I’m so sorry to hear about your health scare with the pastels. I didn’t know about the cadmium issue but in case you still want to use pastels, Pan Pastels are certified cadmium free. Also Faber Castell Pitt Pastel pencils are also certified free of toxic substances or heavy metals. Cadmium yellow, etc, are just names and there is no cadmium in the actual pencil. Praying you will get good news with your next scan.
Dear Amy, I'm so sorry, I love soft pastels too, but it was one of the warning my friends gave me, so I turned to watercolour and try to avoid a cadmium shades. I pray that it not cancer. Much love being sent your way. Please take care of yourself. Your channel is an amazing resource xx
did you know that you can iron your paper? It will flatten and tighten the surface to work on. As a calligrapher I do this all the time to get a better surface to take the ink
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the prayers! 💖 it's been a year. I'm actually feeling better about this now but when it first happened late this spring I was pretty down about it. I'm just not really thinking about it now, except for trying to be more careful with my supplies! Thank you for your continued support! It means a lot to me!
For me.... I bought a lot of stuff this year, but I've only just started buying art supplies since I kinda got back into art last year... so regrets are few. One is that I bought the secind largest of a certain watercolor set and a cheap acrylic marker set instead of the biggest. Another is not buying dip pens soon enough! Those are phenomenal. I vaguely regret getting this specific set of soft pastels because they arent great-good, but could be softer. Aside, I regret a certain couple sketchbooks which just didn’t work great (like, erasing damaged the paper way too much) but luckily those were cheap ones anyways (I'd bought ones for the same price that work pretty well tho so imma stick to those from now)
Thank you for this discussion. I wish there was more on utube about art supply regrets. My regret is a set of 40 Neocolor II crayons. I mainly do landscapes. There are a lot of bright colors in the set that I don't need, and I had to buy a couple extra colors that weren't included. I should have just bought individual colors, which is what I did for Derwent Inktense pencils, and that is working out great.
My biggest regret was getting Arches cold press paper in a big roll. I never could get the paper to straighten out and lie flat. I will never get watercolor paper in a roll again, lol!
In California there's a law to put warnings on products with harmful pigments. I remember getting a prismacolor pastel set and seeing the warning but couldn't figure out which colors it was for at the time.
I think you meant to say you regretted buying the Faber Castell watercolor markers, instead of Winsor Newton. But I agree…watercolor markers are fun to play with, but in my opinion don’t work well for a serious watercolor project…they’re too saturated to get subtle flow of colors.
Yep! Sure did! I mostly have the faber castel watercolor markers and then I have three winsor and newton ones I tested as well and I said only winsor and newton! Whoops! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!
Hi Amy, I don't like soft pastels and someone bought them from me, I use panpastels now and love them, light fast, no dust and you have to use applicators so no dirty hands, I fix them with hairspray and all the mixed media work with them over the hairspray. The poca i only bought the muted colors and not the bright, the water based markers I use the promarkers, plenty colors and love them to use as a marker, maybe it is helpful.❤
I don’t have too many regrets because I started cautiously and tried to watch videos and get info as I reignite my love for watercolor. I very quickly realized I probably bought more brushes than I need, but what artist doesn’t, right?!? When it comes to watercolor, over and over I hear that it doesn’t take many brushes. And it’s true. It’s just that different good artists disagree on which few those should be. And Blick had the brands recommended on great sales before Christmas in sets. The problem isn’t so much that I spent too much, but having a lot of brushes can be confusing. Thanks for your video. If anything, it just reminds me to proceed with caution! I work at Hobby Lobby so the temptation to buy too much is readily available! lol!
I sold ALL my soft pastels because I could not get over the dust issues with them. All I could think about when using them were the heavy metals suspended in the air while I breathed. Speaking of selling things, you can probably sell your copics - you would never recoup your money but you would be able to get some. Or just use them up and toss them when you are done. It's a shame that Ohuhu doesn't have a bigger selection of refills. I ran out ink in 4 of my markers recently and not a single one of them had a refill available. I was able to get black. I am supplementing with a few Olo markers and I really like them. Oh my goodness they blend well! The only draw-back to Olo's are that they don't have a bullet nib like my Ohuhus do. I love the brush/nib combo. It seems like the only thing we disagreed on was the Poscas. I love my Posca markers and use them almost daily. Granted, it's usually white/black/navy blue/turquoise/ & gold, but I am sure I will find more uses for them. My set of 6 (or 8?) FC watercolor markers just sit in the cupboard for the same reasons. And I also really dont like the BaoHong Artists grade paper. I hadn't use it a lot, but I quickly learned that the Academy paper was far more pleasant to use. At any rate, I hope the New Year finds you and yours healthy. Here's to learning lessons about supplies and moving on knowing what we don't want ! lol Thanks for the info!
I'm sorry about your health issues, I have a lot of experience with similar problems. I'm not the most knowledgeable here but I believe never blowing but wrapping in trash bag and tapping, wearing gloves and the correct kind of properly fitted respirator and/or working out of doors would be sufficient. For extra caution, you could have certain clothes reserved for it that you wash after and also take a quick shower. What I'm saying is that the artform clearly has a great deal of medicinal value for you in terms of the joy and form of expression it provides, and the risk is minimal; so i believe its worth looking into what protective measures could allow you to continue doing it. Good luck with it, i understand your trepidation but if you can eliminate more of the risk, its probably worth continuing. The work you make with them is wonderful. Edit- also, depending on the particle size and because of the lack of aerosol or projectant, you might be able to use an N95 or maybe even cloth mask. I bet that's a searchable fact. Hope that helps. Edit edit- yup, OSHA has a fact sheet on it.
You can sell all the art supplies you don't use anymore (of course the good ones, not the broken copics). There is always a huge demand for second hand art supplies because people are finally realizing that we don't have to like everything that we want to try and we don't have to neither just hold on because we spend money on it nor toss them because we don't use them. That way you can get at least some of the money back and reinvest it into things you enjoy. 🙂 I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to have the pastels or markers 🙂.
Arches has the market cornered on professional water color paper. I've tried 20 different brands so far and they can't compete. I started making my own sketch books and I put the cheaper paper in them so I'm at least getting use out of the massive collection of cheap paper I've accumulated. Watercolor and soft pastels are the mediums I work in most but I do think I need to start wearing gloves and a respirator with the pastels. Another way you can use your pastels and not have to worry about the fine dust as much, is to work with them outside when the weather is nice.
I totally agree about the paper. I keep trying other brands, not liking it as much, and then regret spending the money on them! I should make some sketchbooks with the cheaper paper! Thanks for the idea and for watching!
Being a super newbie and brand new to all things art:', I appreciate vids like yours. They help me to remember to stop and think, to evaluate what artists are saying about certain products before I go off willy nilly buying the whole art store LOL. I'm a fan and subby of yours. Thanks much for this vid!
Very helpful to know, I love reviews! I had no idea about the soft pastels, thanks for all your tips on the art supplies. I hope that your health improves and all is okay.
The pigments from schmincke softpastels are listet at the end of ther safety data sheet. Jaxell says they do not use cadmium, lead, metal or cobalt. Maybe you can find another brand. And I hope you get well soon.
Yeah. I knew about the schmoke and I have a few of them but they are just so dang expensive! I might switch to them someday but I don't have the funds right now. I have never heard of Jaxell! I will havr yo check them out!. Thanks for watching!
@@winterwoodsstudio Sennelier gives pigment information for their soft pastels. I am not sure, if you can find it on their website, but they have a flyer. BLOCKX does not use cadmiums and cobalts. Maybe this is helpful.
These types of vids are so helpful -artist-to-artist. Thanks. I think my “regrets” might be soft pastels; I just don’t use them enough, heavy body acrylics; I like the soft body paints from Liquitex much better- I find them much easier to use, Acrylic gouache; I just find if I want Matte, I prefer regular gouache. And finally, Poscas, other than the white ones; I just don’t get enough use from them but follow a few artists who make them work brilliantly!
I hope you're ok... I really enjoyed working with soft pastels in school, (ohhhh... 30 years ago) but the dust irritated my skin, eyes, and lungs. I find alcohol markers very beautiful but the colors are fugitive and I need something that will stay beautiful over time. Winsor and Newton are my go to brand for professional watercolors... I didnt even know they had markers.
