It's been 2 days since I painted, or been near the studio, and I still managed to get paint in my eye this morning. No. I don't think cadmium colours are safe for a klutz like me. I enjoy your painting and solvent free as well. It's hard to find entertaining solvent free painters on youtube. Glad to finally find one. Thanks for the video.
@@mr.fantastic7756 oil painting doesn't have to be toxic. Try the book The New Oil Painting for how to paint without the toxins. Most of my paint is just flaxseed oil and mud. Some of the pigment are used in detox treatment (charcoal, prussian blue,) so I include those two. And if you aren't like me and have good studio practices, like opening windows, washing hands really well after painting, no food or drink in the studio, etc, then the risk is very low that one would ingest, absorb or inhale the paint. The solvents aren't necessary but if you choose them, there are extra steps to take to minimise exposure.
@@Iwanttodrawachicken so if I use non-toxic paints and non-toxic solvents I'll be safe? The only space I really have to paint is my room and I always wear gloves even with acrylic I'll be sure to order this book
@@mr.fantastic7756 You definitely don't have to use cadmium or lead paint these days. I wouldn't even call them "higher quality" honestly. The hues are perfectly fine.
I am 77 and constantly searching for RUclips lessons. I appreciate your lessons. Assuring us that it’s ok to make mistakes and how to fix them. I can’t imagine getting to my age and not having a passion for something. Mine is art I have had many commissions for dog portraits for years but now I want to do portraits in oil. I have a lot of trouble blending the shadow to the bright Thank you and please don’t ever stop
The fact, that you compare painting with sculpturing is awesome. It makes me think a lot more about values and get me easier in the state of mind where I understand what i have to do to create the illusion of something. i hope at least someone understands what i'm trying to say >< Anyway: thank you. I learned a lot
I think your bias is keeping you from seeing how much better the Hardy paint performed for you. It worked with your painting style and brush strokes so much more effectively. The color saturation wasn’t just it. You were able to achieve much more subtle color transitions and more sophisticated brush strokes. Mid-range and higher end paint has a place on every artist tool kit. Even yours. I love watercolor. High end paper helps me more because the watercolor behaves better on it. But I always have midrange paper for sketches, development, etc. it’s not all or nothing. Have your seen Caesar Santos on YT? I think you’ll like him a lot. You have a great channel. But the Hardy paint def. let your skills shine and showed you where you really are. Only using mid-range could actually be holding you back. It’s real. Great channel and great demos. Thank you!
I wholeheartedly agree. I used to be the guy who said “I’ll just paint with the affordable stuff.” Then I got better watercolors. Yikes. Not only did it matter with the colors; but it also was a world of difference with the workability and the archival nature and I could list a million differences. If you’re a hobbyist, maybe it doesn’t matter. But if you’re any bit serious, they make these better tools more expensive for a reason. They can really help you excel ✌🏻
@@thebutlerart Yeah, I worked with student-grade watercolors for wayyyy too long. And even from the beginning, I was already struggling in ways that I now know could have been solved with better paint.
I totally agree with you. Even just as he was demonstrating mixing the colors, he said that the more expensive paints mixed easier/smoother - this also translates into laying paint to canvas. When the paint does what it's supposed to, it takes a lot less effort to make your skills shine. Same goes for quality paint brushes. I also highly recommend blocking in with bigger brushes - not only will it help with smooth transitions with less effort, but it also speeds up the process, because you don't have to to do a bunch of a little brush strokes to fill the same space (particularly in the first few layers).
Good point! The difference is clearly visible, there is a "chalkiness" to the 'cheaper' paints. A richness to the MH, good pun. Usually that is the titanium white, in this case I believe it is the quality of the pigments.
I've painted professionally 25 years in oils. Started out just using cheap brands, would need maybe up to 7 or 8 layers to get complete coverage due to lack of opacity in cadmiums and whites. Cadmium hues have way less pigment, they're semi transparent, not just a synthetic version like you keep saying in the video. An expensive cadmium is very opaque, I can get full coverage in just one layer painting thinly with expensive paint. So my output and income is way higher than when using cheaper brands. I paint daily, 14 hours a day, 7 days a week but still buy hardly any paint. With expensive paint it just lasts way longer. I buy a tube of cadmium red or yellow only once per year, twice maybe for the yellow, my cadmium orange is 10 years old and still half full. My first small 8" x 8" painting of the year pays for my paint, brushes, canvas (oil primed linen). The other 50 to 100 I sell are all profit. Don't cut corners, not worth it. If you're a professional artist like myself then paint quality is way more than the 5%,, 10% or 20% advantage you say in the video.
I think people have left some very helpful comments here regarding cadmium toxicity, which has changed my mind about the safety of using it. I would also say there are pigment density differences, as i showed the cadmium pigments are capable of hitting higher saturation. But the thought that you would need 8 layers to do what one can do is absolutely absurd. There is no significant difference in opacity between the two paints that I've shown here, and the hue version is formulated for that. If you try to replace a cadmium yellow with just a Hansa yellow yes you will see a significant difference in opacity. But that is because Hansa yellow is transparent and cadmium is not. When I go through the pigment codes you will see that the Hue variant is a mix of two yellows and a white, which means it has about the same level of opacity as the cadmium. I only make this correction for other people seeing this, Not to argue with you. You're a developed artist who will not change his opinion and that's fine. I know many professional high-level career artists that use Windsor and Newton. I know many that use Rublev or Michael Harding. The videos I make here are to make painting fun and approachable. And all this discussion about incredibly specific material differences only scares new people away. It also makes people think that they absolutely have to buy extremely expensive stuff, when in fact 99.9% of painters are just learning and painting for fun. I had zero issues with the performance of either of these paints. I wouldn't recommend people go and buy super cheap craft paint, that will impact their experience. But any mid-tier products are great for learning. The fact is, most people don't have the skill to see tiny differences in color/value, let alone mix it. So that extra performance doesn't really end up helping. If you're going to paint a portrait of the pope, why are you watching JakeDontDraw's cheap vs expensive paint video for professional advice? go buy the expensive stuff.
