Remember those cute little box sets of art materials that we used to have or receive during special occasions as a kid? Well, they also have a professional artist version of those. However, not everyone is very keen with the idea of giving professional artist kits to their loved ones or simply buying them for themselves for some reasons. These professional artist kits are often compared with the child-version but do they have the same quality? Accordingly, there is somehow a false notion that all artist’s kits are the same, leading to the prejudice that all kits are of poor quality and cannot produce quality artworks. But the question is, will you get the same materials as well as the same results as a child’s art kit? Well, that’s what we’re going to find out in this article.
To know more about these familiar art kits, we will be listing the pros and cons of these as well as providing a list of the best professional artist kits brands that you can purchase online or in several arts and crafts stores. So, keep on reading to know more!
What are Professional Artist Kits?
Before we settle into the debate on whether or not they’re worthy of your purchase, let’s take some time first to know these kits even more so that you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into. These popular art kits are a great alternative to individual supplies for beginner artists and those artists who want to experiment with a new medium.
Art sets offer different supplies all beautifully put into one box. Though the materials included inside vary from brand to brand, the most common ones include pastels, colored pencils, watercolor or paints, markers, pencils, erasers, brushes, and many more. Prices usually vary but the pricey ones tend to have better artistic quality compared to cheaper ones. Because they are frequently built as a low-cost tool to experiment with various mediums, the quality of the items is generally student-grade or meant for amateurs. Despite the word "professional" associated with these art kits, they're also an excellent choice for newbies who want to have an idea about painting or sketching before investing in the higher-quality equipment available in stores.
The Good and the Bad Side of Professional Artist Kits
Before you ultimately decide on whether you should purchase one or not, it will be a good thing to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of these kits.
THE PROS
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Compact:
Since these art kits often come in a suitcase-like storage, artist kits are very compact, convenient, and easy to carry, especially for beginners who aim to use them whenever they want to paint in an outside set-up or during art classes. Thus, they’re not much of a burden to carry so it allows traveling artists to carry art materials wherever they go, even to far places.
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Almost complete materials:
Perhaps one of the main advantages of having art kits like these as a beginner is that they have the materials that you need to start in creating the art genre you prefer. Since most beginners find it difficult to select the right materials for them due to the MULTITUDE of types of brushes, paint hues, paper, pencils, erasers, and so forth, professional artist kits alleviate this frustration from art beginners, therefore encouraging them to pursue their craft even more.
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A much more viable option than buying individual materials:
Most beginners will typically have to spend more than $200 USD to complete the art materials that they need as they start with their art set-up. However, quality art kits usually cost below $150 USD and the great thing is that it provides almost everything the artist needs– it may even come with two different mediums and a portable easel. Some art kits even have mixed media options to allow artists to experiment with their preferred choices in one compact set.
THE CONS
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Choosing the best art kit for you can be quite a difficult task:
Art kits vary in composition, design, and features, hence making it difficult to choose the right art set for you, whether you are a newbie or a professional. It is important to select a great professional artist kit for you so that the kit is worth the purchase. Otherwise, you’ll end up with subpar level art sets that bring you poor results which can deteriorate your motivation in creating artworks. The best way to deal with this is to read the brand’s review online before making the purchase. Whether the brand is popular or not, try reading at least five reviews (better if it’s more) before you spend your money on the kit.
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The range of colors can be limited:
Since kits are meant to be convenient and mostly basic for artists, color range, whether in pencils, watercolors, and paint hues, can be very basic, not providing you with enough range of colors that you’d like the kit to have.
The Best Professional Artist Kits to Have this Year
Now that we have discussed some of the pros and cons of having these kits, and if we might have convinced you that they’re worth the purchase as a beginner in this pursuit, then this section will recommend some of the best art kits that you might want to consider purchasing.
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COLOR BLOCK 152-piece Wooden Easel Painting & Drawing Mixed Media Art Set:
This premium painting kit for adults, kids, teens, and beginners includes an all-media easel art set that is great for artists who wish to experiment with different art mediums such as acrylic paints, oil pastels, watercolor, and metallic pencils. This artist kit is a treasure full of high-quality, non-toxic painting, drawing, and sketching materials for you to experiment with and learn about your favorite creative forms. Painting with acrylic or watercolor, drawing with soft and oil pastels, or sketching with charcoal or colored pencils are all options. All of the pencils are nicely stored in three different color-coded pencil cases.
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COOL BANK’s 85-Piece Art Set:
For less than $50 USD, you can purchase this deluxe kit that includes all of the required tools for a beginner all the way to a professional artist. This is an ideal art kit for both adults and children. The kit comes in a travel-size kit storage so that you can bring your materials with you wherever you go in a neatly-organized manner.
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MEEDEN 148-Piece Deluxe Artist Painting Set :
This fantastic art set is ideal for developing children's imaginations! A wonderful present for your budding artist, older children, students or art enthusiasts. The brand updated their collection through the kit by adding metallic paints, white and black canvases, a larger mixing area of the painting palette, a versatile 15-piece paintbrush set with two-piece metal oil paint knives as an alternative to three groups of paintbrushes and six-piece plastic oil paint knives.
