Boku Undo Gansai Watercolor Review Lightfast Test Aurora + Shadow Black Handbook Journal Sketchbook

Lightfast test, review, sketchbook test of Boku-undo gansai style watercolor paints from Japan. Shadow Black Japanesque Sumi-e ink-like dark neutral 6 pan set and Aurora iridescent mica shimmer. ↓ SHOW MORE for art supply links / info! ↓
Boku-Undo E-Sumi Watercolor Paint 6 Colors Set from Japan
amzn.to/2CECUMo
Interference Mica - Boku-Undo Gansai Aurora 6 Colors Set
amzn.to/30fyJyR
Aurora set sometimes goes out of stock, but usually becomes available again the next week. While recording this video it went out of stock twice with only 5 sets in stock at a time.
Brushes: Neptune, a soft brush that holds a lot of water - amzn.to/3h8Bgle
Heritage, a firm brush that comes to a point for detail - amzn.to/2B6b0Zn
Sketchbook - Travelogue by Speedball / Handbook Watercolor Journal Panoramic amzn.to/2CF9T39
Bee Cotton Watercolor Paper - amzn.to/3hhaWFl
Drawing pens - amzn.to/3ai7w2i
Mini mixing palette - amzn.to/3dN4HIA
Princeton brushes - amzn.to/346FAfs
I use affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you :)
End of video swatch card preview is Daniel Smith's Cascade Green which you can find
here: amzn.to/38WzjEI
or
here: www.jacksonsar...
Find me, swatch card rubber stamps, color wheel palettes, pigment database and lightfast tests at:
www.KimCrick.com
/ kimberlycrickart
/ kimberlycrickart
#Boku-Undo #Gansai #WatercolorReview

[@Grognardlass]

Good as always. Miss videos from you,

[@jenthulhu]

I've been curious about these for a while. I like your sensible explanation of why these are actually watercolor. I wish more people would take a more scientific approach like this before making claims about products.I love the muted result of your painting--beautiful!

[@lesleypickard9732]

I really enjoy your videos Kimberley. They are so informative and have saved me buying a lot of products out of curiosity instead of need and diverted me towards paints that I would. I love how you mention the details of the pigment numbers too.

[@jengoodwyn2715]

You inspire me so much with your paintings. I love the effect of the iridescent paint on the monochromatic painting. I won't lie; it gave me goose bumps! I know I need to work at understanding values and do value studies, but have avoided it because it seemed so dull. Not any more now that I know I can fancy it up afterwards with shimmers!!

[@KimberlyCrick]

I love adding a touch of shimmer to things, makes even a painting you weren't excited about all of a sudden be so eye catching :D I appreciate your kind comment, thank you so much!

[@FaerieDust]

I've been meaning to get these paints for months, but keep prioritising other purchases. I love the colors so much, and I wouldn't mind having some of those pans to reuse later. I've not really looked at the shimmer/glitter/interference set, but it's good to know that they're good! Also: I love the little forest scene sample painting!! So simple, yet so effective.

[@purupurumi]

Beautiful painting and detail review like always ❤❤❤

[@shaustin22]

Best swatching I have ever seen on KZbin. Wow. New subbie from Canada 🇨🇦

[@jngbialek]

I don't know how you come up with all your ideas! Thanks for the informative video

[@Iwanttodrawachicken]

albrecht durer's watercolours used paints with this kind of binder. It wasn't until much later in European history that we get what we consider western watercolours. Saying these aren't watercolours shows a lack of understanding of the medium. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and painting to help clear that up.

[@Blissfulthings]

A very nice combination of paints, thankyou very much for your videos 😀

[@fetabrown]

You have some of my favourite reviews, love to see your blending and the final artworks. thank you

[@PrincessScary]

The sets used together are gorgeous!!

[@JoAnneMOwens]

Wow, love those muted colors! They remind me of some of the Derwent Graphitint pencil colors, which I really enjoy. Thx for the review, these are now in my Amazon cart😍

[@KimberlyCrick]

I'm going to be taking a look at graphitint products soon, this set definitely got me excited to try them :D

[@JoAnneMOwens]

Kimberly Crick Art I got the 6 set and am very pleased with them, will pick up the rest of them open stock. They are definitely fun!