@@JakeDontDraw I've got various brands of cheap cadmium in hues that I'll use for underpainting, then switch to professional grade for a top layer. A 60ml tube in hue I go through in 6 months. A 40ml tube professional lasts a year or more. Same with some whites. Cheap titanium white can be quite transparent where as a top quality one is super opaque. My 225ml tube lasts a couple of years. Transparent colours I'll also go through tubes way quicker compared to professional quality. In my early days I used only W&N Griffin Alkyds. When I started the cadmiums were labelled as such, later they changed the labels to hue to better reflect their lack of covering ability. But yes, often up to 7 layers with those and Griffin titanium white to get a full coverage with no underlayers showing through. If I paint my hues over a pure black surface they are maybe half the covering power of professional brand. I paint directly and need full coverage in one go. Plus I paint for a publisher and need a good turnover of work. Over time I could afford better paint which in turn cut down my time drastically. Time is money and the years of experimenting have shown me what works for a direct single layer approach where high opacity levels are critical. Agree, for learning try the cheap stuff, but I know artists moving up the ladder that are still using cheap paint wondering how I get such good colour. Turns out they're often using hues.
Painting so much and yet replacing tubes so infrequently is amazing! If you don't mind, what brands do you reccomend? My art professor got us Georgian Oils for painting class, though I found them to be quite transluscent.
@@ouch4360 I use Michael Harding, out of the various brands I've tried, MH cadmium colours are my most opaque paints and most pigmented paints. The price to quality ratio is excellent I think. I use a limited palette of cadmium yellow, cadmium lemon, quinacridone rose, cadmium red, cadmium red deep, prussian blue, pthalo blue, titanium white number 3, that is Michael Harding's fast dry white, and finally ivory black. My main starting colours for every painting are cad yellow, quinacridone rose, prussian blue and white. Colours I use less commonly are pthalo green, burnt umber, cadmium orange, magenta, French ultramarine blue, cobalt blue. A lot of those extra colours I've had maybe 5 to 10 years and they're still only half empty. A 60ml tube of cadmium yellow lasts me a year, same for a 60ml of prussian blue. 225ml tube of white lasts 2 to 3 years. Other colours I tend to get in 40ml, as it's yellow and blue I use the most then 60ml for those. I paint thinly and smoothly, I'm not layering on a load of paint, it's so opaque that I don't need to. So it lasts a long time despite painting near enough 365 days a year. 🙂 Georgian oils are student grade, you'd definitely notice a big difference in those compared to professional grade. Artist grade as some are called will be somewhere in between for quality. I bought a 60ml magenta and cadmium red deep artist grade paint not long ago and they're almost finished. I'd say I need to use 3x to 4x more paint in mixes to get a change in hue compared to a tiny amount from a professional grade paint. It's just false economy to buy cheap.
@@ouch4360 Don't focus so much on the brand. They all offer transparent and opaque paints, so it's important to read the label. I only use fully opaque oil paint and have to buy 2 different brands to make that happen. Yes they cost more, but last longer. And avoid hues, which are fairly dull.
I really really really love your paintings and your distinct style. Through the values you accomplish not exactly copying the picture which would betray the point of a painting. Instead you perfectly capture the essence of either the model or photograph and that is some thing I want to learn from you. The old masters as you can often tell didn’t copy exactly from life (in a photo realistic style) their subjects instead carry a curtain essence that can’t be exactly captured in a regular photo. I am learning a lot from you so thank you the internet allows me to learn from a modern old master
Small correction but important, modern cadmium pigments do not contain enough soluble cadmium for them to be hazardous when ingested when in paint. The old ones are a different story(over 50 years old). Also cadmium pigments are synthetic, they are organic synthetic pigments, they are made a lot of the time with cadmium sulfide, sulfides, selenium, etc then calcinating them at high temperatures, then they go through a chemical treatment. Cadmium/cobalt hues can funny enough cause more health issues sometimes depending on the pigments they use. I can also provide links to sources on this but my information comes directly from toxicology agencies that I work with for paint toxicity testing. Inhaling them is still really bad. We are trying to reduce the scare mongering of paints in my industry but its an uphill battle. Either way don't consume paint. We are trying to replace them because of the environmental issues with them and has nothing to do with artists or toxicity in reality. The lightfastness is also on the tubes. ASTM is a standard and they have organizations that do that testing. The chemical companies who produce that pigment do said testing, some companies also do the testing too. ASTM provides standardized samples for testing some materials but not provide actual testing.
interested in reading more about the safety when ingested! I was going to not use the rest of the paint tubes because of that. I have a tendency of getting it on my hands and I like to clean my brushes with my hands and soapy water too so I was worried about scrubbing it into my skin.
@@JakeDontDraw I use something called barrier cream, windsor and newton sells one called artguard. It will help remove oil paint from your skin and provide a layer between that and the oils. Generally speaking you don't have to worry about that unless youre using dye like pigments and all those would do is stain your skin in most cases, some have some health concerns but not major ones. For cleaning water miscible you generally don't have to worry much about them getting on you for cleaning as they tend to wash off when soap and water. For normal oils you clean them in a solvent or linseed oil itself then you can wash them off with water and soap so you don't have to worry as much. There are also solvent free things for oils now, m. graham makes one and a few others do too but most contain soy oil which is a known allergen.
I took a workshop with a great artist, he was a carpenter before. He said that as long as you are not eating with your hand during painting it is safe. Touching does not cause harm. His dad is also a painter and has been using paint for 80 years
This might seem weird to say. But I don't have any artistic background coming to these. I am a photographer. But I love watching them because you talk about the main fundamentals of light and shape being far more important than the tools that you have with you and it really speaks. I've always been one to tell people trying to get into my line of work that for the most part what equipment you have matters far less than people believe. If you have form, shapes, light and structure down you will be successful. Those more expensive options in any artform should really just be treated as a ease of use/bump in quality once you already have your structure and fundamentals. For me that means when I do portraits, unless I am using some really odd or niche equipment my results should end very similar. I can get the same shot with a camera I found on ebay from 2001 as I can get with my main rig that is brand new and expensive. But that's because all of the fundamentals of light and form are set down to a tack. I imagine better brushes, canvas, paints etc probably make it easier for you to finish your work, but they are just tools to a means to an end. If you gave them to a new artist it won't magically make them a better painter, it would just make it easier for them to finish the same work with the same mistakes they already had.
