I really enjoy these reviews Helen! It is easy to be excited when first opening a new art supply, but the real test is time! I am jealous of your Lightfast set, but I probably have enough colored pencils to last me a decade (although I am now on my THIRD set of Derwent Drawing pencils). I feel like Derwent has remained oblivious to a big opportunity with those....not just to expand that set by another 12-24 colors, but to formulate a companion set of the colors in a firmer lead and then market the whole thing as their Nature pencil set.
Thank you! I definitely think expanding the Derwent Drawing range would be popular, however I see the Derwent Lightfast range as being that harder lead companion set - it has many of the same colours as the Drawing set, and overall is quite a muted palette, with still beautiful soft leads, but definitely firmer than the Drawing pencils.
Hi 👋🏼. I like these one-year-later videos. By showing what you like and what you don’t like, you help others make more informed buying decisions. Plus, I love watching art supply videos 😂, particularly watercolours.
Hi! That's good - that's kind of the reason I started making RUclips videos in the first place - to add to the online body of knowledge about art materials.
😂 You are THE most organised arty farty person I have ever come across. I thought I was organised but I love your approach to all your materials. Currently sick again (my neuro disease) so am stuck in bed but am taking a leaf out of your book and doing some serious swatching 👍🏻. Cheers for another great vid - Beverley 😊
I'm so sorry to hear you are not well 😞 Sending much love! In large part, my need for organisation stems from being impatient and wanting to get to EXACTLY the right art material I want as fast as humanly possible. I'm fussy about colours and don't want to be swatching them out trying to find the one I want, when I'm in the flow!
Great long term perspective. The opposite of "unboxing and first impressions". Good to see how materials stand the test of time and personal preference.
Hello Helen! I love to see your gorgeous videos of your views of ocean and landscape! It’s incredible to see how you interpret your scenes into paintings and drawings! Thanks for sharing such things! I also love to hear your thoughts for useful tools and paint! I adore the Schmincke watercolors in my landscape paintings and have also found the Forest along with Shire colors very nice! My current painting a scene of sheep in a British grassy hill. I’m finding the Forest Brown and Forest Blue so useful. I’m amazed at how well the Forest Blue works for shadows in grasses and wanted to pass that on to you to try. Cheers! 🤩🥳😉
It's nice to see how things have changed over time, what products you keep using, which you did not find appealing, etc. Gives perspective that even though some products look really fun, the reality can at times, be different. Keep up the wonderful work!
Helen, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE these haul updated reviews. They help me getting something off my buy list that I want to try but I keep debating if it’ll be worth it or not. Like you actually showed how schmincke aqua bronze comes off after using the pencil blender is it? And also shared how a lot more comes off when water is added. I have been curious about this product for so long but I saw only one person’s review that its not worth it as it comes off. I am an illumination artist so gold and silver are used a lot in my work. Illuminators(especially Islamic Illumination artists) go through a long process of grinding gold leaf to make shell gold paint. Al though the result is worth it but sometimes you just need a product when you are feeling lazy or are in a hurry. Thanks to your review I know it won’t be worth it. Thank you so much! Looking forward to more from you! Much love ❤
The shine of the Schmincke Aqua Bronze Powder is definitely gorgeous - I still don't know how it would be mixed with Gum Arabic, or if there's some other binder, that might cling to the particles even better. Your artwork sounds beautiful!!
THis is such a useful series, Helen, thank you. Aside from insights on particular art materials, you've given me new ways to think about materials I use myself and why I do or don't like them and what particular attributes I will find positive if I use something in a different way. Your color charts, btw, are a joy to see.
Helen, I love these type of time tested reviews! I love my Gallery and Sennelier oil pastels. And the inktense pencils are great. I’m on the fence about liking the inktense paint pans so resisted purchasing the blocks. I’m never going to reach for them with all the other watercolor options I own. Your organization is impressive and top notch! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Thank you! I had the paints and blocks (luckily both bought with big price reductions) and found my paints to be much smoother than the blocks. In the end though, I've sold both and just kept my pencils.
