Pentel Watercolors

Hey guys I started this blog for the watercolor beginners in Manila. When I started my watercolor journey, I did not know what materials to use (what were the good ones and the bad ones) and where to buy these products. I usually read/watched watercolor reviews online but only a few were from Manila and some materials usually not available here. This is why this blog was born because I wanted to share my experiences and knowledge on where to buy watercolor products in Manila. I'll start with the ones that are easily accessible and can be bought in almost any bookstore.

Pentel Watercolors

This is the first watercolor set I bought. The set of 12 only cost about Php 200 in National Book Store.The first thing I noticed was that they had changed the packaging of the tubes from the metal ones to the plastic ones which is easier to store. (Yay for us!). This is the color list:

• White
• Lemon Yellow
• Yellow Green
• Viridian
• Cobalt Blue
• Prussian Blue
• Purple
• Red
• Vermillion
• Brown 
• Yellow Ochre
• Brown

After my initial excitement, (note that this is just a reenactment.) I opened the yellow ocher tube and squeezed it out on my mixing plate. I noticed that there was this yellow like liquid that came with the paint and it made my paint muddy when I used it. It is the same with all the other tubes.

So before you use the paint, it drain it all out. I drained it out on a tissue paper and the watercolor became more creamy.

I swatched the colors in 2 different ways. The first swatch was when the paint was newly squeezed onto my palette so that I could see how vibrant the watercolors are. I let it dry then lifted the paint with a wet brush with clean water to see of the paint stains the paper. If the paint stains, it means that it is harder for the paint to be removed or lifted off from the paper.(It will be harder for you to erase mistakes.)

The second time I swatched my paint was when I left it to dry for a day and reactivated it with water.
I drew black lines to indicate the paints transparency and so far the only the white paint is a little opaque. I also tested if the paint can be lifted which can be seen on the left side and so far it can be removed but not completely especially the black.

My works with Pentel watercolors

Pros:

It is cheap so you can experiment and play with it without having to hesitate. 

Cons:

I found it hard to reactivate the paint after it has dried. You have to go over it a few times before you can really get a decent amount of paint on your brush. The paint is somewhat chalky and it has less pigment and more binder. It is also harder to blend and the colors do not mix well together.

 It is also not lightfast meaning the colors of the paint will fade through time especially when it is constantly under the sun.

FINAL RATINGS:

 Opacity  ⭐⭐

Pigmentation⭐

Lightfastness ⭐

Staining⭐⭐⭐

Overall Rating

⭐

1.75 out of 5

PS:

Do not leave your paints in damp places because it will grow molds. My advice it put a lot of sillica gel or put it in a dry place.