WOW Fun to see you reviewing the KP box here! I created the medium and got them making watercolor pans when I worked for them (part-time for 8 years) maybe back in 2005. The same box cost originally $38!! The consistency of the paints is almost gouache-like but they dilute with water beautifully to give good transparency. The good thing is they are all single-pigment colors so great for mixing. I think of them as spicing up other brands because they are so rich. The names are based on the chemical origin, not some made-up name like 'moonglow' etc. by the way I had nothing to do with the choice of colors in the boxes which I find somewhat odd, especially in the mini box. Also Daniel Smith tubes are made with Kremer's pigments and more finely ground for the tubes. I find a lot of DS paint evaporate when I set them out in the pans unfortunately. If you get a chance to go to New York you will be blown away by the range of colored pigments..they have at least 80 earth pigments. All the restoration departs in museums use their pigments FYI world-wide.
Daniel Smith and other brands' paints do evaporate when poured from tube, because usually the mixes are thinner than Kremer's. I think Kremer's colours are extinguisingly thick, and noticed that they aren't as finely mulled as other commercial colours. They seem to have almost 80% pigment and only a little binder, and feel more like a colour block than watercolour paints. Which makes perfect sense, since they are also very well known for the arts restoration tools, and you'd need almost all-pigment-paint for restoration purposes. (e.g. Colour chips) This particular characteristic is absolutely fine by me and I actually find it rather charming. However, when you use this sort of medium on sketchbook, or treat them as conventional modern watercolours, you face the issues such as colours rubbing off easily(because the pigments aren't properly bound to the binder), etc. And, while I have no problems with more traditional names(although, Kremer's colours are often named after the manufacturer of the pigments e.g. Irgazin) I also find the 'made up names' fascinating - it offers a lot of room for imagination. Kremer also sell some mixes in both pigment and paint, and there's nothing wrong with mixes, I reckon. What I absolutely adore about Kremer is the vast range of pigments, especially from European regions(earth pigments) and their house-processed pigments are more than excellent. I produce almsot all my paints with pigments from Kremer, and never once I was let down. The obvious downside from having such a wide variety of choices is sometimes you don't know which to pick - for example, they've 8 varieties of French yellow ochre, and while you see some differences in hues, it's quite difficult to decide which would suit you best by just looking at the pictures of the pigments. But, that's just another charm I find from Kremer :)
Very interesting! I’m starting restoration studies next month and it is good to know what pigments i’ll be using! :) (I paint with Daniel Smith watercolours in my free time, so the pigments will be familiar!)
They have a store in NYC, I've been there several times. It's an AMAZING store. They have classes on making your own watercolors, acrylics and oil paints. I love the store. They have great service and are very friendly. Make sure you visit them if you come to NYC. Thanks as always for sharing.
You're so great at showing us everything we need to know about a product. I'm the kind of person who likes to handle and look at things before buying, but sometimes that's just not possible. I really appreciate the way you discuss quality, the feel of various products, how well they last, tricks for "hacking" and altering them, and of course how well they work. Thanks so much! :)
I have watched your channel for several years. This is the first time I recall seeing your larger sketches. I enjoyed seeing the larger paintings. As ever, thank you for your thorough and objective review!
Finally got a set of these. The pans are ok... a few cracked but holding together. They are GORGEOUS so glad I finally treated myself. I’ve watched this video several times and really enjoy the paintings you made with them. ✨🙏🏼🎨🙏🏼✨
Geckonia I was browsing the comments and on *this* video it had a comment about MTG, Ugin, and board whipes.. but then I go to comment it shows a completely different comment from you, I think somehow RUclips mixed the comments from a different video I happened to watch earlier where you *did* make a comment about magic cards... so weird.
The Kremer pigments in your set are made using mostly inorganic pigments, so that is why they are less intense that the other brands which mostly use synthetic organic pigments. Synthetic organic pigments have high tinting strength and are very concentrated by comparison. But inorganic pigments are always more lightfast and more likely to be granulating due to a larger particle size.
I love your channel, so far I've consulted the Pro's on RUclips for everything from fountain pens, inks, watercolor tubes, watercolor pans, paper, markers, color pencils and graphite. You literally have a video for everything!
Oh my goodness, I got to really have a paint with my Kramer’s today, I have the small set of 8 full pans which is very minimalist and the small set of landscape half pans to which I have added half a dozen Kremer colours plus a couple of granulating from other brands. I just LOVE them. Up to now I have swatched and colour charted them a little but had no space to work so did not really use them much otherwise. Now I have a purpose built work space, and am catching up on a lot. And I really want this set too! The wet in wet abilities of these paints is just the best! The textural qualities are just fantastic and even the very different consistencies between pans once you get the feel for them just vibrates with life. Thanks for this review which I first watched ages ago, years in fact. They are instantly recognisable on paper, nothing else behaves the way they do. I am going to really enjoy these and having watched you use them you already taught just how loosely they can be used. Thanks a million!
I have and love this set as well. I find the ruby to be insanely granulating and very strong, even moreso than the cobalt blue deep. Granted, I have moved 3 of the 14 colors to a 'gouache' box, because of their opacity. But that being said, I am fascinated with the properties of this paint.
I just got this same set as well as the smaller 8 color box. I ordered direct from the Kremer Pigments website. Most of the watercolors they offer are very reasonablely priced with the full pans only being $1 USD more than the half pans! Super affordably priced for the most part. Most colors are $10 USD or less for full pans! There are some that are $15-$17 USD but about half are $10 or less. Shipping was cheap & fast. I live in Washington state & I received my order exactly one week after ordering. They offer a good color selection including colors that not many brands offer. And if there's a color you want but they don't offer it as a ready made color, they also sell pigments & Watercolor medium making it relatively easy & fun to make your own watercolor paints. They also offer brushes, Watercolor paper, and many more unique items on their website. Finally, their watercolors are definitely unique and unlike any other brands I've ever tried & I've tried many of the most popular brands. The granulation is hands down far better than another brand well known for their granulating colors, Daniel Smith. It's a must try in my book!
Also, I forgot to mention that my set wasn't nearly as bad looking as his was at first open but there was some cracking & my Phthalo Green Dark was a little bit broken up but I didn't care. I care more about how it looks when I paint with it more then I do about how it looks in the box. Plus after I got the pans wet several times the cracks filled in and the broken pieces in my Phthalo Green blended together with the rest of the green in the pan so it was no longer an issue anyway.
