Lately, I did a 6 months lightfast test of my Boku Undo Shadow set and Paul Rubens Shi Yun set no1. I didn't expect all of PRSY to be lightfast but hoped that maybe the not lightfast ones from BUS can be substituted by PRSY ones. I was there for a surprise. I did normal and watered wash, and none of PRSY colors faded. It raised my expectations for PR Shi Yun no2. Even 6 months was too much for BUS.
I come here for several reasons: 1. The honesty (something I find unusual on RUclips) 2. So I know what NOT to buy, lol. and 3. To watch you paint. It's just so nice!
Thank you so much! I try very hard to make my reviews honest and to the point. No matter if I like a product or not I always try to find a good use for it in the art segment. I'm so glad to hear it's appreciated. Happy painting :)
This arrives just in time, sometimes I think you're a mind reader. I've been eyeing this set since I spotted it on the official Paul Rubens store on Aliexpress in June. I ended up buying the set of 12 tubes of Gucai paints instead but this one is still on my wishlist. I coulf mix my own but having the tubes is handy and convenient as I already use a lot of dark colours like these. I appreciate your in-depth reviews, you're always helpful and informative. Thank you for the video! Edit: the tiny plants and pots silhouettes on the window are super cute and cozy!
I picked up the gucai too, but haven't tried them yet! I've got to try to translate a bunch of the Chinese language text on the packaging so I can see if I can gleam a bit more info on what is actually in them. Thank you for your nice comment, those potted plants were a last minute "I think this house needs....something!" idea. Suddenly felt so much more cozy :D
@@KimberlyCrick ooh I have already used mine and translated the text in the tubes (only labels) and colour names. I also asked a Chinese student friend for confirmation because the scanner app gave me a couple of weird results. I contacted the seller asking for pigment code information but they didn't understand me, I believe they use a translator. Do you want me to send you the label information or would you rather investigate yourself? ☺️
@@Shesvii If any of them are plant based or uncommon minerals they may not have an assigned code number either, adding extra confusion. Definitely leave me a list comment or email, I'd love to know what you found out :D
@@KimberlyCrick sure, I'm leaving the list here for anyone interested out there. I'm also adding some colour name explanation for those who are curious. Paul Rubens Gucai 12 colours set: Titanium dioxide white Garcinia (from the plant Garcinia gummi-gutta or tamarind) Ocher Cinnabar (ore of mercury, HgS) Zhudie (name of a Tibetan region) Eosin (name of a common dye used to observe tissue under microscope) Rouge (red in French) Three greens Sanqing (name of three Taoist deities and a sacred mountain) Black Phthalo blue Cyan The cyan colour is confusing because it looks like Payne's grey or indigo to me. Some of them have a little texture and granulate, which makes me even more curious about the pigments. The tube labels say on the back: Binder/vehicle: animal glue Lightfastness: ++++ (whatever rating) Milliliters: 12ml
Hi, I have never heard of this Gucai set. I checked PR Official Store, and it is categorised under Chinese Paint. I have no idea what Chinese Paint is. Is it more like watercolour, or more similar to gouache?
So far I’ve resisted the urge to buy the premade mixes, instead just playing with the tubes of ds lunar black or Van Gogh oxide black mixed with another color. I find that the former is more granulating, but that I can get really nice results with the less expensive Van Gogh if I slightly wet the paper with water and then paint my palette mixture into it. I don’t think I’d use the premade mixtures enough to warrant buying them. However, your paintings are lovely! I always smile when I see a new video from you! Thanks for all your reviews…they’re invaluable!
I invested in lunar black (DS) and have been happily mixing 'dusk' colours since! I highly recommend it. You would also be well off getting DS Manganese Blue hue as its a special version of pthalo that you can use with lunar black to mix a lunar blue dupe and many other special and more unique colours. It has a flourescant mysterious additive so ? (On its glowing nature and its true lightfastness oddly) but Its a lovely one to invest in for use and mixing.
I was just viewing this for the second time as I bought this Paul Rubens set after watching this review and haven’t swatched or tried them yet. I realized I had neglected to comment the first time so I wanted to tell you how much I love both the paintings! Watching you paint them along with the perfect background music you selected is magical. I really love your unique style and am especially drawn to the moonlit night scenes and those with the touches of metallic. As always, I can’t wait to see what you do next!
I really like both of your paintings, but that owl 😍. Yes, this set of paints is very interesting, I need to look into them, love moody, muted colors. Thx for sharing!
