I’m glad I’m not the only one putting things “safe” and not finding them afterwards! Thank you for the review, I like your take on it.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Oh yeah that’s my life story!

Your voice is so sooo soothing throughout this video. I ended up watching just for the calming effect

They’re quite affordable. From a reputable company, and marketed for students so not over-promising. Lightfast colors. So not overrated at all.

I like the way you do the swatches, I've been working with the W&N Cotman's for a while now and I love them. However I do know that other professional brands are more rich in color and can give you allot of impact in your paintings. But I do agree that the materials are not the ones that makes the Artist but The Artist is the one who make the materials. I've seen outstanding work made with the W&N Cotman's and I'm trying to get in to that level where I can say that I know how to work these watercolors, I have a set of 14 pans and I've been buying some tubes, my set of colors has lots of variety at the moment the goal is to have all the colors. TFS!

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for your kind words.

@amyx231

2 жыл бұрын

Cotman is the student version. Professional is the higher line. Better pigmented - you might like it more?

Great video. I really appreciate your going into so much detail. I'm on a budget so your review is really helpful in deciding what to purchase. BTW, I'm totally obsessed with San Junipero. I'm fiftysomething and that episode really resonated with me since the 80s were my era!

I also think it depends on where you live. Here in Greece it's pretty much the only brand that's cheap and readily available. I got the cotman metal tin with 24 half pans for 20€ and free shipping. That's actually cheaper than buying the tin on it's own. In comparison 12 half-pans of van Gogh cost around 50€ here. So even if the van Gogh are slightly better I still prefer the cotmans. Edit: the cotman line has 40 colors in total. The biggest set has all 40 colors plus 5 duplicates of what the company calls the " most used shades ". I think the colors are ultra blue, al crimson, yellow ochre, black and Chinese white.

The Cotman paints are overrated for what they are. Pretty much every review I see of these paints recommends them to beginners, and I actually kind of disagree. It's not that they're bad paints, they're alright, but there are better options that are still student grade. I'm Middle Eastern and in my country, the Cotman line is sold as artist quality in most art supply stores, so they're very overpriced (in stores the same set from your video cost about 35$, but on Amazon I was able to get them for 13$). They were very underwhelming to me, especially because the brand I used before, Van Gogh, was cheaper in stores (26$ dollars for a set of 15 pans, compared to the Cotman that was 35$ for 12), and the Van Gogh paints were also available open stock in both tubes and pans for a much cheaper price than Cotman. This shocked me, because online the Van Gogh paints are a lot more expensive than the Cotman, but I honestly think they're worth the money, you get what you pay for. They are much more pigmented, they're easy to rewet and they're creamy and smooth. I recommend them to anyone who feels disappointed with the Cotman.

@maggiebach5791

6 жыл бұрын

I think one's choice sometimes has to come down to where one lives. I did a lot of research before I bought recently the W&N Cotman Compact set (14 colors). It was *significantly* less expensive than a comparable Van Gogh Watercolors line set--For example, about 22 USD for the Cotman, versus 39 USD for the Van Gogh student line. I just wanted a small set for practice, student quality okay, since it's not my only set, and I can't justify that price differential for the Van Gogh. They just aren't that much nicer. But as you see, Noam, the price structure seems to backwards here from what it is in your country, where you report the Cotman are more expensive. In the United States, it will also depend on what part of the country you're shopping in, if you don't buy them online from a national retailer, since regional prices vary so much in America.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yes prices vary greatly by region. I can’t really say the prices in all the regions and sometimes even within the same country they can vary greatly. That’s another reason for me to compare across so many brands.

@cazumbandoartmaddy1728

6 жыл бұрын

It really comes down to localization. W&N is an English brand with a really good worldwide spread of their products, and sometimes they can afford being pricy on some places. Van Gogh is from Royal Talens, a Dutch company. It's also a big one, but they either bought other brands or rebranded some of their products for other markets(ie sakura koi watercolors, which are pretty famous in the US, ARE from Talens Japan). I think VG's products are cheaper than Cotman if you live nearby its country of origin, but once crossing oceans, it gets more expensive than a Cotman. It also comes down to the country's market representative(?) as well because i heard that it is hard to get schminke paints in US because of the american company that supplies it.

