Hi friends, and welcome to a new video!
Today I am back with another little sketchbook
session, this time testing out this new jelly
gouache that I recently purchased, so I guess
this video is kind of a first impressions
review.
I learned about this paint from a couple other
first impressions videos that were recommended
to me by youtube, and decided I really wanted
to try it out, since I’ve been so focused
on painting with watercolors for the past
year or so and I really wanted to try some
new mediums.
Gouache isn’t actually new for me, I’ve
worked with it before, but I wanted to see
if jelly gouache was any different from your
regular gouache in a tube that you can buy
at your local art store.
So first of all, I really like the packaging
of these paints, I think this paint box is
super cute!
When I first received it, I was surprised
by how big the box is and how big the paints are.
I don’t think it’s very travel friendly
given the size - I’m a person
who loves to travel minimally, so this would
take up too much of my backpack - and I’m
not totally sure if the paints would leak
or not if you turned the box upside down.
I’m not going to test it, since I don’t
want to waste my paint!
I think the paints also come in a really generous
size, since most paint tubes are much smaller.
And I’m pretty sure these paints are
student grade, given their price point.
Regardless, I’ve never heard of this brand
before, and I really doubt they’re artist quality.
Basically that means that they won’t last
forever and will likely fade over time, so
I wouldn’t use these for commissions or
anything.
But they’re fantastic for trying stuff out
and painting in sketchbooks!
Peeling the little cups of paint was incredibly
satisfying, too - I rearranged all the little
cups into a rainbow since that’s generally
what I prefer with my color organization,
and went to town.
Some of them were sealed a lot tighter than
others, particularly that white one and one
of my greens, which was kind of difficult
to peel, but I managed in the end so it’s all good.
It reminded me of peeling little lychee jelly
cups, one of my favorite childhood snacks,
so I felt like I knew exactly how to peel
the cups without having it spill everywhere.
And the texture of the paint is so fun to
look at, it’s almost good enough to eat
(but obviously please don’t eat paint).
Oh, a couple of the videos I watched about
this jelly gouache claimed that there aren’t
any names or labels on the paint, which is
actually not true.
The colors of each paint cup are pretty clearly
marked on top of the part that got peeled
off, but they’re marked in Chinese.
So I guess if you can’t read Chinese text,
that’s not particularly helpful, but I just
thought I’d point that out.
You don’t really need to know the names
of the paint colors, anyway, unless I guess
if you’re rebuying specific paints, which
I don’t even know where you’d buy them
anyway since these came in a set.
I decided to paint a chrysanthemum while testing
out these paints, not for any particular reason -
I’ve been playing the Animal Crossing
New Horizons game again, and I love the pink
mums in the game, so I guess I just had that
on my mind when I was looking at inspiration
photos.
I also haven’t painted really detailed objects
in a while and so it felt like it would be
challenging for me to try and get all the
details right while playing with this paint.
I’ll have the inspiration picture I worked
from linked below in the description box,
if you’re interested!
You’ll notice that my painting is not accurate
to the photo at all, but, that’s fine, right?
I also decided to paint this on my favorite
arches cold-pressed watercolor paper, just
so I could compare it directly to how I usually
paint.
After painting this flower, though, I’m
pretty sure my collection of not-quite-up-to-par
sketchbooks will handle this gouache well
because it doesn’t require a ton of water
like watercolors do, which is really great
because I can’t use watercolors in those
sketchbooks, and now I don’t have to just
awkwardly stare at them taking up a corner
of my desk.
It turns out, I really really love this paint!
Unlike a lot of the student-grade gouache
I’ve tried here in the States, this paint
doesn’t change color when it dries down,
which is fantastic, and it’s really easy
to work with.
It actually reminds me a lot of the paint
I used to work with when I took art classes
in China - I used to buy gouache in jars,
and scoop out the gouache into my palette
to use, and the texture seems identical to
that stuff.
I’ve never seen that type of gouache here
in the US since I moved here, so using this
jelly gouache really felt like a throwback
for me.
And since it felt so similar to the paint
I used as a kid, it wasn’t scary or anything
to work with - gouache is actually really
forgiving, and this stuff is no exception.
What I really love about gouache is that like
watercolor, it’s super easy to clean up
and change since it’s water-activated, but
it’s opaque and you can build it up, like
acrylics or oil paints.
It doesn’t dry too fast like acrylics do,
which is my main gripe with acrylics, and
it’s not toxic or anything like oil paints
can be.
To me, it’s almost that perfect middle-ground
medium, which makes it really satisfying and
easy to work with!
You can also sketch with gouache, since you
can just paint over it later, which you can’t
do with watercolors.
If you notice, I barely sketched anything
out before I started painting, because I just
ended up sketching out the petals of the flower
with the paint itself and then just filling
in the colors of the petals, adjusting along
the way.
You can’t do that with watercolor because
of its transparency, but gouache obviously
doesn’t have that problem.
So overall, I have no complaints with this
paint!
I think it’s really easy to work with, really easy
to clean up, quite forgiving, and the packaging
seems nice and sturdy.
I hope the paints don’t dry out too quickly
in the case, but since it’s gouache it’ll
reactivate with some water anyway, it’ll
just lose it’s lovely jelly consistency.
The paint set itself was really affordable,
about twenty bucks, and the only gripe I have
with it is that I could only find it on Amazon,
and I’m currently trying my best to not
purchase from Amazon because, um, eat the
rich.
I only leave links to Amazon in the description
box because it is currently the most accessible
for the most amount of people.
That’s it for this little sketchbook session
and mini paint review!
Let me know if you’re interested in trying
out this paint or if you already own it, and
if you like it!
I’m planning on painting quite a bit more
with this paint, and I’m really excited
about that.
As always, I’ll have links to everything
I used down below in the description box,
along with links for petitions to sign and
places to donate and most importantly a link
to register to vote.
If you’re not in the States, I hope you’re
doing your best to try and stay informed too!
I hope you’re doing well, I love you all
so incredibly much, and thank you so much
for being part of my cozy little space on
the internet.
