It has been brought to my attention that the Windsor and Newton inks I mentioned are not vegan. The calligraphy inks ARE, but I am using the Drawing inks which contain animal products. Thanks for letting me know :)
Thank you so much for this info! My 6-year old and I started a new tradition of looking up “how it’s made” videos on RUclips and were devastated to discover that all his Crayola art supplies aren’t vegan. He insisted we find vegan options to replace them with and I found your video. Looking forward to making cruelty-free art!
Ahhh yay! That’s so lovely to hear :) i actually have some crayola crayons that I got a a gift years ago. I didn’t know they weren’t vegan! I am always learning :)
Thank you so much for your video. Researching is a bit of a bear, but thankfully, companies are very responsive when you write to them. I just bought an Ohuhu mixed media journal - love it! It’s vegan as well. Ohuhu, Derwent and Arteza say that they are entirely vegan and cruelty free companies as well 🌿🕊️
I'm glad you liked the video! I still make mistakes but I try to do my best :) I have started emailing companies this year, especially when jacksons say they aren't vegan but I have heard differently. I learn that most holbein gouache are vegan and the lefranc paints are too, but on their website they say they aren't. I think sometimes they just choose that option if it isn't obvious, so I am glad I have started my own research!
@@monkeymintaka Just found out that Tooli acrylic markers are vegan and cruelty free! Lots of colors … seems like a less expensive version of Posca type of media. Would you consider doing a review? I’m so curious …
I’m so happy a lot of the art supplies I use are on your list! I also heavily use Qor watercolours and I’m not completely sure but I do believe they are animal friendly as well. I’m always super cognizant when buying brushes that they’re synthetic. I don’t even care to buy from companies that do sell both. It just feels wrong. I really appreciate this video, I never actually thought about sketchbooks before but now I am curious about all the supplies I use. Definitely going to look them all up.
Brilliant Video April, so important to be aware of the things we use. I definitily could never get on board with using animal hair paintbrushes especially! An interesting watch, thank you!
Wonderful helpful video, April. I found it in a YT search for "vegan art supplies". My media of choice at the moment is colored pencils on paper, so your pencil collection was great news to my ears. Sad to hear about the glues in paper pads, but glad to know so I can ask/research going forward. Thanks again. More videos like this, please.
@@belindahugheslifestyle I don’t really buy black art supplies so I haven’t had any issues so far. I know there are some blacks you can get that are vegan though.
Thanks for this awesome video! I’ve just found you tonight! 😊 Been vegan for 4 years and have vaguely thought about art supplies in terms of brushes and paints but not at all about paper and sketchbooks or coloured pencils & markers! This will make me do more research before I buy any new supplies!
Thanks! I will look into them next time I am in the market for a brush :) I actually would like to buy some bigger brushes, like in-between the normal brush and a house painting brush, so maybe I will look soon!
Interesting and informative April. Re: brushes for watercolorists that are high quality will hold more water/paint and not wear out too quickly. This means fewer dips in water/paint. Sable has the best reputation for holding lots of moisture,but now there are really good synthetic brushes available. For gouache painters it’s best to avoid using watercolor brushes as gouache tends to be hard on them. Better choice are brushes sold for acrylics. Your new home/location looks amazing.
Thanks for the info Nadine! I thought it was something to do with how the paintbrush holds water, but I wasn't too sure. I have a bunch of cheap brushes that I abuse on a daily basis. I think they secretly enjoy it
Cochineal is quite fugitive so most brands don't use those anymore (although some like the Super Vision paints definitely still do), and ivory black is traditionally made from charred animal bones. I may be wrong about this, but I think some companies have started substituting ivory black with ethically sourced pigment, but I'm not educated enough about it to make wide claims about that ;) For the benefit of your viewers, the Schmincke Akademie (student) line is vegan while the Horadam line is not. Thanks as always for a lovely video!
Very interesting thank you. I haven't gotten to that point yet but it is on my mind. I have been trying to make sure my supplies are eco friendly. For instance I have just gotten back into oil painting and the biggest downside is the solvents uses. I finally found an Eco frindly solvent at my local art supply store and am supper excited to try it. I just checked the label and it is also cruelty free and vegan! yay!