@Penguinian

6 жыл бұрын

Maggie Bach whenever I'm buying stuff over like, 20$ or something, I'll check eBay ! It's really nice cause' you can find really good deals. I got a cotman travel (sketch? I forgot the name) set for just $12 when in stores or on amazon it can be$20 or higher！

@princessmanitari4993

5 жыл бұрын

I do wanna say that different people prefer different paints! I myself have a personal love for winsor newton professional (the rose smell in rose madder hue.. Just yes.) even though i do have daniel smith, it just does not attract me as much as winsor newton does. And so, every person has a different preference!

I bought a cotman 45pan studio set back in 2015 when i lived in UK (it was like £25 on amazon and i personally think it is a good deal considering you can find them being sold online at $80) and to clarify, there are really 40 different colors in the cotman range. The other 5 pans are "most used" repetition of colors like Alizarin Crimson, Ultramarine, Yellow Ochre, and the duo we dont really like to use: Chinese white and Lamp Black. (at least that means two free empty half pans :P )

I don't have Cotman (except for one purple half pan) but have got Daler Rowney Aquafine which is student grade and found that adding a dot of honey to the pans improved the paint a little - they don't get so dry and look a bit more vibrant in my opinion

Thank you so much for this review! I've watched so many videos and not one was as informative or gave visible examples of each brand. Even with the "more popular" channels, they just seemed more biased or didn't exactly compare each with the same amount of detail. Or they just hadn't used enough brands yet (not wanting to buy them). I currently have Sakura Koi, and wanted to upgrade in the near future. I've been on the fence between Cotman, Sennelier La Petite, and White Nights. Thanks to your outstanding review and comparisons, I'm leaning more towards Cotman.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your kind words! Feel free to share the video! And let me know if you have any questions.

Karia, another great review, as thorough and as logical as your colored pencils reviews. I'd like to suggest that, in watercolor reviews, it might be helpful to discuss which or how many of the paints in a set are granular, since some artists like them, but others try to avoid them. It's information I always try to seek out. Appreciated your inclusion of the transparency test, too, and especially your comparative mixing charts (great information, seeing those). I happened to buy the Cotman Compact set this week and just ran into your brand new review of Cotman by coincidence. Since I've found your colored pencils reviews to be so helpful, I'm delighted to know you review watercolors, as well, and will be watching. TY. P.S. LOL re Bella and the paper. Always use reverse-psychology with cats. :-) ;-)

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Aww! Thank you so much! I will try to find a way to show which ones are granulating. It’s a thing that I find illusive unless it’s really extreme granulation. But I’m going to think on this for a while and try to add it or mention it for my next watercolor reviews.

Great review, as always! I’m definitely not a Winsor Newton fan. I did start with their professional line, but not by choice, instructor required them for her class. I couldn’t wait to use up enough of the to justify purchasing Daniel Smith. I think one should purchase what is within their budget to see if they even like watercolor before spending a small fortune, but invest in professional paints if you fall in love with it like us!

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

I agree! My first set was the sennelier Professional sent and I have no regrets!

they say cotman is great for beginners, but in my opinion, the white nights watercolor set of 12 would be better because it is affordable and artist quality :))

@ColoringKaria

5 жыл бұрын

I have to agree 100%! Except here in America white knights costs about 3x for the cheapest set vs the cotman. Hopefully as the white knights becomes more popular the price here will go down.

@marjoriejohnson6535

5 жыл бұрын

Have gotten white nights in the beginning on Amazon. They were less money than the cotman,. The price has gone up to triple ,or more, what I paid. Was pleasantly surprised by them. Haven't done A lot of work with them but what I have ,I still am impressed.

I have the 45 pan set with the full range of colors, who’s is 40 colors, and it just has 5 duplicates of the colors they think will be used more than others. The duplicate colors are white,black, alizarin crimson hue, ultramarine and yellow ochre; so basically a triad and black and white. I took my doubles out of the box, shifted the pans ‘up’ and added little rolls of paper towel paper and sponges to keep the pans in place and to be used to clean or wipe off brushes on them.