Compare Kremer (14 full pan set) with DS 6 1/2 pan sets (3 full pans) at $80 Kremer and $40 DS, and it's a no brainer! Also, Kremer comes in a nice metal palette. I do like DS sap green. Bought a 15ml tube today, opened it to fill a 1/2 pan, after shaking it to mix it, and when I took the cap off, it was full of air, and exploded paint eveywhere. Also, don't worry about how Kremer arrives, just put them in their slots, wipe the palette off, moisten them, and you're good to go. Kremer- nice color choices for this set. Kremer seems like an old school company that has a lot of integrity.
I'm so glad you spread the word about these watercolors because they are my favorites and they don't get enough praise. They are so unique! For me it's kinda dangerous that I live so close to their shop :) My only wish is that someday they will make tube paints.
Thank you for this demonstration of these unique watercolors. I too find the color selection very interesting. I am curious about how well they might glaze. Do you have any information on this? I'm also impressed that even five years later, the price for this palette on Kremer Pigments website is still US$80.
The paint you are showing at min is 17:00 is one of my favorites by the you. Love the scale and the contrast of dark greens of trees with the light grass and the transparent shadows in the grass. It just triggers a happy feeling in my. Cheers.
Yes, I was intending to say double stick tape is a great gadget when one has a palette that does or doesn't have the metal tabs or clips. Thanks again for all your vid's!
a realy spezial set to have a lot of fun 😁good to know that there is a brand with handmade colors ... they use often also historical pigments and they like to create colors by themselve in the old way with a lot of knowledge. for example > cooking plants or roots to get colorful pigments at the end, they make coal of the core from different fruits for some colors and so on. you can also get a set for experiments > to create your own colors from 3 pigments and other ingridiences... etc. the whole homepage by kremer-pigments is very interesting 😃
I love the granulation on these. I also like that they come in full pans instead of half pans. When I was just starting with watercolors, I wanted to get this as my first set but it was always out of stock Amazon.
+Prismatic You have to go to the product page on Amazon occasionally. Sometimes the stocks come back. Or just get them from Kremer Pigments website. They sell it at the same price usd $80 not including shipping.
I know this is an older video, but the Pthalo Green you swatched didn't look anything like the color in your paint box. The one on that card looked more like a turquoise than a green. Maybe it wasn't dry yet, but even the pan seemed very dark for such a light blue. Unless I'm colorblind. I am beginning to wonder...
Thank you so much for this review. I have been wanting to get some Kremer paints and this really pointed me in the right direction! Thank you for your advice 🙂
Great, thorough review! These paints look great in your sketches. Your text review a while ago helped me decide to buy some and these paints are so underrated and beautiful. It is also worth picking up some empty pans if ordering from their website as they are really cheap if you are already paying for the pricey shipping anyway.
Have heard you mention kremer a few times, glad to have found this review, I think your painting with them was very different, possibly because it was when you were not using sketch books. I like both but I think I see a difference. Coincidentally I like painting in an A5 book now mainly for storage and it’s easy to. Look through again.
+Daniel Morales I usually use Daler Rowney Aquafine for practice and demo videos like this. It's bright white paper, 300gsm. But it is not that good for layering since the paper is not thst durable without any cotton content.
Thank you for the in depth review 🙂 I was wondering what issues you’d have with the binder leaching out of the paint? Also wondering if you’ve bought more of their paints recently? Have they changed since this review?
Oh! Neat! I know some people, like eve bolt, who make their own paints using kremer pigments, and it’s interesting seeing their finished paints knowing a bit about other people’s finished paints with the same pigments.
Great review! I've been trying to find different artists quality pans since I already have tubes, so I've been doing some hardcore research. Thanks for introducing this palette!
Hi Teoh. Are they not chalky? Or Was it just my Kremer. My Cobalt blue deep and caput mortum are the chalkiest in my set. When I rub my finger on dried paints on paper, the colors move in my finger like powder. Should I return my set or is it naturally like that? I hope you can give me feedback. Thank you.
Chalky as in the physical pan or when you’re painting. Their pans are chalky to touch. They use just enough binder so that the pigment is not powder. That’s why their pigment load is high
@@teohyc oh yeah I get it. They're really pigmented and intense actually. I'm worried though that when I use them in sketchbook, the Pigments might stain the opposite page. Thank you for the feedback. 🙏
There are people who buy expensive, very expensive wristwatches. And what do they do with them? Nothing at all. Most people don't even read the time because it has already told them their mobile phone. Kremer colors are also comparatively very expensive, but much cheaper than a watch. And what can I do with colours! Colours allow painting and painting allows a completely new view of the world. No watch can do that. I have two boxes, the grey one and the landscape one. I wouldn't say that Kremer colours are better or worse. They are different, but not sooo different again. A bit like Kuretake. You can't see the Kremer colours in my work, I'm too bad. Although I am a poor artist, I can afford first-class colours. I like that.
Thank you for this review. Do the 4 earth colours dry milky/chalky or do they stay vibrant? I have some Gouache-like colours that dry very milky and dull and don’t want to buy colours that make the same problem
Super review. I am not familiar with Kremer and your video gives so much good info. It might be worth it to buy Kremer Cobalt Blue Dark for that granulation.
+David The only Daler Rowney watercolor I have used is their student grade Aquafine pan set. Quality is that of student grade of course. I have not tried their artist grade paints.
Hey, I bought myself the landscape set a while ago and some of the colours rubb of after they`ve tried. Are those colours doing the same? Do some of them rubb of a bit?
Watercolour is usually resistant to erasing after it's dry, unless you use a lot of paint or you erase very hard. To protect the watercolour, you can spray fixative. ruclips.net/video/g4PUTozBAkk/видео.html
Fixative is a really good idea, thank you :) I was just wondering if this was a general problem of the brand or if it`s just a problem with those certain pigments because I`ve never had the problem with my other watercolours.
@@firecloud6503 It's because the pigment particles are so large, and they use very little binder vs pigment. Daniel Smith uses Kremer pigments, however they mill them finer (though they are still known for their granulation) and user more binder.
