Hello Friends,
I am so happy that you have decided to return and read my new blog review on the Marco Renoir Fine Art Watercolor Pencils. I am in no way being sponsored to write this product review, l purchase all my art products.
 
These Watercolour pencils are part of the Marco Renoir line and are marketed as a higher end, artist grade product than the Raffine student grade line.
According to some of the reviews l have read, this “Marco” Chinese based product also offers a student grade coloured pencil line called Raffine, which has become popular among the colouring community.
 
I decided to order the 72 watercolour pencil set on Ebay and to my surprise the prices of all the sets available in 24, 36,  48 and 72 were very competitive and reasonable. Sets are also available on Amazon. I was visually surprised at the tin box when it arrived, that was double layered with pencils. I found the trays that the pencils sit on flimsy, but the pencils were beautiful and they have colour matching bases with wooden barrels. The colours were spectacular and l could not wait to see how they performed. I would recommend creating a colour swatch before using them, as not all the colours shown on the barrel matched the coloured lead when used.  Some were right on and others close but not exactly the same.

These watercolour pencils have an oil based core that offers a creamier application that can handle blending when wet or dry. I was able to apply these dry on dry than wet the colour or dry to wet making blending a breeze. They were a joy to work with and l loved that l could continue layering with the colours. So many techniques are possible with these watercolour pencils. The colours blended consistently and this gave me a whole new range of colour choices when blending.  I did not need to press hard on the paper, just a light touch was all l needed to apply the colour. Wow, the colours were vibrant and high in pigment. The lead on these pencils were soft, they had a buttery like feel to them when laying the colour down,  making fine detailing a bit more challenging than a hard lead pencil. I absolutely loved how soft the lead was and they were so easy to work with. The set also came with two sharpeners and a brush. 
I used the brush it came with to create my little Grinch and l found it worked well, although l have my personal favorites that l would use instead of the one that came with the set.
I was also impressed at how easy it was to sharpen these watercolour pencils without breakage or the lead crumbling.

Hope you enjoyed my review. Stay tuned as l will be reviewing the Marco Renoir colored pencils soon.
Have a beautiful day,
Alice Melo

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Hello Friends and welcome to another blog review. I have been really excited to try the Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set for a while now. Kuretake has been around since 1902 and they are a manufacturer in Japan that have grown into a brand of quality artist tool for fine art and illustration.
 I watched a lot of reviews on this product, and after some researching, l was convinced that l would love them, so l went shopping online and found a variety of sets.
 
I purchased the 36 colour set, as they offer great colours that l can’t find in other manufactured watercolour pan sets. They were incredibly reasonable to purchase and you can find sets on Amazon and Ebay. I love how beautifully presented the packaging was, and the size of the pans were large, which made it easy when using a larger brush. You can also purchase the colour pans individually which appealed to me, as l tend to use certain colours more than others, making it easy to replace instead of purchasing another complete set.
 
I did not find these watercolours as traditional in transparency as other brands l have tried, but they were rich in pigments. There was little effort to lift these when putting a wet brush to them and there was plenty of pigment if you wanted to add extra water. No need to spray them with water prior to using.
I also didn’t need as much layering to get that punch of colour l needed. These are definitely more opaque then many other watercolours l have tried and l found them very easy to blend with no harsh lines. I was wowed by the candy looking colours. They are AP approved, the watercolour is kind to both the human body and the environment, so it is safe to use.

I did notice 2 cons, the set did not come with a mixing tray, which is not a biggie for me, you can just use disposable pallets or any other pallet you may have including an old plate, and l could not find enough information on the light-fastness of this product.

Overall l have to say that l am thrilled that l purchased the whole 36 colour set, as who would not want all the rich colours, including some metallic ones. I think this brand would be perfect for both artistic professionals as well as crafters. If you like a having a watercolour effect and a gouache like effect then you will love these.  Until next time my Friends.

Have a Beautiful Day,

Alice Melo