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Review by Tina Koyama
I always say (to myself and others) that I’m not a sheeny, shiny, glittery gal (I’ve only ever purchased one bottle of shimmery ink, and I gave it away soon after). Obviously a liar, I recently found myself craving some sheeny, shiny, glittery watercolors. The Boku-Undo Gansai Watercolor Palette in the Aurora colors (6/$14.75) looked mouth-watering.
Before I plant my face into the sheen, I thought I’d mention that I’m already a fan of the Boku-Undo mini palettes of unique watercolors. The E-Sumi palette I reviewed a few years ago are a lot of fun to use when I’m in a dark mood. While the e-sumi palette is subdued, the Aurora set is on the opposite end of the scale: It’s all about the dazzling light.
The set includes (from left) gold, silver, red, green, blue and purple. I used both my scanner and my phone to photograph swatches in direct daylight on black and white papers. Each time, the swatches look very different!
On white paper, the shimmer is apparent in direct light, but the hues are difficult to differentiate and even seem to change. I’m not sure they are worth using on white paper.
On dark paper, however, the effect is entirely different. The sparkly, metallic particles glow on black paper. I rubbed a finger across the dried swatches, and some sparkly flecks smeared a bit like powder.
It was obvious that I had to make a test sketch on black paper, so I used a black Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook. And I had just the right reference photo to use! During the summer months when the sun doesn’t go down until 8 or 9 p.m., my spouse guy and I take after-dinner walks through the neighborhood to enjoy the light. The gorgeous “golden hour” is too brief to sketch on location, so I snap a lot of reference photos to sketch from later (like the long, dismal winters when the sun goes down at 4). The photo I used wasn’t as dark as my sketch appears, but the low, warm light gave everything a lovely glow.
Whatever gives these paints their sparkle also makes them thicker than typical watercolors. I applied them fairly thick to retain as much concentrated shimmer as possible, and they felt a bit creamy rather than watery.
Oooh, these paints are fun on black paper! I have fully embraced my inner glitter gal.
Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.
The post Watercolor Review: Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora Palette appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Review by Tina Koyama
Although I’m mostly a colored and graphite pencil sketcher, sometimes I get into a painty mood. If I haven’t used paints in a while, though, I get a bit overwhelmed by choosing and mixing colors; I just want to grab a brush and hit the page with it. That’s what I love about a watercolor set like the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Graphite Colors (palette of 6/$16.50). The neutral, near-black hues require no mixing to have fun with.
The set comes in a cardboard palette of six pans that are larger than traditional watercolor full pans (though a bit shallower). The color name (in English and Japanese) and color number appear on the underside of the pan, and the number also appears on the palette. I find the color name on the pan to be especially handy because the subtle, dark hues can be difficult to identify when dry. (Apparently, these paints are not available individually at JetPens.)
When swatched, the hues become more distinct. The lightfast colors recall the Boku-Undo E-Sumi Watercolor Palette that I reviewed a while back. While that set evokes the rich blackness of ink, the Kuretake set is more subtle and matte like graphite. (I love having both pen- and pencil-like watercolor sets!)
According to the JetPens product description, “the surface of the paint can be polished to reveal a metallic luster.” That statement piqued my curiosity, so I took a paper towel and rubbed the concentrated ends of my swatches. It was difficult to photograph to show the luster, but with light reflected directly, the paints do show a subtle, graphite-like sheen.
To make test sketches, I first used green and red to sketch a portrait (reference photo by Earthsworld).
Then I sketched my friend Skully (inspired by the X-Files character, of course) twice in a gray Stillman & Birn Nova sketchbook – once with blue and once with violet. (The white highlights were made with an East Hill Tombstone white brush pen that Ana and I both reviewed several years ago.)
I used a standard-size East Hill Kumadori water brush to make these sketches. With a finer brush (and a finer hand), I think these graphite-inspired paints would be lovely for calligraphy as well as painting.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.
The post Watercolor Review: Kuretake Gansai Tambi Palette Graphite Colors appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
I saw these Tsukineko Soramame Ink Pad ( Set of 4) in the Modern colorway ($10) and had to try them. The set includes four colors, each with a cap and contained into a plastic holder for storage and display.
The set also include stickers to label the tubes as well as a piece of double sided tape to use to connect multiple sets together.
This set of stamp pads are designed to be little caps that you can slip on to the end of your finger and then tamp the color onto your stamps. So they will work with any size stamp and you could even potentially mix colors on your stamp to create a rainbow or other effect.
The inks in the pads are pigment based and water washable.
The colors could also be applied to paper as dots or color blocking the way some people use other stamp pads, just on a smaller scale.
The colors in this set are similar to cyan, magenta, yellow and black. It’s a fun set and I am looking forward to testing it out with my stamps. Have you ever tried this little stamp pads?