Thanks for the great review -- I always enjoy the comparisons and the color mixing demos! This set seems to have too many opaque colors for my taste, although I am intrigued by the granulation. Have you tried the Mission Gold pan set?...I know you reviewed the 9 tube set, but I'd love to see a review of the pan set. MG seems to have the intensity and transparency that I'm after.
+Marisa Hernandez I've not tried Mission Gold pan sets. They are difficult to find, and the sets that I saw were all seriously overpriced. It's better to just get their tube sets.
Marisa Hernandez. Hey there! I just wanted to mention that even more opaque colors can be made to be a little more transparent depending on how much water you use to dilute the paint. I also want to say that you can buy one of the Mission Gold tube watercolor sets and fill your own pans. That's what I did with my MG 36 tube set & it was easy to do and the pans were settled and dry within about 24-48 hours. One advantage to filling your own pans is you can make pans of paint mixes that you use a lot. Just fill each pan about halfway & let it get almost dry because the paint will settle into the pan as it dries. Then when its still a little bit moist but mostly dry, you can then fill the pan the rest of the way & let that dry. It's pretty easy. it may not look as nice as a factory poured pan, but ultimately that's not very important because once you start using the paint, the pan won't like as nice as it was when new anyway.. I think the MG paint is nice but only about a quarter of their paints are single pigment colors. Many of their paints are 2-3 colors blended together to create a certain color. They even do this for colors where they don't have to use multiple pigments. Ideally you want single pigment colors because they will give you cleaner mixes & less chance of mixing "mud". It becomes harder to get clean mixes when you're using paints with multiple pigments. I haven't had this problem with their paints too much but I haven't created many mixes beyond secondary colors just yet. Also I think it's because I'm paying very close attention to the pigments in each color and because I have a pretty detailed understanding of color theory which I think is important for painters to have at least a basic understanding of color theory. Sorry for the long message but I hope this may have been helpful. Happy Painting!
I don't hear much of this brand from anyone but you. They are very granulating, which is beautiful. However, Im not sure if I want that much granulation in my sketches, especially in the yellows. Very interesting, though.
Just looked to see if I could find them, only on their own site not on amazon anymore and not the great set you had , which I liked the layout. I make and keep a swatch wrapped in plastic and tape inside my palettes, as they provide. You might struggle to replace this one!
Unfortunately the middle row is too narrow for full pans or even half pans. This set is really worth the money if you can get it at US $80. For that price with certain brands, you only get half pans. And the quality here is fantastic.
Those mixes were so awesome! Just. ..wow! It'll be quite some time, but I'll get a set eventually! I'm wondering what effects are possible when mixing with non-granulating colors and colors from other brands. Why do I always end up singing that song by Queen, "I want it all", after watching your videos?
+Heather Catlady Best to just get one set and slowly add colours one by one. Do not get too many sets. The 14 colour set, if it is still selling at usd $80 on Amazon is worth the money.
Kremer specialises in pigments, the watercolors they produce are a side issue, so don't worry about the 'unboxing'.... it's how they work! Some people complain about sennelier paint that doesn't dry because of the honey. I'm looking for ancient, turner sort of watercolors. Wallace seymour produces that, very expensive. It seems kremer can fill the gap. Maybe you should try genuine vermillion.
wow they look so pigmented!! I love your reviews and your blog! Would you help me to decide, should I buy mijello (24 colors gold) or holbein (18) watercolor set? (kremer is too much for me right now but I loved how you painted with them, i loved that blue granulation )
their prices are almost the same, but I suggest that you should buy Holbein. MG's colors are not really permanent, and quite sensitive with the sun. I am usinh many Holbein's product like Holbein palm box set 12, Holbein Karakuri box set 8, Holbein x Yufushi set, Holbein Irodori,... And I am in love with them
+Enteleqia The best value set is the 9-tube Mission Gold. You can add other colours later on when needed. Holbein is good too, I've a friend who loves them but I've not used them personally before.
+Ramo They are quite easy to reactivate with water that's why it seems that I'm using a lot of paint. Full pans can last much longer, and there are 14 colours.
kremer pigments watercolors are all handmade, so its really difficult to make them look that perfect like fabric watercolors, i think they did a good Job for handmade watercolors. i make watercolors myself and i know how difficult it is because all diffrent pigments also dry diffrent with the gum arabic, honey and glycerin. thats why some Colors are more sticky and some more dry. in my opinion kremer pigments are one of the best watercolors out there. i dont care how they look, its more important how they are. :)
iraville Of course they're gonna be a bit uneven, I don't mind that. But I'm pretty sure if they let them dry longer they wouldn't seperate from the binder like that.
i dont think that its that they get seperated from the binder, i think its the honey. some pigments will never get totally dry with honey and Glycerin but if you dont add honey and Glycerin they would crack. i have the same thing with some mijello Colors i squeesed into pans. some of them are still sicky although they already dry for 3 month ^_^ other companys add some chemical hardener to their paints, well i myself like that kremer stay more natural. but they should maybe wrap these Colors in some grease-proof paper or something :)
if you use white( wich is opak) in watercolour its more mixed Media than real "aquarell"( transparent). white areas are not painted originally in watercolour painting;-)
It really depends on how and what you paint. Some folks use white to mix with the other colors to create pastel colors, for example. I use black all the time myself. Each painter will have their own experiences with white and black colors.
I have them :) they're very beautiful and bright, and blend very easily. They're hard to find though, I managed to snatch the 40 color set off Amazon after looking at it for some time. There are two ways to go about using them, and the proper way is to snip off a small piece and let it stand it a small amount of water. The pigmented ink will seep into the water, and it's easy to do watercolor washes with them. The trouble is how you'd like to store them to bring about. And also if you use a certain patch too much, the paper bits will start to come off, so you can't use too much water. I store mine the way Kristina Werner does! And they're super easy to bring around because it's pretty much as light as a piece of paper, and thin enough to slip into your watercolor sketchbook or pad without any bulging. Super handy and pretty. It's the only set I have now because I sold off my Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 color set haha...
There are 24 pan sets from Winsor Newton and Schmincke. But if you can get this Kremer set at US$80, it is worth the money because each pan here is a full pan
I remember , irgazin red, is what is sometimes called "permanent red" ( likas ) or "ferrary red" it is a synthetic color supposed to replace cadmium reds, but hey, this pigment seems to be no way cheap, for example a tube of lukas permanet red costs three times as a usual color!
