A portrait set fails quietly. A scenery set almost never does, because scenery hides weak mixing behind broken colour and big shapes. Skin shows every muddy edge, every white that goes chalky after tinting, every earth that is really a hue wearing a costume.
That is why the best oil paint sets for portrait artists are not simply the sets with the most tubes or the highest rating. They are the sets that carry real earths, a workable white and black, and enough pigment load to keep a flesh tone opaque as you build value from dark to light. We compared 11 sets side by side, laid out the colour lists against what a portrait palette actually needs, and paid close attention to how each one handles wet-on-wet blending.
If you are still choosing a medium rather than a brand, our watercolor paint set roundup covers the other main painting medium. For the acrylic side, see our acrylic paint set picks.
Top 3 Picks for Portrait Artists in 2026
Winsor and Newton Winton Starter Set
- 10 x 37ml tubes
- Student grade
- Matte finish
- Seven day dry
The Winton set wins on evidence: 4.8 stars from 2233 reviews, 37ml tubes, and a body that mixes cleanly when you tint with white. The Gamblin set is the smarter second purchase because it ships with a cradled panel and a solvent-free gel. The Charvin set is the only one in the group assembled around flesh tones, and its poppy binder gives you the longest blending window of any set here.
The Best Oil Paint Sets for Portrait Artists in 2026 at a Glance
| Product | Specifications | Action |
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| Winsor and Newton Winton Starter Set |
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| Gamblin 1980 Exclusive Set |
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| Charvin Extra Fine Portrait Set |
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 Winsor and Newton Artisan Water Mixable |
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 MyArtscape 48 Tube Set |
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 Cobra Artist Value Pack |
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 MEEDEN Artist Oil Paint Set |
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 Paul Rubens 20 x 50ml Set |
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 PHOENIX Studio Oil Paint Set |
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 Elan Professional Oil Paint Set |
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 Maimeri Classico Primary Set |
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Two numbers in that table matter more than the rest for portraits. Tube volume tells you whether the set will survive a two-hour blending session with white in it, and whether earths are present at all tells you whether you can build value without buying extra tubes. Four of these sets need a top-up purchase before the first sitting.
1. Winsor and Newton Winton Oil Colour Starter Set – the safest all-rounder
Winsor & Newton Winton Oil Color Paint, Starter Set, 10 x 37ml Tubes, 1.25 Fl Oz (Pack of 10)
10 x 37ml tubes
Student grade
Seven day dry time
Matte finish
Pros
- High pigmentation for a student range
- 37ml tubes give real working volume
- Matte body tints evenly with white
- Most reviewed set in the group
Cons
- Lower pigment load than artist ranges
- General palette rather than a portrait selection
- Needs solvent for cleanup
I keep coming back to Winton because it makes almost no demands. The set carries 10 tubes at 37ml each, a student-grade line that ColArt still pigmented heavily enough to tint well, and 87% of its 2233 reviews are five-star. That combination makes it the reference point every other set here gets measured against.
For skin, the matte finish is the quiet advantage. Glossy bodies leave a faint film that catches the light in the shadow side of a cheek, while a matte set stays neutral and lets your value structure do the work. Tint the white down toward a mid grey and it holds rather than crumbling.
What it does not do is hand you a portrait palette. There is no earth grouping, no dedicated flesh tint, and no second white. Portrait painters report treating this as a general base and adding flesh and earth tones separately, which is exactly the arrangement our own general oil paint set roundup also recommends.
How it handles a three-hour blending session
At roughly a seven-day dry time, this is slow enough that you can leave a wet passage alone and come back to it. That is the whole point of choosing oils over acrylics for a portrait, and Winton gives you the window without a long gel cure. Expect to clean brushes and palette with a solvent rather than water.
Who should buy something else
Skip it if your studio is a spare room with a closed door and other people in the house, since the traditional formula puts solvent in the cleanup. It is also the wrong choice if you intend to sell finished portraits and need permanence documented, because the student line does not itemise pigment indices.