The brush isn't a great loss. :D Also, the large set has a few duplicates. Cotman is alright for a student grade paint. I like Cotman best in full pans. The bigger pans make it easier to pick up more pigment without scrubbing. Also, the 12 full pan set has a yellow and an orange instead of two yellows, just like Sennelier. I still use Coman for watercolor sketches from time to time. Personally, I quite like Winsor & Newton's professional water colours from tubes and it's one of the watercolor brands I use the most. They have my favorite versions of cobalt blue and dioxazine purple in the professional series. Then again, it's also one of the brands I have fairly easy access to. Of all the watercolor brands I tested I like M. Graham the most, but it's just not affordable or easy to get here.

Thanks for the review! I started off with Cotman and feel its a great beginner set. However, when one is trying to make higher quality finished works, I would never use it. Unfortunately it'll just be a relic on my shelf now.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I always recommended colored pencils sets for beginners based on their budgets and i think i would for watercolors as well. But if someone has $13 and they want a good set this is perfect. Yeah Im going to do all the swatches I need to and then give these away as I would rather someone use these to see if watercolor is for them than me not use them at all.

@Vermiliontea

6 жыл бұрын

But modern Cotman are just as lightfast as your "lightfast" professional grade paints. The same goes for Van Gogh. There are no weak colors in either range. None. True artist ranges however, often includes less lightfast pigments, because they reason they leave the choice to the artist. Most known example is 'Opera Rose'. And some "professional", "artist grade" ranges are somewhat close to rubbish, like 'White Nights' and 'Mijello Mission Gold' for example. They're not anywhere close to as serious as Cotman and Van Gogh. There's a problem with evaluating paints by painting swatches and comparing how "intense", "vibrant" or "brilliant" they seem. There is no lack of pigments which are really strong, bright, transparent, whatever. There are thousands and thousands of them. And they are cheap or even dirt cheap. So anyone who wants to make colors which excels in those areas have a very easy task ahead. ...Now, - permanence, otoh... Still, I do think that anyone who can afford it, should try and use brands like W&N professional/artist, Schmincke Horadam, Talens Rembrandt, Daniel Smith, M Graham, Sennelier Artist. Of course I think they should. The sheer pleasure of doing it is justification enough. In fact I think it's the biggest justification, because you can achieve excellent results with Cotman and Van Gogh. The feeling and methods doesn't quite become the same, though. But most people who want to dabble in watercolors can't make themselves spend the many hundreds of $ that it takes to explore and get to know Artist range paints. They probably save on the paper as well, which is worse.

@carlpen850

6 жыл бұрын

@ Vermilliontea... I couldn't agree with you more... read my comment up above to "Farmwife"... I've been using watercolors for 48 years now so I can honestly say I've been "around the block"... what I've always looked for when it comes to watercolor paint is first and foremost it's permanency and light fastness... if it doesn't have that then I just won't use it... I sell my work and I couldn't hand someone something that I know won't last. I use certain Cotman colors, Grumbacher Academy, and added Van Gogh to my collection starting back in early 2000... I don't use fancy name colors... like Peacock Pink... what the hell is peacock pink ? Stick to the basics... all the great artists used a limited palette... learn color theory... it's way better than buy a 1,000 different colors. PS - love your user name... had to add that in

San junipero is one of the most perfect episodes of any show, ever, and can totally see why you’d be obsessed with it! The story is so ridiculously well-told, and the visuals? I mean....you know. It’s completely stunning. One of the problems I have with cotman paints is that they really do have a wimpy pigment load, like you said, and they’re unreliable from color to color in how they perform. I’m not surprised you had trouble building up that yellow ochre especially though, because it’s a pigment in multiple brands that can have a problem with rewetting. Burnt umber shouldn’t be a problem chid though, since it’s such an inexpensive and common pigment for paint makers! The drying shift is another one of the problems I have with Cotman, and one of the reasons I fell in love with Daniel Smith is that their color when you lay it down is pretty much what you’re going to get. I hate having to adjust for drying shift-I want my color to be what it is!!! If you can get this sketcher’s box for $10, then I agree-it’s a decent thing to pick up. The color selection is useful and the box itself is simple but sturdy in its construction. The problem is that the pricing varies WILDLY depending on where you get them from! Michael’s lists them for like $20-$30 or something, whereas I think I got mine for $12 on amazon forever ago. These are cheap paints and anything other than a cheap price is just WRONG for them. Thanks for all the research and comparison you did! I’m kind of AMAZED that you’re going for “the good paper” for all your swatches! I noticed it before you said it and then when you did I was like GURL NOOOOO!!! THATS SO EXPENSIVVVVVE! But dang, respect for trying to give all paints their best chance.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

