Arteza is a relatively new art supplies company and they have a huge line of products that seems to be growing bigger every day. One of the first products they offered was colored pencils, then they branched out into watercolor pencils and water soluble markers. I decided to see what these products were like. I have already tried out their acrylic paint and really liked it. (Check out that review here: https://ellietaylorart.wixsite.com/ellietaylorartist/post/2018/03/13/trying-arteza-products)
For those who want to try these supplies for themselves I have included my Amazon affiliate links down below.
Arteza has several sets of colored pencils. They come in a set of 48, 72, or 120. I purchased the set of 72 for $40 on Amazon.
There are 3 tiers in the 72 set. The first tier has the shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple including the dark colors of those shades.
The 2nd tier has more reds, yellows, oranges, blues, greens, and browns.
Tier 3 has purples, greens, pinks, greys, and browns.
The colors are bright and vivid with a nice selection of colors. Each pencil has a number and the color name stamped on it.
The coverage is pretty good with these wax based pencils.
'Watering Can'
by Ellie Taylor
I drew a picture of a blue watering can with flowers. These Arteza wax based pencils have a fairly soft tip comparable to the Castle Art colored pencils, but more vivid in color. In my opinion they are not as soft as Primacolors, but they do layer very well. I was able to get 7 or 8 layers of pigment before the sketchbook paper got too waxy. Most of the pencils have a medium lightfastness and might not be the best for professional work that would hang on the wall. However, these pencils are great for card making, coloring, journaling, sketchbooking, or hobbyists and the price is very budget friendly.
Who is Cutie Boots looking at?
Why it's Possum! Hi Possum! Come join us!
Uh Oh, it didn't go well. Now they are mad at each other.
Cutie Boots said, "I'll just take a bath then and forget about Possum!"
The Arteza line of watercolor pencils also comes in sets of 48, 72, and 120. I purchased the 72 set for around $30.
The back of the tin has all the colors in the set listed.
Tier 1 has shades of red, orange, yellow, greens, and blues.
Tier 2 has more shades of orange, green, blues, and browns.
Tier 3 has purples, greens, pinks, browns, and greys.
The colors are very bright and pigmented. Just like the colored pencil set, each pencil has a number and the color name stamped on it. I think the colors are almost the same as in the colored pencil set, with maybe a few different colors.
The lighter shades seem to dissolve completely and the darker shades leave a little bit of a colored pencil look when water is added.
'Bird in a Pine Tree'
by Ellie Taylor
I created a quick watercolor sketch of a bird on a pine tree branch. I used greens, greys, browns, and yellows. The blues, yellows, and greys dissolved into washes and I added details on the bird with darker greys. I used light greens to make the first layer of pine needles and then added the darker green needles and some browns for little pine cones. I think I needed some woodless watercolor pencils for large areas to make a wash for the background and then add the details. The lines don't completely dissolve on the darker colors so the darker colors need to be added last like regular colored pencils.
This set has about a third of its colors marked as highly lightfast and the other colors are not quite as good. I would say these watercolor pencils are great for coloring books, card making, and sketchbooking. They may not be the best for professional work if you are worried about pictures hanging on the wall getting faded.
Arteza also has brush pens with water based ink. This ink is watersoluble and can be used to make ink washes. These brush pens come in sets of 24, 48, and 96. I purchased the 96 set for around $80. These brush pens have an actual brush nib with bristles and behave like a paintbrush.
These brush pens come in a plastic box and all the colors in the set are listed on the back.
There are 4 tiers of Brush Pens in the 96 set and a water brush is also included. The first tier has a slot for the water brush and the colors are shades of red, yellow, and orange.
Tier 2 has pinks and purples.
Tier 3 has purples and blues.
Tier 4 has blues and greens.
Since these brush pens were in a thin plastic box, I purchased the Arteza marker case. (Not to be confused with the new case for their new alcohol markers.)
This marker case from Arteza had 108 slots. It is made specifically for thinner markers and probably won't work for Arteza's new alcohol markers.
The case has a carrying strap and a handle on the top. It has two buckles on the front to help keep it closed.
The inside has two partitions that are held on the spine with velcro.
In addition to the slots for markers there is also a slot for a water brush in the front.
When filled with markers this case will stand upright like a bag. It has velcro closures on the sides to help support the markers.
When the case is closed and filled with markers, it resembles a small briefcase. I purchased this for around $25 on Amazon.
Doodlin ' Time !
The colors in this set are bright and vivid. The colors dissolve well with water and the pigment goes a long way
The 96 color set has a wide range of colors including greens and browns.
'Various Sketches'
by Ellie Taylor
I started out with a sketch of some boots and found that a little pigment goes a long way! I was pleasantly surprised that the paint was so pigmented and bright. These markers have lots of paint in just a single stroke. I next painted an Iris flower and the blue was very strong. I decided I was adding too much water and was getting too much bleed so I used a lot less water and paint on the sketch of an old fence post. Once I figured that out I was able to control these brush markers much better. I think adding some waterproof inking for final details would work great with these markers. I am not sure how lightfast this ink is. It's so vibrant, I would hope that one could use these pens for professional work, but I don't know for sure. They would definitely be great for journaling and sketchbooking.
In conclusion, this was a really nice haul with some quality products. I think Arteza products are very affordable, nice quality, and they keep expanding their product line with new products including paper, canvas, paint pens, pourable acrylics, wood cut outs, and even new alcohol markers! Stay tuned for a review on the new alcohol markers!