To help you find the best acrylic paint set, we have tried out a multitude of top products, testing them for ease of use, making sure they produced consistent colors and shades, preferring items made with non-toxic formulations. We also liked sets that contained a wide variety of color options and those that arrived in sturdy storage boxes. Acrylic paints are undoubtedly some of the best tools in an artist’s arsenal and these 6 are the best of the best.
The best product we tried was the Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint Set, which features 36 color options, each with fade-resistant ingredients that excel with canvas painting. The paint is non-toxic, ACMI-certified, and comes in a handy storage container that helps keep each color accessible and categorized. Keep reading to learn more about the Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint Set and the other items on this list.
Top 6 Best Acrylic Paint Sets
#1 Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint Set
Award: TOP PICK
WHY WE LIKE IT: Produces accurate and consistent colors in a variety of unique and gorgeous options, with a non-toxic formulation that is safe for kids and shipping with a handy storage container.
- Unique and gorgeous color options
- Non-toxic and safe for kids
- Arrives in a storage container
- Not for glass surfaces
This Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint pouches are a fantastic option offering 36 unique and gorgeous color options, each producing a consistent result on canvases and other surfaces. This is an artist grade paint as opposed to student grade acrylic paints. The formulation is non-toxic, ACMI-certified, and arrives in a large storage container, which helps with both accessibility and categorization. We also loved the tight-sealing caps, helping to keep each tube fresh for long periods of time.
Related: Cut the perfect firewood for those cold nights you spend painting with the best axe available.
Though the 36 color options on offer are certainly adequate, there are some picks on this list with more colors. Additionally, these paints excel on a variety of surfaces but don’t do so well on glass, though you can add a layer of resin afterwards. Always buy the best spray paint for your projects.
#2 Liquitex BASICS 48 Tube Acrylic Paint Set
Award: HONORABLE MENTION
WHY WE LIKE IT: Professional grade multipack manufactured by the company that invented acrylic paints, with 48 colors available and a formula that dries quickly.
Read Full Review: Liquitex Basics Acrylic Paint Multicolor
- Best for professional artists
- High quality pigments
- 48 colors
- 22 ml tubes
- Strong odor
- Does not ship with brushes
This Liquitex BASICS 36 Tube Acrylic Paint Set is a fantastic multipack that ships with 36 color options, each featuring professional grade pigment that produces a fantastic end result, manufactured by the company that actually invented acrylic paint. This is an artist grade paint as opposed to student grade acrylic paints too. The high quality pigments, which excel with lightfastness, make this the best acrylic paint for professional artists. And because the pigments passed extensive tests for lightfastness, your paintings will withstand fading or color shifting, and stay true and vibrant. We also loved just how quickly this paint dries, achieving a full dry in just 20 minutes or so.
These professional-grade paints do produce a strong odor, however, though it fades after drying. Also, these tubes are 22 ml each and there are larger containers on this list. You may also want to try the best airless paint sprayer.
#3 Soho Urban Artist Heavy Body Acrylic Paint Set
Award: BEST BUDGET
WHY WE LIKE IT: Budget-friendly product that contains 24 tubes of heavy body paint in a variety of vibrant colors that each feature good water-resistance once fully dried.
- Excellent water-resistance once dry
- High quality pigments
- Heavy body product
- 24 color options, though can be combined
- Tubes on the smaller side, at 12ml
- Glossy finish may not be for everyone
This Soho Urban Artist Heavy Body Acrylic Paint Set is an extremely budget-friendly multipack with plenty of high end features, including a heavy body formula with extremely vibrant colors. These paints excel on a wide variety of surface types and offer some decent water-resistance once they are fully dried, in addition to offering resistance from dust and atmospheric conditions. These acrylics are saturated with pigment in order to provide a wide range of tints from any of the 24 assorted colors.
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Though this is certainly a high quality set, it only comes with 24 colors to choose from, though they can easily be combined to create new colors, or diluted with water. Additionally, these tubes are on the small side, at 12 ml each, so may not be the best acrylic paint for large paintings. You can also use the best fine tip paint brush for details.
#4 Sargent Art Acrylic Paint Set
Award: BIGGEST CONTAINERS
WHY WE LIKE IT: Ships in large 16 oz containers, which are perfect for creating pour paintings, with a non-toxic formulation that is water-resistant once it fully dries.
Read Full Review: Sargent Art 24 2498 12Count Quality
- Best for pouring
- Water-resistant after drying
- Non-toxic formulation
- Does not excel with pottery
- Matte finish may not suit all consumers
- Only 12 colors
This Sargent Art Acrylic Paint Set arrives in large 16 ounce containers, with a formulation that is non-toxic and safe for kids to use. This is the best acrylic paint for pouring, due to the aforementioned large container size and a medium thickness that easily adheres to a wide variety of surface types. We also loved how this paint is water-resistant after it dries, further enhancing its uses.
Though we got fantastic results from this set, it is only available in 12 colors, which is less than most of the picks on this list. Also, this is a matte finish product, which may not suit the needs of all consumers. For clothing, the best fabric markers are perfect.
