Gouache, the Misfit Paint
Gouache is the strange cousin at the paint family reunion. Watercolor shows up translucent, delicate, whispering about light and air. Acrylic barges in loud, glossy, fast-drying. Oil leans in heavy with centuries of prestige. Gouache? Gouache is stubbornly in-between: opaque yet rewettable, flat but rich, as comfortable in a children’s poster as in a modernist’s sketchbook.
This dual nature is what makes it beloved by illustrators and despised by purists. It’s not quite this, not quite that. But that’s its strength: gouache is a medium built for people who like their art messy, experimental, and unafraid of impermanence.
Why Budget Matters
Here’s the thing: gouache can get expensive, fast. Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache, Holbein, Schmincke — gorgeous paints, but often priced like they’ve been ground from powdered Fabergé eggs. And if you’re just learning, dropping sixty dollars on a set is like buying a grand piano to see if you enjoy plinking out scales.
But budget gouache — the kind you can grab for under twenty-five bucks — has its own story. Student-grade, classroom-grade, mass-market tubes and jelly cups: this is the paint most artists actually start with. It’s the cheap stuff that teaches you how gouache behaves, what it can and can’t do, and whether you’ll love it enough to move up.
And, honestly, some of these so-called “student” sets punch above their weight.
What We Tested
For this roundup, I looked at sets widely available online and in art stores, all priced under $25 at the time of testing. Each set went through the same gauntlet:
- Opacity — how well does it cover the page?
- Blendability — smooth transitions or chalky streaks?
- Rewetting — does it revive cleanly or turn into mud?
- Color Strength — how bold are the hues once dry?
- Practicality — packaging, tube quality, storage.
This isn’t just about which set has the prettiest colors. It’s about which cheap paints are worth your time, your sketches, and your limited art budget.
| Set | Price | Colors | Pros | Cons | Best For | Buy Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reeves Gouache | ~$15 | 12 | Decent pigments, smooth blend | Chalky yellows, lower opacity | Beginners practicing flat poster work | Buy on Amazon |
| Arteza Gouache | ~$19 | 12 | Vibrant, generous tubes, reactivates well | Slight streaking, reds lean pink | Sketchbook studies & layering | Buy on Amazon |
| HIMI Jelly Gouache | ~$23 | 18 | Creamy, many colors, fun format | Mold risk, lightfastness varies | Students & hobbyists experimenting | Buy on Amazon |
| Royal & Langnickel Gouache | ~$12 | 12 | Very affordable, easy spreading | Low opacity, fades fast | Kids, classroom use | Buy on Amazon |
| Marie’s Gouache | ~$14 | 12 | Strong blacks & whites, decent opacity | Inconsistent texture, muted hues | Mixing practice, budget learners | Buy on Amazon |
Gouache in History: From Palaces to Posters
For a paint often sold today in wobbly plastic jelly cups, gouache carries an oddly aristocratic lineage. The word itself comes from the Italian guazzo — “mud.” Medieval monks used it to illuminate manuscripts, laying down opaque color where gold leaf caught the candlelight. In the 18th century, gouache was the plaything of court artists: think of miniatures on ivory, powdered wigs translated into powdered pigment.
Then, in the 20th century, gouache went proletarian. It became the workhorse of commercial art — poster designers, fashion illustrators, propaganda offices. Its flat, matte finish photographed beautifully for reproduction. Soviet Constructivists and mid-century advertisers both leaned on gouache for its unapologetic clarity: a red that stayed red, a black that swallowed the page whole.
So while oil paintings lounged in galleries and watercolors went plein air with their parasols, gouache rolled up its sleeves and plastered the streets with color. That democratic streak has never left it. Today, it’s the medium of illustrators, sketchbook addicts, designers — and, yes, anyone hunting for a good set under $25.
1. Reeves Gouache (12-Color Set)
Reeves has been around long enough to smell faintly of art classrooms and cheap easels. If you’ve taken a beginner’s art class in the last fifty years, chances are you’ve met these little tubes. They’re the quintessential “student gouache” — modest, unpretentious, and more than a little chalky.
Price: about $15 for 12 tubes.