Great idea of painting the pencil crayon tin. You can get a lot of paints in there! Love the Derwent Drawing pencils. Just got a few lightfast the other day to try out.
Great and informative video Helen! I feel the same about the Sennelier oil pastels. I bought the set of 36 in wooden box… they have only been used a few times. I go to the Mungyo one’s every time…
I will have to give that Colored Pencil medium a try. I have used liquid mediums meant for makeup because that was what I had around but they dried very quickly.
It's interesting that you feel watercolor remains your first love because I've gradually come around to the same conclusion. As much as I really want to love gouache, it just isn't doing it for me. If I had to choose between gouache and acrylics I'd take acrylics any day. Acrylics were my first medium years ago, and in the past I used them watered down as watercolor until I bought some real watercolor paints. Now I love watercolors. I was blaming my tanned paper sketchbook for not wanting to use my gouache but I'm quite excited to try my acrylics on it so I figure it's not the paper, I just don't like the gouache. Watercolor will always be my go to for urban sketching and outdoor use, especially as a base layer for colored pencils, crayons or markers for mixed media works. I like the one inktense pencil I have and want a couple more of them. They're handy in that the color, once dried, doesn't reactivate again. So I can see a use for a few of them. With the neocolors, I still prefer the I's for resist and texture over the II's, purely because I don't want them to react to water. It's a pity some of the colors I like are only available as II's, I might end up buying the odd color anyway. Right now I'm quite excited because one of my favorite stores had Holbein watercolors on a great special last night. I haven't tried their paint yet but I splurged and bought seven 15ml tubes. One is the Verditer blue that you talk about and I also bought marine blue, royal blue, olive green, greenish yellow, naples yellow and quinacridone violet. I hope I like them🤞
@@cazkiwinz4300 I've never used it so I'm not sure I understand the advantages of it? I know it doesn't reactivate and it has a matt finish which is the same as the acrylics I use but can you put it in pans like regular gouache? That would be a win over the acrylics for me. Maybe I'm missing something else?
I hope you enjoy your new Holbeins! I only have their pastel colours. I do like gouache too, and acrylics, and acrylagouache (no, you can't use them from a pan - they'd dry out and not be re-wetable - their main difference from acrylics is just in being matte), I think they all have their place, and I like rotating round them all, but I just don't see the need for the Inktense Blocks or paints.
@@helencryer I'm swatching them as I write this. I love that I can get different colors from Holbein compared to my Daniel Smiths. The DIY blueish turquoise I made looks a lot like Holbein's marine blue that I just got. I wish more brands were available here.
Hi Helen, thanks so much for your useful advice, I was seriously thinking of getting the inktense blocks, but probably won’t now as I don’t think I’d have a great use for them. Did you keep your inktense pencils, I find they come in handy and was considering buying the full set as at the moment I only have the small set of about 10, what do you think? Thanks again for sharing, take care ❤
Glad you think it helpful! I have sold my blocks and paints (though I did prefer the paints to the blocks), but kept my pencils. I don't use them loads either, but they still do come in handy from time to time, and I can make a wash from them by scribbling on a textured board, if ever needed.
I combined all my major coloured pencil brands in one big pouch and i actually use all of them and discover new colour and layering combos this way. I also have seperate tins with a smaller colour combo and try to regularly exchange them with those in the pouch 'cause I genuinely forgot colours I had. 😂 The first ever schmincke horadam granulating colour I bought was forest brown and it is still my absolout favourite. When it comes to the white pencils, i think the poscas are acrylic paint and the faber castell pitt one is an ink ( unsure) so the posca definitely ought to be more opaque , my white posca feels quite scratchy and unfortunately always randomly discharges a huge blob of white paint while using it so I usually don't gravitate towards it although it is the most opaque white paintpen I have . I love my mungyo oil pastel set and I enjoy them more than the sennelier oil pastels simply because especially in a more humid environment the senneliers just are too soft and are harder to work with for me .
