Tag Archives: review

Review – 12 pack of Crayola Colored Pencils

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Colored pencils, or map colors as they forced you to call them if you went to school in Texas. While they don’t give the most professional look they are still a widely used and a good tool. The variety I will be talking about is the simple 12 pack of Crayola colored pencils.

Most people know them, but for those who don’t, they come in a simple assortment of colors. The bodies are slick but grip-able as with most art utensils. The wood is splintery but easy to sharpen. And the “lead” is suitable, if a bit brittle and break prone.

The color of the pencils itself is nothing special. It is the standard bright and varied set of colors that comes in every school supply-esque box of colors. The mark is about that of a number two pencil and requires a good amount of force to be applied heavily. It leaves a waxy finish on the surface, preventing blending. Using them to color big blocks of the same color as is done in school is probably the best use for them. They have no where near the range of more expensive “art” colored pencils, and none of the blending or covering capabilities. That being said they are good for practicing and less “formal” images, working well in mixed media because of the waxy finish.

Overall, if you are looking for a good art colored pencil this is most likely not for you, and you probably didn’t even consider these. But they are still a useful tool for seeing what things will look like (drafting) or practicing technique. If you already have a set of art colored pencils you could also use these instead so you don’t use up your ludicrously priced coloring utensils.

Review – Pentel 18 Color Pens Fine Point Markers

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Markers are fun. They’re not the type of thing one thinks of as a serious art supply, though. When one says markers, one most often thinks of the Crayola variety. But I have here a set of 18 Pentel color pen – fine point markers. I wonder how they compare?

the box

 

 

First thing, the pentel is is not to be used at all like a Crayola marker. It is thin, like a pen, and obviously can’t be pressed. They don’t fill very well, so coloring is not and option. But that is not really what one would be doing with these. They make a very fine line, almost like a ballpoint pen, but thicker. It is suited to detail work. They are good for mixed media or a sketch style. Blending is an option and a good one with these pens, in my opinion. They are not particularly suitable for larger images, however, because of their small size. They may even work better as just regular pens (even for writing) than as a marker.

The nib

 

The body of the pen is slick but holdable. The side is marked with gold lettering that indicates what they pen is, but it is hard to read and rubs off easily. The lids do not snap into place but they do fit snugly enough to not dry out after extensive periods of time. I have had them for long enough to confirm this. The case fits all of them and keeps them organized with ridges. The top folds over and Velcro’s shut preventing the markers from falling out.

The body

 

These pens are very nice but not exactly like the markers. They are more like colored pens but with felt tips. While they have a very limited application range they are very nice and quite usable. They are however, quite expensive little things, especially for how quickly they can be used, I would only recommend getting them if you do have a known use for them.

Review – Paper:Mate Write Bros Medium Ballpoint Pen

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Pens, they’re important. Not a lot of them are very useful for the inking process, but they can be useful for simply starting an image, or many other art-things. This one is the Paper:mate Write Bros. medium ballpoint pen.

Ballpoint pens are one of the aforementioned types:  not particularly useful for finished works, especially smaller ones, but good for seeing what things look like in ink, and making sketches or notes that you don’t want to be erased. A fun exercise is always to draw with a cheap pen on scratch paper, preventing erasing, forcing one to improve their ability to create an image on the first try.

Ballpoints make a fairly fine line but they have rough edges, as there is some bleeding. A medium point is good for writing and most other uses, but as mentioned before is not good at detail. The ink is good, it does bleed with water, but is fairly sturdy as far as that goes. It is a deep black that does require a little drying time, but usually no more then a couple seconds. It takes to paper well. I’ve had no problems with the amount of ink in the pen either, I believe it lasts longer then most other ballpoint pens I’ve used, but I haven’t taken detailed records either so take that with a grain of salt.

The pen itself is easy to hold, if a bit slippery and shows all the necessary info (although that does rub off after continued use). It obviously has a cap and clips to a notebook or shirt pocket, which is always handy.

Overall if you are looking for a cheap pen that can be used for a myriad of things around your workspace, this in one I would consider. However I would recommend buying a couple of packages of different types of pens to figure out which one works for you. But it is at least a nice house or office pen, which is what it was designed for.

Review – Strathmore 400 series, 100 page, 8.5X5.5 Sketchbook

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Strathmore sketchbooks, specifically in this review the 400 series, 100 page, 8.5″X5.5″ sketchbook.

