ARTEZA METALLIC WATERCOLOR REVIEW 24 Color Paint Set Compare Paul Rubens Finetec Coliro Mica Glitter

[@bastet469]

Thanks for the review. I was on the fence between Arteza & Finetec. After watching your vids, I decided the Finetec 24 set is going to be better for me. It's a little pricey but the color selection & intensity is worth it for me. When shopping for price, I think you have to consider how much the quality or features of item will impact how frequently you use it. If a cheaper product has more limited uses, then it might be better to save up for the more expensive one. 🙂

[@KimberlyCrick]

Good choice! I have never regretted my Finetec purchases. Part of what made me try this Arteza set was my disappointment with the lightfast results for Paul Rubens. Out of curiosity I just have to find out if these will be any better, or if they will prove to be fugitive too. I totally agree about weighing how frequently you'll use something. For me I get really discouraged from spending too much time on a piece if I know it will just fade away over time. I don't hesitate to use Finetec on serious art pieces that take a lot of work to finish, since the paint quality is so nice. Thanks for your insightful comment :D

[@shawnariley3518]

I love arteza products but idk about the price on this one... I feel like before I’d pay 40$ for this I’d buy the Paul rubens or fintec sets

[@KimberlyCrick]

At full price, totally agree. Arteza is a big fan of random sales and coupons, but even if you had to spend $10 - 20 more for Paul Rubens it might be better to spend more (as long as you don't care about paints being fugitive). My big reason for trying them is so that I can run a lightfast test to compare with Paul Rubens, since so many of my PR faded. The Finetec sets are the most expensive for the amount of paint, but totally my favorite for vibrancy and permanence. I was a little surprised about the price on these for an Arteza product, though generally it seems like everyone's mica sets are more spendy than normal watercolors. Thanks for chiming in :)

[@anne-laure7760]

That plum purple is so interesting... And most greens, too !

[@mettainacan7813]

I 've never felt inclined to buy anything by Arteza, but I like the look of this pallete!

[@KimberlyCrick]

I'm right there with you, Arteza overall hasn't grabbed my interest much. I keep seeing so many new mica shimmer sets from various companies, and I got curious about them and how they compare. Part of what made me try this Arteza set was my disappointment with the lightfast results for Paul Rubens. I just have to find out if these will be any better, or if they will prove to be fugitive too. So far I've been the most impressed with Finetec / Coliro (but I'm glad that's the case since they were the most expensive).

[@mettainacan7813]

@@KimberlyCrick Yes, I am also impressed with Finetec, I don't know if you know, but you can order directly from them and get individual colours and make your own palette (they sell the empty palette that fits their "pans"), I think there is over 200 or 300 colours, something like that...Having said that, I've only been into watercolours like 3 months, I'm very novice, I just liked the look of them. I like the look of the paul rubens too, but I'm yet to buy them... I actually heard the youtuber Emily Artful say that finetec/coliro was not lightfast, but I don't know if she was talking from experience or where she had got this information from...I have a fairy on the wall in direct sunlight that has some of their paint on the wings, so I will keep on eye on how that goes... I heard someone say not long ago that any paint, however lightfast, if in direct sunlight it will get to a point it will fade, but I suppose some are a lot more likely to not fade than others... Thank you for your review... I love your videos... I got the new kuratake gansai after seeing your review, I had to ship from the usa because they didn't have the huge palette in Spain, but I'm so glad I got it, it mesmerises me 😅

[@KimberlyCrick]

​@@mettainacan7813 I have had many pigments in my window display for years and can tell you that there are many pigments that can survive in direct sunlight for over 2 years without fading. Most of Daniel Smith's catalog is made up of max lightfast pigments. I actually do a full year testing for all of my supplies, and if anything fades in under 1 year I consider it fugitive. None of my 30ish colors from Finetec have faded. Almost all of my other brands metallics have. Some student grade paints, like Kuretake, fade within several months. Very fugitive colors like neon pink, fade within weeks of constant sun. If it interests you, totally make some horizontal lines of paint, cut the paper in half, and put one half tape to the window (inside, but facing the sun) and check on it every month. I find it facinating :D

[@mettainacan7813]