Wonderful work and wonderful colors. Kind of in competition with Daniel Smith Primatek Colors - but here you get 15ml tubes instead of only 5ml with the primatek´s for the same price 👍🏻
Thanks Kimberly! I'm "on the verge" for these, but I already have the Boku, and 2 Van Gogh dusk: pink & purple, plus some Schmincke Super Granulating sample sets: Deep Sea & Forest. And Ali Express sent a deal for 12 Pro Paul Rubens half pans for$20 and I just ordered that! I'm just in a sort of "buying fever" that I need to cool. 🥵
I hear you, I get on a buying-spree sometimes lol. I think if you already have the boku and some dusk, your next best purchase might be a single pigment pbk11 mars/lunar black so you can mix it with the new paul rubens half pans to diy all sorts of similar colors :D
It is truly astounding to me why you don't have more subscribers! Between your calming voice, the vast array of products that you review (mostly at your own cost) the techniques that you show and the amazing ideas that you share! I just wanted to thank you for all of it. Your videos are very well edited and the music is neither too loud or annoying. Well done! ❤️
Just got a new subscriber this morning! I can't wait to dive in to some great info. I get a lot of art concept and theory but watercolor has been trying for me. At the point of just learning just how much paint options there are.. Oh my.
@@Linda24gojeff Some of my favorite videos of Kim's are where she shows us how to mix a lot of these colors instead of buying every trendy new thing out there. Saves so much money! Also she gives so many great ideas to try new things. Happy painting!
Hello! Great video. I am new to watercolor, so my opinions don't really hold much value as I have much less experience with all of the various mediums, paper textures, etc. That said, so far I am preferring to purchase more colors and having to mix less. Not that I don't mix at all, but It helps me narrow down color combinations more easily. I am so VERY in love with this set, however. The pigmentation and how smoothely the paint applies and dries onto the paper just... omg. I love it. :)
Once again you have produced two images that went from not grabbing my imagination to being superb! My creativity is surfacing - I'll have to be careful or I'll find myself actually doing something!!!! Thanks again. Am still trawling through past videos and thoroughly enjoying them!
Thank you so much for this review Thank you so much for this review! I just received the Paul Reagan "nocturnal set" and have started to test it. I am leaving for the summer shortly and will be at a seaside site in Newfoundland where I have been struggling with getting night scenes to look the way I want for a long time ...... My play and your review give me a renewed hope finally being on the right track!!!
I had no idea that these even existed, and am super thankful to have your review be the first I find. I appreciate the warning about the wet-to-dry shift. Thank goodness the paints are able to layer well to darken as needed! Wonderful artwork as always... Both pieces have such a relaxing atmosphere, and I really want to hug that owl!
I am so glad they layer well, but boy did I get thrown off by the disappearing color. The first layer of the owl and the leaves drying so pale made me nervous!
Lovely artworks as always, that will looks real glorious and that little house like a real cozy and warm place to be. I love mixing my own colours, but with these types of dusky ones I often seem to get colour ratios wrong and end up with to much mother colours wasted ^^'. I also am a real sucker for this type of real dark nighttime colours and I love that these come with a bluish version, that the granulation seems so subtle. And then that box 😍 I might just have to treat myself to them someday 😁
I can understand that sentiment, I too have wasted a lot more paint than I intended trying to reach that "perfect" mixture goal I had planned. That's a really good point for convenience colors, especially ones you know you'll get a lot of use out of!
You always have the ability to find a paint's best use! Lovely paintings! I have PBk11 and have never been tempted to buy the dusk-type colors as I can mix my own. But your paintings are so appealing, it makes this set tempting!
I’ll stick with the Baku Undo for now, I really like then and do not get the ‘dare I use them’ feelings I often get with expensive paints. I don’t mind the drying shift at all, I am always grateful for these much more subtle colours, a bit like switching from full colour photography to duo tones or tritones. Much more restful to the eye, and I say that as a really lover of colour! So impressed with your use of tiny brushes with such precision, loved the results, I would buy these if I could justify it, but I can’t 🙁 they look really nice and painted out so well. I wonder if you have tried adding regular watercolour to them to widen out the range of hues you can achieve? I would be very interested to see how that worked out. I haven’t tried with the Hokusai undo because they are a different beast, kind of sticky inky stuff rather than watercolour.
Well, now I have to go find my Mars black. I had no idea it was so full of magical goodness. 😄💞 Umm, yeah. So ,I found my Mars black....yay. Yeah, it was an acrylic, not watercolor . Grrrrr. So..... no magical goodness for me....yet. 😊
Beautiful Kim...love to try these...thanks for introducing them...your paintings...are just lovely...you really know how to use these paints to your advantage...❤
Howdy, I just went and bought them on Amazon. I know it was a bit of an "OMG, those are awesome impulse purchases," but I seem to gravitate to dark colors like indigo when painting. My regular studio pallet has DS Luner Black so I'm used to the look in mixes and am excited to have a set to experiment with as I grow as an artist. Thank you for showing this to us and providing such an informative video.
