Arteza Premium Watercolor Half Pans Unbox & Swatch- Student Grade Showdown

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The original listing is gone but the 12 piece set I purchased is now currently available in this set: amzn.to/36ao2nF
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Did you have a totally different experience with Arteza watercolors? Let me know down in the comments!
Other Arteza Reviews:
Arteza Metallic Mixed Media Art Kit: tinyurl.com/2p...
Arteza Mixed Media Paint and Detailing Art Kit: tinyurl.com/2p...
Arteza 12 Day Advent Calendar: tinyurl.com/ms...
Arteza 24 Day Advent Calendar: tinyurl.com/28...
Arteza Tubes: tinyurl.com/4x...
Arteza Watercolor Paper:
Premium Vs Expert: tinyurl.com/pk...
Arteza Round Watercolor Paper: tinyurl.com/2p...
Arteza Everblend Markers: tinyurl.com/46...
Arteza TwiMarkers: tinyurl.com/mw...
Shownotes:
Full Shownotes: tinyurl.com/mr...
Arteza Watercolor 12 Piece Set
Ordered on Amazon- $18.99: amzn.to/30ZQMNQ
Yall probably know at least a little about Arteza by now, I've reviewed several products
Their About Page is hilariously scarce (arteza.com/pag...)
Their careers page leads me to believe that they're operating out of North Miami Beach, FL, just because all the positions they're hiring for are out of there.
This 12 pan set is
$14.99 on Arteza: arteza.com/dp/...
$18.99 on Amazon: amzn.to/3kLCzLb
The Packaging:
Cardboard Box
Inside the metal palette is shrink-wrapped
Waterbrush is in a cardboard box
Inside:
Colors are in clear half pans with a belly band
Waterbrush doesnt disassemble small enough to fit in palette
Swatch Sheet
Belly bands are VERY adhesive, probably wont bother salvaging them
Paints are VERY extruded- Prussian Blue just popped outta it's half pan
Kinda weird this set doesn't include an Ultramarine blue, but I appreciate not including a white
Swatching on their swatchcard:
These have kinda a milky look to them, and glob up on the brush
These also muddy the water really fast.
On Blick Studio Paper
These REALLY glob up on the brush, so I'd recommend using a palette to help with paint and color control. They also muddy the water very quickly
There's some granulation to these, but not really a whole lot? Neither of the blues are really that granulating, but Fern Green, Yellow Ochre, and Sepia kinda are?
Color Mixing:
Atomic: Some colors are easy to mix (the warmer orange, greens, a half decent purple from Deep Ocean Blue and Amaranth), some aren't (wasn't really able to mix a payne's grey). Granulation is more noticeable in two color mixes while they're still wet, sorta disappear after they dry, and colors dry kinda scaly and grainy?
Optical:
A little bit of reactivation with the cooler and warmer yellows, not so much with the redfs or blues. Seem to glaze decently well.
Lift Test:
These are all pretty lifting
Wet into Wet Test:
Granulation is a bit more apparent with the wet into wet test, although I think some of that is also from the scaling that seems to happen when these mix. I have some serious concerns about how these will hold up in a fieldtest
Better than the tube paints?
While I dislike both, and can recommend neither, I will say that the half pans at least come with a usable palette and a half-decent waterbrush, and are a step ahead of the tubes.
Comparable Watercolors
Mungyo
Etchr
SeamiArt
Pros:
Arteza makes a lot of products, and also makes a lot of sets and kits, so there’s an existing ecosystem of Arteza products to use these with (not sure if that’s a pro though?)
Saturated color, particularly straight from the half pan
Cons
Kinda pricy compared to other student grade watercolors
LOT of optical brighteners, really apparent when you’re doing wet into wet, I feel like these are going to have that Student Grade look with a finished illustration
Verdict
These are a big ol SKIP for me- there are better, cheaper watercolors, but if you already own these, keep an eye on this space, because hopefully we can come up with some ways to make them sing in the fieldtest.
Music:
8 Bit Dreamscape
After the Soft Rains
A Quiet Thought
Summer Symphony Ball- Sir Cubworth
Bathed in Light- Kevin MacLeod
MydNyte- Noir Et Blanc Vie
Oh My- Patrick Patrikios
Windswept- Kevin MacLeod
Italian Morning
English Country Morning- Aaron Kenny
National Express
C Major Prelude
Sunny Looks Good on You
Snow Drop- Kevin MacLeod
Silver Blue Light- Kevin MacLeod
Inner Light- Kevin MacLeod
Friday Fugue- Trevor Garrod
Marigold
Mama's Whisper
Finding Me
FairyTale Waltz
Blue Feather
Dream Culture
#Arteza #ArtezaReview #ArtezaWatercolorReview

[@Pebrikrn]

Great color! I hope u keep uploading.. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@anthonyreed3421]

I love the classical music :D

[@Bloomkyaaa]

For budget I definitely rate Mungyo, Superior, and Paul Ruben (Pretty Excellent) on top.

[@MadebyDawn23]

I am investing in more professional grade watercolour paints. I bought a couple Roman Szmal, Isaro, Maimeriblu, Lukas, White Knights, one Grumbacher and an old Holland. I am thinking of Turner's. Holbein and Qor.

[@justacatwhocantype]

What's wrong with extruded paints? Some of the nicest artist grade watercolors are extruded, including Sennelier, Winsor & Newton pro and Rembrandt.
Arteza watercolors feel like a weird bar of soap. And whatever is in them loves to go moldy. I had a set of Arteza and a set of Hethrone, which are the exact same thing, and they both went moldy inspite of proper storage. I know the storage was proper because none of my other watercolors went moldy and they were in the same drawer. Some of the Arteza paints had a bit of fuzz on top, and when I got curious and flipped them out of their pans, I got a nasty surprise. This being said, I would not recommend. I threw them all out before the contaminated all my other things. Paintingwise, meh, I didn't hate them but they are definitely overpriced, and yes, they do look on the paper like they got a ton of junk in them. I am suprised though that you could lift them, because in my case I could not get most of the colors back off the paper for the life of me.