@@KimberlyCrick Yes, your obviously are very passionate about the subject, and I think doing the tests yourself are a great way to go (As I Buddhist they often encourage you to find out things and test them for yourselves instead of just believing what you are told), I think my small children would tear my down if I tried to hang papers on my window though lol I had heard that before about pink opera, but I was surprised to hear someone say that prussian blue was often more fugitive than people think, its actually my favourite colour so I was bummed to hear this, have you any thoughts on that? (It could even have been you who said that, I've watched so many videos lately I get confused). Its sad to hear that the kuretake fades, but the truth is most of my stuff stay in sketcbooks so I think they have a better chance of lasting there. Finetec are my only metallics so maybe I should just stick to them, I also have a few that came in my Mozart pallete, that by the way if you are ever stuck on something to review I'd love you to have a look at them, they have them on amazon as Mozart and also Artistik, they have some neons and metallics and then all the traditional colours, they seemed nice to me as a beginner-cheap palette

[@chantalle7340]

I have a box of these metallic paints but haven’t yet opened them. I’m not sure if I should sell them & buy Paul Ruben or Coliros.

[@jenthulhu]

Another fantastic review! Thank you, Kimberly!

[@FaerieDust]

I love the look of these on black! Though I think they look more glittery than metallic? Idk, could just be how they translate to the screen (and I know I'm much pickier regarding what I'll call metallic😅). I appreciate the comparison to other brands, that's super helpful. I'm on a complete budget crunch for the next ?? amount of time due to quarantine, but I'm saving up for some kind of metallic set. Haven't quite decided on which, though...

[@KimberlyCrick]

They are a bit glittery, I personally would save up for picking your favorite coliro / finetec colors, they don't dissapoint! I should be on a budget crunch, but honestly this whole quarantine thing has made me do some stress shopping lol :D

[@FaerieDust]

@@KimberlyCrick Yeaaah, I'm on a budget crunch mostly BECAUSE I've been stress shopping 🤦🤦 at least I'll have plenty of sketchbooks to keep me entertained in quarantine 😅

[@tinylite4964]

Thanks for that Kim. I was literally bout to order it but if you think there's something better with similar colour range I'll wait for reviews. Thank you 😁

[@tinylite4964]

Just watched this again as I want some metallic. The fish is really gorgeous! Still can't decide though between Rubens and Arteza! Smashing review. Thanks

[@KimberlyCrick]

I think the Paul Rubens is nicer for using on top of other watercolors or on dark papers, since they reflect more colorfully rather than mostly pearl-white shimmer. Though I do have a couple more metallic watercolor reviews coming soon you may want to consider in the running :)

[@moma-b]

This was sooooo satisfying to watch! :D

[@amybradley2514]

Very helpful review, thank you! And I like your fish!

[@Horsewoman-pt2ku]

I just looked on Amazon and both sets Arteza and Paul were $49.99. Not ready to spend that yet but maybe in the future. Investing in Daniel Smith & Schminke right now.

[@KimberlyCrick]

Arteza fluctuates their sale price often, usually available for $39 or less, but the Paul Rubens is often up there at $50. I would say though, that if you're using pro grade paints, in the future you might prefer Finetec brand, as their quality is up their with your other paints :)

[@fazestorm4441]

All your videos are really informative and your comparisons or seem really accurate

[@MrQuuze]

Good see there is so big difference. i now search where i get them someday. saddly they dont have full range box.

[@annedavis3340]

I know it hasn't been a full year yet or anything, but have any of the pigments in the Special Effects palette you reviewed with the crushed glass glitter faded so far? I'm so excited for those results that I keep checking 😭

[@KimberlyCrick]

No fading at all yet. I just checked actually good timing!!! I have overall been extremely impressed with Royal Talens as a company for mainly using lightfast ingredients for their acrylics as well as all the watercolors Rembrandt, Van Gogh etc.

[@annedavis3340]

@@KimberlyCrick that's absolutely amazing news. Please give the cat that oversees the lightfastness tests a scritch from me, that cat has such a demanding job!!!

[@vickierayhill4637]

I recently found a 4 or 5 different shades in single pans of the Artezas being sold for $2 at an outlet store called Ollie's (like Big Lots)

[@athenamay30]

Thank you for this review. I was going to not buy Coliro anymore because the set I have (Candy) has dark undertones on white paper. At this point, the only set I'm interested in is their Vibrant set and those are neon colors so I suppose they won't be lightfast. Also, have you looked at the iuile mica watercolors on etsy? Reviewers note that they are highly pigmented but since you conduct lightfast tests I'm interested to see whether they hold up. It is expensive but there are dot cards of all the colors. After your review of the Arteza and Paul Rubens, am not so interested anymore on those especially since they are not sold open stock. Oh, and thank you for pointing your viewers to the Jerry Q plastic palette.

