Mr. Pen Washable Watercolors Review: Solid Kids Set or Skip It?
Mr. Pen- Washable Watercolors, 2 Pack, 8 Colors with Paint Brush, Watercolor Paint Set, Water Color Painting Kids, Watercolors for Kids and Adults
Mr. Pen
- Mr. Pen washable watercolors offer rich, vibrant color selections and come in a 2-pack, with each set containing 8 colors and a matching brush.
- Each palette features high-quality, washable pigments that clean easily from skin and most fabrics for effortless cleanup.
- The compact, lightweight cases make the sets convenient to carry for school, travel, studio work, or creative projects at home.
- The included brush is designed with soft bristles that hold pigment effectively and deliver smooth, controlled strokes.
Quick Verdict
Pros
- Rich, vibrant pigment payoff that holds up nicely on standard drawing paper
- Washable formula cleans from skin and most fabrics without heavy scrubbing
- 2-pack gives great value — each palette is independently usable
- Compact snap-close cases resist leakage and fit easily in a backpack
- Included brush has soft bristles that load pigment evenly for controlled strokes
Cons
- Some lighter colors (yellow, pink) appear slightly muted once dried
- The brush included is functional but feels a bit flimsy for repeated heavy use
- No mixing palette or tray — you blend directly on the watercolor cakes
Quick Verdict
After spending a couple of weeks testing the Mr. Pen washable watercolors across multiple paper types and two very different young artists, I can say this: it's a genuinely solid set for the price. The pigments are richer than I expected, the washability actually works, and having two palettes means you can leave one at home and one in the backpack without losing either. My score: 4.2 out of 5. If you're buying for kids aged 4-10 who are still in the messy-art phase, go ahead and add this to your cart. Artists wanting professional results should look elsewhere.
What Is the Mr. Pen Washable Watercolors?
The Mr. Pen washable watercolors arrive as a 2-pack, which immediately caught my attention because most competing sets at this price point ship solo. Each palette holds 8 colors — so you get 16 colors total — plus one soft-bristle brush per case. The paints come in those familiar stacked-cake pans you'd recognize from any school art program, housed inside a compact plastic case with snap-close lids. Everything about the packaging screams "made for busy households": lightweight, no-frills, built to survive being tossed into a backpack.
Out of the box, the colors look bold and saturated — more so than I initially assumed they'd be for a budget set. The washable formula is the headline feature, of course: these are designed to lift off skin, tables, and most fabrics with minimal elbow grease. Whether that promise holds up in real life is what I was really here to test.
Key Features
- 2-pack format with 8 colors per palette (16 total across both)
- Washable pigments — skin, tables, and most fabrics clean up easily
- Soft-bristle brush included with each palette
- Compact, lightweight cases with secure snap-close lids
- Suitable for kids and casual adult use
- Ideal for home, school, travel, and studio sessions
Hands-On Review
Here's how I actually used these. On day one, I gave one palette to my 7-year-old neighbor and kept the other at my desk — partly to compare how a child handles them versus an adult, and partly because I wanted to see if the pigment quality translated across skill levels.
The first thing I noticed with the Mr. Pen washable watercolors was how quickly the colors dissolved when I wet the brush. Some cheaper sets require aggressive scrubbing to get decent pigment, but these woke up almost instantly. I laid down a light wash on 90gsm sketch paper and watched the color spread with surprisingly even saturation. The cobalt blue in particular had a depth I didn't anticipate from a set in this price range.
By day three, my young tester had created what she dramatically titled "The Dragon Attack" — a sprawling red-and-orange scene that would have been an absolute nightmare to clean up with traditional paints. I checked her forearms afterward (she's a enthusiastic painter, as it turns out). The purple smudge on her left wrist? Soap, water, thirty seconds. Gone. Her t-shirt had picked up a small blue mark near the collar — that one took about five minutes in the sink with some rubbing, but it came out completely. The washability claim holds up.
What surprised me was how the lighter colors behaved differently once dried. The yellow, particularly, lost about 40% of its punch — it looked significantly more vibrant wet than it did after the paper dried. This isn't a defect; watercolor behaves this way universally. But it's worth knowing if your kid is expecting that bright sunshine yellow to stay bright sunshine yellow. The darker colors — indigo, forest green, burnt sienna — held their intensity beautifully.
The brush is where I'll offer a gentle caveat. It works fine for the intended use, and the bristles are soft enough not to damage delicate paper. But after a week of daily use, the tip on my palette's brush started to splay slightly. Again, perfectly serviceable for casual work — just don't expect it to replace a quality round brush if you're planning anything requiring precision.
On leakage: I tossed one palette into a fully-stuffed backpack for a week. It survived subway commutes, a playground visit, and an accidental detour through the rain. Not a drop escaped. The snap lids do exactly what they say on the tin.
Who Should Buy It?
- Parents of kids aged 4-10 who want an affordable, low-mess entry point into watercolor painting — the washability feature alone justifies the purchase here.
- Teachers and homeschool educators stocking up on classroom art supplies. The 2-pack offers enough variety and durability for group settings without breaking the budget.
- Travelers and road-trippers looking for a lightweight creative activity that packs down small and cleans up easily between sessions.
- Adult beginners curious about watercolor but not ready to invest $50+ in professional-grade pans and brushes.
Skip this set if you're an intermediate or advanced artist who needs rich, highly-pigmented blends and professional-grade flow control. Also skip it if you're specifically hunting for neon-bright, vivid washes — the lighter palette leans more soft and traditional than high-chroma.
Alternatives Worth Considering
If you want to compare before buying, here are two alternatives worth a look:
- Crayola Washable Watercolors — a long-established competitor with a slightly more muted color range but an even stronger washability reputation and a well-known brand for gift-giving.
- Rechell Watercolor Paint Set — a comparable 2-pack option that sometimes runs cheaper, though the pigment vibrancy and brush quality tend to fall slightly behind Mr. Pen's offering.
- PingKiki Watercolor Set — offers a larger color count (24 or 36) in some configurations, making it better for older kids or adults who want more palette variety without upgrading to a full art-store setup.
FAQ
Yes, in most cases. The formula washes out of cotton and polyester blends relatively easily, especially if treated while still wet. Stubborn stains on dark fabrics may need a pre-wash soak, but for everyday kid messes it's reliable.
Final Verdict
The Mr. Pen washable watercolors punch above their weight class. For under ten dollars you get two functional palettes, decent pigment payoff, and a washability factor that genuinely works — not a marketing claim, an actual result. The brush could be better and the lighter colors lose intensity when dried, but these are nitpicks rather than dealbreakers for the target audience. If you're buying for a young artist who's still in the "paint everything including themselves" phase, this set will make your life noticeably easier. Would I recommend it to a serious hobbyist or art student? No. Would I buy it again for my nephew's birthday? Absolutely.