TEHAUX DingDongTu Spiral-Bound Cold-Pressed 300mg/140lb Watercolor Paper Pad (26.5x26.5cm, 12x12")

This pad, and others from the Chinese brand DingDongTu are distributed by different Amazon sellers and sold with different names. However, the DingDongTu name brand is on the front cover and this how I refer to them. 
 
The cover looks beautiful, and it's made of sturdy hard cardboard. It holds the pad beautifully, even when all the sheets are fully painted and, therefore, thicker. The spiral bound system allows me to  get the sheets out, work on them individually without staining or damaging the rest of the sheets or the covers. The rings are sturdy enough not to self-open, but also easy to open. You have to pull each ring half up and to the sides at the same time to open them. If you pull the ring halves just to the sides, it won't work. 

The 12X12in size is perfect for art jounaling and experimenting without sacrificing space.  
 
The paper is a great -- cold-pressed 300gsm/140lb watercolour paper, which is great for watercolour and for any wet mixed-media. The texture is smooth. 
 
As I use this for mixed-media, I gesso each page before working on it. The quality of the paper is brilliant for the price. I use acrylic paints of different viscosities, acrylic inks, as well as water-soluble crayons and graphite sticks and the paper stands most things I do to it,  including scratching and rubbing. 
 
I'm a regular buyer of this DingDongTu pads, and they are a staple in my art studio.  

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Posca Acrylic Marker15pc Set (Assorted colours, 3M, Fine Nib)

Posca acrylic markers are one of my favourite artwork staples, and I like having different nib sizes to use for different art purposes. 
 
This size is perfect for fine detail and line work. These nibs are reversible, which comes handy when they become dirty or a bit "scruffy", because I can simply  reverse them and experience the marker as if I had a new one at hand. 
 
Posca markers contain acrylic paint, they create beautiful clean lines and last quite a while. The quality of the acrylic paint is fantastic. Permanent colours once dried and they dry quit quickly. 

To get the paint out for the first time, pump down the nib till is totally impregnate with paint. Shake markers before each use if they haven't been used for a while. . 
 
The selection of colours in this pack is great; although there is a predominance of warm colours, there is also some cold colours plus black, white and grey. Perfect for my needs and a prefect package for gifting, as well. Posca markers are quite expensive, so this pack is great value for money.
 
The main downside of these markers is that they aren't refillable or reusable, so there is a lot of plastic waste. Also, Yet, they are not refillable. 

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Derwent Inkense Blocks (Tin of 36)

Derwent Inktense Blocks are professional-quality highly-pigmented water soluble blocks that can be used as watercolours or as mixed media crayons. This package contains a great mix of vibrant and neutral colours that are perfect for my needs. 

 

I love the tin box quality and design, which is great to keep the blocks safe and neatly stored. If I remove the inner holders, I can use it for other purposes. I love the "crevasses" on the sides, which are perfect for broken or half pieces. 

 

Having used the Derwent XL blocks and XL coloured graphite blocks I can honestly say that I prefer the two first to the Inktense Blocks. However, I love the quality of the bright lines and accents I can get with these blocks especially when I don't mix them with other products, as they're vibrant and make any piece standout.  They're very bold as watercolours. 

 

Are the Derwent Inktense blocks/pencils lightfast? According to the company, "87% of the range is lightfast, however, once water is added, lightfastness ratings will be different depending on how much each colour is diluted." They also state that these blocks are made using different binders and wax blends, which affects the lightfastness of each colour. As mentioned in other cases for similar products, you need to use a medium to seal the colour if you intend to work with liquid media after using these blocks. The same can be said if you use them on you painting top layer. Furthermore, once the piece is finished, you can protect it by using an UV protection varnish and, of course, by keeping the artwork out of direct sunlight.   

 

If I had to buy them now, knowing as I know, I would buy the Inktense pencils, which will have the same quality pigment but are better for me. So, in short I like these ones but I don't love them. 

MIND

The blocks are quite thin and break easily while exerting a bit of pressure. Handle with care. 

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Mont Marte Fluoro Oil Pastels 12-Pieces Set

I cannot stress enough how beautiful these oil pastels colours are in real life. I haven't been able to find anything similar in good quality brands, so I decided to buy this set just because it was cheap and Mont Marte is a good brand for student art supplies. 