Larger or full pans are more useful when you are painting big, like A4-size or larger. A larger brush can fit in the pan and pick up for paint and paint larger areas. If you're just painting in sketchbooks or smaller pieces then half pans are more appropriate. Large pans are also good for travel as they hold more paint so they have less chance of running out of paint.
Hi Teoh, great review and your sketches look creatively fantastic too! Hey, ....just an idea here......I personally use really good "SCOTCH" Brand double stick tape to keep my half and full paint pans attached to my various watercolor palletes. It works extremely well. I recommend the Scotch "heavy duty outdoor" double stick tape,... it's available at any Home Depot or Lowes box stores in the paint section of the stores. The key is to make sure the paint box/ palette and pans are dry and pretty clean/ free of excess paint. Scotch Brand also makes less expensive & smaller rolls of double stick tape too that work really well too. Happy sketching and painting Teoh!
+cpetri766 You mean you stick the paint to the pan? For this sort of boxes, you just have to press down the metal and push in the pan and they won't move anymore. As for preventing the paint from falling out from the plastic pan, after painting a few times with water seeping into the pan, the paint should stay fixed easily
+shadowknightpaladin Each colour will have their own characteristics. Actually I like the inconsistency sometimes with the exception of those opaque colours.
Ahhh I guess maybe because I use student/cheap watercolors that their transparency seem to be more or less the same haha I just thought it might be inconvenient if they don't have more or less the same opacity :)
yes, if you buy a watercolor with a opaque pigment, like kobalt or cadmium colors, its of course opaque because artist grade watercolors only use pure pigments and binder without filler etc and they are very high pigmented. and if the pigment is opaque the paint is more opaque too. if you like a set only with more transparent watercolors you should buy just the colors with transparent pigments. :) i myself dont think that the opaqueness i a bad criteria. its just you have to know how to use them. Kobalt Colors for example are my favourite colors for adding granulations in diffrent colors. so much fun to use them
+iraville ohhhhh thank you very much for explaining that! I was only familiar with the really transparent watercolors and I wasn't aware that there were really opaque ones (i thought that they just really didn't add a lot of water). But I think I understand more now. Thanks!
In the beginning when you wet all the colors i realized that you didnt do it the way I do. Just a tip: fill a small spray bottle with water and spritz your watercolor pans. Its saves alot of time and you can use it in pleinair or in the studio. I use my spray bottle to rewet pans that have redried whilst im painting with other colors. Smartest thing i ever did!
+Karla F They sell several sets. The one I reviewed is called Set 1 and is usually $80. It goes out of stock sometimes but you probably can get it from Kremer Pigments website. Other sets are $120 so they are not as worth it.
Kremer make their watercolours by hand, and because they're a pigment company, the colours have rich pigmentation ratio... they grind the mixes with a glass palette and glass muller, the way they mix oil paints.
kremer pigments watercolors are all handmade, so its really difficult to make them look that perfect like fabric watercolors, i think they did a good Job for handmade watercolors. i make watercolors myself and i know how difficult it is because all diffrent pigments also dry diffrent with the gum arabic, honey and glycerin. thats why some Colors are more sticky and some more dry. in my opinion kremer pigments are one of the best watercolors out there. i dont care how they look, its more important how they are. :)
Well I can tell you that I'd be sending them back and requesting another set or a refund if I got them looking like that. As for the opaque colors, would they still look nice if diluted some to make them transparent?
if the appearance of the pans is so important for you, then you shouldn´t buy them because as i said, they are handmade and always looks unperfect. but nevertheless these are one of the best artist-grade watercolors out there for a great Price
Thanks for sharing but I agree with The Real Mythrill, it is a let down. The "alizarin-ish" wine red looks watery... Your brush seemed terrible to me... Sorry for negative remarks, wonderful spirit you have! Happy painting!
WOW Fun to see you reviewing the KP box here! I created the medium and got them making watercolor pans when I worked for them (part-time for 8 years) maybe back in 2005. The same box cost originally $38!! The consistency of the paints is almost gouache-like but they dilute with water beautifully to give good transparency. The good thing is they are all single-pigment colors so great for mixing. I think of them as spicing up other brands because they are so rich. The names are based on the chemical origin, not some made-up name like 'moonglow' etc. by the way I had nothing to do with the choice of colors in the boxes which I find somewhat odd, especially in the mini box. Also Daniel Smith tubes are made with Kremer's pigments and more finely ground for the tubes. I find a lot of DS paint evaporate when I set them out in the pans unfortunately. If you get a chance to go to New York you will be blown away by the range of colored pigments..they have at least 80 earth pigments. All the restoration departs in museums use their pigments FYI world-wide.
parisbreakfast wow your job sounds amazing, I had not heard of this brand before but now I’m intrigued.
Daniel Smith and other brands' paints do evaporate when poured from tube, because usually the mixes are thinner than Kremer's. I think Kremer's colours are extinguisingly thick, and noticed that they aren't as finely mulled as other commercial colours. They seem to have almost 80% pigment and only a little binder, and feel more like a colour block than watercolour paints. Which makes perfect sense, since they are also very well known for the arts restoration tools, and you'd need almost all-pigment-paint for restoration purposes. (e.g. Colour chips)
This particular characteristic is absolutely fine by me and I actually find it rather charming. However, when you use this sort of medium on sketchbook, or treat them as conventional modern watercolours, you face the issues such as colours rubbing off easily(because the pigments aren't properly bound to the binder), etc.
And, while I have no problems with more traditional names(although, Kremer's colours are often named after the manufacturer of the pigments e.g. Irgazin) I also find the 'made up names' fascinating - it offers a lot of room for imagination. Kremer also sell some mixes in both pigment and paint, and there's nothing wrong with mixes, I reckon.
What I absolutely adore about Kremer is the vast range of pigments, especially from European regions(earth pigments) and their house-processed pigments are more than excellent. I produce almsot all my paints with pigments from Kremer, and never once I was let down.
The obvious downside from having such a wide variety of choices is sometimes you don't know which to pick - for example, they've 8 varieties of French yellow ochre, and while you see some differences in hues, it's quite difficult to decide which would suit you best by just looking at the pictures of the pigments. But, that's just another charm I find from Kremer :)
Very interesting! I’m starting restoration studies next month and it is good to know what pigments i’ll be using! :)
(I paint with Daniel Smith watercolours in my free time, so the pigments will be familiar!)
