Review on Caran d'Ache Gouache Studio Set - 15 Assorted Colors in Metal Tin - Improved Version (Multi; Improved-1) by Karla Richter

When I first saw this set of gouache I was surprised at the modest price considering it is a Caran D'Ache. Most Caran D'Ache art supplies are very expensive, with the exception of children's art supplies. And the manufacturer's retail price for this set is only fifty cents more than the Fancolor Tempera Children's Set, which includes the same tin, paints, and brushes. So to be honest I'm not sure if these two kits differ at all in formula or if these two kits are the same paints intended for both kids and artists. What I do know for sure is that this is a high quality "designer gouache" set that can definitely be used by artists and professionals when you don't expect any pigment or lightfastness information. If you want the same qualities as fine art quality watercolor paints, you need to find a brand that makes fine art quality gouache paints. It took me some practice to get used to these colors as I'm used to gouache in tubes but I've really come to love them. Of course you can't do thick impasto techniques like tube gouache, but I was amazed at the opacity I was able to achieve with this on a black background, with the patience of adding water to the cakes and blending them into a smooth mass. thick consistency. It's not as opaque as acrylic gouache, but it's definitely workable. Also, they work great as traditional watercolors, they don't bleed or bloom as much as good watercolors do, but they are transparent and don't mix with haze, which is all that really matters. It looks like there are barcodes on the gouache shapes telling me you can buy individual shapes(?), although I couldn't find individual shapes for sale anywhere online so I don't know what that is. . You can buy a set of refill tubes, but the largest set is the 12-pack, and they don't contain gray or warmer yellow, but purple (which I think should be in that set). Pretty weird. There are just a couple of cons that make this gouache set not perfect for me: 1) I would have preferred a set with more traditional artist colors. The color choices seem to focus more on bright primary colors and I can't tell if it's because it's more graphic design/illustration oriented than the traditional artist market, or because they're repackaged colors for kids. They don't necessarily mix with haze, but if you're used to working with other brands' art paints, these paints will more closely resemble the Crayola watercolor set you grew up with. 2) And not all colors are so useful. This gray is completely unnecessary in my opinion, it mixes easily with the included white and black. I would change it to a cool brown (like sepia or something) which would be very helpful in representing natural and skin tones as only two of the earthy tones in this set are very warm. a lot of dead space in the box. If you took out the plastic insert and just put in some cake gouache, a tube of white gouache and a brush, you would find that it all fits neatly into one half of the box. So actually this glass is twice as big as it should be for no reason. This set could very well be travel-friendly, and for good reason, most likely because it's (perhaps) a repackaged gouache set for kids. I still wholeheartedly recommend this set to students, designers and illustrators as you are in a position where investing in a few tubes of fine art quality gouache seems less appealing than this versatile bundle.