A Big SketchBox Haul!

It's a new year and time to catch up on my SketchBoxes. I have switched to the Premium Sketch Box which means that the supplies in this box are more expensive than the ones in the Basic Box. Let's check them out!

I have included my Amazon and Blick Art Materials affiliate links down below. (Affiliate links mean that I get a small commission, but there is no extra cost to anyone who uses the links.)

August 2022

The artist featured on this box was Danie Arink.

This month had metallic art supplies.

The first items in the box were three Marabu SketchBox Shimmer Art Crayons. These

were in metallic colors of Copper, Raspberry, and Emerald. These crayons were also water soluble. They can be found in a set of ten on Amazon for around $22.

The next item was a SketchBox Signature Round #4 paintbrush. This brush retails for around $9.99.

To go along with the paintbrush there were two pans of Fine-Tec metallic watercolors. The colors were Golden Rose and Blue Silver. They retail for around $15 to $17 on Amazon and Blick Art Materials.

The next item was Marabu Aqua Graphix metallic watercolor ink. This was a 15 ml bottle of Copper colored water soluble ink. It retailed for around $3.29.

Another item was a Sakura Gelly Roll Gold metallic pen. These are available in a pack of six for around $10 on Amazon.

To test out these products there was a pad of Van Gogh black watercolor paper. This paper was 130 lb with a cold pressed surface. A pad of 8X11 inches retails for around $20 on Amazon.

Finally, there was a supplies list, a print from the featured artist, and a SketchBox sticker.

Doodlin' Time!

The black watercolor was the perfect surface for testing all the metallic supplies. The Sakura Gelly Roll pen wrote very well on the black paper and was very bright. The Marabu Shimmer Crayons showed up very nicely but worked best without water. The Fine-Tec metallic watercolors gave a nice thick layer of paint. The Marabu Aqua Ink was thinner and more transparent than the other mediums and wasn't quite as bright. The paintbrush worked fine for thinning out all the water soluble mediums.

"Mushroom House"

by Ellie Taylor

I used the Gelly Roll gold pen for drawing the mushroom house, grass, and small mushrooms. I used the water soluble crayons to color the mushroom house and the pathway. For the background I used the Marabu copper ink and the Finetec watercolors. The Fine-Tec watercolors have very good coverage and show up very well. The Marabu ink is very thin and best suited for light glazes.

September 2022

For September the box had art by Kaorien on the outside.

When I opened the box there was a bunch of sketching stuff!

The main object was a 10 piece sketch kit from Winsor & Newton. It contained graphite pencils, charcoal pencils, white charcoal, a blending stump, an eraser, and a pencil sharpener. Specifically this set had three charcoal pencils, one a medium black, a hard black and a Sepia color. There was a white charcoal pencil and three graphite pencils. The graphite pencils were 8B, 6B, and 2B. This set retails for around $16 on Amazon.

Next there was some Cretacolor Sanguine Powder. This was in a 20 gram jar. This product is exclusive to SketchBox and retails for around $14.99.

Also from Cretacolor there were some Sanguine chalk sticks. They came in Burnt Sanguine and Dry Sanguine colors. A Dry Sanguine XL art stick costs around $2.86 on Blick Art Materials.

To blend the Sanguine powder there was a Sofft Knife blender with extra blending covers. It retails for around $8 on Amazon.

The paper that was in in the box was Fabriano sand toned paper. It was 15 % cotton 85 lb drawing paper. An 8X11inch pad retails for around $27 on Amazon.

Finally there was the supplies list, a SketchBox sticker, a print by the featured artist.

I tried out the whole Winsor and Newton sketching set. The black charcoal pencils and the graphite worked well on the Fabriano paper. However, the Sepia graphite and white graphite pencils struggled to leave a mark on the paper. The surface seemed too slick for the harder tipped pencils. The Art Sticks and the Sanguine powder seemed to take to the surface well enough.

'Mesa Verde Houses'

by Ellie Taylor

I did a loose sketch with the graphite pencils, then added some color with the Sanguine powder using the blending knife. I added some details with the black charcoal sticks and some more color with the Cretacolor sticks. I tried to use the Sepia and White charcoal pencils, but they just wouldn't leave much of a mark on the paper. I think they need a paper with more tooth.

October 2022

For October the artist featured on the box was Erin Wagner.

When I opened the box I saw ink!

The ink featured in the box was Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph waterproof ink. There were two colors: black and orange. It retails for around $5-$8 per bottle.

There was a small plastic palette for pouring the ink in to dilute it. One can get 30 of these cheap plastic palettes from around $10 on Amazon.

There was a KingArt Inkline pen set with Large, Medium, and 3 mm brush nibs. These pens can be found in a set of 10 for around $19.

For ink washes there was a 1/2 inch Princeton flat wash paint brush. This brush retails for around $7 to $8 on Amazon and Blick Art Materials

Then I noticed an unusual pen! It was a KingArt Inkline painting pen. It has a little ink well on the end of the pen. The ink runs down on to the nib. This type of pen is mainly used for calligraphy. It retails for around $15 on Amazon.

Finally there was a Graphix Aqua Pad. The paper was 220 gsm watercolor paper. A pad of twenty 8X11 inches runs about $11 on Amazon.

Last there was the supplies list, SketchBox sticker, and a print from the featured artist.

Doodlin' Time!

The KingArt pen set had a nice variety of line widths. The Rapidograph ink was very opaque, even the orange ink. The KingArt Painting pen was good for thin lines. Finally the Princeton flat wash brush had good coverage over the Aqua pad paper.

