Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolor Paint Set, 36 Colors, Made in Japan | 36 vivid opaque colors, non-granulating pigment, large pans, palette & color chart, Professional Use, Artist Grade

I think the easiest way to do this is to just list off a bunch of pros and cons...Note, I'm still learning and growing as an artist. I'm not a professional. I have provided some of the pieces I've created using almost exclusively these watercolors (and sometimes some pens/markers, purchased separately from this set of course)PROS:THESE COLORS ARE SOOOO BEAUTIFUL!The colors are very vibrant and blend out really nice; if you don't water it down, it's almost like painting with acrylic with how thick it is; when you water it down, it's a beautiful, amazing watercolor.The lid has the names of all the colors with empty squares by the names so you can do your own swatches of the colors.They layer really well.The white is opaque enough to use. With watercolors, you generally want to work light to dark... but sometimes you don't fully plan ahead and decide that a highlight would look great in a spot that's already pretty dark. With most watercolors that I've used, the white doesn't really help anything, but with this set, it does.You get a lot of paint with this palette.I've had problems with watercolor coming out chalky and just kind of gross looking, I've yet to have that problem with these.CONS:Some of the colors separate. I haven't been able to pinpoint exactly which ones do. I'd imagine it has something to do with the formula used to make certain colors but I'm not sure. What it tends to do in separating: it's almost like you drew a randomly designed cobweb with a white pencil/crayon that the pigment just won't settle on. In some pieces (especially abstract or logos) it actually looks really cool.The colors don't stay mixed. If you look at the palette, there's no skin tone. When I did the eye (second photo) I had to mix my own. No big deal. I mixed the color in a separate, empty palette. I walked away briefly after mixing my colors and when I came back, the colors had parted in the water. It wasn't a big deal, as they mixed back together with a little stir, but it was certainly strange.Price. These work about as well as the Prang brand watercolors, which can often be found for much cheaper. Still, compared to other watercolors, I feel like these hold their own and can be worth the price.Overall, I love this palette and would recommend.

The colors are beautiful, creamy easy to work. Best set I've purchased yet.

These are some truly beautiful watercolors to work with! In one word, they are "pigmented." So pigmented! They are not like traditional watercolors at all unless you heavily dilute them. They are more similar to a gouache, and all colors are fairly opaque with a few of the colors being completely opaque (black, white, and I think Pale Aqua and Cornflower Blue). There is also a color that is sort of silver or pearlescent, and both warm and cool tones of gold. So this paint is thick and fairly opaque, and a little on your brush goes a long way. I sometimes draw with a Pigma Micron pen before painting and these pen lines usually remain visible beneath the paint, so if that's something you like to do, you can still do that!The reason these paints are so different is mostly because of the binder. Most watercolor paints use gum arabic as a binder. Kuretake's use the collagen from various sea creatures instead. I've also read that that is part of the reason the colors are so bright. And you can both see and feel the difference when painting with these.Aside from these paints being such a pleasure to work with, most of the colors are lightfast! According to some kind soul who tested this set of watercolors for lightfastness over a period of a year, the only colors that are NOT lightfast are colors 34 (Dark Pink), 57 (Turquoise Green), 66 (Menthol Violet), 67 (Deep Blue). For anything serious you paint, you can just use different colors instead and you'll be fine. This was one of the bigger selling points of this watercolor set for me, knowing everything wouldn't fadeI feel like this is a genuinely good quality watercolor set that could be used by both beginners and professionals, because the quality is good but the price is still fairly reasonable. And if you are taking your art seriously and intend to display it, the lightfastness alone is worth it. Because what use is it to create something beautiful if the sun is going to erase it? So I say this watercolor set is WORTH IT!

So far, I have been a "tube" watercolor consumer/artist, but I have wanted a pan set for awhile. There isn't a better price for this complete color set anywhere online than right here on Amazon ($28.38 as of this review). I have watched many YouTube review videos on this particular set and haven't found one that did not like or love the Kuretake Gambai Tambi 36-color set. This set comes from Japan, so you won't have English names associated with the colors, but you can find these on the internet and match the number with the name.Mine arrived (two sets) intact and well-preserved. The pans are around 1.5 inches wide so you can use a wider brush and appear to be almost a full pan. The pans are also removable so you can set up a color palette of your choosing. I suggest making the color swatch provided in the lid by dabbing on the corresponding color as you will be unable to tell the true color just by looking at the dry but semi-soft condensed colors. The colors are very intense so you will need more water if you want a pale wash--I suggest using a palette to mix these washes or a very wet-in-wet on paper as the cardboard box will deteriorate over time with repeated wetting.Some reviewers believe these are not as transparent as traditional watercolors, but as this isn't my main medium, I wouldn't know for sure. I like intense colors (my main medium is alcohol ink) so I love the way these appear. What makes the 36-color set so special is the added golds (2) and silver metallics. Boy, do they make your paintings pop! There are quite a few greens, but if you're a landscape artist this is a plus. The one brown that, I believe, is supposed to be a burnt sienna will not replace a good quality one, but that's just my opinion.I highly recommend this beautiful watercolor set and the great price, too!