Buying too much canvases and liquitex acrylic paint. Also my copic markers I used them on canvas. Not a fan on paper or sketchbooks. I quit using oil paints because a lot of people started getting all kinds of cancer over the years. A lot of products that we use in anything is linked to cancer. Praying for a very positive outcome Amy. Happy New Year!!! 😊❤
Just remember that copic markers (all alcohol markers and alcohol inks) are not only not lightfast but also fugitive and will fade extremely quickly even if not exposed to light. I put a swatch test of my copic markers in my east facing window this summer and two thirds of the colors were completely gone in 3 days. Not just faded but gone. All alcohol markers and inks are made with dye and not pigment which sucks! Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to watch!
I grew to love the Faber-Castell watercolor markers - bought a bunch open stock and then bought more. BUT, I agree with the assessment that they are almost all very saturated. I had to use them differently from how I had originally planned to and I am also very careful about the paper I use them on. I have a technique I use with them specifically and only use them for plein air work. Things I regret buying - full set of Neocolor II, Kuretake Gamsai Tambi paints (two sets), large set of Sennelier oil pastels. These are all GOOD to GREAT products, but I already have so many art supplies and just don’t use these.
I got two of the gansai tambi sets this year too and haven't used them much. Someone told me they weren't as lightfast as they advertise to be and I keep meaning to test them in my window. If they fade as bad as I have heard, I will add them to my regrets list! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Inktense blocks if you have the pencils, you don't need the blocks too. Michael Harding watercolor paint...it never sets up and dries well in the pans so I can't put it in a travel palette and feel comfortable about taking it out with me. Gel pens.... so frustrating always drying out and they look full, but you can't get anything out of them. All the budget brand-colored pencils I've bought.... if I had it to do over, I would only buy the pro brands that you can get open stock for. I love these kinds of video they are so helpful. For me it's not even the money I've spent it's that I just hate having supplies hanging around that will never be used.
You might want to add something to your water so your paper won’t dry as fast. If you still hate it maybe sell it so you can buy something you like. It would always work well for gouache. I kind of like the fact that colors look more vibrant on it but that’s just me.
Great video. My favorite new supplies are Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. I like them better than Caran d’ Ache. Purchase regrets - Michael Harding watercolors. They have a lot of pigment and vibrant colors, but are too expensive, take too long to dry in the palette (why I rarely use honey based watercolor) and lift too easily in Plein air.
I also invested $ for Copic Sketch markers and have found many of them dried out. I am very disappointed in this company. I am also disappointed in my local art supply store for selling these markers with known issues.
Sending warm thoughts as you face this health scare. Thank you for feeling safe to share with us💕Would the pastels be safe for use with surgical gloves? I bought a ton of them in the early pandemic months 🤦🏼♀️
It's more the airborne dust than what you might absorb through your hands. If I wore a good respiratory and my studio wasn't a part of my house with no way to shut it off, it would be less of an issue. But it's a room that has like an archway into it and do door so I don't really feel safe. Maybe someday I might have own art studio! Thanks for watching!
Hello, maybe you can try a different block of the baohong's, or maybe you can try a little piece of the roll. The ones that don't work, can be used for color pencils with solvent or watercolor pencils
Thank you for this video!! It will save me some $$ in the future. I didn’t buy many art supplies in 2024 and those I did, I really like (Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors and Princeton watercolor brushes). I really appreciate your honesty with all the supplies you use and show us - it helps so much!
I like to hear these kinds of comments. However, I think we all gravitate to certain things. I started water color with a "child's" rainbow color set. I was taking an art tour and wanted to pack SIMPLY! The palette is is the cover and the included brush was (not anymore) decent. Believe it or not, I still love the paints. I have 2 other sets (brands) which there are things about them that I like. BUT, if I hit the road, my kiddie set comes with me! I love mixing my own colors and can do just fine with a minimal number of colors and 1 brush. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Amazingly, the child's Prang watercolor set can produce professional-looking results. Every once in a while I get mine out just for fun. There's a guy on utube that does tutorials with Prang. I think they're probably not lightfast, though.
I’m glad it was helpful! It’s a bummer to have to think about things like that, but so important to protect ourselves!cadmium and cobalt in any art supplies that can be a problem, but especially pastels because they are so airborne and get in the human airway to easily. Thank you for watching!
My regrets are probably the Rockwell self evolving watercolors 😅 for the amount of money I spend I rarely enjoy them 🙈🙈🙈 wish you all the best for the new year and especially health wise. I can’t wait to see all the new videos next year ❤
This is a really helpful video. I hope your health improves. Regarding the pastels, I'm interested in finding the boxes you have for them. I don't use pastels, but could use those boxes for my gouache cups. If you have the details on them, I'd appreciate it! Thanks so much!
Yeah I have the same issue with the hot press Baohong paper. I love the cold press and have never had an issue, and have actually got two big rolls of it, but I hate my hot press roll. It will be used on gouache paint for sure.
Great! Thanks for the info! I have a small block of the Baohung hot press paper, after trying it I kept thinking how we’re told to use good paper … I don’t like this at all … the cold press is better for me.
Thank you so much for discussing soft pastels in this way. I was considering them - but i dont think ill get get it for what you just mentioned just in case.
Normally student grade will be less toxic, so maybe dropping to student grade pastels for a bit might help? The watercolor markers… would dipping them in a puddle of water help? Have you considered reselling your opened supplies on eBay for a little less than list? If you can recoup some of your losses then you can try more things going forward.
I'm so sorry to hear about your health challenges and hope all will be well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on products that didn't work for you. It's always helpful to hear why things didn't work out. I bought Posca's too and haven't used them. Thought I would but like you, the colors aren't what I want. Thank you for sharing.
I am SO sorry to hear that! What a devastating blow! I can't even imagine! Monet and cezanne both were losing their sight at the end. Would it be possible to take any inpriration from how they altered their art to accommodate for their vision loss? Sending you lots of good thoughts!!
Enjoyed this, it helped me decide on markers. I am not a fan of markers really, but wanted to get a few for mixed media work. I definitely will be avoiding those you showed with cracked caps. I heard other problems from them too--such as the colors and such. So...yeah, this helped a lot!!
That was one of my main issues with the winsor and newton gouache too. Sticky and stiff. I used them almost all the way up and just switched to Holbein. Hope you find a gouache you like better too! Thanks for watching!
The watercolours are getting that way as well. I recently purchased the Olive Green and Potter’s Pink and got a ton of binder coming out before the pigment! Holbein is my favourite.
what helps with WN gouache is using it dry. So just squeeze what you have in a pan or half pan, stir, use and then let it dry out and re-wet it when you need it. WN designer gouache is re-wettable (not like the Turner arcrylic gouache). Same with the watercolours: use a toothpick to stir the pain inside the tube or squeeze it into a pan and then stir the binder back into the paint/pigment mix. Shinhan gouache might be an alternative, but the colours are very intense compared to WN.
I love my Posca pens! They are great for adding detail. ❤ I do not like the Baohong paper either. I have always used Arches even though it's ridiculously expensive!
I really wanted to love them, but the color is never quite right! I'll keep playing with them though. Maybe I will find something I like them for! Thanks for taking the time to watch!
Recently I had a medical scare but they found a nodule in one of my lungs I was wondering if that could be from using acrylic paints? I’m glad you are getting scans and taking care of yourself.
Thanks for all the information. It's a drag that some art supplies can be harmful. Hope everything works out. I usually buy a small sets or just open stock to try new products. Everything good is so expensive and I'm just a hobbiest artist. But, I had bad experiences with really cheap stuff and ended up giving it away. Do splurge on good papers though. I have no regrets so far. Still experimenting though. Take care.
Amy, I understand that you can quickly reverse an opinion with a supply due to bad experience after having a positive test period. I, personally, LOVE Baohong (bow-hung) rough and cold pressed in Academy and Professional. I really do not fell a difference. I, too, have a myriad of auto-immune diseases and seems like I take a truck load of meds just to function. But I can never give up my soft pastels. I hope you use a powerful hepa filter and keep your studio isolated from the house. A double entry like those used for darkrooms are great. As so many of your supplies are new, you could recoup your costs through marketplace or Etsy to ease the pain. I wish you all the best.
