As an artist, I know the importance of having a good art set.
It can make all the difference in bringing out your creative genius or inspiring someone else’s creativity.
So, in this post, I share my recommendation for the best professional art sets you can get today, so you can invest in the tools you need…
Overview: The Best Artist Kits in 2023
With Wood Easel, Acrylic Paint, 4 Paper Pads, Canvas Panels, Brushes, Color Pencil Set, Hardbound Sketchbook and Plastic Palette
With 3 x 50 Page Drawing Pad, Deluxe Art Set in Portable Wooden Case-Painting & Drawing Set Professional Art Kit for Kids, Teens and Adults/Perfect Gift
142 piece full art set is the full range of colors and art tools
80-Piece Professional Art Set from Royal & Langnickel, known for producing high quality art supplies and materials
40-Piece set, Complete Artist Kit Includes Charcoals, Pastels and Zippered Carry Case, Includes Rare Pop-Up Stand
140 pieces crayolas and art tools professional art set for kids
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Best Large Full Art Set in 2023
US Art Supply 171-Piece Painting & Drawing Set with Wood Easel
With Wood Easel, Acrylic Paint, 4 Paper Pads, Canvas Panels, Brushes, Color Pencil Set, Hardbound Sketchbook and Plastic Palette
It’s hard to imagine a more complete and varied full artist kit than this US Art Supply 171-piece package.
This huge set includes:
- Over 100 color and black drawing pencils
- 12 acrylic paints
- 19 paint brushes
- 10 art pads and 6 canvas boards
- Erasers, sharpeners, and other tools
- A Nice wooden easel
I love this set because it will allow any artist to really explore and find out what type of art and medium is best for them, and with so many pads and canvases, they can practice their technique and nurture their creativity to their heart’s content.
I also love the US Art Supply 171-piece painting and drawing full artist set because the paints, pencils and supplies are of such high quality – I really do think this is important so that any artist can see and realize the best that they are capable of, and not be discouraged by poor quality and poor results.
A big, excellent full art set, the US Art Supply 171-Piece Painting & Drawing Set with Wood Easel is the best large full art kit available, and my choice as the ultimate starter set.
Best Small Full Art Set in 2023
Cool Bank 85 Piece Professional Art Set
With 3 x 50 Page Drawing Pad, Deluxe Art Set in Portable Wooden Case-Painting & Drawing Set Professional Art Kit for Kids, Teens and Adults/Perfect Gift
I guess “small” may not be the best word to describe the Cool Bank 85-piece professional art set, which has a gigantic selection of pencils, paints, brushes, and an awesome range of colors.
By including oil pencils rather than very expensive oil paints, the Cool Bank set can keep the quality of all the supplies very high and still have plenty of paints and paint supplies to keep anybody busy exploring.
In fact, the quality of the supplies here is so high, and the selection is so well thought out, including:
- Brilliant, long-lasting paints
- A useful range of excellent drawing pencils
- Lots and lots of art paper
- Watercolors, acrylics, and oil pastels
The Cool Bank 85-piece professional art set is ideal for an already-established professional artist who wants to keep a whole working kit on hand for whatever reason.
And still, it is a dream come true for any aspiring artist, and even good for kids, with all materials fully non-toxic.
My choice for not just the best small full art set available on the market today but the best full art set for professional artists – the Cool Bank 85 Piece Professional Art Set.
Best Value Art Supply Kit in 2023
Art 101 142 Piece Full Art Set with Wooden Case
This surprisingly large and complete – and surprisingly inexpensive – full art set is an absolutely amazing value, and a perfect gift for any fledgling artist.
Especially nice with the Art 101 142 pieces full art set is the full range of colors and the way the set encourages and supports exploration into color usage and color combinations – a very important thing in learning art and establishing your own personal style and vision.
The set includes:
- watercolors
- oil paints
- really good colored pencils
- crayons
- paintbrushes
- sketch pencils
- palettes
- a nice wooden box
- and lots more.
