Review on Derwent Inktense Ink Blocks, 24 Count - Vibrant Colors for Stunning Artwork (Model: 2300443) by Heather Gorman

I'm a big fan of ink pens. I found this 24 shade Intense palette and I had to have it. For my first test, I used Ranger cold-pressed watercolor paper. I used the #6 and #0 brushes. When you first open the palette, do it slowly. The colored blocks are not fixed and fall out of the halves. Take one out, add 2 or 3 drops of water to the drip tray and put the color block back in. This will melt the block to the bottom and stick to the pan. Unlike many watercolor pans, you don't spray water to activate the paint in the pan. Simply swipe with a wet brush to pick up vibrant colors! The colors are very pigmented and creamy. The colors are rich and vibrant. They absorb quickly and dry quickly. The colors are more opaque than I expected compared to ink pens which are more transparent. For me, the colors blended well on a plastic palette (lid) and on a ceramic plate. The colors can be layered well. I found that you can take the wet paint off for coloring. These colors do not bloom like traditional watercolors and appear to stay in place with less movement (bleeding) than traditional watercolors. There is a very nice range of colors in the palette adding a fairly opaque white and a dark inky black for toning or highlighting colours. Some shades are new to me as they are not in the ink pen line and others have new numbers, presumably reformulations of older colors so they can have a higher lightfastness rating in this set. I really enjoyed working with these colors. I am very happy that I bought them. Colors are available from Dick Blick stock if a color is required. I bought it when it was on sale so it was good value for money. Preferred Result: Paint wet on wet. When I wet the paper first and then added color, it dried forever. If I painted directly onto dry paper, the color might not hold. It seems that once dry, these areas are more likely to be reactivated with a new wet application, but not always. Depends on whether the size was violated.