2. Gamblin 1980 Oil Color Exclusive Set – the best value step up
Gamblin 1980 Oil Color Exclusive Set
8 x 37ml tubes
High-end student grade
24 hour dry
Panel and gel included
Pros
- 4.8 stars with 87% five-star reviews
- Cradled panel and solvent-free gel in the box
- 24 hour dry suits studio practice
- Made in America
Cons
- Only 8 colours in the set
- Medium rather than high covering power
- Traditional binder needs solvent
Gamblin calls 1980 a high-end student grade, and that description is accurate rather than generous. Reviewers consistently frame it as the sensible step up from the cheapest tubes, with strong colour and a working consistency that holds a knife mark without going stiff. The 4.8 rating and 617 reviews back that up.
Two extras arrive in the box that most competitors do not offer: a cradled primed wood panel and a solvent-free gel medium. For a first studio portrait, that panel is a genuine head start, and the gel lets you extend blending time without buying a separate medium.
The catch is size. Eight colours is not a palette, it is a beginning, and with 37ml tubes you have plenty of volume in each one. Medium covering power also means your mixes lean slightly transparent, so build flesh tones a touch lighter than the value you want and knock them down with white later.
Value per tube in a real portrait session
Compare this to buying 10 artist-grade tubes individually at the same point in your practice. The 1980 line gives you slightly less pigment per brushload, but on a 16 x 20 inch portrait you are not painting 300 square inches of flat colour per pass, which is where low load actually shows. It shows in large blocked-in areas, not in a modelled head.
Who should buy something else
Move up if you already mix skin tones confidently and want a fat-over-lean capable body. The included gel helps, but a professional binder with higher pigment will glaze more cleanly when you start rendering the eye socket and the shadow side of the nose.
3. Charvin Extra Fine Professional Set – built for flesh tones
Charvin Extra Fine Professional Oil Paint Set for Artists, Portrait Colors – Bonjour Set of 9, 20 ml Tubes, Finely Milled, Non-Yellowing Artist Oil Paints in French Riviera-Inspired Hues
9 x 20ml portrait colours
Triple-milled
Poppy and linseed binder
Handmade batches
Pros
- Concentrated pigments suit thin glazes
- Rich triple-milled creamy texture
- Poppy binder dries slowly for blending
- Assembled around portrait colour needs
Cons
- 20ml tubes are small
- Premium tier price
- Slow poppy binder sets late
This is the only set in the group chosen for portraits rather than adapted to them. The nine tubes are described as flesh, portrait pinks, greys and earths, which means the earths a portrait needs are actually inside the box instead of being a follow-up purchase. Triple milling grinds the pigment to a very fine particle size, and painters describe the result as creamy and easy to move.
The binder is where this set earns its place. It is poppy oil with linseed, and poppy dries more slowly than linseed alone, so you get a longer open working time for blending the planes of a face. The concentrated pigment load is also built for thin, luminous glazes rather than heavy opaque passes, which matches how most portrait painters work up a head.
The honest drawback is quantity. Twenty millilitre tubes are small, and nine of them covers a study far better than a finished 24 x 30 inch commission. At 141 reviews it also has the thinnest evidence base here, though the 4.6 average is solid and the texture praise is consistent across it.
Why a portrait-first selection changes your mixing
When greys and earths are present, you can build a value scale by mixing white into a single earth rather than hunting for the right mid-tone. That is a genuine speed difference on a likeness, where you are chasing resemblance rather than exploring colour. A limited palette built from this set stays coherent because every hue was chosen to sit beside the others.
Who should buy something else
Buy tubes instead if you are starting out. Pointing nine small tubes at a beginner usually means slow progress and a lot of unused grey. It also costs more per millilitre than any set here, so a working portraitist with an established method gets more out of it than a student does.
