Product Review Series | Crayola Washable Watercolours

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Yep, you read that right. Crayola Washable Watercolours. That's today's review. Now before we get into it, let me explain my reasoning for this.

This is a long one, so if you are just interested in my final thoughts, scroll down to the end to see the Pros and Cons, otherwise sit back and enjoy!

We all started somewhere, when we all first started we couldn't afford to get the Gansai Tambi watercolour palette or the Mission or Peerless or any of those Artist Level sets, heck some of us can't afford them now. But that doesn't mean that we can't still make beautiful things.

Today I'm going to be reviewing Watercolours by Crayola, that I purchased at my Wal-Mart for $3.97 plus taxes. And if you bear with me to the end, I think you'll be getting a set too.

Observations:

• Comes with a brush - it was crap and I tossed it. If nothing else, get yourself a decent brush
• 3 removable trays with 8 colours each. I'm guessing, it's a pastels, a basics and a complimentary, not sure their reasoning for how they set these out.
• Lid can be used as a palette
• Resealable container
• These pots are very pigmented
• Paints are very blendable
• Like most watercolours, you just spray a little in the pot to get it going

So for today's test, I thought I would try something new. Generally, I stamp and then colour in an image, but not today. Ohhhh no. Today we're going to be creating a universe. 

That's right. Crayola says I can create anything, so I did. Go big or go home, right?

For the purposes of this demonstration, I used a piece of Strathmore 140lb Cold press watercolour paper taped (with green painter's tape) to a board for maneuverability and because I didn't have any idea how much water I was going to need. For the second demonstration, I used the same paper but stamped the large pumpkin image with Antique Linen Distress ink (for a no line look) from MFT's "Witch Way is the Candy?"

I prepped some of the pots by spraying in some clean water and letting that sit for a couple of minutes. Then without wetting the paper first, I just started tossing on the colours. Randomly, wherever I wanted them to go. I didn't care if they ran into each other or pooled or floated away (just kidding, they didn't float away) I just wanted splotches of colour all over my paper.

Somethings I learned:

• These are seriously pigmented. Seriously
• Paint is very movable 
• Blends well together
• Doesn't really reactivate when new water is applied to a previously painted area, as you can see there is some blending, but in other areas the borders are quite well defined.
• Glossy finish when drying. I thought drying just took forever, nope. Turns out these are shiny and have a waxy feel when they're dry.
• Layering is blotchy because of glossy finish (as you'll see in the next picture)

Once the coloured splotches were dry, I went over it with the black. Once that was dry, I used my Copic Opaque White to splatter in some stars and then the white gold from the Gansai Tambi Starry Colors to create some bigger drops.

More stuff I learned:

• Holy crap, these are insanely pigmented - what is even going on here??
• Glossy finish makes even coverage very difficult - but for this demonstration that was good because I wanted the colours to show through
• The white gold from Starry Colors seemed to pull up some of the colour from below, and that worked for me too, because now the bigger drops look like planets
• Super waxy finish, I can peel this up with my nail
• Waxy finish is transferable - touching this piece made my fingers very messy
• I recommend a sealer or a fixative, I happen to have one and once that was dry there was no more transfer and it looked amazing

I wanted to see how well these paints held up for detail work. So I stamped the large pumpkin in Antique Linen Distress ink. On the left I applied the paint directly to the paper and worked the way I would normally work. On the right, I wet the paper first then dropped the colour in, then added details as the paper was still damp.

• If you allow for adequate drying time, details are possible 
• Colour wicks nicely in the wet on wet
• Blending on the palette to get different colours is very smooth
• These seem to require more patience than my other "Artist" sets

Final Thoughts:

Pros:

• Super affordable
• Very pigmented
• Rich, vibrant colours
• Easy to work with
• Doesn't reactivate when new water is applied
• Wide range of colours
• Easy Blending
• Resealable packaging for transportation

Cons:

• Waxy finish that transfers after it dries
• Must you a sealer or fixative
• Crappy Brush - get a good one
• Doesn't reactivate when new water is applied
• Your kids are going to steal these

I would completely recommend these for anyone who is wanting something fun without the giant price tag to go with it. Use the money you save to buy a couple decent brushes and some good quality watercolour paper. 

In no way are these going to replace my Zigs, or my Gansai Tambi or even my Distress inks for watercolour, but knowing that there is something inexpensive with insane pigmentation available for me in my art room as well, is fantastic.

I fully intend to get a couple more "back up" sets, so that if my kids decide they want to paint - they can, if I leave one at a park - I won't be upset, if I just want to sit down and play - I don't have artist regret (that's a thing) afterwards.

I hope you enjoyed today's review. If you haven't already, please follow me over on the right side bar, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. You can also follow me over on Facebook. If you have any questions about this review or have an idea for a future review, please toss me a line in the comments section below, I would love to hear from you.

*disclaimer: I am not sent products for review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I find interesting, that I have purchased with my own money; and I receive no incentive, reward or payment to do so.