Akashiya SAI Watercolor Pens
For those who know me best, I'm a real sucker for art and stationary supplies. (In fact, I think KS is almost as bad as me... but has much stronger will power...)
One of my favorite places to shop is JetPens. Because we don't have a Kinokuniya Books here in Hawaii, I don't have easy access to the latest and greatest pens and markers. (Sad, but true~) The site not only has a great variety of pens for all types of users, they also have some great tutorials and informative videos on how to use and modify their pens. (Some of which we have been itching to try... *___*)
Anyhoo, I got their June newsletter in my mailbox this past week and they touched on a new product they just added to their lineup called the Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen - 20 Color Set. These pens were selected for the 2007 ISOT Stationery of the Year award - for their slick, portable design and disposability.
When I have the time, I like to pull out my Copic Markers, watercolor tubes, brushes, and colored pencils... but they take a long time to set up and clean up and are bulky to carry around with me. (Trust me, I've tried...) I was half-heartedly looking for a more portable option and when I saw the Akashiya Sai Watercolor Brush Pen Sketch Set that came with the brush pens, collapsable "bucket", brush, waterproof inking pen, a palette tray, and a nifty carrying case, I decided to put my order through for the denim version. (Just in case it gets dirty... ^^;)
I got my order the day after I got my shipping notice via e-mail. Yes - the day after. In fact, I've received all of my orders via JetPens within a very short period of time - and their free shipping offer for orders over $25 is reeeeally nice.
My thoughts? The pens have been really easy to work with and the colors are very vibrant! My test sketch was done on Canson watercolor paper (inked with Neo-Pikos) with straight color - no diluting or mixing. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! No strange "bubbling" or splotching so far. I'll probably be testing them out more this weekend, but so far, I like them! I eventually hope to be able to resume my self-scheduled "sketchcrawls" again and get more practice with traditional colors when out-and-about~
Whee!
For more photos, I have more uploaded to our flickr gallery! (They're also sorted into the "Work Space/Tutorials" group - for later reference~!)
In the meanwhile, on Twitter, KS and I were directed to a comic done by local editorial cartoonist, Roy Chang (yes, the same one from Aiea Intermediate School~) featuring the Anpan & Nemu Fleece Hats! It's live on the Midweek site, so check it out! :D
Have a great 4th of July, America!
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