Holbien + Arches = Magic. I use these two exclusively. I find that Holbien is best for high detail photo-realistic paintings that I do. Nothing else even comes close. No ox gall is a blessing. I cant imagine using anything else
I'm glad you love them! My perfect pairing is Arches and M.Graham. In my own opinion, it holds up better for me and my painting technique. I will say that Holbein does have a very impressive color line up, and I enjoy some of their colors very much. I know many artists who swear by them.
I use Holbein with Saunders Waterford and it's amazing as well. I haven't tries Arches but I feel like I really don't need to. After this comment, I'm curious though!!
@@o0mew0o I also use Saunders Waterford 22"x30" for larger pieces because I cant find Arches in that larger size. However after using both, Arches is head and shoulders above the rest.
i find holbein extremely easy to control, noticeably easier than schmincke. i also don't get cauliflowering unless i leave puddles, so comes down to water/pigment ratio and how loaded the brush is. i personally find holbein colours draw-dropingly amazing. but that's only my personal experience with them. thanks so much for this review!
I LOVE these! I’m saving for this set, hopefully within the next week or 2 I can grab it. Or ask for it for Mother’s Day lol. I have some now but these colors are excellent. I do a lot of art that I scan and make prints of, and a lot of personal sketchbook work so I don’t usually care about lightfast ratings. I like these because of the convenience colors and because I do detailed work with ink as well so I REALLY like the control these give me. I have lovely Daniel Smith and Super Vision for backgrounds and more expressive stuff. Asian style watercolors, like Kuretake Gansai Tambi, White Nights, Rosa Gallery, Mijello Mission Gold, ShinHan and Holbein I find give me much more control, to differing degrees but for me I’ve found then very reliable for small detail areas and a nice consistency and some opacity. Of course there are times I want the clear bright sheerness of Sennelier orSchmincke and the expressiveness of Daniel Smith. But these cannot be beat for character design, detailed and stylized portrait work. I’m so excited to see these swatched out, thank you! They’ve gone beyond my expectations. Can’t wait!!
I think a lot of the problem you might be experiencing might be from the fact that Holbein does not include ox gall into their paint which helps flow easier and could be as why you needed more paint. BTW I am super jealous you got the 60 set what an awesome buy!!! I bought the 24 set and I love them! HAPPY PAINTING!!!! EDIT i probably should’ve read the other comments before commenting lol 😂
Yes! I will definitely have to do an updated review with their synthetic ox gal! The 60 set is lovely! It gave me the opportunity the try a lot of colors I probably wouldn't have purchased on my own!
@@Kyomiibrown Maybe because Mission Gold uses honey so the flow is smoother? Both are the same prices for me in tubes, but I'm going with Holbein because it doesn't stay sticky and unsettled.
@@krabfingers8473 I stand corrected, I do think it’s related to ox gall. Either way as long as you are happy with your paints and they work for you, it doesn’t matter. You can buy ox gall - both synthetic (my choice) and not. Adding a little bit to your wash water makes all the difference 😉
Indeed, they have many mixes, but if you buy by tube, you have a pretty good array of single pigment colours. I chose 28 single-pigment colours and 2 mixes (just because I love sap green and hooker's green) and that gives me a huge variety of colours. I need to mention they have way more single pigment paints, I just avoided the ones considered toxic, such as Cadmiums and Cobalts, as well as the ones that aren't so lightfast.
I completely agree if you buy them individually you can get a stunning palette with them, I made sure to mention this at the end of my review! :) I was completely new to them, and wanted to experience (and review) their line through a set (plus it was Christmas money I was spending so I could be a little silly with it). I was hoping to show the pros and cons of the set I purchased. There are some colors in this set that I will absolutely repurchase, and I wholeheartedly agree that if you buy them individually you are much more likely to end up with a beautiful palette selection.
Catching up on past videos and must note u give such excellent overviews of products like these paints. So wonderfully articulated re ur thoughts and findings and just overall ur personal views on the paints-it’s been so helpful and interesting. And very much appreciate the great visuals as well!