All true. Yes it is expensive BUT if my goal is to help people decide it’s only “fair” to use the best paper I can for swatches. However I don’t want to count how much I spent on paper for mixing charts and comparison charts as well as swatching because it’s all 100% cotton, 140lb paper. But in the past I used the far far cheaper strathmore 300/400 series for mixing charts and honestly it ended up not being worth it because some colors/brands just didn’t behave and sometimes things would not really sit right on the paper. Plus this way I have good quality charts and swatches I can use for me. Anyway, yes I think the Cotman are mainly affordable paints. So one can’t expect much more than what’s here people should totally not pay $30 for these sets. There are much better paints out there for that price.

@MeowMeowKapow

6 жыл бұрын

ColoringKaria you know, thinking about it, it might be interesting if you decided to take up the mantle of cheap vs expensive swatching, because as an avid cheapskate I rarely use my good stuff, and I have a feeling that there are plenty of people who’d be doing their own pieces on inexpensive paper as well. I think it would be interesting and informational to hear your take on the differences between the two papers with each of your swatches! I don’t know of anyone right now that’s doing that sort of thing if you want to take it as yours!

@Vermiliontea

6 жыл бұрын

Wow, I didn't knew Lars Lerin uses Cotman! He's mind bogglingly awesome btw. Tremendous artist. It certainly doesn't affect his work negatively. I know a number of other artists that use Cotman though. It's perfectly sound practice since Cotman are permanent enough.

Thanks for the review! I really think it depends on where you live. Here that set is 17/18€ and that quality for that price is just not worth it, instead I got the koh-i-noor student watercolors for 3€ and they are very vibrant and pigmented (a bit opaque tho).

No. I don't think Cotman are overrated. On the contrary I think they are great value. It is a student range that is so serious that it's perfectly fine and suitable for even professional art purposes. It is, however, a range composed for economy, so of course Artist grade water colors are noticeably superior. Still, Cotman's entire range is highly lightfast and dependable, in that regard as good as better Artist grade. The most negative property of Cotman is probably that they're so hard, and dissolves slowly. Sometimes it's like scrubbing stone (but you can get them in tubes). Otoh, they keep very well, basically for ever. (Another is that I rarely agree with W&N selections of colors for limited sets.) The only comparable student range is Talens Van Gogh. They are equally permanent. But those are typically much more expensive. Also, while they wet and pick up easier, they, IMO, for my taste, end up looking flatter on the paper, looks less like watercolor. But sure, I rather use the real Artist grade. Wouldn't you? But Cotman "overrated"? No, IMO they're the best cheap watercolors out there. (and as I reached the end of the video, it seems you think so too.) The types, quality and specs of the used pigments is way better than what 'White Nights' use for instance. I will totally agree that W&N are overpriced in the US.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yep to everything. Except I like sennelier student grade better. But I haven’t tried Van Gogh. They are on my wishlist though. To me wether they are overrated really depends on the price paid. For $10-$13 they are not and are a great value. But for a set of 45 half pans for $70 that’s a hard pass.

@Vermiliontea

6 жыл бұрын

I bought the 45 pan set in England for some twenty £, 1½ years ago. It's really weird how W&N raise prices on some of their products when they cross the Atlantic.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

What!!!! Yeah that’s a great value! Right now. Like this second, the price on amazon is $69USD but £20 is about $28USD. Also the set I show here is $13 which is about £10

@Vermiliontea

6 жыл бұрын

No it was twenty-something pounds. I don't remember exactly. I think it may have been like £27 ? So slightly more expensive than £20. It had been a long time since I last tried Cotman, and the range has been revamped and improved many times since I was young. The big set suited me fine because, as I said, I rarely agree with manufacturers selections for sets. :)

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Ah! I got you!

