I'm watching your video and I'm around the middle of it, still looking at the aqua drop part of your review. I bought a 8 bottle set from Jackson's black Friday sale. I'm glad you made this test of the inks with gouache to see if they're good for tinting a heavier body paint like gouache, but it seems like the best option for that are the single pigment bottles. I really like aqua drop for being a pigmented watercolor ink (so they are lightfast instead of fugitive like dye inks), but I just wish I could get more information from schmincke about their ingredients used, as there's something that I dislike about these paints is how, like... I think they're so intense and staining that they make regular watercolor paper look like their sizing has gone. It doesn't have that same body a normal gum Arabic watercolor paint has, instead of sitting on top of the paper it goes straight into the paper fibers. These are more evident with darker colors like brown, indigo, dark blue and the reds. Granted, the only papers I've used with aqua drop so far were canson montval and the fabriano studio 20%cotton, but I've noticed the same issue when you swatched a darker blue i.e. the paint sunk into the paper fibers. I feel like I'll experiment having a partially diluted paint on a pipette bottle with a touch of gum Arabic to see if this paint will have more body or not. The other use I could have it would be for preparing larger washes or even tinting the entire watercolor paper for a painting without having to worry about it lifting after it's dry! :)

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I am really speechless what a concise comment you just wrote about this product! I am going to pin this post since it might be really helpful not just for me but everyone who stumbles upon this video so they can really think twice before buying it!

Moniiii!! :) Time to rewatch your amazing videos! Sending you the purple and indigo huggles! 💜💜💜

When it comes to the liquid watercolor, I personally use them to punch up the intensity of my other watercolors. Mixing them in when I’m filling a pan gives the control over the depth of the tint. Depending on the particular pigment you can even turn non granulating colors into granulating ones.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

This is genius, actually, I never thought of this! And now I am thinking it might also come in handy when you want to fill a large area, e.g background. I don‘t like to use my watercolors straight out of the tube and sometimes when I fill large areas it feels like the pans get empty in no time (and reactivating is tedious). Thank you so much Crystalline!

I agree about the Arches watercolor paper I think the main reason many people use it is because it's one of the few 100% cotton papers that I can get pretty much anywhere including my local big box art stores here in the states and it's vaguely affordable compared to other 100 percent cotton papers and id rather paint on cotton than cellulose.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

You got a point here, it’s true it’s easy to get in comparison to other brands, and also I thought about it and many floral artists swear by it, and if you are not obsessed with clean edges like me the roughness leading to marks that are more organic might be even appealing to many. Thank you for sharing this!

I so agree with you on the Arches watercolour paper. The texture is too rough and it is hard to lift colour too. I don’t see why it is so popular to be honest

Deine Videos sind einfach so unglaublich entspannend und angenehm zum Gucken! Es ist fast eine Art Meditation, Dir beim Swatchen zuzuschauen. Und auf jeden Fall eine tolle Anregung, wieder mal neues auszuprobieren und mich nach neuen Materialien umzuschauen.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Das freut mich so, dass es entspannend ist! Mir geht es auch oft so wenn ich anderen zusehe und ich liebe es, es ist wirklich meditativ und ich hätte nie gedacht, dass es andere bei meinen Videos auch so empfinden! Ich freu mich riesig, tausend Dank für deine lieben Worte!

Haha I'm all for the wild effects so when you remarked on the pigments separating when you used white gouache, I was literally going "ooooh ❤" exactly when you stated "this sucks!" 😂 Every artist really is different.

I am so glad I'm not the only one who hates the super rough sandpaper texture of Arches -- I will definitely have to try the Saunders paper next time!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I am very happy with it and I am sure there is nothing about the Saunders that might put anyone off, it’s slightly off-white but you only see it next to other papers. Also, it’s such a relief, I am not alone after all! Thank you 🙏

@WillowRoseArlen

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor I just ordered some of the Saunders to try. :)

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@WillowRoseArlen Yessss!!! Let me know how it is ❤️ I want it in bigger size now, too 😅

I have not tried liquid watercolor before, the color wheel part was so so pretty. I agree the watercolor palette is more friendly to my laziness!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Maggie, I got them to make quick Gouache with white without wasting my "good" paints, so they can serve their purpose if I go for more pastellic and accept that the pigments can seperate. If you get good inks you don't need Aqua Drops.

