FINALLY! Testing Ink Sticks! - Kuretake Saiboku Shimbi Colored Ink - Art Supply Review

[@ilderkira6196]

You need to grind the ink sticks for much longer, and when you think you are done you need to grind some more to get the fully saturated ink. Inks like these are originally used for Chinese brush painting, and traditional calligraphy (in China, Japan and Korea). I love the way you used them and the two pictures you created with the ink sticks.

[@SpookyRooster135]

Katt keep your ink stick flat when grinding it (The small edge obvs) and either go clockwise or anti-clockwise but not both. One direction in small circles. Keep your sticks dry as soon as you finish or they crack 🥰

[@Shoulderpads-mcgee]

Why not both?

[@patrickwilliams3108]

@@Shoulderpads-mcgee As you use the ink stick it develops microscratches. If you then reverse direction, it will fracture the stick along those scratches and you will get grainy ink. In the video, Kattvalk mentioned that she saw some graininess in her black ink; that was caused because she was using the edge of the stick instead of the flat and possibly because she was grinding too hard, too fast, and in different directions. Learning to grind ink is a process; it is soft, slow, and meditative. That is probably the biggest hurdle that we have to get over as we are used to pouring ink ready to use from a bottle.

[@Shoulderpads-mcgee]

@@patrickwilliams3108 I see! Thank you for the answer!

[@timelapse11]

Petrichor: the smell of earth after a storm. It's one of my favourite smells XD

[@fenrismacwoolf8183]

The name came naturally to my mind when she mentioned it. ( I blame it on Doctor Who )

[@timelapse11]

@@fenrismacwoolf8183 same here XD I blame Doctor Who as well

[@fenrismacwoolf8183]

@@timelapse11 Hell yeah !!

[@AshleyWann]

Yes. As soon as she said this I was like "WHY NO SMELLOTUBE"

[@TheMetatronGirl]

One of my favorites, too! And I also blame Doctor Who.

[@HoneebunnySapphire]

I took a sort of informal class on brush painting and using ink sticks before, it was pretty fun! Assuming they're like the ink sticks I used, the dark colors just take a real lot of patience to produce. The amount of time it takes to go from a mid tone to fully saturated is much, much longer than the time from plain water to a mid tone. I think the kitties in the pumpkins are adorable, in both versions! Though I'm rather a sucker for bunny-cats, myself.

[@benipray]

These ink sticks are GORGEOUS!! I loved the artworks too! A little advice: when you rub the ink stick I definetely would recommend doing it with the small flat side instead of the corner (I've seen some calligraphy videos) and I feel like more pigment would come out since it's a larger surface you're rubbing on the stone! Let us know if that will work! AND YES TO ART ASMR VIDEOS, almost no one does that !!!!!! I dont like asmr too much (like tapping random objects or whispering) but art sounds are ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@16taysia]

Came for the art, stayed for the cat intermission😂

[@Ihatepandas1]

Love the cat intermission!

[@AshleyWann]

My sister has misophonia so ASMR bothers her, but I'm ok with it as long as it is not mouth sounds. So the sounds of the scratching of pencils or moving markers or pencils around in a bin against each other or rolling them around on a table is very nice.

[@vadalia3860]

Love the expression on the face of the "naughty" kitty going after the bird.

[@justajamjar]

Almost every art KZbinr sitting there with really nice art supplies. Me sitting here with Crayola Pens and a pack of cheap pencils.😆 (They're still good supplies though!) I loved the video Kattvalk!💗

[@samantharankinstinamisan5583]

So true!! They got nice supplies!!

[@nellyhatesjelly]

The price was $200 I was shook lol

[@skullseeker3013]

35 ppl couldn’t figure out how to use these sticks, even after your amazing informative detailed video x3

[@AnniM88]

I love the cats and pumpkins. One of my favorite paintings!

[@iEGeek]

Every Sunday morning my time I get to watch a new video, it starts my Sunday off just nice. The ink sticks gives that classic Japanese painting finish. Somehow a different finish from watercolours.

[@shochan818]

It's so fun to see you try out something you've never tried before. A good reminder to me that nothing is right or wrong in art, and everything begins with trying!! I was so excited for this video since the opening of the box!!