This video alone has given me so much insight into the painters mind. I’ve been doing art for 7 years consistently now, and I’m just trying to get into painting, thank you so much!
I mean idk much about painting but the piece you did with the expensive paints looks pretty massively better to me than the mid-range ones. I still think you're right about not *needing* the expensive paints, but it's a significant difference.
Better brands are better but for a beginner there's no need for that and I mean the first 3 years or more. Then if you're serious chose the best. There is excellent midrange like winsor & newton to learn and practice. Stay away from the cheap crap tho! Will make the experience frustrating.
Thank you for uploading such high quality content, I really appreciate it. I always wanted to get into painting with oil paints but there is still this little fright in the beginning. Your videos definitely help a lot and for that I am very grateful.
When watching the time lapses, I really get the sense that the entire process is the art, not just the painting you get at the end. The pieces actually taking shape is very satisfying to watch and each phase is aesthetic in its own way
would love a video solely on stuff more abt expensive and inexpensive canvas preparation stretching and frames ur channel makes it easy to understand and theres lots of conflicting info out there
You put so much time/effort/money into these videos. I am blown away by how simultaneously entertaining and informative they are. Especially in terms of technique and showing your full process. Infinitely grateful for this channel! You deserve all the success you receive ❤
Gamsol is a low odor solvent, and they also filter out the toxins. I generally am pretty sensitive to chemicals, and do not have issues when using Gamsol. Also, I'm a terribly messy painter as well, and when use oil paints (not all that often really), I use nitrile gloves to keep it off my hands, even if there's no heavy metal involved (in the paint that is).
You make painting very comprehensible in every aspect. So far I've stuck to simply drawing but I think I might give your methods a try. It seems really easy. Thank you for making this video.
I love your content! Its funny, chill and informative. But the whiplash between silently focusing on the details and "Skibidi rizz style roblox" dealt permanent damage to my psyche.
What an entertaining video! A couple years ago I stopped into my local art store and the wn artisan oil paints were on sale for a discount I couldn't pass up. I have never oil painted but wanted to give it a try. So I gesso'd a piece of inexpensive watercolor paper and used that for my surface. I have had so much fun! I have read so many mixed reviews for the wn artisan brand of paint but quite frankly, I like it well enough that I have't had a desire to venture into other brands of water mixable oils. The gesso'd watercolor paper has been a fun surface to paint on also for a couple reasons, 1 - it's inexpensive therefore not precious to me and mentally allows me freedom to explore this medium and 2...I have been playing with fun textures when gessoing the paper. Not having other brands of paint to compare it to other than my array of watercolors and gouache, I find them very bright and pigmented. I have always found it interesting....we artsy folks want bright, heavily pigmented, saturated paints but then we tone the color back because it's too garish 😂 what's the point of maximun bright, pigmented, saturated color when we REALLY do'nt want that in most of our paintings. Haha...seems a bit of an oxy moron. It would be fun to see you use both your inexpensive paints and your expensive paints on the same surface for comparison. Anyway, fun video and both great paintings. Thanks for sharing. Toni
I just found your last video where you used the temu paints and I check your channel for the expensive vs cheap and it was uploaded today! So stoked to watch this!!
For mixing and highest pigment density is well worth to buy premium. The best is to buy pigment and do your own paint, using fresh paint feels extremely better, the brushability!
Idk I’m not a professional paint maker but as far as I’m informed more expensive paints aren’t just about more pigment but more importantly FINER pigment powder so it allows for way smoother transitions and blending AND lasts way longer specifically because of the opacity that finer pigment allows for
And the cadmiums and colbalts take forever to dry. I've used both like you and just sort of grab whatever is closest. I don't I'll buy the expensive stuff again as it's more important to paint than worry about incidentals.
solubility is how much of a substance can dissolve into a solvent, which can be polar like water or non-polar like oil, before the substance starts to precipitate out as a solid that settles at the bottom of the liquid. cadmium being insoluble means not much of the pigment can dissolve in water, meaning that it will be less toxic in the body because you can only absorb a small amount that is unlikely to be toxic
I think your videos are great and very helpful. I did work with a very notable painter who used Belgian Linen for all of his paintings and I got lots of scraps from him. He would always have me size the linen with rabbit skin glue, which creates a layer between the linen and the actual paint layers that can be dissolved in the future and potentially allow for the paint layer to be removed by anyone in the future trying to restore these paintings (and he has paintings in all the major museums of the world). I am not sure what kind of glue you used to attach the linen to your metal panel, but it occurs to me it might be good to use something like the rabbit skin glue to do this as well, again to allow for removal in the future if you or anyone else should want to do so. I know these were quick studies, but I just wanted to share that idea for situations you may want to allow for moving the linen or painting to a new surface.
Rabbit skin glue has some archival issues actually. I used PVA glue which is far more removeable and archival, as well as PVA size which is basically the same thing. We have to rely on the data and what the conservation scientists say, anecdote runs far too wide in the art community.
@@JakeDontDraw Thanks for clarifying about the glue. I’m sure the artist who I worked with has switched to whatever the top conservationists recommend now.
I think the shoulder of the first dress was beautiful, but the face itself looked a tad rough. That second painting looked truly masterful, and my eyes widened seeing what you showed at the end. Great video all around truly skibidi rizz roblox
Something I’d point out about the difference between the expensive and cheaper paints, is the amount of pigments they use per paint - the less pigments there are in the paint, the more vibrant and clear any mixing you do will be, whereas multiple pigment paints (especially 3 or more) will become muddy and gray much faster from all those different colours mixing. I think this has the biggest impact if you’re an artist that mixes their own colours as they go (as you seem to), and isn’t really an issue for those who paint straight from the tube
Pro tip- Get Michael Harding Red and yellow lake instead of cadmiums. They are just as strong in tint strength, way cheaper but still high quality paint, and also less toxic.
me who has bought every tube of paint i own from the discount table at my art store because a $20 tube of paint will get marked down to about $5 because it’s a little older or dirty. but is perfectly fine
Awesome process video. I long suspected that this fixation in some circles on the materials isn’t what makes a good painting. It’s the artist 👍 maybe a follow up video examining how both paintings aged with respective supplies (due to light and heat)?