That sounds like what I do with my paints too - with the switching them out into little travel palettes, so I can experiment with new combos! Which Posca do you have? When I used the PC-1M it would do that a bit, but I've never had that problem with the PC-1MR.
@@helencryer yeah it is the PC-1M series. I will look into the other series than because i really like the opacity posca ist giving with the white markers.
I love hearing about your art hauls a year one and what you used and didn't. I wonder if you'd like working with the Sennelier oil pastels more if you sorted them by opacity/transparency. They are one of my favorite oil pastels, but I can definitely understand the frustration with the mixed opacity. I have found the transparent ones to glaze well over other colors and plan to explore that a bit more in the future.
Oh my gosh, that is such a good idea!!! I never even considered that! I could have Senneliers I love using in one box, and ones which I find more problematic and only to be used when really needed, in the other! Thanks!
Lovely recap! I’ve often wondered when or why I would choose inktense over watercolour? I’ve watched a few inktense reviews (and I have so much watercolour to use already), it doesn’t seem like I’d have a reason to buy the inktense (based on the videos I’ve seen, anyway).
I have one inktense pencil I bought to try out and I really like it. I use it instead of a pen when I'm sketching. I can activate the color with water and create shadow areas and once it dries it's permanent. It won't reactivate if you paint over it later with watercolor. I guess I use it for pencil ink and wash drawings instead of pen and wash. I like the textures you can get and it doesn't feel like you're coloring in like it can when you've inked your lines first. That's my use of it anyway. I know inktense can be used on fabrics too but that's not my thing.
@@zenlife1200 Good point, I have some of the inktense pencils and use them occasionally. I was wondering when I would want to use inktense paints/blocks instead of just using watercolour paint? I think if I wanted to paint something, I’d grab my watercolour paint over inktense paint.
Yes, that's the conclusion I've come to. I've sold my paints and blocks, but will keep the pencils for inky/textured drawings, or if I ever do want a less-able-to-be-shifted layer, I can always scribble the pencils onto the Caran D'Ache textured board, and make a watercolour wash that way.
I love these videos - it's so helpful to get an in depth review of an art haul 👍🏻 thank you so much for doing these haul reviews. ❤ I also admire how perfectly clean and organised your art supplies are. I also have a lot of sennelier oil pastels and I love them. But I keep them in a box with drawers (usually used for softpastels) and only sort them in color groups...when I am unsure about a color whole drawing, I just do a quick swatch on some paper. But your system looks so neat and perfect...guess I am just a bit of a messy artist. 😅 If you find them to be a bit too transparent you might want to use a different paper. I didn't like the sennelier oil pastel paper because the colors turned out quite inconsistent. Try using them on pastelmat - it works perfectly!
Thanks! The main reason I want them to be so organised is because I'm too impatient!! I want to get right to the EXACT colour I want as fast as possible without having to swatch a couple of the wrong ones first - that takes away some of my enjoyment of art when I have to do that.
Love your art haul reviews ❤ I've been searching also for a good opaque White marker to Set Highlights and so on. my absolut favorite one is also the uni posca. I tried the one from aber castell too, but as you mentioned in the video, it's way too less opaque. ❤your lightfast comparison chart is amazing❤ I just have ten of these, but I love them. they have a great color range.
I keep thinking that combining all Watercolor in one may make a difference! Else i never understand which brand to pick up. I have Winsor newton and Sennelier combined, which is general go to. Daniel Smith for landscapes and Holbein for anime/ character design
I heard it a lot but in your video it is clearly to see! Many people told me, that roman szmals watercolor paints have drying issues! And in your video I really saw, that every other watercolor paint dried nicely, but the two Roman Szmals- perelyn green deep and perelyn violet- dried not evenly but with really Hard edges. And both roman szmals paints behaved exactly the same!! Is this something you've already noticed before?