On paper, Reeves delivers what you expect: a dozen colors that cover the basics. The pigments don’t exactly roar; they whisper. The reds lean polite, the yellows fade if you overwork them, and the blues don’t have the depth of pricier sets. But here’s the surprise: for flat, graphic work — poster-style blocks of color, rough sketchbook studies — Reeves does the job.
Opacity is hit-or-miss. Lay it thick and it can hold; glaze it thin and it collapses into watercolor weakness. The texture is a bit grainy, as though you’re dragging the ghost of classroom tempera across the page. Yet there’s a charm in that limitation. Reeves gouache reminds you that paint is not sacred — it’s a tool. It dries quickly, it blends decently if you catch it while wet, and it won’t punish you for experimenting.
In a way, Reeves gouache embodies the democratic streak of gouache history. This isn’t paint for galleries. It’s paint for learning, for messing up, for discovering what you like without emptying your wallet.
Best for: Beginners, poster-style sketches, and anyone who needs a cheap workhorse for experiments.
Testing Notes: Reeves in Action
To see how Reeves handled, I sketched a quick street scene: gray buildings, a splash of red signage, yellow windows glowing. The black came down like ink — strong, velvety, no complaints. The red, though, had to be layered three times before it stopped sulking into transparency. The yellow? Chalky, like trying to paint with powdered eggshells.
But here’s the thing: the overall effect worked. The matte finish gave the drawing that poster-art punch, and the roughness had a kind of honesty. No one would mistake it for designer gouache, but for a practice piece in a sketchbook, it was more than enough.
Best for: Beginners, poster-style sketches, and anyone who needs a cheap workhorse for experiments.
2. Arteza Gouache (12-Color Set)
Arteza is the brand that tries to sit at the grown-ups’ table while still sneaking candy from the kids’. Their gouache feels like that too — student grade, yes, but with ambitions. Twelve generous tubes, each a little plumper than the bargain-bin competition, and colors that arrive on the page brighter than you expect at this price point.
Price: around $19–22 for 12 tubes.
The first thing you notice is vibrancy. The reds shout, the greens hold their own, and the blues can actually stand up against watercolor skies. Arteza gouache lays down smoother than Reeves, with less of that dusty chalk aftertaste. The catch is in the body: if you spread it too thin, it streaks, leaving brush marks that don’t always blend out.
Where Arteza shines is in layering. Let the first coat dry, come back with a second, and you get a surprisingly bold finish. And unlike some cheap gouache that hardens into chalky tombs on the palette, Arteza revives with a little water, almost eager to return to work.
If Reeves feels like classroom paint, Arteza feels like a sketchbook companion — the set you pull out when you want to chase an idea with a bit more confidence. It’s not Holbein, it’s not Winsor & Newton, but it gets close enough to show you why gouache seduced illustrators in the first place.
Best for: Sketchbook studies, layering experiments, and beginners ready to take a step beyond the cheapest tubes.
Testing Notes: Arteza in Action
For Arteza’s trial, I painted a cluster of oranges on a kitchen counter — warm light, cool shadows. The orange straight from the tube was juicy, no mixing needed. Layered red over it dried rich and opaque, with none of the sulky fading Reeves gave me. The shadow blues streaked on the first pass, but a second layer smoothed it into velvety dusk.
The result wasn’t gallery work, but it looked alive, and that’s the whole point.
3. HIMI Jelly Gouache (18-Color Set)
HIMI is the Instagram darling of gouache — those pastel “jelly cups” lined up in candy-colored trays, waiting to be swirled into with oversized brushes. At first glance, they look more like dessert than art supplies. But once you get past the novelty packaging, you find something interesting: gouache that’s surprisingly creamy, forgiving, and fun.
Price: about $20–25 for 18 colors.
The range of hues is the obvious draw. With 18 cups you get enough variety to play without mixing, which makes it especially beginner-friendly. The texture is luscious, almost pudding-like, and the paint goes down smooth. It dries matte and bold, holding color better than you’d expect for the price.
But HIMI gouache carries its own quirks. Leave the lid loose and you’ll come back to cracked, moldy cups — the jelly can turn on you if not cared for. And while most colors hold their vibrancy, some of the pastels fade faster than you’d like, especially under strong light. This isn’t the set for archival work, but it is excellent for practice, illustration, or sketchbook fun.