Glad you enjoyed it Wendy! Ahhh eco friendly is a whole other subject isn’t it 🙈 I know I can be doing a lot better on my Etsy products like the stickers etc, but I never thought about art supplies. So cool that you’re doing oil painting again. Have you tried the water based oil paints? They intrigue me 🤔
@@monkeymintaka I have sort of tried them, I only have a couple. They are ok. I find that the texture of the paint when shined with water is different then traditional oils shined with thinner. I suppose that would only be an issue if someone wanted to work in thin glazes though.
Amazing video April! This was such an interesting one to watch and I'm definitely keeping this in mind for future art supply purchases. I am actively working on making sure all my makeup, cleaning supplies and so on are vegan so making sure my art supplies are vegan just makes sense 😊
That’s so great :) I’m glad you liked the video! The art supplies were definitely the last thing I thought of, me like I mentioned, I still make purchases without thinking sometimes. We don’t have to be perfect, but I think it’s good to know all the options available so we can make informed choices :)
This is such a great video, April! I hadn't even thought about the fact there may be animal products in sketchbooks, like the gelatin on the pages. So interesting, I learnt a lot so thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks Katie! I’m glad it was helpful :) When I was making paper myself I tried to use agar agar, which is used as a plant based alternative to gelatin. You can even make jelly with it! But my experiments never really turned out that good 😂
I have been vegan going on 22 years now and started the same and then began to give more thought to vegan art supplies. I am trying to find reasonably priced vegan oil pastels but so far no luck ...found one that is and has good reviews but out of my budget as a newbie to oil pastels.
Thank you, that's really useful. I am not vegan, but I really do like to know either way and especially with brushes I am very much keeping my eye out for good synthetics that don't hook or get worn out too fast. I just saw the other day that Hahnemühle's new 100% cotton watercolour paper is supposed to be vegan and it looks really good.
This was such a great video, April! While I am not a vegan, I am concerned about animal welfare so this is a topic I am very interested in. I started to pay more attention to what my supplies are made from when I began to learn more about where animal hairs come from for brushes. Brush manufacturers are often very reluctant to disclose where and how these materials are obtained. As best I can tell most brush materials come from either farmed animals or animals that are hunted/trapped. I switched to synthetic a few years ago even though I think the quality is often inferior to animal hair brushes. There are some very high quality synthetic watercolor brushes that perform very well, however. Robert Simmons White Sable brushes (which are not sable at all) come very highly recommended by one of my teachers. I have also used Escoda synthetic Kolinsky brushes and liked them (but they are quite spendy). Thanks again for another lovely video!
Super interesting, April, turns out I am actually using most of those vegan products and my Seawhite sketchbooks are too!!! A friend of mine is Celiac and also has to be careful about the gluten content in some art supplies too.
I had to look up all mine while watching and most of them are vegan which is good. There's a couple of colours in my watercolour pan that aren't and I couldn't find anything about my fineliners and pastel pencils so not sure on those. (I'm whispering now but I think the W&N inks you showed are the drawing inks not the calligraphy inks so I don't think they're vegan. I have a couple of those too but I've got some Diamine inks recently which I believe are all vegan so that's a good alternative. Sorry 😬)
Uh oh 🙈 I just looked and you’re right! Oh well, never mind. I still use the materials I have that aren’t vegan, but when they run out I won’t replace them. It’s like my shoes I’ve been wearing for the last three years, they are made of suede and I have almost worn them out now, so I’m looking for a new animal friendly pair 😊 thanks for letting me know Emma!