My regret is Copics too. Thankfully ithey were in an art box that I bought in the Scrawlrbox sale for £5 (3 colours +pad and a fineliner) so they got passed on to my sister in law. POSCAS - It is apparently possible to refill most posca pens (and liquitex acrylic markers). There are various youtube videos on it, including one by Lindsay the Frugal Crafter. Poscas unscrew the "wrong" way. I only have a couple in colours I wanted, so I have not tried it yet but plan to when they are used up. I have also recently bought a few acrylic inks and empty markers to mix my own. 😁 I hope you and your family have fantastic 2025 when the new year comes ( and definitely better one health wise! Hopefully the kidney thing is nothing to worry about. 😊) health wise
I have gotten back to stretching my papers. In college we soaked our half sheets and then stapled them to stretcher bars. I purchased that roll of paper, but the Cold Press surface and it does work well. I stretched a sheet 15 inches by 36 inches. Soaked in a wallpaper tray and then stapled to a set of bars purchased from Blick. You might try a smaller sheet starting out if your still not sure of this Hot Press Surface. The only art supply I should not have purchased this year was a knock of set of Marabu Art crayons from King Art. I should just have got the name brand as they worked so good! I just wanted to save that extra $30.00! I am not the biggest fan of hot press papers but I do like Illustration Boards for any and all gouache paintings! I wish you luck with the soft pastels, I have seen some amazing paintings done with them in the last couple of years after I took them up! Look up Alain Picard for a charge!!!
Oops! Did I say wonsor and newton? I have three of those too that I regret buying as well! But I spent the most on the Faber Castell! Thanks for watching!
Sad about your health problems, sorry if they are caused by your supplies. I know that many soft pastel makers do list their pigments, Rembrandt, Schmincke, Daler-Rowney, and Blockx do. My Sennelier are only listed by general pigments though there might be a color chart available. Neither Rembrandt nor Schmincke have any cadmiums in their pastels. However, that doesn't solve the dust problem, so probably no reason to pursue pigment info. Some suggestions for the hot press paper: 1. try soaking it before using, that can sometimes change how it absorbs water; 2. add a thin, wet coat of watercolor ground if you have it, it can solve sizing problems. Or just use it for other media as you mentioned :) Good luck with your future scans and health, and Happy New Year!
Maybe just try a few items before buying sets? What I do when I want to try new paper is I buy a small pad of it and try it out, it's cheaper that way and if I don't like I can use to test color later on while painting. The Baohong watercolor paper that's the best is the Academy and the Masters series, lots of people dislike the Artist grade.
I bought the little sets of four markers (I think?) To try them. Glad I didn't buy any of the bigger sets! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and leave a comment! I appreciate it!
100% agree with all of your cons on W&N watercolor markers! I was so sad about these! I wanted to love poscas too but just haven't figure out how to incorporate them in my watercolor work. I also haven't used my Faber castelle watercolor pencil set for the same reasons - just can't figure how I like to use them. I will def avoid that paper- but I do use the academy cold press a lot. Thank you for this!
I accidentally said winsor and neeton and not faber castell too. I have both and I regret both. I have 8 fabercastell and three winsor and newton and never use them. Thank you for watching!
I regret buying my Copics too. I bought the small skin tone set and actually found I prefer the how the Ohuhu markers feel and the nibs are much more suited to how I use them. One of them was dry and cracked right off the bat and I just feel like it was a "waste" of $45. However, I got the full set of Faber Castell Albrect Durer pencils on black Friday and that purchase was worth every penny!
Shame about some of those disappointing supplies - especially the soft pastels, which we know you love using so much. But the potential for health issues is definitely cause for concern and I'm sure you'll be investigating whether there might be ways to mitigate the risks. As others have already said, I hope the further scan on the 'unwelcome mass' turns out well for you. I haven't had any disappointments this year because I've bought very little and have concentrated on using up my current supplies. I did give in to one temptation a little while ago and bought a pad of the Baohong (spelling?) Academy paper to see what the very positive fuss was about. I haven't tried it yet but I doubt it's going to disappoint me. Thanks for another interesting video - kind regards, Brian. [Oh, and congrats on passing 15,000 subscribers!]
I use the Posca markers for gelli printing, but they’re so expensive. If you’d consider selling them , I’d like to buy them….you’d gain space,I’d save a little money😊
10:03 watercolour markers are a disappointment. When I look for used art supplies at thrifting stores, the Winsor & Newton markers are one of the most common products. I did not like them either and ended up selling mine. 12:28 Acrylic markers: check Molotow, Schmincke or Daler Rowney empty markers.with replaceable tips. You can mix your own colours and refill your markers with your choice of acrylic inks. A better option than Posca Pens (non refillable, limited range) every time. Thanks for this, it's good to see what other artists like/dislike.
It is apparently possible to refill most posca pens (and liquitex acrylic markers). There are various youtube videos on it, including one by Lindsay the Frugal Crafter. Poscas unscrew the "wrong" way. I only have a couple in colours I wanted so not tried it yet but plan to when they are used up.
Have you ever tried graphitint pans? there are only twelve colors but they are muted and work nicely in backgrounds. Portofino is a nice hot press if you havent yet tried it.
I bought a tube of Art Spectrum watercolour. I then discovered they are not recommended for pan use. I don’t paint straight from the tube. At least I only bought one before finding out
@winterwoodsstudio no, me neither. I'm sure you'd be able to sell a lot of those products on. I know you might not get as much as you paid, but there will definitely be folks out there who'd buy your used supplies. I'm so sorry to hear you had another scary health issue - I had spots in my lung a few years back and had to wait almost a whole year to find out if they were cancerous or benign - like you I had art and creative projects to distract me, but it's really a frightening experience. Thankfully mine turned out not to be malignant and they resolved themselves, so I'll pray for a similarly positive outcome for you 🥰 thanks for all your videos and for all you do, and I hope your kid(s) feel better soon
I get that often we get carried away when it comes to art supplies, I think I regret buying so many watercolor sets lol present time me would be happy with a simple huge palette (which is a thought I only had after getting myself more than ten sets). But I got myself a roll of ballhong too, now I’m praying to all the sweet angels in heaven I enjoy it
It's definitely easy to get carried away! You will have yo let me know what you think about the paper. I still haven't touched my roll of hot press. Too scared! Thanks for watching!
I also had copic markers and several were bad, why did I not know to call and have them replaced. I’ve also been sick 8 months very sick. I’m afraid it’s some of my art supplies 😩
I like to use the cotton hot press paper for collage, acrylics, markers and gouache. Any gel medium works well on it too. But water just sits on top of it, so It’s terrible for watercolor, because of lack of texture and pourousness.
I cannot stand ARCHES cold press. The Hot press is fine as well as the Rough. The cold press which i got at different times had spotty sizing and so didn't dry evenly and caused cauliflower drying marks. After 3 pads i was done.
Yeah. I hear you! You can buy them individually at Blick. I think that's what I am going to do if I get anymore! Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave a comment!
That makes me so sad about the soft pastels. I love your pastel work, but 100% understand the need to pivot to other art supplies for health reasons. I personally really like the Faber-Castell watercolor markers, but I have found that they work best on 100% cotton watercolor paper (the Baohong coldpress works well) with a brush and some water. So, yeah, they wouldn't be good for your intended use. I also bought a pad of the Baohong hot press paper and wasn't too keen on it, but I've heard hot press is finicky, so I assumed I just don't like hot press; I do really like their color press paper though. My purchase regrets include a set of the Sennelier oil sticks and soft pastels (fortunately I only bought a small 5-6 color set of each), the Paul Rubens Gucai watercolor set (it doesn't add anything to what I already had) and too many oil pastel sets. I'm not sure I actually regret the oil pastels, but it has been part of what sent me into a bit of an art block that I've been trying to crawl out of. I think I've overwhelmed myself with too many supplies and not enough time this year. "Less is more" has been a hard lesson for me to learn.
