Review – Art & Parcel (September 2016)

Art & Parcel is a monthly subscription service for art supplies from H. Blyth & Co. It’s like a Lootcrate, but for art supplies; so it’s way better than a Lootcrate (my opinion). But with so many of these monthly-blind-subscription-service things around, what makes this one special enough to look at? (Answer: Art supplies) And is it worth it to get one?

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(Couple of notes here: I got this parcel for free {and even though I got to pick one, I didn’t get the one I picked, so the picking part won’t influence the review} for review, and I live in the US where the “subscription” part of this service is unavailable. From what I can tell that means that I would have to pay up front as a lump sum to get my parcels, instead of being able to pay by the month, this also means that shipping cost is terrible to get them here, £16 (About $20) is a steal for these products, and the shipping in the UK is a great deal too, even throughout the rest of Europe it doesn’t exceed the price of the items like it does coming to the US)

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The one I am going to be looking at today is September’s parcel, which is focused mainly on colored pencils, but first I’ll talk quickly about the packaging. Mine was shipped in a bubble envelope, inside of which was a very nice cardboard box that was very well sealed with brown tape. On the top the Art & Parcel logo is printed very plainly, and on the bottom in pencil there is the month. (My box was a bit dented, but this is likely from the post office as, due to my schedule, the box had to be sent through the post twice) Inside is a nice packing slip that explains everything that is in the box along with its regular retail price (if that’s anything to go on you save a pound or two from buying the items individually in this set). All of the materials are neatly and securely wrapped in a newsprint/tracing paper that is sealed with a sticker of the Art & Parcel logo. It is all very well executed and nothing got damaged.

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The first items in this box were four Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils. I am no stranger to these pencils (they were the subject of one of my first {and not as well written} reviews), though I don’t have these particular colors: Naples Yellow, Light Phthalo Blue, Chrome Oxide Green Fiery (wonderful name that), and Red-Violet. I think the choice of colors is a bit strange, but they are definitely useful, and give a better representation of the pencils abilities than a plain RGB or RYB would have. There’s not much more to say there since they are some of the best colored pencils around. One thing I do really like about them is the fact that they layer so that some colors can somewhat be on top of other colors, unlike the cheaper colored pencils where they’re pretty mutually exclusive.

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Next is the KOH-I-NOOR Hardtmuth Magic pencil, which is basically a fat colored pencil that has a “lead” made up of the 3 RYB colors. This means that as you write or color with the pencil it changes, and the colors mix together to create a nice gradient effect. In practice the yellow mixing with both the red and blue works great, but the purple almost looks black and rarely shows up, and getting a nice solid version of one of the primary colors is very difficult, so the gradient looks more green and orange than anything else. I would bet that with some practice and odorless mineral spirits with a blending stick that it could produce wonderful effects, but I would still have trouble finding a use for it.

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Third up is another Faber-Castell product; one of their Pitt Artist Brush Pens, another item I’ve looked at in the past, though this is a different version. It’s a “big brush” and the body of the pen is over a half inch in diameter, a bit chunky for me but still very easy to hold on to and surprisingly comfortable. The color is “Cold Grey IV” which seems to be in the middle of the grey family, and the brush is very fat, going from lines of about ½mm to almost 5mm. It’s also got all of the stuff you want out of an ink: waterproof, lightfast, and archival quality. But I’m not really sold on how it fits with the rest of the stuff here. It is a grey, which makes it more like a pencil when sketching, but going over the same place multiple times does make it darker. It’s just strange to me, but then again I have a very different style to most people, and playing around with a new brush pen is always fun.

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And the final item included is a 10-sheet pad of watercolor paper. It’s made by Fabriano but has the Art & Parcel logo again on the front. It’s A5 size, which is about 6” x 8” and is a hefty 300gsm. It handily took everything I threw at it without flinching, bleeding, or feathering. Sharpies, calligraphy pens, and brush pens push most papers to the limit, but this stuff is truly meant for paint (watercolor at least), which I don’t have too much of lying around (in accessible areas, I did have some tempera and it handled that very well), but it seems easily capable of handling it. A liberal application of water will turn it in to one big slight buckle, but that’s about it. My only complaint is that there are only 10 sheets.

