Daniel Smith Essentials Set Review, Tips for Beginners and Comparison.

In this video I reviewed the Daniel Smith Essentials set. Now I have heard that this set is "bad" for beginners. As a beginner myself I dont agree at all. For me I found this set to be a perfect watercolor set for beginners. This set makes it easy to learn important basics of color mixing as well as how to maximize a limited palette. This set is a great dual primary that will let me mix almost every color you could need. If you want to have an easier time mixing grays, blacks and browns I recommend adding burnt umber sold in the 5ml and 15ml size.
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The opinions in this video are my own. They are MY HONEST OPINIONS and no I won't change them for anyone, author, publisher or otherwise. I get items to review or do tutorials from a variety of sources. In order to avoid confusion I explicitly state how I acquired each item, even the ones I purchased myself. My opinions will NEVER be affected by the source. I spend many hours planning, researching and preparing for each video. I do all my own research in order to provide accurate info and honest opinions. I am self taught and not a professional. My style is casual and unscripted *BY DESIGN*. Affiliate links are used because I'm not a millionaire!
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[@5yarcottages397]

Interesting useful review and comparison thank you. I have Sennelier artists set so great to see them side by side with DS and others. Also wanted to say I wish my sketching and colourmixing skills were progressing as fast as yours !

[@ColoringKaria]

LOL, oh I’m always getting attacking for my terrible sketching skills.

[@cynthiaslater7445]

I have both Sennelier and D.S. I love them both, especially the D.S. genuines. I would agree that some people may not recommend using artist grade materials because of the waste during the learning process. I would also agree that using quality materials from the beginning keeps down the frustration factor and tells the student what to focus on to improve ability.

[@ColoringKaria]

Well said! It’s one of the biggest catch 22. Maybe I should do a video on my favorite beginner sets of watercolor paints that try to balance these things?

[@PaulaBean]

Totally right! And this is also very true for paper. I'd say, start on good quality 100% cotton paper. Don't get frustrated by pulp paper that dissolves when you paint on it, sucks the moisture out of the wash, buckles up, and spoils every attempt with ugly puddles and splotches. Cotton paper allows one to really work on the blends and the layers.

[@xjshdge5888]

Paula Bean What paint should I buy if I'm a beginner?

[@RunLiveSG]

Wow! Started watercolor 2 months ago and decided to start my own set. Coincidentally I got exactly as you (the set + burnt umber)!

[@marctestarossa]

I learned about warm and cool colours (like warm blue and cool blue) a few weeks ago when I started playing with watercolour. And of course I divided my 12 colour palette into warm and cool. But it got me so confused and I intuitively always mixed the wrong colours together even if I in theory knew better. So I split my palette into two areas: on the left my 8 base colours and on the right my four earth and neutral colours. And I arranged the base colours in a circle, so warm yellow, warm red, cool red, warm blue and on the other side I continued with cool blue, cool green, warm green and cool yellow. So I have the colour wheel spread out in my palette with splits between the both yellows and the two blues and it works like a charm for me, because I know that colours that are next to each other also like each other.

[@MishaMishaSoprano]

Getting this today. Thank you for putting this together!

[@karav2879]

Fantastic visual and oral description. Thank you!

[@lindacomer5850]

You are AMAZING! I am a beginner artist. I mean TRULY beginner. I wish I had your knowledge of color mixing. Thanks for sharing!!!❤

[@liezelhaupt7172]

This set is on my wish list and I was just searching for a review when yours came up! Thanks, it is very comprehensive. 😃💗

[@alessandrasmota]

That's the smartest color mixing grid I have seen!

[@ColoringKaria]

Wow, thanks!

[@shannenmcdonald6238]

Beautiful video and instruction. I am completely new and don't even have supplies yet so thanks so much for making a video that is beginner friendly :)

[@somethinginteresting2202]

Super helpful review. Thank you 😊

[@patriciaschoenberg1261]

This was super helpful. Thank you.

[@SPQRKlio]

Very interesting to see you go through these, since I’m not really sure about Daniel Smith and only have a handful of their specialty colours. But the best part of course was the suspense of seeing how long it would take for Bella to sit on the mixing chart.

[@catherinelevison3310]

My answer to what I think of this dual primary set is....buy it. This is best intro to DANIEL SMITH you’ll find. They make fantastic paint. Very, very, very pigmented, that can save you tons of money because you use less, yet, you have to adjust your painting style if you’ve become used to weak, cheap, or transparent color. I’ve never heard any advice against these. This set is *the affordable* entry level into DS. The mixing is as easy as shown here. *So many artists name DS as their personal favorite paint over every other brand*. I like M. Graham too. I regret all of my student level paint purchases. If you’re new, buy these and use them sparingly until you get the idea. A tiny dab of these will fill an entire sky on your wet-on-wet landscapes, for example, saving money in the long run.