'Tiger Lily'

by Ellie Taylor

I used the KingArt pen set and painting pen to outline the edge of the Tiger Lily. Then I used the flat wash brush to fill in the orange color on the background and the flower petals. The paper absorbed the ink very well and there wasn't any ink bleed. The KingArt painting pen made nice thin lines for details, but the ink doesn't last very long because of the small ink well. I think I prefer just a regular dip pen.

November 2022

The November box featured art by Missy Munrow. Unfortunately, the mailing sticker was put over the artist information.

When I opened the box, I saw some Copic markers!

There was a Classic Copic with a chisel and bullet nib in the color New Blue. This marker is available on Blick Art Materials for $5.85.

Then there were two Sketch Copic markers with the chisel and brush nib. Their colors were Holiday Blue and Flagstone Blue. You can find the Copic Sketch markers for $5.85 a piece on Blick Art Materials.

Next there were two Holbein colored pencils in the colors of Prussian Blue and Forest Green. Holbein colored pencils are very expensive, but you can get them on Blick Art Materials for around $4.25 a piece.

Also there were two Kuretake paint pen Manga Liners. the colors were White and Silver.

They are available on the SketchBox store for around $4.40 a piece.

Finally there was a pad of Clairefontaine Manga 100gsm marker paper. This pad of paper is available on Amazon and retails around $16.59.

There was also an art supplies list.

Doodlin' Time!

The Copic markers had nice bright blue colors. The Holbien colored pencils were nice and opaque. The Kuretake Manga paint pens made nice thin lines which is hard to find with paint pens. The markers blended well on the Clairefontaine Manga paper.

'Snowy Guadalupe Peak'

by Ellie Taylor

I used the Copic markers to make the sky and shadows on the snow. I used the darker marker for the trees. Then I colored in the Guadalupe Peak and juniper bushes with the Holbein colored pencils. For the final snow highlights I used the Kuretake Manga paint pens. I really liked the nice thin lines that the Kuretake Manga pens produce because most paint pens have really thick lines.

December 2022

December's box featured art by Zechariah LeBaron.

When I opened the box I saw KingArt pens.

The first item was a set of 12 Kingart fineliner pens. These pens are water based and will react to water. A full set of 72 fineliners will cost around $34 on Amazon.

Next there was a Daniel Smith watercolor dot card. These cards are a great inexpensive way to test Daniel Smith watercolors. You can test a small amount of pigment without having to buy a full-size tube of paint. A pack of 4 cards retails for around $24 on Amazon.

To go along with the watercolors was a Princeton Select pointed #4 filbert paintbrush. It retails for around $7 on Amazon.

Next there were three tubes of 12 ml Holbein acrylic gouache. Acrylic gouache is different from regular gouache in that it does not reactivate with water. It dries permanently like acrylic. On Blick Art Materials these paints retail for around $7.54 per tube.

Finally, there was a pad of Rembrandt 140 lb hot press watercolor paper. This was a SketchBox exclusive and retails for around $12.95 on the SketchBox store.

Last there was an art supplies list, a SketchBox sticker, an advertisement for Cupixel, and a print from the featured artist.

Doodlin' Time!

The KingArt Fineliner set had very pretty colors. The Acrylic Gouache had very nice coverage. The Daniel Smith watercolor dot card had a nice range of landscape colors and the filbert brush worked well with them.

'Little Red Barn'

by Ellie Taylor

I used the Daniel Smith watercolors to paint the sky, background hills, the barn, and road. I also added some color to the grass with the Holbein acrylic gouache paint. I added the final details with the KingArt Fineliners.

January 2023

The January 2023 box featured art by Pam Schmaltz.

When I opened the box I could see Inktense pencils.

The main item was a box of six Inktense pencils. A pack of six retails for around $22 on Amazon.

To go with the Inktense pencils was a cute tiny little set of twelve pans of Inktense paint, complete with a mini waterbrush. The main difference between Inktense and watercolor is Inktense is a permanent dye and doesn't lift up color like watercolor paint. This set costs around $27 on Blick Art Materials.

There was also a Princeton 1/2 inch Lunar Blender. This brush retails for around $6.25 on Amazon.

The paper in this box was a pad of agave fiber 200 gsm 4X6 inch watercolor paper. I'd never heard of Agave fiber paper. A 9X12 inch pad of this paper retails for around $23 on Amazon.

Finally there was an art supplies list, a SketchBox sticker, and a print from the featured artist.

Doodlin' Time!

The Inktense pencils had bright pigment and dissolved well with water. The Inktense pan weren't quite as vivid as the pencils. The agave paper seemed to work just as well as cotton paper.

'Gnome Sketches'

by Ellie Taylor

I sketched some gnomes with the Inktense pencils and added the color washes with the Inktense pan paints. I probably needed a real ink pen to get really fine details, but the pencils worked okay for loose sketches.

'Desert Sketch'

by Ellie Taylor

I also did a quick desert sketch with the Inktense pencils and pan paints. I used the pan paints to make the large areas of color and then the pencils to add some sketchy details. I like the results in this painting better than the previous sketch.

For me Inktense products work best on landscape style paintings. Because they are dye based, light fastness is a factor with Inktense products and they are best used for sketchbooks or to make prints from the original art work.

This was a nice bunch of boxes and I enjoyed using art supplies that I had never seen before such as the agave fiber paper.

The SketchBox Premium costs $35 plus $5 for United States, $10 shipping for Canada, and $15 for all other international shipping. SketchBox has a list in their FAQ of the countries that they ship to. Check them out through my referral link. https://getsketchbox.com/refer/Elean-IFGGOHVY

Discontinued Products Alert!!!

Several people on Youtube have mentioned that the Marabu product line may be discontinued so if you want them better stock up now!