#5 MEEDEN 145 Piece Deluxe Artist Painting Set with French Easel
Award: BEST START KIT
WHY WE LIKE IT: Amazing starter kit that comes with just about anything you’ll need as a budding artist, including 48 acrylic paint tubes, an assortment of oil and watercolor paint tubes, multiple brushes, 2 high quality canvases and a French easel.
- Best paint brushes
- Canvases are already primed
- Acrylic paint of a high quality
- Does not come with instructions to build easel
- Easel is somewhat heavy at 16 lb
- Plastic color palette is of a low quality
This MEEDEN 145 Piece Deluxe Artist Painting Set with French Easel comes with a whole lot of goodies, including 48 acrylic paint tubes, 24 oil paint tubes, 24 watercolor tubes, two primed stretch canvasses and a French style easel, among other items. The included brushes, ten for each paint type, were among the best acrylic paint brushes we tried. Everything is of a high quality, including the acrylic paint, which we found to be nearly as good as our top picks.
There were no included instructions on how to build the wooden easel, though we managed to find some online and get it built in several minutes. Additionally, the plastic color palette is somewhat shoddy, though everything else in this set is of a high quality. For some projects, you may want the best rust converter.
#6 U.S. Art Supply 24 Color Acrylic Paint Jar Set
Award: BEST WARRANTY
WHY WE LIKE IT: Comes in large 3.3 oz containers that open easily, allowing for easy disbursement of paint, with a non-toxic formula that produces smooth and even colors.
- Best for large paintings
- Non-toxic and safe for kids
- Smooth and even colors
- Glossy finish may not suit all consumers
- Some colors require 2 coats
- 24 colors, some picks have more
This U.S. Art Supply 24 Color Acrylic Paint Jar Set arrives in fairly large 3.3 ounce containers that are easy to open and dip paint brushes into, helping to make this the best acrylic paint for large paintings. We loved the smooth and even colors that these paints produce and that the formulation is non-toxic and safe for kids. The lifetime warranty is also a fantastic addition.
There are only 24 hours on offer here, though they can easily be diluted with water or combined to create new variants. Also, some of the colors are fairly opaque, requiring more than one coat in order to produce the desired effect.
Note: Other notable products for acrylic painting worth mentioning here that are not on our list but may top the 10 best acrylic paints list are the Winsor Newton Artists Acrylic, good for beginners that has the smooth consistency of oil paints.
There’s also the Liquitex BASICS heavy body acrylics paint ideal for traditional painting, that gives you a permanent color with knife marks and crisp brush strokes, perfect for acrylic painting. Compared to the basics version, it has more pigment load per volume per color.
Then there is also the M. Graham & Co. acrylic paint set with a high pigment load, a thicker consistency (similar to oil paints), with a rich range of colors and lightfastness. The M Graham is made in the USA and is highly pigmented.
The Chroma Atelier Interactive Artists Acrylics have a unique feature – a slow drying time, so they retain wetness.
Next is the Golden Heavy Body Introductory Set, which is a set of 6 golden acrylics known for their smooth and buttery consistency, and offer lightfastness and excellent permanency. Pigments with lightfastness and buttery consistency ensure your paintings will withstand fading or color shifting, and stay true and vibrant.
These mentioned art supplies are student grade quality paints so they may not be the best quality acrylic paints, but they’re good for starters. For professionals, there’s the Winsor newton professional acrylic paints. This Winsor Newton is the highest quality acrylic painting set with unmatched color brilliance and permanence that gives you a longer working time without compromising on the drying time.
How We Decided
To help narrow down to the above list, we focused primarily on paints that produced vivid and accurate colors that could be applied smoothly and evenly. To that end, we chose paints that were available in a variety of containers, some via squeeze tube design and others in jars big enough for most paint brushes to fit into.
We liked sets that came with many color options, as many as 48 in the case of our number two pick, with formulas that could easily dissolve in water, for the creation of lighter colors, and combine. We also liked paints that were made without the use of toxic ingredients and, as such, were suitable for children.
We also liked formulas that dried quickly and those that offered some form of water-resistance once it was dried. Finally, we populated the above list with a nice mix of paints that feature matte finishes and glossy finishes, to suit a variety of different tastes, and those with different thickness levels, for different surface types.
Best Acrylic Paint Set Buyer’s Guide
The Most Important Features to Consider
- Color Choices and Mixing
Generally speaking, the more colors available in a set the better. Even if there are just several colors, however, you can still create just about any color imaginable via paint-on-paint mixing and diluting with water. Take a look at your chosen product and see what you are working with. You’ll be surprised at the options available. - Finish Options
Acrylic paints come in a variety of finish options. These include gloss, which give the paint a smooth and shiny appearance, and matte, which is better at covering up imperfections on the surface. There is also satin, which tends to reflect more light than other options, and flat, which is low on bells and whistles but can cost less and provide more coverage. Additionally, there are different thickness and opacity options, which dictate how many coats you are likely to need. - Toxicity
Back when acrylic paints first entered the consumer sphere, over 50 years ago, there were several colors that were made from questionable materials. That has just changed in the modern, however, as today’s acrylics are typically non-toxic and safe for children to use. This goes for every pick on the above list.