Better paints are always worth it. They don’t make a person more talented but a higher pigment load means using less paint, which will last longer and in the long run, cost less money.
They also flow much better, less or no additives like aluminum stearate make them need less medium. That's why I prefer them. Some people do prefer thicker paint but I like being able to do details which requires paint that flows easily.
There's a fabulous abstract painter on YT< Brian Rutenburger, who uses Winton paint! That's student grade Winsow Newton! I have some Michael Harding colors and I have to say they are so saturated a very little goes a long way. Red and Yellow Lake are gorgeous and not toxic, I think.
Professional grade vs student grade paint. For me; the most difficult part is trying to get use to the fluid movement and intense saturation of the cads vs. the thicker consistency of the student grade. It is like trying to get use to using oil paints all over again. Ugh! However, I do see the vibrancy and richness of the professional grade vs the dullness of student grade. Professional grade dry cleaner and glossier; worth the extra effort it is taking me to get use to them.
"If you truly want to be great, you have to enjoy those moments of defeat just as much as the moments of success." I definitely needed to hear that. Also, I can't remember the name of the song you put on minute 9:30 and I won't be able to sleep until I find out!!! Plz helpme
If the artist's stuff is about 4x the price but it only has about 2x the pigment then that means it's actually more for your dollar if you buy the cheap student's, at least in terms of price per amount of pigment. But the problem is the added fillers dull the color, and there's no way to remove the filler from the mixture as far as I know so we're screwed.
Five back to back ads in one video, that's a first for me on YT! For real though, I hope you get the revenue. (That's no sarcasm btw, especially considering the expenses you made for this vid). As for the difference between medium and top tier paints, I like to view it as a measure of comfort! Clearly, you need the skill to appreciate that comfort. IN the case of fine arts, it means easier mixing or better coverage (and the jump from cheap watercolour to medium tier is, in fact, a significant enough improvement to be way more fun!). Also, your videos make me want to try oil painting... hm. 😅
I was hoping you'd have a really cheap set of paints to use, because I tried some super cheap paint from hobby lobby recently to see if there's really that much of a difference between mid-range, and super budget oils, and boy there certainly is.
Nice paintings. I like the channel. Your skin tones need ultramarine and terre verte otherwise you get these bandaid looking skin tones whereas real skins interaction with light has a lot more complexity under the surface
Materials are important. Obviously skill counts, but let’s say you’ve got that. Some people want real things, to use traditional mediums, not chemical substitutes. But artist quality paints are nothing if you don’e have a surface that will hold it. Artist quality paints on a basic canvas - you might as well throw it away. There are cheaper options, but finding them isn’t always easy, particularly if you aren’t in the US, and you don’t get a thousand products not available here. I used to get my canvas preprimed, because gesso is a whole other story that can be heaven or hell, and my supply dried up. That said, I spent way too much money on art supplies.
Although I’ve never attempted oil painting I’m a perfectionist and if I could make sure my painting are perfect from the get go I will I’m worried I’ll waste the expensive paint but yeah
Wish I knew this guy in real life, he seems super down to earth and cool
Do u have friends irl?
Bro is probably weird. He don't even draw fr
Cuz he smokes, he has to or drinks best painters always did.
@@Spuches56cuz he's autistic
@@Spuches56Oh!
It's been 2 days since I painted, or been near the studio, and I still managed to get paint in my eye this morning. No. I don't think cadmium colours are safe for a klutz like me.
I enjoy your painting and solvent free as well. It's hard to find entertaining solvent free painters on youtube. Glad to finally find one. Thanks for the video.
Mhm, hearing about all the toxic stuff has put me away from painting
@@mr.fantastic7756 oil painting doesn't have to be toxic. Try the book The New Oil Painting for how to paint without the toxins.
Most of my paint is just flaxseed oil and mud. Some of the pigment are used in detox treatment (charcoal, prussian blue,) so I include those two.
And if you aren't like me and have good studio practices, like opening windows, washing hands really well after painting, no food or drink in the studio, etc, then the risk is very low that one would ingest, absorb or inhale the paint. The solvents aren't necessary but if you choose them, there are extra steps to take to minimise exposure.
@@Iwanttodrawachicken so if I use non-toxic paints and non-toxic solvents I'll be safe? The only space I really have to paint is my room and I always wear gloves even with acrylic
I'll be sure to order this book
@@mr.fantastic7756 i don't know of a truly nontoxic solvent. But solvents aren't needed for oil painting.
@@mr.fantastic7756 You definitely don't have to use cadmium or lead paint these days. I wouldn't even call them "higher quality" honestly. The hues are perfectly fine.
I am 77 and constantly searching for RUclips lessons. I appreciate your lessons. Assuring us that it’s ok to make mistakes and how to fix them. I can’t imagine getting to my age and not having a passion for something. Mine is art I have had many commissions for dog portraits for years but now I want to do portraits in oil. I have a lot of trouble blending the shadow to the bright Thank you and please don’t ever stop
The fact, that you compare painting with sculpturing is awesome. It makes me think a lot more about values and get me easier in the state of mind where I understand what i have to do to create the illusion of something. i hope at least someone understands what i'm trying to say ><
Anyway: thank you. I learned a lot
You used the colon wrong, ☝️🤓 it's supposed to be a semicolon
thanks for noticing ^^
It helped me to feel the paint better.
I think your bias is keeping you from seeing how much better the Hardy paint performed for you. It worked with your painting style and brush strokes so much more effectively. The color saturation wasn’t just it. You were able to achieve much more subtle color transitions and more sophisticated brush strokes. Mid-range and higher end paint has a place on every artist tool kit. Even yours. I love watercolor. High end paper helps me more because the watercolor behaves better on it. But I always have midrange paper for sketches, development, etc. it’s not all or nothing. Have your seen Caesar Santos on YT? I think you’ll like him a lot. You have a great channel. But the Hardy paint def. let your skills shine and showed you where you really are. Only using mid-range could actually be holding you back. It’s real. Great channel and great demos. Thank you!