Saunders Waterford is my absolute favorite watercolor paper. I make custom goatskin leather Hardbound watercolor sketchbooks with all of the professional artist grade 100% cotton papers. So I buy most of my watercolor papers in industrial rolls, but I love my Saunders Waterford for my artwork. Plus the average size of rolls of watercolor papers like Arches 140" cold press, are 44" × 10 yards. But my Saunders Waterford rolls are all 60' x 11 yards.... but they always give an extra yard to 3/4 of a yard, after the 11 yards. So I just say 12 yards... its been in every roll I bought, in all different surfaces and weights. Arches is okay to me, it is extremely over-rated IMO. Saunders is far above... specially their High white 300 gsm & 640 gsm papers. I actually like the Fabriano Artistico " soft press " 640gsm, and the 300 gsm is nice too. Not a fan of their cold press and hot press tho... ever since Fabriano started printing money for the French government.... it changed their surfaces, SPECIALLY with their hot press! Many years back, their hot press was hands down the BEST!! then they started printing money and it changed something in their process and machinery. I do however love Arches 400 lb/850GSM... its so thick, you could side a house with it hahahahaha 😆 🤣. That will hold up with ANYTHING you can throw at it, and it never buckles and curls. Glad to see people starting to try Saunders more... for awhile, didn't see many people using it in their vids. Have a great one 🙂

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Deejay, I just stumbled upon all your comments and I am so overwhelmed and happy about the efforts you took to share us such a big insight into your workflow and catalogue of art supplies! Honestly, I am sure I have never met an art nerd as big as you! That saaid, you really made me think and consider looking into buying rolls as well, especially since I work in bigger scale anyway! Not many suppliers here in Germany sell rolls, but I will look into that. Thanks so much!

Thank you for sharing your journey!! I know there is so much time that goes into the entirety of the process. It felt very authentic and I super appreciate these kind of explorations.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Stephanie, you are an angel, sweet, kind and you motivate me, I am so greatful 🥲 Thank you for making me feel less lonely on this journey and being a part of it, I love reading your thoughts and all the useful advice you and the others share here, it makes me so happy and I learn so many new things every day!

Thanks for all the swatching!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Chloe, I am super glad! 😊

I can't wait to get these!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Ooooooh! The watercolours or the inks?

I love both brands. I use them not only by themselves but also as underpaintings or backgrounds for my gouache and watercolors.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly what I was thinking, they are good as underpainting or covering larger areas and backgrounds 🙂

@huskytail

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor yes, and I don't know if you have heard about it but Schmincke have these empty pens, which you can fill with whichever color drops you like and draw/paint with them. I wanted to try them out but I bought already so many things I got embarrassed to spend stuff on this too 🤭. It's a nice toy but it's really just a toy in my opinion. Anyway, I love your videos and reviews. Also, it's really nice to see Europeans doing reviews and sharing art life on our continent 🙂

Very nice 👌 👍 👏

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you 😊 🙏

that magenta is so pretty! another thing to add to the supply list lol

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Lol, so many art supply addicts around here, love it 💕 😆

Beautiful video!!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Bianca! I hope you enjoyed it and your comment makes me happy 😊

Wow thank you so much for doing these swatches. It was a big help for my decision. I am really impressed by the Zeichentusche, by their vibrancy and permanence. I love to work with many layers of thin glazes, so it’s a must buy for me. I actually have a set of the Hydrus liquid watercolors by Dr. Ph Martin, which I actually enjoy. I’m happy with them.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Dr. Ph Martin I also heard many good things about them and maybe they are even just as good, in my case it is more affordable to get Zeichentusche since it‘s local. I am still impressed myself and I already know I will take advantage of the permanence on first base layers in combination with watercolors. I am glad this was helpful! 😊🙏

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! The inks look lovely. And I'm with you, I too do not enjoy working on arches. It is too rough and colors look kinda washed out on it. I have only used a sample of Saunders Waterford but loved how it made the colors look amazing. It is also smooth enough to do detail work.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I agree one 100% with everything you said and you have no idea how pleasantly surprised I am that there are indeed others who are not super fond of it, feeling less like a weirdo now! Thank you so much for sharing this!

