Today, I am excited to review my very first SHINee album that I have ever been able to own!
I am very blessed that I can finally own one of their albums as owning physical albums of an artist is very important to me when I really like them. I have not been able to do that in quite some time. I hope that in the future, I can continue to do this for SHINee as well as other artists I enjoy.
I bought my album from CD Japan and they have very good service. They have a wide selection of primarily Japanese music as well as books, movies and other things. This will be a two part review of the service with CD Japan and then the unboxing of the album.
I am an affiliate of CD Japan, however, this is an honest review of their service.
The Packaging
My album arrived in a medium sized box packaged together with the poster in a poster tube inside. The album was packed in Bubble wrap and then packing paper was on top and around that. I thought it was packed well and it wasn't terribly difficult to get into besides the poster.
The poster was in the poster tube and then tightly wrapped in light green tissue paper. if you carefully peel up the sticker, this is very easy to open. the little paper wrapper around the poster, however is a little difficult because it is very tightly wrapped around the poster. However, with patience and a sharp knife, this isn't too bad.
The packing slips and customs forms are filled out well and I didn't have really any problems with the shipping process, It also came very quickly through EMS. In my opinion, this form of shipping was totally worth it because it includes complete tracking and insurance on the package to make sure it reaches its destination safely.
The Album
As I mentioned before, this is the first of anything that I have had a chance to own of SHINee's I am very excited as this is their 10th Anniversary.
This album is quite beautiful and packaged very well. I chose to buy the A version which includes two CDs, lyric/photobook and the Blu-ray version of the album. The B version includes everything of the A version except that it is a DVD instead of a Blu-ray. The C version is the first CD which contains the 20 tracks. It contains a lyric book.
The outside case of the album is of a smooth matte finish nice card-stock paper. It is folded very nicely and doesn't have any loose ends in it like many cases like this do. It seems to be fairly sturdy. The title, From Now On is in a raised font.
The case with the three discs in it is very nice. It is very much in keeping with the theme of SHINee's color of Pearl Aqua. The artwork is all representing the various album themes SHINee has had throughout their career.
The case opens like a book the reveal the discs and the the tracklisting is on the back as well. The discs are well packaged in the thick plastic trays.
The photobook is 64 pages according to the sticker on the case. It is made of a textured paper and is thick and of good quality. The photobook contains the lyrics and goes along with the these of remembering the good times and what SHINee has been through together as a group.
Jonghyun is not forgotten in the album. You can see pictures of him as well as hear his voice throughout the album. I have included a few photos from the photo-book here, but I do not want to ruin the moment and surprise by including everything. There is a beautiful tribute to Jonghyun in the book. The book also includes the lyrics to all of the bonus tracks of the second disc as well.
The poster is also very beautiful. It is about 30" x 20" in height and width. The paper is semi-gloss and heavy weight. Mine came rolled and therefore was unfolded. The poster is in keeping with the theme of the album well and has a collage of all of the album covers and concepts from SHINee's Japanese albums from the very beginning up until now. I really enjoy looking at it and seeing how far they have come. I will definitely frame this one as it is very beautiful. Here are some close-ups of it. It's a large poster and therefore, difficult to capture completely in the camera.
I think that this album has come at the right time for all of us. Both SHINee as well as the fans We all really needed this. This helps us to remember Jonghyun as he was, an artist, singer, musician, dancer, composer, and poet.
Please purchase the album here!
Note: I receive a small commission from these links at no charge to you! Thank you in advance for supporting this blog! All of the links on this page are for CD Japan.
Today, I am going to show you and unboxing and share a review of the Prismacolor Premier 72 colored pencil set.
I have had this set for a while, but as many of you may know, I like to actually use the products for a while before sharing them with you in order to give an honest review.
Here are a list of the colors contained in this set along with a page I've done of a color swatch. I will put the corresponding numbers with the color names as these are easier to identify for some people.