He has made other paintings that are at the same quality as the second painting with the cheaper paints. I think he just spent more time on it TBH.
I wholeheartedly agree. I used to be the guy who said “I’ll just paint with the affordable stuff.” Then I got better watercolors. Yikes. Not only did it matter with the colors; but it also was a world of difference with the workability and the archival nature and I could list a million differences. If you’re a hobbyist, maybe it doesn’t matter. But if you’re any bit serious, they make these better tools more expensive for a reason. They can really help you excel ✌🏻
@@thebutlerart Yeah, I worked with student-grade watercolors for wayyyy too long. And even from the beginning, I was already struggling in ways that I now know could have been solved with better paint.
I totally agree with you. Even just as he was demonstrating mixing the colors, he said that the more expensive paints mixed easier/smoother - this also translates into laying paint to canvas. When the paint does what it's supposed to, it takes a lot less effort to make your skills shine. Same goes for quality paint brushes. I also highly recommend blocking in with bigger brushes - not only will it help with smooth transitions with less effort, but it also speeds up the process, because you don't have to to do a bunch of a little brush strokes to fill the same space (particularly in the first few layers).
Good point! The difference is clearly visible, there is a "chalkiness" to the 'cheaper' paints. A richness to the MH, good pun. Usually that is the titanium white, in this case I believe it is the quality of the pigments.
This channel deserves so much more attention here on RUclips. Btw I appreciate the use of old RuneScape music
It really does!!!!!
The RS and other video game music was a very calming addition along with your voice. Love this so much 😊
I've painted professionally 25 years in oils. Started out just using cheap brands, would need maybe up to 7 or 8 layers to get complete coverage due to lack of opacity in cadmiums and whites. Cadmium hues have way less pigment, they're semi transparent, not just a synthetic version like you keep saying in the video. An expensive cadmium is very opaque, I can get full coverage in just one layer painting thinly with expensive paint. So my output and income is way higher than when using cheaper brands. I paint daily, 14 hours a day, 7 days a week but still buy hardly any paint. With expensive paint it just lasts way longer. I buy a tube of cadmium red or yellow only once per year, twice maybe for the yellow, my cadmium orange is 10 years old and still half full. My first small 8" x 8" painting of the year pays for my paint, brushes, canvas (oil primed linen). The other 50 to 100 I sell are all profit. Don't cut corners, not worth it. If you're a professional artist like myself then paint quality is way more than the 5%,, 10% or 20% advantage you say in the video.
I think people have left some very helpful comments here regarding cadmium toxicity, which has changed my mind about the safety of using it. I would also say there are pigment density differences, as i showed the cadmium pigments are capable of hitting higher saturation. But the thought that you would need 8 layers to do what one can do is absolutely absurd. There is no significant difference in opacity between the two paints that I've shown here, and the hue version is formulated for that. If you try to replace a cadmium yellow with just a Hansa yellow yes you will see a significant difference in opacity. But that is because Hansa yellow is transparent and cadmium is not. When I go through the pigment codes you will see that the Hue variant is a mix of two yellows and a white, which means it has about the same level of opacity as the cadmium.
I only make this correction for other people seeing this, Not to argue with you. You're a developed artist who will not change his opinion and that's fine. I know many professional high-level career artists that use Windsor and Newton. I know many that use Rublev or Michael Harding. The videos I make here are to make painting fun and approachable. And all this discussion about incredibly specific material differences only scares new people away. It also makes people think that they absolutely have to buy extremely expensive stuff, when in fact 99.9% of painters are just learning and painting for fun. I had zero issues with the performance of either of these paints. I wouldn't recommend people go and buy super cheap craft paint, that will impact their experience. But any mid-tier products are great for learning. The fact is, most people don't have the skill to see tiny differences in color/value, let alone mix it. So that extra performance doesn't really end up helping. If you're going to paint a portrait of the pope, why are you watching JakeDontDraw's cheap vs expensive paint video for professional advice? go buy the expensive stuff.
@@JakeDontDraw I've got various brands of cheap cadmium in hues that I'll use for underpainting, then switch to professional grade for a top layer. A 60ml tube in hue I go through in 6 months. A 40ml tube professional lasts a year or more. Same with some whites. Cheap titanium white can be quite transparent where as a top quality one is super opaque. My 225ml tube lasts a couple of years. Transparent colours I'll also go through tubes way quicker compared to professional quality. In my early days I used only W&N Griffin Alkyds. When I started the cadmiums were labelled as such, later they changed the labels to hue to better reflect their lack of covering ability. But yes, often up to 7 layers with those and Griffin titanium white to get a full coverage with no underlayers showing through. If I paint my hues over a pure black surface they are maybe half the covering power of professional brand. I paint directly and need full coverage in one go. Plus I paint for a publisher and need a good turnover of work. Over time I could afford better paint which in turn cut down my time drastically. Time is money and the years of experimenting have shown me what works for a direct single layer approach where high opacity levels are critical. Agree, for learning try the cheap stuff, but I know artists moving up the ladder that are still using cheap paint wondering how I get such good colour. Turns out they're often using hues.
Painting so much and yet replacing tubes so infrequently is amazing! If you don't mind, what brands do you reccomend? My art professor got us Georgian Oils for painting class, though I found them to be quite transluscent.