Hi! Do you know if Sharpie, Ohuhu, is vegan? What kind of pencils are vegan? I have an eraser brush that I love but is made from horse hair... dunno what to do about it
Not sure about ohuhu sorry as I don’t use them. But for pencils it is very easy to find info on the big brands. I think most of derwent is, faber castle and caran dache. But if you are unsure Google is fly our friend :) I also have art supplies made from animal products that I got as gifts or accident or from years ago. I just use them. I don’t think we need to be perfect, just try our best :)
At the time of the video I had found this paragraph on the royal talens website “All of the glues in the Royal Talens range have a synthetic base and are therefore vegan, except for Rembrandt 100% cotton watercolour paper.” Although it doesn’t specifically mention the sketchbooks. Since making the video I have been told that Jackson’s website labels them as non vegan. But Jackson’s sometimes gets it wrong too. They label all the Holbein gouache as non-vegan but I’ve emailed the company and only a few pigments have animal products. So maybe the sketchbooks use animal glue, but I haven’t found anything definitive. At the need of the day I’m just trying to do my best and I make mistakes sometimes. But now I prefer pith sketchbooks so I’m moving to those anyway :)
@@monkeymintaka Ohh thank you so much for replying! its so hard to find an affordable vegan sketchbook here, so if you have any more recommendations please do tell me! though im not vegan, im a muslim so i felt guilty using art supplies that contains any animal ingredients😩
@@monkeymintaka Thanks! oh also i asked Royal Talens directly on insta if they used any gelatin on the process of paper/sizing (cause of what i’m aware of, some brands do that) and they said they use none in the sketchbook!
It has been brought to my attention that the Windsor and Newton inks I mentioned are not vegan. The calligraphy inks ARE, but I am using the Drawing inks which contain animal products. Thanks for letting me know :)
Thank you so much for this info! My 6-year old and I started a new tradition of looking up “how it’s made” videos on RUclips and were devastated to discover that all his Crayola art supplies aren’t vegan. He insisted we find vegan options to replace them with and I found your video. Looking forward to making cruelty-free art!
Ahhh yay! That’s so lovely to hear :) i actually have some crayola crayons that I got a a gift years ago. I didn’t know they weren’t vegan! I am always learning :)
@@monkeymintaka Yes, apparently Crayola uses beef tallow in their products. 🤢 I’ve been vegan for over a decade and I’m still learning too!
Your kid is awesome!
Thank you so much for your video. Researching is a bit of a bear, but thankfully, companies are very responsive when you write to them. I just bought an Ohuhu mixed media journal - love it! It’s vegan as well. Ohuhu, Derwent and Arteza say that they are entirely vegan and cruelty free companies as well 🌿🕊️
I'm glad you liked the video! I still make mistakes but I try to do my best :) I have started emailing companies this year, especially when jacksons say they aren't vegan but I have heard differently. I learn that most holbein gouache are vegan and the lefranc paints are too, but on their website they say they aren't. I think sometimes they just choose that option if it isn't obvious, so I am glad I have started my own research!
@@monkeymintaka Just found out that Tooli acrylic markers are vegan and cruelty free! Lots of colors … seems like a less expensive version of Posca type of media. Would you consider doing a review? I’m so curious …
I’m so happy a lot of the art supplies I use are on your list! I also heavily use Qor watercolours and I’m not completely sure but I do believe they are animal friendly as well. I’m always super cognizant when buying brushes that they’re synthetic. I don’t even care to buy from companies that do sell both. It just feels wrong. I really appreciate this video, I never actually thought about sketchbooks before but now I am curious about all the supplies I use. Definitely going to look them all up.
Yes! I was surprised when I started looking and a lot are free from animal products! Glad you found the video useful Leanne :)
Thank you for this important video in support of vegan art supplies. I do appreciate it.
I’m glad it was helpful :)
Brilliant Video April, so important to be aware of the things we use. I definitily could never get on board with using animal hair paintbrushes especially! An interesting watch, thank you!
Glad you enjoyed the video Lucy :)
Wonderful helpful video, April. I found it in a YT search for "vegan art supplies". My media of choice at the moment is colored pencils on paper, so your pencil collection was great news to my ears. Sad to hear about the glues in paper pads, but glad to know so I can ask/research going forward. Thanks again. More videos like this, please.
So happy it was helpful Belinda! I still forget to check sometimes but I try to be as aware as I can :)
@@monkeymintaka Have you got any info on substitutes for bone char black?
@@belindahugheslifestyle I don’t really buy black art supplies so I haven’t had any issues so far. I know there are some blacks you can get that are vegan though.
@@monkeymintaka Great news. Thanks!
Thanks for this awesome video! I’ve just found you tonight! 😊 Been vegan for 4 years and have vaguely thought about art supplies in terms of brushes and paints but not at all about paper and sketchbooks or coloured pencils & markers! This will make me do more research before I buy any new supplies!