"One each of: Cream, Ginger Root, Lemon Yellow, Canary Yellow, Yellowed Orange, Yellow Ochre, Spanish Orange, Goldenrod, Sunburst Yellow, Sand, Orange, Pale Vermilion, Poppy Red, Carmine Red, Crimson Red, Crimson Lake, Magenta, Process Red, Mulberry, Pink, Blush Pink, Light Peach, Beige, Peach, Dark Purple, Lilac, Parma Violet, Violet, Imperial Violet, Violet Blue, Ultramarine, Copenhagen Blue, True Blue, Lt. Cerulean Blue, Peacock Blue, Cloud Blue, Indigo Blue, Light Aqua, Aquamarine, Parrot Green, Yellow Chartreuse, Chartreuse, Lime Peel, Spring Green, Apple Green, True Green, Grass Green, Olive Green, Dark Green, Sepia, Jade Green, Putty Beige, Light Umber, Burnt Ochre, Sienna Brown, Terra Cotta, Tuscan Red, Dark Umber, Dark Brown, Warm Grey 20%, Warm Grey 50%, Warm Grey 70%, Cool Grey 20%, Cool Grey 50%, Cool Grey 70%, Black, French Grey 20%, French Grey 50%, French Grey 70%, White, Metallic Silver & Metallic Gold coloring pencils" Color list taken from description at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Prismacolor-3599TN-Premier-Colored-72-Count/dp/B000E23RSQ
Prismacolor Premiere Pencils have a buttery texture. The leads are really soft and can lay down a lot of pigment very quickly. I personally find that this can be a good and bad thing. It is good in the sense that the pigment is high quality, but not so good when you want something really light. I find it difficult to use the pencil in a lighter shade with these pencils as opposed to other ones where you can vary the pressure used, in an easier way. This is because these pencils also have a very high wax content which allows for this intense pigment saturation.
Therefore, I have discovered that if I lay down my lightest colors with a pencil which has a harder lead or not as much pigment, I can then blend over it with these pencils and slowly achieve the technique and shades I want.
These colored pencils are easy to blend, but if you want to mix a lot of colors together, you need to use a heavier paper in order to allow for more layers of color.
The leads are quite soft and can be quite delicate at times. I haven't had too much problem them breaking like some people have said, but I think it has to do with how I sharpen them and that I'm very careful with them. I can use quite a bit of pressure before they might break.
As for the 72 set, for the price of professional quality colored pencils, the price is very good for this set. It is also a good variety of colors to start someone off or continue their collection. I bought them in order to continue collection and the price at the time was very good.
The pencils come in a tin with three plastic trays. I recommend taking them out and putting them into a case for easier access, and I use the tin for other things. It's a very nice tin.
One unfortunate thing for Prismacolor is that they used to be made in the USA and now are made in Mexico. I think the quality has suffered due to this outsourcing. Some of the leads are not completely centered as they should be in the wood casings.
Overall I would rate these as a 4/5
Pros:
Professional grade pigments for an economical price compared to other professional brands.
Painted barrels generally match the color of the pigment.
wax-based leads
Can be purchased individually or in sets.
150 color range - one of the largest in colored pencils.
Blend very easily.
Heavily pigmented.
Cons:
Can sometimes be rather fragile.
You need to be careful when sharpening them.
Difficult to color lightly when you don't want intense pigment or if you want to build up color
Wax bloom can be a problem for some people.
Quality might not be as consistent since the company was outsourced to Mexico from the United States.
Overall Rating: 4/5
I hope you find this helpful and thank you for reading!
The other day I found this very interesting video on YouTube about a musician who has a condition called Synthesia.
It's basically where they have a hyper sensitivity to different stimuli. In many people's cases, this is to sound. She sees different colors which correspond to different music notes she hears.
Here is the video below:
https://youtu.be/obrBAysVef0
As I was watching this video, I thought about the song by SHINee called View.
It's a very upbeat song with the lyrics written by the late, Kim Jonghyun. He was one of the vocalists with SHINee until he recently passed away. He also wrote and composed many beautiful songs.
Kim Jonghyun himself tells the story of how and why he wrote this song in the video below.