I don't actually think that's the case. I've noticed no drying issues at all. I think what may be happening is that it's easy to use more water with the Roman Szmal's because they're full and not the usual half pans, so it's tempting to grab loads of water and really slosh the brush around. Also most of the Roman Szmal's re-wet really beautifully, so overall it's easy to pick up a lot more pigment. I think they're wonderful paints.
Hi Mary, Helen lists all the things, along with links, in the video blurb. You can hit the three dots next to the title to find it. I hope that helps. 😊
I buy all my art supplies online. There isn’t a professional art store near me and I can’t find the quality brands at Michael’s which is more craft oriented. I use Dick Blick, Amazon, Cheap Joe’s, Jackson’s (which is in England - I’m in America but that’s no problem). All have online websites and you can often get free shipping if your order is over a certain amount.
As has been said, I try and list everything I use in my videos, underneath them. If I've not made a specific thing clear, just ask, and I'll let you know.
I bought a three-pack of the white Pitt Artist pens and I have found them to be totally useless. They dry very transparent and barely show up even over dark paint or on black paper. Poscas are a better bet for sure.
Thank you for the video. So interesting! For the Schmincke Gold Powder, I mix it with water in a little dish and let it dry. I find this way, when I rewet it, it sticks really thickly to the paper and I do not have waste. I also have the same impression from the Sennelier oil pastels. I bought a few to try them out, but I just found him too soft and messy and then decided for the Van Gogh ones, because they have the pigment information, are a bit harder and a lot cheaper. (and later I also bought the Neocolor2.) But I found the Sennelier ones not so different from the oil sticks and am wondering, if one could use them more like oil color and with things like a brush and also what medium could maybe be used. 😊
Thanks! Does the Aqua Bronze still wipe off easily using it this way though? I'm pretty sure I experimented with solvent and oil pastels once, and they worked (thinned down) nicely.
@@helencryer Sorry for answering so late. I wasn’t sure if I I do not have the problem, or if I have the problem and it’s just not bothering me. I did some experiments with the aqua bronze that I had already solved and dried in a little dish a couple of weeks ago. So my conclusion is that if I put it on really really thickly, comparable to a thick gouache and I let it dry for one day, it only comes off if I rub my finger on it or press it really really hard into the painted part. However, I find it depends a little bit also on the paper. On mixed media paper or cheaper paper like the Kadi, it comes off much easier than on the 100% cotton artistico from Fabriano. I guess it has to do with the stirfries and the sizing of the paper a.k.a. how well it can sink into the fibers. However, if I do the same with a strong gouache color like PV23, I also have some of the color on my finger and if I apply the aqua bronze transparent like watercolor, nothing comes really off. I hope that helps, happy to exchange experiences anytime. 😀😀 BTW love to experiment
This is great, thanks so much for sharing all this information! I will definitely have another experiment with it, on different papers, and also mixing some up in advance and letting it dry. Thanks again!
I really enjoy these reviews Helen! It is easy to be excited when first opening a new art supply, but the real test is time! I am jealous of your Lightfast set, but I probably have enough colored pencils to last me a decade (although I am now on my THIRD set of Derwent Drawing pencils). I feel like Derwent has remained oblivious to a big opportunity with those....not just to expand that set by another 12-24 colors, but to formulate a companion set of the colors in a firmer lead and then market the whole thing as their Nature pencil set.
Thank you!
I definitely think expanding the Derwent Drawing range would be popular, however I see the Derwent Lightfast range as being that harder lead companion set - it has many of the same colours as the Drawing set, and overall is quite a muted palette, with still beautiful soft leads, but definitely firmer than the Drawing pencils.
Hi 👋🏼. I like these one-year-later videos. By showing what you like and what you don’t like, you help others make more informed buying decisions. Plus, I love watching art supply videos 😂, particularly watercolours.
Hi! That's good - that's kind of the reason I started making RUclips videos in the first place - to add to the online body of knowledge about art materials.
