Paul Rubens Artist Opaque Watercolor Paint Set, Gouache Set of 24 Assorted Colors, 15ml Tubes, Gouache Paint for Canvas Watercolor Paper, Art Supplies for Beginners, Artists

This listing used to be for an older watercolor pan set that has been retired, so older reviews prior to July 2022 are NOT talking about the current product being sold on this page (opaque watercolor tube set). For those wondering what opaque watercolor means compared to gouache or even regular watercolor that may use opaque pigments: this product is a hybrid containing white, chalk and matte fillers to make the colors opaque (covers black paper). This is smooth like watercolor, not thick or gel-like as gouache. Because it's very thin and smooth it can be layered more without cracking (though I wouldn't say "impasto" since you can't build much texture depth with such fluid paint - it's NOT like heavy body acrylic or oil). This is a hybrid paint that defies definition, similar to ShinHan Pass or Mission White products. They have less gum arabic and glycerin than watercolor, so they are more matte - less glossy and they crack more once dry. They crack less than gouache though and are slightly finer in particle size with more flow on wet paper. Smooth and disperse well in wet washes. These are not streaky and can create flat backgrounds. While these are pleasant to paint with, my overall feeling is that I'd rather use a higher quality watercolor or gouache that won't fade. On a budget, you could mix any of your cheaper pan watercolors (from dry, brushed onto a palette/ceramic dish) with some wet white gouache (fresh from tube) to make similar opaque pastel tints. MGraham and DaVinci both make huge 37-60ml tubes of titanium white for a very reasonable price.FADING: This is a lovely opaque paint that can be used to create beautiful art... BUT I removed a couple stars due to lazy incorrect lightfast ratings and undisclosed fugitive dyes that are prone to fading. There is a color chart in the sale listing, but not with the physical product. Sadly it doesn't state the dye and opacity additives and there is a complete lack of pigment information on the tube labels. This means that each tube simply says it is lightfast, but with no ingredient to double check for those who have learned pigment codes or want to research it online. The "+++++" on the tubes are very misleading for beginners who will assume they won't fade due to the high lightfast rating. Normally PR includes ingredients on their paint labels so you can easily double check if it includes poor quality dye or pigment. Having the pigment code number is really informative and easy to double check the reliability of in cases where they mess up the LF rating. There are many fugitive colors in this set, which are normally only found in very cheap bargain/kids sets (PV3, PR4, PR8, PR11, PR21, PR22, PR51, PO13, PB17 and the undisclosed fluorescent dyes are all prone to fading). Additionally colors known to have unusual long term problems, such as drastic fading in tints like PY74 or sun/shade fluctuations like PB27 are used. At least half of the colors in the 36 tube set will fade to some degree, about a third of them severely.All 3 major brands of watercolor-gouache hybrid products contain fugitive dyes that will fade over time, sadly only Paul Rubens has wrongfully marked the tubes as lightfast and omitted ingredient codes. ShinHan Pass and Mission White are better about labeling the ingredients as well as noting fugitive dyes and pigments as low stars (instead of lazily marking all the tubes 5 of 5 stars indicating LFI/BW8/Max lightfastness as you see on these Paul Rubens ones). FYI you can quickly tell this product is mislabeled upon viewing the fluorescence (see pic, neon dyes that glow under black light always fade). This is NOT just a problem for art stored in direct sun, but even on walls near windows over the course of a year. I would only use them for print reproduction or sketchbooks. Often these types of products with vibrant colors that are prone to fading say "designers" because they are used for design illustrations where color variety is more important than stability (like product labels or magazine prints where the original is stored away from light or disposed of - not for hanging the original on a wall long term).The Paul Rubens opaque watercolors are the most opaque of the brands I mentioned (the opacity will fully cover black paper, or can be used like gouache to hide previous layers of paint). You can work light to dark or dark to light, unlike transparent watercolor. They are water soluble and can be re-wet from dry. However, they do crack when dried in a pan - so use a bead container with a lid to avoid losing pieces. You can also press the paint down into the pan during the hours it is drying to avoid too much cracking. I decided not to add a drop of glycerin or honey to these, since that will change the gloss or transparency level of this intensely matte opaque paint. If you find a color that seems semi glossy, make sure to stir the tube since there is a minor amount of shiny gum arabic in the binder that can separate from the pigment. You can re-wet these with a damp brush later for convenience, but it's easier to maintain opacity if you use them straight from a tube where you can more cautious about adding too much water. More water = more transparent.These were cheaper than other brands and great for those who do design work meant for print reproduction, sketchbooks or even black light uv glow effects since some of the purples/pinks/reds are fluorescent. They are a great alternative to expensive gouache sets UNLESS what you need is lightfast paint. If you need paint that won't fade (for art to sell or long term wall display in rooms that receive natural light from a nearby window) then you'll need something more UV durable like professional gouache from a brand like M Graham, Schmincke, Maimeri etc. Just remember that opacity is determined by pigment, not just paint type (pro brands usually have a color chart on their sites with opacity square icons showing when a certain color of gouache is more transparent or more opaque). When buying a pro grade gouache you may need to mix some pure single pigments that are naturally transparent with a separate white or black in order to make opaque pastel tints or dark tones. Pro paints don't add a bunch of chalk or other fillers to help you achieve that opaque full coverage, instead they give you a saturated pure color that can be more versatile and result in clean color mixing. These Paul Rubens multi-pigment mixtures with dyes and chalk can result in muddy gray/browns when mixing colors, so you may find some colors hard to achieve when mixing these paints. Despite these issues, if you want a fun set of "opaque watercolors" where white has been added for you (along with other stuff like opacifiers and dyes) then this set can certainly give you full coverage and vibrant fun colors. I certainly won't deny that they look beautiful on toned or black papers like Stonehenge Aqua Black or Clairefontaine's PaintOn.

Nearly 1/3 of the tubes were poorly mixed and pigment came out like water. Clearly sold by volume and not by weight.

I generally paint with artist grade watercolors. I plan to try plein air painting outdoor when I go hiking. I dislike using pan watercolor and I prefer not to take my larger watercolor tubes (15 ml) outdoors with me. I found this set of 5 ml student grade paint. These paints can achieve saturated colors more quickly than paints from pans. 18 tubes only weigh 6 ounces. I have purchased the Paul Rubens hot press Watercolor Journal to paint on. I included an image of how the paints appear painted on the journal and on Arches cold press paper.

I just received the opaque watercolors the other day and they're the best watercolors I've ever used.

Vibrant colors, excellent addition to my watercolor pallets

The pink colors are a bit to simmilar, and the paynes grey is more of a neutral tint, but i love the greens in this set. Super biginer friendly because the paint mixes great, but there are enough colors where maxing isnt needed. Paul rubens always have great packaging so would make a great gift.

The colors mix well together and are very bright. A little goes a long way, and you can get a lot from just a few drops.

Beautiful straight from the tube, but also when dried in a palette, they rewet easily and layer and mix well. Very pleased!