I think it is best to hear his words.
https://youtu.be/8RcGIfelp6I
Now that I understand a bit more about what this condition is, the lyrics make a lot more sense to me. I liked the song from the first time I heard it and now, it's been better.
Here are the lyrics below in the original Korean and English translation.
Lyrics translation credit to Color Coded Lyrics. https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2015/05/shinee-view
모두 할 말을 잃지 Like you
4차원 이상의 기적의 View
달콤히 찍어 문 빛의 퐁듀
보이기 시작한 음의 색도
예민해진 걸 느껴
뚜렷한 색감과
여섯 번째 감각 Tonight is the night
좀 거칠어도 좋아
더 민감히 굴어봐
더는 숨기지 말아줘
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
더 보여줘 다음 다음 다음 다음 View
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
너무 아름다운 (그곳으로)
너무 아름다운 (데려가 줘)
더 보여줘 다음 (더 보여줘)
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
저 하늘을 곱게 접는
이 바다를 병에 담는 시간도
편히 걷는 꿈들을 이뤄 난 (By my side)
[종/태] 상상한 게 뭐든 전부 보여 줄게
[종/태] 이제 말해봐 Yeah yeah
[온/키] 예민해진 걸 느껴
[온/키] 은근한 촉감과
끝없어진 감각 Tonight is the night
[온/민] 이상하대도 좋아(Yeah)
잠들었던 감각의 (You are)
한계를 넘어선 그 순간
Yeah yeah yeah
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View (더 새롭게 날 홀려)
더 보여줘 다음 다음 다음 다음 View
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View (Oh girl)
너무 아름다운 (그곳으로)
너무 아름다운 (데려가 줘)
더 보여줘 다음 (더 보여줘) (Oh 더 보여줘)
너무 아름다운 다운 다운 다운 View
(Never leave you lonely)
지루함에 익숙해져
특별함을 잊었잖아
이제 천천히 고개를 들어 줘
내 두 눈에 입 맞춰
너무 아름다운
그곳으로
너무 아름다운 (그곳으로)
데려가 줘 (데려가 줘)
[온/민] 누구든 처음이겠지 Like you
(I feel a thousand senses)
[온/민] 별빛의 향과 맛을 본 것도
(I’ll never leave you lonely)
향기의 무게를 느낀 것도
(I won’t let you down)
소리의 색과 모양 본 것도
Everyone is lost for words like you
Beyond fourth dimensional, a miraculous view
Sweetly dip it in and eat the fondue of light
You can start seeing the color of the music
I feel that you’ve become sensitive
A clear color
And the sixth sense, tonight is the night
It’s alright if it’s a bit rough
Act more sensitive
Don’t hide it anymore
Such a beautiful view
Such a beautiful view
Show me more, the next view
Such a beautiful view
Such a beautiful view (To that place)
Such a beautiful view (Take me)
Show me more, the next view (Show me more)
Such a beautiful view
The sky is beautifully spread
In the ocean, time is in a bottle
I dream of peacefully walking (By my side)
Whatever it is you imagined, I’ll show you everything
Now tell me yeah yeah
I feel that you’ve become sensitive
The soft touch
And endless senses, tonight is the night
It’s alright if it’s weird
The moment you pass the limit
Of your sleeping senses
(Yeah yeah yeah)
Such a beautiful view
Such a beautiful view
Show me more, the next view
Such a beautiful view
Such a beautiful view (To that place)
Such a beautiful view (Take me)
Show me more, the next view (Show me more)
Such a beautiful view
(Never leave you lonely)
You were so used to being bored
You forgot about the specialness
Now slowly lift your head
Kiss me on my eyes
To that
Beautiful place
Take me to
That beautiful place
It’ll be the first time for anyone, like you
(I feel a thousand senses)
Smelling and tasting the star light
(I’ll never leave you lonely)
Feeling the weight of the scent
(I won’t let you down)
Seeing the color and shape of sounds
I hope that this post helps others appreciate this song even more as well as other songs of SHINee.