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Overall I’m very satisfied with this box. It’s well worth the money and provides several products that work in tandem, allowing you to start creating right out of the package without having to look for more materials. From what I can tell, this is true of the previous parcels as well, but each one comes based in a different medium. The subscription would be relatively inexpensive way to try out something that might not be in your comfort zone without having to do a lot of research or spend time picking out and ordering products. It was honestly really hard for me to try and pick out a parcel I wanted. The recent ones at least were all super cool (and they can be purchased even after the subscription goes out, so nobody needs to miss out like with other sub boxes) and I’d be signing up right now if shipping to the US didn’t more than double the price (damn the postal service(s)). I really like this box. It’s given me a bunch of cool stuff to play around with (and a Haribo candy to eat*) and if the idea of getting a bunch of high quality art goodies in the mail every month appeals to you I would recommend it.

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*I ate it; it was good (like a softer laffy-taffy).

Review – Crayola Crayons (120 Crayon Box Part 2 – Purples, Blues, and Greens)

This is part 2 of my review of every single color in the Crayola 120 crayon box. I’m going to be taking a look at some purples, the blues, and some greens. In case anyone was wondering, the colors are roughly sorted so that they flow as smoothly as possible from one color to the next, although this is trumped by the wrapper color. So even if I think it’s more red, if it has a purple wrapper it went in the purple section. And now, let’s begin.

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Plum – Plum is a nice, deep purple that evokes the fruit to an extent. It is a bit less red than the plums I’ve typically seen, and it isn’t as dark as others, but it is a recognizable version, suitable for royal robes and flowers, that covers quite nicely.

Vivid Violet – I’m not sure what makes this violet any more “vivid” than the others, but it is a nice, decent covering color, that is very similar to “plum” and has a similar enough use range to even be used as a highlighting color.

Violet (Purple) – It seems strange to me to have two names for this color and only this color, but it is a classic. It covers decently and is the classic purple color, suitable for most purple applications (not skin, as I learned when I was in kindergarten).

Orchid – As a type of flower that has many color variations, I would say that at least this color is similar to parts of various orchid flowers. It is a redish-blue-purple, if that makes sense. It’s lighter than other purples, but with streaks of blue seeming to come through and making the whole thing a cool, nice color suitable for use in most flowers.

Wisteria – Much more on the nose, wisteria does capture a much better picture of the flower it is emulating, as well as crayon could do. The color is a gentle light purple with visible streaks of blue running though it. It captures almost perfectly the look of many wisteria flowers, but unfortunately, even though it covers well, it wouldn’t be used for much else.

Purple Mountains Majesty – This crayon color may win my award for least favorite name. I have no idea what “purple mountains majesty” even is really, or how it would be represented in color form. I guess this would be it, and it is a pale, lilac-esque purple with alright coverage. I couldn’t think of an real uses beyond flowers, even mountains in the distance are typically different purple shades, but this could work.

Blue Violet – Is essentially a bluer version of red violet, or, I suppose more accurately, a bluer version of the regular violet color. It very much feels like the color with more blue added, making it darker and cooler. It’s fine at covering but has what appear to be streaks of darker and lighter color running though it, making it a very interesting color to look at, but not one with many uses.

Purple Heart – Doesn’t particularly look like the badge. But it is a nice dark-ish purple color. It’s quite on the blue side, making it very pleasant to look at but, like many, difficult to find a place to use. It also covers about as well as most other purples.

Royal Purple – The last true purple on the list, Royal Purple doesn’t disappoint. It’s a nice, deep, fairly well-covering purple, that I would take over the standard violet most any day. Sadly, its uses might be regulated to the adornment of Kings and Queens.

Outer Space – An interesting and close to-apt-color name. “Outer Space” is really a dark blue, a little darker and blacker than Prussian Blue. It has a black and purple space-like quality to it, and it covers well enough to be a good night sky. Most other uses would simply be a Prussian replacement.

Midnight Blue – I’m not quite sure, but I think this would have been a more apt name for “outer space”. As it stands, it is a nice blue, and a dark one, but it isn’t very dark, and certainly not a midnight-y color. I do like it, it covers pretty well and it looks like a nice denim color (a color that will be coming up soon) and it would have a wide variety of uses since it is so close to the color of jeans.

Navy Blue – I’ve seen better navy blues than this one, but it is pretty apt. It’s a darker, but less saturated blue. It doesn’t quite evoke the standard navy “deep sea” color, but it does a pretty good job for a crayon. It covers sporadically and seems to have stripes of lighter and darker color. Still it would make a good color for jeans, flowers, and water from pools to oceans.

Indigo – This color looks quite strange. In comparison to the other colors here this one seems to jump off of the page; it’s almost watercolor-like. It is a very smooth, well, indigo color, but it tends to have spots where the crayon stopped moving. It covers well, and is quite dark, lending it to lots of uses from flowers to bodies of water.