[@atsukorichards1675]

Your pronunciations are good, so don't worry about it! The ink stone is called Suzuri (硯), and the ink sticks are Sumi (墨). We used to learn how to use those in the primary school in Japan, but nowadays they have changed to the ready-made liquid Sumi. I miss the feeling of peace and anticipation during the use of the ink stones. (And this is the first time for me to see the colored Sumi!)

[@Bubblebeets]

I love listening to you, your voice is so calming and your accent is so fun. Also I think Sally may just be the cutest in the universe.

[@CraftingwithEB]

Got a black in the sketchbox in October I love it used it on a lot of my drawings

[@e-dubbses403]

I got one of these ink sticks with a sketchbox this month and although the paper that came with it was hard to use the ink stick was a dream sooo cool. And the block I used also had a little sprout for pouring out ink into a jar once done. Lovely art as always ❤️

[@ginasartcorner5686]

The illustrations turned out so amazing! And the ink stocks are absolutely beautiful! Wow those colors

[@mayahika]

10:48 To be honest, I'm not surprised about stores already selling Christmas items. If you're in the Philippines, you know what I'm talking about. 👀

[@kathylovesmk]

oohhhh, those are so gorgeous! thanks for demonstrating!

[@ju_catt]

These are absolutely beautiful. I'm in love with all colors, especially the green teal

[@vadalia3860]

That skull piece is amazing, especially for it "just" being a practice piece.

[@christineingram55]

I think they blend between colours very nicely by the looks of it..The background on the second one was beautiful and soft,but I agree you needed the pen to make the forefront of the drawing to pop out ..I found this set on our U.K. Amazon !so I should imagine they are on yours ..The price for armatures is very expensive but for professionals ..I think you really think you need this in your arsenal of tools ...I loved both drawings but I do love the cat one and it’s my favourite one 😀

[@soulc967]

I sense her panic when kitty just randomly start walking across the painting 😂

[@282828lisa]

You mentioned you were having a block I think it is exactly what you needed to build your confidence. What you have done is just great!

[@chaotic_andromeda]

Yes a new vid!!! I was so excited for you to try these out! 💜a small art youtuber

[@mayloo2137]

The skull looks so pretty. The cat interlude was adorable.

[@tigger3188]

I love both of the cat paintings soo much, especially the older one with the "bunny cats", would love this as an artprint😍😍

[@PunkyVal]

Never used this type of ink sticks but my recommendation is to grind the stick flat in a circular motion, instead of grinding the edge. Also sometimes you need to grind it longer than what you were doing for a more intense color (although I know the vid is edited so not sure how much you grind it) My one and only ASMR that I can listen to is Haiying Yang and she does a lot of art, including grinding ink for calligraphy.

[@reeree6036]

Love the outcome!!! Love your beautiful Sally!

[@misslemonart]

Love your artworks! Good to have the unboxing video. And also the cat is lovely 😺

[@Chihiro33333]

”I mean, cats and mushrooms, what else?” Classic Kattvalk! 😂♥️

[@WeblightDreams]

Beautiful ink supplies and love both illustrations. :)

[@TheMetatronGirl]

If you would like to do an ASMR video, by all means you should! I’m certain I’m not the only person who just enjoys watching you create, with or without voiceovers. I really enjoyed this one...the inks are so lovely, and the tactile experience of grinding and mixing them adds so much to the process. I’d definitely like to try them! Thank you for the video, and have a beautiful week!

[@MelitaBintoro]

aww i remember your other piece!! this one turned out cute too

[@sn0o]

both pieces are so beautiful! the texture of the ink looks wonderful :)

[@leppardess]

I'm so glad you did some art with the ink sticks. I've never seen those before or even knew that they existed. Both pieces of kitty art came out so beautiful..... I love both the wolf's skull and the pumpkin patch kitties (the one giving the bird a dirty look and the one plotting to pounce are my favorites in the later one). Thanks for sharing that!

[@liesbethartlife]

Hello, oh the review I waited for 😍

[@sosichan]

Oh gosh! The look of these inks is stunning! 🥰

[@marsbit1711]

love the artworks you made they’re so pretty

[@kaitlynnkolar1374]

This was fun to watch! Nice clean lines.