It wasn't from 2024, but my biggest purchase regret is buying the Spectrum Noir Illustrators. They're supposed to be brush tips, but the brush replacements aren't the same as the brush they came with. They don't fit properly. I REALLY dislike them, but since I spent so much money on them, I'm stuck. They are difficult to refill, as well. I started replacing the brush nibs with chisel nibs, which helped, but I'm still not happy with them. They are less expensive than Copics, but they are still pricey.
I love COPIC and they do have issues with the sketch markers on the chisel end. That being said I still use them because I think they’re the best. The classic and ciao don’t have dry out issues. I did glue on the chisel ends of some and that keeps them from drying out. The ohuhu cap color to ink variation drives me crazy.
I'm not sure but I think Talens Rembrandt lists pigments for their soft pastels. I think they did when I've bought a box few years ago.They are on the harder side of soft pastels though.
They do but they are also super hard. I use them as an underlayment when doing soft pastels but eventually I need a sifter one for the top layers. Schmincke sift pastels have pigment info but cost an arm and a leg and I can't afford them right now. Maybe someday! Thanks for watching!
@@winterwoodsstudio Sennelier soft pastels are softer, but they don't list pigments. If it's your favourite medium in your place I would try to write an email to the producer if a specific colour contains any heavy metal pigments like cadmiums.
It´s hard to say what i regret. But maybe pigment powders to make my own watercolors. I love making my own colors but the jars with pigment are so BIG. I will never use up all that powder! I have old Copics like 10-14 years old and the caps are OK. I´ve only thrown 2 away. See you in 2025! Happy New Year 🎆🎉
Yep the old copics were supposedly a lot better than what they have been putting out the last few years. Happy new year to you too and thank you for watching!
All my markers, watercolor or alcohol. I don’t enjoy them for art (I am very amateur lol), I prefer the subtlety and , the ability to soften edges and outlines, blendability, and other effects that one cannot get from the in-your-face marker art. Also I am unhappy with the hard “soft” pastels (charcoal-like, not oil-paint-stick style pastels). I find them literally TOO hard to lay down. Should be perfect for drawing and detailing where the extremely soft sticks are not. Soft-pastel pencils are great for details,
I bought the $50 set of Liquitex soft body acrylics in their small pots. I’m a beginner artist, although I’ve been at it for about ten years. Lol. But i didn’t like the colors, and even mixing them, it’s still a combination of colors that are too dark…and adding white and more white. Ugh. You’re better off to buy the red, blue, yellow and white separately, and mix from there. I also tried to get away with cheap gouache from Temu, and the Hobby Lobby ‘Master’s Touch’. (That Hobby Lobby master’s touch line is generally pretty awful.) My lesson from that is just don’t waste the money on all the cheap gouache and instead buy one good set. Oh…and Turner’s Acrylgouache dried up so fast on me I couldn’t use it before i had tubes of rock. Never get that again! Thanks for your tips….I hope 2025 is a healthy year for you and they eventually find that the mass is benign. Hard to live with that hanging over your head I know. We just have to put that on our ‘back shelf’ and carry on right? 🙏 for you!
I use hot press for illustration work almost exclusively. It's perfect for that! I save the cold press for more fine art type paintings! Thanks for watching!
Never use Unison pastels! Rembrandt, PanPastel, and Mountvision do not use cadmium or cobalt. All 3 give pigment numbers and LF ratings. I never use Unison because of their lack of care about their artists. They aren't worth the risk. Keep us posted on the scare. ❤
I regret wishing for (it was a birthday present) Faber Castell Polychromos huge pencil set. Pencils are nice, but just not for me. I've only completed about 2 serious paintings with them. I'm just not the gal who likes to sit and sit and sit and layer and layer and layer ----- I'm so impatient and impulsive when it comes to art. Now I feel guilty and might pull them out and give it another try.
This is really a cool and useful video. Many hugs to you that you will get some successes with your health. I'm a hotbed of health issues related to immune issues and it's no fun. Hugs.
It’s a sizing problem. I have 2 rolls with very little to no sizing. Certainly not internal and external sized. Total bummer buy! The blocks are also hit and miss. I now buy imperial size sheets from online art stores. However sizing does seem to be less stable and breaks down faster than in years past. imo
My biggest regret is the Tom’s Studio One Dip Nib. It hurts my arm because I’m not holding my pen in the most used way and the angle doesn’t work for me. I love the lines it creates, but it isn’t for me.
Thank you for your opinions and observations, are watercolor paints with cadmium not dangerous, less dangerous or just as dangerous as other art products?
Cadmium paints are still considered toxic and if you ate them it would be very very bad (so DO NOT dip your brush in your coffee cup or hold the brush handle in your mouth!). But they aren't airborne, and a lot of studies show that with paint on your skin with cadmiums, whether it's oil paint, acrylic, or watercolor, unless you have open cuts, the absorption is minimal. If you want to be extra cautious, you can wear gloves, or even a barrier cream like invisi-glove, (linked way down in my description of this video i think), which I use with acrylic and oil, but not with watercolors because I don't get want to get it on the paper. I have very little heavy metal pigments in my watercolors, just one cadmium and one cobalt, so sometimes i just don't even use them and then I don't have to worry about it. I always wear gloves or barrier cream with acrylics or oils though. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with those supplies! I had no idea about the pastel dust - I've been thinking about trying them and glad I waited. Maybe I'll try some pastel pencils instead. Any thoughts on those? I also appreciated the Baohong info - I've got a small pad of their academy cold press and it was okay, but not the greatest I've tried. I was going to try the pro grade but again, glad I waited! Aside from Arches hot press, does anyone have recommendations for any other hot press papers that are good but economical too?
Pastel pencils are still dusty although not as dust as soft pastels. And you still have the problem of not knowing what pigments are in them which is a bummer because I really love soft pastel and pastel pencils. I still use my pastel pencils occasionally in mixed media pieces but I don't do whole pieces just with them like I used to. Thanks for watching!
The first 500 people to use my link skl.sh/winterwoodsstudio12241 will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare!🧡
I'd like to peruse their site before signing up. You still have to give them a credit card.
but are those courses in the free area?
I’m so sorry to hear about your health scare with the pastels. I didn’t know about the cadmium issue but in case you still want to use pastels, Pan Pastels are certified cadmium free. Also Faber Castell Pitt Pastel pencils are also certified free of toxic substances or heavy metals. Cadmium yellow, etc, are just names and there is no cadmium in the actual pencil. Praying you will get good news with your next scan.
Dear Amy, I'm so sorry, I love soft pastels too, but it was one of the warning my friends gave me, so I turned to watercolour and try to avoid a cadmium shades.
I pray that it not cancer. Much love being sent your way. Please take care of yourself. Your channel is an amazing resource xx
did you know that you can iron your paper? It will flatten and tighten the surface to work on. As a calligrapher I do this all the time to get a better surface to take the ink
I'd love to hear what you purchased this year that you fell in love with!! 💞 I'm sorry you have another health issue. Prayers... 🙏
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the prayers! 💖 it's been a year. I'm actually feeling better about this now but when it first happened late this spring I was pretty down about it. I'm just not really thinking about it now, except for trying to be more careful with my supplies! Thank you for your continued support! It means a lot to me!
@winterwoodsstudio You're are very welcome!! 🥰 I'm a bit tired of 2024 too!! 🤦♀️ Time to turn a new page for a better healthier year!! 🤗😍
The colors are too bright
For me.... I bought a lot of stuff this year, but I've only just started buying art supplies since I kinda got back into art last year... so regrets are few. One is that I bought the secind largest of a certain watercolor set and a cheap acrylic marker set instead of the biggest. Another is not buying dip pens soon enough! Those are phenomenal. I vaguely regret getting this specific set of soft pastels because they arent great-good, but could be softer. Aside, I regret a certain couple sketchbooks which just didn’t work great (like, erasing damaged the paper way too much) but luckily those were cheap ones anyways (I'd bought ones for the same price that work pretty well tho so imma stick to those from now)
I’m so sorry Amy. I hope and pray for everything to be alright. You’ve just had so many health problems this year. Things just have to get better! 💜💜💜
Thank you for this discussion. I wish there was more on utube about art supply regrets. My regret is a set of 40 Neocolor II crayons. I mainly do landscapes. There are a lot of bright colors in the set that I don't need, and I had to buy a couple extra colors that weren't included. I should have just bought individual colors, which is what I did for Derwent Inktense pencils, and that is working out great.