@magentaindigoart

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor you are very welcome. Of course there are more people who prefer less popular or unpopular supplies. But even if there weren't any, it would be ok! Besides, when we really enjoy using a supply I think it shows in the artwork since it makes the process feel so effortless ^_^

wow!!!

So beautiful Work💕 Big like🌼 Have a nice day♪🌸

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Hey, Yuzu! Thank you so much for this, have a great week, too! ❤️

I bought Arches paper when I first started painting 2 years ago because everyone was saying it was the best. Since then I've found that Canson Heritage and St Cuthberts Mill Saunders Waterford papers are excellent alternatives and better value. I no longer buy Arches!!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I agree with you 100% Saunders Waterford and Canson Heritage are my new favorites now, and I tried MANY! I will still use the Arches I have, but no longer for just Watercolor, I actually think it works better for me when I use Gouache on it, the paint glides on it fairly well and the end result is really stunning

You’re a great artist and everyone has their own preferences when it comes to watercolour paper. I find that I have not tried many art supplies that I disliked but I dislike many popular papers. I was also surprised by how heavily textured arches paper is but I love how it looks and feels, that it has a beautiful texture and not a knit like distinct pattern on the surface many watercolour papers have. Because arches is so textured I love it for textured subjects like animal portraits and for dry brushing. For subjects that have smooth surfaces and require precise lines I agree it may not be the best choice. If you’re looking to try another canson cotton paper, I think you may like Canson Moulin du Roy cold pressed paper, it’s a lot smoother than arches and canson heritage and is great for smooth lines but still shows off granulation well. Another artist here on KZread also uses it for her portrait paintings, her name is Jane-Beata

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Lena, thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it! ❤️ I can relate with the paper issues, I only have that with brushes or paper, a lot of popular supplies turned out to be not right for me. You are absolutely right about Arches being awesome for textures and more organic subjects. I am super greatful about this recommendation, I think I might even have a sample laying around here somewhere, gonna check after work! I totally forgot that I have a few paper samples hidden somewhere in my drawers 😜 I am subscribed to Jane-Beata and she is an amazing artist and super nice person, I somehow missed that she is using that paper and she also does portraits so I will definitely get my hands on it! Thanks so much for this comment, I love reading comments like this, sharing knowledge and opinions ❤️

Yaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Yaaaaaay LIKEWISE!!! ❤️❤️❤️ Looking forward to your new video, the title and thumbnail is promising, as always! Super excited 😄❤️

Heck yessss, I needed this so much. I love that olive green from Schmincke! I feel like I'm not convinced by that white gouache - it's wayyyy too watery imo. I don't like using it, personally. But I've got like 80ml of it so I gotta use it somehow lol 8:12 made me laugh so much, I feel you there! There's a difference between trying to explore the colours you have and make ✨aesthetically pleasing ✨ swatches! 13:20 your cameras show that orange so differently! The overhead camera makes it look so sad lol 14:17 give Hahnemuehle's Expression a go, I swear by it, such a good surface, especially when compared to Arches (and especially in Germany!) Ugh, the Heikala's ink drying into crumbles is so putting me off trying it at all. Btw possibly if you use some rubbing alcohol, the palette would be a bit easier to clean? Ok, I have to admit that those R-K inks mix beautifully! Loved the video, thank you for posting it!

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Do you mean the Schmincke Designers Gouache or that those opaque white drops? And I am super glad you found it entertaining 😂 I was like „wait a second… I can‘t show this to people“ in the process of it I just felt like a kid, I just wanted to play! And yes, about the orange: someone else already commented the colors look so different. my editing takes forever because of that, despite setting the same color profile for both devices after rendering the footage looks a little different again. It sucks so much and it takes 1-2 days only for me to „guess correct“ the footage, exposure and white balance, and aligning hoping it will be rendered correctly. I feel really bad about it because I want to show all angles while giving the most accurate impression. it does not help that I have a sloped ceiling window right above my filming area (water on paper reflects). That daylight desk has helped my mental health but it is a pain to film with changing light conditions. Anyway, I will pause making video for now I think and wait until I can buy a second camera so I have two equal devices. Thanks about the Hanhnemühle recommendation, I have some of their papers but not this one, and I am not really a fan, but maybe the one you recommended is great I trust you!

