Watercolor is pigments + Gum Arabic, Gouache is also pigments + Gum Arabic, Acrylic is Pigments + Acrylic Polymer, Oil paint is Pigments + Linseed oil, and finally, Gansai is Pigments + a combo of Animal Hide Glue, Starch, Gum Arabic, Beeswax, Sugar Syrup, Sugar and/or Glycerin. The Pans for Gansai is bigger because of the Gansai brushes. they do not snap back to its original form when used. So to protect the brushes the pans is sized up for them. You twirl the Gansai brushes in the pan to keep the shape. That is what I have learned. Please share if there are other explanations.
Sorry about the earlier video review. There was wrong information so I had to replace it with this updated review. 470 have already watched the earlier one though. Oops. :-P
Can you compare Holbein Artist Watercolor tube vs pan ? I use both of them, I do see the different. but Idk if that because the price or not (cause pan is far more expensive).
I'm really glad to see this comparison, it might be the only one on RU-vid. I didn't expected to be so much of a difference between the colors, but actually I feel like I like Kissho's colors better than the Kuretake gansai. Now I'm curious to try them out for myself! 🖌
+Sadie Saves the Day Kissho colours do have that little something special because of their ability to create hard edges. But it's also something else that is difficult to explain. Also the paints are slightly more granular. That could be it.
I just purchased a set of Kuretake Gansai Tambi. In experimenting with them, I am getting the hard edges but using hot press paper. Thanks to your information and before I get totally frustrated, I will experiment with cold press to see if the hard edges are less noticeable. I like the large pans and thanks for showing the pan size difference between Kissho and American half pans. Love your art work.
Hi Teoh, Thank you so much for the review and quick painting and sharing your sketches with us. You inspire me each time I watch you, you always seem to teach something new. I love your tips. Once again thank you for taking your time to share with us.
Teoh, those raggity water blossom marks have nothing to do with the quality of paint. It is because you used an excessive amount of water in your brush when you laid in your wash. As the water began to dry the edges began to dry faster than the interior of each wash. Towards the end of the drying process when there was a smaller puddle of water remaining towards the middle of the puddles the drier edges began to try soaking up some of the liquid that was still remaining towards the middle of the puddle. As the drier edges of the paper tried to equalize the moisture the dry part of the papersucked in more water and along with that water came more pigment hence the darker, heavier deposit of that excessive pigment that formed the "ring" around the wetter puddle. To prevent this from happening you will have to control the amount of water you load your brush with before you lay in your paint by either scraping the brush tip over the edge of your paint pan or tapping it lightly on a tissue or rag before applying the paint to remove some of the excess water from your brush. or pick up your paper and tilt it to recoat the wetted area so the entire wash area is EVENLY coated with liquid. The brush you were using may have released too much liquid or you pressed too hard when applying the paint tht caused the brush to "dump" it's payload so suddenly. That is one reason why watercolourists like to use sables, sables hold onto the water better and gives a more controlled "release".
Before I watch this video, I would like to say thank you Teoh for doing this review! Unfortunately I already made my choice months before, and I had lots of difficulty making a decision because of the lack of information comparing the two. So many thanks for also reviewing these lesser known products, and please keep doing the wonderful work you're doing!!! And greetings from Australia!
Wow the Kissho looks great for card-making! I haven't heard of it till now. I only got the Akshiya Sai that looks exactly like Kuretake's. Kuretake looks more dull but still absolutely beautiful! Very very harmonious.
Thank you for review them, both of them is amazing ! Many people in my place start with a set of Gansai Tambi 36 because the price and more lively than Whitenight. And continue with Kisso Gansai for more color range 48 and 72 include pastel tones. Kisso also offer 3 size : half pan, full pan and giant round pans. A full of 72 is a gigantic set for outdoor painting. They are also not difficult to find in my country, a lot of online art supply sellers stored them or ordered them from many china and japan sources.
Great review, Teoh! I have the set of 36 Kuretake Gansai Tambi, which I use for my little doodles in my journal. Since it's my first watercolor set, the colors are bright to me. It was great to see the comparison of other watercolor paintings to see that color difference.
Nice review! I have Kuretaki Gansai Tambi with 36 colours. They are definitely different from European watercolours, like Van Gogh but the quality is equally good.
Excellent review. I really enjoyed this and learned a lot about Japanese watercolours. I have been given a set of Kuretake and since I usually do quite muted work with Winsor and Newton, I'm looking forward to something different. Vibrant, flat washes here I come! Your sketches are very good, by the way.