4. Winsor and Newton Artisan Water Mixable – the best solvent-free option
Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Paint Set, 10 x 37ml Tubes
10 x 37ml tubes
Soap and water cleanup
About 36 hour touch dry
High gloss
Pros
- No solvent odour in a home studio
- Cleans with soap and water
- Reviewers praise wet-on-wet skin blending
- French Ultramarine included
Cons
- Earth selection thin for portraiture
- Stiffer body that drags on canvas
- Only one white in ten tubes
At 1700 reviews, this is the second most examined set in the group, and the theme is consistent: painters like it because it cleans with dish soap and because it blends wet into wet in a way they connect to smoother skin. No solvent also means no odour, which matters enormously in a home studio shared with a family.
The colour list is more useful for portraits than the volume suggests. It includes Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, Permanent Alizarin Crimson, French Ultramarine and Titanium White, which is a workable spine. French Ultramarine in particular is singled out by reviewers as unusually good at this level.
What is missing is exactly what portraits need most. Burnt Sienna, Van Dyck Brown, Sap Green, Prussian Blue, Mars Black and a second yellow are all absent, so you will be adding tubes regardless. The paint is also stiffer than Winton and drags more on canvas, and most colours touch dry in about 36 hours rather than a week.
The medium detail most buyers miss
Thinning these colours with water alone leaves them thin and unstable on the surface. The range is designed to be used with an Artisan medium, and painters who add one report a much more oil-like result. If you skip that step, you are judging the set on behaviour it was never tuned for.
Who should buy something else
Not a good fit for a traditional studio practice built on long multi-session glazes, because the faster drying time works against that. It is also the wrong choice for a classical academic exercise where you want to blend a cheek over the course of an entire afternoon without saving the paint.
5. MyArtscape 48 Tube Set – the widest colour range
MyArtscape Oil Paint Set – 48 x 12ml Artist Oil Paint Tubes
48 x 12ml tubes
Artist grade claim
High gloss finish
24 hour dry
Pros
- Largest colour count at 48
- High sheen suits skin transitions
- Vibrant fade-resistant pigments
- Non-toxic for shared studios
Cons
- 12ml tubes suit studies not big canvases
- Traditional formula needs solvent
- Not water resistant
Forty-eight colours is more variety than any other set here, and at 4.7 stars from 1111 reviews it is rated well above its category. The high-sheen gloss finish is the portrait-specific detail: painters like the way it takes a smooth transition across the forehead without the patchy look a flatter body leaves.
Pigments are described as lightfast and fade-resistant, and the set is sold for impasto and wet-on-wet work as much as anything else. It is also labelled non-toxic, which makes it a reasonable choice for a shared studio or a class.
Here is the arithmetic that decides it. Twelve millilitre tubes across 48 colours sounds generous, but the total volume is 576ml, which is less paint than the 8-tube Gamblin set at 296ml buys you in body and far less per colour you will actually mix. Treat this as a study and travel kit.
Whether the colour count helps a portrait
It helps at the start and hurts later. A wide palette makes early experiments painless, but 48 choices on a small palette is a lot of decision-making when you are trying to see value rather than hunt for colour. Most painters who start with a set this wide migrate to a smaller working group within a few months.
Who should buy something else
Do not buy it for a large commissioned portrait, because 12ml tubes will not carry a big canvas. It is also the wrong pick if you want a long, slow drying window, since the 24 hour dry time is closer to a fast oil than a slow one.
6. Cobra Artist Oil Colour Value Pack – professional load, studio-friendly
Cobra Artist Oil Colour Value Pack, General, 1.3 fl oz, 10 Count
10 x 1.3 fl oz tubes
Water-thinnable
8 hour dry
Matte finish
Pros
- Professional pigment load in a value pack
- Water-thinnable and low odour
- Cleans with dish soap and water
- Smooth saturated colour
Cons
- Selection padded with low-use hues
- No cerulean blue included
- Needs mediums to work as oils
Cobra is made by Royal Talens, a company producing artist materials since 1905, and this pack carries a professional pigment load with the buttery texture reviewers repeatedly call surprising for a value pack. Water-thinnable means low odour and dish-soap cleanup, so it works in a closed room.