The only thing not included are sketch pads, painting pads or canvases, and I definitely recommend getting some big, high quality mixed-media paper to give your art plenty of room:
This brilliant set will, I’m sure, inspire and encourage any new artist. My choice for best value full art kit today and a perfect gift idea – is the Art 101 142 Piece Full Art Set with Wooden Case.
Best Professional Art Set for Kids and Teens in 2023
Crayola Inspiration Art Case 140 Piece Art Set for Children
This set is all about colors. Lots and lots of beautiful colors. So many colors, in fact, that any kid could get lost in imagination and inspiration and chase their ideas wherever they take them.
Definitely not some stuffy advanced artist kit with expensive paints, fine hair brushes, and linseed oil, the Crayola Inspiration art set is designed for kids, with very sturdy, bright, and easy-to-use supplies a tough plastic case. It’s really all about having fun with art!
This wonderful set includes:
- 64 crayons
- 20 colored pencils
- 40 washable markers
- 15 sheets of art paper
A brilliant fundamental set to help kids find their own sense of color theory, as well as to develop talent, technique, artistic freedom, expression, and even joy, the completely non-toxic Crayola Inspiration Art Case 140 Piece Art Set for Children is the best full art kit for kids I’ve ever seen – and a wonderfully whimsical and inspiring gift for grown-ups too.
If you are looking instead for a great starter art kit for tweens or teens, who may be just a little too cool for Crayons (as if!), the US Art Supply 171-Piece Painting & Drawing Set with Wood Easel reviewed above is really the perfect choice. And you can get the Crayola set for yourself!
Best Premium Art Supplies Set for Painting in 2023
Royal & Langnickel Premier 80-Piece Multi-Media Art Set and Painting Chest
My recommendation for the best full art set for painting might surprise a few of you.
After all, I am not recommending one of the huge sets with fancy wooden easels and a gazillion pieces.
Instead, I am offering a smaller set (though still way more than complete) that focuses on quality and offers the new or student painter the best experience and possible results – and so the most encouragement.
The Royal & Langnickel Premier 80-piece multi-media art set offers the best quality paints and brushes I’ve ever seen in an all-in-one paint set and includes:
- 12 tubes of Essentials brand oil paint
- 12 tubes Essentials brand acrylic paint
- 12 tubes Essentials brand watercolor paint
- 12 watercolor cakes
- 6 golden Taklon watercolor brushes
- 6 white Taklon acrylic brushes
- 6 white bristle oil brushes
- 2 graphite sketching pencils
- 1 pencil sharpener
- 1 white eraser
- 1 palette knife
- 1 palette
- 1 bottle of linseed oil
- 1 brush rack
- 3 tutorial books (oil painting, acrylic, and watercolor)
- And 1 gorgeous dark wood storage chest
Ok, it does sound like it has a gazillion pieces, but all of the paints, brushes and other supplies are of much better quality than other sets, and I can’t emphasize how important that is when you’re learning to paint.
I even think an established fine art painter would love using this set!
You can get a fancy wooden easel if you’d like, but you might be better served by one of the super stable and easily adjustable metal easels. And I would also suggest you get some canvas boards and a good quality mixed media artist pad. I recommend:
- T-Sign 66″ Fully Adjustable Aluminum Artist Easel for Floor or Table Top
- Madison Primed Canvas Painting Panels 48 Pack Various Sizes
- Castle Art Supplies Acid-Free Artist Sketchbook 9×12 2 Pack
Overall an incredibly high quality, well thought out package that will serve any artist well, and an especially brilliant gift for a new or student painter, the Royal & Langnickel Premier 80-Piece Multi-Media Art Set and Painting Chest is the best art set for painting available today.
Best Art Set for Drawing in 2023
Castle Art Supplies 40 Piece Drawing Set with Zippered Pop-Up Case
40-Piece Kit, Complete Artist Kit Includes Charcoals, Pastels and Zippered Carry Case, Includes Rare Pop-Up Stand
It’s amazing how many people want to learn how to paint without ever learning how to draw.
