HIMIGouache Paints Set, 18 Colors, 30g, jelly gouache paint set, Non Toxic Paint for Canvas and Paper, Art Supplies for Professionals, and More (Pink Case)

As a watercolorist, I was looking for a gauche product that behaved somewhat like watercolors and was contained within its own travel box. The box and paint cups are much larger and heavier than I anticipated, but it’s not a deal breaker. I appreciate the amount of paint that comes in the wells.I made test swatches of each color. Then I made test swatches of the same color with white added. I did not notice a significant difference between the two whites included but I have not used them enough to say for sure. The colors blend well and are very vivid. They are highly activated with water and “a little goes a long way.” I appreciated that they blended well but could also layer well. I made several scraps of the blends and layers created when using leftover paint on the brush from making the swatches. Some of the test pages contained only one or two colors, with the addition of more water and/or white.They dry quickly on the page but not in the wells. This is actually a draw back for me as I prefer to work from dry paint and add moisture as I see fit, but again, this isn’t a deal breaker.Additionally, the pallet included in the lid does not fit well and as the paints are very wet, it gets the lid quite messy. This isn’t usually a big deal for paint that dries but with this paint I may have to wash the pallet before and after each use. Again, not a deal breaker for what I was looking for.Overall I would say this is a good product for beginners and intermediates alike, but probably not for experienced painters who want to keep their product dry and/or uniformly in order without unintentional mixing.

I am a huge advocate for buying the best quality art supplies you can possibly afford, but expensive, unfamiliar mediums tend to be a bit intimidating to use. I wanted to start using gouache, however I wanted to use relatively cheap paint set that wasn't so cheap that it would limit some of the key components of gouache. A little bit of Youtube introduced me to this set by himiart. I was skeptical at first, and I admit that it took over a month for me to actually convince myself to purchase it (not because of the cost, but rather the fear that such a cheap set would have very poor performing paint and turn me off of gouache forever), but I am far from disappointed.These paints are amazing. Let me quickly reiterate that I have zero experience with gouache so I have no baseline set to compare to Miya Gouache. But as purveyor of art supplies in a wide range of prices, I know garbage when I see it, and garbage this is not. The paints are nice and creamy, which apparently is a thing you want with gouache? They are also highly pigmented and mix rather well. When diluted with water they maintain their smooth quality while remaining very pigmented. One of the nice benefits for those of you who like to use gouache wet is that the container is made to keep air out. If you look at arleenbean's video on Miya Gouache, you'll see that after months of storage, she still had wet paint, which was one of the major pluses for her. Not only this, but 30mL per color is a steal at this price when compared to similarly performing brands (such as Arteza).There are only 2 criticisms I can really make, both being so minor that they don't warrant a lost star. First, this isn't really an 18 color set, it's a 16 color set with 2 whites. White is super important in gouache, and the white that you use is even more important. One white, usually called Chinese white (or zinc white), is usually transparent and allows for more subtle changes in shade. The other, called titanium white, is very opaque and quickly lightens whatever color you’re mixing it with. Usually both whites are included in watercolor sets and because titanium white is more opaque, it is quite useful for highlights and whatnot. But with already opaque gouache, I don't really see a need for both whites. I would rather they only included One and added another color to the set. If you've ever seen the Miya Himi 56 gouache set, you would know that there are quite a number of beautiful gouache colors that we could include here.Second, and this isn't a criticism on the set itself and rather on the company-- the larger sets and refills should really be made available via amazon. It turns out that himiart has a pretty large selection of gouache sets, refills, brushes, paper, etc that are available on other sites (I won't say the name here, but let's just say that he had to deal with 40 Thieves to get the treasure he's selling) but the shipping price is absolutely horrifying. I've never used that particular site so it may be a misunderstanding on my part, but I'm not risking it.These gouache are absolutely worth every cent. I went on amazon the other day to purchase a second set to keep for later when I noticed that they now have a 24color sets with 80ml per well! Bought one as soon as possible and now I have an extra set of gouache when this one finishes! Definitely give these paints a try, you will not be disappointed!

I am a beginner to gouache (and painting in general). While these paints may not be the highest quality for seasoned artists - for beginners just doing this as a hobby, they will more than suffice. The color range is great, and the structure of the case makes it so convenient to dip into different colors without having to squeeze a tube. They are also really cute to look at :)Cons:- No refills: given the large quantity, these will likely last a while, but you'll run out of certain colors before others without any refills- [minor] Can't close case with the palette inside: I thought it would be a convenient way to be able to store the palette, but I found that the paint from jelly cups would transfer to it from the bottom- [minor] Jelly cups can be a little hard and messy to open: Initially when opening up the cups, I ended up with some paint on my fingers and found the top foil had quite a bit of paint collected on it that I had to scrape off and put back in the cups.- [minor] Jelly cups dry out: I was expecting the jelly consistency to be retained for a while, but they stiffen up fairly quickly (less than a couple of months) even after keeping the case shut when not in use. This is not really bad in terms of functionality since it rewets easily and works great regardless, but just something to be wary of if you really wanted them for the consistency- [minor] Palette gets mildly stained when paint isn't washed off right away