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Some items were purchased with funds from our amazing Patrons. You can help support this blog by joining our Patreon. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Quick Look: Tsukineko Soramame Ink Pad – Set of 4 appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
Did you all see JetPens’ video about “over-engineered Japanese scissors”? Even as I chuckled at the irreverence, I found myself becoming increasingly fascinated by so many scissors and cutters that I didn’t know I needed! I managed to resist the Sun-Star 7-Blade Shredders (which look like they belong on the ends of Johnny Depp’s wrists), but I thought two other products would meet practical needs on my desk. The first is the Nakabayashi Sakutto Cut Hikigiri Scissors ($8.50) (the second will be coming up soon).
I chose the non-stick, fluorine-coated pink pair. It’s available in several other colors, with basic stainless steel blades ($7.25) and with titanium-coated blades ($10.50). The pair comes with a safety cap.
The packaging information is all in Japanese, but according to JetPens’ product description, the scissors feature “a distinctive curved upper blade similar to those found in pruning shears. This lets you cut more cleanly while exerting about a quarter of the force you would need to use a pair of conventional scissors. Because the curved edge is longer than the straight edge, it pulls along the surface of what you’re cutting.”
I didn’t really understand the benefits of this feature when I first read it, but the package shows an illustration of a kitchen knife’s curved blade, and suddenly it all made sense. Not that I know anything about cooking (my culinary expertise ends at avocado toast and the same artichoke dip I’ve been making since the ‘80s), but all the chefs on TV advise using a “rocking motion” with a curved blade, which does make it easier to chop vegetables quickly and efficiently.
In action, the Sakutto Cut Hikigiri scissors do cut very smoothly and comfortably. I don’t know how to measure whether I’m using only a quarter of the force I use with my conventional Scotch brand scissors (purchased years ago at Costco, I think), but the Sakutto pair definitely feels like it requires less effort.
Where the Sakutto scissors really shine compared to my old Scotch pair is the non-stick fluorine coating. They cut through a piece of masking tape as if it were ordinary paper (the same tape stuck badly to the Scotch pair’s titanium blades).
My only complaint about the Sakutto scissors is that the handles are not as ergonomically comfortable as they seem like they should be, given the emphasis on comfort otherwise. I think the handles on my old Scotch pair are more comfortable, with appropriate shaped holes for the thumb and fingers. The Sakutto handles are the same shape for both.
Nonetheless, I’m happy to replace my old scissors with the Sakutto Hikigiri (which means “cutting while pulling” in Japanese). They may be over-engineered by big-box scissors standards, but they do the job better, and that’s good enough for me.
By the way, if you’re wondering why a lefty like me is using scissors for righties, it’s because when I was learning to cut, all scissors were made for right-handed people. Now it’s fairly easy to get lefty scissors, and I’ve tried some, but like the time I tried a left-handed pencil sharpener, after a lifetime of using righty scissors, it felt too weird and unnatural to use my “correct” hand. I gave them up quickly. (I wonder if Ana and Laura feel that way about using lefty scissors? — Ed. Note: Yes, I use right handed scissors because lefty ones are weird.) If nothing else, lefties are the most adaptable people in the world because they have to use all these instruments that have been made for their wrong hand.
Tina Koyama is an urban sketcher in Seattle. Her blog is Fueled by Clouds & Coffee, and you can follow her on Instagram as Miatagrrl.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Scissors Review: Nakabayashi Sakutto Cut Hikigiri appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
The BUKE A5 Size Hardcover Sketchbook Journal (currently selling for $13.34) is kind of an amazing little sketchbook. First, the price! I think when I ordered it, it was about $15.50 which is still incredibly inexpensive.
The sketchbook came in a matte, white box with an iridescent foil feather on the box. Inside, the sketchbook was wrapped in a waxed paper and included a bookmark and some stickers. This is a very deluxe package for a sketchbook that sells for less than $20.
The sketchbook includes 160 bright white pages between two matte PU covers with an iridescent foil feather quill on the cover. The sketchbook includes lots of the popular attribute like three ribbon bookmarks, a gusseted pocket in the back cover for loose ephemera and a vertical elastic to keep the book closed.
The paper is 180gsm “Ultra Bamboo Paper” — THIS is the main reason I ordered it in the first place. Bamboo is the key ingredient in Tomoe River Paper but its very thin. So the idea of THICK bamboo paper was very appealing.
Just for reference, the Col-o-ring Ink Testing Book is only 160gsm paper so the paper in the Bamboo Sketchbook really is THICK. If you like mixed media, craft, collage and using a wide array of creative materials, this is a great sketchbook option.
I started my pen testing with brush pens, markers, colored pencils and other art supplies. I drizzled fountain pen ink and even tried some watercolors. The paper is very smooth and reminds me of Bristol Board from art school in terms of weight and smoothness, but its all bound into a handy A5 notebook.
When I flipped the pages over to see if there was any show through or bleed through.
The only time there were issues with bleed through was with the alcohol-based Copic markers and a couple places with drizzled fountain pen ink on the page.
All fountain pens in writing tests performed beautifully. The ink did not spread at all in the tests — so a fine nib stays fine and so forth. Some papers can causes ink to spread and appear wider but this 180gsm bamboo paper kept all nibs true to size.