My biggest regret was getting Arches cold press paper in a big roll. I never could get the paper to straighten out and lie flat. I will never get watercolor paper in a roll again, lol!
Good to know, I’ve been tempted to buy the roll!
@conkrotwife It just didn't work out for me at all. You have to soak it and stretch it and it still buckled even when I did that.
They should be made to reveal the pigments by law. Also why don’t companies just stop using poisons in their pigments?
In California there's a law to put warnings on products with harmful pigments. I remember getting a prismacolor pastel set and seeing the warning but couldn't figure out which colors it was for at the time.
I think you meant to say you regretted buying the Faber Castell watercolor markers, instead of Winsor Newton. But I agree…watercolor markers are fun to play with, but in my opinion don’t work well for a serious watercolor project…they’re too saturated to get subtle flow of colors.
Yep! Sure did! I mostly have the faber castel watercolor markers and then I have three winsor and newton ones I tested as well and I said only winsor and newton! Whoops! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch!
Hi Amy, I don't like soft pastels and someone bought them from me, I use panpastels now and love them, light fast, no dust and you have to use applicators so no dirty hands, I fix them with hairspray and all the mixed media work with them over the hairspray.
The poca i only bought the muted colors and not the bright, the water based markers I use the promarkers, plenty colors and love them to use as a marker, maybe it is helpful.❤
I don’t have too many regrets because I started cautiously and tried to watch videos and get info as I reignite my love for watercolor. I very quickly realized I probably bought more brushes than I need, but what artist doesn’t, right?!? When it comes to watercolor, over and over I hear that it doesn’t take many brushes. And it’s true. It’s just that different good artists disagree on which few those should be. And Blick had the brands recommended on great sales before Christmas in sets. The problem isn’t so much that I spent too much, but having a lot of brushes can be confusing. Thanks for your video. If anything, it just reminds me to proceed with caution! I work at Hobby Lobby so the temptation to buy too much is readily available! lol!
Thank you for explanations of these products.
I sold ALL my soft pastels because I could not get over the dust issues with them. All I could think about when using them were the heavy metals suspended in the air while I breathed. Speaking of selling things, you can probably sell your copics - you would never recoup your money but you would be able to get some. Or just use them up and toss them when you are done. It's a shame that Ohuhu doesn't have a bigger selection of refills. I ran out ink in 4 of my markers recently and not a single one of them had a refill available. I was able to get black. I am supplementing with a few Olo markers and I really like them. Oh my goodness they blend well! The only draw-back to Olo's are that they don't have a bullet nib like my Ohuhus do. I love the brush/nib combo. It seems like the only thing we disagreed on was the Poscas. I love my Posca markers and use them almost daily. Granted, it's usually white/black/navy blue/turquoise/ & gold, but I am sure I will find more uses for them. My set of 6 (or 8?) FC watercolor markers just sit in the cupboard for the same reasons. And I also really dont like the BaoHong Artists grade paper. I hadn't use it a lot, but I quickly learned that the Academy paper was far more pleasant to use. At any rate, I hope the New Year finds you and yours healthy. Here's to learning lessons about supplies and moving on knowing what we don't want ! lol Thanks for the info!
Thank you for the reviews and tips! Praying for you. Our daughter has Crohn’s too. We know the challenges. She also had melanoma.
Happy New year. I have to tell you my son got me 120 water color pencils for Christmas and in a beautiful peacock tin called castle. I love it
I'm sorry about your health issues, I have a lot of experience with similar problems. I'm not the most knowledgeable here but I believe never blowing but wrapping in trash bag and tapping, wearing gloves and the correct kind of properly fitted respirator and/or working out of doors would be sufficient. For extra caution, you could have certain clothes reserved for it that you wash after and also take a quick shower. What I'm saying is that the artform clearly has a great deal of medicinal value for you in terms of the joy and form of expression it provides, and the risk is minimal; so i believe its worth looking into what protective measures could allow you to continue doing it. Good luck with it, i understand your trepidation but if you can eliminate more of the risk, its probably worth continuing. The work you make with them is wonderful.
Edit- also, depending on the particle size and because of the lack of aerosol or projectant, you might be able to use an N95 or maybe even cloth mask. I bet that's a searchable fact. Hope that helps.
Edit edit- yup, OSHA has a fact sheet on it.
You can sell all the art supplies you don't use anymore (of course the good ones, not the broken copics). There is always a huge demand for second hand art supplies because people are finally realizing that we don't have to like everything that we want to try and we don't have to neither just hold on because we spend money on it nor toss them because we don't use them. That way you can get at least some of the money back and reinvest it into things you enjoy. 🙂 I'm sure there are plenty of people that would love to have the pastels or markers 🙂.
Arches has the market cornered on professional water color paper. I've tried 20 different brands so far and they can't compete. I started making my own sketch books and I put the cheaper paper in them so I'm at least getting use out of the massive collection of cheap paper I've accumulated. Watercolor and soft pastels are the mediums I work in most but I do think I need to start wearing gloves and a respirator with the pastels. Another way you can use your pastels and not have to worry about the fine dust as much, is to work with them outside when the weather is nice.
I totally agree about the paper. I keep trying other brands, not liking it as much, and then regret spending the money on them! I should make some sketchbooks with the cheaper paper! Thanks for the idea and for watching!
Being a super newbie and brand new to all things art:', I appreciate vids like yours. They help me to remember to stop and think, to evaluate what artists are saying about certain products before I go off willy nilly buying the whole art store LOL. I'm a fan and subby of yours. Thanks much for this vid!
Very helpful to know, I love reviews! I had no idea about the soft pastels, thanks for all your tips on the art supplies. I hope that your health improves and all is okay.
I appreciate the kind words. It's been a wild year! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!
The pigments from schmincke softpastels are listet at the end of ther safety data sheet. Jaxell says they do not use cadmium, lead, metal or cobalt. Maybe you can find another brand. And I hope you get well soon.
Yeah. I knew about the schmoke and I have a few of them but they are just so dang expensive! I might switch to them someday but I don't have the funds right now. I have never heard of Jaxell! I will havr yo check them out!. Thanks for watching!
@@winterwoodsstudio Sennelier gives pigment information for their soft pastels. I am not sure, if you can find it on their website, but they have a flyer. BLOCKX does not use cadmiums and cobalts. Maybe this is helpful.
These types of vids are so helpful -artist-to-artist. Thanks. I think my “regrets” might be soft pastels; I just don’t use them enough, heavy body acrylics; I like the soft body paints from Liquitex much better- I find them much easier to use, Acrylic gouache; I just find if I want Matte, I prefer regular gouache. And finally, Poscas, other than the white ones; I just don’t get enough use from them but follow a few artists who make them work brilliantly!
I hope you're ok... I really enjoyed working with soft pastels in school, (ohhhh... 30 years ago) but the dust irritated my skin, eyes, and lungs. I find alcohol markers very beautiful but the colors are fugitive and I need something that will stay beautiful over time. Winsor and Newton are my go to brand for professional watercolors... I didnt even know they had markers.
Buying too much canvases and liquitex acrylic paint. Also my copic markers I used them on canvas. Not a fan on paper or sketchbooks. I quit using oil paints because a lot of people started getting all kinds of cancer over the years. A lot of products that we use in anything is linked to cancer. Praying for a very positive outcome Amy. Happy New Year!!! 😊❤
Just remember that copic markers (all alcohol markers and alcohol inks) are not only not lightfast but also fugitive and will fade extremely quickly even if not exposed to light. I put a swatch test of my copic markers in my east facing window this summer and two thirds of the colors were completely gone in 3 days. Not just faded but gone. All alcohol markers and inks are made with dye and not pigment which sucks! Anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to watch!
Appreciate the honest specific information and input on these products
Thanks! Glad you found it helpful!