Holbein doesn’t include any wetting agents (or gall etc) to their paints, which is why some of them cauliflower or show brush strokes. If you wanted, you could mix some ox gall solution into your palette or water to help with smoothing washes!
I agree that inexpensive paper can really exaggerate some negative aspects of watercolors. I did use this brand on Arches, Fabriano, Bee Paper (all 100% cotton), as well as Canson. I really tried to have my review focus on my findings as a whole, but I will be sure to be more mindful in the future to explain why I brought up certain talking points.
I know many artists do! There are a few colors that I have continued to purchase since this review, but my overall feelings still haven't changed, and they just aren't for me. I am happy I tried them regardless. My goodness, I hope it was a fun painting session! I hope you start feeling better, and are able to get some rest soon! 😊
@@AmandaWiley Hi! Yes i slept a view hours but it needs time to absorb the air from the Pleura, that hurts like a knife... I have many brands and each is more or less different. I thought Gold Class will be like Holbein, but i was wrong. Holbein worked well on Saunders Waterford paper, CP(not), wet on dry technique. Wet on wet on Brittania from Hahmenmühle was not perfect, but o.k. Holbein is completely different to Sennelier and D.Smith. I ordered Blockx Colours because i heard of their good lightfastness, but i need practice and its sometimes a science to find the right paper for the every colour brand...i always prefer tubes and make my own pallet. Best wishes from austria:-)
Everyone needs to realize that the best watercolor is the one you have! Pick a company that has been around a long time that is in a price range you are comfortable paying.
Absolutely!! I'm in no way trying to persuade anyone to buy what they don't need. I'm only trying to give my thoughts on this brand, based solely on my painting style, for those who are interested in buying. Art supplies are such a personal choice from style, to preference, budget, and geographical location, I'm only trying to help in that decision!
I feel the same about Holbein.I cannot get the depth I want with them and when mixing I cannot get the colors dark enough.I don't reach for them very often for that reason.I've got a set of 12(15ml tube)and thecset of 30(5ml tube)
Maria Pop The problem you are having is not with the paint, it's your paper. When you buy quality, you only cry once(when paying for it). I have been using Holbien watercolors for over 20 years, and I have found that no other watercolor gives me the control of pigment depth. I can make colors as dark and rich as I want, or go to very transparent. Holbien dosent use ox gall, and that is why they work differently than most other watercolors. They are fantastic for photo-realistic work and high detail. Many people dont use Arches paper because of the price, and I get that.( I will paint on nothing else). But cheap paper does your watercolors no favors. You have the best watercolors on the planet. Trust me, once you get used to them, you wont want to use anything else.
I use Arches Watercolor paper, almost exclusively, I buy it in bulk. I completely agree that paper makes the biggest difference of all of your supplies. However, I think beyond that, everyone has a different style with how they paint. For myself, I gain depth in glazes, lots of them, and I couldn't get the depth I wanted with this paint. It's not to say this is bad paint, it's definitely not. There are some colors I absolutely loved, and can see them working well in certain applications, but they don't work well for me and my style. Everyone paints differently, and they will prefer different brands that work well for them.
It seems to be a pretty hard set to find, I’m not sure why. From what I can tell, it usually costs around $160-$180. I was fortunate enough to find it for $110. I would recommend to check places like Amazon or EBay to find it for cheaper.
I’ve revisited them a few times, but ultimately decided to give the set away. I definitely wouldn’t want to turn anyone away from a brand they might love, but rather give my thoughts on how I use them in hopes of helping people make more informed decisions when purchasing. I’m not sure what you mean by your question, but yes...? If you think I sound nervous, this was an early video and my newer ones are better.
@@AmandaWiley Thank you for this review! I was asking myself the same btw, because your voice was trembling like you were about to cry. Glad to read you're ok.
You’re welcome, and thank you for being so kind as to want to check up on me!! I was very much okay when filming this, just extremely nervous! I’ve always been terrified of public speaking, and even speaking in a group of more than a few people is nerve-wrecking for me. I thought being by myself doing a voice over would be fine, but I was VERY wrong, I was still just as nervous!! I’m luckily much more comfortable with it now! I guess I just didn’t realize how much that nervousness was apparent in the voice over, at this point it was still weird just hearing my voice back!