The fountain pen inks I tried included several sheening inks and all the sheen showed beautifully.
The only downside I discovered with this notebook is that the matte covers pick up dust and fingerprints very easily.
This is probably one of the best value sketchbooks currently on the market. If you are looking for a sketchbook or notebook that can handle a wide range of writing tools and materials, then this will be a book you’ll love.
Get creative and play with this great little value-priced bamboo sketchbook!
DISCLAIMER: The item in this review include affiliate links. The Well-Appointed Desk is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Sketchbook Review: BUKE A5 Size Hardcover Sketchbook Journal – 180Gsm Ultra Bamboo Paper appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
On Friday, I talked about how much I love the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens. What I realized recently is how much I also love the Pentel Fude Brush Sign Pens. I have had one or two of this pens floating around the Desk and frequently reach for them for my daily journal and planning needs but really wanted to have more than just a couple colors so I ordered the 2020 New Color 12-color set ($23) from JetPens.
Like with the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens, the range of colors in the 2020 New Color set featured some unique, non-standard colors so I was very excited to try this set.
The Pentel Fude Brush Sign Pens feature to bullet-shaped, felt-tip style tips housed in a plastic cap. The pens I’ve had floating around the office, I’ve had for months, maybe even years and are regularly used and have not frayed or gotten cruddy so I do tend to recommend these to anyone looking for a more brush pen-look marker. These are particularly good for folks with a heavy hand since these pens have a stiffer brush than the Sai pens.
Some of the colors in this set are quite light. The Pale Blue is even more pale in person than in the photo above but the other colors are all really lovely. The Light Grey will probably get used more for underlining or decoration rather than actually writing titles. The Olive Green is CHEF’S KISS for me. The Blue-Black and Turquoise Green will also get a lot of use for me.
The real joy is how lovely this pen makes my script look. We all have pens that make our handwriting look better and this, for me, is one of those. As such, I will extoll their virtues for years to come.
All these pens are available for individual purchase ($2.50 each) if you want to cherry pick your favorite colors.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Pen Review: Pentel Fude Touch Brush Sign Pen 2020 Colors (12-Color Set) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
For years, one of my favorite brush pens have been the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens. I originally purchased the 20-color set ($34.50). In the time since I acquired them, I have used some up, given some away or lost a few. In the end, I had about 6 or 8 of the original 20-color set. I also discovered that I have never written a review about these brush pens so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to invest in the 30-color set ($51.50).
I don’t normally keep marker or brush pens in the packaging but with a large set like this 30-color set, the sturdy, translucent plastic box is easy to use, easy to see the pens and easy to store so the pens might live in this box for the time being. I do store the box with the tips down or horizontal so that the tips don’t dry out. The 20-color set came in a long flat plastic sleeve that is lovely for presentation but too big to be usable for me so I took the pens out of the case immediately, which may explain why I managed to lose some of the pens.
What I like most about the Sai Watercolor Brush Pens is the unusual color range. Unlike many pen sets that offer the standard ROYGBIV spectrum in smaller sets, the Sai sets all have a more sophisticated, complex color range.
The pens feature clear caps with a clip to keep the pens from rolling away. I did discover that the caps need to be pushed firmly to close the pens completely.
With the 30-color set, I do feel like there are more common colors then in the 20-color set but overall, I think the set offers a great range of colors.
Of all the brush pens on the market, the individual nylon bristle tips on the Sai brush pens are some of the sturdiest while also being the most like a real brush. Other brands feature the soft, flexible “felt tip” style tips which can often dull or the tips can get worn out but the Sai bristles have survived a wide array of paper surfaces and abuse and kept the tips sharp and usable. I didn’t go out of my way to try to damage or abuse them so I’m sure they can be damaged, but in regular use, I’ve found the Sai brush pens to be the most durable while also being the most brusk-like.
Using a standard Tomoe River A5 notebook, I tested the full range of colors in the 30-color set. My favorite colors are the dusty blue in the center of the second row and pretty much all the greens. I think for nature sketchers, this set has a good variety. Lettering artists will like the spring brush tips and unique color range especially.
The red-orange color always reminds me of ripe, heirloom tomatoes. All things considered, its probably my favorite in the set. It is also in the 20-color set and I used it all the time.
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by JetPens for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
The post Pen Review: Sai Watercolor Brush Pens (Set of 30) appeared first on The Well-Appointed Desk.
This photo essay of car designer Hideo Kodama doing car renderings is fragrantly nostalgic for me. We learned these tools and techniques in design school in the 70s: drawing with glass bottled spirit-based (phew!) Magic Markers™ on the back side of the vellum for subtle shades and no bleed…making hand-cut stencils to add dramatic colored accents with dusty NuPastel chalks and volatile Flo-master™ solvent…and finally spraying your finished art with aerosol cans of lacquer fixative (think clouds of hairspray). — Read the rest
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