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

Get Your Own:
The original listing is gone but the 12 piece set I purchased is now currently available in this set: https://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: https://tinyurl.com/2p95hypc
Arteza Mixed Media Paint and Detailing Art Kit: https://tinyurl.com/2p9cmuyx
Arteza 12 Day Advent Calendar: https://tinyurl.com/mskj5zz9
Arteza 24 Day Advent Calendar: https://tinyurl.com/28ftsxbk
Arteza Tubes: https://tinyurl.com/4xa2wz9v
Arteza Watercolor Paper:
Premium Vs Expert: https://tinyurl.com/pkncbj65
Arteza Round Watercolor Paper: https://tinyurl.com/2p94jdm4
Arteza Everblend Markers: https://tinyurl.com/46bu85pm
Arteza TwiMarkers: https://tinyurl.com/mwd3xpsr

Shownotes:
Full Shownotes: https://tinyurl.com/mr2s69jv

Arteza Watercolor 12 Piece Set

Ordered on Amazon- $18.99: https://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 (https://arteza.com/pages/about-us)

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: https://arteza.com/dp/watercolor-set-...
$18.99 on Amazon: https://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

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