Thank you so much for this video))/ I was happy to know sometimes you used our Russian watercolours "White Nights" . I wish you many many happyness and a lot of inspirations in your wonderful art. Good luck!))
Bonnie Hall I just found out they are not :(. They are made from glue from the fat of animals, if I have it right. So is most other Gansai paints, as they are a different medium. Best to stick to gum Arabic based paints.
jeepers creepers Link me? I just want to be sure myself, Internet and all, Id really appreciate it if you could give me the page so I could confirm for myself.
@@Phenrex www.jacksonsart.com/blog/2017/03/08/art-supplies-animal-ingredients/ here's a blog about it. There are also a few other results if you look for it. Sorry I didn't respond sooner RU-vid didn't notify me.
Thanks for the review :) The Gansai Tambi is really popular among cardmakers/scrapbookers at one point and I was wondering what you thought about them. Definitely skipping these since I prefer vibrant colors. XD
Thorough review as always, Teoh! :) My understanding is that these sets are most suitable for sumi-e/ink wash style painting which might be where there is a preference for dark colors to be strong and light colors to have that soft, pastel quality. These paintings usually use limited colors if at all and don't involve a lot of layering. The subject matter is also meant to be quite simple, typically nature, with an emphasis on one element (animals/flowers). Of course you can use them as you like, it's just paint after all. But as you noted- it depends on preference. I'd love to know your thoughts on more "standard" (?) watercolors from Japan. I've been using Holbein colors and think they are lovely. They are artist quality but I find them relatively affordable and the 12-color set has a great variety. It would be great to know how they compare to your favorites!
Thank you Teoh, for this comparison. I think that what is happening with the Kissho is that your pencilmarks push the paint away. Like water resisting Oil. I have the same issue with my Inktense pencils and some of my watercolors as well. I love painting with the Gansai Tambi. I will give the Kissho a try too. Thanks again. Always a pleasure to watch your video’s.
Earlier this year I got the 36 set of Kuretake Watercolors. So glad I did, since it has a fewgreat metallic paints compared to the smaller sets. Kuretake is quite opaque though, compared to other paints I own. Enjoyed watching your video :)
In your 1st swatches the 4 reds look like Cadmium Red Medium, Pyrrol Red, Alizarin Crimson and a possible Rose or Cadmium Red Light(?), though I'm very unsure of the last one. Great video. Thank you!
Thank you for the comparison. Your sketches shown in this video are all painted with Kissho. Do you have any examples of sketches coloured with the Kuretake?
hi teoh! I love all your reviews. very detailed and helpful. I was wondering if you have ever used liquid watercolors like ecoline or Dr. Ph. Martins? I would love to see a review on one of those. keep up the good work!
Great review! So very informative and thorough, I really enjoy waching your videos! Quite some times lately, I have been wondering about something about watercolours, I have actually found the answer from you! And this time I was wondering about Kissho and Kuretake. They are not available in Skandinavia/Northern Europe, I think, but I was thinking to maybe order one of them from internet. Thank you so much for making all your fantastic videos! I think you are a true Watercolour Art Guru!! : )
Hi what would you recommend out of all the paints you have used. I am looking for at least 12 paints preferably one black and one white and for them to be vibrant and not pastally. My budget is £30 ($40 USD) Thanks in advance!
I cannot locate an English translation guide for the Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36 watercolor set. Perhaps someone can direct me towards this information. I know it's available but I can't find it. TIA
I used the Kissho Gansai 36 colour watercolours. I needed to varnish the painting it as it was for a banner and needed protection against light rain. I waited 24hrs but when I applied varnish, the whole painting smudged. I will have to experiment- maybe 48hrs would cure or one week or....no information on drying times anywhere.
Thank you for this video, I saw Kuretake watercolor set in our local art shop and they are relatively cheap, so I was looking for a review, wondering, how will they look on the paper. I think I will not buy them, as they are too pastel for me. I have Umton and Van Gogh paints now, both of them are quite cheap and much more vibrant. Thanks a lot. :)
Ruchie try on rice paper! Japanese and Chinese colours are meant for very absorbent paper. After whatever is in it seeps through the rice paper, the pigment left on the rice paper will look vibrant! I remember seeing a Chinese artist paint from the back of the rice paper, and the colour shows up gorgeous in front. Conversely, if you use western watercolours on rice paper, the colours will disappear.
Teoh, Do the full pans of the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors fit into the plastic travel palette of the Kissho Gansai? Also, can you tell me why the paints seemed to repel from the lines on your color comparison as you were applying the paint? Thank you for doing this review, I was really surprised to see how much the Kissho's dulled down.