Today, I wanted to talk about music. I am a musician and composer as well as being creative in other ways. I want to encourage you to be creative in whatever way you can be creative. Whether that be music, drawing, sculpting, writing or some other art form I did not name, I encourage you to use your gifts to glorify the Lord. He gave you those gifts.
Therefore, I wanted to talk about some of my favorite music. I like music in just about every genre and these are by no means my only favorite songs. My personal music tastes are quite extensive and vast. From time to time I might post links to videos and things I enjoy listening to. Perhaps you will discover something new as well!
Lately, I have been studying Japanese and therefore have been discovering a lot of Japanese Music. Along with that, I discovered a couple of K-pop groups who sometimes sing in Japanese, but mostly in Korean. Their music is beautiful as well.
In case some people are unaware and to properly respect one of the bands on this list and the people who sing in it, I want to say that Kim Jonghyun was a beautiful singer and composer of SHINee, he will always be remembered and greatly missed. Even though I did not know of their music very long before he passed away, it still affected me. I have a lot of respect for the remaining living members of SHINee who each decided and then as a group to continue on and bring us all four beautiful concerts in Japan in February. Thank you, SHINee, I can only imagine how difficult that was and is for you to do.
Japanese Music
Wagakki Band
One Ok Rock
K-Pop
SHINee
Jonghyun
B.A.P.
I hope you enjoyed this playlist of music and find something which inspires you in some way.
I've been thinking for a while about what I would write about next.
I know that I usually do art supply reviews and tutorials, but lately, I have to admit that there have been many other things on my mind.
I am an international fan of the K-pop group, Shinee. For those of you who don't know, I'll tell the story about how I became a fan.
I decided some random day to watch a Korean drama as I had never seen any before. I was also curious as to how the Korean language sounded compared to Japanese or Chinese. I am currently studying Japanese, so I tend to find good anime and Japanese drama to help me learn that language.
I began watching the Korean drama,"Descendants of the Sun". It's mainly about a woman doctor and a man who is a soldier in the South Korean military. The story brings up a lot about the romance between them and apparently, later on the two actors got married in real life.
However, I like to look beyond the main story and my favorite character is a character played by a man named Lee Jin-ki. I really liked his character because even though his chanter made a lot of mistakes in not only the medical world as a cardio-thoracic resident, he also had struggles in his personal life. His story of how he overcame these things and in the end, became a better person. I don't want to spoil too much, but I really like how caring his character was for people. I also liked his smile. This man's eyes and smile seem to convey light. I think it's beautiful.
After watching this program, I decided to find out what else this actor had been in. I found out that he is really a singer and does some acting on the side. His stage name is Onew and he is part of the group called Shinee.
I have come to enjoy their music and am still discovering it. The five men, who make up the group are all hilarious people. They seem like brothers.
However, in 2017, some really sad things happened. There was a scandal with Onew of which he later made a formal apology. However, people hated on him for that and seem to still be. They are saying horrible things about him and calling him names.
Then, a tragedy happened where Jonghyun suddenly passed away. This was and still is a shock to many people including the Shinee members who are still hurting very much from this and the circumstances around it.
The four remaining members just this past month on February 17-18 and 26-27 held concerts in Japan. They made the decision to still go through with them even after Jonghyun's passing. They all did very well at these concerts. They are each very special. I think that even though they were all very emotional during the concerts that this was completely normal. I thought that it was beautiful that they shared at least some of their real feelings with us. I don't know very many celebrities who have done this. We could see them in these moments, not as famous people or even really singers. They are human beings with very real emotions and that they cared very much about Jonghyun. He wasn't just a member of Shinee to them, but a friend, collegue and brother.
During their last concert, I heard an audio stream of it and poor Minho screaming Jonghyun's name out during one of the songs. He continued to sing after that, but was clearly crying through it. Throughout each of the four concerts, I listened to audio of them and could hear these various and raw emotions of these men in their voices.
I continue to pray for them and their families and friends affected by this as well as the fans. I really hope that all of us together can help them to heal from this. I hope that we can be of comfort.