I grew to love the Faber-Castell watercolor markers - bought a bunch open stock and then bought more. BUT, I agree with the assessment that they are almost all very saturated. I had to use them differently from how I had originally planned to and I am also very careful about the paper I use them on. I have a technique I use with them specifically and only use them for plein air work. Things I regret buying - full set of Neocolor II, Kuretake Gamsai Tambi paints (two sets), large set of Sennelier oil pastels. These are all GOOD to GREAT products, but I already have so many art supplies and just don’t use these.
I got two of the gansai tambi sets this year too and haven't used them much. Someone told me they weren't as lightfast as they advertise to be and I keep meaning to test them in my window. If they fade as bad as I have heard, I will add them to my regrets list! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Inktense blocks if you have the pencils, you don't need the blocks too. Michael Harding watercolor paint...it never sets up and dries well in the pans so I can't put it in a travel palette and feel comfortable about taking it out with me. Gel pens.... so frustrating always drying out and they look full, but you can't get anything out of them. All the budget brand-colored pencils I've bought.... if I had it to do over, I would only buy the pro brands that you can get open stock for. I love these kinds of video they are so helpful. For me it's not even the money I've spent it's that I just hate having supplies hanging around that will never be used.
Agree on the budget colored pencils. Very few of them are worth it.
I agree that the gel pens dry out and can’t be used even though they look full.
You might want to add something to your water so your paper won’t dry as fast. If you still hate it maybe sell it so you can buy something you like. It would always work well for gouache. I kind of like the fact that colors look more vibrant on it but that’s just me.
I plan to use it with my gouache. It won't go to waste even if I don't use mu watercolors on it! Thanks for watching!
@@winterwoodsstudio Hot press watercolor paper also works beautifully for colored pencil especially if you’re blending out with oms! 😊 ✌️🎨
Great video. My favorite new supplies are Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. I like them better than Caran d’ Ache. Purchase regrets - Michael Harding watercolors. They have a lot of pigment and vibrant colors, but are too expensive, take too long to dry in the palette (why I rarely use honey based watercolor) and lift too easily in Plein air.
I also invested $ for Copic Sketch markers and have found many of them dried out. I am very disappointed in this company. I am also disappointed in my local art supply store for selling these markers with known issues.
Sending warm thoughts as you face this health scare. Thank you for feeling safe to share with us💕Would the pastels be safe for use with surgical gloves? I bought a ton of them in the early pandemic months 🤦🏼♀️
It's more the airborne dust than what you might absorb through your hands. If I wore a good respiratory and my studio wasn't a part of my house with no way to shut it off, it would be less of an issue. But it's a room that has like an archway into it and do door so I don't really feel safe. Maybe someday I might have own art studio! Thanks for watching!
I bought my poscas for mixed media but not an underlayer but more for a final layer, as strong pops of colour and highlights.
Hello, maybe you can try a different block of the baohong's, or maybe you can try a little piece of the roll. The ones that don't work, can be used for color pencils with solvent or watercolor pencils
Thank you for this video!! It will save me some $$ in the future. I didn’t buy many art supplies in 2024 and those I did, I really like (Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors and Princeton watercolor brushes). I really appreciate your honesty with all the supplies you use and show us - it helps so much!
I like to hear these kinds of comments. However, I think we all gravitate to certain things. I started water color with a "child's" rainbow color set. I was taking an art tour and wanted to pack SIMPLY! The palette is is the cover and the included brush was (not anymore) decent. Believe it or not, I still love the paints. I have 2 other sets (brands) which there are things about them that I like. BUT, if I hit the road, my kiddie set comes with me! I love mixing my own colors and can do just fine with a minimal number of colors and 1 brush. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Amazingly, the child's Prang watercolor set can produce professional-looking results. Every once in a while I get mine out just for fun. There's a guy on utube that does tutorials with Prang. I think they're probably not lightfast, though.
This info was super helpful to me. Especially the cancer warning about soft pastels
I’m glad it was helpful! It’s a bummer to have to think about things like that, but so important to protect ourselves!cadmium and cobalt in any art supplies that can be a problem, but especially pastels because they are so airborne and get in the human airway to easily. Thank you for watching!
My regrets are probably the Rockwell self evolving watercolors 😅 for the amount of money I spend I rarely enjoy them 🙈🙈🙈 wish you all the best for the new year and especially health wise. I can’t wait to see all the new videos next year ❤
Happy New Year to you and your family
I didn't like the baohong hot pressed pad either, glad I'm not the only one 🥰
This is a really helpful video. I hope your health improves. Regarding the pastels, I'm interested in finding the boxes you have for them. I don't use pastels, but could use those boxes for my gouache cups. If you have the details on them, I'd appreciate it! Thanks so much!
Yeah I have the same issue with the hot press Baohong paper. I love the cold press and have never had an issue, and have actually got two big rolls of it, but I hate my hot press roll. It will be used on gouache paint for sure.
Oh sick kids😩 I know it’s hard. Happy New Year! I need your video’s to de stress me.
Great! Thanks for the info! I have a small block of the Baohung hot press paper, after trying it I kept thinking how we’re told to use good paper … I don’t like this at all … the cold press is better for me.
Thank you so much for discussing soft pastels in this way. I was considering them - but i dont think ill get get it for what you just mentioned just in case.
I'm glad I could help you make an informed decision!
Normally student grade will be less toxic, so maybe dropping to student grade pastels for a bit might help?
The watercolor markers… would dipping them in a puddle of water help?
Have you considered reselling your opened supplies on eBay for a little less than list? If you can recoup some of your losses then you can try more things going forward.
I'm so sorry to hear about your health challenges and hope all will be well. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on products that didn't work for you. It's always helpful to hear why things didn't work out. I bought Posca's too and haven't used them. Thought I would but like you, the colors aren't what I want. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the kind words and support! And for taking the time to watch!
I regret all my supplies, most are not even opened because I am losing my site and it is so hard to see up close.
I am SO sorry to hear that! What a devastating blow! I can't even imagine! Monet and cezanne both were losing their sight at the end. Would it be possible to take any inpriration from how they altered their art to accommodate for their vision loss? Sending you lots of good thoughts!!
Thank you. May all your issues be resolved through the grace of Christ.
💜💜💜
So sorry 😢
Enjoyed this, it helped me decide on markers. I am not a fan of markers really, but wanted to get a few for mixed media work. I definitely will be avoiding those you showed with cracked caps. I heard other problems from them too--such as the colors and such. So...yeah, this helped a lot!!
Very informative video! Thank you for sharing.
Glad it was helpful!
I regret investing in Winsor & Newton’s designer gouache. It was expensive and so many of the tubes were separated and the paints just feel sticky.
That was one of my main issues with the winsor and newton gouache too. Sticky and stiff. I used them almost all the way up and just switched to Holbein. Hope you find a gouache you like better too! Thanks for watching!
The watercolours are getting that way as well. I recently purchased the
Olive Green and Potter’s Pink and got a ton of binder coming out before the pigment! Holbein is my favourite.
what helps with WN gouache is using it dry. So just squeeze what you have in a pan or half pan, stir, use and then let it dry out and re-wet it when you need it. WN designer gouache is re-wettable (not like the Turner arcrylic gouache). Same with the watercolours: use a toothpick to stir the pain inside the tube or squeeze it into a pan and then stir the binder back into the paint/pigment mix. Shinhan gouache might be an alternative, but the colours are very intense compared to WN.
Wish I never bought Spectrum Noirs. On a similar subject-I’d love shop your stash videos and make art from forgotten, past-loved supplies
I've got a couple videos up like that already but it would be super fun to make more! Thanks for the idea! And for taking the time to watch!
@ i have watched them. Inspired me to do a studio reset. Gather, test, clean, organize and sadly throw away some supplies.
I love my Posca pens! They are great for adding detail. ❤ I do not like the Baohong paper either. I have always used Arches even though it's ridiculously expensive!
I really wanted to love them, but the color is never quite right! I'll keep playing with them though. Maybe I will find something I like them for! Thanks for taking the time to watch!
I don’t mind their academy version of paper but don’t like the baohong artist version
The Windsor and Newton Watercolor markers looked like my Fabre-Castelle.
I had mostly faber castell in the video and a couple of winsor and newton. I think I just send vwinsor and newton though! Whoops! Thanks for watching!
Her comments confused me as well, those are faber castell markers.
