Chameleon refers to the shimmer particles in the ink. The shimmer is iridescent in multiple colours like a chameleon. Star Bright also refers to the shimmer particles - the shimmer is super bright, and there is a lot of it. Ordinary shimmer inks will have only one colour of shimmer in the ink, unlike the chameleon, which is multi-coloured. Sheen refers to the "sheening" effect whereby the ink will shine a different colour where the ink is concentrated. "Sheen monsters" or "Extreme Sheen" are inks that are viscous enough that the ink is concentrated everywhere, and thus you can't see the original colour for the sheen! Sheen does not involve shimmer particles in any way, but are made from the combinations of dyes in the ink. Pot Pourrie could be called a multi-chromatic ink, in that they are usually paler in colour, but depending on the amount of ink on the page, will show a different colour. Put a drop of Pot Pourrie on a white paper towel, and then drip a few drops of water onto it. The dyes will separate out, and show you the chromatography. As for videos, look up "Nick Stewart", who is an artist that specialises in ink and bleach art. The things he can do with fountain pen ink are beautiful.
Oh wow, thank you for this fabulous explanation, it's really helpful and constructive. I filmed this late afternoon/early evening and had to boost my filming area with artificial light which I feel also changed how the shimmer particles looked. The iridescence is much more obvious in beautiful bright daylight and looks stunning in Snow Globe and Wishing Tree but some of the others still don't stand out as being that different to their shimmer counterparts in my eyes. But they're still all beautiful though. And the sheen inks are an absolute delight and technically super interesting. I've only ever thought of inks as being used in writing pens so really loved discovering a whole new creative world with this calendar. 😊
Just a note: if you see shimmer in standard inks, you’ve likely contaminated the ink from dipping (cleaning) the brush in the same water you used to clean the brush after testing a shimmer ink.
That's a great tip. I had a second glass of water to the side and some napkins to wipe off on to double check the colour was out. But I didn't think about shimmer trails.
I'm new to fountain pens and thought about purchasing this to get a good range of ink colors but didn't like not knowing what they looked like for that type of investment, so thank you for sharing.
This is the best of the advent calendars - I use Indian ink and acrylic inks in my art and you get a lot out of the bottles. It's also cheaper than all the other advent calendars that I've seen reviewed, so if I was going to buy one, this would be it.
It's not chipped. It scratchy because I had it writing on the tip of the slope, if that makes sence. The ends are angled slightly to write with so one angle is nice and fat and smooth the other thinner and a bit scratchy. 😊
Sleigh Ride is my fav so far but that could change since I love most of them. I'd like to try Lemon and Lime on black paper to see what it looks like. It's a pretty colour but pretty useless when writing on a white page. Good Tidings is so weird to me...black with green sheen. If only the sheen had been more golden and less sheen. I have it in a fast flow pen and I have to admit, the flow is beautiful. I was hoping to see the difference between Vibe and Cosmic Glow when I watched your swatches compared to mine, but no, they still look the same to me. Or at least the same when I look at the sheen. I'll try to get them in a medium or fine nib to see if I can see any differences. I know the base is a different colour but the sheen just takes over and the sheen looks the same to me.
Sleigh Ride is my favourite as well. I agree that vibe and cosmic glow have a very similar sheen. Cosmic glow is more vibrantly and pink to me, with vibe having a slight red/berry tinge to it due to the base sheen. But it is really subtle. It's hard getting that sweet point where the base colour shows through the sheen. I really like good tidings. It feels like it settles more like a muddy green/brown which I like as it makes it more of an everyday colour. Having said all that I'm not generally a massive ink user (although this calendar is changing that!) so it's all new to me.
@@BlueBearWood I've been into the fountain pen hobby for at least five years now but this is my first year getting the inkvent calendar. There was no way I was waiting until December to open all the inks!
After watching a number of these spoilers, it appears that the colo-ring paper absorbs the ink, so you lose a lot of chameleon, sheen, and glitter effects. Best to use a fountain pen paper for future inkvents, although I really enjoyed your video.
the chameleon inks have shimmer that changes colour depending on the angle of the light, for example one from last year called bah humbug is a red with shimmer that goes from pink to gold ^^ that first one that changes colour has "sheen" which is where the ink itself reflects light when it dries, it can look very shiny on less absorbent paper ^^
Based on your sample I think cranberry probably has some shading properties. In places where there is more ink the color becomes darker which is why you see the different color gradations.