@elesriil

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor oh, I meant the schmincke akademie gouache, I squeezed it out on a plate, came back to it the next day and it was almost rock solid, so thirsty and it felt like the water would only permeate through just the very top layer of it. Tbh I find being a kid with swatching quite therapeutic, it's the best! The colour setting situation is so bizarre! Maybe overlay the video with a photo of a colour corrected swatch at some point? So it's a point of reference rather than a true to life footage? I totally get you on the daylight desk, I find it a bit more welcoming than a blank white space with spotlights. Which ones have you tried? I tried Britannia and wasn't impressed but Expression won my heart. My second most used paper after Fabriano Artistico. Such a good value. Let me know if you can find it around yours, if not I'm always happy to send you a couple of sheets

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@elesriil Schmincke Akademie Gouache is hands down the worst Gouache I have ever tried and I tried so many, even cheap reeves gouache or arteza is worlds better than this. Unfortunately they have an amazing indigo and a colour that is called „Krapplack“ in German, I can’t look it up now because I am at work but it‘s exactly my type of red. Designers Gouache is really good by Schmincke. The colour and filming situation is without sounding like I look for excuses very unfortunate but at the same time the colors you see in videos are never accurate, because it depends on your screen, the calibration, srgb color range, profiles and adjustments, and from an editors standpoint even if you set the same color profile (there are hundreds and they differ between brands) once you modify footage to another profile there is still differences because it depends on so many factors. I even exported and edited with HDR footage but the problem still occurs because every cam has their shtick. And let’s not forget that KZread uses its own compression. There is no way around it I need to buy the same camera again if I want to keep posting videos. Anyway, the Artistico I think I even have at home but there are so many versions of it I believe, and the one I have is 25% cotton and totally okay for gouache, I remember I did not like it on a specific piece. I should go and check their entire range again. You are so lovely but I feel really bad for accepting that offer, I have a hard time with goodies and gifts idk why it’s so hard for me to receive anything 😅

@elesriil

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor yeah, that gouache is not the best. I wouldn't describe it as the worst though, but I wouldn't recommend it either. It feels like it's made for more pro artists who feel like being a tad frustrated and don't want to waste their high quality paints. I think the best one in the student grade is Royal Talens, their consistency is amazing. I liked the Schmincke Designer gouache tube I got, but they didn't floor me like Holbein or W&N. I wish I could help more with video settings but honestly, I have no clue how to do any of that. I just record with my phone and hope for the best lol. I don't think we're thinking about the same paper. Fabriano Artistico is 100% cotton, the only variation it has is hot/cold/rough and either 300gsm or 600+gsm.

Oh, also, I bought that exact same block because of Heikala(I know you got yours in the box) , I actually haven't used it yet, but I'm soooo excited to do that. I really want the inks too and I even found them for quite an okay price here in Poland, but I recently spent all my art supplies money, so no inks in my future 🥴

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Ja cie krece, to ty tez z Polski jestes?! To super! A mozna sie zapytac w ktorym sklepie kupujesz?

@thebooksofmylife

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor tak =) chociaż myślałam, że Ty jesteś z Niemiec 😅 petersart mnie zmylił. Kupuję głównie z paperconcept i szał art dla plastyków, o i w tincie, ale to tylko jak jestem w Warszawie - istny raj 😚 ale te tusze znalazłam w jakimś mniej znanym polskim sklepie artystycznym, jak chcesz to mogę go znowu znaleźć ☺️

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@thebooksofmylife Ja sie w polsce urodzilam, rodzice z polski ale ja od pierwszego roku zycia tutaj zyje, to znaczy w Berlinie :) Peters Art tez jest z Polski! Dlatego uwielbiam tam isc. Rozumiem ze nie zamawiasz w internecie?