@@helencryer Kind and useful of you to do so 🙂
😂 You are THE most organised arty farty person I have ever come across. I thought I was organised but I love your approach to all your materials. Currently sick again (my neuro disease) so am stuck in bed but am taking a leaf out of your book and doing some serious swatching 👍🏻. Cheers for another great vid - Beverley 😊
I'm so sorry to hear you are not well 😞 Sending much love!
In large part, my need for organisation stems from being impatient and wanting to get to EXACTLY the right art material I want as fast as humanly possible. I'm fussy about colours and don't want to be swatching them out trying to find the one I want, when I'm in the flow!
Great long term perspective. The opposite of "unboxing and first impressions". Good to see how materials stand the test of time and personal preference.
Thanks!
Hello Helen! I love to see your gorgeous videos of your views of ocean and landscape! It’s incredible to see how you interpret your scenes into paintings and drawings! Thanks for sharing such things! I also love to hear your thoughts for useful tools and paint! I adore the Schmincke watercolors in my landscape paintings and have also found the Forest along with Shire colors very nice! My current painting a scene of sheep in a British grassy hill. I’m finding the Forest Brown and Forest Blue so useful. I’m amazed at how well the Forest Blue works for shadows in grasses and wanted to pass that on to you to try. Cheers! 🤩🥳😉
Thank you so much, and thank you for your recommendations!!
It's nice to see how things have changed over time, what products you keep using, which you did not find appealing, etc. Gives perspective that even though some products look really fun, the reality can at times, be different. Keep up the wonderful work!
The problem is, I will still always want to try out new products!
@@helencryer that's not a problem, that's just more fun to be had! :D
Helen, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE these haul updated reviews. They help me getting something off my buy list that I want to try but I keep debating if it’ll be worth it or not. Like you actually showed how schmincke aqua bronze comes off after using the pencil blender is it? And also shared how a lot more comes off when water is added. I have been curious about this product for so long but I saw only one person’s review that its not worth it as it comes off. I am an illumination artist so gold and silver are used a lot in my work. Illuminators(especially Islamic Illumination artists) go through a long process of grinding gold leaf to make shell gold paint. Al though the result is worth it but sometimes you just need a product when you are feeling lazy or are in a hurry. Thanks to your review I know it won’t be worth it. Thank you so much! Looking forward to more from you!
Much love ❤
The shine of the Schmincke Aqua Bronze Powder is definitely gorgeous - I still don't know how it would be mixed with Gum Arabic, or if there's some other binder, that might cling to the particles even better.
Your artwork sounds beautiful!!
THis is such a useful series, Helen, thank you. Aside from insights on particular art materials, you've given me new ways to think about materials I use myself and why I do or don't like them and what particular attributes I will find positive if I use something in a different way. Your color charts, btw, are a joy to see.
Thanks ever so much! I'm so glad they're useful!
Love how organized you are.
Helen, I love these type of time tested reviews! I love my Gallery and Sennelier oil pastels. And the inktense pencils are great. I’m on the fence about liking the inktense paint pans so resisted purchasing the blocks. I’m never going to reach for them with all the other watercolor options I own. Your organization is impressive and top notch! Thanks for keeping us up to date.
Thank you! I had the paints and blocks (luckily both bought with big price reductions) and found my paints to be much smoother than the blocks. In the end though, I've sold both and just kept my pencils.
I really enjoy these one year on videos - so useful to see what's been good and what hasn't. Thanks 🙂
Thank you!
I like the Pitt white calligraphy marker. You can use the corner of the nib for really fine lines. It’s opaque enough for me and it’s buildable.
I love these videos!!! Amazing!!! Such a unique idea! Awesome. Thanks for sharing❤
Thanks so much!
Great idea of painting the pencil crayon tin. You can get a lot of paints in there! Love the Derwent Drawing pencils. Just got a few lightfast the other day to try out.
Yes - definitely lots of paints! I love them all together! Hope you get on well with the Lightfast!
Great recap,very interesting to see what you really enjoyed using and what you didn’t so much. I loved the bunting drawing and that eye was amazing.