For portraits the paint quality is not the question. The most detailed review in the set is a critique of the assembly, arguing the pack is built to sell rather than to paint with, over-supplying a full orange and an unusual deep green while omitting cerulean.
For a flesh palette, cerulean is the gap that matters most, since it is one of the standard ways to cool a shadow without adding black. At an eight hour dry time the paint also sets quicker than most, which shortens your blending window compared with the Winton or Gamblin sets.
What the paint body does to skin
Good pigment load and a smooth texture mean your tints stay clean and saturated, and the matte finish is neutral in raking light. Some colours stain brushes, so use cheap brushes while you learn which of the ten are the culprits before you reach for a filbert you care about.
Who should buy something else
Buy elsewhere if you need a specific traditional palette and cannot add tubes individually. Also note that water alone leaves these colours thin, so this pack only behaves like oil paint once you add a proper medium.
7. MEEDEN Artist Oil Paint Set – the heaviest body in 60ml tubes
MEEDEN Artist Oil Paint Set – 12 Colors x 60ml/2oz Tubes
12 x 60ml tubes
Heavy body consistency
24 hour dry
Matte finish
Pros
- Largest per-tube volume here at 60ml
- Experienced painters rate texture highly
- Covers well and blends into many shades
- Wider 12 24 and 36 colour ranges
Cons
- Only 12 colours in the base set
- Olive Green reads as grass green
- Matte and not water resistant
Sixty millilitre tubes are the largest per-tube volume in this comparison, and the heavy-body consistency is the point. Several long-time painters with decades of experience report preferring this texture over costlier ranges, which is a stronger endorsement than any spec sheet.
Twelve colours is a thin base for a portrait palette, but there is a practical workaround. MEEDEN sells 12, 24 and 36 colour versions plus individual tubes, so you can treat the 12-tube set as the foundation and top up with the earths and blacks a head needs.
Two cautions. The Olive Green is reported by at least one reviewer as reading more like a grass green, which is close to useless in a skin mixture, and the matte finish combined with a lack of water resistance limits the wet effects some portrait painters like for soft transitions.
Why a heavy body suits long sessions
Heavy body paint holds a peak where you leave it, so you can work the background and clothing around a head without worrying that the surrounding passages will slump. It also means less paint per pass, which is how a 60ml tube can go a long way on a 20 x 16 inch panel.
Who should buy something else
Not the right choice for a glazing-led method, because a stiff matte body is a poor base for transparent layers. It is also a poor fit if you want a single box to be your whole studio palette for the next two years without a second purchase.
8. Paul Rubens 20 x 50ml Set – volume for large canvases
Paul Rubens Oil Paint, 20 Colors x 50ml Large Professional Tubes
20 x 50ml tubes
Refined linseed binder
120 hour dry
7 day full cure
Pros
- 1000ml of paint across 20 tubes
- High pigment and covering power
- Holds brush and knife marks
- Lightfast and non-toxic
Cons
- Lowest 4.4 rating in the group
- Matte finish limits gloss glazes
- Pigment indices not itemised
Twenty tubes at 50ml each is the largest total volume of any set in this roundup after the Elan, and the refined linseed binder plus high-pigment formulation give it real covering power. Painters also note that it holds brush strokes and knife marks, so an impasto passage stays visible under the final layers.
Twenty colours is a better portrait count than most sets here manage, and the listing states the selection covers portrait work alongside other genres. Drying time is long: 120 hours to touch, with a full cure in about seven to fourteen days.
Be aware of the score. At 4.4 with 7% one-star reviews, this is one of the two lowest-rated sets in the group, and those reviews suggest some users find the colour strength below what professional implies. It reads as a capable mid-tier set rather than a genuinely professional one.