The cotman are not bad for what they are but I found myself upgrading to W&N professional and D&S pretty soon after. The pro lines may be more expensive however I have found I use less paint to get the colour results so I don’t find them that expensive in the end as they last longer in that regard. Plus, I am not a fan of the chalky look the cotman give if you do too much layering. Since I do have them, I take them with me when camping since I don’t want to get the pro ones grubby. Great review. 👍😄

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yes! And thank you! That’s one of the reasons why I prefer artists paints. I find myself using much less paint and it’s much much easier to work and glaze.

Thank you so much for doing all those swatches! This has made me interested in watercolors. Question, how do you mix watercolors. Do mix them 50/50 in a palette mixed with water? Thanks

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

I have all your answers right here: scroll over to the 20:01 time stamp and the painting starts there. its actually way eaiser than that! kzread.info/dash/bejne/nJWns6yzfcLacqg.html

@onemoregarden

6 жыл бұрын

So I think I get it, you mix it right on the paper. I am not sure what it means to re-wet. I would love to enter into the contest. Thank you!

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

you well i mean that when you add water it becomes paint. it becomes thinner and more transparent the more water you add. as you saw in the other video you can mix it on a palette thats what i normally do. you can activate the paint with just a drop of water.

@onemoregarden

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Great review! I basically feel the same way about these. But a lot depends on where you live.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yep! Someone said in the comments that this set costs $55USD in their area so in that case don’t bother! LOL. I know some people really like the Van Gogh but they cost as much as M Graham paints here. I’ll still review them but price makes all the difference.

@SadieSavestheDay

6 жыл бұрын

ColoringKaria omg that’s so expensive. Yeah in that case it doesn’t make sense.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yep!

@farmwife7944

6 жыл бұрын

Sadie Saves the Day agree. They are student paints and should be considered student quality. It is unfortunate that they are overpriced in some areas of the world. There are other good options for students and it is so important to keep the cost low to allow students to try them out without making a huge money commitment. One important feature is that cotmans are safer in terms of toxicity, they meet the standards for kids to be able to use. I have a set for my grandchildren to use since I don't them getting exposed to some of the chemicals in my artist paints.

@carlpen850

6 жыл бұрын

@ Farmwife... I somewhat disagree... I have a watercolor that I did in 1972 hanging in my art studio that has not faded or degraded one iota and it was never framed or had any protection other than a coat of Krylon Clear Coat Spray... done entirely in Cotman watercolors... of course back then I was only paying 59 to 79 cents for a quarter ounce tube of Cotman and Winsor Newton artist grade was a $1.59 for a slightly smaller tube... yes the prices are now ridiculous... Today I buy my Cotman watercolors from an on line art supplier and I'm paying $4.28 for a 21 ml tube... I only buy tubes... also I only buy the earth tones from Cotman... you will find that when it comes to the earth tones the exact same ingredients are used in both the 2nd range as are used in the "artist grade" for one tenth the price. Keep this in mind... the best are not always the most expensive. PS - I truly believe that watercolor artists should ban together and bring a class action lawsuit against the manufacturers for theft... there is no reason in the world that a quarter ounce of paint should cost more than $3...

These paints are so overpriced here in Australia - this set here costs $60-70! Which is about $55 or so USD. But, they are more reasonably priced on Jackson's Art so I am getting them mainly for the palette, and I want to slowly swap the colours out for artist quality paint. Thanks so much for the comparison :) Right now my paints are mainly the Jane Davenport sets, so I assume the cotman's are around the same quality. I hope to then slowly, tube by tube, grow an artist grade palette, as my own talent slowly gets better. I too love that episode of black mirror - and it is strangely optimistic for that show! But its such a great love story, and I'm a bit of a sucker for time travel, so while this isn't strictly time travel it still hits me there.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yikes! That’s super expensive! I have not tried the Jane Davenport sets but they are on my list of things to try! I know! San Junipero is everything. It still amazes me that Gugu Mbatha-Raw is super British. She’s such an amazing actress. I want her in all the movies. LOL. Which I realize I can’t have but still. Belle is such a different role and she’s plays that like she was born to play it. Anyway I can wax on about all the things I love about San Junipero! Black. Gay. Retro. Music. I mean it’s everything. Anyway, I have plans to review the Daler Rowney paints, as well as the sennelier student grade. Let me know if there are any other affordable paints you want to try to review.