Thank you for this Kim. I always look forward to your videos, and your comparisons are always so thorough. I enjoy mixing my own colors but having convenience colors is exactly that, convenient :-). I enjoy using them as well. I have fallen in love with Aquarius black. By any chance have you heard of Rockwell Canada super granulating paints? They claim very high lightfastness. They seem to be reasonably priced, but shipping was a little bit too expensive for my taste at the moment. Thank you again Kim. 🌺
Rockwell Canada is either a partner of Super Vision using their ingredients to supply paints in Canada, or is Super Vision's factory producing a side brand marketed as Canadian. Many of the colors have had an import fee added to them, such as Malachite's 8ml tube for $24 instead of Super Vision's $15 if you buy it shipped from China vs Canada. There are many indicators in their pdf catalog that they have a relationship, as they use the same Chinese language labels, terminology such as "out list" for meaning fugitive pigments not rated for lightfastness and using uncommon pigments like pb17, py12 and cochineal the carmine crushed up insect. They even go so far as to say all their paints are BW7-8 (meaning LFI in ASTM) - but many contain fugitive, not lightfast, ingredients. So be warned if you're interested in Super Vision paint, it's cheaper to just import them directly from China on ali express, or through a 3rd party etsy seller. Like I mentioned in my recent video about Super Vision though, I really can not recommend this brand. Happy painting :)
@@KimberlyCrick thank you so much! I knew you’d have the answer ;-)! I watched your Super Vision review just before this one and while they’re (all) tempting, my $’s for now will stay with less fugitive pigments or dyes, or mix my own. I was truly shocked color was lost while paint was still in a tube. Thank you again. 🌺
I was so mesmerized with the works people do with PBk11 mixes that I first bought an Oxide Black by Van Gogh and then a pan of Neutral Tint (P.B.66, P.Bk11) by Pinax (a Russian brand outsourcing their older watercolour line to Korea). I find Van Gogh version lovely on its own but in mixes it's a bit disappointing. It's all because P.Bk.11 by Talens is a tad too warm, say, for skies and will only do for textures like stone, asphalt, brick, tree bark, etc. And that Pinax mix I love. Their P.Bk.11 is cooler which makes it suitable for stormy skies. The downsides are presumable troubles with P.B.66 fastness and, perhaps, the filler or the oxide itself which make mixes whitish if you overdo on it. Having these two in my collection I decided not to buy any "dusks" anymore, but a granulating set by Rembrandt caught my attention and I bought it, somehow, assuming all of the colours will be synthetic and natural mineral single-pigment paints. And the majority of them are, yet there are three dusks in there -- pink, yellow and green. They are all very strong and indeed quite granulating. But that warm tint to them just does not do it for me, even though I often prefer warmer tones. It's just in this case you are limited in how you use them. They won't work for skies, that's for sure. I will find the use for them all I think. But of course I'd prefer something like cobalt blue, mars brown and an extra cerulean instead of them. These mixes by Paul Rubens certainly look different. Milder and cooler. Your beautiful paintings show that they can be used in a large variety of applications. Nice nightly landscape and a gorgeous wise owl.
As colours they're lovely, but I've always been drawn to darker and more muted colours, and the soft texture from a more finely milled PBk11 is very pleasing. As watercolours however they feel really dead, just like any other mix with mainly a black pigment. The extra work needed to add some life back into a picture vs just mixing something similar without a black just isn't worth it IMHO.
I love the little plants in the house window, and maybe slightly odd, but I like the lineart of the owl where its 'chin' would be? The texture there reminds me of little pine trees and it's cute. I love these sorts of colours! PBk11 is one of my favourite pigments, I'm such a sucker for the granulation. I don't think I would buy all of them, but I would definitely consider the PBk11/PB15 combo- those dreamy, deep nighttime skies are so gorgeous. I could try to make my own mix, but I'm a little afraid of wasting too much paint. Paul Rubens is so good at packaging and branding. All of their products are pleasing to look at, to the point where I have to remind myself so often that I do not need them!
I was fully expecting a cat to appear in that window, but alas, 2 cute plants instead. Lovely.... A tube of Lunar Black would certainly extend one's palette.
I've been considering these. It's a personal preference but I'm not the biggest fan of tubes so I have only a few. I wonder if it's harder to achieve the same effect with pans, is it more stable in tubes? I know it's graphite but Derwent did a pretty good job with their Graphitint palette. In my opinion Shi Yun is a bit pricey (base price around 70€ for 6 tubes) for a Paul Rubens product. That said I'll probably buy one or two in order to test it because these muted colors are right up my alley.
I used these from dry in a pan for the paintings in this video. Most of my watercolor tubes work very well transferred to a pan for ease of use. I've only found a few trouble pigments that are hard to rewet (viridian, potters pink, cerulean and anything from weird brands like Blockx/bargain/student paints). That does seem like higher of a price than what I see (70€ is about $80 usd, but I see the Shi Yun set for about $35- $40usd - much more reasonable). At double the price I think I'd just get a good PBk11 from another brand to mix into the paints I already own.