Thanks Lucy! I’m glad you found it helpful :)
Princeton synthetic brushes can last pretty long.
Thanks! I will look into them next time I am in the market for a brush :) I actually would like to buy some bigger brushes, like in-between the normal brush and a house painting brush, so maybe I will look soon!
Interesting and informative April. Re: brushes for watercolorists that are high quality will hold more water/paint and not wear out too quickly. This means fewer dips in water/paint. Sable has the best reputation for holding lots of moisture,but now there are really good synthetic brushes available. For gouache painters it’s best to avoid using watercolor brushes as gouache tends to be hard on them. Better choice are brushes sold for acrylics. Your new home/location looks amazing.
Thanks for the info Nadine! I thought it was something to do with how the paintbrush holds water, but I wasn't too sure. I have a bunch of cheap brushes that I abuse on a daily basis. I think they secretly enjoy it
@@monkeymintaka Ha ha, silly.
Cochineal is quite fugitive so most brands don't use those anymore (although some like the Super Vision paints definitely still do), and ivory black is traditionally made from charred animal bones. I may be wrong about this, but I think some companies have started substituting ivory black with ethically sourced pigment, but I'm not educated enough about it to make wide claims about that ;) For the benefit of your viewers, the Schmincke Akademie (student) line is vegan while the Horadam line is not. Thanks as always for a lovely video!
Thanks for that Sarah! I am still learning about this subject so I appreciate that info :) I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
❤ #govegan
Very interesting thank you. I haven't gotten to that point yet but it is on my mind. I have been trying to make sure my supplies are eco friendly. For instance I have just gotten back into oil painting and the biggest downside is the solvents uses. I finally found an Eco frindly solvent at my local art supply store and am supper excited to try it. I just checked the label and it is also cruelty free and vegan! yay!
Glad you enjoyed it Wendy! Ahhh eco friendly is a whole other subject isn’t it 🙈 I know I can be doing a lot better on my Etsy products like the stickers etc, but I never thought about art supplies. So cool that you’re doing oil painting again. Have you tried the water based oil paints? They intrigue me 🤔
@@monkeymintaka I have sort of tried them, I only have a couple. They are ok. I find that the texture of the paint when shined with water is different then traditional oils shined with thinner. I suppose that would only be an issue if someone wanted to work in thin glazes though.
@@bazutaartstudio maybe I’ll try it next year when I am allowed to buy art supplies again!
Amazing video April! This was such an interesting one to watch and I'm definitely keeping this in mind for future art supply purchases. I am actively working on making sure all my makeup, cleaning supplies and so on are vegan so making sure my art supplies are vegan just makes sense 😊
That’s so great :) I’m glad you liked the video! The art supplies were definitely the last thing I thought of, me like I mentioned, I still make purchases without thinking sometimes. We don’t have to be perfect, but I think it’s good to know all the options available so we can make informed choices :)
looks amazing love the editing 🙌🙌
This is such a great video, April! I hadn't even thought about the fact there may be animal products in sketchbooks, like the gelatin on the pages. So interesting, I learnt a lot so thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks Katie! I’m glad it was helpful :) When I was making paper myself I tried to use agar agar, which is used as a plant based alternative to gelatin. You can even make jelly with it! But my experiments never really turned out that good 😂
I have been vegan going on 22 years now and started the same and then began to give more thought to vegan art supplies. I am trying to find reasonably priced vegan oil pastels but so far no luck ...found one that is and has good reviews but out of my budget as a newbie to oil pastels.
I really love the neopastels and they are affordable if you buy a limited palette.
even tho im not vegan i do think it is great there are supplies you can get that vegans or anyone wanting to be more animal friendly can use 😀
Definitely! Most of them are I reckon, just by accident, so it’s pretty simple :)
Thank you so much for this video April, that was highly informative!!
Yay! Glad you found it helpful 😊
Thank you, that's really useful. I am not vegan, but I really do like to know either way and especially with brushes I am very much keeping my eye out for good synthetics that don't hook or get worn out too fast.
I just saw the other day that Hahnemühle's new 100% cotton watercolour paper is supposed to be vegan and it looks really good.
I'm glad it was useful :) Thanks for the tip about the Hahnemühle watercolour paper!