Unfortunately, I've seen the other side of this as well. I've seen various videos online where people are trying to exploit these men's emotions. They are sharing pictures and videos of them crying and they are doing this to make fun of them or tear them down. I don't care that they are famous people or not. This is no way to treat a person. These people are clearly hurting over what happened. It's a lot for them to get up on stage and perform these concerts.
It's one thing if a fan posts a clip of video or even a song of where they got emotional and talks about how beautiful this was or their emotional reactions to it and how it helped them or something like that. That is fine, but these haters must stop.
I write this as a person created by God, recognizing that everyone is created by God.
You don't have to like all the songs of Shinee or every any of them. However, we should respect them and others as human beings and treat them with dignity.
Continuing to exploit their emotions does not encourage them to let out their feelings when they need to. Saying horrible things about them which aren't true or that you don't know is true is also wrong. Bullying other fans about how they are dealing with their grieving process is wrong.
I saw an incident on social media where someone from another k-pop fandom decided to ridicule and say that they didn't understand why this person was so affected by Jonghyun's passing. They started cussing them out and began a fight in social media. Some other fans as well as myself tried to comfort the man who was being bullied as well as get the spammer to leave them alone. This was uncalled for behavior.
I don't understand why people can't be respectful these days and why it seems like the media encourages it. It's almost like everyone wants their five minutes of fame.
What is that going to do? We have our entire lives ahead of us. This is the kind of thing that contributes to depression, suicide, self harm, self esteem issues and other social issues.
I hope that anyone reading this understands that I am not here to gossip or hurt anyone. Rather, I want to build people up. Whether they be famous or just some person who didn't seem to matter to anyone else. Each and every person matters to God and He created each and every one of us.
We each have the potential to do something for His Kingdom. If we choose first to follow Him and seek His Kingdom.
I pray for the salvation of Shinee and their families as well as many other musicians, actors, friends, family, and people who I don't know anything about. I pray for the salvation of the entire world. I may be one of the only people praying for someone, but it's a way I can help them. There are people everywhere struggling with various things. I don't know them and I can't talk directly to them, but I can pray that they will seek help and get the right help and find Jesus Christ.
I hope and pray that you do the same. If you want someone to talk to about anything, please feel free to contact me. I'm here for you wherever you are. I want to hear your stories and do what I can to help you.
Thank you to anyone who reads this. I hope that together we can do something about this problem.
Have any of you ever been told either directly or indirectly that you weren't what someone was looking for?
Have you ever questioned your own gifts because of certain events which have happened in your life?
I have. This is my story.
I am Sarah Prewitt. I am an artist. To get more specific, I am a musician, composer, filmmaker, and enjoy drawing and various other art mediums.
In short, I am a very creative person. The Lord God Almighty gave us all the ability to create when He created us in His Image.
We are the only beings who can create. Think about that ... we can create. Purely for the sake of being able to create. A beaver may build a dam and it is beautiful how they do this, however, it is out of a life necessity that they must do this.
We, as human beings, can create purely for the love of someone or something. Not solely out of need. This is a beautiful gift from God.
I have had various times throughout my life while in school, college and after that when people have either directly or indirectly told me that I'm not what they are looking for or other horrible things like that.
This is very frustrating to be told this. It is hard to find out where you fit in the world. To figure out what God wants you to do.
This is part of the reason I decided to write this blog.
I want people to be able to come here and learn about how to express their various forms of art and not feel that just because they don't currently have the most expensive art supplies, musical instruments or whatever that they cannot still create beautiful art.
Ever since, I have graduated college back in 2014, I have been trying to find my place in the world, What I am supposed to do with my various gifts God has given me. I have had many times where I thought I knew what He wanted and then that did not come to fruition.
I have applied to many many different kinds of jobs inside and outside of my field of which my college degree is in. All over the place.
After going to interview after interview, in most cases hearing nothing; when I did hear something back, it was usually, something like, I was not what they were looking for or that I didn't have enough experience for the job.
The thing is, how are you supposed to gain experience at something if you can't show someone what you already know? How are you supposed to learn if you are not first allowed to make mistakes?