[@vegasrenie]

I was looking for a comment that mentioned Graphitint. I have the blocks (as well as the pencils), and the muted colors are very similar.

[@cristinalattuada5322]

Beautiful swatching, great info, thank you.

[@sambabird7]

I just got around to watching this. Those 2 collections are so spellbinding together and you demonstrated that perfectly with your beautiful paintings!

[@GigaArt]

I’ve learned so much from your video. I love you you extensibly explain each element and how to handle them. Thank you so much you are a great teacher and artist. Kind Regards.

[@virginiabusch139]

Hi Kim. Just received the Boku-Undo in the Shadow Black. Love them. Your video in using these paints was so informative. Thanks very much. Have the pastels in my basket!

[@justinealberty8064]

Everything about this video is perfect! Details and technical information, succinct format, variety of swatches, and beautiful distinctly different demonstration paintings. Thank you!

[@KimberlyCrick]

Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback. Happy painting :)

[@pinkflamingo5628]

Beautiful. Thanks for sharing 🌺

[@NanaBeth1]

I adore this set. My kind of colors.

[@lindyashford7744]

I really enjoyed this video especially as you used the metallics with the bokuundo paints. I agree with your assessment of them, I have this set, and a different metallic set and have not used them on watercolour paper, but very much enjoyed them on thin Japanese papers. Lovely to see how well the metallics work with such dark colours also how pale you can actually make them.both are very good value and a lot of fun to use, and surprisingly easy to use given the lack of colour range, or maybe because of it! They do harmonise nicely together. Your videos are always interesting and leave me wanting to paint and explore. Thanks.

[@moonswirl]

I have the dark set and I like it a lot. I’ve used it mostly for practicing sumi style painting strokes. Now I’m tempted to get the interference colors as well. Looks like they work nicely together! Your demo paintings are always inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

[@AmberArtNYC]

WHOA! I love your paintings! Stunning. Great review!

[@deadsacred7]

Great video! It was super informative too! I've just ordered my palette and I can't wait to receive them. Your voice sounds really pretty and calming btw

[@ArtsiRosi]

Pretty!!! Bought the Boku-undo ones. Thanks for the review!

[@KRCanetti]

Great review, Kimberly. I saw these also at Eve Bolt but I don't remember what she said about them. In a compact time you are able to put so much valuable information and include some fully finished little artworks. This is what I like here. I doesn't need to take an hour and turn out to be a 'this and this brand gave this to me but this is my honest review'' duhhh... Channels like yours, Eve's, Lana's, Oto's... are gems to me. Thank you (even if I can't be a patreon). I had a look at you shop, but you can't ship out of USA, shame... but that day will come. (your swatch stamp, that tiny wc-wheel...)

[@KimberlyCrick]

Thank you so much, I appreciate hearing that. Worldwide shipping is a bit of a mess nowadays, but perhaps one day :)

[@mettainacan7813]

I managed to get these paints about a week ago as they came up on amazon as a direct purchase instead of an import (they sold out in a day). They have been fascinating me for many months and I was not disappointed! I didn't have much lightfast hopes for them so I'm glad it only affects the reddish colours as they are actually my least favourites, the one I like the best is they yellow colour. One thing that I love is how you can go from dark to light tone so well. I love the artwork, especially the woods, this paint gives this magical-dark mood to everything, like its from a different time, almost dreamlike. Never tried the mica palette and though its pretty I couldn't consider it, I feel with the paul rubens and the coliro ones I own I have much more than I'll ever use.

[@KimberlyCrick]

I'm so glad to hear you were able to get these, they are so much fun to work with. Agreed - dreamlike magic for sure! I am in love with the blue that has color separation in wet washes. These will work great with your rubens or coliro for sure :D

[@chrissyhayes8762]

Very pretty paintings

[@FayeWulf]

The moody feel of these watercolours was what really drew me into this palette. They are probably not very lightfast but they are beautful and the separation of the colours make up for that in my books. I've been looking into the interference colour set too but haven't found a good place to buy it especially during this time with covid and how New Zealand isn't has closed many borders so it's not only more expensive but takes longer to get here. The swatches you did are so pretty especially on top of the boku set !

[@LanaGoesArt]

Great review, I was looking at these sets to try out, too bad they are not lightfast. I like how moody the colours look. Your projects look amazing. Thanks for the video and your thoughts on the paints!