@thebooksofmylife

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor o, to ciekawe, że peters art jest z Polski, ale z tego co pamiętam sprawdzałam, i z przesyłką i zamianą na złotówki wychodzi dla mnie za drogo, żeby stamtąd kupować 😔 tylko w tincie kupuję wyłącznie na miejscu - bardzo lubię ich sklep stacjonarny 😊 mój ulubiony sklep internetowy to paperconcept, słuchają podpowiedzi co do nowości w sklepie =) a jeżeli czegoś u nich nie ma, to zazwyczaj znajduję to w szał art (też internetowo, mają sklep stacjonarny w Krakowie, ale nigdy w nim nie byłam). W rzadkich sytuacjach, jak w tych dwóch sklepach czegoś nie znajdę to szukam po mniej znanych internetowych ☺️✨

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@thebooksofmylife Jescze nie slyszalam o tych sklepach, jestem ciekawa czy by było taniej w polsce zamawiać. Peter to Piotruś i w sklepie rozmawiają po polski, ale sam sklep to berliński. On się dobrze zna jeżeli chodzi o art supplies bo w niemieckich sklepach często tylko znajdziesz materiały student grade 🙃 Przepraszam że tylko kiepsko po polsku rozmawiam, nie często mam okazje z kimś pogadać po polsku

I also don't like Arches - actually, for the same reasons as you. It's extremely sandpapery and rough. I bought some at the beginning of my watercolor journey and as I still have some left, I'm going to try stretching it - maybe it will help with the texture. But yeah, I haven't bought any since and I don't intend to. On a kind of related note the hot pressed version is weird too - the watercolors sink in reeaaally weirdly, it kind of goes away after the first layer, but not completely

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I jumped on the hype and totally fell for it. I am sure it's a great paper but it just does not work for me for all the reasons you described plus I like crisp sharp edges and I find it harder to do on Arches. If you work more loosely or abstract and less figurative it may not be a concern. And I also agree with you on their hotpressed being weird, I use it for Gouache with colored pencils. I have yet to try it with inks

I like Arches for watercolour, it was the first cotton paper I tried and it made me love painting with watercolour even more. I still use it now, but I have others I like too like Khadi Cotton rag and Bockingford. If I could offer some constructive criticism, I noticed during your swatching the colours appeared quite different depending on your filming device, particularly the saturated blues, green and orange. It made a bit hard to understand how they really are, I personally liked them seeing from the top down but didn’t from your left. Which one would you say is more true to life?

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Carol, thank you so much for this comment, I appreciate it and take your advice by heart. Truth to be told, it‘s nice to have two different perspectives in a video but it just causes a lot of problems in terms of trying to edit white balance and exposure of both my phone and system camera, depending on the video adapting just that costs me 1-2 entire days of work, yet still the colours differ and I am very unhappy about this myself since I want to provide the most accurate experience for my viewers. This used to be less of a problem when I filmed with my window shutters completely down and having three different studio lights filling up my entire room so I was stumbling over cables and tripods, but at least my footage looked better. The artificial light made me really depressed though and I moved my painting area over to my window. I have a sloped ceiling window above my head which makes making art way more satisfying but it causes a lot of problems with the settings since light is constantly changing. I set both devices (iphone and sony cam) to the same color profile and I adjust the light level manually clip after clip so it matches and looks the same, but after exporting the final result for some reason the colours differ again. So now that I am reading this I feel really awful and I will probably not post any video until I saved up money and got a second camera (two phones don’t make sense). I made so much research on it, I am out of options by now from an editors standpoint. I am really sorry this is not satisfying. To answer your question, around the middle of the video it suddenly became very cloudy and my side angle cam needed more iso, and that must have altered the color temperature in the lower midtones and shadows as well I believe, so top down camera is more accurate. One thing I noticed and that is the best advice I can give you here, the Heikala Tutorial Sheet is a 99% match with the paints I put on that paper (paper is slightly off-white), so if you have a fairly good screen that has good calibration if you can find an image of that Heikala guide online, this is true to life and accurate in printed form at least. I am writing this for you during work and I hope I don’t forget to go and find a link for it once I am home. Thank you so much for your feedback!