[@KimberlyCrick]

Coliro, Finetec, Hydracolour and Iuile all offer certain colors with dark gray undertones on white paper. There are many colors without it, but it's worth mentioning that these colors are meant to be used in masstone in a thick full strength stroke since they look so dirty when diluted. You have to carefully pick colors from each of these brands to avoid that trait. I have a lot of lightfast tests going for Iuile and Hydracolor and will be adding a handmade / cosmetic mica page to my brand reviews section at kimcrick.com in the future covering all my results. So far it's about half and half, they both use all sorts of pigments that were never tested for lightfastness - luckily many are, but also many fade. I was just happy that my favorite "christmas teal" from iuile is lightfast, which I highly recommend - it's worth the investment. About the Coliro vibrant, this set is not neon just brighter colors (there's no fluorescent glow under black light). I am currently lightfast testing them as well, because it is possible they used fugitive pigments. Finetec did put out a neon and glow in the dark set, which will definitely fade.

[@athenamay30]

@@KimberlyCrick thank you for this very detailed review and the link to your website (had no idea it was that extensive!), would appreciate it if you could please mention in the future which glitter colors don't have dark undertones on white paper (because Coliro can be bought piecemeal) ... stay safe!

[@beginnerpieces]

THank you for your review!

[@sarajamal799]

Beautiful shimmers ✨✨✨

[@firstmatefrankie5371]

I just swatched my Paul Ruben’s set and came on here to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating I got two of the golden maroon colour and no dark green which was one of the main colours I was looking for lol Also, 14/24 of my pans were a slightly different shape and thus didn’t fit in tray right, they kept threatening to pop out I’m going to return them and get them replaced, hopefully this is a one off thing and not normal

[@FranNyan]

These look to be from the same factory that makes the Artsy set, and the metallics in the Mozart and Soho ez-lift full pan sets (those two sets are completely identical with the same numbering on the pans and everything.) That one purple that's made with interference blue is a huge tell and the rest look all very similar. There's a few colors that are different between the sets but all look to be from the same parent factory.

[@gailmontague9342]

I love metallics thanks for shariñg

[@kellieklupfel1612]

Love my Paul Rubens

[@EllisJ16]

What brush did you use?

[@KimberlyCrick]

I use a Princeton Neptune #4 round.

[@JoAnneMOwens]

Just curious, how do these compare to the metallic White Nights? Thx for sharing

[@KimberlyCrick]

It's hard to compare them because they do not share the same type of colors. The White Nights has individual pans available for pretty standard gold/bronze/silver/copper, but no sets like the colorful blue/green/purple/pinks that these focus on. The White Nights type of paint is much more opaque, doesn't have a pearl-white leaning shine (gold sparkles gold, copper sparkles copper versus a blue with a pearl white shine) and WN is much easier to re-wet. Hope that helps :)

[@JoAnneMOwens]

Kimberly Crick Art yes, thank you, Kimberly. I think I am the only person out there who isn’t impressed with the Paul Rubens set, so I was interested in how the Arteza set compared. Then I remembered the White Nights review you did a while back, and since my interest is in the basic gold, silver, bronze, etc, I thought I would ask. Thanks again.

[@meliadraw1306]

This is so cool!☁️💫💙

[@liamwatson5125]

Α Diamond White Β Silver Γ Mars Black Δ Lemon Yellow Ε Gold Ζ Aztec Gold Η Bronze Θ Glowing Peach Ι Copper Κ Cherry Blossom Pink Λ Watermelon Pink Μ Iridescent Pink Ν Ballerina Pink Ξ Orchid Purple Ο Lilac Π Plum Purple Ρ Iridescent Green Σ Lettuce Green Τ Lime Green Υ Jungle Green Φ Cactus Green Χ Frosty Blue Ψ Sky Blue Ω Powder Blue

[@anniethestar7243]

Beautiful! Like 83

[@Nathalieroy2624]

Too many pinks shades.