[@ColoringArtTables]

Nice Review !! 💖💖 Thanks for sharing!! 💖💖👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@mlast1656]

Thank you. This was a very helpful explanation in mixing colors!

[@ColoringKaria]

Thank you, let me know if you have any questions.

[@artwithpopo2460]

agreed I feel like this set is a good buy for beginners who want to get really good at color theory/mixing and have high quality paints while not blowing $150+ on a 24-set. at the same time though, I think having a larger, cheaper set is also a good option to help people understand what colors they actually like to use and to feel less burdened about "wasting" paint. so I'd probably choose a larger student-grade set to start with and then try out this DS set once you're ready to branch out! personally I really love my student-grade Sennelier 24-set ^_^

[@elanalevin6934]

that's what i ended up doing! I have a larger cottman set (which i dont love but did serve a purpose) and now I'm thinking of getting this DS one. I still don't see people mixing purples that I like out of this or any other primaries tbh but i can just use my cottman purple or but a single tune of a DS purple if needed. IDK what it is with purples but i only see convenience color purples that I like even when done by pros. Your comment is encouraging me to break out the cottman soon to just do some mixing practice even if I don't have a plan for using it, just as practice before the DS one.

[@dedesu3]

I really like this set. Thanks for the review!

[@ColoringKaria]

Thank you for watching! Let me know if you have any questions!

[@ave_rie]

Thanks for this comparison! This is the best video for beginners. Also love the cat cameo haha 😊

[@ColoringKaria]

Thank you so much!

[@Achatfell]

I bought this pallette today, can't wait to try it out.

[@ColoringKaria]

That’s awesome let me know if you have any questions.

[@kanthimathyraman9231]

I started using this two days back...love it for the richness and vibrancy...I don't have burnt umber but...wondering how to mix raw sienna ...any advice welcome!

[@marlbboro8091]

oh Karia I miss you . your honest reviews were my jam xoxo

[@meganesergerie5382]

Bella is adorable!! Thanks for the review! I found it very informative!

[@minakshi005]

Loving that cat who made special appearance in your video 😂👍

[@tiffaniethornton9187]

Hey Karia, what type and size watercolor brushes do you use. Thank you! I am loving your informational reviews.

[@ColoringKaria]

Thank you so much! It depends what I’m painting and the kind of brush I’m using. For sable I go down a size. I use sizes 0/3, 2 and 4 because I work small. But it really depends on what I’m working on.

[@PaulaBean]

22:30 Karia: These colors are very vibrant! Bella: These colors are great to sit on!

[@ColoringKaria]

Yep that sounds about right!

[@PaulaBean]

@@ColoringKaria Teh internetz need more catz ;-)

[@lisapoo14]

thank you, just picked up the burnt umber!

[@ColoringKaria]

lisa wood let me know how you like it!

[@PaulaBean]

The Natural Sienna is nice too, for skin colors.

[@havingfunxd]

Thank you for the review! However there's a small thingy that bothered me: "you get three yellows, three reds and three blues (2:37)", that is not accurate at all. You get 2 yellows, 2 reds and 2 blues. As for the the Pyrrol Scarlet, it's a warm red but red none the less.

[@ColoringKaria]

Misspoke sorry!

[@yukouri]

Great review :D!

[@ColoringKaria]

Thank you! Let me know if you have any questions.

[@janetodell9441]

Would you post a link to your MGraham review please? I searched your channel list and could not find it.

[@ColoringKaria]

I think this is it. But it was my first or second watercolor review so long before I had my current system in place. kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6aueZJjgc2UpKc

[@snuuby5468]

I agree with your comment that beginners should start with quality art supplies. How are you going to succeed with watercolor painting with poor quality paper like Canson XL paper, Winsor & Newton Cotman paints, and synthetic brushes? You have just set up someone to fail and become frustrated with this medium. My watercolor experience was more successful when I purchased good cotton paper, artist-grade paints, and natural hair brushes.

[@suzisandpiper]

Thank you for a good review of this DS set and some useful comparisons. I really like this set and find colour mixing so easy with them. It can also be picked up at a fairly reasonable price though where I am in U.K. DS paints are very pricey compared with W&N...for a few pounds more I can get a full palette of 24 Winsor and Newton...but I think things are the other way about in the U.S...I agree that working with good paints will be more encouraging for a beginner than student grade paints....though there are some excellent student grade paints out there.