[@SpookyRooster135]

The box looks so fab, will have to save up. The colours are gorgeous.

[@krystierose1985]

Here in the US, some Christmas came out with Halloween back in August. Now, still 2 weeks before Halloween, Christmas stuff has taken over and Halloween stuff is like on clearance. Ridiculous. Anyway, I love Chinese and Japanese ink art and I took a class in college with a Chinese ink artist. I absolutely love all this stuff and it's rare to see other artists doing it. Sketchbox this month had an Asian art theme with an ink stick, stone and pad of rice paper, among other things. It was amazing, one of my favorite art boxes. Loved your video, thanks !

[@kesler436]

In Germany stores have Christmas stuff too and every year it appears earlier. This year it was mid August 😂

[@MeggyFenton]

Very nice Artworks 😊 I have some ink sticks at home for a long time. I used them not very often. I think, I will grab them again, because you inspired me to give them a try.

[@azzuparis]

Both drawings are gorgeous 😍 And I love this ink set!

[@zillowina]

Ahh I'm soo early love your channell!!! I've been here for soo long and get so excited by your videos, you really inspire me to pick up a pencil, some markers and create! :D

[@jom6829]

Those ink sticks look so much fun. I quite like the idea of grinding the ink for pigment and nice colours too. I thought what you created with them was great.

[@navyboymommygramma]

LOVE the video, I just adore your art. I've been looking at a set of sticks ,much like this one, but just haven't talked myself into spending that much money on it.... yet. Now that I see how nice they are I'll be having the talk with myself , again, here soon. Thanx? Haha we got our first snow yesterday, about 3 inches or so, so X-mas stuff in the stores doesn't feel so wrong...sorta. Have yourself an amazing day you deserve it. 🤗💞

[@barsha96531]

Awwwweeee m in love with your fluffy cat😍

[@Palitato]

I bought the kuretake water color set because of your last video, and I love them! They're just as lovely as you said!

[@Kattvalk]

I’m happy you like it too!

[@mimmytjia228]

Hello~ recently I have been painting chinese gongbi painting and using the sumi ink stick. Teacher told me to grind the ink stick until the water is saturated. To check the consistency, you can see whether the water START turning sticky. Hope this is helpful :)

[@lolacarter2833]

Love it Kat!

[@Middy020]

Wow. I wish I had those. They would be so beautiful to paint with.

[@raerohan4241]

You need to grind with the flat side, not a corner. You'll get more pigment faster that way. Grind them for longer too. A general rule is to grind them longer than you think you'll need, since the colour does soften after drying as you said. Remember this is the same thing which calligraphers in that part of the world used since ancient times, and they managed to produce very bold and black lines as per their need

[@Sareriku]

Beautiful! I love your work and your cats! Of course Sally too

[@ErdriedDeirdre]

I kind of want to buy this set. The colors are beautiful!

[@ambers5322]

I took some classes on japanese kalligraphy back in the day, so I'm familiar with those ink sticks. We used mostly black and to get it to be really saturated we grinded the ink for several minutes, so it does take some time and patience. Watching the video made me kind of nostalgic...I might have to look if I can get my hands on these! Also, love both of the artworks you made!

[@lornawestwick6704]

Excited whoop whoop. Cant wait to see what you create.😊 Edit. Hehehe the Kitty after the crow.😍🤩

[@jawbrie3625]

I've been really looking forward to this video!

[@sablemoreno5095]

Just some info ive found while researching ink: from things I've seen, ink sticks are NOT vegan. They use a combination of animal glues as a binder, which makes them not really reactable. Thats most likely why its recommended to clean and dry off the stick after using. I've never used them but I definitely want to try them.