Design-wise, the cover is acceptable. It certainly does its job and displays all the necessary information in a way that is easy to read, and in three different languages. The stock of the cover and the cardboard of the back are thick and nice, capable of standing up to a great deal of punishment (the back more so, obviously). The back is unbendable without breaking it first, creating a solid drawing surface away from a table, if that’s how you like to draw. The book is spiral bound, the metal of said spirals is superb, they are strong and have enough give and bounce that they don’t bend into a different shape easily. The spine also keeps the pages very secure.

The paper in this book is a medium thickness, thicker than 20-pound, thinner than heavier drawing paper. It is relatively smooth, but still coarse. Good for the main purpose of the book; sketching, but poor for fine detail work as the bumps create imperfections. It is still much less coarse than other sketchbooks by Strathmore. Pencil and ink are taken well by the paper. Pencil smudges fairly easily, and shows through to some degree. Ink is absorbed quickly, making drying time fast and can be seen through the paper. There are 100 sheets in this book, which seems a large number, making the book fat. But that is hardly a complaint. The pages are very nice for their purpose of sketching.

I take a sketchbook everywhere, I try to vary what I take and where, but when all I want to do is a simple sketch, a Strathmore is what I take. They are easy to get, fair priced and a good quality. I would not try to create a “finished” piece on one, but that is not their intended purpose. They help one practice, hone skills, and create technique by being very durable and useable in a variety of conditions. This size of book is great for a bag or carry in the hand (half the size of a sheet of copy paper). It is a great thing to have when one is out and about and would like to sketch anything.

Review – Pigma Micron 05 Technical Pen

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Ah, another Micron, this one is the 05 (.45mm) black version. Its main difference from other Microns of course being its nib size.

The pen body is slick but doesn’t slip when pressure is applied. Aesthetically it looks old school with its graphic design, but all the necessary info is readable and in intuitive places. The top of the cap is marked with the size, making finding the correct pen for the job from storage much easier. The overall length and weight of the pen is nice and makes it easy to handle.

Of course the main difference between this Micron and other Microns is the nib size. The 05 nib is a medium size, good for main lines and other things that should be noticed but that you don’t want to emphasize as much (assuming you’re using a broad range of pen sizes). The nib also takes considerably longer to wear out then its smaller counterparts, and one will find the ink becoming grey or stopping almost entirely before wear from normal use is noticeable.

The ink is of course the wonderful Pigma ink, which resist fading and running. It does fade after prolonged times, but not entirely and it is hardly noticeable. It also begins to fade as an eraser is rubbed over it, but this is minor and will only happen once or twice.

Overall the pen is nice and a great value. It is more of a writing size pen then the other pens in the Micron range, making it one of the most versatile of the line.

Review – Norcom Graph Composition Book

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There are a lot of sketchbooks and various types of notebooks out there. But a composition book doesn’t seem to scream “art supply”. The binding is great but they’re obviously meant for writing and not drawing. Luckily (kinda) there are math classes in school as well that need notebooks. And this is one of them, the Norcom no. 76002 graph composition book.

The listed dimensions are nine and three quarters by seven and a half inches, with five squares to an inch. Each page has 49 by 36 squares so the given dimensions are mostly correct, but a little off. The book contains one hundred sheets, and some extra stuff on either inside cover.

The paper itself is thin, but not overly so. Pencil and ink can be seen through but not enough to cause trouble in perceiving or creating what is on the page. Ink from pens does not bleed through, but brush inks will, and if a pen is heavily applied over an area bleeding is a very likely occurrence.

The grid is helpful in the way grids are. It is printed light blue, and does not get in the way of writing, drawing, or graphing.

The spine however is poorly made. The string binding is loose and the pages are almost free to move around. While the pages seem sturdy the spine may need duct tape for prolonged use.

Graph paper is very useful and having it in an easily portable book with a “solid” binding is nice. The book is nice for what it is but there are many better (although more expensive) options out there.

Review – Sakura Micron 005 Technical Pen

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Ah, Microns, the main technical pen of the trade. This one specifically is the 005 (.2mm) black version. The body is easy to hold. The finish is glossy, but grip-able. It is just long enough to be comfortable in the hand and is a nice comfortable plastic. The nib size is neatly marked on the side and top, making it easy to find the right pen for the job. After much use however, the makings on both the side and top fade away, with the top going first.

The nib is very thin, good for fine detail work and writing. It does bend easily and one should be careful about how much pressure is applied when using it. When the correct amount of pressure is applied the line is very smooth and even. The ink itself is a nice deep black that is resistant to bleeding when wet but does fade when an eraser is rubbed over it. Other then that minor fading the Pigma ink is very reliable. The ink does not bleed through thin paper and mark other sheets below it.

