Duped or Deal? Supervision Rock + Mica Samples from AliExpress

Original Supervision Rock+Mica Ocean Paradise Review:    • SuperVision's NEW Rock+Mica Watercolors-Oc...  
Grabie Review:    • Grabie 36 Half Pan Pearlescent Watercolor ...  
Other Supergranulating Watercolors:    • New Super Vision, Paul Rubens, & Daniel Sm...  

Shownotes:
All full sets: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/4232...
The Gift of Whale- Full Set: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10050...

The Verdict:
Full Shownotes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M...

Swatching- Whale Song

These reactivate so poorly and so weak, it definitely FEELS like a clever dupe, like someone found just mica colors that looked close enough. I'm definitely not getting anywhere near the saturation shown in the picture, and none of the color granulation either. These remind me of the Grabie watercolors I reviewed- those were ok, but now I'm expecting a lot of granulation and neat color shifts.

Now to be generous, the Gift of Whale is all mica, so that explains SOME of the issue (although not why SV has it under the Rock+Mica line), but not the total lack of ...well anything really. The colors are all off, the saturation is all off, there's no impact. I probably got duped.

Mermaid Coast is much better- better activation, more interesting splits, lots of granulation. This one feels like it could be the real deal- and all three came from the same supplier.

Fire FLowers

Also much more impressive than the Gift of Whale.


It's a shame these aren't available open-stock- it would make them more accessible, and also allow artists to pick up a few must-have colors from the other sets. Some of the splits across Mermaid Coast and Fire Flowers are REALLY pretty.


Ok, let's be real- if this is for you, you probably know it by now. And if you're on the fence about it, that's ok, because this probably isn't for you. While the concept is really interesting, the combination of SuperVision's lightfast issues combined with the fact that mica-based watercolors really work best when viewed in real life, with the light catching off it- not a great combo. And the price point is a smidge oof considering those issues, so I get it. But I definitely think there's a market for this- the same people who can appreciate Brusho (including me), who love to create small DIY pieces of art to share in the form of bookmarks, postcards, and other ephemera, will probably enjoy these paints. And this isn't a difficult concept to dupe with a better product- you could try mixing your own with duo-chrome, chameleon pigments, and mica, or you could attempt to mix a bit into your Daniel Smith's and Schminke's.

So were these 'samples' dupes- was I tricked? Probably not- if I was, they went to effort to duplicate Mermaid Coast and Fire Flowers quite well. That said, I'm really disappointed by Gift of Whale, and feel that almost any half-decent pearlescent/mica set is going to deliver more. The Grabies are comparable, at half the price and 4x as many colors, Hydracolor and Fintec both offer even better, and are easier to find and will last you longer with far fewer issues.

Am I going to fieldtest all 3 samples in addition to Ocean Paradise? No, but there are a few colors I might not be able to resist playing around with from Mermaid Coast and Fire Flowers, but I'll lump those in with the Ocean Paradise fieldtest.


Music:
Pop in Gold- Freedom Trail Studio
A Quiet Thought
Finding Me
Silky Smooth- Audio Hertz
Dance for the Wind Trio- Sir Cubworth
Bab Tista- Text Me Records
Papov- Yung Logos
Back to the Future Jellyfish- NoMBe
Contact High- RKVC
Knowpe- Noir Et Blanc Vie
Simple- Patrick Patrikios
Waltz in Low Light- Nat Keefe & Hot Buttered Rum


#watercolor #Supervision #SuperVisionLayeredWatercolor