Lamp Black mixtures can be really nice! I particularly enjoy certain neutral tints like Sennelier's that combine PB60 Indanthrene Blue, PR209 Quin Red and PBk7 Lamp Black together. It just makes toning down and making rich darks so much easier.
Dear Kimberly, as someone said in a comment below you are truly a mind reader! I did see these paints on Ali and wondered about them! Your artworks are amazing, thank you very much for the review! also, thank you for the comparison, to be honest, I prefer VG/R paints to these versions of PR, the last ones look quite disappointing eh. Cannot help but ask what do you think about SuperVision brand? I bought them recently (amazing multicoloured paints) but have some gloomy thoughts about them. (No clear information about pigment + they behave quite odd after squeezing on a palette)
Thank you. As Super Vision is becoming more popular and easy to find I'll prioritize making a video summing up my feelings about them soon. I am not happy with how they pan either and there are dyes in them, including carmine crushed up red bugs which are fugitive. I will cover some LF info and how to DIY mix, but overall I only use Super Vision paints in my personal sketchbooks.
I'm torn. I love mixing my own-but I really like the smoothness of the Paul Rubens set. Plus it's a little pricey. Must think on this. These moody dark colors are my downfall. Love the little ceramic palette-do you get brownie points if I use your link?
I do prefer mixing my own, but the smoothness can be achieved if you get a less granulating PBk11 instead of the really heavy textural ones. I'll do a video about the options, since some brands only do smooth, some only do coarse (like DSmith only has coarse Lunar Black) but Roman Szmal offers 3 different kinds of PBk11 to suit anyones needs. I love having smooth, medium and coarse PBk11 on hand to mix with any of my colors. That being said these Rubens paints are beautiful. I do get brownie points for using my links lol, thank you :)
Que lindos 😍😍 quiero esas paletas 👐🏻👐🏻❤️, que bellas ilustraciones las ame!! Y claro que si, esto evitará que uno gaste demás preparando colores, me he gastado godets completos intentando lograr el color, así que esta paleta tiene que ser mía ❤️😍👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻 muchas gracias por el video!! Pd: nueva suscriptora 😊❤️
You could mix any black or neutral tint from any company with any bright color to tone them down into something like these. PBk11 specifically will just give you more granulation texture and something like Lamp Black PBk7 will be smoother with little to no color separation. Hope that helps :)
Princeton Heritage - sharp points for detail. For details I use their 3/0 round. Princeton neptune - soft floppy round brushes, carrry a lot of water. For general painting I use small brushes size 4 or 6 round since I paint in smaller formats like 5"x7". If you're ever curious about what I used in a video, the description text can be expanded under the video to show a list of all the art supplies I used. Happy painting :)
@@KimberlyCrick I'm blind and have challenges seeing the bright colors, I would really struggle to see what I had painted and any details using these colors. I like your two paintings, they are beautiful as I see them, an owl and house on a black background. Its just not for me, too hard to see. I need high contrast and lighter colors.
There is the living proof of an art myth being proved wrong. I grew up with the asinine adage that you should never use black in a painting. People would repeat the same nonsense that black only makes "muddy" colors that are unpleasant to look at. I discovered the joy of beautiful blacks many years ago, but so many people dissaproved. It was always nonsense. There is no such thing as a muddy color, just colors that are inappropriately grey, or the wrong tone for the surrounding colors. All colors are perfectly usable when appropriate to the context, and greys like these colors are beautifully moody rather than muddy. Beautiful colors.
Lately, I did a 6 months lightfast test of my Boku Undo Shadow set and Paul Rubens Shi Yun set no1. I didn't expect all of PRSY to be lightfast but hoped that maybe the not lightfast ones from BUS can be substituted by PRSY ones. I was there for a surprise. I did normal and watered wash, and none of PRSY colors faded. It raised my expectations for PR Shi Yun no2. Even 6 months was too much for BUS.
I come here for several reasons: 1. The honesty (something I find unusual on RUclips) 2. So I know what NOT to buy, lol. and 3. To watch you paint. It's just so nice!
Thank you so much! I try very hard to make my reviews honest and to the point. No matter if I like a product or not I always try to find a good use for it in the art segment. I'm so glad to hear it's appreciated. Happy painting :)
This arrives just in time, sometimes I think you're a mind reader. I've been eyeing this set since I spotted it on the official Paul Rubens store on Aliexpress in June.
I ended up buying the set of 12 tubes of Gucai paints instead but this one is still on my wishlist.
I coulf mix my own but having the tubes is handy and convenient as I already use a lot of dark colours like these.
I appreciate your in-depth reviews, you're always helpful and informative. Thank you for the video!
