Make a list of the basic colors you need. A suggested list for beginners is cadmium red, alizarin crimson, cadmium yellow, lemon yellow, cerulean blue, ultramarine, ivory black, and burnt sienna.
Choose colors you like. Your color choices will become part of your artistic style.
Decide whether to buy student-quality or artist-quality paints. Artist-quality paints are generally more expensive and less likely to fade than student-quality ones.
Buy separate paint tubes rather than pans or boxed sets of tubes.
Select paints that have a lightfastness rating of I or II. This information can usually be found on the back of the tube.
Buy a white plastic palette for mixing additional colors.