They have a store in NYC, I've been there several times. It's an AMAZING store. They have classes on making your own watercolors, acrylics and oil paints. I love the store. They have great service and are very friendly. Make sure you visit them if you come to NYC. Thanks as always for sharing.
+Red Gemini Arts I would love to visitthe store some day 😁
I have never heard of Kramer. thanks for the review:)
+thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich It's Kremer. Don't spell wrongly or you won't find it 😁
would love to see you review these Lindsay
You're so great at showing us everything we need to know about a product. I'm the kind of person who likes to handle and look at things before buying, but sometimes that's just not possible. I really appreciate the way you discuss quality, the feel of various products, how well they last, tricks for "hacking" and altering them, and of course how well they work. Thanks so much! :)
I have watched your channel for several years. This is the first time I recall seeing your larger sketches. I enjoyed seeing the larger paintings. As ever, thank you for your thorough and objective review!
Finally got a set of these. The pans are ok... a few cracked but holding together. They are GORGEOUS so glad I finally treated myself. I’ve watched this video several times and really enjoy the paintings you made with them. ✨🙏🏼🎨🙏🏼✨
Geckonia I was browsing the comments and on *this* video it had a comment about MTG, Ugin, and board whipes.. but then I go to comment it shows a completely different comment from you, I think somehow RUclips mixed the comments from a different video I happened to watch earlier where you *did* make a comment about magic cards... so weird.
The Kremer pigments in your set are made using mostly inorganic pigments, so that is why they are less intense that the other brands which mostly use synthetic organic pigments. Synthetic organic pigments have high tinting strength and are very concentrated by comparison. But inorganic pigments are always more lightfast and more likely to be granulating due to a larger particle size.
I love your channel, so far I've consulted the Pro's on RUclips for everything from fountain pens, inks, watercolor tubes, watercolor pans, paper, markers, color pencils and graphite. You literally have a video for everything!
Oh my goodness, I got to really have a paint with my Kramer’s today, I have the small set of 8 full pans which is very minimalist and the small set of landscape half pans to which I have added half a dozen Kremer colours plus a couple of granulating from other brands. I just LOVE them. Up to now I have swatched and colour charted them a little but had no space to work so did not really use them much otherwise. Now I have a purpose built work space, and am catching up on a lot. And I really want this set too! The wet in wet abilities of these paints is just the best! The textural qualities are just fantastic and even the very different consistencies between pans once you get the feel for them just vibrates with life. Thanks for this review which I first watched ages ago, years in fact. They are instantly recognisable on paper, nothing else behaves the way they do. I am going to really enjoy these and having watched you use them you already taught just how loosely they can be used. Thanks a million!
I have and love this set as well. I find the ruby to be insanely granulating and very strong, even moreso than the cobalt blue deep. Granted, I have moved 3 of the 14 colors to a 'gouache' box, because of their opacity. But that being said, I am fascinated with the properties of this paint.
+Gina Rhodes That's a good idea moving some paint to the gouache box. I might do that too.
I'm so glad I browsed and found this video. I brought the mini box from Amazon and looking forward to recieving in a couple of days!
+Galaxycoco Lacey have fun painting
I just got this same set as well as the smaller 8 color box. I ordered direct from the Kremer Pigments website. Most of the watercolors they offer are very reasonablely priced with the full pans only being $1 USD more than the half pans! Super affordably priced for the most part. Most colors are $10 USD or less for full pans! There are some that are $15-$17 USD but about half are $10 or less. Shipping was cheap & fast. I live in Washington state & I received my order exactly one week after ordering. They offer a good color selection including colors that not many brands offer. And if there's a color you want but they don't offer it as a ready made color, they also sell pigments & Watercolor medium making it relatively easy & fun to make your own watercolor paints. They also offer brushes, Watercolor paper, and many more unique items on their website. Finally, their watercolors are definitely unique and unlike any other brands I've ever tried & I've tried many of the most popular brands. The granulation is hands down far better than another brand well known for their granulating colors, Daniel Smith. It's a must try in my book!
Also, I forgot to mention that my set wasn't nearly as bad looking as his was at first open but there was some cracking & my Phthalo Green Dark was a little bit broken up but I didn't care. I care more about how it looks when I paint with it more then I do about how it looks in the box. Plus after I got the pans wet several times the cracks filled in and the broken pieces in my Phthalo Green blended together with the rest of the green in the pan so it was no longer an issue anyway.
Compare Kremer (14 full pan set) with DS 6 1/2 pan sets (3 full pans) at $80 Kremer and $40 DS, and it's a no brainer! Also, Kremer comes in a nice metal palette. I do like DS sap green. Bought a 15ml tube today, opened it to fill a 1/2 pan, after shaking it to mix it, and when I took the cap off, it was full of air, and exploded paint eveywhere. Also, don't worry about how Kremer arrives, just put them in their slots, wipe the palette off, moisten them, and you're good to go. Kremer- nice color choices for this set. Kremer seems like an old school company that has a lot of integrity.
I'm so glad you spread the word about these watercolors because they are my favorites and they don't get enough praise. They are so unique!
For me it's kinda dangerous that I live so close to their shop :)
My only wish is that someday they will make tube paints.
+Airbugg That's so good to be leaving nearby. You can buy refilla anytime!
Thank you for this demonstration of these unique watercolors. I too find the color selection very interesting. I am curious about how well they might glaze. Do you have any information on this?
I'm also impressed that even five years later, the price for this palette on Kremer Pigments website is still US$80.
For glazing you should use staining colours first. There are some staining colours in this set
The paint you are showing at min is 17:00 is one of my favorites by the you. Love the scale and the contrast of dark greens of trees with the light grass and the transparent shadows in the grass. It just triggers a happy feeling in my. Cheers.
Wonderful set! Can’t wait to paint with it.
Thanks Teoh, for my introduction to these paints. I love granulating paints so I think this would be a good set for me.
+Lori Jones It's worth the money. Very nice set.