[@ruffeyx]

thank you for this extensive review of this particular set of w/c Boku Undo! as usual, very informative :-) i really like the colors its dark and moody, so i thought i mix my own palette try to mimic this set by mixing w/c with sumi-e ink, and really happy with the result. but i never know that Boku Undo is actually color pigments mixed with sumi-e ink, until u mention this in this video! the demo paintings are really nice too

[@vanillaart5197]

So lovely color...

[@SarahKadrnka]

Aurora is beautiful

[@LoriFahy]

This was incredibly helpful. I have been looking at so many reviews of paints and it gets to the point where one has no idea what is best .. so thank you for your great video.. i have never used the shimmer ones, but its nice to know they are available..

[@LunaBianca1805]

I got the Kuretakes exactly for the reason that they are vegan (as a vegetarian, if I can find a version that goes without animal product, I'll gladly chose that) but these looked so nice, I just had to treat myself to them. They just go so well with my love for grey scale (In my markers it's always those that run dry first and graphite pencils were probably the first actual art medium I used as a teen. Greys also go really well with architecture drawings, so.... ) ^^

[@Ca0309]

Love your reviews! Do you have the pastel set from boku-undo? Have you reviewed it? I'd love to see it!

[@lindyashford7744]

Mica is like that, sort of clumpy. I think this is because there is an optimal particle size below which the special properties just disappear. You just have to expect to reload your brush a lot. Use a fine brush or most of the mica will get left inside the brush tip, and you just waste it by washing it away. Alternatively load it onto a dipper nib and apply that way. Alternatively dilute washes give great effects too. I have the dark set and several Ganga I style micas, I love all of them. They give brilliant effects on traditional Chinese thin papers, my favourite work last year was done this way, very quick gestural strokes work well with these paints, western style layering a lot less so. They are great for teaching you how to loosen up and see the beauty in the brush stroke. And what you can do with a brush. I think if these are kept out of direct sunlight they will be fine. They are economical enough to use regularly without being precious with them and as your video states they really do look very good with the micas . I liked what I achieved well enough that I have one piece as my screen saver.

[@KimberlyCrick]

These are definitely a nice price to use without worrying about the expense. I noticed this particular set was more prone to loose clumps of mica than my other mica sets, it could be that they are not as finely ground as some other brands. Very true about the tendency to waste if they get stuck in the brush. I like to use them in a palette so that when the water dries you can re-use some of that sparkle that got rinsed away.

[@chedoodles]

dang it looks beautiful

[@dclua]

I own these two sets. While I don't use a lot the darker one, I always find it pleasing. It definitely looks way better on cotton paper! I noticed the problem with the aurora set and I was thinking here mine came defective haha. Yeah, sometimes when you wet it and then it dries, it looks like anything is holding it together.

[@KimberlyCrick]

I agree, they are more enjoyable to work with on cotton paper for sure. About the aurora mica, definitely not just your set, but luckily they are still beautiful :D

[@moneycreatestaste]

Has anyone light tested the other set (shadow black) that has shadow vermilion? I love these paints but can't speak Japanese and can't find much unformation online ( im not even sure if they are mixed with coloured dye or pigments as product listings vary).

[@author_s.a.crow_]

Would it be better to mist the paints first before use

[@BrendasArt]

bone glue.. oi .. not suited for a vegetarian like me but they look lovely though.. unique, sort of, look to it. love the deep colours.

[@KimberlyCrick]

Yes, I expect there will be a lot of people who feel that way. I actually didn't know that when I bought them and wish someone had told me. Since most reviews didn't talk about it, I wanted to make sure to put that info in. Thank you for watching :)

[@gabriellaritaart]

@@KimberlyCrick Hi, where did that information come from? Just because I had contacted Jetpens before purchasing this set asking them about the binder and they replied to me saying it contained no animal ingredients, I still have that email. I'm confused.

[@KimberlyCrick]

​@@gabriellaritaart The manufacturer advertises these to be made with their 200 year old traditional sumi ink formula, if that is the case it implies they are still making sumi ink the historical way (soot + animal based gelatin, fish glue or ox gall) before mixing it with secondary colorful pigments and binders. There's a possibility the binder for the paint pans (prepared secondarily, after the sumi ink) is mainly sugar/starch/dextrin, but they are sold as "not vegan" on sites like choosingkeeping.com/products/japanese-sumi-e-watercolour-set and typically listed with gelatin as an ingredient there and on seller listings on sites like Ali Express. Perhaps Jet Pens received updated information directly from the company and they have decided move on to using a less traditional approach and update to vegan binders. I think the soot is mainly plant matter, but I can't say for sure that there's no bone black present as an animal sourced pigment. They do not provide an ingredient list for these products.

