- Ellie Taylor
ScrawlrBox for August 2018 and Inktense Review
The August 2018 ScrawlrBox featured Inktense blocks in a really neat pan set! Since I have also purchased the 72 set of Inktense pencils and some Inktense blocks, I thought I would just review everything together in this post. For those who want to try out some of these supplies for themselves, I have included my Amazon Affiliate links down below including my UK and Canada links.
 When you open the box, this is what you see. A Derwent Inktense pan set!
Cutie Boots thought the candy looked like a great play toy.
The first item in the box was a Graphite Aquarelle pencil. This pencil has watersoluble graphite. It retails for around $1.96 on Amazon .
 There was also a Koh-I-Noor Kneadable eraser. You can find it on Amazon for in a pack of 3 for around $8.10.
 The big item was the Derwent Inktense pan set.
When I opened the cute little box there were 12 different colors in little pans, with a miniature waterbrush that fits in its own slot in the box, and a sponge for wiping off your brush. The color names were printed on a piece of paper on top of the pans. You can get this as traveling kit on Amazon for $21.89.
Then there were two sheets of Botanical Ultra Smooth Watercolor paper. This paper has a smooth surface and is 300 gsm. This paper can be found in a block on Amazon for $16.25.
 Last there was a supplies list, a ScrawlrBox sticker, a grape taffy candy, and a print by Milkyrat.
More Inktense ProductsÂ
There are three different forms that you can get Inktense products in: pans, blocks, and pencils. Here I have 14 Inktense sticks that I got open stock on dickblick.com. The color number is stamped on the sticks. These blocks also come in sets of in 12, 24, 36, and 72.Â
The container that I am using is a crayon holder that I got from Walmart in their back to school sale for $1.00. (I grabbed a bunch of them at that price!) These containers work great for these Inktense blocks and other art supplies such as chalk pastels or watercolor pencil sticks.
I also got the 72 set of Inktense Pencils. The pencils come in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72. The sets come in tins and range in price from $15.97 to around $82 on Amazon.Â
On the back of the tin there is some information about these pencils and some demonstrations on how to use them.
On the inside there are two tiers of pencils in plastic holders. The first tier has yellows, reds, and blues.Â
 The second tier in the 72 pencil set has greens, browns, greys, black, and white.Â
Doodlin' Time!
In the ScrawlrBox, the Faber-Castell Graphite Aquarelle pencil worked just fine for making preliminary drawings when working with the Inktense pan paints. The Koh-I-Noor Kneadable eraser works great for erasing pencil lines. These Inktense colors are bright and vibrant and react very similar to watercolor, but they are more like ink in that they are permanent. The Botanical Ultra Smooth Watercolor paper is nice and thick and does not buckle very much when wet.
Inktense SticksÂ
Since I ordered these Inktense sticks some time ago, I couldn't remember the color names that I bought. However I was able to match the number with the colors after looking on dickblick.com. (Incidentally I spelled Turquoise wrong on the swatch sheet.) As you can see the color looks a lot different when activated with water. Â
Inktense PencilsÂ
Just like with the Inktense sticks, the colors of the pencils are much brighter when activated with water. The colors are very bright, however, some are more lightfast than others. Â
The darker colors look almost black without water so it is really important to make a swatch sheet before you start painting. This helps you to see what colors that you want to use for your painting so that you don't get any surprises.
 'Lighthouse Kit'Â
Painted by Ellie TaylorÂ
I had this watercolor kit of four pictures plus some cheap watercolors and a brush that someone gave to me several years ago, so I decided to try the Inktense pencils on it. The drawing is from the kit, but I painted everything in the picture with all three forms of Inktense products. The paper was rather thin so it did buckle somewhat, but it was watercolor paper and the paint spread nicely on it. (I don't think this particular kit is available anymore. I am not even sure of the brand name on it.)Â
So having played around with Inktense, I have to say that it is an interesting medium! It sort of goes through three different color changes. You have the color that is put down in dry form sort of like a crayon look, then when you activate it with water, the colors are really bright and vibrant. However, when it dries the colors aren't quite as bright and look a little bit duller. I like that because sometimes the colors are a little too garish when wet. This is why it's very important to make a swatch sheet, especially with the Inktense blocks and pencils.
In summary, the Scrawlrbox for August was awesome because of the neat little Inktense pan set with the miniature waterbrush. I didn't know that Inktense also made pan sets so that was a nice surprise. I liked the Inktense sticks for painting large areas and the Inktense pencils worked well for the smaller details like the grass. You can put layers of color over each other and blend them by adding water.  This medium is fun and interesting, but it does take some experimenting to learn how to handle it.  Â
Check out the ScrawlrBox at  http://scrawlrbox.uk/ They start at £15 a month with free shipping in the UK. Everyone else pays shipping costs. For the US, the total cost is roughly $25 to $30 including the shipping cost.