I visited Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS this weekend and was delighted to find the new Zebra Zensations 2mm mechanical colored pencils. Wonder Fair stocks the set of 12 ($11.76) as well as individual pencils ($0.90 each). The cost for these softly-rounded triangular, plastic, click-advance colored pencils was too good to pass up. I know…
Showing all posts tagged art supplies
My New Whatever Journal
By Tina Koyama When I first discovered urban sketching and began documenting my life with sketches, I almost immediately discovered a dilemma. Admiring the works of many sketchers who use this method, I especially loved the concept of putting sketches and writing on the same page. As a lifelong journal writer, I saw the value…
Brush Pen Review: Kuretake Zig Fudebiyori Metallic
Review by Tina Koyama It’s planner prep season, and it’s also time to start thinking about (say it ain’t so!) the holidays. I took care of both with one set of brush pens: the Kuretake Zig Fudebiyori Metallic set of 8 colors (8/$17 or $2.50 each). Although I have a gazillion brush pens and use…
Art Supplies: Viviva Colorsheets
I did an epic sketchbook review a few weeks back and I included watercolor swatch tests in each sketchbook. Those swatches were created using the Viviva Colorsheets (original set of 16 colors is currently available for $20, new Inktober edition for 2021 is coming soon). Viviva Colorsheets have been on the market for a couple…
Art Supplies Review: Rikagaku Kitpas Wet-Erase Crayons
Review by Tina Koyama Years ago when I was making abstract, mixed-media collages, one of my favorite media was Caran d’Ache Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels. I don’t use them for urban sketching because the broad crayon sticks require larger paper than I want to carry, but I remember the fun of making huge scribbles,…
Sketchbook Review: 8 Random Sketchbooks (including HOT TAKES)
I recently realized I had accumulated quite a stack of sketchbooks to review. I was not sure the best way to present them so I decided to just review them altogether. There are EIGHT different sketchbooks from seven different companies and include different types of paper, binding methods, number of pages, price points and other…
Fountain Pen Review: Hero 330 with Fude Nib
Review by Tina Koyama Around the time that I had discovered the reasonably priced Moonman S1 fountain pen with a fude nib, I noticed another, even less expensive fude: the Hero 330 ($4; available in dark red, dark green and black). After some so-so experiences with other inexpensive Heroes years ago, I have hesitated about…