Arrtx - Oros Markers

 Well I am back to share with you a Review on my new Arrtx Oros Markers - Pastel Set Let's just say this is one company that thinks things through about when you buy a product. I borrowed pictures from Amazon. Here's a link for these on the Canadian site 

The box these come in the 1st thing I noticed was my markers say Hello on the box to me it's super fantastic below is what I got in the kit. It comes with a swatch sheet, thank you card, a postcard, and the part I love the most it comes with a holder for my markers and a tote bag to bring them everywhere. 

I don't have to figure out how to store them like other companies make you hunt down or make something. 

These come with a brush tip and a chisel tip, the brush tip is better then most that I have tried it is sturdy and can get into tight spaces. The drawings below are all 2.5 by 3.5 inches to show you how well these look , I did use some of my skin tone set for some of the faces. The pastel set does have 5 markers that are in the skin tone set but I don't mind as my skin tone set is alps set (Review here) 
The colours can be layered over easy as you can see below I used a bunch to add highlights shadows 

Pros : The Colours Blend together well they do flow easy and are juicy
The lids come off and on really easy - I did own some that need a pliers to open 
The lids are a little brighter then the colours but once dry are close
Comes with a stand to store your markers and a tote bag to carry around
*I do love the alps boxes better just cause I can close them over for a tidy area*
Swatch Sheet no need to print one off 
Thank you card, Stickers and a postcard to mail out to someone 
The price point is amazing for this many good quality markers and all the extras they give you 
WOW !! is all I have to say

Cons : Names of colours not on the markers just the numbers but not a big deal they are on the swatch sheet 
The stand frame that came with mine, I broke by accident 1st day, don't play with it like I did :P
No colourless blender but with markers this light it's not really needed I found 
Plus I got 2 in my skin tone set 

Update Since I wrote this I now have a few more sets they have two Huge sets One of 80 and one of 90 
Along with colour themes sets in colour groupings which is great the big sets do come with blender markers and I have now a link to their store online - HERE Prices are in USD too
They also sell on Amazon too so you check it out if they sell it closer to you they put deals out all the time. 

I love how this is one of the few companies that listens to what we are looking for in markers 

If you have any questions about these ask away 

Hugs Nikki 

Paul Ruben's Watercolours Pearlescent Review

 Paul Ruben's Watercolours is a newer Professional Line on the market from Hong Kong. These paints are a lot younger then some companies and is getting into the art world quickly. They are super reasonably priced and the tins are amazing metal with a few pallets to play on.

The Set I'm going to talk about is the Pearlescent Colours. These paints comes in a 24 set (like this one) or a 48 Set too,  I also put the swatch I made in a south facing window to see how the colours will hold up for light fast test but the results are at the bottom of this post, which has some surprise to see.

These are a Mica based paint that has a stunning shimmer to each one and as you will notice they work amazing on both White and black paper which is honestly very difficult for some pearlescent lines they only work well on one or the other so this paint gives you LOTS of Options along with the fact that Paul Rubens also has it's own paper line both in white and black so they really made sure the paint looks good on both their papers.

48 Colour set (taken off the web)  

1st up I made an Octopus and this guy is using all the shimmer colours 
(I did use a yellow undertone for his eyes as they needed a little extra pop and then I went over it 

with Paul Ruben's Paint 
When using the paints I used a dropper and put a water on the paint I planned on using the longer I left the water on it the stronger the colour would become I found so I could use it as light or as strong as I chose to do

Next I created a winter scene and used the  Pearl Silver White and Pearl Platinum for the sky and the snow cause snow sparkles always, These make an excellent accent to add extra depth 

 This little bee his wings are done with 2 different colours again to make his wings look like the sun is shinning off them and the colour is reflecting from the flower and the sky 

Here I am working on Paul Ruben's Black Paper line 
the paper does have some texture but I did find that it was a little tougher to create something only

because I was trying to paint like I would on white paper the shadows are here already so I have to add in the light to make it pop. The paper was a little to textured for high detail work but excellent for a little looser style which I did with the jellyfish here and the paint spatters perfectly too.

Light fast test 

I put my little sample in a south facing window to get the most sunlight on  it that I could. 
So I did not publish this for a few months as I was doing a light fast test on the paints 
Mica Powders do no have the same qualities as some paints they can fade over time if a fugitive colour is added to them but they still do hold the sparkle so I would recommend on some of the colours to use them as an finish layer. You can see the little F on the paper these are the ones that Faded quickly. 
The Right side of the line was covered over so you can see how some faded but there is some good news to go with this it didn't really fade on the Black paper,  just mainly the white
I did this test from July 31st to Oct 15th which wasn't that long but when I noticed how quickly some lost colour on the white.
I thought it good enough to show the difference 
Also note that you should never hang a watercolour in direct sunlight ever, as

shown from my paint guide that I painted the day I got it and it still looks the exact same as the day I painted it (took the Picture Nov 2nd/22 ) the shine in the paints makes it tough to get a good picture with my phone

I still recommend buying these as the price point and colour Range is just fantastic along with these are just darn fun to play with and honestly we can all use a little sparkle everyday.

Now I do have some mini paintings done with these and they are kept in a album, Which I flip through frequently and they look the exact same way as I painted them so it just and they are older then the light fast test so they do hold up well without light on them as the covered half shows.

 

But like all watercolour paints it's best to keep them out of direct light, north walls are always best for watercolours and damp areas too if you want the colours to stay true. I have kept a picture covered and it looks the same as the day I painted it months ago so just remember that when hanging watercolours anywhere 

Thanks for checking out my review if you have any questions please ask 

hugs Nikki