This was such a great video, April! While I am not a vegan, I am concerned about animal welfare so this is a topic I am very interested in. I started to pay more attention to what my supplies are made from when I began to learn more about where animal hairs come from for brushes. Brush manufacturers are often very reluctant to disclose where and how these materials are obtained. As best I can tell most brush materials come from either farmed animals or animals that are hunted/trapped. I switched to synthetic a few years ago even though I think the quality is often inferior to animal hair brushes. There are some very high quality synthetic watercolor brushes that perform very well, however. Robert Simmons White Sable brushes (which are not sable at all) come very highly recommended by one of my teachers. I have also used Escoda synthetic Kolinsky brushes and liked them (but they are quite spendy). Thanks again for another lovely video!
I’m glad you enjoyed it :) I haven’t looked too much into the natural brushes, but that wouldn’t surprise me.
If youre concerned about animal welfare, the best way you can ensure the welfare of animals is by going vegan :)
Super interesting, April, turns out I am actually using most of those vegan products and my Seawhite sketchbooks are too!!! A friend of mine is Celiac and also has to be careful about the gluten content in some art supplies too.
Oh I’ve never heard of that before Arty! I didn’t even know there was gluten in art supplies. We’re learning everyday :)
I heard that Winsor and Newton professional watercolour and designer gouache contain ox gall so I would check with the producer to make sure.
Yes, I think a few of the pigments will contain animal products. This happens a lot with paint sadly. But I am not perfect, just trying my best :)
Omg, SO EXCITING!!
I had to look up all mine while watching and most of them are vegan which is good. There's a couple of colours in my watercolour pan that aren't and I couldn't find anything about my fineliners and pastel pencils so not sure on those.
(I'm whispering now but I think the W&N inks you showed are the drawing inks not the calligraphy inks so I don't think they're vegan. I have a couple of those too but I've got some Diamine inks recently which I believe are all vegan so that's a good alternative. Sorry 😬)
Uh oh 🙈 I just looked and you’re right! Oh well, never mind. I still use the materials I have that aren’t vegan, but when they run out I won’t replace them. It’s like my shoes I’ve been wearing for the last three years, they are made of suede and I have almost worn them out now, so I’m looking for a new animal friendly pair 😊 thanks for letting me know Emma!
TIL that suede isnt vegan! oh no!@@monkeymintaka
@@straberryshinigami15g97 the shoes are gone now. So no more suede :)
Hi! Do you know if Sharpie, Ohuhu, is vegan? What kind of pencils are vegan?
I have an eraser brush that I love but is made from horse hair... dunno what to do about it
Not sure about ohuhu sorry as I don’t use them. But for pencils it is very easy to find info on the big brands. I think most of derwent is, faber castle and caran dache. But if you are unsure Google is fly our friend :)
I also have art supplies made from animal products that I got as gifts or accident or from years ago. I just use them. I don’t think we need to be perfect, just try our best :)
are royal talens sketchbook really vegan? its just that i found one website that mentions its non vegan but do not specify what they use for it
At the time of the video I had found this paragraph on the royal talens website “All of the glues in the Royal Talens range have a synthetic base and are therefore vegan, except for Rembrandt 100% cotton watercolour paper.” Although it doesn’t specifically mention the sketchbooks. Since making the video I have been told that Jackson’s website labels them as non vegan. But Jackson’s sometimes gets it wrong too. They label all the Holbein gouache as non-vegan but I’ve emailed the company and only a few pigments have animal products. So maybe the sketchbooks use animal glue, but I haven’t found anything definitive. At the need of the day I’m just trying to do my best and I make mistakes sometimes. But now I prefer pith sketchbooks so I’m moving to those anyway :)
@@monkeymintaka Ohh thank you so much for replying! its so hard to find an affordable vegan sketchbook here, so if you have any more recommendations please do tell me! though im not vegan, im a muslim so i felt guilty using art supplies that contains any animal ingredients😩
@@urm8936 I know pith are and some daler Rodney. But probably best to Google the ones you want to use.
@@monkeymintaka Thanks! oh also i asked Royal Talens directly on insta if they used any gelatin on the process of paper/sizing (cause of what i’m aware of, some brands do that) and they said they use none in the sketchbook!