[@mareikeschaufele6741]

thank you so much for sharing that info, I didn't really consider trying these but now I will definetely not. It's always kinda hard to find out which art supplies are vegan so I highly appreciate you sharing that information 🥰

[@baizhuwaitingroom7057]

Oh no, it didn't even cross my mind they might not be vegan, I really wanted to try them. ( ；∀；)

[@markersandtea]

@@mareikeschaufele6741 India ink is also non-vegan and be aware that some paper is 'sized' with gelatin. For waterproof ink that's vegan your best bet is going for inks that can be used in fountain pens as they don't have shellac/gelatin binders in them. Platinum carbon black ink is popular (although it has a longish dry time) if you need a place to start :)

[@mareikeschaufele6741]

@@markersandtea I know, it's so frustrating sometimes, because it is kinda hard to find the info whether something is vegan or not. I have a big set of Dr Martins India Ink and I love them but since they're not vegan I'm researching what I'm gonna buy once they run out. So thank you for the recommendation! I was looking into Rohrer and Klingners drawing ink since they are a german brand and I am german as well so they're easy to find :)

[@markersandtea]

@@mareikeschaufele6741 I've heard good things about Rohrer and Klingners inks, but be careful which you get - their drawing ink contains shellac, their calligraphy and 'sketchINK' lines don't (the calligraphy ink uses acrylates as a binder, the sketch ink can be used in pens so doesn't have binders - they're all waterproof pigment inks otherwise though) I mostly know about fountain pen safe ink, so I've only seen reviews of the sketch ink but if the calligraphy ink is similar then it should also be good :)

[@rachelthompson7487]

That ink looks really nice and I love the cat picture you drew 👌

[@NotAppIicabIe]

Love this so much!! I never ever do full on illustrations or anything but this piece ya made has me inspired to actually make an illustration in my new sketchbook!! It's a little desert doodle and I'm excited to do it. :)

[@renaewolford3270]

Beautiful! thanks for sharing! I might have to try them.

[@jessereid6017]

This was very inspirational! Hahahah I got an ink stick in the 2020 October sketchbox and was REALLY struggling with it. Who knew that I should have researched how to use it?!? Amazing pieces and thank you for sharing your feedback!

[@liesbethartlife]

Beautiful art pieces with those inks !

[@777ettelwen]

It just looks so fancy! :D

[@chaseonyourcase]

I really enjoyed this! I haven’t drawn a lot until isolation/quarantine started and this really made me more motivated to improve and work on my art again. Also, I’m not a huge fan of asmr but I think with art I’ll like it! The thing is for me that I hate the food asmr but also I don’t like the whispering! Just hearing maybe soft cafe music and the art supplies cluttering would be nice. Idk, decided to add that since you asked for input! 💛

[@jessiefriend9047]

I love both drawings ur so talented

[@ChuckandCindy2024]

Love this painting.. love the inks! Ugh, I have such an addiction to art supplies lately.. I want these too now and honestly I dont need more art supplies! Lol

[@YadiAngelArt]

Ahhh that last piece was so cuuuute 😍 would love to see more sumi ink pieces!

[@AleAT]

yes to the art asmr!

[@theboythatsayshootyhoo3865]

the ink looks lovely but i think your brush strokes really complete it!

[@giZZcy]

Beautiful artwork, I really like your art style 😍

[@gabbywilliamson76]

Very interesting. Those look fun

[@unaschattenherz7051]

I just love your art. XX

[@YashaVatrushka]

I really wonder what the ink block rubbing against the stone sounds like. I cannot stand the sound of stone or metal rubbing on stone (just talking about it makes my skin crawl) but I would love to try these sticks :/

[@EdslilNeko]

It doesn't sound like stone or metal on stone. It's more like the sound of something being sanded, but softer? I find it a rather nice sound, and when you're using them for traditional calligraphy you're kinda supposed to be in a meditative state of mind while you're grinding the ink, so it's not a grating noise at all, or it would be hard to maintain that sort of chill. Obviously it's up to you whether the sound would bother you, but for me personally it's actually nice.

[@YourMajesty143]

You might have misophonia. Personally, most ASMR is like hell for my ears. There are certain sounds I can't handle and I get psychologically triggered. There's still very new psychiatric research developing for it, but in the meantime, maybe look into whether or not you have this condition.

[@LadyInTheTree]

I was expecting these to be a little pricey but either these are just not available in that style kit for the public or very hard to find (the only kit I could find was from a seller on eBay for $270, which is 14 sticks for about $20 USD each) on Amazon I could only find the red and black sticks and the price varied from $12-$30 .... I did look for only this brand so maybe I’ll have more luck looking for other brands. I know black would be the most common since this art supply is directed at a certain style - but those colors! I was just thinking it would be a really cool supply for travel. (The ink stone seems to be affordable at least so trying one or two sticks might be the better way of going anyway)

[@mercurialfox]

I really like your art style!