Yes, I was intending to say double stick tape is a great gadget when one has a palette that does or doesn't have the metal tabs or clips. Thanks again for all your vid's!
this is second Kremer that i came to know about. First one was from Sienfield. I liked the brightness and expressive shade. thumbs up for Kremer.
a realy spezial set to have a lot of fun 😁good to know that there is a brand with handmade colors ...
they use often also historical pigments and they like to create colors by themselve in the old way
with a lot of knowledge. for example > cooking plants or roots to get colorful pigments at the end,
they make coal of the core from different fruits for some colors and so on.
you can also get a set for experiments > to create your own colors from 3 pigments and other ingridiences... etc. the whole homepage by kremer-pigments is very interesting 😃
I love the granulation on these. I also like that they come in full pans instead of half pans. When I was just starting with watercolors, I wanted to get this as my first set but it was always out of stock Amazon.
+Prismatic You have to go to the product page on Amazon occasionally. Sometimes the stocks come back. Or just get them from Kremer Pigments website. They sell it at the same price usd $80 not including shipping.
I know this is an older video, but the Pthalo Green you swatched didn't look anything like the color in your paint box. The one on that card looked more like a turquoise than a green. Maybe it wasn't dry yet, but even the pan seemed very dark for such a light blue. Unless I'm colorblind. I am beginning to wonder...
Thank you so much for this review. I have been wanting to get some Kremer paints and this really pointed me in the right direction! Thank you for your advice 🙂
They have a sale on 28 May 2019. 20% off. Don't miss it! mailchi.mp/kremerpigments/colors-of-the-translucent-sun-memorial-day-sale-on-may-28th
Great, thorough review! These paints look great in your sketches. Your text review a while ago helped me decide to buy some and these paints are so underrated and beautiful. It is also worth picking up some empty pans if ordering from their website as they are really cheap if you are already paying for the pricey shipping anyway.
+Laura R Thanks 🙌
Thanks for the demo it save me $80. I will definitely be buying some kremer full pans a le carte.
I live in NYC so I use Kremer. Great store very helpful!
Have heard you mention kremer a few times, glad to have found this review, I think your painting with them was very different, possibly because it was when you were not using sketch books. I like both but I think I see a difference. Coincidentally I like painting in an A5 book now mainly for storage and it’s easy to. Look through again.
Thank you. I have eben to their factory outlet and already regret not buying the whole Set.
Which watercolor paper you use to do your swatches in your videos? The texture looks good and it doesn't seem to warp
+Daniel Morales I usually use Daler Rowney Aquafine for practice and demo videos like this. It's bright white paper, 300gsm. But it is not that good for layering since the paper is not thst durable without any cotton content.
Thank you for the in depth review 🙂 I was wondering what issues you’d have with the binder leaching out of the paint? Also wondering if you’ve bought more of their paints recently? Have they changed since this review?
Oh! Neat! I know some people, like eve bolt, who make their own paints using kremer pigments, and it’s interesting seeing their finished paints knowing a bit about other people’s finished paints with the same pigments.
Great review! I've been trying to find different artists quality pans since I already have tubes, so I've been doing some hardcore research. Thanks for introducing this palette!
Hi Teoh. Are they not chalky? Or Was it just my Kremer. My Cobalt blue deep and caput mortum are the chalkiest in my set. When I rub my finger on dried paints on paper, the colors move in my finger like powder. Should I return my set or is it naturally like that? I hope you can give me feedback. Thank you.
Chalky as in the physical pan or when you’re painting. Their pans are chalky to touch. They use just enough binder so that the pigment is not powder. That’s why their pigment load is high
@@teohyc oh yeah I get it. They're really pigmented and intense actually. I'm worried though that when I use them in sketchbook, the Pigments might stain the opposite page. Thank you for the feedback. 🙏
@@AllanJayQuesada Whether the paint will stain the opposite page will depend on how the paper surface is treated
There are people who buy expensive, very expensive wristwatches. And what do they do with them? Nothing at all. Most people don't even read the time because it has already told them their mobile phone.
Kremer colors are also comparatively very expensive,
but much cheaper than a watch. And what can I do with colours!
Colours allow painting and painting allows a completely new view of the world. No watch can do that.
I have two boxes, the grey one and the landscape one. I wouldn't say that Kremer colours are better or worse. They are different, but not sooo different again. A bit like Kuretake.
You can't see the Kremer colours in my work, I'm too bad. Although I am a poor artist, I can afford first-class colours.
I like that.
I know you had not used much of this palette when you toured your supply drawers. Have you used it any more by now?
Thank you for this review. Do the 4 earth colours dry milky/chalky or do they stay vibrant? I have some Gouache-like colours that dry very milky and dull and don’t want to buy colours that make the same problem
They look vibrant enough for me
Super review. I am not familiar with Kremer and your video gives so much good info. It might be worth it to buy Kremer Cobalt Blue Dark for that granulation.
Hey Teoh, have you ever bought or done a review on Daler Rowney watercolours?
+David The only Daler Rowney watercolor I have used is their student grade Aquafine pan set. Quality is that of student grade of course. I have not tried their artist grade paints.
Hey, I bought myself the landscape set a while ago and some of the colours rubb of after they`ve tried. Are those colours doing the same? Do some of them rubb of a bit?
Watercolour is usually resistant to erasing after it's dry, unless you use a lot of paint or you erase very hard. To protect the watercolour, you can spray fixative. ruclips.net/video/g4PUTozBAkk/видео.html
Fixative is a really good idea, thank you :)
I was just wondering if this was a general problem of the brand or if it`s just a problem with those certain pigments because I`ve never had the problem with my other watercolours.
they're handmade so its possible they messed up the mix?
@@firecloud6503 It's because the pigment particles are so large, and they use very little binder vs pigment.
Daniel Smith uses Kremer pigments, however they mill them finer (though they are still known for their granulation) and user more binder.
Thanks for the great review -- I always enjoy the comparisons and the color mixing demos! This set seems to have too many opaque colors for my taste, although I am intrigued by the granulation. Have you tried the Mission Gold pan set?...I know you reviewed the 9 tube set, but I'd love to see a review of the pan set. MG seems to have the intensity and transparency that I'm after.
+Marisa Hernandez I've not tried Mission Gold pan sets. They are difficult to find, and the sets that I saw were all seriously overpriced. It's better to just get their tube sets.
