Watercolors for kids, from pods to liquid paint

Our recommendations

Brightest neon results

OOLY Chroma Blends Watercolor Set

The set for an elementary kid who’s bored of red, yellow and blue. The half-pans are small, though, and enthusiastic painters use them up quickly.

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Worth knowing.

• On cheap paper or good paper, the neon pans come out high-contrast.
• The metal tin is small enough to go to art class in a backpack.
• Layered neons keep their punch, and blending doesn’t turn them muddy straight away.

Best for travel and restaurants

OOLY Lil Watercolor Paint Pods

Lil Pods suit restaurant tables and the back seat. Each color has its own lid, and paint on hands rinses off with water.

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Worth knowing.

• With every lid snapped on, a tipped-over kit spills far less.
• Plain water gets the washable paint off skin.
• Takes up little room in an activity kit or carry-on bag.

Best school-list value

Cra-Z-Art Washable Watercolors

The cheap, broad palette that ticks the box on a kindergarten or early elementary list. Expect paler color than liquid or artist-grade paint.

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Worth knowing.

• A sixteen-color tray handles most classroom assignments without a second set.
• Soap and water gets the washable paint out of clothes.
• The brush clips into the lid, so it doesn’t get lost.

Best for group and station play

Colorations Liquid Watercolor Paint

Colorations Liquid belongs on a supervised table where an adult dilutes it into cups for a group of kids.

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Worth knowing.

• Colorations is concentrated: a few drops tint a cup of water to a strong wash, no pan to scrub.
• Eight ounces of concentrate goes a long way once it’s diluted for refills.
• It’s paraben-free, if that’s a preservative you avoid.

How I narrowed it down

• Put the Chroma Blends tin’s size and pan count next to the Lil Pods to see how differently they travel.
• Checked the Colorations bottle volume and paraben-free claim, and the Cra-Z-Art pan count and washable label.
• Read the makers’ age recommendations on all four to sort preschool sets from elementary ones.
• Whether a brush comes in the box, and where it’s stored, for Cra-Z-Art and both OOLY sets.

I'm Matt, a dad of two boys. If we've used something at home, the card says personally tested. The rest I read up on. I keep a weekly list of kids' product recalls. How I pick.