Had to grin at your confusion regarding the chameleon. (Which has been explained already) I don't like scented inks because most of the time I don't like the chemical scent and also they are a lot more liquid and runny. Not my thing. Potpourrie looks like a multi-shader/dual-shader ... we had an ink with similar effect (Weeping willow) in last year's Inkvent - I LOVE that effect.
😂🙈 I still think the sheen inks suit the name Chameleon, because of the colour change. I can see that the 'real' chameleon inks have strong iridescence and more shine but I don't see any real colour duality. Either way, I had no idea inks could be so exciting and I now have a whole new hobby/skill set to work on! 😂
@@BlueBearWood LOL. That's amazing. I'm happy for you. How well the sheen is visible is also dependent on the paper. If you look closely, the chameleon inks have like two different colored shimmers-which is why you couldn't tell on first glance which color the shimmers has. I have too many sheening inks by now so I decided against this calendar this year, but I'll probably puck up Potpourri and Wilted Rose as full bottles in May. Enjoy your new hobby. It's quite the rabbit hole. (PS: if you liked these sheening inks, check out Jack Frost from a previous Inkvent. It's gorgeous)
Chameleon refers to the shimmer particles in the ink. The shimmer is iridescent in multiple colours like a chameleon.
Star Bright also refers to the shimmer particles - the shimmer is super bright, and there is a lot of it.
Ordinary shimmer inks will have only one colour of shimmer in the ink, unlike the chameleon, which is multi-coloured.
Sheen refers to the "sheening" effect whereby the ink will shine a different colour where the ink is concentrated. "Sheen monsters" or "Extreme Sheen" are inks that are viscous enough that the ink is concentrated everywhere, and thus you can't see the original colour for the sheen! Sheen does not involve shimmer particles in any way, but are made from the combinations of dyes in the ink.
Pot Pourrie could be called a multi-chromatic ink, in that they are usually paler in colour, but depending on the amount of ink on the page, will show a different colour.
Put a drop of Pot Pourrie on a white paper towel, and then drip a few drops of water onto it. The dyes will separate out, and show you the chromatography.
As for videos, look up "Nick Stewart", who is an artist that specialises in ink and bleach art. The things he can do with fountain pen ink are beautiful.
Oh wow, thank you for this fabulous explanation, it's really helpful and constructive. I filmed this late afternoon/early evening and had to boost my filming area with artificial light which I feel also changed how the shimmer particles looked. The iridescence is much more obvious in beautiful bright daylight and looks stunning in Snow Globe and Wishing Tree but some of the others still don't stand out as being that different to their shimmer counterparts in my eyes. But they're still all beautiful though. And the sheen inks are an absolute delight and technically super interesting. I've only ever thought of inks as being used in writing pens so really loved discovering a whole new creative world with this calendar. 😊
The cranberry one would be great to paint autumn leaves with that colour change! I’m definitely ordering this one for myself! ❤ Kate x
@@Angelchakra the Cranberry ink is a really beautiful
Thank you for using good paper to really show off the qualities of all the inks! I appreciate you taking the time to do this!
You are so welcome!
Just a note: if you see shimmer in standard inks, you’ve likely contaminated the ink from dipping (cleaning) the brush in the same water you used to clean the brush after testing a shimmer ink.
That's a great tip. I had a second glass of water to the side and some napkins to wipe off on to double check the colour was out. But I didn't think about shimmer trails.
I'm new to fountain pens and thought about purchasing this to get a good range of ink colors but didn't like not knowing what they looked like for that type of investment, so thank you for sharing.
I've just got back in to fountain pens which is why I thought I'd look at this calendar (which I love).
This is the best of the advent calendars - I use Indian ink and acrylic inks in my art and you get a lot out of the bottles. It's also cheaper than all the other advent calendars that I've seen reviewed, so if I was going to buy one, this would be it.