[@ColoringKaria]

You are right it is the other way around here. The set of 24 winsor newton pro paints is £91 ($115 usd) but this set of six Daniel Smith is $25 (£20).

[@PaulaBean]

Less is more. A palette with 24 colors is likely to confuse a beginner, results in artwork with weird dissonating colors, and probably more than half of the colors will never be used at all. It makes more sense to confine oneself to only a few essential colors, but have them in a high quality.

[@ColoringKaria]

Welcome Paula! It’s important to remember that my channel is made for adults not children. I don’t tell my fans what to do I only show them different ways that things can be done and I trust them to choose the path th at works best for them. One of the first sets I ever bought was my set of 98 sennelier artists watercolors. At no point was I confused or overwhelmed, excited yes. It’s easy enough to use only 3-6 colors per painting. If someone wants to get a large high quality set I have videos for that. If they want to get a small set, I have videos for that. This video isn’t intended to tell beginners not to get a larger set but rather to show people why the set has 6 colors and how to make the most of any similar 6 color set. I hope that helps.

[@ColoringKaria]

@Andro mache if all you are going to do is whine and attack and bring nothing to the table you will be blocked. you have been warned.

[@Manara111111]

I like your mixing chart ... it really shows how many mixes that you can get and it does not show in the regular mixing charts

[@Nickabod79]

Just got this set for Christmas. I know this video is old, but it was really helpful. I used my Christmas gift card to get the Jean Haines DS set and OMG. I'm basically ruined for everything now but maybe QoR.

[@ColoringKaria]

how did you ruin everything? watercolor is pretty forgiving.

[@Nickabod79]

@@ColoringKaria I meant that none of my other 15 palettes make me happy anymore. Because my DS and QoR paints are so gorgeous and fun to play with.

[@raceface_m2579]

I just got the Paul Rubens 12 half pan set. I am curious how Daniel Smith is like. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@crystalzanic5056]

Paul Rubens is not as pigmented as artist grade watercolors like Daniel Smith, I’m certain you’ll be impressed, Daniel Smith is the best you can get right now.

[@mathilda6763]

I just ordered that set to try it in comparison to my schmincke watercolours . You don't get the locally here because it's an American brand, so it was quite an investment... My wallet is crying, but I'd really like to learn more about mixing colours, so it seemed like a good choice. Usually I work mostly with earthy colours plus a blue (prussian or phthalo blue), so working with such vibrant colours will be nice.

[@ColoringKaria]

That’s awesome! Let us know how you like them.

[@mathilda6763]

@@ColoringKaria overall I am pretty impressed with the daniel smith colours in this set. They are lovely vibrant ...more than my schmincke colours, though big parts of the my schmincke colours are ca. 15-20 years old, and might be a bit dirty. Not sure if it is the fairest comparison. I especially like the blues. You can mix really nice greens and violets with this set. French Ultramarin is probably my favourite in the set so I did a little comparison with my ultramarines from the white nights set and and schmincke. The tone is incredibly similar between French Ultramarine and Ultramarine to the point where I personally treatit as the same colour.😅 I feel like schmincke Ultramarine is easier manageable when it comes to creating smooth washes. Daniel smith granulates more than Schmincke and white nights is a tad less vibrant and you need a little bit more paint compared to Daniel Smith. Between Schmincke and Daniel Smith I can't say I like one more than the other, it depends more on what kind of effect you want to achieve. The granulation of the Daniel Smith French Ultramarine, especially when mixed with the Quinacridone Rose, is gorgeous. The weakest colour in the set, in my personal preference, is probably the Pyrrol Scarlet. I would have preferred a Vermillion instead..mainly because I feel it would play nicer with the phthalo blue...but maybe that only because I am not used to this colour yet and vermilion feels more familiar.

[@catherinelevison3310]

This helped! I’m subscribing because you are GREAT!! I do swatch when I get new paint but you have saved me so much time with your swatch charts. I can refer back to your work to get the basic idea. One tiny thing to add...many people rave about granulation but after watching KZbin artists so much (you might not believe how much) I’ve learned that some of the most talented, the most respected, the most serious professional painters, don’t even LIKE granulation-meaning these DANIEL SMITH paints with their more pure drying coverage is what many are seeking. Like you said, I love to layer so I’m using these highly pigmented professional paints & find the coverage so intense that layering is altered significantly. I should buy some Sennelier (sp?) to get some translucency back in my life. Right now I’m painting with DANIEL SMITH and M. Graham and getting very dark landscapes. Every tiny bit of paint I apply to my paper really saturates with strong, strong color. Trying to adjust. Plus, my mixing skills are learned via trial. I became the muddiest painter in the world until I was taught to stop mixing across the color wheel and stop mixing with Yellow Orche. Thank you!