Why does everyone in this world have to meet ridiculous expectations and be "perfect?"
I hate this stigma because that is the very reason why there are people out there who are suffering from various issues like self esteem, depression, anxiety and so many other things.
I personally know people who are dealing with these kinds of problems in various ways and forms. They need our support. They need to be able to get the right help they need.
I don't know if anyone will really read what I write here or anything, but if there is any difference I can make in this world by writing this, if there is even one person who might read this and take strength from it, I am thankful for that.
I believe that there is some reason as to why I am writing this. Why I am being so honest online right now, when I am not usually.
I am not writing this to hurt or ridicule anyone. Rather, I want to help people. I genuinely love people. All of you are beautiful creations of God.
Don't you ever ever forget that. You were created in the Image of God to be able to create things which are for Him and honor and glorify Him. Please, continue to do this.
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, please contact me. It would be an honor to talk to you about what the Lord has done and is doing in my life and how you can come to have a relationship with Him as well.
I wanted you to know that despite having a lot of frustrations and setbacks and feeling discouraged in my life, that I have not given up. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Even though people have directly and indirectly said horrible things to me and about me, I try not to let this get me down and feel sad. I try to get back up and keep trying.
I would like to thank You, Lord Jesus Christ for being there for me all of the time and everything you have done for the entire world by dying on the Cross for our sins and rising again to be our Savior.
I am also thankful for my family, friends and professors and teachers I have had throughout my life and the various people who continue to support me both directly and indirectly.
In light of a recent tragedy in the music industry, I am putting up a link to a petition to stream the upcoming concerts of the band, SHINee. I had only recently discovered their music when they suddenly lost a friend, band member and musician. Kim Jonghyun had a beautiful and unique voice. I really hope that he found the Lord Jesus Christ who can love him more than any of us can. I will continue to pray for the salvation of the fellow band members; Onew, Taemin, Minho and Key and that if they do know Jesus Christ, that they draw close to Him and that they will live lives worthy of Him. I also pray for their families and friends going through this tough time.
I thought I would write something a little different today. For the past few posts, I have been giving you reviews on various products which I have tried and currently use.
I still plan to do that as well as introduce how I create art in upcoming posts.
Today, I wanted to talk about a few of my favorite art related YouTube channels and why.
Zoe Hong
Zoe Hong is a fashion designer and teacher in the United States. She does very clear presentations and honest reviews.
I got into watching her videos, not because i am a fashion designer. I'm not actually that into fashion as far as the mainstream of it. I enjoy creating fictional characters for stories and creating concepts for their clothing and things they use.
I have learned a lot from Zoe Hong about color, texture, how to draw clothes as well as different ways of presenting them and a few other things I never thought about like the kind of material something is made out of and how it reacts with the movements of the person's body.
Her videos continue to be very informative and fun to watch. Here are a few of my favorites.
I discovered this channel I believe for the first time when I watched a video they had about drawing with pencils which they had found to be at least 100 years old.
I really like their channel a lot. It is a good channel to watch if you want to take a break from all of the often negative and depressing things we see in the news all over the world it seems these days.
The two people who make up Doodle Date are Adam and Steph. They enjoy doing unusual art challenges like trying to paint with grape juice or soy sauce and gathering objects from mystery boxes and using them to create art.
They have a very unique, hilarious and happy channel together. I encourage you to check out their channel if you are looking for something inspiring and unusual to create in art.
Please check out some of my favorites:
I hope you enjoy all of these videos and please support these artists as well by subscribing to their channels and doing whatever other ways they have to support them!
If you would like to know how you can support me, I have a list on the right hand side about how you can support this blog and what I do here,
I received this sketching set as a gift for Christmas. Thank you to the very generous friend for the gifts!
Now, onto the art set. This is a sketching and drawing set by Royal & Langnickel. I have found their paint brushes to be of nice quality, especially for the price. Therefore, considering my satisfaction with their brushes I am eager to try out this set.
Plastic eraser - not quite sure as R&L call it a drawing eraser
Kneaded eraser
Reusable plastic container
The Swatch Test
I have swatched both the graphite and the charcoal media in the pages of my sketchbook below.