After heavy use the markings on the pen do rub off as mentioned. The nib begins to wear down and the metal past it begins to mark the paper. The lines begin to become jittery and inconsistent. But that is after a long and useful life. The amount of time it takes to wear the pen down to that point is incredible. And it more then makes up for its price.

The Micron is the premiere technical pen (almost) and does its job incredibly well. They are expensive but amazing (in my opinion) and at the very least write well. And the amount of time that they last easily allows for them to be replaced when they begin to show signs of wear.

Review – Yellow Dollar General HB No.2 Pencils

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By: Austin Smith

All right, on to the art-making things. Let’s start with pencils, specifically HB or No.2 pencils. The ones I’m reviewing today are from dollar general and are 10 cents apiece. So they’re the cheap, starting pencil.

The pencils are small and light, roughly 6 and 3/4 inches to start, with about a half inch eraser. The wood is cheap, it’s splintery and rough. The paint is applied poorly, with parts flaking off and wood showing through, but it does its job and the letters are easy enough to read. The eraser is all right, it erases, but not all the way. Usable for sketches and writing. The eraser is hard and sometimes smears the graphite instead of erasing.

But that is all roughly cosmetic. One can get other erasers and the paint does its job. It’s really about the graphite. And that’s hard to screw up. HB’s are a fairly hard pencil, really medium, leaning to the soft end. They’re easy to draw with and give a large amount of control. The lead is not brittle, and stays in its wooden case. The pencil is suitable for sketches and of course writing like its main use in schools.

The wood being cheap makes it difficult to sharpen, making it lean more to one side or the other, the lead is also slightly off center. It’s cheap, but usable.

This pencil is a nice cheap way to sketch. And is useful in creating a draft for a sketch to be inked later. It being cheap it is available but it is also cheap, not the best pencil available. It does its job but it’s nothing spectacular.

Review – Imagine Plus 110-pound Card Stock

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By: Austin Smith

After paper the new thing that one would most likely move on to is card stock, in this case Imagine Plus 110-pound 8.5″x11″ card stock. This stuff is a little more “advanced” and one could actually create “finished” projects on it. “Finished” being a subjective term.

110-pound card stock is obviously much thicker and heavier then paper. It takes pencil and ink well; heavy inking and even light painting also work well. The stock does buckle under water quite easily, though, so over-inking and water-based paints aren’t recommended. And painting on anything lighter than Water-color type paper could lead to buckling.

The stock itself is smooth, with enough friction to not go sliding around. Pencil is taken and erased well. Ink is quickly absorbed. The grain is noticeable at times but rarely affects the work that is on it. Heavy ink shows through, but the likelihood of someone seeing the back is negligible.

The size of the paper being 8.5″x11″ makes it a rarely seen art surface. The size, like that of copy paper, is simply unconventional. It is a good material for people just “graduating” into “finished” artwork.

While the stock is nice and useful, most will quickly pass it up for superior art surfaces.

Review – Office Depot 20-Pound Copy Paper

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By: Austin Smith

When one is starting to review art supplies, it’s difficult to find a starting place. So I picked the thing all art is put on; paper. More specifically I’m starting with Office Depot, 20-pound copy paper. The kind of thing that everyone has access to. And the kind of thing you’re most likely to start making art on. (or at least preliminary designs)

20-pound paper isn’t that thick, take it off the table and you can see right through it (not clearly, but you can). It obviously won’t hold much and buckles almost instantly in moisture. Thus it won’t be useful for anything more then pencil or light ink. Although it being copy paper and 8.5″ X 11″ it probably won’t be what your finished piece is on.

 

The paper is slick, mostly, it’s got enough grip and texture to not feel glossy and go sliding around on you. It takes both ink and pencil very well. When using a good eraser, pencil almost completely disappears. The ink shows through the paper, the pencil does not. And the texture is fine enough that it is barely noticeable to the naked eye. Which is something good if you’re planning on creating a workable draft of something and not just sketching.

The fact that this type of paper is almost universal and its small size make it great for sketches and drafts. Its main limitation is that, aside from copy paper, its dimensions are almost never used. Most printed and official online “art” documents use different aspect ratios from copy paper, making it almost exclusively for drafts and amateur art projects (in the art world).

It’s always good to have some around, to sketch or to find out how things fit together, and it can always be scanned and posted on a Blog with ease. It’s obviously a starting material, but one that never really leaves the desks of experts.

It’s also really cheap, which is a bonus.