+corikay The Kuretake pans can fit in the Kissho palette. I'm not sure why the paint repels from the lines. It only happens for this Daler Rowney Aquafine paper. Other paper are fine. It's weird.
I really love the watercolor box, but I'm not sure I want to get Kissho watercolors because of that hard edge effect. I already have a Kuretake Gansai Tambi set of 6 that included a brush pen and a watercolor brush. Japanese watercolors have quite a different feel and look to them, I feel. Also, I like how you added the pencil for the texture in your sketch.
+Teoh Yi Chie hmm... yes Thats true. The 6 pan set is reasonable but doesn't have a mixing area, which is kind of annoying to me. I mostly only use them at home anyways, so it is ok. I like that there is more room for putting your brush into the pan. I have been using larger paper lately. I even did a painting this week that was 18 by 24 inches. How do these pans compare to the St. Petersburg's White Nights?
Gilberto De Jesus Santos alas i cant say i know much. My comment was just an observation based on the composition of the two different solvents. Ink in pens needs solvents that promote rapid drying (alcohols) versus the water plus binder (gum arabic? Honey? Etc) plus pigment in the watercolor
Nika Boyce i got you. It's just an aim i have to learn these indian-tibetan colors making or even purchasing. the gansai watercolors are approprieted to rice paper. They have a different formulation based on other binders that are not arabic gum but i dont have the answer for it too. Anyway, it's at least available on the market. Different from the indian/tibetan ones that is a complete secret at now. What is a pityful! I think when one denies the knowledge to others, the flux of learning and progress is blocked totally. Thank you!💋💋💋
I was thinking along similar lines, as far as ink resisting the paint. But it may not be alcohol, once the ink dries, the alcohol has evaporated and is gone. But some types of inks are oil based or shellac based. Both of which would resist water after they''re dry. And i wonder if the pigments in the ink could repel water too.
Oh, but I don't think the ink is what caused the kissho watercolor to form hard edges. I think that has to do with the quality of the binders and pigments, paper is absorbent and works on a scientific principle called capillary action, where the wood fibers act like straws and suck in the paint. If you dip a wet paper towel in black ink, the ink will creep up the paper towel. Low quality inks/paints will start to seperate into seperate pigments as they travel into the paper, so you'll get an ombré effect that starts black and ends up pale plus, pink, purple, or orange. That's becasue different pigments and binders have different molecular sizes and weights, so some of them can move farther than others. Cheap paints, inks, etc, will use combinations of cheaper pigments and binders with various molecular sizes, and higher quality ones tend to use a single pigment. (Basically cheaper watercolors might use a pricey pigment, but dilute it with a cheaper one to chat costs, or they'll combine several cheap pigments to approximate a single pricier pigment)
I really like your reviews. I've painted already a few pieces with watercolors and now I'm looking for some better quality watercolors(till now I use some cheap watercolors from ikea) and I can't decide between winsor&newton cotman set and Kuretake gansai tambi set. Which one would you choose? Which one is better? And are kuretake easy to layer?
+Niutka Lee Kuretake is more chalky and not as transparent. Not good for layering. However, there are some WN paints that are also not transparent. I prefer WN if the box can be reused in the future.
Hi, dunno if you'd read this comment in this 3 year old video but just want to ask, do you know any other watercolor brand that can produce hard edges like this, but more transparent? I remember 15 or so years ago I used to use school grade Sakura (not the current Sakura-Koi) that was like that (hard edges and transparent, but with less granulation) but I can't find them anymore. Been looking for replacement but no luck yet.
Hi Teoh, thanks again for your reviews, they are very great and helpful! Do you know anything about this brand: Bianyo 36 Watercolor Paint Set ? Thanks!
From what I can see on Amazon, it looks like watercolour paint for kids to play around. If you want to get a beginner watercolour set, check out this post www.parkablogs.com/content/best-watercolor-sets-beginners
Teoh - Thank you for the swatching of the Kissho set. Now that much time has passed, have you noticed how well they are lightfast or not? I’ve learned recently that the Kuretake I had wanted for months had several colors fail a 1 yr lightfast test, and I like to avoid sets like that.
I did not test them for lightfast. If you require lightfast, it's best to go with reliable pigments. These gansai tambi paint should be alright in sketchbooks.
Hi Yi Chie, I know it may sound a little strange but I'm wondering, commparing the Kuretake Gansai Tambi and a Winsor and Newton box set, which is better? Apart from the fact that W & N is more portable? I'm planning to do some character illustration.