@@ouch4360 I use Michael Harding, out of the various brands I've tried, MH cadmium colours are my most opaque paints and most pigmented paints. The price to quality ratio is excellent I think. I use a limited palette of cadmium yellow, cadmium lemon, quinacridone rose, cadmium red, cadmium red deep, prussian blue, pthalo blue, titanium white number 3, that is Michael Harding's fast dry white, and finally ivory black. My main starting colours for every painting are cad yellow, quinacridone rose, prussian blue and white. Colours I use less commonly are pthalo green, burnt umber, cadmium orange, magenta, French ultramarine blue, cobalt blue. A lot of those extra colours I've had maybe 5 to 10 years and they're still only half empty. A 60ml tube of cadmium yellow lasts me a year, same for a 60ml of prussian blue. 225ml tube of white lasts 2 to 3 years. Other colours I tend to get in 40ml, as it's yellow and blue I use the most then 60ml for those. I paint thinly and smoothly, I'm not layering on a load of paint, it's so opaque that I don't need to. So it lasts a long time despite painting near enough 365 days a year. 🙂 Georgian oils are student grade, you'd definitely notice a big difference in those compared to professional grade. Artist grade as some are called will be somewhere in between for quality. I bought a 60ml magenta and cadmium red deep artist grade paint not long ago and they're almost finished. I'd say I need to use 3x to 4x more paint in mixes to get a change in hue compared to a tiny amount from a professional grade paint. It's just false economy to buy cheap.
@@ouch4360 Don't focus so much on the brand. They all offer transparent and opaque paints, so it's important to read the label. I only use fully opaque oil paint and have to buy 2 different brands to make that happen. Yes they cost more, but last longer. And avoid hues, which are fairly dull.
I really really really love your paintings and your distinct style. Through the values you accomplish not exactly copying the picture which would betray the point of a painting. Instead you perfectly capture the essence of either the model or photograph and that is some thing I want to learn from you. The old masters as you can often tell didn’t copy exactly from life (in a photo realistic style) their subjects instead carry a curtain essence that can’t be exactly captured in a regular photo. I am learning a lot from you so thank you the internet allows me to learn from a modern old master
Small correction but important, modern cadmium pigments do not contain enough soluble cadmium for them to be hazardous when ingested when in paint. The old ones are a different story(over 50 years old). Also cadmium pigments are synthetic, they are organic synthetic pigments, they are made a lot of the time with cadmium sulfide, sulfides, selenium, etc then calcinating them at high temperatures, then they go through a chemical treatment.
Cadmium/cobalt hues can funny enough cause more health issues sometimes depending on the pigments they use.
I can also provide links to sources on this but my information comes directly from toxicology agencies that I work with for paint toxicity testing. Inhaling them is still really bad.
We are trying to reduce the scare mongering of paints in my industry but its an uphill battle.
Either way don't consume paint.
We are trying to replace them because of the environmental issues with them and has nothing to do with artists or toxicity in reality.
The lightfastness is also on the tubes.
ASTM is a standard and they have organizations that do that testing. The chemical companies who produce that pigment do said testing, some companies also do the testing too. ASTM provides standardized samples for testing some materials but not provide actual testing.
interested in reading more about the safety when ingested! I was going to not use the rest of the paint tubes because of that. I have a tendency of getting it on my hands and I like to clean my brushes with my hands and soapy water too so I was worried about scrubbing it into my skin.
@@JakeDontDraw I use something called barrier cream, windsor and newton sells one called artguard.
It will help remove oil paint from your skin and provide a layer between that and the oils. Generally speaking you don't have to worry about that unless youre using dye like pigments and all those would do is stain your skin in most cases, some have some health concerns but not major ones.
For cleaning water miscible you generally don't have to worry much about them getting on you for cleaning as they tend to wash off when soap and water. For normal oils you clean them in a solvent or linseed oil itself then you can wash them off with water and soap so you don't have to worry as much. There are also solvent free things for oils now, m. graham makes one and a few others do too but most contain soy oil which is a known allergen.
i eat cadmium pigment all the time and i don’t have any health issu…
I took a workshop with a great artist, he was a carpenter before. He said that as long as you are not eating with your hand during painting it is safe. Touching does not cause harm. His dad is also a painter and has been using paint for 80 years
15:10 my childhood flashed before my eyes with the RuneScape music 😂
To paint flowers, that higher saturation brighter color is a huge benefit. Painting a face might not show a difference at all.
Exactly, the comparison is way more evident in a still life or a landscape
This might seem weird to say. But I don't have any artistic background coming to these. I am a photographer. But I love watching them because you talk about the main fundamentals of light and shape being far more important than the tools that you have with you and it really speaks. I've always been one to tell people trying to get into my line of work that for the most part what equipment you have matters far less than people believe. If you have form, shapes, light and structure down you will be successful. Those more expensive options in any artform should really just be treated as a ease of use/bump in quality once you already have your structure and fundamentals.
For me that means when I do portraits, unless I am using some really odd or niche equipment my results should end very similar. I can get the same shot with a camera I found on ebay from 2001 as I can get with my main rig that is brand new and expensive. But that's because all of the fundamentals of light and form are set down to a tack.
I imagine better brushes, canvas, paints etc probably make it easier for you to finish your work, but they are just tools to a means to an end. If you gave them to a new artist it won't magically make them a better painter, it would just make it easier for them to finish the same work with the same mistakes they already had.
This video alone has given me so much insight into the painters mind. I’ve been doing art for 7 years consistently now, and I’m just trying to get into painting, thank you so much!
Winsor & Newton paints are so expensive in my country 🫢😂
same - im from pakistan, and if 1 dollar was 100 rupees, six tubes of winsor and newton would be $150
@@xainabshuja4215 83.50 rupees is a dollar
I have a couple of winsor & newton tubes and I treat them as my kids
Same
@@xainabshuja4215 A dollar is almost 300 rupees now. Which means they would cost 80,000+ 😢
I mean idk much about painting but the piece you did with the expensive paints looks pretty massively better to me than the mid-range ones. I still think you're right about not *needing* the expensive paints, but it's a significant difference.
Better brands are better but for a beginner there's no need for that and I mean the first 3 years or more. Then if you're serious chose the best. There is excellent midrange like winsor & newton to learn and practice. Stay away from the cheap crap tho! Will make the experience frustrating.
Thank you for uploading such high quality content, I really appreciate it. I always wanted to get into painting with oil paints but there is still this little fright in the beginning. Your videos definitely help a lot and for that I am very grateful.
When watching the time lapses, I really get the sense that the entire process is the art, not just the painting you get at the end. The pieces actually taking shape is very satisfying to watch and each phase is aesthetic in its own way
would love a video solely on stuff more abt expensive and inexpensive canvas preparation stretching and frames ur channel makes it easy to understand and theres lots of conflicting info out there
You put so much time/effort/money into these videos. I am blown away by how simultaneously entertaining and informative they are. Especially in terms of technique and showing your full process. Infinitely grateful for this channel! You deserve all the success you receive ❤
And I agree that the last painting here is very nice and shows some nice spontaneous brushwork.