Edit: the tiny plants and pots silhouettes on the window are super cute and cozy!
I picked up the gucai too, but haven't tried them yet! I've got to try to translate a bunch of the Chinese language text on the packaging so I can see if I can gleam a bit more info on what is actually in them. Thank you for your nice comment, those potted plants were a last minute "I think this house needs....something!" idea. Suddenly felt so much more cozy :D
@@KimberlyCrick ooh I have already used mine and translated the text in the tubes (only labels) and colour names. I also asked a Chinese student friend for confirmation because the scanner app gave me a couple of weird results.
I contacted the seller asking for pigment code information but they didn't understand me, I believe they use a translator.
Do you want me to send you the label information or would you rather investigate yourself? ☺️
@@Shesvii If any of them are plant based or uncommon minerals they may not have an assigned code number either, adding extra confusion. Definitely leave me a list comment or email, I'd love to know what you found out :D
@@KimberlyCrick sure, I'm leaving the list here for anyone interested out there.
I'm also adding some colour name explanation for those who are curious.
Paul Rubens Gucai 12 colours set:
Titanium dioxide white
Garcinia (from the plant Garcinia gummi-gutta or tamarind)
Ocher
Cinnabar (ore of mercury, HgS)
Zhudie (name of a Tibetan region)
Eosin (name of a common dye used to observe tissue under microscope)
Rouge (red in French)
Three greens
Sanqing (name of three Taoist deities and a sacred mountain)
Black
Phthalo blue
Cyan
The cyan colour is confusing because it looks like Payne's grey or indigo to me.
Some of them have a little texture and granulate, which makes me even more curious about the pigments.
The tube labels say on the back:
Binder/vehicle: animal glue
Lightfastness: ++++ (whatever rating)
Milliliters: 12ml
Hi, I have never heard of this Gucai set. I checked PR Official Store, and it is categorised under Chinese Paint. I have no idea what Chinese Paint is. Is it more like watercolour, or more similar to gouache?
So far I’ve resisted the urge to buy the premade mixes, instead just playing with the tubes of ds lunar black or Van Gogh oxide black mixed with another color. I find that the former is more granulating, but that I can get really nice results with the less expensive Van Gogh if I slightly wet the paper with water and then paint my palette mixture into it. I don’t think I’d use the premade mixtures enough to warrant buying them. However, your paintings are lovely! I always smile when I see a new video from you! Thanks for all your reviews…they’re invaluable!
I invested in lunar black (DS) and have been happily mixing 'dusk' colours since! I highly recommend it. You would also be well off getting DS Manganese Blue hue as its a special version of pthalo that you can use with lunar black to mix a lunar blue dupe and many other special and more unique colours. It has a flourescant mysterious additive so ? (On its glowing nature and its true lightfastness oddly) but Its a lovely one to invest in for use and mixing.
If you haven't seen my top recommended pigment list yet, be sure to check it out :) www.kimcrick.com/pages/top-lightfast-watercolor-pigments
@@KimberlyCrick Thanks, I'll check it out!
I was just viewing this for the second time as I bought this Paul Rubens set after watching this review and haven’t swatched or tried them yet. I realized I had neglected to comment the first time so I wanted to tell you how much I love both the paintings! Watching you paint them along with the perfect background music you selected is magical. I really love your unique style and am especially drawn to the moonlit night scenes and those with the touches of metallic. As always, I can’t wait to see what you do next!
I really like both of your paintings, but that owl 😍. Yes, this set of paints is very interesting, I need to look into them, love moody, muted colors. Thx for sharing!
I love these kinds of paints.
I feel like often they are very unnecessary to buy, because it's such a simple mix, but sometimes it's worth it.
These look like they can do really interesting paintings. Thank you for the review.
Wonderful work and wonderful colors. Kind of in competition with Daniel Smith Primatek Colors - but here you get 15ml tubes instead of only 5ml with the primatek´s for the same price 👍🏻
Thanks Kimberly! I'm "on the verge" for these, but I already have the Boku, and 2 Van Gogh dusk: pink & purple, plus some Schmincke Super Granulating sample sets: Deep Sea & Forest. And Ali Express sent a deal for 12 Pro Paul Rubens half pans for$20 and I just ordered that! I'm just in a sort of "buying fever" that I need to cool. 🥵
I hear you, I get on a buying-spree sometimes lol. I think if you already have the boku and some dusk, your next best purchase might be a single pigment pbk11 mars/lunar black so you can mix it with the new paul rubens half pans to diy all sorts of similar colors :D
It is truly astounding to me why you don't have more subscribers! Between your calming voice, the vast array of products that you review (mostly at your own cost) the techniques that you show and the amazing ideas that you share! I just wanted to thank you for all of it. Your videos are very well edited and the music is neither too loud or annoying. Well done! ❤️
Thank you for your kind comment, I appreciate the support! Happy painting :)
Just got a new subscriber this morning! I can't wait to dive in to some great info. I get a lot of art concept and theory but watercolor has been trying for me. At the point of just learning just how much paint options there are.. Oh my.