Thanks a lot!
Great and informative video Helen! I feel the same about the Sennelier oil pastels. I bought the set of 36 in wooden box… they have only been used a few times. I go to the Mungyo one’s every time…
Thanks!
I will have to give that Colored Pencil medium a try. I have used liquid mediums meant for makeup because that was what I had around but they dried very quickly.
I haven't tried it for its intended purpose yet I'm afraid, so couldn't comment on how good it is!
Thanks for sharing. I just started exploring the Derwent Drawing pencils.
Thanks! They're lovely!
It's interesting that you feel watercolor remains your first love because I've gradually come around to the same conclusion. As much as I really want to love gouache, it just isn't doing it for me. If I had to choose between gouache and acrylics I'd take acrylics any day. Acrylics were my first medium years ago, and in the past I used them watered down as watercolor until I bought some real watercolor paints. Now I love watercolors. I was blaming my tanned paper sketchbook for not wanting to use my gouache but I'm quite excited to try my acrylics on it so I figure it's not the paper, I just don't like the gouache. Watercolor will always be my go to for urban sketching and outdoor use, especially as a base layer for colored pencils, crayons or markers for mixed media works. I like the one inktense pencil I have and want a couple more of them. They're handy in that the color, once dried, doesn't reactivate again. So I can see a use for a few of them. With the neocolors, I still prefer the I's for resist and texture over the II's, purely because I don't want them to react to water. It's a pity some of the colors I like are only available as II's, I might end up buying the odd color anyway. Right now I'm quite excited because one of my favorite stores had Holbein watercolors on a great special last night. I haven't tried their paint yet but I splurged and bought seven 15ml tubes. One is the Verditer blue that you talk about and I also bought marine blue, royal blue, olive green, greenish yellow, naples yellow and quinacridone violet. I hope I like them🤞
What about acryli-gouache not plain gouache, that doesn’t reactivate?
@@cazkiwinz4300 I've never used it so I'm not sure I understand the advantages of it? I know it doesn't reactivate and it has a matt finish which is the same as the acrylics I use but can you put it in pans like regular gouache? That would be a win over the acrylics for me. Maybe I'm missing something else?
I hope you enjoy your new Holbeins! I only have their pastel colours. I do like gouache too, and acrylics, and acrylagouache (no, you can't use them from a pan - they'd dry out and not be re-wetable - their main difference from acrylics is just in being matte), I think they all have their place, and I like rotating round them all, but I just don't see the need for the Inktense Blocks or paints.
@@helencryer I'm swatching them as I write this. I love that I can get different colors from Holbein compared to my Daniel Smiths. The DIY blueish turquoise I made looks a lot like Holbein's marine blue that I just got. I wish more brands were available here.
Hi Helen, thanks so much for your useful advice, I was seriously thinking of getting the inktense blocks, but probably won’t now as I don’t think I’d have a great use for them. Did you keep your inktense pencils, I find they come in handy and was considering buying the full set as at the moment I only have the small set of about 10, what do you think?
Thanks again for sharing, take care ❤
Glad you think it helpful! I have sold my blocks and paints (though I did prefer the paints to the blocks), but kept my pencils. I don't use them loads either, but they still do come in handy from time to time, and I can make a wash from them by scribbling on a textured board, if ever needed.
@@helencryer Yes, that’s what I thought ❤
I combined all my major coloured pencil brands in one big pouch and i actually use all of them and discover new colour and layering combos this way. I also have seperate tins with a smaller colour combo and try to regularly exchange them with those in the pouch 'cause I genuinely forgot colours I had. 😂 The first ever schmincke horadam granulating colour I bought was forest brown and it is still my absolout favourite. When it comes to the white pencils, i think the poscas are acrylic paint and the faber castell pitt one is an ink ( unsure) so the posca definitely ought to be more opaque , my white posca feels quite scratchy and unfortunately always randomly discharges a huge blob of white paint while using it so I usually don't gravitate towards it although it is the most opaque white paintpen I have . I love my mungyo oil pastel set and I enjoy them more than the sennelier oil pastels simply because especially in a more humid environment the senneliers just are too soft and are harder to work with for me .