What to check before you commit
Because colour names and exact pigment indices are not itemised, you cannot verify from the listing whether the set carries a usable earth set or a strong enough red for flesh. If you need a specific pigment, buy single tubes instead and skip the gamble.
Who should buy something else
Pass if you want a glossy finish for glazing effects, since the matte surface works against that. Pass also if you paint mostly small studies, because 1000ml will sit and skin over before you use a meaningful share of it.
9. PHOENIX Studio Oil Paint Set – budget volume with one caution
PHOENIX Studio Oil Paint Set – 20 Colors x 50ml / 1.69 Fl oz.
20 x 50ml tubes
Excellent coverage
Thick creamy body
EN 71 and ASTM-4236
Pros
- Very large tubes for the outlay
- Thick creamy texture that spreads easily
- Strong saturation and tinting strength
- Certified to EN 71 and ASTM-4236
Cons
- Not artist grade by reviewer account
- Ultramarine can look weak
- One reviewer reports a strong odour
This set delivers 1000ml across 20 large tubes, and reviewers consistently call the volume-to-cost ratio its strongest feature. The consistency is thick and creamy with excellent coverage, which is a forgiving body for a portrait blocked in quickly.
Certification to EN 71 and ASTM-4236 matters more than it sounds, because those are the toy-safety and art-materials standards. It signals a formulation checked for heavy metals, which matters if children or pets are around the easel.
Reviewers calibrate expectations downward, and honestly so should you. Several describe it as a student-grade set, better than Winton for some painters but no substitute for artist grade. One also reports that the ultramarine lacks intensity compared with Winton, which directly affects how cool you can make a shadow.
Handling the texture and the smell
The body is on the stiff side of smooth rather than gritty, so it holds an edge well but needs a little warming between the fingers before it moves. The odour report is the one serious concern: if that is your situation, the Artisan or Cobra sets solve it properly.
Who should buy something else
Not for a gallery body of work where permanence and consistency of the same pigment across tubes matters, because the related range is broad and some colours are hue mixes. Cerulean and viridian here are hue versions rather than single pigments, so the cooler end of the palette is approximated.
10. Elan Professional Oil Paint Set – colour count for beginners
Elan Professional Oil Paint Set, 24 Vibrant Colors Tubes 1.7fl oz, Oil Paints for Canvas Painting, Art Paints for Adults & Artists
24 x 1.7 fl oz tubes
High pigment formula
Gloss finish
Colour-coded tubes
Pros
- 24 colours with high total volume
- Colour-coded tubes aid palette sorting
- Bright colours that blend well
- Gloss finish suits portrait work
Cons
- Lowest-rated pick here at 4.4
- Coverage reported as weak on canvas
- Some buyers report a fishy smell
Twenty-four tubes at 1.7 fl oz is the largest total volume in the group at around 1.2 litres, and it is the one detail that makes this attractive to someone who has never held a palette. Colour-coded tubes also do more for portrait work than they get credit for, because sorting by family speeds up a mixing session.
The gloss finish is genuinely portrait-friendly, giving the smooth luminous transitions people want across the forehead and cheek. Reviewers report good blending and bright colours at a reasonable cost.
The weaknesses are consistent. At 4.4 with 627 reviews it sits at the bottom of the ratings here, coverage is reported as weak on canvas by at least one reviewer, and some buyers mention a strong fishy odour. The colour list is also not itemised in the listing, so you cannot confirm a particular portrait hue is present.
What a beginner actually learns from it
The value is the freedom to make bad mixtures cheaply. Nothing teaches value structure faster than mixing five wrong skin tones in a row, and a set this size lets you do that without consequence. What it will not teach is how a high pigment load feels, which is why most painters upgrade later.
Who should buy something else
Skip it if you are working on a large surface, where weak coverage means you will go through tubes faster than the volume suggests. It is also the wrong call for a shared indoor space given the odour reports, and for anyone who needs a specific cadmium or earth they can name.
