Trying Out An 'Upcrate' Art Subscription Box, Plus A Mini Art Haul: Watercolour Palette & Brushes
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- I had some lovely art supplies waiting for me when I got home from my recent travels, including a subscription art box from Upcrate.
Upcrate subscription boxes ship from Germany worldwide. They cost €24 or $25 a month, and you can cancel at any time.
Upcrate are offering a special discount code - use the code "Helen30" for 30% off your first subscription box!
www.upcrate.art/
www.instagram....
Other products shown:
Marianne Design A4 City Mask Stencil:
amzn.to/3W6lgX8
Paul Rubens Artist Watercolor Paint Set (Floral theme):
Amazon US: bit.ly/4cxSSU3
Amazon CA: bit.ly/4cwHSX4
Aliexpress: bit.ly/3zawGB6
Fuumuui Brushes:
amzn.to/4cREpmf or
fuumuui.com/
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buymeacoffee.c...
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MUSIC:
uppbeat.io/
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I subscribed to UpCrate for my daughter’s birthday. We’ve been receiving them for over a year now and she has only been disappointed in one of the boxes. Even with shopping to the US from Germany, upcrate was the best value for money of all the subscription boxes we looked at. And all the supplies are great quality
That's really good to hear - thank you for your feedback!
Fun video, love seeing you play with new materials. Especially liked your color wheel. Thanks for this video!
Thanks! I really like the idea of taking 3 less likely watercolour colours, and doing more of these colour wheels!
Hello Helen, I had subscribed to the upcrate box for a year. I cancelled in February because it always contained the same materials. The previous boxes were worth it. Not any more. The bottlepost is also no longer available. Only via QR code. That's a shame because it was always nice to browse through it. There are videos of the new boxes that I always watch and I haven't regretted canceling so far. There are also not as many materials as you had in the box. The Paul Rubens watercolour box has beautiful shades. I look forward to you testing them. We have our last day in Cornwall today and are travelling home. Sadly. It's so marvellous here:). Thank you for sharing your videos.
Thanks ever so much for your feedback - very useful!
I have those brushes too. All but the flat one. They did seem to stop shedding after a bit. I like them for dried gouache and scrubbing. I don’t feel so precious with them.
Useful to know, thanks!
That colour wheel was gorgeous
I enjoyed it so much that I want to do loads now!
That color wheel!!! Stealing that idea right now.
Haha, great! I'm going to be doing more too!
I have that stencil. I love that they even utilise the ends to give you a couple of skyline silhouettes. Gotta love a map!
Yep, definitely!
Looked into the Upcrate as it looks like a good deal. Unfortunately, just like everything else, shipping is the killer here in Australia. We're a bloody long way from everywhere so it takes the shine off it somewhat. Really interesting to see what you got and I love the colours you got. Three of my favourite colours (esp Indigo 👍🏻). Cheers.
Ah, that's a shame - sorry - I didn't see all the different shipping rates!
@@helencryer Absolutely no worries. We've got plenty of "pros" living here. Shipping is just one of the little "cons" we've got to put up with 😊. I'd def try out for six months if I was in Europe still though.
I got a set of those travel brushes from amazon last year - they were all rounds - and they shed like crazy. But they are convenient and well-priced compared to other travels I looked at
Thanks for the heads-up, I'll put them through their paces!
That was interesting, it looks perfect for beginner artists who would like to try different materials. I enjoyed your colour wheel!
Yes, I think so! Thanks!
I don’t know for sure if it the same product, but there is a brush ex pen and refill available that I suspect may be the same. It says on the marketing that item contains bleach, so do be careful what you use it on if you do decide to use it. Bleach will be very damaging long term so for anything you intend to last it’s a product to avoid.
Thanks very much for the warning! It seemed pretty ineffective, so I'd have been unlikely to try it again, anyway.
I've had some art box subscriptions and ultimately decided they cost too much money for what I got. Out of 4 boxes, I'd likely have 1 fantastic box, 1 decent box, and 2 that were real duds. Most of the supplies were student grade at best and something like a 2b pencil is a filler item, costing the supplier almost nothing. I had a big laugh when you compared the ink remover performance to water! I do think Upcrate is maybe the best deal for a subscription box. They weren't available in the US when I was trying subscription boxes so perhaps they deliver more consistency in quality and value.
I love that stencil...gotta look for that! That was a nice assortment of sizes in the brush set. I have settled on the Davinci Casaneo travel brushes just because the handle cap is fat which means I am not constantly screwing up the brush teying to get it back into a slender cap. I have quite a few Rosemary travel brushes and with the exception of a quill brush, they are all rather a PITA to get back in without damaging the brush.
It's possible to see on the Upcrate website all of the past boxes, so people can get an idea of the kind of things included. I thought they seemed pretty decent. I'm not familiar with any other art boxes though, so can't really compare.
I have a Silver Black Velvet travel brush, and some Escodas and Princeton Neptunes, and the cap width doesn't bother me much - I really really love all of mine!
Helen, you could paint with a toothbrush and toothpaste and it would still look great!!
Ahaha! That's an awesome compliment - thanks!!
lovely video, but wait, stop the bus... the stamp blender storage tip is phenomenal!
Haha! Jolly good!
Hi Helen, Paul Rubens Botanical Set is excellent. They are artist grade and very pigmented. I am happy they have them available again. I bought the tube set about a year and a half ago from Ali Express and waited ages for them. I really enjoy your art hauls. Maria
Good to hear, thanks! This is a brand new set though - Paul Rubens have told me that
compared with the original version, the flower-themed watercolor set has seven repeated colors (A233, D115, E290, B193, C183, A336 and B252), and the remaining 17 colors are all new colors.