Happy to see a great realist painter who has content as good as his paintings/drawings
Gamsol is a low odor solvent, and they also filter out the toxins. I generally am pretty sensitive to chemicals, and do not have issues when using Gamsol. Also, I'm a terribly messy painter as well, and when use oil paints (not all that often really), I use nitrile gloves to keep it off my hands, even if there's no heavy metal involved (in the paint that is).
You make painting very comprehensible in every aspect. So far I've stuck to simply drawing but I think I might give your methods a try. It seems really easy. Thank you for making this video.
I like your style for being more academical (that is rare now). And you are a pleasant and interesting person (at least in the video). Thank you!
Thank you for making these videos! Obviously , we all appreciate your work on them.
Your channel is about to blow up bro holy sh*t, im here to enjoy the ride and watch your sick art!
I love your content! Its funny, chill and informative. But the whiplash between silently focusing on the details and "Skibidi rizz style roblox" dealt permanent damage to my psyche.
I love this channel and the work you do so much, thank you!
Such an amazing channel
What an entertaining video!
A couple years ago I stopped into my local art store and the wn artisan oil paints were on sale for a discount I couldn't pass up. I have never oil painted but wanted to give it a try. So I gesso'd a piece of inexpensive watercolor paper and used that for my surface. I have had so much fun! I have read so many mixed reviews for the wn artisan brand of paint but quite frankly, I like it well enough that I have't had a desire to venture into other brands of water mixable oils.
The gesso'd watercolor paper has been a fun surface to paint on also for a couple reasons, 1 - it's inexpensive therefore not precious to me and mentally allows me freedom to explore this medium and 2...I have been playing with fun textures when gessoing the paper.
Not having other brands of paint to compare it to other than my array of watercolors and gouache, I find them very bright and pigmented.
I have always found it interesting....we artsy folks want bright, heavily pigmented, saturated paints but then we tone the color back because it's too garish 😂 what's the point of maximun bright, pigmented, saturated color when we REALLY do'nt want that in most of our paintings. Haha...seems a bit of an oxy moron.
It would be fun to see you use both your inexpensive paints and your expensive paints on the same surface for comparison.
Anyway, fun video and both great paintings.
Thanks for sharing.
Toni
YOU GOT RUNESCAPE MUSIC IN THERE! just discovered the channel and I'm loving it.
I just found your last video where you used the temu paints and I check your channel for the expensive vs cheap and it was uploaded today! So stoked to watch this!!
For mixing and highest pigment density is well worth to buy premium. The best is to buy pigment and do your own paint, using fresh paint feels extremely better, the brushability!
You give amazing advice, you’re super talented
Really good discussion and spot on!
This was utterly captivating to watch.
Bro you’re funny af, just subbed 👍 I draw mostly but started my paint journey with watercolors
Idk I’m not a professional paint maker but as far as I’m informed more expensive paints aren’t just about more pigment but more importantly FINER pigment powder so it allows for way smoother transitions and blending AND lasts way longer specifically because of the opacity that finer pigment allows for
And the cadmiums and colbalts take forever to dry. I've used both like you and just sort of grab whatever is closest. I don't I'll buy the expensive stuff again as it's more important to paint than worry about incidentals.
I have seen all the videos on your channel and I have loved them all!!!! New subscriber❤
solubility is how much of a substance can dissolve into a solvent, which can be polar like water or non-polar like oil, before the substance starts to precipitate out as a solid that settles at the bottom of the liquid. cadmium being insoluble means not much of the pigment can dissolve in water, meaning that it will be less toxic in the body because you can only absorb a small amount that is unlikely to be toxic
I think your videos are great and very helpful. I did work with a very notable painter who used Belgian Linen for all of his paintings and I got lots of scraps from him. He would always have me size the linen with rabbit skin glue, which creates a layer between the linen and the actual paint layers that can be dissolved in the future and potentially allow for the paint layer to be removed by anyone in the future trying to restore these paintings (and he has paintings in all the major museums of the world). I am not sure what kind of glue you used to attach the linen to your metal panel, but it occurs to me it might be good to use something like the rabbit skin glue to do this as well, again to allow for removal in the future if you or anyone else should want to do so. I know these were quick studies, but I just wanted to share that idea for situations you may want to allow for moving the linen or painting to a new surface.
Rabbit skin glue has some archival issues actually. I used PVA glue which is far more removeable and archival, as well as PVA size which is basically the same thing. We have to rely on the data and what the conservation scientists say, anecdote runs far too wide in the art community.
@@JakeDontDraw Thanks for clarifying about the glue. I’m sure the artist who I worked with has switched to whatever the top conservationists recommend now.
It’s so amazing that a great artist can make even bad material into a beautiful piece!!
I think the shoulder of the first dress was beautiful, but the face itself looked a tad rough. That second painting looked truly masterful, and my eyes widened seeing what you showed at the end. Great video all around truly skibidi rizz roblox
Really enjoyed the longer form vids. Cheers mate
i discovered this channel and my god are you underrated
Something I’d point out about the difference between the expensive and cheaper paints, is the amount of pigments they use per paint - the less pigments there are in the paint, the more vibrant and clear any mixing you do will be, whereas multiple pigment paints (especially 3 or more) will become muddy and gray much faster from all those different colours mixing.
I think this has the biggest impact if you’re an artist that mixes their own colours as they go (as you seem to), and isn’t really an issue for those who paint straight from the tube
Pro tip- Get Michael Harding Red and yellow lake instead of cadmiums. They are just as strong in tint strength, way cheaper but still high quality paint, and also less toxic.
me who has bought every tube of paint i own from the discount table at my art store because a $20 tube of paint will get marked down to about $5 because it’s a little older or dirty. but is perfectly fine
wow this is a really fine artist and i think its cool that hes trying cheap versus expensive paints, oil paints at that !
