Grabby Watercolor Palette vs Grabby's New Slider Watercolor Set: Which One Belongs in Your Kit?

Introduction

Grabby has quietly become one of the more talked-about names in budget-friendly watercolor, and its newest release is doing the rounds on social media: a double-slider palette with 56 colors that looks like nothing else on the market. Alongside it sits the original Grabby watercolor palette, the plain and reliable tin that plenty of artists already keep on their desks.

This comparison looks at both, focusing on pigment quality, build, and how practical each one is for actual painting rather than just for showing off.

The Original Grabby Watercolor Palette

The original Grabby palette is the workhorse here. It is a straightforward watercolor tin with a solid range of pans, and it has become a daily driver for artists who want dependable color without ceremony. In use, the paint activates easily, distributes evenly, and behaves the way a standard pan watercolor should.

There is nothing flashy about it, and that is precisely its appeal. If you want a palette you can dip into without thinking, this is the one that earns its place on the desk.

The New Double-Slider Watercolor Set

Grabby’s newest set is the one currently trending, and it is genuinely unlike most palettes you will have seen. It features sliding color panels arranged in a double layout, with 56 colors including a selection of metallics. Build quality is a real highlight: it feels noticeably sturdier than similar sliding palettes, with components that click into place rather than rattling around.

The watercolor inside works very nicely, with good saturation and smooth activation. For anyone drawn to the unusual design, the paint itself does not disappoint.

Head-to-Head Painting Test

The fairest way to compare the two is to split a painting down the middle: one half done with the slider set, the other with the traditional palette. The results were close. Both deliver pleasing color and blend well, and the slider set holds its own on pigment quality despite its novelty form factor.

The difference shows up in workflow rather than output. The traditional palette keeps you painting with zero friction, while the slider set adds small pauses around every session.

Pigment Quality and the Metallic Colors

The metallic shades are where the slider set makes its strongest impression. The gold in particular is a genuinely beautiful pigment, rich and shimmery when loaded onto the brush, and it performs well on paper. If metallic watercolors are part of your practice, the set’s inclusion of several metallic pans gives it a genuine advantage over the standard palette.

Standard colors on both palettes are comparable in saturation and flow, so pigment alone is not a reason to choose one over the other.

Practicality: Cleaning, Drying, and Travel

This is where opinions split. Watercolor is a messy medium, and the slider set’s many small components collect dirt easily and take time to clean. More importantly, the panels need to be completely dry before the palette is closed, or the paint smears or sticks. That makes it a poor travel palette, since you cannot simply pack up and go mid-session.

It is also priced above a traditional palette while offering fewer usable colors in a conventional layout. The original Grabby palette sidesteps all of these issues, which is why many painters will still prefer it.

The honest verdict: the slider set is fun, sturdy, and produces lovely paint, but the design is impractical for everyday use. If the design genuinely delights you, it is worth owning. If pure function matters most, stick with the classic palette.

Which Should You Buy?

Choose the original Grabby watercolor palette if you want dependable, no-fuss pan watercolor for regular painting sessions. Choose the double-slider set if you are drawn to its unusual design, want the 56-color range including metallics, and do not mind the drying time and extra cleaning. Both deliver good watercolor; the difference is how much friction you accept to get it.

Conclusion

Grabby covers two very different painters here. The original palette is the sensible daily companion, while the slider set is a conversation piece that still puts down genuinely nice paint. Know which kind of painter you are, and the choice between them is easy.