11. Maimeri Classico Primary Set – a five-tube Italian primary palette
MAIMERI Classico Fine Art Oil Paint Primary Set, 5 Tubes, Ideal for Professional Artists
5 x 60ml tubes
Wax-free Italian formula
6 hour dry
Gloss finish
Pros
- Wax-free formula leaves no film
- Even drying time across colours
- Butter-soft paste for brush or knife
- Includes authentic cadmiums and earths
Cons
- Only five tubes to start
- Thinnest evidence base of the sets here
- Gloss finish with standard earths
Maimeri produces 77 superfine colours following the Italian tradition, and the distinguishing detail is what is absent. These are made without waxes, so you do not get that dull waxy film on a dried passage, and the chromatic range is correspondingly brilliant.
The set itself is deliberately narrow: one each of Titanium White, Primary Yellow, Primary Red-Magenta, Primary Blue-Cyan and Ivory Black in 60ml tubes. That is a split-primary foundation, and a legitimate way to paint, though not a finished palette.
Two things make it attractive anyway. Drying time is even across all colours, which is a real working advantage when you are planning layers in a portrait, and the range includes natural earths, ochres and authentic cadmiums, though not in this five-tube box.
How a primary palette handles skin
Mixing flesh from a white, a warm red-magenta, a blue-cyan and black works because the primaries sit in the middle of their range rather than at an extreme. The risk is that early mixes are too saturated, so a larger tube of white than you expect keeps your value range open. Six hours to dry is fast for this purpose.
Who should buy something else
It is a poor fit for someone who wants one purchase to last a full season of portraits, and for anyone who needs earths and blacks immediately. At 190 reviews it also has the smallest evidence base of the artist-grade options here, so you are buying on formulation claims more than on buyer data.
What Are the Best Oil Paint Sets for Artists?
The best oil paint sets for artists are the Winton starter set for dependable volume, the Gamblin 1980 set for a step up in body plus extras in the box, and the Cobra value pack for professional pigment load at a mid tier. Each carries earths or enough white and black to build a value scale, which is the difference between a set and a palette.
The Portrait Palette: What You Actually Need on the Easel
Every portrait palette needs four groups. A titanium white, because no skin tone is lighter than that. An earth group, usually yellow ochre, burnt sienna and raw umber, because value structure comes from earths more than from any other pigment. A black, where ivory or mars black beats a mixed black for consistency. And a warm and cool pair on the red and blue side, so you can push a mixture warm or cool without adding a pigment.
The commonly recommended limited portrait palette is the Zorn set: cadmium red light, yellow ochre, ivory black and titanium white. It is a beautiful, disciplined four colours, and a split-primary palette does the same job with different pigments. Both work because the palette is built around value first. Painting from a wide set, you can if you are disciplined, but a limited one removes the temptation to hunt for a colour instead of building a mixture.
The 70/30 rule in painting sits underneath all of this. Most of a skin area should be one mixture, with roughly 30% of your effort on the shifts around it. A set that mixes cleanly makes that rule workable, because a muddy base colour cannot be corrected with 30% adjustment.
Check each set in this roundup against that list. The Charvin portrait set is the only one assembled around it. The Artisan, MEEDEN, Elan and PHOENIX sets need a second purchase of earths and blacks before the first sitting.
Is Gamblin or Winsor and Newton Better for Portraits?
Winsor and Newton for a beginner, Gamblin once you outgrow one. Winton is the larger set at 10 tubes against 8, holds a 4.8 from 2233 reviews, and gives you roughly a week of open working time, which is the better choice when you are still learning to model a head in one sitting. Gamblin 1980 dries in about 24 hours, which suits a painter who wants to commit to a passage and move on.
For portraits specifically, the deciding factor is earth coverage, and neither set wins there outright. Winton is a general palette that needs flesh and earth tones added, and the Gamblin set is eight colours that need the same. r/oilpainting regulars repeatedly name both brands as the sensible affordable artist-grade options, with cadmium reds being the only tubes they consider expensive to add separately.