In fact, many painting teachers insist on drilling their students on the fundamentals of shape and basic representation, line weight, hatching, shading and texture, perspective, and composition with pencils before they are even allowed to touch a paintbrush.
And as much fun as all those wonderful colors are, I think an aspiring artist should know how to draw first. To do that, it is important to have really professional quality drawing supplies, like this Castle Art Supplies 40-piece drawing set.
In fact, the Castle set is as good as I’ve ever seen, without spending big money!
I love the Castle Art Supplies 40-piece drawing set, and in my experience, people also love the simple joy of sketching and really love having a wide enough range of pencils that they can realize on the sketchpad what they see in their mind’s eye.
This set includes:
- 12 Graphite Pencils
- 4 Pastel Pencils
- 3 Charcoal Pencils (Soft, Medium, Hard)
- Soft Graphite Sketching Pencil
- 2 Paper Blending Stumps
- Pencil Extender
- 4 Charcoal Willow Sticks, 3 Charcoal Sticks and 3 Graphite Sticks
- Plastic Sharpener and Two-Holed Sharpener
- Plastic Pencil Eraser and Kneaded Charcoal Eraser
- Sandpaper Block
And it all comes in a really nice and brilliantly designed zippered case which pops up and acts as a pencil stand, making sure all of your supplies are easily at hand (when you’re lost in the creative act and don’t want to be distracted by fumbling for a 5H).
To make your drawing experience as successful and gratifying as possible and to stretch your imagination and artistic possibilities, I also recommend the also professional quality Castle Arts color pencil set, with its amazing range of vibrant colors, as well as a good sketch pad:
- Castle Art Supplies 120 Colored Pencil Set with Zippered Carry Case
- Castle Art Supplies Acid-Free Artist Sketchbook 9×12 2 Pack
With superb quality pencils, a well thought out complete complement of supplies, and its brilliant case, the Castle Art Supplies 40 Piece Drawing Set with Zippered Pop-Up Case is the best art kit I know for drawing and for really developing your technique and your talent, and comes highly recommended – by me and thousands of others! The best art kit for drawing on the market today.
What is the Best Gift I can Get for an Artist?
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If you have a child, a tween or teen to buy a present for, or really anybody, at any age, who wants to learn and explore art and develop their own artistic talent, any one of the above presents would be truly cherished, appreciated and – most importantly – used.
I can’t think of a better present than something that nurtures a person’s creativity and supports their expression and quest to know more about themselves. And I can’t think of a present which can produce so many more beautiful gifts over the time it is used.
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All of the recommendations in my guide for the best art sets available are really great values, considering the amount and quality of supplies they contain.
As I see it, if a person is learning how to paint or draw or just discovering their inner artist, cheap supplies can be frustrating and discouraging and eventually stand in the way of what that person might accomplish.
If a beautiful vision or talent is inside of you, your children, your friends, or anybody else, the right art supplies can help you realize that vision as the most beautiful artwork possible.
And anyway, quality is always the best value!
I really hope you’ve enjoyed my article – Best Art Sets for the Beginning or Professional Artist – and I hope too that you will check my blog – Art Side of Life – for more buyer’s guides, articles, online courses, and many other resources – the perfect site for any artist, aspiring or otherwise!
Other articles in the Artists Kits & Sets series:
- Best Supplies for Travel Art Kit
- Best Gouache Paint Sets
- Best Oil Paint Sets for Artists
- Best Artist Inks
- Best Palette Knives and Pallete Knife Set
Hi, I am Iva (rhymes with “viva”). I am a full-time self-taught artist behind Art Side of Life® and a Top Teacher on Skillshare. I have 15 years of experience in the creative field as a concept designer, illustrator, art director, and now freelance artist, content creator, and art instructor. My goal is to help you get your creative groove on with Procreate and make awesome art through practical classes, tutorials, Procreate brushes, and guides on art tools, supplies and resources. About me »
