Early Access: It Came from AliExpress 48 Half Pan Mystery Palette- Student Grade Showdown (Patreon)

It Came from AliExpress 48 Half Pan Mystery Palette- Student Grade Showdown

Mentioned in this video: Maries' Professional Chinese Watercolors: Relevant Videos: Get your own: https://amzn.to/3Xjnwc6 Meiliang Pigments Watercolor Relevant Videos: Get Your Own: https://amzn.to/3HNujoI Similar: Those weird Seamiart palettes Better Palettes: Superior Folding Palette Meiliang Pigments Shownotes: Grabie (or close enough) 48 Piece Watercolor Set They actually show this set in the listing, but it's not ON the listing? https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803597177029.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.25.618854adMPECxo&algo_pvid=2c10abf3-f68b-4cee-8ace-adc257b211b0&algo_exp_id=2c10abf3-f68b-4cee-8ace-adc257b211b0-12&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A%2212000027153434851%22%7D&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21USD%2111.83%2111.24%21%21%21%21%21%4021021d7b16738235383181384d0688%2112000027153434851%21sea&curPageLogUid=EUggYZNbeJ6O Swatching: Honestly, these are gross. I started with the neutrals, bc they were first in the set (saving the metallics for later), and like...These are just nasty? The way they granulate out, it's like they used a dye-based watercolor and then added a...something? to make it look like granulation- maybe charcoal? Or maybe they just, like, sedimented weird? I can't imagine painting something with this; it would ruin the faces. I'll change the angle so yall can see better, but I wanted to start by showing yall the swatches AND the palette. I have seen some YT shorts talking these up, and that's not why I bought them, but like, it definitely makes me feel like I must exist in an alternate universe because these are not good. These are really really bad. they glop up on the brush even after you've allowed them to dry for a while. The granulation, if you can even call it that, is almost entirely this weird black smutzh that kinda wrecks the color, and I'm betting these are dye based- there's no gradation in the color when you add water; the color just floods the swatch. The metallics handle basically the same as last time. Color Mixing: These are so muddy, and they muddy the water so fast and look muddy on the page, not even mixed. Honestly kinda hard to find what colors you're looking for because the masstones are so similar, but the swatches are fairly different (esp in the yellows) These mix so nasty. All of the colors look like the Van Gogh dusk colors. Pretty much ALL of these mixes look like mud, even mixes that are usually really vibrant. Do I even want to do wet into wet with this? Is it worth a piece of cotton-rag paper? Mini wet into wet test Man these are WEIRD. They all just crack when they hit water. Also, these take FOREVER to dry- they may have an unusual type of binder Comparable Watercolors These are really bad, I mean, comparable to some of the worst watercolors I've reviewed during the Showdown. They're at least kinda uniquely bad- they aren't JUST dye-based, they aren't JUST full of optical brighteners, they don't JUST granulate muddily and strangely, and at least that makes them kinda amusing. Instead of focusing on a bunch of bad watercolors, instead, I'd like to recommend some watercolors you'll probably like better at a similar price. This isn't an all-inclusive list. Meiliang Pigments Superior Phoenix Pros and Cons: Pros: I can gut the case and use it for my daily driver palette, but that might mislead people into what's inside. I'll have to repaint it first. The watercolors come in half pans, you could probably pry them out and refill them Cons: Really gritty, kinda nasty colors Colors get used up fast Difficult to tell some colors apart- no color map Mix really strangely, very muddy, and strangely granulating The wet-into-wet test flat out looks gross, I don't think these can handle wet into wet, or mixing, or really layering applications very well. No real idea who this palette would be FOR The Verdict: Don't buy these. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 00:57 The Palette Compared to the Grabie Palette 02:37 The Paints 10:13 Swatching 22:09 Color Mixing 24:02 Wet into Wet Test 26:14 Similar Paints 27:53 Better Palettes 31:20 Pros and Cons 38:05 The Verdict 39:26 Final Thoughts Music: Sunny Travel- Nico Staf Inner Light- Kevin MacLeod Tranquility- Kevin MacLeod The Story of One Life Sunset Dream- Cheel #itcamefromaliexpress #aliexpresswatercolor #budgetwatercolor