Denim – Denim is a very good name for this color. It looks like a pair of raw, unworn denim jeans. It covers well, and has a similar paint-like effect to “indigo”. It is not only perfect for jeans, but it could also easily match the basic dark blue color that many vehicles come in.

Blue – Another classic color, the blue here is pretty standard, though I suppose that’s to be expected from the color that basically set what ‘blue’ is for the world of elementary school. The color is nice, middle-of-the-road, and it covers well enough (though probably the worst out of the blues). It works well for anything from shirts to oceans to cartoon dogs.

Cerulean – Cerulean is one of the few colors that isn’t named after anything in particular (not even a town in Pokemon). Here it is depiceted as a thick, light blue, like the color of a Caribbean sea (or those pictures of clear freshwater lakes). It covers very well and is a great color to use in a situation where you want the blue to “pop” off the page.

Blue Bell – I’m not sure if this really qualifies as an ice cream color, but I’d like to think it is. Blue Bell is a nice, gentle, well-covering blue with a hint of a darker purple. It’s a good color for skies, clouds, mountain ranges, and foaming water.

Cornflower – I don’t think this color replicates its namesake as well as it could, but the radiance flowers display is hard to replicate. This is a light, well-covering blue that leans to the white side of things, making it good for skies, clouds, and of course, cornflowers.

Blue Green – A fitting, name, if not the best descriptor, “Blue Green” is a slightly greenish blue, as opposed to a bluish green suggested by the name. It’s a nice sea and tropical color, the kind that many summer items are made of. It covers decently but is a bit splotchy.

Pacific Blue – Having recently visited the Pacific Ocean, I can say that this is not the color I saw there. But the color of the ocean changes by the season, and this color fits the bill. It covers well enough, with only small granules of white space. And its darkish/slightly stormy look makes it perfect for oceans both in the summer and fall, as well as the stormy sky.

Manatee – The best way to describe this color is grey, with a blue tinge. It does resemble the skin of the animal, but not too a tee. It covers quite well, and is a fairly unintrusive hue. It can easily find a use for animals such as rhinos, elephants, and of course manatees; as well as sidewalk and swimming pool pavement.

Cadet Blue – Besides reminding me of a Modest Mouse song, “cadet blue” is a good color. It is quite grey, but not as grey as the previous manatee. It’s got a little more blue in it that shines though just enough. It covers very well, but has a bit of a splotchy-fibrous look to it. It would work great for a cadet’s uniform, faded jeans, or sea creatures.

Turquoise Blue – I don’t know why Crayola took their opportunity to create a turquoise and made it “turquoise blue”. It seems a bit of a waste, but it does look like a bluer, lighter version of the stone. It covers well, but it isn’t that spectacular. It would work for coloring turquoise-like stones, jade-like stones, greenish bodies of water, and clothing.

Sky Blue – Another very good color name, this blue is indeed a very close approximation of the color of the sky (or at least what color it looks like it is). It’s pretty much the stereotypical light blue color people think of as sky blue (very similar to Crayola’s other sky blue in pencil form). It covers well enough (and the non-covered areas blend in easily since it’s so light) and it would work well to color water in dishes, fighter jets, babies’ clothes, and of course the sky.

Wild Berry Yonder – An interesting take on a color name “wild berry over there” is only slightly better than “purple mountains majesty” in being a bad name. And I wouldn’t imagine the color this name represented being blue, but it is. A muddy sky blue as I would call it, it is a blue that has had grey rather than pure white mixed in. It does cover decently and would work for coloring dirty jeans, muddy water, or a dusty sky.

Periwinkle – Another one of those flower colors that because of the varying nature of flowers is unable to be 100% accurate, “periwinkle” is also a standard color, which the crayon does not deviate from. It’s a light blue with a touch of purple and yellow (which doesn’t really make sense but sure). It doesn’t cover as well as other blues but it works, and it’s a good ice, cloud, clothing, or flower color.

Aquamarine – Another nice blue color that covers very well. “Aquamarine” is a slightly green blue that looks like a warm tropical ocean or lake. It’s light and smooth in texture, giving it a pleasant look. It’s another fun summer color but unfortunately it doesn’t have many uses.

Robin’s Egg Blue – Looking like a slightly darker shade of the last color, this one is indeed very similar to the eggs of a robin (again, allowing for natural variation). It’s another well-covering, very pleasant looking, somewhat useless color. It is vibrant and wants to jump off the page, but it also looks more oily, like a pastel if that’s what you want.