 

The colours didn't disappoint; actually, they blew me away. Perhaps the red isn't the best fluoro red out there, but is still beautiful. These aren't soft pastels, but they are still creamy. They blend OK with quality soft pastels and well with themselves. Having used low, medium and high end oil pastels, these cannot compare in the amount of pigment they have or the level of coverage. Yet, they are still decent and a pleasure to use as highlights over soft oil pastels, or on their own on the top layers of mixed-media projects. Most fluoro pigments aren't lightfast or aren't super lightfast, so I don't expect this to be in the list of light-resistant list. Yet, this doesn't matter if you just want to use them on art journaling, sketchbooks or in small projects that won't have the artwork displayed on any wall. 

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Paul Rubens (Haiya) 60-pack Soft Oil Pastels Set

Paul Rubens (HAIYA) Oil Pastels have been a discovery for me an have reignited my passion for this medium. I cannot afford Sennelier oil pastels, which are my favourite in the whole world, but also uber-expensive.  However, this Haiya set has many of the qualities I love in Sennelier minus the price tag. These pastels are really creamy and the colours are vibrant and beautiful. There is a large selection of browns, greens, blues, aquas, purples, reds, oranges and yellows, with a black and white added. On the contrary, there is a lack of pastel colours (another Haiya's set has those), grey and beige tones, and warm whites. They can be blended with tissue paper or my fingers, and used for layering, sgraffito and layering purposes. 

The opacity of the colours is shown on the stick wrapping. However, it is in diminutive size and I had to use a magnifying lens to see it properly. Some of the sticks and colours are opaque, others translucent, and others semi. The pigments used for each stick are also displayed on the wrapping. As my set most of it written in Chinese ain't sure if the lighfastness is mentioned in Mandarin. There is no indication of it on the accompanying leaflet. However, I've browsed the web and there seems to be an agreement among artists that these pastels have a good level of lightfastness. 

 

THE TEST

I tried them in two rough sketches I did on two pre-gessoed craft tags (not on pastel-purpose paper) just to check their pigmentation and blendability. These pastels are a pleasure to work with. The creaminess is not only yummy and satisfying, but it also favours colour  spread and mixing. I used simple average tissue serviettes as blenders and they did the job really well. The colours are gorgeous, but they lack a bit of more pigment in them, something that's understandable due to the price tag.  The pointy tips really help drawing an outlining. The colours mix well with each other. I used them to make a clean image and a impressionist textured one and worked well in both cases. I will try them on pastel paper and will edit this review in the future if necessary.

 

I used a permanent fixative when I finished the sketches and, before that, a workable fixative to allow me to keep working on them without the fear of smudging what I had already done.

 

Overall, a wonderful set of good quality pastel oils that are good replacement to Sennelier if you cannot afford the latter.  

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Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pens, 3-Pac (Soft, Hard, and Twin Tip)

I love these Fudenosuke Tombow markers.One is the classic Fudenosuke  black with brush tip medium nib, the same in dark blue, and the other is a two-tip marker with two different nibs (fine and extra-fine). These markers are very pleasurable to use. They glide smoothly on any kind of paper I've use them on. The quality of the ink is intense and bold unlike the normal Tombow markers, which have a more watercolour nature. That being the case Fudenosuke is better for artistic drawing, calligraphy, shading, outlining and making bold ink-like marks.   

 

The ink is water-based, so these markers are not permanent. You will need a workable sealer if you want to use them in mix media as they smudge easily if mixed with anything slightly liquid. Also, if used in combination with acrylic paint, make sure that the paint is completely dry before you use the markers as, otherwise, the nib will be damaged. This is true for most markers out there, though.  

 

This package is good value for money and you have three different tips and colours. They last a long time without drying off, and the quality of the ink is always good. I've had this for over a year, and they are still as new.

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BIC Velocity Mechanical Pencil with Eraser, medium 0.7 mm (2-Pack & Refills)

This is such a great value-for-money set.  The two colours pen-looking mechanical pencils came in two gorgeous colours. They hold medium-thickness lead (7m), something I love as it's allows for very smooth and velvety writing. The pack comes with a refillable leads tub and a replacement erasers tube so these are kept tidy and safe. The pencils are very plastic looking but also very light. Nothing I would use to impress anyone, but just what I needed.