As for my initial impressions of the art set, they look to be of nice quality considering that they are intended for I think the beginning to Intermediate artist.
The pencils have a nice black, white and gray color scheme which give them a nice look which looks nice alongside other brands like Tombow, Derwent and others, who also have their own unique looks and colors for their pencils.
I like how the gradients are easily identifiable on these pencils as well. A few of them, the paint is a little uneven on the label, but it didn't completely prevent me from being able to read it.
As for the graphite leads, they appear to be fairly well centered for the most part, which is also nice and indicates a pretty nice pencil.
As the graphite pencils came pre-sharpened, I could begin swatching right away. So I did. When I finished I noticed that there wasn't a lot of difference between the B grades until the 3B and 2B pencils. The others looked pretty similar. This is unlike my other professional brands of graphite pencils. The H grades were clearly lighter than the B grades, but between each of them, there was not a lot of difference except between the hardest to hard grades.
The graphite is smooth, however and I noticed that it has very little roughness in it. In one of the H grade pencils, there was a little scratchiness in the graphite and therefore, there might be some impurities, but it didn't hinder my swatches terribly.
The biggest change in the pencils gradients which I noticed were the thinness in the lines I could make. This was due to a noticeable difference between the size of the leads. This is true for professional pencils, but it seemed more obvious here. I'm not sure if they used this to achieve a darker shade easier as well or not. However, this can be useful in the future if I want to draw wide or thin lines with normal pencils and not use a mechanical pencil.
Overall, I give these pencils a 4/5
Graphite Sticks
Now onto the graphite sticks. I have been wanting to try these for a long time for an art challenge. I'm very excited that I get to finally try them.
Most of the labels can be read easily, but a few are faded. However, I'm also wondering how one will know which is which with use. I will keep these in the box and carefully sorted in the container for protection from breakage as well as knowing which is which.
The graphite is smooth and with these, I noticed a much greater difference in the gradients and hard to softness of the graphite. You can either use it to get an edge or use the sandpaper block to make an angle or shape to use them. I have swatched them all in this way.
I also used the leftover powder to make a swatch of at the bottom of the paper. This can be useful to save in a separate container for later.
Overall I think I will have a lot of fun with the sticks and I give them a 4.5/5
Charcoal Pencils
The charcoal pencils come unsharpened. I've seen other companies do this as well and I think it's because charcoal is much softer than graphite and therefore can break easily.
I sharpened them using the metal sharpener and it works quite nicely. However, it doesn't bring them to a point right away unlike my other sharpeners. Although, this isn't a terrible problem as I can use the sandpaper. It just makes for an extra step is all. But, the sharpener did not break the lead and it sharpened them easily. I noticed it created some very nice shavings as well.
I also noticed that these appear to be out of a different kind of wood than the graphite pencils. They appear to be ceder wood and the graphite pencils appear to be possibly pine or something like that.
The leads all appeared to be centered prior to sharpening.
As for the gradients, there isn't a lot of difference. They feel much like my Master's Touch Charcoal pencils as well as the darkness of them. However, it is smooth and this is very nice.
As for the charcoal sticks, the labels are very nice and easy to read. The charcoal is very smooth here as well and the shade gradients are not very obvious here either, but still smooth.
Overall, I give both the charcoal pencils and the sticks each a 4.5/5
Now, onto to the accessories:
Pencil sharpener: All metal and smooth on the inside. The blades are nice and sharp and there are two holes, one for larger pencils, the other for standard. So far, it sharpens them easily and well. However, shavings can get stuck at the bottom and you might have to carefully tap them out or blow them out carefully with air. 4/5
Blending Stick: The paper is very tight and this one is quite small.
Drawing eraser: This eraser is very hard compared to many I have. It is white and comes in a sleeve which is a good trait for drawing erasers.
