Arteza real brush pens review

Arteza sent me some of their products to try out and review. This review is for 24 color real brush pens. The review for the watercolors can be found here.

I really like these brush pens. They have nylon brush and really pigmented vibrant colors. They are water based and non-toxic. The set also includes a waterbrush. I had a few weeks to play with them and tried different techniques. They work great with water as watercolor paints, and because they are ink based they move well in the wet on wet technique and this allows creating various effects. They can be mixed on paper laid one to another, on a palette or with water to create gradients. They aren't permanent so can be easily lifted even after days. One thing I noticed is that when diluted with water and laid on paper some colors cause color shifting, for example, light green creates yellowish and bluish shades.

It looks like a really cool effect if you go for a light watercolor look, but if you want just to create a lighter color is a disadvantage. Another thing that I liked is that they are water based so they don't bleed through the paper, so I can use them in my sketchbook, where I draw almost all of my elements for my patterns. I usually draw black and white, but it's so good to have the option to add color and see how my drawing will look in color at the end. The brush tip is very easy to control and can be used to create various textures.

There is one thing I didn't like and this is a lack of primary colors in the set. There is one red and one yellow only. In 24 color set, I expect to find at least 2 reds and 2 yellows. In this set you will find 1 red, 1 yellow, 3 orange(why?I can't understand this), 2 pink, 2 violet, 3 blue(this is good), 5(!) green, 3 brown, 3 gray(they are with various nuances and light grade) 1 black colors. I really can't understand the choice of the colors in this set, because this media is so easy to mix, in my opinion, they can put more reds and yellows instead so many orange and green colors. For me, this is a drawback if you decide to buy 24 sets. Also, I wanted to buy additional colors but what was my disappointment when I saw that they came in a set of four of the same color. These are really affordable but when you must buy 4 (and you don't need 3 of them right now) the things look different. It would be really great if Arteza offered refills instead.

pros

very well pigmented colors

mix easily with each other and with water

various cool effects can be achieved

very easy to lift

brush tip can be used for creating textures and writing

waterbrush

cons

lack of variety of primary colors

color shifting when diluted with water

additional colors can be bought only in a set of 4 of the same color

On balance I will say that these are really good for their price, but you may consider buying a bigger set if you want more variety in primary colors.

I really enjoyed trying new supplies, thank you for choosing me to test them, Arteza.