Marisa Hernandez. Hey there! I just wanted to mention that even more opaque colors can be made to be a little more transparent depending on how much water you use to dilute the paint. I also want to say that you can buy one of the Mission Gold tube watercolor sets and fill your own pans. That's what I did with my MG 36 tube set & it was easy to do and the pans were settled and dry within about 24-48 hours. One advantage to filling your own pans is you can make pans of paint mixes that you use a lot. Just fill each pan about halfway & let it get almost dry because the paint will settle into the pan as it dries. Then when its still a little bit moist but mostly dry, you can then fill the pan the rest of the way & let that dry. It's pretty easy. it may not look as nice as a factory poured pan, but ultimately that's not very important because once you start using the paint, the pan won't like as nice as it was when new anyway..
I think the MG paint is nice but only about a quarter of their paints are single pigment colors. Many of their paints are 2-3 colors blended together to create a certain color. They even do this for colors where they don't have to use multiple pigments. Ideally you want single pigment colors because they will give you cleaner mixes & less chance of mixing "mud". It becomes harder to get clean mixes when you're using paints with multiple pigments. I haven't had this problem with their paints too much but I haven't created many mixes beyond secondary colors just yet. Also I think it's because I'm paying very close attention to the pigments in each color and because I have a pretty detailed understanding of color theory which I think is important for painters to have at least a basic understanding of color theory. Sorry for the long message but I hope this may have been helpful. Happy Painting!
I also like single pigment colors. I suggest you try Mijello Mission Gold's pure pigment set.
I don't hear much of this brand from anyone but you. They are very granulating, which is beautiful. However, Im not sure if I want that much granulation in my sketches, especially in the yellows. Very interesting, though.
+Rebecca Nelson You'll never know until you try 😂
Just looked to see if I could find them, only on their own site not on amazon anymore and not the great set you had , which I liked the layout. I make and keep a swatch wrapped in plastic and tape inside my palettes, as they provide. You might struggle to replace this one!
the amount of times i have replayed this is astounding hahahaha. i do have to ask, would it be possible to fit full pans in the middle row?
Unfortunately the middle row is too narrow for full pans or even half pans.
This set is really worth the money if you can get it at US $80. For that price with certain brands, you only get half pans. And the quality here is fantastic.
gotcha. thanks for enabling us uncle teoh!!! 👶
FINALLY BOUGHT ONE HOPE WOOOO THANKS AGAIN TEOH
Those mixes were so awesome! Just. ..wow! It'll be quite some time, but I'll get a set eventually! I'm wondering what effects are possible when mixing with non-granulating colors and colors from other brands.
Why do I always end up singing that song by Queen, "I want it all", after watching your videos?
+Heather Catlady Best to just get one set and slowly add colours one by one. Do not get too many sets. The 14 colour set, if it is still selling at usd $80 on Amazon is worth the money.
Kremer specialises in pigments, the watercolors they produce are a side issue, so don't worry about the 'unboxing'.... it's how they work!
Some people complain about sennelier paint that doesn't dry because of the honey. I'm looking for ancient, turner sort of watercolors. Wallace seymour produces that, very expensive. It seems kremer can fill the gap.
Maybe you should try genuine vermillion.
wow they look so pigmented!! I love your reviews and your blog! Would you help me to decide, should I buy mijello (24 colors gold) or holbein (18) watercolor set? (kremer is too much for me right now but I loved how you painted with them, i loved that blue granulation )
their prices are almost the same, but I suggest that you should buy Holbein. MG's colors are not really permanent, and quite sensitive with the sun. I am usinh many Holbein's product like Holbein palm box set 12, Holbein Karakuri box set 8, Holbein x Yufushi set, Holbein Irodori,... And I am in love with them
+Enteleqia The best value set is the 9-tube Mission Gold. You can add other colours later on when needed. Holbein is good too, I've a friend who loves them but I've not used them personally before.
Looks like they don't let the pans dry long enough before shipping them out. I wish they'd look more luxurious for the price.
Also, it looks like you used a lot of paint just for the swatches. Do you feel like they don't go as long of a way as other artist grade paints?
+Ramo They are quite easy to reactivate with water that's why it seems that I'm using a lot of paint. Full pans can last much longer, and there are 14 colours.
kremer pigments watercolors are all handmade, so its really difficult to make them look that perfect like fabric watercolors, i think they did a good Job for handmade watercolors. i make watercolors myself and i know how difficult it is because all diffrent pigments also dry diffrent with the gum arabic, honey and glycerin. thats why some Colors are more sticky and some more dry. in my opinion kremer pigments are one of the best watercolors out there. i dont care how they look, its more important how they are. :)
iraville Of course they're gonna be a bit uneven, I don't mind that. But I'm pretty sure if they let them dry longer they wouldn't seperate from the binder like that.
i dont think that its that they get seperated from the binder, i think its the honey. some pigments will never get totally dry with honey and Glycerin but if you dont add honey and Glycerin they would crack. i have the same thing with some mijello Colors i squeesed into pans. some of them are still sicky although they already dry for 3 month ^_^ other companys add some chemical hardener to their paints, well i myself like that kremer stay more natural. but they should maybe wrap these Colors in some grease-proof paper or something :)
I was interested in Kremer pigments, thanks for the review. I'll stick with Windsor and Newton!
is there any use for white and black watercolor paints?
+Nadir Hassan They are not very useful in watercolor
if you use white( wich is opak) in watercolour its more mixed Media than real "aquarell"( transparent). white areas are not painted originally in watercolour painting;-)
It really depends on how and what you paint. Some folks use white to mix with the other colors to create pastel colors, for example. I use black all the time myself. Each painter will have their own experiences with white and black colors.
what do you think of the peerless water color? been curious about it... thanks!!!
+jemay dunn I have not used them before. Probably in the future.
I have them :) they're very beautiful and bright, and blend very easily. They're hard to find though, I managed to snatch the 40 color set off Amazon after looking at it for some time. There are two ways to go about using them, and the proper way is to snip off a small piece and let it stand it a small amount of water. The pigmented ink will seep into the water, and it's easy to do watercolor washes with them. The trouble is how you'd like to store them to bring about. And also if you use a certain patch too much, the paper bits will start to come off, so you can't use too much water. I store mine the way Kristina Werner does! And they're super easy to bring around because it's pretty much as light as a piece of paper, and thin enough to slip into your watercolor sketchbook or pad without any bulging. Super handy and pretty. It's the only set I have now because I sold off my Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 color set haha...
