Kuretake ZIG GANSAI TAMBI watercolor set (36 Colour Set)

Product Information

The binder used is different from the gum arabic commonly used in the Western world, and create a semi-glossy to glossy painting. Primary Matte ‘Wet on Dry’ Mix – This produces a slightly stronger colour, but I still think the Gamboge, Orange, Grass Green and Violet available in the set are best, and again, can be lightened or darkened to suite the project (although I did note that depending on colour ratios, the combination of Brilliant Yellow and Ultramarine produced a rather nice ‘teal’). I’m not sure how useful the metallics would be for everyday use and would probably recommend they were taken out of this kit and replace with some useful matte colours like a rose pink, a limey ‘spring’ green and a scarlet. The large pallets allow working straight from palette to paper, making them great for painting on the go. Thanks for your review, Marialena… the problem with mixing may be due to the pigment content in each of the colours.

Nihonga, literally Japanese painting or picture, is an art form rooted in centuries of Japanese cultures. Overall, I am spell-bounded by these beautiful gansai watercolours and would highly recommend them to any artists interested in trying Japanese watercolours. These take a little more water to activate than the other colours, but they still feel silky and fluid in use.They are also often used for underpaintings, where you want lighter colors because you’ll mostly paint over them. Kakitsubata - A rich pink, named after a specific type of Japanese Iris - Iris laevigata in English, also known as 'rabbit eared Iris' for its distinctive petal shape. VERDICT – The metallic collours are very shiny when dry and also very opaque, covering a few mistakes I made with a matte colours very well. Japanese watercolour - Gansai - is slightly more opaque and vivid water-based pigment when compared with traditional European watercolour, producing bold and vibrant gouache-like colour. I really love how Japanese palettes often contain bright purples and pastel hues that are so rarely seen in Western watercolour palettes.

Palette and Colour chart included] Within each Gansai Tambi set is a protective sheet that not only keeps your pans from shifting but can be used as a palette mixer.Personally, a lack of lightfastness would be a bigger killer for me than the mixing problem you highlight.

akane-iro - Madder rose - madder is one of the earliest pigments, traditionally derived from madder root and first used by the ancient Egyptians. Whether you already paint with traditional watercolours or not, we are sure that you will love using Akashiya Gansai.

It encompasses a wide range of subjects and styles, often depicting nature, landscapes, and classic Japanese motifs with meticulous attention to detail.

The only colour on which I can detect a very slight fading is the blue one, but it is so slight that I don’t consider it significant. What sets gansai apart from Western watercolours (distinguished as suisai in Japanese) is its high pigment load which allows for rich, vibrant colour that is less transparent and more opaque in nature. Colours] Gansai is traditional Japanese watercolor, utilizing colours that are based off those seen in nature, meaning they are vivid and opaque. The paints don’t flow like Western watercolors, giving good control but limiting wet-on-wet effects.Water is brighter than paint, so often the more water the brighter the color when wet, and the duller it will be once dry.