Is It Worth Switching to Cheaper Art Supplies?
Castle Art Supplies: Watercolor Pencils
When I see others paint with watercolors, it looks so relaxing. I just had to try it myself. But there was one tiny problem, I struggle with mixing colors the old fashioned way.
Then I had this lightbulb moment, why not get watercolor pencils instead? And maybe go for a less expensive brand than my usual Faber-Castell.
So, not too long ago, I bought a set of 24 watercolor pencils from Faber-Castell. But pretty quickly, I realized something… I couldn’t create some artworks because I didn’t have the right colors.
That’s when I started looking into their bigger sets. But wow, those are pricey. One day, while I was browsing online for some gouache paint (because, yeah, I want to learn that too), I stumbled upon this brand called Castle Art Supplies. And guess what? They were way more affordable.
Let me break it down for you. A 120 pencil set from Faber-Castell costs over 2000 SEK in Sweden. My 24 pencil set was around 600 SEK. But this new set from Castle Art Supplies? 120 pencils in a nice little bag, plus A5 paper and some other goodies, for just 700 SEK.
See? You don’t always need to buy the most expensive stuff! You can create beautiful art with cheaper supplies too.
So, what’s it like to paint with these watercolor pencils? Honestly, I’m loving it! I did the whole swatch thing to try out all the colors. Normally, I hate doing that. It takes too much time and energy, and I probably won’t do it again.
But I did it this time. And you know what? It’s nice to have and to know how the colors react once they’re dry. I also got some A5 watercolor paper with the set. (Greymon artwork from this post)
Usually, I use an A5 sketchbook from Hahnemühle for my watercolors. This new paper? I have mixed feelings about it. It’s not bad, but the texture isn’t my favorite. I find it harder to lay down the colors compared to my usual sketchbook.
I tried the pencils in my sketchbook too. But I didn’t sketch anything beforehand, just experimented with washes and such. Didn’t love it. For washes, traditional watercolors work better. Pencils are much better for details.
Overall, I highly recommend Castle Art Supplies if you want to use watercolor pencils.
And I’m definitely going to check out more of their stuff. Like I said, their gouache set is next on my list. 😁
Thank you so much for your generosity and support!
