Ooooh playing around with these Prima watercolors is SO much fun!! These are the ones I purchased from Amazon back in January. My first watercolors, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have loved them from day one and love them still. In fact, it is probably because of these paints that I’ve spent so much of this first part of my 2017 project on watercolor. The professional sets work differently, and I love them as well. But these. Well, go look at them!!! In the above link!
They are a GREAT deal. I paid $17-$22 for my sets (which was a great price!!!) and they are $14 today (click the link quickly before they increase again!!! I’m so glad I decided to mention them today, and then when I checked they’ve gone down in price!!) They are not technically artist grade, and I have ordered some artist grade pans for myself to use as well, but honestly I don’t think I could enjoy a paint set more.
A few weaknesses:
These paints don’t list the paint number that each pan consists of (not something I am experienced enough yet to care about),
they don’t use traditional names (this did bother me at first, until I found a site where another artist had matched them to their closest traditional names… and this may only matter in a case like mine, where I am trying to learn about painting and colors by following youtube tutorials)
and they don’t list a lightfast rating. I DO care about this, and it is why I am investing in an artist grade set. I did my own simple BRIEF lightfast test and found over a month or so only two or three faded. But I’d have to do it for a year or two to really know. So I will assume they WILL fade. However, if I am only using them in books and journals anyway, or on cards and things I mail out and don’t expect to be hung in a frame, it really won’t matter.
But so many great points:
Very little color shift as they dry (they stay nice and bright)
They are so creamy, they pick up so easily without even prewetting the pans, just dip a wet brush and go.
They have incredibly bright, vivid, bold colors.
They come in a really nice metal case, that fits in your hand. I have even fit 21 half pans in my case, but I narrowed it down to the 14 I really love and think I will use most often.
Each set comes with 12, and I purchased three different sets and combined them. Then used the other pan for another paint set!
The Tropicals set may be my favorite. But Decadent Pies is right up there. And classics has some nice colors, but not as necessary for me. I haven’t tried the pastel set.
I just love playing with them. I can’t say enough GOOD about this sweet dreamy little set, and at $14 it’s a steal. The palette alone is worth that. Ok, I know I sound like an infomercial. I just love them so much. Daniel Smith and M Graham may be a better quality paint, but they are $15 A COLOR, with no palette, and I don’t love them MORE (although… I do love them) If you are itching to just try watercolor, or you want a little travel set, or something for journals or crafts, something a million times nicer than the dollar sets you played with as a kid, but don’t want a big investment…. I highly recommend these. They are just fabulous. (imo)
Oh my goodness look how dreamy-bright they are!!
(well good grief, I didn’t even mentioned this is from a tutorial by k werner designs!!!)
ThreeSixFiveArt 