[@gabriellaritaart]

@@KimberlyCrick oh okay, good to know, thank you. Well, it looks like it's proper traditional gansai then. It's a shame because I love these paints so much, they are so much better than Kuretake. That in itself should have been a red flag, because the quality felt so different. I like thicker paints, so I gravitate towards more opaque colours even in Western style paints. Anyway, thanks for the info.

[@cheralynn4417]

I'm intrigued by these paints and put them on my amazon list via your links. But I would like to make greeting cards with them. Is there some sort of fixative that would help preserve them? Or what about laminating-would the heat process ruin them? Thanks, learning a lot from your channel :)

[@KimberlyCrick]

I don't think there would be any issues from laminating, but I haven't tried it. If you're looking to make watercolors waterproof, a spray sealer like krylon's fixative or uv clear acrylic might be a good choice. As long as no one is dipping the cards in water, and it's not used to paint the outside of envelopes for mailing it's unlikely to get damaged as is. I've tried brush on sealers and acrylic varnish before, but it's easy to get streaks and make the colors run when you apply that sort of thing with a brush. Hope that helps :)

[@cheralynn4417]

Kimberly Crick Art yes, very much--thanks!

[@CobraDove1111]

Years later, I still can't order from your shop because I'm in Canada

[@dragonfly1770]

I love the moody feels.. How do you compare these to van Gogh's dusk colors?

[@KimberlyCrick]

Definitely a different feel and type of paint. All of the VG dusk colors have a very granulating texture due to the black iron oxide pbk11 base ingredient. That black clearly separates from a very bright second pigment (like bright pink with black flecks/grit). These Boku Undo ones have a very smooth, non-textural pbk7 lamp black, which doesn't add texture but it mellows the colors like a complete mixture (neutral gray-pink for example). I like both paint brands, but I find that these BU paints might have more applications, being useful for more variety of subjects than the texture of the VG dusk colors.

[@dragonfly1770]

@@KimberlyCrick interesting! thank you for that elaborated explanation. 😍

[@MelanCholy2001]

Hey, just tooling around and saw this, and the set you have listed is $12 (2021), only now they have a "new edition" for $50. I can't tell the difference at all, unless "new edition" comes with those paintbrushes (it doesn't say: the paintbrushes are in one of the pictures). I was hoping there'd be more colors. But anyway thanks for this! This looks like something I'd enjoy!

[@KimberlyCrick]

If it's a 6 color set it shouldnt be much more than $15, the new colors can be seen in the color chart on jet pens site here (e09,10,11,12,13 and 14 are in the new set, which are slightly different from the old set in this review) www.jetpens.com/Boku-Undo-E-Sumi-Watercolor-Palette-Shadow-Black-Mei-6-Color-Set/pd/30763

[@kamalitarajagopalan2671]

Is it possible to create these colors with a granulating black and primary colors?

[@KimberlyCrick]

Yes, but the black used here is lamp black PBk7. The granulation in the blue and purples is from the granulating ultramarine blue PB29. If you want to mix any color with PBk11 Mars/Black Iron/Lunar Black it would be even more granulating.

[@Ringonoki-ua]

Hi, what is a particular reason for testing watercolor with dropping salt into it?

[@KimberlyCrick]

Hello, there are a few reasons. First being that some paints do not have a reaction, which can tell you if the pigment was not ground very finely. It also lets people know who like to use the texture trick in their paintings which colors have the best reaction. When a color is multiple pigments, there are times where the salt will expose the underlying color, pointing out when color separation is likely in very wet washes, back runs / blooms.

[@Ringonoki-ua]

@@KimberlyCrick thank you for explaining that. I somehow thought it has sonething to do with granulation

[@KimberlyCrick]

@@Ringonoki-ua No problem, though you're right - It's true that it has something to do with granulation. When paints granulate it's usually because the pigment is heavier, thicker particles that typically do not have a salt reaction.