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Montana Refillable MXA324048 Marker (2mm Nib, Fine)

This is a very good quality refillable marker. This marker is easy to fill in/refill and has a metallic ball inside to prevent ink thickening. It is lightweight and the ink is easy to pump out. I used a mini funnel to fill in the marker and it worked perfectly. If I didn't have this funnel, I would have used a syringe. The bullet point works neatly and is very similar to Posca's.
 
Montana ink is great but also expensive, so I'm happy being able to use other acrylic inks that are less expensive and as good. Refillable markers are a need for me as I feel self-conscious about binning good-quality plastic empty markers. So I love that I can use this over and over.
 
A bit pricey for an empty marker, but happy to have it.

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Derwent XL Charcoal Drawing Water-Soluble Blocks, Set Of 6

I bought this sought-after set during one of the Prime Days offers last year, quite discounted to my delight. As the box was sent from Amazon UK, it reached my place with one of the blocks halved and partially shattered, which resulted in the staining of the white block. The box was sealed, but not properly protected either with bubble wrap or protective textured paper.  

The blocks are really yummy to use. They are almost creamy and the pigmented ones have rich yummy earthy colours. These are water soluble, so they can be used as watercolours. They are not permanent, so I use matt/gloss medium or fixative when I don't want the marks to smudge. Sometimes, the fun is in the smudging as the mixing of the pigment with other media creates wonderful textures, effects and depth. They're fun to play with but have a professional quality. 

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Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen -- Angelic Color AC White (UM120AC.1)

The Uni-Ball Signo Angelic Color in white is a gel marker with a fine ballpoint, and a good companion to the Uni Signo broad point that I also use. It has a lovely opaque ink. I've used it on acrylic paint and acrylic ink after these have completely dried and the white colour is really noticeable and opaque when used on dark colours; not so much on light colours. The ink flows beautifully and creates polished clean delicate lines or accents. It is not archival, though, so you have to be careful not to smudge it when moving your hand around. This being the case, a fixative is needed if used on artwork. For the rest, it's a lovely marker at a great price.  

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Mont Marte Tracing Paper Pad A4 60gsm 40 Sheet

I purchased this pad not for drawing  or tracing, but to use it as part of a wet palette system. I had used thinner tracing paper before this and it was not working. This pad is affordable and the tracing paper is good quality, thick enough to resist moving paint with different kind of brushes on it without tearing apart. It lasts several days on the palette, so it is value for money. 

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Mont Marte Watercolour Pad A5 300gsm 12 Sheet

This is an A5 paper pad of good quality 300 gsm paper. You know, there are good and not so good 300 gsm watercolour paper, and this is good paper, and great value for money as well. 

I've tested the paper without pre-gessoing the surface, which leaves the paper more exposed to the media I used. I've used both acrylic paint and acrylic inks, adding quite a bit of dripping and the paper stood everything wonderfully and I was totally surprised at how well it took acrylic paint and acrylic inks, without buckling or deteriorating. I like the paper texture and the fact that the pad is glued just in one of the sides, but I'm not a fan of the paper colour. Yet, it doesn't really matter, because I will be painting over it and I can change that easily.

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Derwent XL Tinted Graphite Drawing Blocks, Multi-Colour

I waited for months for this coloured graphite tin to be heavily discounted for me to purchase it. When I did, I thought that it was a great shopping day because this is usually an expensive product that you understand why is so.
 
This is a set of chunky but very soft coloured graphite blocks. They can be used as charcoals, soft pastels, or watercolours as they are water-soluble and blend beautifully between themselves. I love the way they mix and the fact that I can easily create super-cool effects with my fingertips. Of course, if you want to use these blocks in mixed media, make sure that you use matte medium to fix them on paper so they don't wash out. I like to blend them together or with other water-soluble materials and then add liquid-ish gesso primer to create beautifully-soft pastel backgrounds. I have mixed them with Derwent Inktense blocks and Caran D'Ache Neocolor II crayons and they are like water for chocolate. In short, super-mega-uber versatile and a great purchase

The tin is really good quality, and I love anything tin because it lasts for life and can be reused for multiple purposes. The inner holder keeps the blocks in place preventing deterioration or crumbling.

The only downside is that there are two grey graphite blocks, a normal one and a super-soft one. I would have preferred just the super soft graphite to be included in the tin, and the other one being replaced with a coloured variety. More modern versions of this product have, indeed, no normal graphite. It makes sense because I can find normal graphite everywhere, but coloured graphite blocks not so much so. 

