December ArtSnacks Vs Sketchbox

Thanks to Denise Hillburn (my mother) for the gift of ArtSnacks for the year!  SketchBox Basic subscription purchased by me out of personal funds.  If you would like to help support this blog, and continue posts like this, please consider donating to my Paypal, or contributing to my Patreon.  Future unboxings and reviews are unlocked to the public at the $15 level each month, but backers have access regardless of funds raised.  Posts like this are only possible through the support of my Backers, so if you enjoy this content, please check it out and consider joining.

This unboxing and overview was brought to you thanks to the generosity of my backers on Patreon, and was sponsored by 7" Kara,Volume 1.  7" Kara is an ongoing children's watercolor comic set in rural Louisiana, and follows the adventures of tiny Lilliputian Kara as she discovers humans, explores the back yard, and befriends a kitten.  Volume 1 is available now in the Natto-shop, just in time for Christmas!

We're nearing the end of our ArtSnacks Vs. SketchBox year of unboxings.  I plan on ending this series in January, but if you enjoy it, and would like to see it continue, there are a few ways you can accomplish that.  You can write to ArtSnacks and SketchBox and let them know how much you value my content, especially my reviews.  You can also join the Patreon community and make your voice heard.

Special November Thanks To My Patreon Backers

Please note:  I have linked backer webcomics/blogs when I have access to them.  If you are a backer who would like to have your project linked, please get in contact with me.

Beyla

Sam
Andrew Benedict
Boss Goose
Sarah
Leanna
Yolaine
Heidi Black
Bea
Entreat
Deserae
Chris
Mary Catherine
Virginia Williams
Hoff
Ace
Wayne Norris
Yusagi
Michael Suriano
Lee
Ryan
Chandra
Rob

Previous SketchBox Vs. ArtSnacks
January- Winner: ArtSnacks
February- Winner:  SketchBox
March- Winner: ArtSnacks
April- Winner: ArtSnacks
May- Winner: ArtSnacks
June- Winner: SketchBox
July- Winner:  SketchBox
August- Winner: SketchBox
September- Winner: SketchBox
October- Winner: SketchBox
November- Winner: ArtSnacks

SketchBox: $25mo/$240 yr
ArtSnacks: $20mo/$200 yr

ArtSnacks

Unboxing

December ArtSnacks Vs SketchBox- Becca Hillburn

Overview

Note:  My photos of the cards have been lost.  Please watch the unboxing video if you are interested in the cards.

The Brands:

Caran d'Ache
Chartpak (Higgins)
Stabilo
Kum

Caran d'Ache Discovery Set

• 5 Supracolor Soft
• 1 Full Blender Bright
• Watercolor pencils
• Swiss Made
• Not sold individually

Available in the Discovery Set L'esprit Des Alpes set on for $30.96 Amazon
Individual pencils are $2.56 openstock on DickBlick
Set of 12, $24.99 on DickBlick
Full blender bright: $4.99 on DickBlick
Value of this set: $17.79

Stabilo Point 88

• fine 0.4
• waterbased fineliner

$1.00 openstock on Jetpens
$.95 on ArtSuppliesOnline
$.85 on DickBlick (select colors)

Higgins Black Magic

• Ink
• Pump action
• 1mm tip
• Quick Drying
• Waterproof
• Pigment Ink

Breakdown on various Higgins Inks
$4.75 on DickBlick

Kum Longpoint

• Magnesium

$1.95 on Pencils.com

MSRP Total: $25.93
Lowest Retail Total: $25.34
ArtSnacks: $20 per month, inclu shipping

Demonstration:

The Supracolor II watercolor pencils disperse color with water quite readily, and seem a joy to paint with.  They don't blend particularly well with the Full Bright Blender, but to be honest, I've never really cared for blenders with color pencils anyway.

As to be expected of a Kum product, the Longpoint sharpener sharpens quite well- yet another great sharpener for the pencil case.  Earlier in the year, ArtSnacks sent the Palomino Longpoint in one of their boxes, and it's found a regular home in my color pencil sketching kit, and sees frequent use.

Challenge

SketchBox

Unboxing

Overview

The Brands:

Kuretake Zig

Pentel

Chartpak (Higgins)

Zig Clean Color Real Brush 4 Pack

• Set of 4 Colors
• Nylon bristles
• waterbased/watercolor
• made in Japan

$13.89 with Prime on Amazon
$10.48 on Marker Supply
$12.35 on DickBlick

Kuretake No 55

• Double sided
• Hard and Soft tips

$4.20 on Jetpens
$3.53 on Amazon with free shipping

Pentel Touch Fude Pen

• 12 total colors

$2.50 each on Jetpens
$4.24 on Amazon

Higgins- India Ink

• water-resistant finish
• Pigment Ink
• Pump Action
• 1mm tip
• Quick Drying

http://www.higginsinks.com/inkspecs
$4.75 on DickBlick

MSRP Total: $27.39
Lowest Retail Total: $21.26
SketchBox Basic: $25 + $5 shipped

Demonstration:

The Kuretake No 55's hard tip is not really a brush tip at all- it's like a hard fiber fineliner.  The Soft tip is the same brush found on the No. 6 and the No 33, as well as the Zig Art and Graphic Twin markers.  I love that tip.