@coloredcarol8074

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor no worries! I appreciate video making and editing takes a lot of work (hence me postponing making more) so it’s totally understandable. I’d feel bad if you stopped posting just because of my comment, it was not my intention really. If it bothers you, just keep the footage you find more true to life, it’s not a big deal at least to me as a viewer :) I also have a slanted ceiling skylight so I know exactly the challenges with lighting. Please don’t take my comment too much to heart, it was just an observation

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@coloredcarol8074 I know it was not your intention and don’t you worry I do everyone a favour if I deal with this problem as soon as possible, shortening edit times and have authentic footage would make me happier, too 😊

Hab jetzt richtig Lust mir die Farben von Rohrer & Klinger zu kaufen! :D Finde deine Videos sehr hilfreich! :D Hast du dir schonmal die von Ecoline angeschaut? Die sollen wohl auch echt gut sein.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Das freut mich riesig! Du wirst es sicher nicht bereuen falls Du die holst, ich überlege sogar irgendwann noch welche dazuzuholen. Die eignen sich super als erste Schicht und dann wenn es trocken ist kannst Du mit Aquarellfarben drüber glazen 😃 Ich habe von Ecoline so pastellfarbene flüssige Wasserfarbe, total vergessen, dass ich die habe! Meinst Du die? Haben die auch Permanenttinte? Freut mich riesig, dass dir das Video geholfen hat 😊

I waited for two years to see if someone would sell Rohrer & Klingner in my country and no one did so it was my first and only out of country order. I do not regret it one bit. I started with ink and it will always speak to me. I have Arches but I reach for Fabriano way more often.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

This is awesome, means that I don’t necessarily need to look for other brands. Can you recommend other colours than the ones from the video? And what Fabriano paper do you like best?

@rayne6737

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor Really, uhm, all of them, lol. However if you got the Golden Yellow, Scarlet, Carmine and Phthalo Blue you would have warm and cool primary sets. The Golden Green is so pretty too. I use Fabriano Artistico extra white.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

@@rayne6737 Thank you so much, I just checked and I gotta admit I gotta fight my urge to get them now 😅 That Fabriano Artistico Paper seems to be unreasonably priced in comparison to other high end papers here in germany, might be a stock problem. That being said I will keep it on my radar. Thank you so much!

When I have more color that I didn't use up I pour it into a small bottle with a pipette and label it with a swatch. Unfortunately, you cannot do anything with those bits because that's a binder that started to dry - the one that's making ink waterproof. I don't know what it is exactly, so I can't help much, but you can try using a retarder for acrylic paints. If the binder is acrylic it should work. Errata: I just checked on R&K site that they use acrylic resin so acrylic retarder should work. That also means that theoretically, you can use other acrylic mediums with it ( like flow improver).

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

Wow, you REALLY made some good research right there, I would have never thought of using mediums! I am new to inks and this here is exactly why I love this community and the comment section, you are of such big help! I will try it with the Acrylic Gouache retarder, that should work and if not, it is definitely worth the try! Thank you so so much!

@art_the_crossroads

2 жыл бұрын

@@MoniDmajor you are welcome :) It's an offshoot of my research on silk painting with watercolor, ink, and Chinese pigments. I had to go through all the ingredients to make sure I can layer it and it will be permanent and not behave like a dye and spread everywhere at will.

I love the rough structure of the arches paper 😅 I also tried the etchr sketchbook which also is 100% cotton but I found it too soft. (now here's a fun fact I learned from a French friend who didn't get why I had to laugh so hard when she told me: it actually is pronounced "Arsch" 😂😂 so it's "Arschpapier" in german)

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I have received so many comments now on why people love this paper and I really get it, for me the main reason I am not fond of it is simply that I have a hard time getting nice clean edges (I do mostly portraits) and it all comes down to personal style, too, because there are portrait artists who have a very loose and organic style, in that case Arches is great. I love making Swatches on Arches, btw. And I laughed so hard when I read about the correct pronunciation 😆 It used to feel like Arschpapier to me, indeed, now I think it’s actually not that bad 😜

After I read that the liquid watercolor has dye in it I didn’t want them anymore.

I have the 2 sets of Aquadrop Schmincke and I am not impressed with the product. The colors are very staining and dry out dull. I haven't figured out how to use them yet, just the white one I'm interested in for effects.

@MoniDmajor

2 жыл бұрын

I agree, first they appear rich but then they get dull rather quick. Staining yet not high in pigment. I think the one use I might have for them is for lighter washes in large areas. Thanks for your opinion and sharing your experience