I'm not great with gouache in general, but you can get watercolor effects with the gouache! Just make sure if you want to use it like watercolor, and have the ability to wet it on a palette to get the watercolor gouache and not the acrylic :)
Thank you. I finally found the listing in one of your newer videos with the link to AC Moore. Im not sure if I can order online or not since I live in the Pacific Northwest and there isn’t an AC Moore for a thousand miles 🙁. I’ve got my larger brushes dialed in (Silver Black Velvet and an assortment of squirrel quills) but good tiny brushes are hard to find.
Here are links to the brushes I use most on Amazon. They are synthetic with a bit of snap to them, so they hold a good amount of water while returning to their shape for details. •Princeton Velvet Touch #6 amzn.to/2Z10VTT •Princeton Velvet Touch #2 amzn.to/2WcJqTy •Princeton 3/0 Spotter Detail Brush amzn.to/2wrIPOH
Holbien + Arches = Magic. I use these two exclusively. I find that Holbien is best for high detail photo-realistic paintings that I do. Nothing else even comes close. No ox gall is a blessing. I cant imagine using anything else
I'm glad you love them! My perfect pairing is Arches and M.Graham. In my own opinion, it holds up better for me and my painting technique. I will say that Holbein does have a very impressive color line up, and I enjoy some of their colors very much. I know many artists who swear by them.
I use Holbein with Saunders Waterford and it's amazing as well. I haven't tries Arches but I feel like I really don't need to. After this comment, I'm curious though!!
@@o0mew0o I also use Saunders Waterford 22"x30" for larger pieces because I cant find Arches in that larger size. However after using both, Arches is head and shoulders above the rest.
steve harrigan thank you so much for replying! I def have to try it out now!!
@@o0mew0o You are welcome. What kind of watercolor paintings do you do, if you dont mind me asking?
Thanks for this thorough review! It was very informative.
Oh my goodness, Denise! Thank you so much!
i find holbein extremely easy to control, noticeably easier than schmincke. i also don't get cauliflowering unless i leave puddles, so comes down to water/pigment ratio and how loaded the brush is. i personally find holbein colours draw-dropingly amazing. but that's only my personal experience with them. thanks so much for this review!
I LOVE these! I’m saving for this set, hopefully within the next week or 2 I can grab it. Or ask for it for Mother’s Day lol. I have some now but these colors are excellent. I do a lot of art that I scan and make prints of, and a lot of personal sketchbook work so I don’t usually care about lightfast ratings. I like these because of the convenience colors and because I do detailed work with ink as well so I REALLY like the control these give me. I have lovely Daniel Smith and Super Vision for backgrounds and more expressive stuff. Asian style watercolors, like Kuretake Gansai Tambi, White Nights, Rosa Gallery, Mijello Mission Gold, ShinHan and Holbein I find give me much more control, to differing degrees but for me I’ve found then very reliable for small detail areas and a nice consistency and some opacity. Of course there are times I want the clear bright sheerness of Sennelier orSchmincke and the expressiveness of Daniel Smith. But these cannot be beat for character design, detailed and stylized portrait work. I’m so excited to see these swatched out, thank you! They’ve gone beyond my expectations. Can’t wait!!
I think a lot of the problem you might be experiencing might be from the fact that Holbein does not include ox gall into their paint which helps flow easier and could be as why you needed more paint.
BTW I am super jealous you got the 60 set what an awesome buy!!! I bought the 24 set and I love them!
HAPPY PAINTING!!!!
EDIT i probably should’ve read the other comments before commenting lol 😂
Yes! I will definitely have to do an updated review with their synthetic ox gal! The 60 set is lovely! It gave me the opportunity the try a lot of colors I probably wouldn't have purchased on my own!
MIssion gold don’t include ox gall, however they go on much smoother than Holbein and very little paint is needed, so I doubt it’s a lack of ox gall.