That sounds like what I do with my paints too - with the switching them out into little travel palettes, so I can experiment with new combos!
Which Posca do you have? When I used the PC-1M it would do that a bit, but I've never had that problem with the PC-1MR.
@@helencryer yeah it is the PC-1M series. I will look into the other series than because i really like the opacity posca ist giving with the white markers.
I love hearing about your art hauls a year one and what you used and didn't. I wonder if you'd like working with the Sennelier oil pastels more if you sorted them by opacity/transparency. They are one of my favorite oil pastels, but I can definitely understand the frustration with the mixed opacity. I have found the transparent ones to glaze well over other colors and plan to explore that a bit more in the future.
Oh my gosh, that is such a good idea!!! I never even considered that! I could have Senneliers I love using in one box, and ones which I find more problematic and only to be used when really needed, in the other! Thanks!
Lovely recap! I’ve often wondered when or why I would choose inktense over watercolour? I’ve watched a few inktense reviews (and I have so much watercolour to use already), it doesn’t seem like I’d have a reason to buy the inktense (based on the videos I’ve seen, anyway).
I have one inktense pencil I bought to try out and I really like it. I use it instead of a pen when I'm sketching. I can activate the color with water and create shadow areas and once it dries it's permanent. It won't reactivate if you paint over it later with watercolor. I guess I use it for pencil ink and wash drawings instead of pen and wash. I like the textures you can get and it doesn't feel like you're coloring in like it can when you've inked your lines first. That's my use of it anyway. I know inktense can be used on fabrics too but that's not my thing.
@@zenlife1200 Good point, I have some of the inktense pencils and use them occasionally. I was wondering when I would want to use inktense paints/blocks instead of just using watercolour paint? I think if I wanted to paint something, I’d grab my watercolour paint over inktense paint.
Yes, that's the conclusion I've come to. I've sold my paints and blocks, but will keep the pencils for inky/textured drawings, or if I ever do want a less-able-to-be-shifted layer, I can always scribble the pencils onto the Caran D'Ache textured board, and make a watercolour wash that way.
I love these videos - it's so helpful to get an in depth review of an art haul 👍🏻 thank you so much for doing these haul reviews. ❤ I also admire how perfectly clean and organised your art supplies are. I also have a lot of sennelier oil pastels and I love them. But I keep them in a box with drawers (usually used for softpastels) and only sort them in color groups...when I am unsure about a color whole drawing, I just do a quick swatch on some paper. But your system looks so neat and perfect...guess I am just a bit of a messy artist. 😅 If you find them to be a bit too transparent you might want to use a different paper. I didn't like the sennelier oil pastel paper because the colors turned out quite inconsistent. Try using them on pastelmat - it works perfectly!
Thanks! The main reason I want them to be so organised is because I'm too impatient!! I want to get right to the EXACT colour I want as fast as possible without having to swatch a couple of the wrong ones first - that takes away some of my enjoyment of art when I have to do that.
@helencryer I really admire this! And yes - looking for the right color can become a bit annoying with my system (if one can even call it that 😂).
Love your art haul reviews ❤
I've been searching also for a good opaque White marker to Set Highlights and so on. my absolut favorite one is also the uni posca. I tried the one from aber castell too, but as you mentioned in the video, it's way too less opaque.
❤your lightfast comparison chart is amazing❤ I just have ten of these, but I love them. they have a great color range.
Thank you!!
I keep thinking that combining all Watercolor in one may make a difference! Else i never understand which brand to pick up. I have Winsor newton and Sennelier combined, which is general go to. Daniel Smith for landscapes and Holbein for anime/ character design
I prefer different colours from different brands, and I like having access to all of them! Your system sounds good though!