@@Linda24gojeff Some of my favorite videos of Kim's are where she shows us how to mix a lot of these colors instead of buying every trendy new thing out there. Saves so much money! Also she gives so many great ideas to try new things. Happy painting!
Hello! Great video. I am new to watercolor, so my opinions don't really hold much value as I have much less experience with all of the various mediums, paper textures, etc. That said, so far I am preferring to purchase more colors and having to mix less. Not that I don't mix at all, but It helps me narrow down color combinations more easily. I am so VERY in love with this set, however. The pigmentation and how smoothely the paint applies and dries onto the paper just... omg. I love it. :)
Once again you have produced two images that went from not grabbing my imagination to being superb! My creativity is surfacing - I'll have to be careful or I'll find myself actually doing something!!!! Thanks again. Am still trawling through past videos and thoroughly enjoying them!
Thank you so much for this review
Thank you so much for this review! I just received the Paul Reagan "nocturnal set" and have started to test it. I am leaving for the summer shortly and will be at a seaside site in Newfoundland where I have been struggling with getting night scenes to look the way I want for a long time ...... My play and your review give me a renewed hope finally being on the right track!!!
I had no idea that these even existed, and am super thankful to have your review be the first I find. I appreciate the warning about the wet-to-dry shift. Thank goodness the paints are able to layer well to darken as needed! Wonderful artwork as always... Both pieces have such a relaxing atmosphere, and I really want to hug that owl!
I am so glad they layer well, but boy did I get thrown off by the disappearing color. The first layer of the owl and the leaves drying so pale made me nervous!
Beautiful! These would be a fun addition to my ever growing watercolor collection.
Lovely artworks as always, that will looks real glorious and that little house like a real cozy and warm place to be.
I love mixing my own colours, but with these types of dusky ones I often seem to get colour ratios wrong and end up with to much mother colours wasted ^^'. I also am a real sucker for this type of real dark nighttime colours and I love that these come with a bluish version, that the granulation seems so subtle. And then that box 😍 I might just have to treat myself to them someday 😁
I can understand that sentiment, I too have wasted a lot more paint than I intended trying to reach that "perfect" mixture goal I had planned. That's a really good point for convenience colors, especially ones you know you'll get a lot of use out of!
You always have the ability to find a paint's best use! Lovely paintings! I have PBk11 and have never been tempted to buy the dusk-type colors as I can mix my own. But your paintings are so appealing, it makes this set tempting!
Love your videos and how you script them.
I’ll stick with the Baku Undo for now, I really like then and do not get the ‘dare I use them’ feelings I often get with expensive paints. I don’t mind the drying shift at all, I am always grateful for these much more subtle colours, a bit like switching from full colour photography to duo tones or tritones. Much more restful to the eye, and I say that as a really lover of colour! So impressed with your use of tiny brushes with such precision, loved the results, I would buy these if I could justify it, but I can’t 🙁 they look really nice and painted out so well. I wonder if you have tried adding regular watercolour to them to widen out the range of hues you can achieve? I would be very interested to see how that worked out. I haven’t tried with the Hokusai undo because they are a different beast, kind of sticky inky stuff rather than watercolour.
I just ordered some Gamblin mars black pigment. Should be some interesting testing in my future!
Beautiful paintings! And the colors are so interesting, I need to mix my own once I have a pbk11.
Well, now I have to go find my Mars black. I had no idea it was so full of magical goodness. 😄💞
Umm, yeah. So ,I found my Mars black....yay. Yeah, it was an acrylic, not watercolor . Grrrrr. So..... no magical goodness for me....yet. 😊
Beautiful Kim...love to try these...thanks for introducing them...your paintings...are just lovely...you really know how to use these paints to your advantage...❤
The way you carry yourself and your arts is truly admirable and incredible tutorials 💕💛🔔
Howdy, I just went and bought them on Amazon. I know it was a bit of an "OMG, those are awesome impulse purchases," but I seem to gravitate to dark colors like indigo when painting. My regular studio pallet has DS Luner Black so I'm used to the look in mixes and am excited to have a set to experiment with as I grow as an artist. Thank you for showing this to us and providing such an informative video.
Big fan of your videos ❤
I'm definitely investing! Thank You Kim! So so much!
