If you like to work with watercolors and want to continue the exploration into them, try unique paint such as a premium watercolor and gouache hybrid from ShinHan Art. Established in 1967, this Korean paint company manufactures various types of acrylics, watercolor, gouache, and poster paints. Let’s learn from this ShinHan watercolor review what advantages this medium has over regular watercolor paints.
Main Thing About Shinhan Professional Watercolor Paint
The brand launched these unique paints in 2014. Before buying a set for a trial, discover all its features shared by artists who have tested them based on numerous videos of using them.
| PRODUCT SPECIFICATION | DETAILS |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 4.29 lbs. |
| Amount of Colors | 48 |
| Type of Container | Plastic tubes in a paper box |
| Volume of Paint | 20 ml/0.68 fl. oz. |
| Price |
These are professional-grade media. The name of the set (PASS Design Color) means that the media are able to “pass” and convey a seamless transition from transparent watercolor to thicker gouache applications.
Appearance and Design Features
The paint comes in white plastic tubes with screw caps. The tubes are quite large and sit in plastic trays with slots, where each tray accommodates 24 media. Each bottle features paint color, code, and a color strip for easy hue identification.
The tubes contain additional information, which will be decoded here for first-time users:
- The body carries the name of the series, where “A” means the least expensive, and “F” has the highest price.
- The square relates to the rate of transparency/opacity (an empty square for transparent, a black square for opaque, a diagonal line through the square for semi-transparent, a half-black square for semi-opaque colors).
- The stars stand for a lightfastness rating (4 stars for the highest lightfastness rate and 1 star for the lowest rate). The colors with 1 and 2 stars can be used for painting in a sketchbook and are not suitable for framed work. The colors with a 4-star rating are very few – only 3.
The collection arrives with an informative color chart that features a convenient scale of lightfastness and opacity.
Set Sizes
The set contains 48 plastic tubes that come in 2 layers. They include primary, secondary, earth colors, plus black and white. This is a fantastic mix of paints that features highly pigmented colors, fluorescent dyes, fugitive pigments, as well as opaque and transparent paints. The palette is large: Cobalt Green, Raw Umber, Carmine, Greenish Yellow, Brown Red, Shell Pink, Prussian Blue, Red Violet, Opera, and many others.
The set may seem big for what some artists really need, but it offers lots of possibilities.
Painting Quality and Uses
The first impression about the hybrids is that they are very convenient for travel sketchers and can be taken everywhere. They can be used directly from the tube, so you don’t need a big palette with multiple little wells to mix colors. Also, you can work with them dried in watercolor pans. The product cracks in watercolor pans, but it is easily activated with water.
The media are a must-have for artists on a budget because the paint can be taken in a small quantity with the help of a brush. Just keep the tubes upright.
The paint is easy to control. If you are painting inside a marker line, the paint won’t make it run. The product is not very fluid but a bit granular and chalky. However, its consistency in different tubes varies. You have to experiment and determine how much water you need for each color and saturate the pigment evenly.
The colors are highly pigmented without fillers. Unfortunately, not all shades are lightfast, and most of them are rated with a low degree. This means the painting will fade quickly if it is exposed to UV light too often. For urban sketchers and designers who work with sketchbooks, it is not a problem. After individual lightfastness tests in direct sunlight, the color swatches were fine and showed no discernable fading (except #870).
The hybrids differ in opacity and range from opaque to semi-transparent. Some hues are tinted with white to create colors that look like transparent watercolors. To express and adjust transparency, control the amount of water dilution. Some tubes have the word “hue” written on the body. It means the color is mixed from less-expensive ingredients.
If you are concerned about your safety and health, the good news is the PASS is not toxic and contains no cadmium and other heavy metals. The product includes a water-soluble gum arabic binder.
The PASS works like a dream: the colors are vibrant and layer beautifully.
Pros and Cons
This collection is highly rated among professionals and has got multiple positive reviews from internationally renowned artists.
- The paint is not dull
- An incredible mixture of shades
- Easy to control
- The tubes are pretty big
- A reasonable price for good quality (especially with Amazon deals)
- The lids open easily
- Advertised as non-toxic and acid-free
- The top tier of tubes is hard to get out
- Have a low lightfastness rating
- Different tubes have a different consistency, being either too dry or too liquid
- Some paint names sound odd (not actually a drawback)
In Closing
Some users may need to experiment with the hybrids to explore their consistency and intensity to be more confident in the way they behave. I’m sure this paint set will not leave any artist indifferent. They are worthy to replace your current collection of watercolors thanks to the gorgeous effects and color transitions they produce.
Subscribe and follow me on social networks to read my best reviews. Yours, Yuliya Skryp.
References
- Welcome to ShinHan Art Materials – http://www.shinhanart.com/
- Shin Han Pass Watercolour/ Gouashe Hybrid – https://www.painters-online.co.uk/
- Review & Demo – Shinhan PASS Color Hybrid Gouache/Watercolor Paints – https://www.youtube.com/
- Shinhan Pass Review & Gouache Palette Set Up – https://www.youtube.com/