If you’re an already practicing artist who wants to switch to oil paint from another medium, or just a beginner on the path of painting, you probably know that oil paints are very fascinating. They are thick, shiny, and very pleasant to work with.

And if you ever looked at the prices of oil paints, you might have noticed that some of the prices are pretty high, unlike, for example, acrylics.

Since pure pigments are used while making oil paints, they can be priced really high – and the price itself depends on how much pigment is inside the paint and which pigment it is.

But don’t let that stop you from trying this gorgeous, classical, satisfying material. Because student grade oil paints exist, and they are here to assist you on your artistic journey.

 

What are student (also known as academy) grade oil paints in general?

Student Grade Oil Paint – are paints that have less concentration of pigment in them, which makes them much more affordable than professional paints. They are made with more cost-effective methods, and mineral pigments can sometimes be replaced with cheaper substitutes and hues. Their benefit is that every color of student grade paints has the same price.

This price difference does bring some limitations. The color range of student grade paints is limited, and their colors are usually a bit duller in comparison to premium-quality paints. But in terms of opacity and consistency, they are pretty much the same.

You can mix different brands of student grade paints with each other, and it wouldn’t cause any problems. Of course, if you mix the same kinds of oils. That surely gives more freedom.

In the long run, student grade paints are mostly meant for studies and practice, rather than massive works that need to be long-lasting. Therefore, they are incredibly useful for beginners, because they are affordable and allow you to practice a lot, experiment, and cover large areas. Lots of artists use them for underpainting.

Actually, it doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or a professional artist, student grade paints can do a good job for anyone. And, as far as you can see, they can also save you a lot of money.

So, don’t be afraid and suspicious of their prices, since good brands won’t let the lower price ruin the quality to the point where it becomes visible.

 

What brands of student grade oil paints are good, you might ask? We solved this problem for you and picked a few of them to choose from.

 

Best Student Grade Oil Paint 

Winsor & Newton 1490621 Winton Paint Set, Assorted

Winsor & Newton oil paints combine affordability and quality since moderately priced pigments are used in them instead of reduced pigment load. It keeps the color performance extremely good and vibrant. Their consistency is stiff and pleasant, offering you a great experience.

Since the level of pigmentation is high, these paints have great covering qualities and tinting strength. They also have amazing retention of brush or palette knife strokes. They can really be compared to professional paints despite their price.

You can easily control the glossiness level of each paint color by choosing different surfaces to paint on, or by adding special solvents. So, even though the sheen may vary from one color to another, this can be easily controlled, and the paints would be just the way you need them to be.

This particular set features ten student grade oil paints of various colors in tubes, as well as a high-quality brush, that is designed specifically for oils. It also contains some textured paper that is good for oil painting and practicing as well.

 

Royal & Langnickel Oil Color Artist Tube Paint, 24-Pack

These oil paints have amazing quality for using them in your studio or in the classroom. They are highly pigmented, and it gives them all the qualities that artists usually look for in their painting mediums.

These paints have amazing abilities to mix without any problems, including mixing with the paints of other brands. They have great consistency and medium viscosity to allow that, as well as easy and smooth application to the surfaces, no matter if you prefer a brush or a palette knife.

The drying time of these paints is quite long, as it usually is with oil paints. This will allow you to work more easily without being worried that they would dry in your palette.

This set of oil paints has a wide range of colors for every need: from the most basic ones to those which are used less frequently. So you most likely wouldn’t have to mix them too much. But all of the colors are equally good and vibrant, and would surely make a great artwork together.

 

U.S. Art Supply Professional 24 Color Set of Art Oil Paint

Non-toxic and acid-free oil paints that will help you create true masterpieces, no matter the skill level. This paint set has 24 vibrant and eye-catching colors that feature great quality together with affordability. They would provide great visual results as well as satisfy your artistic needs with their properties.

Such vividness is brought to the paint colors by high-quality pigments that are used in them. While being highly pigmented, the paints also have an amazingly smooth consistency and long drying period. It makes them very easy to blend, glaze over a long period of time, and, overall, to work with.

Due to their consistency and mixing abilities, they would be great for any kind of art: portraits, landscapes, abstract paintings, scenery, even wall art. You can apply them on canvas as well as many other special surfaces. They can also easily be used in wet on wet technique, and would not cause any issues with that.

Overall, this paint set is a wonderful combination of price and quality.

 

Grumbacher Academy Oil Paint, 10-Color Set

What makes these paints good is their bright, juicy color. Each one of them is made with finely ground high-quality pigments. Besides, they have excellent lightfastness, which makes them great for use by both beginners and professional artists.

The tinting strength of this oil paint set will help you create beautiful artworks. Together with its smoothness, that brings excellent mixing abilities and easy application on any surface that is suitable for oil paints.

The set contains ten different non-metallic paint colors, which correlate to pre-tested professional pant line, and that allows them to be very similar to professional paints. It means that transitioning to professional oils wouldn’t be hard at all after these paints. Even though most student grade paints are quite different from professional ones, the difference isn’t very noticeable in this case.

Including the most necessary colors that can be mixed into basically anything, the set is versatile and useful. The white color is absolutely non-yellowing, and all the colors would retain their vividness for a long period of time.

 

Oil Paint Set 12 Tubes by MyArtscape

The set contains 12 tubes of high-quality student grade oil paint, designed specifically for painting on canvas. They are non-toxic and absolutely safe to use.

Vibrant and long-lasting colors with excellent lightfastness will allow you to create all types of paintings with ease. The paints are produced with the usage of the finest pigments and pigment dispersion method, which means they turn out to have great quality and be very satisfying to work with.

The paints also show great tinting abilities and maintain their strength even when they’re mixed with white. Overall, they can mix very well, producing nice clean colors and shades, and you won’t have any troubles with that. The twelve colors included in this set are versatile and useful, allowing you to express your every idea very easily.

Another thing that makes them good is their pleasant consistency – creamy, but stiff enough, which is the same as professional paints usually have. You can use them with palette knives or paintbrushes, and they will apply smoothly and nicely.

 

Summing it Up

As you can see, there are some student grade oil paint that have great quality and would not sabotage your painting process. They would be great for studying and experimenting and their affordable prices would help you save a lot of money.

To our taste, the #1 paint in this list would be Winsor & Newton Winton paint set, because of

  • The amazing quality and vibrant colors. 
  • They are easily mixed together, as well as with different brands and/or any special solvents you need.
  • And the fact that this set also features a good brush and some textured paper for testing it all out is surely a nice bonus.

To sum it up: there is nothing bad in student grade oil paints. They are meant to make oil painting affordable for everyone without reducing much quality and making it all look tragic. And, they also can help those who are afraid of using very expensive materials, which is a common problem among many beginner artists.

So, choose your trusted brand wisely, arm yourself with a brush and a palette, and may nothing stand in the way between you and your creative ideas coming to life.

 

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Hanna is an artist, poet and musician who lives in Minsk, Belarus. She loves food, cats, gigs and esoteric stuff.
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Author: Hanna Martsynkevich
Artist and Writer