How to Read an Oil Paint Label Before You Buy
Start with the pigment index, the PR, PB, PY or PW code followed by a number. Two colours with the same code are the same pigment, and a set full of hues rather than pigments will disappoint you in a mixing test. Next check the lightfastness rating: ASTM I is excellent, II is very good, and anything lower means the colour will shift.
Then look at the binder. Linseed dries at a moderate pace and yellows slightly, which is fine in an earth passage and less fine in a highlight. Safflower dries slower with almost no yellowing, which suits a flesh passage that sits light. Walnut dries slowly and yellows least, at the highest cost. A label naming the binder tells you how long you have to blend and how the dried film will age.
Finally, check whether the range sells single tubes. A range sold colour by colour means you can add one tube later, so a set is a starting point rather than a closed palette. If you are building a portrait palette over a year, that matters more than tube count.
For studio safety, the two variables that decide your routine are whether the paint is traditional or water-mixable, and how long it stays open. Traditional oil plus odorless mineral spirits needs real ventilation, and nitrile gloves rather than cotton, which absorbs solvent against the skin. Water-mixable ranges let you clean with soap and water, which is the reason the Artisan and Cobra sets appear here at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best oil paint sets for artists?
The strongest all-round sets are the Winsor and Newton Winton starter set for volume and a matte body, the Gamblin 1980 set for a step up in consistency plus a cradled panel and gel, and the Cobra value pack for professional pigment load in a water-thinnable formula. Whichever you pick, check that it includes earths and a real black, because most general palettes omit both.
Which paint is best for portrait painting?
For portraits you want a set with titanium white, an earth group of yellow ochre, burnt sienna and raw umber, a proper black, and a warm and cool red pair, plus enough open time to blend. Charvin’s nine-tube portrait selection is the only one here built that way. Most other sets work once you add the earths and black separately.
Is Gamblin or Winsor and Newton better?
Winsor and Newton Winton is the better first purchase: 10 tubes, 37ml each, a 4.8 rating from 2233 reviews and a dry time near seven days that gives you a long blending window. Gamblin 1980 is the better second step: eight colours drying in about 24 hours, with a cradled wood panel and solvent-free gel included. Neither set includes full earth coverage.
Should I buy an oil paint set or individual tubes?
Buy a set when you are starting out, so you get whites, blacks and primaries in one purchase and can focus on mixing. Buy individual tubes once you know your method, because a set rarely contains the earths and blacks a portrait palette needs. A good middle path is a value set plus separate earths and a larger tube of white.
Do oil paint sets include earth colours?
Some do, and most general sets do not. The Charvin portrait set includes earths by design, the Artisan set includes yellow ochre and burnt umber but no burnt sienna, and the Winton, Gamblin, Elan and MyArtscape sets are general assortments without a dedicated earth group. Assume you are buying earths separately unless the listing names them.
Is student grade oil paint good enough for portraits?
Yes, for learning and for most finished work. A student-grade set mixes cleanly as long as you add enough white to keep mixes opaque, and several sets here are student grade with strong pigmentation. Move to artist grade when you want thin transparent glazes, a documented lightfastness rating, or the same pigment across multiple tubes of a large series.
The Best Oil Paint Sets for Portrait Artists in 2026
Start with the Winsor and Newton Winton set if you want the most dependable volume and the strongest review record, and add earths and a second white. Step up to the Gamblin 1980 set when you want faster drying and a panel to paint on. Choose the Charvin set when you would rather not assemble a palette tube by tube, and choose Artisan or Cobra when solvent in the room is not an option.
Whichever you land on, the portrait test is the same. Mix a mid-tone from the earth and red, tint it with white, and see whether it stays opaque. If it greys out as you lighten, the pigment load is too low for portrait work and you should add a tube rather than fight it. Once you have a core palette working, our sketchbook roundup covers the drawing side of building a likeness.