Thank you for this Kim. I always look forward to your videos, and your comparisons are always so thorough. I enjoy mixing my own colors but having convenience colors is exactly that, convenient :-). I enjoy using them as well. I have fallen in love with Aquarius black. By any chance have you heard of Rockwell Canada super granulating paints? They claim very high lightfastness. They seem to be reasonably priced, but shipping was a little bit too expensive for my taste at the moment. Thank you again Kim. 🌺
Rockwell Canada is either a partner of Super Vision using their ingredients to supply paints in Canada, or is Super Vision's factory producing a side brand marketed as Canadian. Many of the colors have had an import fee added to them, such as Malachite's 8ml tube for $24 instead of Super Vision's $15 if you buy it shipped from China vs Canada. There are many indicators in their pdf catalog that they have a relationship, as they use the same Chinese language labels, terminology such as "out list" for meaning fugitive pigments not rated for lightfastness and using uncommon pigments like pb17, py12 and cochineal the carmine crushed up insect. They even go so far as to say all their paints are BW7-8 (meaning LFI in ASTM) - but many contain fugitive, not lightfast, ingredients. So be warned if you're interested in Super Vision paint, it's cheaper to just import them directly from China on ali express, or through a 3rd party etsy seller. Like I mentioned in my recent video about Super Vision though, I really can not recommend this brand. Happy painting :)
@@KimberlyCrick thank you so much! I knew you’d have the answer ;-)!
I watched your Super Vision review just before this one and while they’re (all) tempting, my $’s for now will stay with less fugitive pigments or dyes, or mix my own. I was truly shocked color was lost while paint was still in a tube. Thank you again. 🌺
I was so mesmerized with the works people do with PBk11 mixes that I first bought an Oxide Black by Van Gogh and then a pan of Neutral Tint (P.B.66, P.Bk11) by Pinax (a Russian brand outsourcing their older watercolour line to Korea).
I find Van Gogh version lovely on its own but in mixes it's a bit disappointing. It's all because P.Bk.11 by Talens is a tad too warm, say, for skies and will only do for textures like stone, asphalt, brick, tree bark, etc.
And that Pinax mix I love. Their P.Bk.11 is cooler which makes it suitable for stormy skies. The downsides are presumable troubles with P.B.66 fastness and, perhaps, the filler or the oxide itself which make mixes whitish if you overdo on it.
Having these two in my collection I decided not to buy any "dusks" anymore, but a granulating set by Rembrandt caught my attention and I bought it, somehow, assuming all of the colours will be synthetic and natural mineral single-pigment paints. And the majority of them are, yet there are three dusks in there -- pink, yellow and green.
They are all very strong and indeed quite granulating. But that warm tint to them just does not do it for me, even though I often prefer warmer tones. It's just in this case you are limited in how you use them. They won't work for skies, that's for sure.
I will find the use for them all I think. But of course I'd prefer something like cobalt blue, mars brown and an extra cerulean instead of them.
These mixes by Paul Rubens certainly look different. Milder and cooler. Your beautiful paintings show that they can be used in a large variety of applications.
Nice nightly landscape and a gorgeous wise owl.
those are colours after my own heart, love them 😀
Amazing. Such a great artist.
Beautiful colors.
As colours they're lovely, but I've always been drawn to darker and more muted colours, and the soft texture from a more finely milled PBk11 is very pleasing. As watercolours however they feel really dead, just like any other mix with mainly a black pigment. The extra work needed to add some life back into a picture vs just mixing something similar without a black just isn't worth it IMHO.
I love the little plants in the house window, and maybe slightly odd, but I like the lineart of the owl where its 'chin' would be? The texture there reminds me of little pine trees and it's cute.
I love these sorts of colours! PBk11 is one of my favourite pigments, I'm such a sucker for the granulation. I don't think I would buy all of them, but I would definitely consider the PBk11/PB15 combo- those dreamy, deep nighttime skies are so gorgeous. I could try to make my own mix, but I'm a little afraid of wasting too much paint.
Paul Rubens is so good at packaging and branding. All of their products are pleasing to look at, to the point where I have to remind myself so often that I do not need them!
Late to the party but these paints and your artwork are beautiful
I was fully expecting a cat to appear in that window, but alas, 2 cute plants instead. Lovely.... A tube of Lunar Black would certainly extend one's palette.
Ooooh darn I hadn't thought about a cat when I was mid-painting. Would've been great!
I've been considering these. It's a personal preference but I'm not the biggest fan of tubes so I have only a few. I wonder if it's harder to achieve the same effect with pans, is it more stable in tubes? I know it's graphite but Derwent did a pretty good job with their Graphitint palette. In my opinion Shi Yun is a bit pricey (base price around 70€ for 6 tubes) for a Paul Rubens product. That said I'll probably buy one or two in order to test it because these muted colors are right up my alley.
I used these from dry in a pan for the paintings in this video. Most of my watercolor tubes work very well transferred to a pan for ease of use. I've only found a few trouble pigments that are hard to rewet (viridian, potters pink, cerulean and anything from weird brands like Blockx/bargain/student paints). That does seem like higher of a price than what I see (70€ is about $80 usd, but I see the Shi Yun set for about $35- $40usd - much more reasonable). At double the price I think I'd just get a good PBk11 from another brand to mix into the paints I already own.