You don't post anymore. I hope you're ok. Best wishes and thank you for your videos.

@ColoringKaria

Жыл бұрын

It’s been very up and down. Don’t know if life with ever let me come back. I’m sorry 😢

@tzerpa9446

Жыл бұрын

@@ColoringKaria I hope it does soon 🙏🙏🙏. Best wishes for you and your loved ones.

any accomplished watercolor artist can use W & N Cotman paints and get incredible results, it's NOT the paints, it's that ability and creativity

@ColoringKaria

3 жыл бұрын

Yes any artist can use sand, twigs and dirt to make great art. Instagram is full of examples. Nevertheless because of that that doesn’t mean there are no differences between different brands. The point here is not that this or that are supply will make your work the Sistine chapel but rather to talk about the very real differences between different art supplies.

High five for being visually impaired artists

@ColoringKaria

5 жыл бұрын

Hugs!

For the mixing charts, did you mix them wet on a palette, or paint one color and then paint the other over them?

@ColoringKaria

5 жыл бұрын

Hello! I mix them in on a palette. And then apply them to the paper.

@sheilaklein3822

5 жыл бұрын

ColoringKaria, ty for such a quick response! I have had people take two weeks or more to answer.

@ColoringKaria

5 жыл бұрын

Yikes! No. I try to answer as soon as I can. Of course people have more subs than me so they might just be more busy.

I use cotman only because i am too greedy to not use my money, but with this watercolors we have strongly toxic relationships. I am waiting till it ends and finally will try my Van Gogh which is super better

I just bought online the 45 W&N set because my Holbein set I had for years just got covered in fungus for one day to another after moving into a new apartment with my mom. Considering I'm currently depending on her money and living together (my relationship between the two is quite bad I'm afraid) I went for the most afordable and cheapest set I found on that store. I've been trying them and I can say they're really neat, but my set came with some colours repeated. The set is nice and they're really intense! Some of them are even more pigmented than Holbein's and others are a little bit pale. I can give it a 7/10, they're definitely a bit overrated but I can't say they're crappy because they actually bring so nice results.

@ColoringKaria

4 жыл бұрын

The best paints are the ones you enjoy and use! Not these paints aren’t terrible. Hugs!

Good video so far just 1 thing, a price comparison to Daniel Smith’s gemstone tubes doesn’t really feel fair to me, I mean in general most Daniel smith paints are $5-8 bucks for the small tubes when we are not taking about the ones made with real gemstones inside of them. That’s the reason that particular line of colors cost so much, your paying for the crushed genuine lapis lazuli and crushed genuine amethyst to be inside the paints themselves. I’m actually using a mixed palette of Cotman Pans, Cotman Tubes(dried down) and Daniel Smith Tubes(also dried down)…. Just wanted to mention that because Of course a student line of paints will cost considerably less then a Professional line specifically when comparing to that pro lines most expensive tubes they offer. When compared to their regular line of colors it’s not so huge of a different but still enough for some people. . . Ok I’m going back in to the review because I am genuinely interested so far and can’t wait to see what you have done here

@ColoringKaria

2 жыл бұрын

Its funny you mention that because there has been some drama lately about how much if any crushed gemstone is in those daniel smith tube. the Lapis Lazuli i particular cant have very much or very high quality lapis in it. the tubes with actual high quality lapis in them cost hundred of dollars as i found out when i tried to buy some a half pan might be $100 plus and looks much darker and richer. Anyway the point of my comparison isnt to say cotman and DS are the same but rather to help people who might already have a frame of reference. so you have used those paints not just from DS but from all other ones i mention and you are thinking about getting the cotman you can use what you have to sort of tell you these will similar and different to what you have in all these different ways. I hope that helps.