Sea Green – While it might look like some sea, “sea green” does not represent a sea I would want to go near. This bluish green (or greenish blue, it’s kinda blurring the line) covers pretty good, but is lighter and harder to see (no pun intended). It works well for underwater foliage, plants in direct sunlight, and limes.

Caribbean Green – A similar motif, but not quite the same style, “Caribbean green” is slightly more blue than “sea green”, looking like a slightly greener and darker “aquamarine”. It’s a good water color, but its coverage isn’t as much as some of the others in this set. It would work well for underwater plants and tropical bodies of water.

And that’s part 2, looking at the second group of 30 colors from the 120 Crayola crayon box, next time it’ll be another 30.

Review – Faber-Castell Lux 034

Last week I talked about a Faber-Castell ballpoint pen that was made in Peru, the 033. And this week I will continue my talk of Peruvian pens with the Faber-Castell 034 in all of the standard colors: black, blue, and red. And these seem much more like a Faber-Castell version of the inexpensive Bics and Paper:Mates that are used all the time.

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The body is as simple as it can be. It’s a straight cylinder with a small bit of fluting on the end that allows to cap the grip when posted. There is also some fluting on the slight step-down that is the section, and it is surprisingly comfortable and grippy. From there, there is a fairly standard looking cone that leads to the metal tip. As far as I can tell this is not removable and thus the pen is not refillable. The cap is a single piece of plastic with the same fluting on the top, and it has a slight taper to catch the section. The clip is molded in and does work, but not very well since it doesn’t ever meet the cap or barrel.

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Writing is fairly smooth and nice. There is globbing and occasionally startup issues. Red seems to have more problems with the former while black the latter. All tips are on the fine side of medium, and aren’t shielded from air by the cap so they will have startup problems if left out for some time. The ink is water-resistant and office-friendly,with a grayish, warm black, a dark-ish blue, and a deeper red. They are pretty similar to a Bic Stic/Cristal and a Paper:Mate Write Bros. The main differences are a darker red color, and a smoother writing experience.

Overall, I’m happy with them, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to find them. The writing is as good or better than most of the pens of comparable price in the US, but the bodies are made of what feels like a much more brittle plastic and they are very light weight and get float-y when writing. They are a good, solid, cheap office pen.

Review – Poppin Fineliners

Poppin is a company that I don’t know much about, but their pens definitely catch the eye. When I saw this set of fineliners (felt tip pens) from them, I knew I had to pick a set up. The packaging and the feeling of the pens themselves appears quality, but do they live up to their first impressions?

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The outsides themselves are very nice looking. At the bottom is a small inset for posting the cap, which connects via a visible seam to a very smooth and featureless barrel. Underneath the cap are a series of step downs that are quite short and would be uncomfortable to hold, leading quickly to a standard-looking felt tip point, making it more comfortable to hold the pen by the barrel when writing. The cap, when on, has a slight step up from the barrel but is equally pleasantly smooth, and its only features are a dimple in the top and a rather unique u-like clip that looks like a Lamy wire clip that has been flattened.

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Functionally, the clip is about useless. It doesn’t have any dimple with which to grip, and is spaced farther from the cap than the width of most fabrics, meaning friction won’t be holding it in. The tips themselves aren’t that great, either. Like most fineliners, they do write with minimal pressure, but unlike most they do not give a consistent line. Dots very quickly form when writing or drawing due to having a very fluid ink not well controlled, and when writing fast at times skips can even develop, though this is rare.

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The colors of black, blue, and red are very standard, but the two extra colors are very washed out, blue especially. The blue is very pleasant sky blue when controlled well, but becomes darker quickly. But it still sticks out compared to other office blues. Red is nice and vibrant, though its tone is closer to that of a pink. It’s the least prone to problems as the ink is a bit thinner and less likely to dot. The black is fortunately a black and not a very deep purple or gray as some are. It is slightly on the cool side, which is unusual. The colors do match their corresponding pen bodies fairly well, but the inclusion of a 4th pen that has a white body, but also black ink, is slightly confusing. They unfortunately do bleed through the paper, but have minimal shading and resist water (while they do spread slightly when wet, they remain easily readable).

Overall I think the pens aren’t really up to par with what one can get for their office. They are sturdy and the ink works well, but without functional clips, they must remain at the desk or in a case, and their writing performance leaves much to be desired. The user just ends up with a pen that feels slightly rough and dry. If style and durability are your main concerns (and potentially ease of writing as the ink almost jumps from pen to page on contact) these might work for you. But for those looking for the superior, super-smooth and comfortable writing experience, or a portable reliable writer, these can be easily passed up.