Love the new setup lol. It'll be misses when you become a millionaire and have a fancy one. Lucky i get to experience this channel at its early days
Awesome process video. I long suspected that this fixation in some circles on the materials isn’t what makes a good painting. It’s the artist 👍
maybe a follow up video examining how both paintings aged with respective supplies (due to light and heat)?
Better paints are always worth it. They don’t make a person more talented but a higher pigment load means using less paint, which will last longer and in the long run, cost less money.
They also flow much better, less or no additives like aluminum stearate make them need less medium. That's why I prefer them. Some people do prefer thicker paint but I like being able to do details which requires paint that flows easily.
If you're new though, and unsure if you'll continue past a couple paintings, then the cheaper ones are probably fine
@@leisureliam True.
There's no real danger from cadmium in oil paint, the quantities are minimal.
There's a fabulous abstract painter on YT< Brian Rutenburger, who uses Winton paint! That's student grade Winsow Newton! I have some Michael Harding colors and I have to say they are so saturated a very little goes a long way. Red and Yellow Lake are gorgeous and not toxic, I think.
A lot of abstracts use cheap paint what a shame they make money and could buy better materials.
Really loved the video! I kinda wish you sped the footage up instead of jump cutting through it, but I'm now a fan regardless
26:38
I needed to hear that
شكراً 🫶🏻
im more of a digital artist but bro, i love your channel
I like the tone he sometime do after finishing a sentence 5:17 it like a lil swop 📉
Professional grade vs student grade paint. For me; the most difficult part is trying to get use to the fluid movement and intense saturation of the cads vs. the thicker consistency of the student grade. It is like trying to get use to using oil paints all over again. Ugh! However, I do see the vibrancy and richness of the professional grade vs the dullness of student grade. Professional grade dry cleaner and glossier; worth the extra effort it is taking me to get use to them.
"If you truly want to be great, you have to enjoy those moments of defeat just as much as the moments of success."
I definitely needed to hear that.
Also, I can't remember the name of the song you put on minute 9:30 and I won't be able to sleep until I find out!!! Plz helpme
Thought i somehow walked into the wilderness. Dont scare me like that my man!! 😆 love the vids
If the artist's stuff is about 4x the price but it only has about 2x the pigment then that means it's actually more for your dollar if you buy the cheap student's, at least in terms of price per amount of pigment. But the problem is the added fillers dull the color, and there's no way to remove the filler from the mixture as far as I know so we're screwed.
I really appreciate the Skyrim loading music for the background theme 😂😂
Five back to back ads in one video, that's a first for me on YT! For real though, I hope you get the revenue. (That's no sarcasm btw, especially considering the expenses you made for this vid).
As for the difference between medium and top tier paints, I like to view it as a measure of comfort! Clearly, you need the skill to appreciate that comfort. IN the case of fine arts, it means easier mixing or better coverage (and the jump from cheap watercolour to medium tier is, in fact, a significant enough improvement to be way more fun!).
Also, your videos make me want to try oil painting... hm. 😅
wow thats insane i'll look into that
i would have quit the channel after three ads in a row. ads are f ing lame
I don't think he chooses how many ads show for a specific break anymore. It's not his fault @@paulwoodford1984
Wow, that was a fantastic explanation.
145 is a lot cheaper than I was expecting.
Accidentally clicked on the video, kept watching…. I don’t even paint, nice job man!
I was hoping you'd have a really cheap set of paints to use, because I tried some super cheap paint from hobby lobby recently to see if there's really that much of a difference between mid-range, and super budget oils, and boy there certainly is.
hotline miami soundtrack in the back is fye
Hii love your videos really entertaining
I love the background 😊
I've just found your channel and holy crap man, thank you. This is incredible teaching
The subtitles: “diarrhoea lied yellow” 😂
Nice paintings. I like the channel. Your skin tones need ultramarine and terre verte otherwise you get these bandaid looking skin tones whereas real skins interaction with light has a lot more complexity under the surface
The fear of wasting money makes me a great problem solver while painting LOL
Matters MORE doesn't mean everything else DOESN’T MATTER. These better colors could really make the difference for some viewers in certain situations
Have you tried the Paul Rubens oil paints? They are also inexpensive paints
9:35 music calls for glub shitto to suddenly appear and get all gold splits
Great videos brother!
Wish I bought the course now gumroad stopped accapting paypal so I cant buy it😢😢😢
Hey love your videos, have you ever painted with acrylics?
Materials are important. Obviously skill counts, but let’s say you’ve got that. Some people want real things, to use traditional mediums, not chemical substitutes. But artist quality paints are nothing if you don’e have a surface that will hold it. Artist quality paints on a basic canvas - you might as well throw it away. There are cheaper options, but finding them isn’t always easy, particularly if you aren’t in the US, and you don’t get a thousand products not available here. I used to get my canvas preprimed, because gesso is a whole other story that can be heaven or hell, and my supply dried up. That said, I spent way too much money on art supplies.
I don’t know how to paint but I like the videos a Lot
found my new silly guy on youtube, even better he's an artist!
I found that I can compromise on quality for every colour except yellow. Nothing beats cadmium.
Honestly my big brother, moist critical, and Jake are the same personalities lol
Bros playing runescape music, nice hehe
Wait who did you buy the reference pictures from, they are stunning ?
Link in description! Howard Lyon. They're incredible pictures
don’t waste your money
@@JakeDontDraw OMG ty so much !
I never knew how much i would like this video. if i could like a video more Than once i would
I'm here for the heaven's tower man. paint is cool i guess light values are important right?
Nice work. Im definitely no expert but it's really surprising to me how much the eyes affect how good the portrait looks.
I’ve been painting with oils for over sixty years, in my opinion Michael Harding’s paints are worth the money.
Came for the paint, stayed for the runescape tunes
i faintly hear the track 'shine' from runescape playing in the background
Ahh didn’t think you would do it 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
ur the coolest person
Although I’ve never attempted oil painting I’m a perfectionist and if I could make sure my painting are perfect from the get go I will I’m worried I’ll waste the expensive paint but yeah
hey sweet skills bro
Since when is rtgame so good at painting
I almost forgot you were using cheap paints on the first one