Recently I had a medical scare but they found a nodule in one of my lungs I was wondering if that could be from using acrylic paints? I’m glad you are getting scans and taking care of yourself.
Thank you… you just saved me a ton of money
Thanks for all the information. It's a drag that some art supplies can be harmful. Hope everything works out. I usually buy a small sets or just open stock to try new products. Everything good is so expensive and I'm just a hobbiest artist. But, I had bad experiences with really cheap stuff and ended up giving it away. Do splurge on good papers though. I have no regrets so far. Still experimenting though. Take care.
Best wishes for your health ❤️. Thanks for sharing your list!
Thank you so much! It means a lot to me! And thank you for watching!
Amy, I understand that you can quickly reverse an opinion with a supply due to bad experience after having a positive test period. I, personally, LOVE Baohong (bow-hung) rough and cold pressed in Academy and Professional. I really do not fell a difference. I, too, have a myriad of auto-immune diseases and seems like I take a truck load of meds just to function. But I can never give up my soft pastels. I hope you use a powerful hepa filter and keep your studio isolated from the house. A double entry like those used for darkrooms are great. As so many of your supplies are new, you could recoup your costs through marketplace or Etsy to ease the pain. I wish you all the best.
My regret is Copics too. Thankfully ithey were in an art box that I bought in the Scrawlrbox sale for £5 (3 colours +pad and a fineliner) so they got passed on to my sister in law.
POSCAS - It is apparently possible to refill most posca pens (and liquitex acrylic markers). There are various youtube videos on it, including one by Lindsay the Frugal Crafter. Poscas unscrew the "wrong" way. I only have a couple in colours I wanted, so I have not tried it yet but plan to when they are used up. I have also recently bought a few acrylic inks and empty markers to mix my own. 😁
I hope you and your family have fantastic 2025 when the new year comes ( and definitely better one health wise! Hopefully the kidney thing is nothing to worry about. 😊)
health wise
You saved me a bundle. Thank you
Lol! Good! Glad you liked the video and thanks for watching!
I have gotten back to stretching my papers. In college we soaked our half sheets and then stapled them to stretcher bars. I purchased that roll of paper, but the Cold Press surface and it does work well. I stretched a sheet 15 inches by 36 inches. Soaked in a wallpaper tray and then stapled to a set of bars purchased from Blick. You might try a smaller sheet starting out if your still not sure of this Hot Press Surface. The only art supply I should not have purchased this year was a knock of set of Marabu Art crayons from King Art. I should just have got the name brand as they worked so good! I just wanted to save that extra $30.00! I am not the biggest fan of hot press papers but I do like Illustration Boards for any and all gouache paintings! I wish you luck with the soft pastels, I have seen some amazing paintings done with them in the last couple of years after I took them up! Look up Alain Picard for a charge!!!
Those are Faber Castell watercolor markers and not W&N 🙂
Oops! Did I say wonsor and newton? I have three of those too that I regret buying as well! But I spent the most on the Faber Castell! Thanks for watching!
My biggest regret was putting Winsor & Newton Gouache. It bricked up when I tried to pan it and was awful to use.
Sad about your health problems, sorry if they are caused by your supplies. I know that many soft pastel makers do list their pigments, Rembrandt, Schmincke, Daler-Rowney, and Blockx do. My Sennelier are only listed by general pigments though there might be a color chart available. Neither Rembrandt nor Schmincke have any cadmiums in their pastels. However, that doesn't solve the dust problem, so probably no reason to pursue pigment info.
Some suggestions for the hot press paper: 1. try soaking it before using, that can sometimes change how it absorbs water; 2. add a thin, wet coat of watercolor ground if you have it, it can solve sizing problems. Or just use it for other media as you mentioned :)
Good luck with your future scans and health, and Happy New Year!
Maybe just try a few items before buying sets? What I do when I want to try new paper is I buy a small pad of it and try it out, it's cheaper that way and if I don't like I can use to test color later on while painting. The Baohong watercolor paper that's the best is the Academy and the Masters series, lots of people dislike the Artist grade.
I bought the little sets of four markers (I think?) To try them. Glad I didn't buy any of the bigger sets! Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and leave a comment! I appreciate it!
100% agree with all of your cons on W&N watercolor markers! I was so sad about these! I wanted to love poscas too but just haven't figure out how to incorporate them in my watercolor work. I also haven't used my Faber castelle watercolor pencil set for the same reasons - just can't figure how I like to use them. I will def avoid that paper- but I do use the academy cold press a lot. Thank you for this!
Actually those are the Faber Castell she is holding. W&N have a bullet shaped tip. 🤷🏻♀️
I accidentally said winsor and neeton and not faber castell too. I have both and I regret both. I have 8 fabercastell and three winsor and newton and never use them. Thank you for watching!
@ fair enough!
I regret buying my Copics too. I bought the small skin tone set and actually found I prefer the how the Ohuhu markers feel and the nibs are much more suited to how I use them. One of them was dry and cracked right off the bat and I just feel like it was a "waste" of $45. However, I got the full set of Faber Castell Albrect Durer pencils on black Friday and that purchase was worth every penny!
Thanks! Very helpful video.
I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Shame about some of those disappointing supplies - especially the soft pastels, which we know you love using so much. But the potential for health issues is definitely cause for concern and I'm sure you'll be investigating whether there might be ways to mitigate the risks. As others have already said, I hope the further scan on the 'unwelcome mass' turns out well for you. I haven't had any disappointments this year because I've bought very little and have concentrated on using up my current supplies. I did give in to one temptation a little while ago and bought a pad of the Baohong (spelling?) Academy paper to see what the very positive fuss was about. I haven't tried it yet but I doubt it's going to disappoint me. Thanks for another interesting video - kind regards, Brian. [Oh, and congrats on passing 15,000 subscribers!]
I use the Posca markers for gelli printing, but they’re so expensive. If you’d consider selling them , I’d like to buy them….you’d gain space,I’d save a little money😊
10:03 watercolour markers are a disappointment. When I look for used art supplies at thrifting stores, the Winsor & Newton markers are one of the most common products. I did not like them either and ended up selling mine. 12:28 Acrylic markers: check Molotow, Schmincke or Daler Rowney empty markers.with replaceable tips. You can mix your own colours and refill your markers with your choice of acrylic inks. A better option than Posca Pens (non refillable, limited range) every time. Thanks for this, it's good to see what other artists like/dislike.
It is apparently possible to refill most posca pens (and liquitex acrylic markers). There are various youtube videos on it, including one by Lindsay the Frugal Crafter. Poscas unscrew the "wrong" way. I only have a couple in colours I wanted so not tried it yet but plan to when they are used up.
Have you ever tried graphitint pans? there are only twelve colors but they are muted and work nicely in backgrounds. Portofino is a nice hot press if you havent yet tried it.
I bought a tube of Art Spectrum watercolour. I then discovered they are not recommended for pan use. I don’t paint straight from the tube. At least I only bought one before finding out
I saw someone else do a review (can't recall who) and they also said the academie baohong was better than the artist's baohong paper.
Yep. I've heard that too. Not sure I would risk wasting the money to try it on the hot press though! Thanks for watching!
@winterwoodsstudio no, me neither. I'm sure you'd be able to sell a lot of those products on. I know you might not get as much as you paid, but there will definitely be folks out there who'd buy your used supplies. I'm so sorry to hear you had another scary health issue - I had spots in my lung a few years back and had to wait almost a whole year to find out if they were cancerous or benign - like you I had art and creative projects to distract me, but it's really a frightening experience. Thankfully mine turned out not to be malignant and they resolved themselves, so I'll pray for a similarly positive outcome for you 🥰 thanks for all your videos and for all you do, and I hope your kid(s) feel better soon
Definitely regret the Baohong paper!
I get that often we get carried away when it comes to art supplies, I think I regret buying so many watercolor sets lol present time me would be happy with a simple huge palette (which is a thought I only had after getting myself more than ten sets). But I got myself a roll of ballhong too, now I’m praying to all the sweet angels in heaven I enjoy it
It's definitely easy to get carried away! You will have yo let me know what you think about the paper. I still haven't touched my roll of hot press. Too scared! Thanks for watching!
