Koh-i-noor Hardtmuth 24 watercolour Wheel

My sister mailed me this set and I finally got around to playing with it so here is my personal review on it 

 This is one tiny pallet that packs a lot of colours in it. These come all the way from Poland when shipped through amazon and the 24 set doesn't run for that much so these are an not that expensive for a travel set great for beginners you can also buy a 36 or 48 set too.

The 24 set will teach you about mixing as this doesn't have a purple in it but the level with the white the blue and red make a perfect violet together and I did love the warm orange colours they included in this set 

 I would say, or a travel set that you don't worry to much about much space either as this is just so compact. The center in the middle is a great space for mixing colours to make the few that are missing in this set. So it will teach you to mix colours for sure. 

This set has a lot of reds/oranges which does have a variety and would have liked a darker blue to be able to dilute it down.

Just playing around mixing colours together to create this sweet dancing girl for you 

to see.

Pros - Not expensive, Good variety of colours,
fairly transparent which allows for layers 
Great for a beginner and will teach them to be able to mix

Colours do mix well together 

Cons - does have a slight rougher feel on paper almost chalky but doesn't rub off 

thanks for looking 

come back again for another review 

 

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 

Prang Watercolours

 Now I was lucky enough to have just stumbled across these paints and thought to give them a quick review. First off these are Kids/Student Paints something just to play with the colours look really bright in the pallet but I did find them lacking when painted I painted out the quick Swatch test
(Used Canson XL to test them on) 

The Orange and Red I found really muted so I went over them again for a 2nd time you will need to do a bunch of layers to get an impact from some . The Black is a good matte black and the darker colours  I found do granulate just a touch which I found surprising for sure. The brush that was provided would make a great lets add some water to paper but does seem to loose it bristles quickly so I would have a better one hanging around and toss that one. So here is the quick Swatch test they are transparent which is great. 

Myself I wouldn't really use just because I've moved up to professional ones but these would be ok for kids and newbies that want to get their feet wet for sure 
Now it wouldn't be fair unless I did a little picture up with them and let you see that no matter what paints you own you can make a pretty picture with them all.


Pros - Not a break the bank buy and I would buy for a beginner 
Great for starting and just playing around 
Come in a handy little case with room for a brush 

Paint is activated quickly with little water 
The Pallet Paints can be replaced easy pop in and out Rearrange them too 
 or refill with higher quality paints Once used up 
The Colours are all easily blend easy together 

Cons - Student Paints  but decent quality 

Colours can be muted and require a few layer of paint to get bold colours for some of them 
But will be helpful to learn about layering for sure 

Did notice that that while painting this semi dry paint was easily lifted off when trying to layer, i was okay with that as it was easily reapplied and did allow a very interesting texture hidden in the picture 

Price Point $10-$15 Cad Depending on where you look 
Plus you can occasional find them cheaper if you look around 

Thanks for popping in 
Hugs Nikki

Miejello Mission Gold Class Watercolours

After reading all the reviews and watching a ton of Youtube videos I went out and purchased 
Mijello Mission Gold Class 7ml Set Set + Pallet 

1st thing I did was Open the paints and put them in the pallet they are actually packaged the way they go into the pallet too so you can just use drop some in and go. 

These have a few Pure pigment paints which is only using 1 pigment great for mixing new colours with and get some more colours 

This is just a colour chart I found online that shows the light fastness , Transparency and how many pigments are in each colours 

Now after playing with these for a while I can say I love them the colours are bold and bright and the pallet is huge with plenty of room to play around in. Myself I prefer a small pallet as I like to bring it everywhere but when I'm at my table this is just fantastic to use 
I do have a few favourite colours for sure in this set but they change to my mood 

the Browns are a show stopper they are different from others and seem really rich in colour. This set has a lot of Blended colours in with only 11 Single Pigment colours.
They do have a lower flow rate which I like for my miniature paintings, and they aren't to crazy on the granulation you have to push the colours around which is fine when working with small spaces allows you the control over it. 
There are a couple Fugitive Colours = Colours that will fade if left in a bright light which is normal with most Watercolours. 
The Fugitive that I know so far in this set are

 Permanent Light Yellow - Always has issues light yellows 

 Bright Opera - Which honestly is fugitive in most brands 
Rose Madder 

Here is a sample painting of a few of the colours the Rich Browns and Greens in this set just Shine 
I love how the red works too 
This is one of my ACEO cards that has sold but you can find more here 
I try to update weekly 

I will try to get some more samples later on !!

hugs Nikki