other hand, contain fresh, moist paint that can be used immediately. They are ideal for working on larger areas or when you need more intense color quickly, as they allow you to load more pigment onto your brush with ease.

Many artists enjoy combining both formats. You can, for example, fill empty pans with paint from tubes and let them dry, giving you the convenience of pans with the flexibility of tubes, truly the best of both worlds.