I read that those Gansais are supposed to be used on rice paper, not the regular water colour paper most would use. I wonder if they'd react different, e.g. not causing harsh lines as the Kissho one does 🤔? I really am wondering if I should get one of those Kuretake sets - my curious nose just keeps ITCHING like crazy. I know, they're not super light-fast or something, but I like that those are actually supposed to be vegan and I wonder if I could learn some gansai specific techniques and might actually like them :) P.S. my curiosity just won all over again ^^' and my 24 set of Kuretakes just arrived straight from Japan :) I wish there were actual pigment information, claiming that they only use non-toxic heavy metals got me somewhat confused.
Great review, learn some important facts. I've been wondering what these paints were exactly. On one of the comments on "thefrugalcrafter" someone explained these were a different kind of pigment. Not a pigment but a mineral? Just curios about this.
+Gail Gassen Pigment is the mineral that provides the colour. They are extracted from stones and minerals. The main difference between this and other paints is the binder.
Hi, I was wondering, can you recommend any tins that can fit the Kuretake Gansai pans other than the Kissho? I'm planning on buying the Kuretake but I am hesitant because of this.
Hi, I really enjoyed your videos. Can I ask your opinion on the Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paints vs the winsor and newton cotman half pan? Thanks.
My friend got me a Gansai set during her trip to Japan that has 96 colours. I’ve never seen them being sold anywhere online or in shops. The most is usually 40+ colours 🙈 I dread the day I finish using them. 🥺🥺🥺
thank you for all the videos you do! i have learned so much from you over the years! how is the baby doing? we need an update lol have a great day! my daughter is having a second baby , in addition to my 7 year old grand daughter were so happy! i am painting all the baby forest animals and a forest mural for the nursery , i can't wait
They are both comparable. I don't think better is the right more, more like different. If you're on budget, Gansai Tambi may be a bit cheaper because their pans are huge
im thinking to upgrade my cotman color section with another brand, because i wanted to try another brand to work with and more color variations. Do you have an advice about some brand for me to choose?
+Deira Rizkia You can just upgrade to the artist quality Winsor and Newton. Or just get whatever artist grade paints near your art store so that you can replace them easily when you run out.
Teoh Yi Chie i'll try some tube of the artist grade Winsor and Newton or QoR further! Cant wait to try some. Thank you so much for the advice and review!
hello, I was wondering if you have tried the Karetake transparent watercolor. I would like a comparison to the karetake gansai tambi watercolor. I see there are no full pans of the transparent ones.
yes, there is a plastic paint box called kuretake taransparent. it says it's natural pigments. It would be nice to have a comparison video. it seems it only comes in the travel paint box.
Hi Teoh. As I understand, "typical" watercolours are created with pigments and arabig gum (vegetal product). Instead, traditional gansai pans are created with several components, including gum (vegetal and animal), beewax and others. I have two questions: - Traditional Gansai, as a medium, behaves differently from what we know as "typical" watercolour, due to the components? - Kissho and Kuretake are traditional gansai or they are using a modern formula to behave more like typical watercolours? Also, I have read some complaints about difficulties in mixing colours using Kuretake gansai. Have you tested the mixing? Thanks
+O i Kissho and Kuretake do feel different from western watercolour. They are more opaque so their mixtures is not as transparent, and perhaps more prone to getting Muddy mixtures. You really have to know the colours well to get vibrant mixtures. Check out my text review www.parkablogs.com/picture/review-kissho-gansai-watercolor-review-18-half-pan-set
Hi I’ve just bought komorebi metallic full pans. They are big. In japan can you get tins to keep the full pans in? The packaging is cardboard. Can’t find anything in uk. X
i've been trying to find a palette box to put my Kuretake pans in and i can't seem to find one. so i was wondering if you might know any palette box that could fit the pans. i don't want to spend money on ordering a box and find out that it won't fit. i've seen your post on palette boxes and thought you might have an idea. Thank you. ♥
+nemu. nemu I've not seen Kuretake palette boxes before. The one shown in this video is from Kissho Gansai, but they don't sell it empty. If you do want to buy it, check out eBay and Amazon Japan for prices.
nemu. nemu use magnetic tape under the pans and get a metal box with steel content. They will stick in the pan very well. All can be found in Daiso. I do it with my eyeshadows. :)
umm Hi ...sorry if I am being annoying commenting everywhere XD ...umm so I have a question ..which is better the Winsor and newton cotman or the Kuretake gansai Tambi ...Thanks in advance XD