@pantalonious3984

2 жыл бұрын

@@ColoringKaria oh yes the primatek controversy, which is real sadly. They have used lots of other pigments (like phthalo green) in the tubes to make them much more vibrant, amd you are right that they don’t even use that much of the genuine stone l like they advertised the paints being. This whole controversy almost turned me off of Daniel Smith entirely to be honest. If they are willing to lie about some they are willing to lie about others in my opinion, but for Christmas I was actually given their Mixing Essentials Set and I fell in love with the pigmentation and flow and how they just explode with color from a touch of a wet brush! I also received a set of Cotman Tubes for Christmas so i paired them all together in a palette and went to work. I’ve found the cotman tubes actually re wet pretty nicely for me (i will spray them before use i just always have) and I also find the sap green to be a little “lack luster” which is a shame because that’s my favorite green currently. All in all I think Cotman are a great starting point and have done better for me then most of my other sets of “student grade paint” That’s insane that a tube of paint would cost so much money even with gemstones inside of it! If you ever end up purchasing some of the higher quality gemstone colors from anywhere I would LOVE to see you review them. This was really in depth and very informative and i really enjoyed it, I subscribed!!

If I lived in American, I've not bother with W&N Cotman range. They are quite a disappointing student range of paint. You have better options available easier for you. I started my painting life with Cotman paints but they are dull and weak and mix to mud so easily. You don't get nice granulation or blooms. I have some W&N artist grade paints now, they are nice, but again not strong in body. You can glaze away with them but they are more of a traditional watercolour paint than modern tastes might want. Nice review though. You did it well. Not sure why you were nervous.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Yeah I didn’t start with these. I really got these just to do a review of them. And while they are ok for the price, you are right there are better options here. My three go to brands here are sennelier, Daniel Smith and Mgraham. But they are relatively more expensive and not everyone has the means for just starting out. Thank you! Yeah not sure why I was nervous.

@suewilkinson910

6 жыл бұрын

ColoringKaria I think the colours must have a lot of fillers in them, which would account for how dull they look when dry. Sadly Daniel Smith is very expensive here. I’ve not seen M Graham for sale. I’m thinking of getting some Russian White Nights to try. Artist grade, full pans, good reviews and excellent price in the U.K. Those and the few Windsor & Newton artist grade I have should do me well.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yep! That’s probably true! That’s why I want to review as many brands as I can get my hands on because different regions have such different prices. Here Daniel smith is a little pricey but other brands cost much more

I started out with van Gogh and I'm still using them today sometimes, and then I bought a cotman set just to try them out... and I hated them. They are so unpigmented comared to my van goghs and the van goghs cost less (at least for me). I made a few decent pieces with them but I needed a lot of layers to get a bright color. So from my experience, they are pretty overrated.

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Yeah the Van Gogh are pretty pricey here. They cost more than some M Graham or Sennelier sets. That’s why it’s sooo important for me to compare so many brands because prices vary sooo much by region.

@Ameriix_

6 жыл бұрын

Stuff is very expensive here, but van Gogh is still cheaper than the cotman for me. Van Gogh is around 25$ and the cotmans are around 40$ for a 12 set :/

@carlpen850

6 жыл бұрын

Wow... I was buying Van Gogh for $1.79 a tube... don't buy pan sets, they're a waste of money... I use the Cotman earth tone colors and they are just as good as the professional grade earth tones... and if you knew color theory than you would know how to make even a somewhat dull color look bright by what you put around it...

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Everyone has different needs and wants. for me, I love pan sets because thats how i use the paint. I do have paints like the Turner's that are only sold in tubes. I have to add $10-14 to get a tin for those paints. that doesnt save me money. its not that i dont know how to work with student paints, and to make colors look more vibrant than they are, its that i don't *WANT* to. and thats the joy of being an adult, you can do whatever the heck you want.

you have china cotman or uk?

@Brocioeg

5 жыл бұрын

It's there any difference?

@marjoriejohnson6535

5 жыл бұрын

The China artist grade I bought was garbage. Not even on par with cotman. Not worth the space they take up. Gave them to someone working at ac Moore who was interested in learning about watercolor. Gave her a description on their drawbacks . At least with the paints made in England you get what you expect. A beginner only set. Even then I would not recommend cotman to an adult who really wants to learn watercolor. A very limited palette from d.smith, m.graham or other is much better. Use the case to build your own plein air.

If yo like qor paints you probably will not like mission gold,. Mission gold tends to say put where as I find for travels beautifully. I tend to go back and forth depending on what I am after on the same piece.

There expensive, I have no problems with them.

enter me into the contest please

@ColoringKaria

6 жыл бұрын

Will do!