This Japanese watercolor set is GREAT!!! I LOVE IT!. The paint is very opaque, but can be diluted and to look like regular watercolors. The colors are very vibrant. If you apply heavily they will dry with a shellac like sheen. The more you diluted them, the more they will dry with the watercolor look and texture. The paints are in individual pans that can be replaced. I have seen the replacements in other online stores, but not Amazon; i wish they had them available because i really enjoy these paints. They will probably will last some time because I use many different types of paint media, but I know that I will want to use these again and again.The pans have the color name and number as do the dividers, but the box and colors are labeled in Japanese. There is no english color name in the box, but a quick google search will show you the color names easily from any of the reviews from other buyers that purchase from a different vendor/store or site whose set came with an actual english written color chart. The lid has a color chart in Japanese, but it is just common sense to realize it and fill it with the colors since each provided box has the color number that matches the divider number and the number in the bottom of the pans!! The pans are separated by cardboard dividers that are part of the bottom of the box so it minimizes cross contamination of colors. However the pans are loose and if you tip over or drop the box they will fly out of it; nothing that can't be fix with a glue dot or magnet strips (like some other sets have). Also, I have notice in other reviews from other vendors/stores or sites that some of these sets come shrink wrapped and even some even have the paints shrink wrapped; mine were not. In fact the whole set came in a plastic bag (the kind that has removable adhesive in the end flap and the flap is folded to the back. However my paints came intact and without a problem. Delivery was fast and the item even arrived ahead of schedule.

This is my favorite set of watercolors that I have tried so far. The colors are vibrant and beautiful. They are very easy to blend. And they can easily become more opaque than other watercolors I have tried. This means you do need to be careful if you’re trying to do a light wash, as the colors can be more opaque than you expect.I do recommend filling out the color guide on the inside of the lid as soon as you get the set, because several of the colors look extremely similar, and you might not be expecting the color you get. For example, several of the colors look dark brown or nearly black in the pan, but they are actually a bright, vibrant blue or green!The gold and copper colors are especially beautiful, and show up really well if you make them opaque enough. Don’t use much water with those! The silver also has a very pearly sheen that adds a nice, subtle shimmer.I highly recommend this set!One thing to note: the box is HUGE! These are full-size watercolor pans, so if you expect to be able to carry this with you for field painting, you might be disappointed. It’s not very portable, but it should last quite a long time since the pans are so large and the paints are so richly pigmented.I would give this set 5 stars if the box were not made of cardboard (meaning you cannot use the lid as a palette) and if the colors were labeled in both Japanese AND English. Pretty close to perfect, though!

I'm actually really surprised by the quality of these paints. I've tried a lot of the major brands, from student grade paints (W&N Cotman) to some of the nicest tube watercolors (Daniel Smith, Mission Gold etc), and these compare favorably to the artist grade paints. I've seen just about every YouTuber review this set and exclaim how great of a value it is, but I didn't really understand until I made a spur of the moment purchase.One thing to consider when purchasing this set is that Japanese watercolors are slightly different from most Western European watercolors. Some of the colors are slightly opaque (most of these you can see on the palette photos, if a color is a pale shade in the pan then it's going to be pretty opaque), while others have amazing transparency. I watched an excellent review that explained the differences between the two in style and consistency. To summarize that review, this style of watercolors is not intended for extensive mixing. They are more transparent than gouache, but less transparent than most watercolors available in the US. Many of the colors are already a mix of pigments, so mixing more than two could give you muddy colors. Finally, most watercolors in this style are said to use animal glues rather than gum arabic, so this may not be the best set for vegans or others who avoid animal products (I have yet to confirm that this is the case with Kuretake).I believe this set was originally targeted towards crafters in Japan, rather than serious artists. This is largely the reason why I put off purchasing this set until now. I've tried some other relatively inexpensive watercolors (Sakura Koi) that were quite chalky and unpleasant under my brush. These colors aren't chalky at all and are possibly more pigmented than all of the other pan watercolors I've used. They can dry a touch glossy if you put it on really thick, but I don't notice any glossiness in my artwork. There is an excellent selection of colors, and the gold and silver (well, pearl white) could be very useful without buying a special metallic set.The colors flow relatively well on the page, perhaps not as much as paints right out of a tube, but well enough that they work well for all of the techniques I've tried. They will bloom if you use too much water, just like every watercolor brand, and as a fan of blooms, they do so beautifully. Don't let the cardboard box and low price point dissuade you from purchasing this set. If I could do it over again I would have purchased this rather than the expensive W&N Cotman palette I started with. The wells are not full to the brim (which makes them easier to work with) but they still hold a massive amount of paint, greater than a standard full pan I would estimate.

I'm enjoying these as I just started watercolor painting. Started with a set from Aristo, but wanted the large pans as the small pans are harder to use. The colors are beautiful, paint is smooth and so easy to use. Love them.

Estou apaixonada! É muito pigmentado e as tintas são enormes! Comprei apenas pelos reviews, e estava meio ressabiada, mas amei! Os aquarelistas podem comprar sem erro!

Wunderschöne hochwertige Aquarellfarben, die ich jedem, der Wert auf Qualität legt, nur empfehlen kann. Hoch pigmentiert und es macht einfach Spaß mit ihnen zu zeichnen. Für Fans des Aquarelle eine wirkliche Kaufempfehlung!

Ambalajı çok korumalı ve iyiydi.zig ürünlerine zaten söz yok orası sözün bittiği yer . Klasik Batı normlarının çok üst seviyesinde renkler parlak ve gerçekten pigmentleri süper mürekkep etkili.

Swatched these yesterday and love the colours. So bright and easy to use. Know I’m going to love them when doing my painting. Gorgeous and creamy.

These are amazing to use! I didn’t expect them to be so pigmented! I love the transparency of watercolor but it’s nice to be able to layer sometimes as you would do with gouache. Definitely something to explore!