I heard it a lot but in your video it is clearly to see! Many people told me, that roman szmals watercolor paints have drying issues! And in your video I really saw, that every other watercolor paint dried nicely, but the two Roman Szmals- perelyn green deep and perelyn violet- dried not evenly but with really Hard edges. And both roman szmals paints behaved exactly the same!!
Is this something you've already noticed before?
I don't actually think that's the case. I've noticed no drying issues at all. I think what may be happening is that it's easy to use more water with the Roman Szmal's because they're full and not the usual half pans, so it's tempting to grab loads of water and really slosh the brush around. Also most of the Roman Szmal's re-wet really beautifully, so overall it's easy to pick up a lot more pigment. I think they're wonderful paints.
great video, thanks for sharing Helen
Thanks!
Great review - thank you. Just wondering if you are happy with the black pencil case? I'm looking for a new one. THANKS, Duncan
I absolutely LOVE it. In fact I bought a load more and put all my pencils into them now.
@@helencryer Thank you Helen. I'll be ordering one shortly. And thank you again for your wonderful and informative site. Duncan
Thanks ever so much! A good tip is to attach all the zips to the wrist strap fastener. That way you can open all the zips in one go, with the strap.
@@helencryer Thank you.
Can you name the brands as I have not heard of them and where you get them Thanx for sharing
Hi Mary, Helen lists all the things, along with links, in the video blurb. You can hit the three dots next to the title to find it. I hope that helps. 😊
I buy all my art supplies online. There isn’t a professional art store near me and I can’t find the quality brands at Michael’s which is more craft oriented. I use Dick Blick, Amazon, Cheap Joe’s, Jackson’s (which is in England - I’m in America but that’s no problem). All have online websites and you can often get free shipping if your order is over a certain amount.
As has been said, I try and list everything I use in my videos, underneath them. If I've not made a specific thing clear, just ask, and I'll let you know.
I bought a three-pack of the white Pitt Artist pens and I have found them to be totally useless. They dry very transparent and barely show up even over dark paint or on black paper. Poscas are a better bet for sure.
Yes, they're definitely less opaque than the Poscas.
Thank you for the video. So interesting! For the Schmincke Gold Powder, I mix it with water in a little dish and let it dry. I find this way, when I rewet it, it sticks really thickly to the paper and I do not have waste. I also have the same impression from the Sennelier oil pastels. I bought a few to try them out, but I just found him too soft and messy and then decided for the Van Gogh ones, because they have the pigment information, are a bit harder and a lot cheaper. (and later I also bought the Neocolor2.) But I found the Sennelier ones not so different from the oil sticks and am wondering, if one could use them more like oil color and with things like a brush and also what medium could maybe be used. 😊
Thanks! Does the Aqua Bronze still wipe off easily using it this way though?
I'm pretty sure I experimented with solvent and oil pastels once, and they worked (thinned down) nicely.
@@helencryer Sorry for answering so late. I wasn’t sure if I I do not have the problem, or if I have the problem and it’s just not bothering me. I did some experiments with the aqua bronze that I had already solved and dried in a little dish a couple of weeks ago. So my conclusion is that if I put it on really really thickly, comparable to a thick gouache and I let it dry for one day, it only comes off if I rub my finger on it or press it really really hard into the painted part. However, I find it depends a little bit also on the paper. On mixed media paper or cheaper paper like the Kadi, it comes off much easier than on the 100% cotton artistico from Fabriano. I guess it has to do with the stirfries and the sizing of the paper a.k.a. how well it can sink into the fibers. However, if I do the same with a strong gouache color like PV23, I also have some of the color on my finger and if I apply the aqua bronze transparent like watercolor, nothing comes really off. I hope that helps, happy to exchange experiences anytime. 😀😀 BTW love to experiment
This is great, thanks so much for sharing all this information! I will definitely have another experiment with it, on different papers, and also mixing some up in advance and letting it dry. Thanks again!
I dont like posca
If you have found a more opaque, reliable white pen, I'd be delighted to hear about it please!