Just thought I'd let you know Paul rubens have just released a new set of 6 in this range! I can't wait to order mine!
They look beautiful!
@@KimberlyCrick I know!
I prefer lamp black when I'm doing that kind of thing. Very slight granulation, but darker color for sure.
Lamp Black mixtures can be really nice! I particularly enjoy certain neutral tints like Sennelier's that combine PB60 Indanthrene Blue, PR209 Quin Red and PBk7 Lamp Black together. It just makes toning down and making rich darks so much easier.
Can you do a review on Daler Rowney artists watercolour, they seem very similar to Winsor and Newton artist watercolour
Please let me post this edited edition darn!!!!!!
Dear Kimberly, as someone said in a comment below you are truly a mind reader! I did see these paints on Ali and wondered about them! Your artworks are amazing, thank you very much for the review! also, thank you for the comparison, to be honest, I prefer VG/R paints to these versions of PR, the last ones look quite disappointing eh. Cannot help but ask what do you think about SuperVision brand? I bought them recently (amazing multicoloured paints) but have some gloomy thoughts about them. (No clear information about pigment + they behave quite odd after squeezing on a palette)
Thank you. As Super Vision is becoming more popular and easy to find I'll prioritize making a video summing up my feelings about them soon. I am not happy with how they pan either and there are dyes in them, including carmine crushed up red bugs which are fugitive. I will cover some LF info and how to DIY mix, but overall I only use Super Vision paints in my personal sketchbooks.
These colors fascinate me, but the budget will stretch to one tube of black instead of a full set of maybe I will use these paints.
I'm torn. I love mixing my own-but I really like the smoothness of the Paul Rubens set. Plus it's a little pricey. Must think on this. These moody dark colors are my downfall. Love the little ceramic palette-do you get brownie points if I use your link?
I do prefer mixing my own, but the smoothness can be achieved if you get a less granulating PBk11 instead of the really heavy textural ones. I'll do a video about the options, since some brands only do smooth, some only do coarse (like DSmith only has coarse Lunar Black) but Roman Szmal offers 3 different kinds of PBk11 to suit anyones needs. I love having smooth, medium and coarse PBk11 on hand to mix with any of my colors. That being said these Rubens paints are beautiful. I do get brownie points for using my links lol, thank you :)
Que lindos 😍😍 quiero esas paletas 👐🏻👐🏻❤️, que bellas ilustraciones las ame!! Y claro que si, esto evitará que uno gaste demás preparando colores, me he gastado godets completos intentando lograr el color, así que esta paleta tiene que ser mía ❤️😍👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻👐🏻 muchas gracias por el video!!
Pd: nueva suscriptora 😊❤️
¡Gracias, encantado de ayudar! Feliz pintura :)
Another comment lol... or question actually....
Can I mix Lamp Black (Renesans Polska brand) with other tube watercolors to get similar results?
You could mix any black or neutral tint from any company with any bright color to tone them down into something like these. PBk11 specifically will just give you more granulation texture and something like Lamp Black PBk7 will be smoother with little to no color separation. Hope that helps :)
New subscriber here so forgive me but what was the white you used for the highlights? Love your swatches! Thank you!
I use white gouache PW6 for highlights, the brand doesn't matter too much but M.Graham's does really well in a pan without as much cracking apart.
@@KimberlyCrick Thanks 😊
May I ask what brushes you use or recommend
Princeton Heritage - sharp points for detail. For details I use their 3/0 round. Princeton neptune - soft floppy round brushes, carrry a lot of water. For general painting I use small brushes size 4 or 6 round since I paint in smaller formats like 5"x7". If you're ever curious about what I used in a video, the description text can be expanded under the video to show a list of all the art supplies I used. Happy painting :)
I am not really excited by dark moody colors. It's too hard for me to see what I'm painting.
I’m definitely more excited by bright colors too, but love the challenge of a weird palette selection sometimes. Happy painting:)
@@KimberlyCrick I'm blind and have challenges seeing the bright colors, I would really struggle to see what I had painted and any details using these colors. I like your two paintings, they are beautiful as I see them, an owl and house on a black background. Its just not for me, too hard to see. I need high contrast and lighter colors.
There is the living proof of an art myth being proved wrong. I grew up with the asinine adage that you should never use black in a painting. People would repeat the same nonsense that black only makes "muddy" colors that are unpleasant to look at. I discovered the joy of beautiful blacks many years ago, but so many people dissaproved. It was always nonsense. There is no such thing as a muddy color, just colors that are inappropriately grey, or the wrong tone for the surrounding colors. All colors are perfectly usable when appropriate to the context, and greys like these colors are beautifully moody rather than muddy. Beautiful colors.