Kneaded eraser: The kneaded eraser is blue in color and is not easy to get out of the cardboard box. I wish they had packed this one better and possibly in a small container as kneaded erasers can dry out with time, so it's best to keep them in a plastic bag or container when not in use. This one is blue in color which they usually are gray. I am concerned that the dye might come out onto the paper at some point.
Sandpaper block: This is a very small sandpaper block containing only about four sheets of fairly rough paper. I noticed that it really roughs up the drawing sticks. I think in the future I will make my own and get a little finger grit sandpaper. It also does not have a lot of area in which to use it unlike others I have used in the past. 2/5
The Instruction Booklet
The book is formatted in a step by step format, primarily. It begins with an introduction to the art materials contained in this set as well as a bit about how to use them and some useful tips.
One thing I dislike in the introduction is that they show the different gradients for the compressed sticks as well as the charcoal pencils, but they do not do this for the drawing pencils. Rather, they merely show the tips of the pencils instead.
There are two drawing tutorials in the booklet. One is a leaf and the other is a nature landscape. These are both to teach shading and what the different gradients of pencils do as well as different strokes you can use with the pencils. I thought these to be useful and I learned a few things as well.
One thing I wished was contained in one of the tutorials was use of more gradients or all of them, just so you could get more of a variety.
Another thing was in the Supply Lists of both of the projects, they contained items which are not included in this set, nor would I expect a beginner to have these things.
The three items being:
Tracing paper
Stylus
Graphite transfer paper
I do have these items, but they are a more recent addition to my art supplies in the last year. I do use them quite a lot and feel the need now to demonstrate techniques with these tools in the future as well as where to find them.
Rating: 3/5
The Instruction Video
I watched the entire instructional video on YouTube. It is located here:
This video is meant to be used in conjunction with the Instruction Booklet, therefore, I advise this. There are also line drawings, which the artist refers to on this website.
You can print them off if you wish, or free-hand the sketches.
The video gives some additional tips as well as video footage of the artist drawing the projects. You can draw along with her or pause it or watch the entire video and use the book as reference. Any of these out other methods can be useful.
Overall, I found the video to be better than the booklet on explanation and demonstration of techniques. This is something especially needed for a beginner. Intermediate artists can benefit from this video as well. There are additional videos on the Royal & Langnickel channel. The artist has a channel as well with many helpful videos here:
The two projects showcased in the video and instruction book, I will draw them and later, I will go into more detail of these in further posts as I believe it will be better to do so.
In conclusion of this extensive review, I would recommend this set to beginner and intermediate artists. It is a good set to start with, especially if some of the basics are difficult to find. It also allows you to try out different forms of media as well.
Overall Rating
Pros:
Economical
Contains most of the basic supplies for drawing and sketching
Supplies of good quality
Contains companion lessons which teach various techniques
Fun and relatively easy to use
Great for beginning and intermediate artists or those wishing to try out another medium
Great for travel as a reusable case is included
Can be an economical solution for professionals who enjoy sketching things and don't want to risk losing their expensive art supplies
Cons:
Does not contain any kind of sketchbook or at least some good drawing paper.
Some of the supplies listed in the booklet are not typically used by a beginning artist and they may not be aware of them. (Stylus and graphite transfer paper specifically)
This is not intended for professionals.
I am not sure if the supplies are available in a pack or individually for replacement if used up
I have been thinking about where I would like to take this blog next, however, that will not be possible without you, my dear readers.
I will continue to review the art supplies I have. Please forgive me for being slow at that as I am working on art commissions and other things at the moment.
However, I would like to know if you have anything you wish for me to review or anything else, please leave a comment below.
Also, in the future, as soon as I have the means to do it, I would like to start a YouTube for this blog, so that I may deliver you more content. I want to do some how-to videos, art supply challenges, reviews, and more if I think of any ideas.
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I am considering various options in order to do this, which I will update you all in the future. I do not want to have to resort to having ads on this blog for that purpose.
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I have listed a number of things. They are both big and small so that hopefully a lot of people can help if they wish. You should be able to purchase directly from the list and Amazon should take care of all the rest as far as items getting to me. I will review any and all of the items, I receive this way and update an ongoing post of thanks as well.
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