The Zig Clean Color Real brush markers blend well with water, and blend VERY well marker into marker on watercolor paper.  I can't wait to field test these!

Challenge

Draw with Me- Winter Satsumas with Clean Color Real Brush-Becca Hillburn

Higgins Vs Higgins

Notes:  The two Higgins markers are actually different- ArtSnacks is Black Magic, Sketchbox is India Ink.  This is great news, as it allows for head to head competition.

Higgins india ink desperses faster in water than Higgins Black Magic.

SketchBox Premium

Sketchbox Unboxing December-Sharon Cullen Art

• 2 Kuretake Bimoji Fude Pens- Small and Medium- $3.50 each on Jetpens
• SketchBox Signature Brush Marker Set (Includes a blender) (3 Pastels)-Looks a bit like the #Colouring markers in terms of body and nib construction.  If these are like the #Colouring markers, I'm really sorry- the #Colouring markers are terrible, as blog and YT fans will soon find out.- As these markers are not listed in the SketchBox store, I'm going to base the price off the #Colouring markers by Art Alternatives- $10.84-$11.79 for 5 piece set on Amazon (est. price- $2.36 each)
• Kuretake Refillable Fudepen- I'm not sure what model this is- Sharon didn't read the package or the card, and is not familiar enough with fude pens to recognize the model
• Zig Clean Color Real brush Marker- $3.40 on Jetpens

Retail Value: $19.83 (minus cost of fude pen)

SketchBox Premium: $30+$5 shipping

Normally I woudn't comment on the Premium boxes shared here- I like to let them speak for themselves, but Sharon Cullen has been pretty vocal about SketchBox (both positive and negative) over the months, and I didn't feel comfortable sharing this video without making a few comments.

Sharon and I apparently have very different views on how SketchBox is run.  I've gotten so many Basic Basic boxes (as compared to really decked out Premium boxes), that I feel that SketchBox is funding their system on anemic Basic Boxes.  I agree with Sharon that SketchBox is probably filling the box on price, rather than on quality, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they have no artists on staff- just artists who only work in specific media (perhaps all digital?), and while I dislike how Jon handles customer service on Youtube, I've had positive experiences reporting missing items.  I generally try to keep my SketchBox correspondence short and sweet, and would never go so far as to accuse them of being 'young' or insinuate that because I dislike what's in my box, the curators must not be artists.

It's obvious to me that the two of us have very artistic backgrounds- which is great- but also a reason to be wary.  Sharon seems to come from the fine art school- she dislikes markers, is unfamiliar with brush and fude pens, and has very strong opinions on what makes someone an artist.  I come from the commerical side of things- comics and kid lit art- and my bread and butter are markers and fude pens (I've reviewed so many of them here on this blog!)  When you're unfamiliar with a product, it's important to do your research and familiarize yourself with others who know the product, before passing judgement.  For example, Sharon frequently claims that the pens have Chinese written on them- that's Japanese.  Kuretake is a Japanese company.  SketchBox has sent Kuretake products before.  There have been past opportunities to look into that, and to find out that fude pens are considered brush pens. The complaints about markers also seem a bit over the top- most of these art subscription boxes include a marker a month, a markers are inexpensive in bulk, super cheap to ship, and almost everyone likes them.  Like color pencils, markers are low mess, low barrier for entry, and seem a natural fit for art supply subscription services.  What's confusing to me is the preference SketchBox places on alcohol markers, no matter how poorly constructed, over waterbased markers- they're two different media.  Waterbased markers are not a cheap alternative to alcohol markers, and a cheap alcohol marker is much worse than children's grade supplies like Crayola markers.

The Verdict

Yet again, this is a close call, as I really liked both boxes.  In the end, I'm going to say ArtSnacks, because I was able to utilize more of the materials included (the Supracolors were much appreciated), but I was also very pleased with my four pack of Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush markers.

In the end, I used both boxes as water media- I used the two Higgins markers for a variation on inkwash, the Kuretake Real Brush Markers as watercolor markers, and the Supracolor watercolor pencils as watercolors and watercolor pencils. 

The Winner: ArtSnacks

This is the end of my year long ArtSnacks Vs SketchBox series here on the blog and on my Youtube channel.  Keep your eyes peeled for my year in review recap, and if you've missed a month, please check out the ArtSnacks Vs SketchBox series page for everything- blogposts, bonus boxes, and videos.  If you haven't, I highly recommend you watch all of my Challenge videos, as they serve as tutorials for the media used.