[@willow4386]

Thank you for that - I believe in a limited palette and want to try out the Daniel Smith to see how they mix. In the comparison chart with other brands, it does appear that you used a brighter white paper with the DS than you did with all the others (?) so maybe not a true comparison.

[@ColoringKaria]

all is same paper.. i think it was strathmore or bee but all was from the same pack

[@willow4386]

@@ColoringKaria thank you for your reply. It just looks that way on the screen - and I have various degrees of “whiteness” in papers I own which definitely effects the painting’s vibrancy.

[@ColoringKaria]

@@willow4386 no problem glad to be able to clarify.

[@PaulaBean]

I am a rebooting watercolor beginner and I have this set (well, not the set itself, but exactly the same colors in 15ml tubes, plus the Burnt Umber and Natural Sienna too, and I can mix any color I want on a ceramic tile. Mixing a good neutral gray is a bit difficult, tho.

[@ColoringKaria]

It is. But that’s while there are a lot of ways to make grays I like burnt umber and ultramarine or cerulean. That for me gives me a lot of options for just a few colors.

[@PaulaBean]

@@ColoringKaria The burnt umber certainly helps!

[@evalikesred]

"Some people consider White Nights artist quality, I consider them student grade"... SMH. Whether they meet your particular demands or not, there's no question that they are professional water colours that generations of famous Russian artists have used with great success. Student grade is when there are fillers, so not as much pigment is used like in Van Gogh or Cotman series. White Nights don't have fillers, are highly pigmented and their regular range is mostly single pigment colours with top lightfastness. They have traditional recipes, which may put them at a disadvantage with brands like DS, who use humectants to improve the flow and brighteners for some of their colours. Not saying one is better than the other, simply different strokes for different folks. P.S. You are also not comparing likes for likes. WhN sets contain a lot of opaque pigments like cadmiums, which won't give you vibrant mixes. I believe if you try their transparent pigments (lots of yellows & reds available), you would get the brightness/vibrancy you are after.

[@ColoringKaria]

The point here as stated in the description throughout is to compare as many brands as possible so that if people have one they can see how it compares to the one the video is about. It’s just that simple. This channel isn’t for children people should be smart enough to know that different price range items will be different.

[@evalikesred]

I’m simply correcting a couple of your statements & adding info for anyone who chances upon this video. WhN are an established & reputable brand. They are manufactured in Russia for internal market, so production costs are significantly lower there. There’s also a lesser markup for the brand name and marketing. That’s the reason for lower prices. For comparison, equivalent pigment paints from WhN are actually more intense than those of Schmincke/Sennelier. That doesn’t mean that Schminke/Sennelier are of lesser quality. Their paints are simply designed to be used more with a glazing technique. Having said that, I don’t actually like traditional WhN sets, because their selected range contains multiple opaque colours which is why mixes don’t turn out as bright. That has nothing to do with quality though, and in fact cadmium & cobalt pigments are more expensive than their alts. For anyone wishing to try WhN brand I’d recommend buying open stock. Their quinacridones’ range is excellent and there are several transparent yellow/orange options that perform wonderfully for vibrant mixes. Personally I don’t stick to one brand or set. They all have their strengths and limitations. Always best to build a custom palette for your particular needs. The point is … One can have fine quality watercolours without breaking the bank.

[@askialuna7717]

Very Good review :-). Can I briefly point out something to you? Schmincke is pronounced with an e at the end and not with an i like you do it.

[@ohsillymelly]

I got this set for 5 euros off Amazon :)

[@ColoringKaria]

Nice!

[@ohsillymelly]

Yep, also got few other sets for similar price. I think it may have been a pricing error on german Amazon, but instead of canceling they still shipped them. Got super lucky 😊

[@phillipstroll7385]

Nope I fully agree. One should start out with the best. If one doesn't learn the basics they'll never achieve greatness. Tracing an artist doesn't make. 3 year olds can trace. We don't display their work in museums or pay them $250.00 per work. 4 year olds can put paint on paper. They aren't comprehending and utilizing color "theory". Learn the basics and there is nothing you can't do.

[@marcthomas8192]

3 yellows 3 reds 3 blues?

[@izzasanchez2176]

She meant two

[@SPQRKlio]

Very interesting to see you go through these, since I’m not really sure about Daniel Smith and only have a handful of their specialty colours. But the best part of course was the suspense of seeing how long it would take for Bella to sit on the mixing chart.

[@ColoringKaria]

LOL! She’s a hand full! And it’s shedding season too! Anyway thank you so much for watching and let me know if you have any questions.