Hi all! Happy Wednesday! Today I tested out two new to me watercolors–pencils from Nuvo, and the Paper Fashion watercolor pan set from American Crafts. I had very difference experiences with these two watercolor options.
(Wondering what I used in this video? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails at the end of this post, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible).
Nuvo Watercolor Pencils
I almost didn’t share this review because–SPOILER–I wasn’t very impressed with the Nuvo Watercolor Pencils, and I don’t like to share negative reviews. To be fair, for me to love the watercolor pencils it was an uphill battle from the start. While I have used watercolor pencils in the past, and even reviewed them, they are not my preferred way to watercolor (to put it lightly). For the type of painting I do, watercolor pencils haven’t worked well in general.
With that being said, I did want to give the watercolor pencils a chance. Truth be told, I accidentally ordered them! LOL! I thought it was a regular pan set of watercolors. After realizing they were pencils, I wanted to give them a try since I now had them in my hands.
My past complaints with watercolor pencils begin with the fact that the pencil marks don’t ever completely blend out when applying water. The “coloring marks” are left behind. I was able to get around that with the Nuvo watercolor pencils by applying them with a *very* light hand. It worked. However, this caused the final colors to be very anemic. For pale paintings, this might be desirable, but I enjoy more saturated color.
NOTE: I did attempt to get stronger colors with the watercolor pencils by applying more pencil to the paper but that resulted in the pencil not blending out (once again, my main complaint). In order to blend out the colors, you really do have to apply only a small amount and with a light hand at that. You can build up the color with layers, but the color payoff isn’t worth the additional effort, in my opinion.
So unfortunately, the Nuvo watercolor pencils are not for me. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, though. All things considered, the fact that I was able to blend out the colors completely was a good thing. There is also something to be said for the $15 price tag. It’s not a huge investment.
American Crafts Paper Fashion Basics Watercolor Set
At around $30 to $35 (depending on the store purchased from), the Paper Fashion watercolors pan set is a slightly bigger investment. In this case, you get what you pay for. I was impressed with these watercolors.
From the start, the paints activated very easily with a damp brush. And the color was intense, allowing for a wide range of vibrant colors to pale washes. The paints seemed smooth and I didn’t detect any “chalky” feeling or appearance.
I think what I’m most impressed with is the color selection. The colors are gorgeous! I’m a sucker for great red shades, so I’m totally loving the reds in this palette.
NOTE: I have not tested these watercolors when it comes to mixing yet. This initial test was only with the colors straight from the pans.
The colors did not dry back and lighten any more than I would expect, so the final colors were still saturated and vibrant.
On a whole, I really loved this set! I would compare them to the Primary or Tropical sets of Prima Watercolor Confections, which have the same amount of colors. However, I liked the color selections of this Paper Fashion set more. I think I’ll be reaching for it more often because of that fact.
Finishing Up the Cards
All of the painting was done over the top of the Round and Round background stamp from Simon Says Stamp on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper. To finished the cards, I die cut two greetings from The Greeting Farm: Hi Hello and Thank You. I coated each die cut with three layers of Gilded embossing powder from Brutus Monroe and then adhered them to watercolor backgrounds.
Thanks for stopping by today!
Supplies
Compensated affiliate links used when possible. Items marked with an asterisk (*) were provided by a store or the manufacturer. All other items were personally purchased. Items below are shown in the order they appear in the video.
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