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Posca Acrylic Marker (White, 1MR, Ultra Fine Nib)

These are my least favourite of the Posca white range of markers. I'm a devotee of the brand and of their white markers, but this ultra-fine point one has been quite a disappointment. I bought these markers at a good price to use them in my mixed media projects to write and draw on acrylic paint. Like any other Posca marker, I have to pump it out the first time I use it for the ink to flow out. However, unlike the other white Posca markers, whose nibs retain ink for while and you have to re-pump them once in a while, these ones don't retain ink in the nib, so the ink doesn't flow naturally and I have to pump them out or shake them continuously. What's worse, the quality and saturation of the lines are deficient. Just frustrating. I won't be buying this finer point nib again.

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Montana Refillable 45476 Marker (30mm Nib, Wide)

This is a great large grog marker with a very clean wide nib. The marker is intended to be refilled with the brand ink or with any other ink/high flow/pouring acrylic paint. I wanted this for my artwork, to make bold big marks and thick lines. It works beautifully for that. Also, the nib glides beautifully on all papers I have tried it on. The marker is cleverly designed. The opening instructions are on the barrel. The screw system is as simple as it gets; I had a bit of trouble opening it, though, due to the plastic being slightly glued on one of the sides, but this was easily fixable. There is an inner cap, with a pump system (a la Posca) to pump the ink/paint out, which also prevents any spilling. It has a small ball inside the barrel to keep the paint/ink liquid and prevent sedimentation. The cap is really safe too. On the downside, the price is high for an empty small marker.

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Ohuhu Dual-Tip Brush Pen & Fineliner Color Markers, 36 Colors

This is an amazing value for money set The variety of colours is wonderful. These markers are like mini Tombows minus the price tag. Most of the caps match the real marker colour. I've compared and tested them against my Tombows and here are the results: 1/ The Ohuhus have a finer fine point nib, but the brush tip is very similar although smaller. 2/ These markers are shorter, so I'm just guessing that the inner barrel contains less product, which can be expected for the price. 3/ As the Ohuhus are shorter than the Tombows they're easier to store vertically in my pen holder. 4/I have tested them with water, and they react the same to water and on the same paper, no noticeable difference, as per photo. 4/ The external barrel material is cheaper and lighter, which has its pros and cons.

The colour chat that comes with the set is not really good as the real colours look different, as per my photo.

The packaging is OK.

Most pleased with this markers set and with the brand, as this is the third product that I buy from them and it has a great quality/price ratio.

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Faber-Castell Kneadable Eraser Grey

This is a weird eraser. I have tested it against other erasers, as per above photo, and this is the best of the lot. Yet, it feels weird. It smells and feels like Play-Doh, but it's actually rubber. It doesn't leave waste/dust behind, but it's a bit like having dry chewing-gum in your hands. A good odd eraser.

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Westcott Circles Template., Jumbo

This is an A4 circle template/stencil made of good quality flexible plastic, with a great range of circle sizes. Easy to use whether just to draw in pencil or with paint. I've used it with both graphite and gouache paints, and it cleans easily. I would not use it with archival ink or any non water-based/distressing ink as it will stain the plastic. I'm happy with the product, but it's really pricey for what it is.

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Kasimir Drawing Pencils 14pcs/set (12B 10B 8B 7B 6B 5B 4B 3B 2B B HB 2H 4H 6H)

This is a surprisingly good kit of drawing pencils with different degrees of softness, thickness and intensity at an excellent price. I have used several of them in my drawings, and I'm really happy with them. I would have loved having a charcoal stick included and the package to be a tin, not cardboard, but that's me being picky.

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Tombow Mono Zero Tri-Colour Barrel Round Eraser

This is a great minuscule push-pen eraser perfect to erase small areas in a drawing or to create shades or highlights. See my photos for the size compared to an average pencil tip. It nicely erases most graphite traces. Very comfortable to use and to put away. As the tip is tiny, the dust generated is not much. I own a mono zero rectangle eraser but I prefer this circular version, as it is way smaller and more practical.

MIND
The package texts are written in Japanese.
Due to the size of the rubber, this one doesn't last much. placing the rubber bar won't take much time.

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