[@PumpkinPails]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of information out on these. In fact, you're the top result for this search. I saw two listings, one on ebay, and one on a japanese website that both list the price of these at $270. Wow!

[@TheGurgi666]

First❤ Beautiful artwork!!!

[@AnotherMADCreation]

I went into a store yesterday for some Halloween goodies and all the Halloween was gone, it was all christmas! What's up with that? Now that you've showed these, they're going on my list for sure! I love my small kuretaki set and my sumi-e black inks that are black with a hint of color to them. Aww, Sally talking! My ❤️!

[@squishmittenAO3]

Amazing! 😻

[@elmeskov8687]

I haven't drawn since 2016 I took up a challenge for myself yesterday and I've been soaked up for 8 hours since yesterday and it's gr8

[@ajpengdraws]

I've actually had some ink sticks laying around since middle school, didn't know how to use them until now

[@vexivian]

If you want to do ASMR then do ASMR. Perhaps create a dedicated channel for it so the artsy farts in here ( me included ) don't "have to" see them if they don't like ASMR ( I like ASMR ). Inks are also really cool. I have yet to try them properly.

[@leai6427]

I've used a similar supply before but it only had a black ink stick. I don't think it was high quality. I've only tried it twice but I want to revisit it again. Your cat is soooo cute btw!!!

[@bboyias]

Petrichor..... The smell of dust after rain! My favorite word

[@blueghostlight7521]

yay, the shrooms are back :o) 💙🌟✨

[@casswilliamson6224]

These look so cool, I would definitely be interested in trying them for sure. Did you mention the price and I missed it or no? P.S. I absolutely adore your accent. Everytime I watch your videos I just adore your voice. Lol. I could listen to you read me bedtime stories, have you ever thought about doing like narrations or reading for audiobooks? I think you would be amazing to listen to for those.

[@Sara-wt2zt]

the cheapest one are $269.59. I'm to poor to use these😥😂

[@SailorSketches]

If my art channel ever takes off, I hope I can try things like this...

[@aprilbrown8081]

I was looking for these after she mentioned them in her last video and the expensive ones on eBay are all I can find as well.

[@reeree6036]

Excellent idea! I'd listen! Establish another account for it and try it! You have nothing to lose!

[@BronzeDragon133]

Yeah, $270 as Sara noted, but you can find cheaper Sumi-e sets on AliExpress and many other places. As good? Nowhere near, but fun to try. My advice, get one or two decent ink sticks at $10-25 total, the stone (a small one is cheap), and try it out. Any watercolor brush works perfectly. Add more if you like it.

[@ThisChaoticKnight]

I love the pictures, they turned out great!

[@ceruleanwake8876]

That "can't intermission" felt like a really good length. I am not sure if you very the length of your intermission but for some reason that one felt like a really satisfying length 🤔 😋

[@paperdreamer2043]

Ooooooo I will have to have a play with these!!!

[@annasmessyart]

The Christmas music will start right after Halloween. Love cat intermission

[@annasmessyart]

Ok so just looked up price might as well get Derwent ink sticks

[@cassandrac19]

Seems like they are similar to derwent inktense blocks, very cool.

[@ACEsParkJunheeWreckedMeHard]

"Bunnycats..." Really your style was great tho! reminded me of a type of character of a Ghibli-movie

[@mechantechatonne]

I just watched My Neighbor Totoro last week and it was a really nice, relaxing experience. Ghibli makes wonderful films.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

When I saw you were using ink sticks with an ink stone, it made me think of a particular episode in my favorite anime, Mushi-shi, where there's special ink stone that housed Mushi (it sounds odd without knowing what a Mushi is, lol). Regardless, your artwork is amazing and I loved the first one for being kind of morbid, lom! But perfect for this month.

[@joross69]

Christmas Season in the Philippines starts Sept 1 and ends after the 3 Kings of the next year 😅😅😅. The Christmas season overlaps with Halloween for about a week of Halloween then back to Christmas.

[@catheyboocat-design7175]

Awesome ❤️

[@Shadowthevampire]

I think she found her new favorite art supply.