Intentionally letting watercolor paints dry before using them?
Many people do this, it is common practice among watercolorists.
Watercolor paints can be used in their wet form via a tube or they can be used as a dried over consistency. It has nothing to do with the paint being cheap or kiddie as another commenter said. It’s just preference to which consistency you prefer.
I prefer to have the watercolor dried out as it causes you to use less paint than if it was in liquid form. It’s also great for travelling purposes as you don’t have to worry about waiting a long time for your paint to dry before putting it away or having to worry about the colors mixing together in their wet form.
It’s also more cost effective if you buy the paints in the tubes and then put them into half pans versus buying already dried half pans as you will get more paint for your buck buying them in the tub compared to buying them in half pans.