@@helencryer Ohh ok! Glad you told me so I can buy it! Thanks for the info.
If you are in the US or Canada, Paul Rubens will be discounting it during the Amazon Prime Days, if that's any help.
Love that color wheel! I have some of those Fuumuui brushes too. The set that you have there which is supposed to be sable and another set of 3 rounds that are supposed to be squirrel. The squirrel have a black case and a reddish brown wooden bit. I like the squirrel ones a lot better for watercolor, they hold way more water. The ones you have I stuck in a small travel kit with a micro palette, an A6 sketchbook and a few gouache colors and they've been fine for that. I prefer flat or angled brushes for gouache and only use rounds for watercolor so it made sense to put these with my gouache stuff. I've had both sets for about a year, maybe just over, and haven't noticed any hair loss or shape change. The squirrel ones are floppier than a regular synthetic brush so it's harder for me to work tightly and precisely and that and the amount of water they hold is what attracts me to them. I think the silver black velvet ones are supposed to be soft and floppy too but they're out of my price range, $90 for one brush is too much, especially when I wouldn't be able to touch it before buying. I don't mind paying extra for a brush I've seen and felt for myself but if I can only buy it online I tend to stick to cheaper brushes.
I didn't realise they were supposed to be sable! I'll have a good play with them anyway. I've had some Silver Black Velvet ones for years, and they're beautiful (but definitely didn't cost that much!!) The Princeton Neptunes are very close though, and synthetic rabbit, so I'll be opting for them for future replacements.
@@helencryer The high price is what happens when you live in the back of beyond. I haven't found anywhere here that stocks the Silver Black brushes so the shipping kills me on top of the terrible exchange rate. I should spend some time checking out Australian art stores. They might be cheaper since they're closer.
Fuumuui have a mixture of brushes on their website. Some sable, some squirrel, some synthetic and some mixed. Recently they've really expanded their range of brushes.
I haven't tried the Princeton Neptune brushes yet but I have used their Snap range for acrylics and a bit of gouache and they were a really good budget brush. I'm happy enough with the watercolor brushes I have right now but one I'm looking for is a single, largeish sized, flat travel brush to add to my gouache kit. I've only found one here, all the rest seem to be mostly rounds or in sets. It's the Davinci Casaneo #10 and it will cost me $73 if I buy it, but it says it's a soft brush and I prefer my gouache brushes a bit firmer, so I'm unsure. I'm on a no buy until hubby finds work anyway, so it's not urgent.
Right now I'm looking a pile of hair left beside me by my lovely black Labrador and it seems such a waste. I'm sure dog fur brushes could be popular 😂
@@helencryer "Paint in hiding" has a video on some Fuumuui brushes and she says that when you put a natural hair brush into water it goes poofy, her term lol. To me it expands out and looks fluffy. A synthetic one doesn't. I think she decided hers might be a mix.
What a lovely haul! That upcrate box looks like so much fun!
Yes! A nice mixture of things!
I am not a big fan of ecoline, have some of them, they are okay.
About the light fastness of van gogh w/c, I think one is excellent and four is futile (1 being forever, 2 being more than 100 years, 3 being more than 50 years and so on? please do inform if I am wrong). I have some of them to check upon, burnt umber is LF1 and Dusk Violet is LF4, and as violet is in general a futile pigment, I assume it's the way they go.
In Europe the LF is somrtimes the other way around, 3 being exellent and 1 being futile. Important info
I have most of the Ecoline pens, and I love them! Beautiful flexible nibs, a nice range of colours and very juicy. Why aren't you so keen? The main drawback for me is that they aren't lightfast, so I can't use them in things I sell.
I think you have the Van Gogh Lightfast scale the right way round, but I was wondering more about how they test their lightfastness, and if it's a reliable test.
wow your lettering is so beautiful! 🥰
Thanks so much!
I think subscription boxes are such a fun idea. I wish I’d subscribed to one when I first started “collecting” art supplies to introduce me to more products. At this point, I only want specific brands/items/colours since I have limited space for additional items and just want to use my existing “stuff”. I love the concept though! I would like to get a couple of travel brushes in shapes other than round. I have travel brushes by 3 different brands but every single brush is round😊.
I'm in the same boat as you - I've pretty much worked out my favourites now, and am (believe it or not) cutting down on what I get - or swapping some products out for others I prefer.
Very interesting video,I’ve been checking out the Ecoline brush pens for a while now,they look great,gonna give them a go. What a great art box to receive,looked like it was great fun. Looking forward to seeing the Paul Rubén’s swatching out vid,also loved the colour mixing wheel,think everyone’s going to be trying that one out now 😂
I absolutely love the Ecoline brush pens, but just to let you know they are not Lightfast, in case that's an issue for you.
I'm definitely going to be doing more colour wheels like that with all sorts of different variations of three colours!
@@helencryer that would be great to see more colour wheels and mixing,I find it fascinating to see all the different colours you can get.x
🐨👍
Thoʻse watercolours are so pretty
Yes! I can't wait to try them out!
18:43 That brush is rough. Would you listen to that scrubbing!
It's a firm acrylic brush, so yes! Not really suited to large watercolour washes, but I was determined to only use things from the box.
I enjoyed seeing this video, those ecoline pens look fab, I have some of the ink in bottles but I like the brush tip on the pens. It can be fun to get a new set of supplies each month with a prompt to get your creative juices flowing. Unfortunately that discount code doesn’t seem to be working, I’ve been thinking of trying uocrate for a while now since I cancelled my scrawlrbox subscription.
Thanks for letting me know about the code. I've emailed the company about it, and will get back to you.
Upcrate got in touch and said they have resolved the issue now.
Great video tfs sylvi
Thank you!