I also had copic markers and several were bad, why did I not know to call and have them replaced. I’ve also been sick 8 months very sick. I’m afraid it’s some of my art supplies 😩
I like to use the cotton hot press paper for collage, acrylics, markers and gouache. Any gel medium works well on it too. But water just sits on top of it, so It’s terrible for watercolor, because of lack of texture and pourousness.
I cannot stand ARCHES cold press. The Hot press is fine as well as the Rough. The cold press which i got at different times had spotty sizing and so didn't dry evenly and caused cauliflower drying marks. After 3 pads i was done.
I regret buying so many Tombow dual markers. I like them but there are so many colors I just don’t use🤭
Yeah. I hear you! You can buy them individually at Blick. I think that's what I am going to do if I get anymore! Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave a comment!
That makes me so sad about the soft pastels. I love your pastel work, but 100% understand the need to pivot to other art supplies for health reasons. I personally really like the Faber-Castell watercolor markers, but I have found that they work best on 100% cotton watercolor paper (the Baohong coldpress works well) with a brush and some water. So, yeah, they wouldn't be good for your intended use. I also bought a pad of the Baohong hot press paper and wasn't too keen on it, but I've heard hot press is finicky, so I assumed I just don't like hot press; I do really like their color press paper though. My purchase regrets include a set of the Sennelier oil sticks and soft pastels (fortunately I only bought a small 5-6 color set of each), the Paul Rubens Gucai watercolor set (it doesn't add anything to what I already had) and too many oil pastel sets. I'm not sure I actually regret the oil pastels, but it has been part of what sent me into a bit of an art block that I've been trying to crawl out of. I think I've overwhelmed myself with too many supplies and not enough time this year. "Less is more" has been a hard lesson for me to learn.
If I'm not mistaken can't you use your hot press paper for colored pencils? If I'm right you might use your hot press watercolor paper for that.
It wasn't from 2024, but my biggest purchase regret is buying the Spectrum Noir Illustrators. They're supposed to be brush tips, but the brush replacements aren't the same as the brush they came with. They don't fit properly. I REALLY dislike them, but since I spent so much money on them, I'm stuck. They are difficult to refill, as well. I started replacing the brush nibs with chisel nibs, which helped, but I'm still not happy with them. They are less expensive than Copics, but they are still pricey.
Your the 2nd or third person I've heard that doesn't like the artists quality but preferred the academy.
Praying for your health!
Thank you so much! That means a lot to me! Thank ypu for watching!
I love my posca and use the a lot
I love COPIC and they do have issues with the sketch markers on the chisel end. That being said I still use them because I think they’re the best. The classic and ciao don’t have dry out issues. I did glue on the chisel ends of some and that keeps them from drying out. The ohuhu cap color to ink variation drives me crazy.
I'm not sure but I think Talens Rembrandt lists pigments for their soft pastels. I think they did when I've bought a box few years ago.They are on the harder side of soft pastels though.
Yes, Rembrandt by Talens lists all the pigments!
They do but they are also super hard. I use them as an underlayment when doing soft pastels but eventually I need a sifter one for the top layers. Schmincke sift pastels have pigment info but cost an arm and a leg and I can't afford them right now. Maybe someday! Thanks for watching!
@@winterwoodsstudio Sennelier soft pastels are softer, but they don't list pigments. If it's your favourite medium in your place I would try to write an email to the producer if a specific colour contains any heavy metal pigments like cadmiums.
It´s hard to say what i regret. But maybe pigment powders to make my own watercolors. I love making my own colors but the jars with pigment are so BIG. I will never use up all that powder! I have old Copics like 10-14 years old and the caps are OK. I´ve only thrown 2 away. See you in 2025! Happy New Year 🎆🎉
Yep the old copics were supposedly a lot better than what they have been putting out the last few years. Happy new year to you too and thank you for watching!
All my markers, watercolor or alcohol. I don’t enjoy them for art (I am very amateur lol), I prefer the subtlety and , the ability to soften edges and outlines, blendability, and other effects that one cannot get from the in-your-face marker art. Also I am unhappy with the hard “soft” pastels (charcoal-like, not oil-paint-stick style pastels). I find them literally TOO hard to lay down. Should be perfect for drawing and detailing where the extremely soft sticks are not. Soft-pastel pencils are great for details,
I bought the $50 set of Liquitex soft body acrylics in their small pots. I’m a beginner artist, although I’ve been at it for about ten years. Lol. But i didn’t like the colors, and even mixing them, it’s still a combination of colors that are too dark…and adding white and more white. Ugh. You’re better off to buy the red, blue, yellow and white separately, and mix from there. I also tried to get away with cheap gouache from Temu, and the Hobby Lobby ‘Master’s Touch’. (That Hobby Lobby master’s touch line is generally pretty awful.) My lesson from that is just don’t waste the money on all the cheap gouache and instead buy one good set. Oh…and Turner’s Acrylgouache dried up so fast on me I couldn’t use it before i had tubes of rock. Never get that again! Thanks for your tips….I hope 2025 is a healthy year for you and they eventually find that the mass is benign. Hard to live with that hanging over your head I know. We just have to put that on our ‘back shelf’ and carry on right? 🙏 for you!
I love baohong cold press paper. I can't even begin to figure out how to use hot press.Or the reason for it it dries way too fast for me.
I use hot press for illustration work almost exclusively. It's perfect for that! I save the cold press for more fine art type paintings! Thanks for watching!
Never use Unison pastels! Rembrandt, PanPastel, and Mountvision do not use cadmium or cobalt. All 3 give pigment numbers and LF ratings. I never use Unison because of their lack of care about their artists. They aren't worth the risk.
Keep us posted on the scare. ❤
I regret wishing for (it was a birthday present) Faber Castell Polychromos huge pencil set. Pencils are nice, but just not for me. I've only completed about 2 serious paintings with them. I'm just not the gal who likes to sit and sit and sit and layer and layer and layer ----- I'm so impatient and impulsive when it comes to art. Now I feel guilty and might pull them out and give it another try.
This is really a cool and useful video. Many hugs to you that you will get some successes with your health. I'm a hotbed of health issues related to immune issues and it's no fun. Hugs.
It’s a sizing problem. I have 2 rolls with very little to no sizing. Certainly not internal and external sized. Total bummer buy! The blocks are also hit and miss. I now buy imperial size sheets from online art stores. However sizing does seem to be less stable and breaks down faster than in years past. imo
My biggest regret is the Tom’s Studio One Dip Nib. It hurts my arm because I’m not holding my pen in the most used way and the angle doesn’t work for me. I love the lines it creates, but it isn’t for me.
Thank you for your opinions and observations, are watercolor paints with cadmium not dangerous, less dangerous or just as dangerous as other art products?
Cadmium paints are still considered toxic and if you ate them it would be very very bad (so DO NOT dip your brush in your coffee cup or hold the brush handle in your mouth!). But they aren't airborne, and a lot of studies show that with paint on your skin with cadmiums, whether it's oil paint, acrylic, or watercolor, unless you have open cuts, the absorption is minimal. If you want to be extra cautious, you can wear gloves, or even a barrier cream like invisi-glove, (linked way down in my description of this video i think), which I use with acrylic and oil, but not with watercolors because I don't get want to get it on the paper. I have very little heavy metal pigments in my watercolors, just one cadmium and one cobalt, so sometimes i just don't even use them and then I don't have to worry about it. I always wear gloves or barrier cream with acrylics or oils though. Hope that helps!
@winterwoodsstudio thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with those supplies! I had no idea about the pastel dust - I've been thinking about trying them and glad I waited. Maybe I'll try some pastel pencils instead. Any thoughts on those?
I also appreciated the Baohong info - I've got a small pad of their academy cold press and it was okay, but not the greatest I've tried. I was going to try the pro grade but again, glad I waited! Aside from Arches hot press, does anyone have recommendations for any other hot press papers that are good but economical too?
Pastel pencils are still dusty although not as dust as soft pastels. And you still have the problem of not knowing what pigments are in them which is a bummer because I really love soft pastel and pastel pencils. I still use my pastel pencils occasionally in mixed media pieces but I don't do whole pieces just with them like I used to. Thanks for watching!