Tempera Paint

Powder tempera is supplied dry and mixed with water. It is the cheapest form by a wide margin, and it stores dry — a 4kg bucket bought in January is still usable in October. The trade-off is preparation: someone mixes it, and it is messier to make up than to use. Available in 200g, 500g, 2kg and 4kg.

Liquid tempera arrives ready to use. No mixing, no sink required, no waiting. It costs more per litre. Available in 250ml, 500ml and 1 litre.

Tempera blocks are solid cakes used with a wet brush. Nothing to mix, nothing to spill, and a child takes only what the brush lifts. Best where paint is used often and in small quantities.

The cost difference is real. A 2kg bucket of powder is R99 against R90 for a litre of liquid — and the powder makes considerably more once mixed. For a school painting weekly across four terms, that difference compounds.

Water access decides it as much as budget. Powder needs mixing, which needs a sink, a container and someone's time before the lesson. Where the classroom has no water, liquid or blocks are the practical answer whatever the price comparison says.