There’s something about the HIMI set that captures gouache’s democratic soul. It doesn’t try to imitate professional tubes; it makes gouache playful, almost tactile. If Reeves is classroom chalk and Arteza is student ambition, HIMI is gouache as candy store — accessible, colorful, and unapologetically unserious.
Best for: Hobbyists, students, and anyone who wants a big palette for experiments without mixing.
Testing Notes: HIMI in Action
For HIMI, I tried a quick mountain landscape: teal sky, purple slopes, bright green trees. The teal went down like silk, no streaking. The purples were a little thin, but a second pass deepened them into something stormy. The greens — pre-mixed and plentiful — made the trees pop without fussing at the palette.
When I closed the lid, though, I realized the gamble: if I don’t seal it carefully, tomorrow’s mountain might smell like mold instead of pine. HIMI rewards care, but when it works, it sings.
4. Royal & Langnickel Gouache (12-Color Set)
Royal & Langnickel is the kind of brand you find stacked on clearance shelves or packed into kids’ art kits. Their gouache wears that reputation too — it is the cheapest of the cheap, the underdog of this lineup. At just over ten dollars for a dozen tubes, it almost dares you to lower your expectations. And yes, they’re low. But here’s the twist: sometimes low expectations make room for surprise.
Price: about $10–12 for 12 tubes.
Straight from the tube, the colors look bold enough. But lay them down on paper and you feel the limits. The opacity is thin, especially in yellows and light blues. Blendability is modest; instead of merging, the pigments tend to sit side by side, creating uneven patches. And don’t expect permanence — left in direct sunlight, these colors fade like cheap posters in a shop window.
Yet in spite of all this, Royal & Langnickel gouache has a role. Its ease of spreading makes it accessible for classrooms and casual play. It dries fast, forgiving quick mistakes, and its matte finish still gives drawings that gouache look. For a first brush with the medium — especially for kids, hobbyists, or anyone wanting a “no-fear” set — it delivers a gentle introduction.
It won’t teach you the subtleties of layering or the joys of deep opacity, but it will let you dip a toe into gouache’s flat, graphic world without guilt. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Best for: Kids, classrooms, or beginners who want to test gouache with the least possible investment.
Testing Notes: Royal & Langnickel in Action
I painted a simple harbor scene: blue water, gray boats, orange buoys. The blue spread thin, leaving streaks like uneven watercolor. The orange buoy needed three layers to glow, but once it did, it held its place. The gray mixed easily, though, and dried to a smooth, almost poster-like finish.
It wasn’t durable, it wasn’t deep, but it looked charming in the sketchbook — like a faded postcard you keep for its memory rather than its quality.
5. Marie’s Gouache (12-Color Set)
Marie’s has the aura of an old student brand, the kind of set that has been floating around art classrooms and studio starter kits for decades. It’s cheap, yes, but it carries a surprising weight of history: many illustrators and designers first cut their teeth on Marie’s before moving to pricier paints. In some ways, this set feels like a rite of passage.
Price: about $12–15 for 12 tubes.
The paints themselves sit somewhere between Reeves and Arteza. The colors are stronger than Reeves — blacks are dense, whites punchy enough to mix skin tones without disappearing. Reds and greens have decent opacity, though some hues come out a bit muted, as though they’re remembering brighter days. The texture can be inconsistent from tube to tube: one opens creamy, the next gummy.
But here’s the unexpected charm: Marie’s is reliable for mixing. The pigments play well together, giving you earthy tones, muted shadows, and balanced skin colors without much effort. For anyone learning how to blend, this is an affordable laboratory.
Marie’s is not glamorous, and it won’t fool you into thinking you’re holding a premium brand. But it does its job. In the long lineage of budget gouache, this set feels like a workhorse — sturdy, unsentimental, and oddly dependable.
Best for: Mixing practice, budget learners, and anyone who wants a no-frills gouache to practice fundamentals.
Testing Notes: Marie’s in Action
I tried Marie’s with a quick portrait study: pale skin, dark hair, muted clothing. The white covered surprisingly well, mixing with red to create a believable blush. The black held its edge in the hair, deep and steady. Some of the mid-tones dried duller than expected, but the overall portrait came together cleanly.