@@Kyomiibrown Maybe because Mission Gold uses honey so the flow is smoother? Both are the same prices for me in tubes, but I'm going with Holbein because it doesn't stay sticky and unsettled.
@@krabfingers8473 I stand corrected, I do think it’s related to ox gall. Either way as long as you are happy with your paints and they work for you, it doesn’t matter. You can buy ox gall - both synthetic (my choice) and not. Adding a little bit to your wash water makes all the difference 😉
Indeed, they have many mixes, but if you buy by tube, you have a pretty good array of single pigment colours. I chose 28 single-pigment colours and 2 mixes (just because I love sap green and hooker's green) and that gives me a huge variety of colours. I need to mention they have way more single pigment paints, I just avoided the ones considered toxic, such as Cadmiums and Cobalts, as well as the ones that aren't so lightfast.
I completely agree if you buy them individually you can get a stunning palette with them, I made sure to mention this at the end of my review! :) I was completely new to them, and wanted to experience (and review) their line through a set (plus it was Christmas money I was spending so I could be a little silly with it). I was hoping to show the pros and cons of the set I purchased. There are some colors in this set that I will absolutely repurchase, and I wholeheartedly agree that if you buy them individually you are much more likely to end up with a beautiful palette selection.
Catching up on past videos and must note u give such excellent overviews of products like these paints. So wonderfully articulated re ur thoughts and findings and just overall ur personal views on the paints-it’s been so helpful and interesting. And very much appreciate the great visuals as well!
Thank you so much!
Holbein doesn’t include any wetting agents (or gall etc) to their paints, which is why some of them cauliflower or show brush strokes. If you wanted, you could mix some ox gall solution into your palette or water to help with smoothing washes!
Yes! I actually purchased some of the Qor Synthetic Ox Gall a while back, and it had a very large impact on how these paints handled!
Although I'm not a huge fan of holbein I think your problems you're dealing with are more to do with your paper than your paints.
I agree that inexpensive paper can really exaggerate some negative aspects of watercolors. I did use this brand on Arches, Fabriano, Bee Paper (all 100% cotton), as well as Canson. I really tried to have my review focus on my findings as a whole, but I will be sure to be more mindful in the future to explain why I brought up certain talking points.
Wow. I want it
i was afraid to go to bed because i have a pneumothorax...so i painted the hole night through and i must say i love the holbein colours!
I know many artists do! There are a few colors that I have continued to purchase since this review, but my overall feelings still haven't changed, and they just aren't for me. I am happy I tried them regardless.
My goodness, I hope it was a fun painting session! I hope you start feeling better, and are able to get some rest soon! 😊
@@AmandaWiley Hi! Yes i slept a view hours but it needs time to absorb the air from the Pleura, that hurts like a knife...
I have many brands and each is more or less different. I thought Gold Class will be like Holbein, but i was wrong. Holbein worked well on Saunders Waterford paper, CP(not), wet on dry technique. Wet on wet on Brittania from Hahmenmühle was not perfect, but o.k. Holbein is completely different to Sennelier and D.Smith. I ordered Blockx Colours because i heard of their good lightfastness, but i need practice and its sometimes a science to find the right paper for the every colour brand...i always prefer tubes and make my own pallet.
Best wishes from austria:-)
Hi Amanda, I have this set too. Can you tell me how you arranged them and what is the order your put them in by color?
the tube paints of HB don't have ox gall in it.
Everyone needs to realize that the best watercolor is the one you have! Pick a company that has been around a long time that is in a price range you are comfortable paying.
Absolutely!! I'm in no way trying to persuade anyone to buy what they don't need. I'm only trying to give my thoughts on this brand, based solely on my painting style, for those who are interested in buying. Art supplies are such a personal choice from style, to preference, budget, and geographical location, I'm only trying to help in that decision!
