P A I N T :
When it comes to colours my advice is the same as with paper.
Never settle for anything less than the best!
Winsor & Newton has colours of artist quality and cheaper student quality, Cotman.
Beware of student quality! The colours are sucked into the paper, turn matte and "die".
You have to work them to gain strength in your values, and forget about reaching the darkest darks.
Besides, they do not last as long as artist quality, it might not be more economic at all.
Buy artist quality, a basic palette with 8-10 full pans and some half pans with the crazy
colours you just have to try.
This is a brochure/colour map from W&N (pdf) that holds lots of info.
St Petersburg are Russian, cheap colours that I use sometimes. They use honey for binder,
but are said to be of good quality and logevity. These colours have extremely powerful pigments,
some are even better than the same from Winsor & Newton!
If you exhibit and sell your work it could be a good idea to check the lightfastness, and perhaps
only use pigments that are sure to last.
T U B E S O R P A N S ?
Tubes are great when you paint big, often and a lot. You can easily access lots of paint and
it's wet and ready to use. They are a little cheaper than pans, but if you don't paint for a long
time the paint will dry in the tube.
Pans in tin boxes are easy to take with you, you have everything in one place and will not make
a mess. It's easier to get a small amount on the brush when using a pan 
and not a wet pile of paint.
I fill up empty pans with tube paint and let it dry, an economic solution..
Mega-pans in porcelain cups are news from Winsor & Newton. 4x6 cm.
I love working with them, you can use large or flat brushes without getting stuck in the neighbouring pans.
Theyre more priceworthy than smaller pans, but giant tubes are the best deal. I use them to fill up the
megapans when I reach the bottom.