Thank you for sharing 😊I couldn’t decide between the Diamine or colorverse advent calendar
Which one did you go for?
Thank you for making these beautiful swatches! They are all so lovely this year!!! Great video 🍂🍁🍂
If your glass nib is scratchy - it's chipped. A few wipes with a black type 'sand paper' will smoothit out. I love Diamine over Ferris Wheel
It's not chipped. It scratchy because I had it writing on the tip of the slope, if that makes sence. The ends are angled slightly to write with so one angle is nice and fat and smooth the other thinner and a bit scratchy. 😊
Sleigh Ride is my fav so far but that could change since I love most of them. I'd like to try Lemon and Lime on black paper to see what it looks like. It's a pretty colour but pretty useless when writing on a white page.
Good Tidings is so weird to me...black with green sheen. If only the sheen had been more golden and less sheen. I have it in a fast flow pen and I have to admit, the flow is beautiful.
I was hoping to see the difference between Vibe and Cosmic Glow when I watched your swatches compared to mine, but no, they still look the same to me. Or at least the same when I look at the sheen. I'll try to get them in a medium or fine nib to see if I can see any differences. I know the base is a different colour but the sheen just takes over and the sheen looks the same to me.
Sleigh Ride is my favourite as well. I agree that vibe and cosmic glow have a very similar sheen. Cosmic glow is more vibrantly and pink to me, with vibe having a slight red/berry tinge to it due to the base sheen. But it is really subtle. It's hard getting that sweet point where the base colour shows through the sheen. I really like good tidings. It feels like it settles more like a muddy green/brown which I like as it makes it more of an everyday colour. Having said all that I'm not generally a massive ink user (although this calendar is changing that!) so it's all new to me.
@@BlueBearWood I've been into the fountain pen hobby for at least five years now but this is my first year getting the inkvent calendar. There was no way I was waiting until December to open all the inks!
After watching a number of these spoilers, it appears that the colo-ring paper absorbs the ink, so you lose a lot of chameleon, sheen, and glitter effects.
Best to use a fountain pen paper for future inkvents, although I really enjoyed your video.
the chameleon inks have shimmer that changes colour depending on the angle of the light, for example one from last year called bah humbug is a red with shimmer that goes from pink to gold ^^ that first one that changes colour has "sheen" which is where the ink itself reflects light when it dries, it can look very shiny on less absorbent paper ^^
I particularly like the sheen inks but loved all the inks in the calendar. The earthy tones of the standard inks are gorgeous.
Based on your sample I think cranberry probably has some shading properties. In places where there is more ink the color becomes darker which is why you see the different color gradations.
I love ink monsters. I use my bulb syringe .
Had to grin at your confusion regarding the chameleon. (Which has been explained already) I don't like scented inks because most of the time I don't like the chemical scent and also they are a lot more liquid and runny. Not my thing. Potpourrie looks like a multi-shader/dual-shader ... we had an ink with similar effect (Weeping willow) in last year's Inkvent - I LOVE that effect.
😂🙈 I still think the sheen inks suit the name Chameleon, because of the colour change. I can see that the 'real' chameleon inks have strong iridescence and more shine but I don't see any real colour duality. Either way, I had no idea inks could be so exciting and I now have a whole new hobby/skill set to work on! 😂
@@BlueBearWood LOL. That's amazing. I'm happy for you. How well the sheen is visible is also dependent on the paper. If you look closely, the chameleon inks have like two different colored shimmers-which is why you couldn't tell on first glance which color the shimmers has. I have too many sheening inks by now so I decided against this calendar this year, but I'll probably puck up Potpourri and Wilted Rose as full bottles in May. Enjoy your new hobby. It's quite the rabbit hole. (PS: if you liked these sheening inks, check out Jack Frost from a previous Inkvent. It's gorgeous)
Chameleon refers to chameleon shimmer, which is usually brighter, finer and has duochrome properties often
Thank you. I can see a brightness and iridescence difference in better light, but I can't see any duochrome in the chameleon.
I've watched all the advents you've opened this year and I feel like this one is most cohesive and seasonal. Do you agree?