I feel the same about Holbein.I cannot get the depth I want with them and when mixing I cannot get the colors dark enough.I don't reach for them very often for that reason.I've got a set of 12(15ml tube)and thecset of 30(5ml tube)
Maria Pop The problem you are having is not with the paint, it's your paper. When you buy quality, you only cry once(when paying for it). I have been using Holbien watercolors for over 20 years, and I have found that no other watercolor gives me the control of pigment depth. I can make colors as dark and rich as I want, or go to very transparent. Holbien dosent use ox gall, and that is why they work differently than most other watercolors. They are fantastic for photo-realistic work and high detail. Many people dont use Arches paper because of the price, and I get that.( I will paint on nothing else). But cheap paper does your watercolors no favors. You have the best watercolors on the planet. Trust me, once you get used to them, you wont want to use anything else.
I use Arches Watercolor paper, almost exclusively, I buy it in bulk. I completely agree that paper makes the biggest difference of all of your supplies. However, I think beyond that, everyone has a different style with how they paint. For myself, I gain depth in glazes, lots of them, and I couldn't get the depth I wanted with this paint. It's not to say this is bad paint, it's definitely not. There are some colors I absolutely loved, and can see them working well in certain applications, but they don't work well for me and my style. Everyone paints differently, and they will prefer different brands that work well for them.
What brand do you like best?
It's sold out on Amazon. How much did it cost?
It seems to be a pretty hard set to find, I’m not sure why. From what I can tell, it usually costs around $160-$180. I was fortunate enough to find it for $110. I would recommend to check places like Amazon or EBay to find it for cheaper.
Is it the final result of the chalky painting? Please, tell me.
I wouldn't consider them to be chalky, just opaque. It's not a bad thing, just something to keep in mind.
i love holbein watercolors since theyre my first artist grade paints before moving to daniel smith.
but girl, are you okay?
I’ve revisited them a few times, but ultimately decided to give the set away. I definitely wouldn’t want to turn anyone away from a brand they might love, but rather give my thoughts on how I use them in hopes of helping people make more informed decisions when purchasing.
I’m not sure what you mean by your question, but yes...? If you think I sound nervous, this was an early video and my newer ones are better.
@@AmandaWiley Thank you for this review! I was asking myself the same btw, because your voice was trembling like you were about to cry. Glad to read you're ok.
You’re welcome, and thank you for being so kind as to want to check up on me!! I was very much okay when filming this, just extremely nervous! I’ve always been terrified of public speaking, and even speaking in a group of more than a few people is nerve-wrecking for me. I thought being by myself doing a voice over would be fine, but I was VERY wrong, I was still just as nervous!! I’m luckily much more comfortable with it now! I guess I just didn’t realize how much that nervousness was apparent in the voice over, at this point it was still weird just hearing my voice back!
@@AmandaWiley Happy to read that you are much more comfortable now, your review was informative & very coherent - I've just subscribed :)
What a mean comment
I want to buy Holbein but wow the watercolor look so great but I want to buy the gouache.. Now I can’t decide
I'm not great with gouache in general, but you can get watercolor effects with the gouache! Just make sure if you want to use it like watercolor, and have the ability to wet it on a palette to get the watercolor gouache and not the acrylic :)
What brushes are you using in your paintings?
I used a Princeton Velvet Touch #6, a Premiere by Nicole Amethyst #2, and a #1 Silver Ruby Satin, all are round brushes.
Thank you. I finally found the listing in one of your newer videos with the link to AC Moore. Im not sure if I can order online or not since I live in the Pacific Northwest and there isn’t an AC Moore for a thousand miles 🙁. I’ve got my larger brushes dialed in (Silver Black Velvet and an assortment of squirrel quills) but good tiny brushes are hard to find.
Here are links to the brushes I use most on Amazon. They are synthetic with a bit of snap to them, so they hold a good amount of water while returning to their shape for details.
•Princeton Velvet Touch #6 amzn.to/2Z10VTT
•Princeton Velvet Touch #2 amzn.to/2WcJqTy
•Princeton 3/0 Spotter Detail Brush amzn.to/2wrIPOH
What a pity, the video has such a bad quality
Were you sick or something when you made this video? You sound like you’re about to burst out crying the entire time