It looked less like a polished artwork and more like a page from a workshop sketchbook — but that’s exactly what Marie’s is built for.
Buying Guide: Choosing the Right Budget Gouache
Budget gouache is a bit like street food. You don’t expect white tablecloths, but you do want flavor, substance, and something that doesn’t poison you. Each set under $25 has its own quirks, and the trick is knowing what you actually need.
1. For Absolute Beginners
If you’re just curious about gouache and don’t want to commit:
- Royal & Langnickel — the cheapest ticket to try the medium.
- Reeves — still student-grade, but steadier, and closer to what “real” gouache feels like.
2. For Sketchbooks and Study
If you already sketch often and want gouache that can keep up without ruining the flow:
- Arteza — vibrant, reliable, great for layering.
- Marie’s — a bit muted, but mixes beautifully, perfect for practicing blends.
3. For Play and Experimentation
If you want fun, lots of colors, and aren’t afraid of quirks:
- HIMI Jelly Gouache — creamy, bright, easy to play with. Just seal it tight unless you want mold as your studio assistant.
4. What to Watch Out For
- Opacity: Budget whites and yellows are often weak. If you plan to mix a lot, consider buying a single pro-grade white (Winsor & Newton Designer’s White, for example) to strengthen your set.
- Lightfastness: Don’t expect permanence. These paints are for practice, sketchbooks, and illustrations, not heirloom canvases.
- Rewetting: One of gouache’s gifts is that it reactivates with water. Good budget sets revive decently (Arteza, HIMI); weaker ones turn chalky (Reeves, Royal & Langnickel).
5. The Bottom Line
- Want the cheapest classroom-style set? Go with Royal & Langnickel.
- Want an affordable workhorse? Reeves or Marie’s.
- Want the most vibrant? Arteza.
- Want the most playful? HIMI Jelly.
At this price, none of these paints will rival the big names. But that’s not the point. Budget gouache is about learning the medium’s language — flatness, rewetting, layering — without fear of wasting paint. And once you know that language, you can decide whether to stick with student grade or move on to the fancier tubes.
Recommended Next Reads
- Mastering Biro Portrait Drawing: A Guide to Precision and Expression
If gouache feels too slippery, try biro. Pen portraits force precision — every stroke counts. - Why Hands and Feet Are the Hardest to Draw (and How to Master Them)
From sketchbooks to paintings, hands and feet test every artist. Here’s how to tackle them. - How to Mix Perfect Greens: Stop Trusting the Tube
Just like gouache whites and yellows, greens are tricky. Learn to mix vibrant, believable greens. - Mastering the Basics of Perspective Drawing: 15 Quick Tips for Beginners
Gouache shines in flat poster-like shapes — but perspective is what gives those shapes depth. - The Universal Cat: How Artists Have Drawn Felines for 30,000 Years
From cave walls to modern sketchbooks, cats have always been practice and muse alike.
Verdict: The Democratic Paint
Gouache has always been the people’s paint. It lit manuscripts in monasteries, covered propaganda posters, and filled sketchbooks long before Instagram. Its strength is not in prestige but in accessibility — the ability to give bold, matte color without ceremony. That spirit is alive even in these under-$25 sets.
- Royal & Langnickel shows you what gouache looks like at its bare minimum — thin, fleeting, but serviceable.
- Reeves carries the weight of classrooms, imperfect yet sturdy enough to teach the basics.
- Marie’s has the patience for mixing, giving beginners a cheap laboratory for learning color.
- Arteza punches above its weight with vibrancy and smooth layering, the closest to feeling “professional” on this list.
- HIMI takes gouache back to play, creamy and fun, more candy store than cathedral.
The truth is, none of these sets will hang in museums. But that’s not their job. Their job is to sit on your desk and make you pick up a brush. To let you fail cheaply, try wildly, and discover whether gouache’s flat, velvety color is your language. If it is, you’ll eventually graduate to pricier brands. If it isn’t, you’ll still have learned something: that art can be messy, democratic, and done with paint that costs less than a night out.
And that, really, is the point.