Greetings Teoh, do a review of Reeve's watercolor please. Thank you.
What is the best you would recommend in the student range of 24 or more colours ?
There are 24 pan sets from Winsor Newton and Schmincke. But if you can get this Kremer set at US$80, it is worth the money because each pan here is a full pan
@@teohyc yes great 😇 thank you for your suggestion . Love what u do .. great vids.
I remember , irgazin red, is what is sometimes called "permanent red" ( likas ) or "ferrary red" it is a synthetic color supposed to replace cadmium reds, but hey, this pigment seems to be no way cheap, for example a tube of lukas permanet red costs three times as a usual color!
+RoadToFuture007 The price could be determined by how rare that pigment is.
Teoh Yi Chie
or by how rare other bright reds ( cadmium ) are ;) because irgazin can be produced syntheticaly and doesn't contain any rare elements.
Do you recomend the half pans or the larger ones?
Larger or full pans are more useful when you are painting big, like A4-size or larger. A larger brush can fit in the pan and pick up for paint and paint larger areas. If you're just painting in sketchbooks or smaller pieces then half pans are more appropriate.
Large pans are also good for travel as they hold more paint so they have less chance of running out of paint.
Teoh Yi Chie thanks!
Hi Teoh, great review and your sketches look creatively fantastic too! Hey, ....just an idea here......I personally use really good "SCOTCH" Brand double stick tape to keep my half and full paint pans attached to my various watercolor palletes. It works extremely well. I recommend the Scotch "heavy duty outdoor" double stick tape,... it's available at any Home Depot or Lowes box stores in the paint section of the stores. The key is to make sure the paint box/ palette and pans are dry and pretty clean/ free of excess paint. Scotch Brand also makes less expensive & smaller rolls of double stick tape too that work really well too. Happy sketching and painting Teoh!
+cpetri766 You mean you stick the paint to the pan? For this sort of boxes, you just have to press down the metal and push in the pan and they won't move anymore. As for preventing the paint from falling out from the plastic pan, after painting a few times with water seeping into the pan, the paint should stay fixed easily
I wish the transparency/opacity of the colors were consistent. I don't know if this is normal for professional watercolors?
+shadowknightpaladin Each colour will have their own characteristics. Actually I like the inconsistency sometimes with the exception of those opaque colours.
Ahhh I guess maybe because I use student/cheap watercolors that their transparency seem to be more or less the same haha
I just thought it might be inconvenient if they don't have more or less the same opacity :)
yes, if you buy a watercolor with a opaque pigment, like kobalt or cadmium colors, its of course opaque because artist grade watercolors only use pure pigments and binder without filler etc and they are very high pigmented. and if the pigment is opaque the paint is more opaque too. if you like a set only with more transparent watercolors you should buy just the colors with transparent pigments. :) i myself dont think that the opaqueness i a bad criteria. its just you have to know how to use them. Kobalt Colors for example are my favourite colors for adding granulations in diffrent colors. so much fun to use them
+iraville ohhhhh thank you very much for explaining that! I was only familiar with the really transparent watercolors and I wasn't aware that there were really opaque ones (i thought that they just really didn't add a lot of water). But I think I understand more now. Thanks!
In the beginning when you wet all the colors i realized that you didnt do it the way I do.
Just a tip: fill a small spray bottle with water and spritz your watercolor pans. Its saves alot of time and you can use it in pleinair or in the studio.
I use my spray bottle to rewet pans that have redried whilst im painting with other colors.
Smartest thing i ever did!
I always use an eyedropper to wet my pan watercolors. That way my whole palette isn't wet from a spray bottle...
Interesting looking set with lots of granulators but that opaque orange and opaque green need to go straight in the bin.
i finally glued mine in!
Why do you think the yellows are so close?
+Crystal Korzep The one on the right is supposed to be a warmer yellow closer to orange for mixing bright orange with reds.
oh thank you
You should make a review on the holbein set :)
+Angela Rafael I've that set but haven't started using yet.
It seems the $80 set is no longer available. It's now $120 😪
+Karla F They sell several sets. The one I reviewed is called Set 1 and is usually $80. It goes out of stock sometimes but you probably can get it from Kremer Pigments website. Other sets are $120 so they are not as worth it.
Kremer make their watercolours by hand, and because they're a pigment company, the colours have rich pigmentation ratio... they grind the mixes with a glass palette and glass muller, the way they mix oil paints.
Imposible to found in México :(
+Anty Somnio It's very difficult to find because it's mostly sold in USA from one store and Germany.
+Anty Somnio If you want to buy it, you have to import it from USA. You can buy from Kremer Pigments website.
I think I would be very disappointed if I opened up a new set of watercolours and they looked like that one. Not a pleasant view.
+The Real Mythril Yeah, hopefully this video will motivate Kremer Pigments to improve.
kremer pigments watercolors are all handmade, so its really difficult to make them look that perfect like fabric watercolors, i think they did a good Job for handmade watercolors. i make watercolors myself and i know how difficult it is because all diffrent pigments also dry diffrent with the gum arabic, honey and glycerin. thats why some Colors are more sticky and some more dry. in my opinion kremer pigments are one of the best watercolors out there. i dont care how they look, its more important how they are. :)
Glad to know that someone else likes this brand as much as I do. :-D
Well I can tell you that I'd be sending them back and requesting another set or a refund if I got them looking like that. As for the opaque colors, would they still look nice if diluted some to make them transparent?
if the appearance of the pans is so important for you, then you shouldn´t buy them because as i said, they are handmade and always looks unperfect. but nevertheless these are one of the best artist-grade watercolors out there for a great Price
Guache
Thanks for sharing but I agree with The Real Mythrill, it is a let down. The "alizarin-ish" wine red looks watery... Your brush seemed terrible to me... Sorry for negative remarks, wonderful spirit you have! Happy painting!
Lol never been 3rd comment on a vid before
Hey, I know you reviewed the Qor watercolors. Are those artist grade? I bought a starter set and I love them.
+Rain 008 QoR should be artist grade. They are good, but slightly more pricey than other brands without being significantly better.