Early Access: Coolbank Watercolor Set- Unbox & Swatch- Full Review (Patreon)

Coolbank Watercolor Set- Unbox & Swatch- Full Review

Get Your Own: https://amzn.to/3CrS8Ot Support reviews like this one and get early access to my other Student Grade Showdown reviews by joining me on Patreon! patreon.com/nattosoup Other Student Grade Watercolor Reviews Mentioned: Bainyo JerryQ Schpirerr Farben Miya Superior Gansai Palettes Shownotes: https://tinyurl.com/bp8xxbtb Full shownotes include a rundown of the colors included in this set. These shownotes are quite abbreviated- I recommend checking out the link for what you might've missed! Coolbank Watercolors Purchased on Amazon: $20.99: https://amzn.to/3CrS8Ot 83 piece watercolor set Palette is 72 watercolor cakes 6 paintbrushes, 2 sponges, watercolor pad, palette, and color chart The Packaging: Cardboard 'gift box' It's packed neatly enough, but with zero fanfare Everything is wrapped in some layer of plastic I like the metal palette it seems sturdy, and it's HEAVY with watercolors Swatching on the color map: These DEFINITELY have a lot of optical brighteners in them, hoo boy. Curious about what the binder in these are- gum arabic can be a bit pricy for really budget watercolors to splurge on. Swatching: These swatch SO MUCH BETTER on the Blick Studio than on that weird included swatch card. On the cottonrag, these colors have sort of a trad Chinese w/c palette or gansai feel to them, which yall know I love. Now that said, these dry A LOT lighter than expected- so maybe aiming for a light and airy, pastel piece might be best w these? Lift Test: Some of the more opaque colors are a bit more lifting, which isn't unusual. In general, slightly lifting, but not totally lifting- so if applied judiciously, these shouldn't turn to mud on you. Color Mixing Atomic It was fairly easy to mix secondary colors (green, orange, purple) from selected primaries, although I don't think there's a true Ultramarine in this set, and some of the mixes aren't as clean as I would like. I was also able to mix some fun colors as well, and you do get a bit of that beautiful visual mixing that you don't necessarily get from a premixed color. Optical With the grid test, it seems to take layering decently well, no reactivation, did not turn into mud or a mess. This inspired me to try a little harder, creating some wet into wet test swatches 2nd Optical Layering Test Definitely some color reactivation, mainly with the blues, particularly noticeable bc I applied yellow over it. Probably also there with the red, although less noticeable, so keep in mind that light color glazes will probably reactivate darker colors and cause bleeding. Definitely some noticeable chalkiness to the colors when layered, especially w attempts at saturation. Pros: Like the metal carrying case Whole lotta color- reminiscent of a 72 pan Gansai palette in terms of the selection Can get some really pretty atomic mixes from this color selection, because there's a lot of weird pinks and pastels. These handle decently well on cottonrag papers Colors are quick to activate, and REALLY DO NOT NEED preactivation Cons: These have a LOT of optical brighteners and extenders, which not only affect how the paint handles, but how quickly you go through paint, and how saturated the paints are (or are not) The paper is not a good fit for these watercolors. Colors dry a lot lighter than they go down, so these are better suited to artists with a light hand, or want a light touch, rather than someone who's going for lots of saturation or trying to create atmosphere The accessories are mostly awful How does it compare? Probably somewhere between the Miya Palette and the Schpirerr Farben palette. I'm currently evacuated, so I'll include some existing footage of those palettes for comparison The Verdict: Possibly a good fit for hand letterers, card makers on a budget, art-focused kiddos, and comic artists who don't want to do a lot of mixing. I won't know for certain how I feel about the Coolbank watercolor palette until I do the fieldtest, but I think there's a lot of room for improvement with the palette maps and accessories, and hope Coolbank will take the suggestions, but I kinda doubt it. Music: Tea for TWO- The Whole Other Blue Feather- Kevin MacLeod If I Had a Chicken- Kevin MacLeod Sunny Travel- Nico Staf Psychedelicacy Tranquility- Kevin MacLeod Bathed in Light- Kevin MacLeod Ready or Not Marigold Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy Angevin 70- Kevin MacLeod Sunset Dream- Cheel Dance for the Wind Trio- Sir Cubworth Sunny Looks Good On You Bike Sharing to Paradise- Dan Bodan Oh My- Patrick Patrikios A Quiet Thought Snow Drop National Express- Dan Bodan Silver Blue Light- Kevin MacLeod MydNyte- Noir et Blanc Vie Orange Octopus Windswept #CoolBankWatercolors #Studentwatercolors #watercolorkit