Best Art Supplies Under $50: Seven Finds That Make a Full Starter Kit

Introduction

Shopping for art supplies on a fixed budget forces you to think carefully: what will actually get used, and what will work together as a set? That was the premise behind two art store hauls, each capped at roughly $50. The goal was not to grab random bargains but to build a coherent kit around a new medium, buying only things that would genuinely be used.

The result was two very different hauls: one built around water-soluble wax pastels and mixed-media tools from a large independent art store, the other built around water mixable oil paints from a big-box craft retailer with coupons. Together they produced seven standout items that make a surprisingly complete starter kit.

How These Picks Were Made

Every item had to pass a simple filter: it needed to be something not already owned, likely to be used, and able to pair with the rest of the haul. Rather than buying more acrylic paint, brushes, or canvases (all already well stocked), the focus shifted to untried mediums like wax pastels and oil paints.

The practical takeaway for any budget shopper: buying a medium-sized set is usually cheaper per item than individual pieces, and pairing supplies that work together, like pastels with watercolor paper, stretches every dollar further.

Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle Wax Pastels

These water-soluble wax pastels were the surprise favorite of the first haul. At $2.25 each, ten well-chosen colors came to $22.50, and they turned out to be exactly what a starter kit needs. Think of them as a grown-up version of a childhood crayon: creamy, satisfying, and far more capable.

After a first test drive, the verdict was enthusiastic: they are incredibly creamy, blend nicely, and work well directly on watercolor paper. They are less messy than traditional oil pastels, which makes them friendlier for beginners.

One thing to note: straight out of the stick, they do not blend much on their own, but mixing them with gesso or softening them with water and a brush opens up painting techniques. The colors chosen for the haul included light cobalt blue, mauve, lilac, orange, chromium oxide green, apricot, light olive, lime green, and white.

Liquitex Gesso

Gesso was added as an experimental extra after reading that wax pastels can be mixed with gesso to create a more paint-like consistency. Whether or not that technique becomes a habit, gesso is one of those supplies that gets used for almost everything, so it was far from a wasted purchase.

It earns its place in a starter kit because it doubles as priming for panels and canvas, which matters when working with oil paints. A small bottle is enough to experiment and still have some left over.

Strathmore Watercolor Travel Pad

A Strathmore watercolor travel pad rounded out the pastel-focused haul. The reasoning was simple: wax pastels perform well on watercolor paper, and the compact size makes it easy to take the whole kit anywhere. It worked perfectly fine for the first pastel test sketches.

For anyone building a portable mixed-media kit, this pad covers both watercolor and dry media experiments without needing separate paper for each.

Winsor & Newton Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colors

The headline purchase of the second haul: a 20-tube set of Winsor & Newton Artisan water mixable oil colors, found at around $35 with a coupon bringing the price down further. For anyone curious about oils but intimidated by solvents, water mixable oils are the natural entry point.

A set like this is a smart budget strategy. Twenty tubes let you try a real palette without committing to expensive individual colors, and oils last a long time in use, so the value stretches over months of painting.

The set was picked specifically as a second chance with oil paints after a first attempt that did not go well, and because it keeps costs low while covering a full color range.

Princeton Level 2 Oval Mop 3/4 Inch Brush

An oval mop brush in 3/4 inch was the brush pick of the haul, at $12.99. The appeal is its very soft, floppy character, which suits oil painting better than the stiff filberts and shaders most starter brush sets already include.

If your existing brush collection is all flat bits and shaders, one soft mop adds blending and glazing capability that nothing else in the set can replicate. It is the kind of single, well-chosen brush that upgrades a whole kit rather than duplicating what you already own.

Pink Soap Brush Cleaner

At just $5, Pink Soap brush cleaner is the least glamorous item on this list and arguably the most useful. Many artists, it turns out, go years without owning any dedicated brush cleaner at all, and their brushes pay the price.

For oil painting especially, keeping brushes in good condition matters, because quality brushes like the mop above are worth maintaining. A small bottle lasts a long time and keeps the whole kit in shape.

Pacific Art Lead Holder Professional

The first pick of the haul, and the one the artist behind it called genuinely beneficial: an $8.25 lead holder professional from Pacific Art, described as the cheapest heavy metal lead holder available at the time. Lead holders work like a regular pencil without the wood, retractable like a mechanical pencil, and they are loved for sketching and underdrawing.

Full-size professional lead holders can get expensive, but they all do essentially the same job, so a budget-friendly metal model is a sensible entry point. This one was recommended highly, replacing a lost favorite that had been missed for two years.

Overall Buying Advice

Put together, these seven items cost roughly $100 across two $50 hauls, but each haul on its own formed a usable kit. The first, pastel-focused haul came to $51.78 and included the pastels, gesso, lead holder, and watercolor pad. The second, oil-focused haul came to $51.95 with coupons, including the 20-tube oil set, canvas panels, brush cleaner, and mop brush.

The key lessons for budget art shopping:

• Buy sets rather than individual pieces whenever possible; 20 tubes at a set price beats buying colors one at a time.
• Choose supplies that work together, like wax pastels with watercolor paper and gesso.
• Use store coupons where available; they can turn a $65 ink set into a $13 purchase.
• Skip what you already own, even when the temptation is real.
• $50 is genuinely enough to try an entire medium properly.

Conclusion

A fixed budget does not limit what you can learn; it focuses what you buy. A creamy set of water-soluble wax pastels on watercolor paper is a complete entry into a new medium, and a 20-tube water mixable oil set with the right brush and cleaner is a complete entry into oils. Pick the medium that excites you, buy the kit that supports it, and every dollar will show up on the paper.