Thoughts on the Himi Jelly Gouache sets
Himi Jelly Gouache…. Or just Jelly Gouache in general, as there are other brands than Himi that have made similar Jelly cup gouache sets, such as Miya, Arrtx, and Marie’s.
The Himi Jelly gouache however went viral a couple of years back, and back then it seemed like every artist had a set.
You couldn't really get them in Denmark back then, until a year or two ago, when Stelling.com got the 3 basic sets. An 18 set in a yellow case, a 24 set in a green case, and a 50 set in a white case! I was ecstatic! I had wanted to try a jelly gouache set for just as long as it had been a hit online, and now I could actually get one! Exciting!
I dabbled on which set to get, I really wanted all of the colors, but the middle set seemed like a good place to start, yet if I didn't end up liking the paints, it would be a waste, so ultimately, I chose the smallest set, with 18 colors!
Now I've used the Himi Jelly gouache set on and off for about a year now, and despite there being tons and tons of reviews on the internet, I have also taken some notes! So, if anyones interested in my opinion and observations as well, keep on reading!
My first impression and re-impression.
My Himi jelly cup gouache set came very well packaged, it was protected with bubble wrap and made sure it wouldn't slide or bounce around in the cardboard box it was shipped to me in.When I first pulled it out of the box, I was honestly surprised at how heavy it was for such a small set. But I guess it's like that with paints, it adds up.So I can imagine, sets with more colors in them are even heavier!
The lid has a click lock on each long side of the box, and when I opened it the paints were sealed, with a white protective sticker that would seem easy to peel off, but no… It took almost 30 minutes for 18 paint cups and it got all over my hands!There was also a little plastic palette clicked into the lid, in the same color and length as the box.
The lid describes the paints as, “Safe & Non Toxic” “Washable” “Bright Colors” “Silky & Smooth” and “Quick Drying”
There are 18 colors in the set I own, of 30 milliliters each. To be honest I expected the paint cups to be bigger like a 50 ml cup, so I was sort of surprised at how small they actually are. It's not a problem by any stretch, I guess I just imagined them bigger, and 30 ml. of gouache is actually quite a bit, since most gouache tubes are only 22 ml.
The colors are in sort of a funny order when you open them up, if you are used to art supplies being sorted in rainbow order, you’d be in for a disappointment.The colors go from warm on the left, to cool on the right, with the two whites in the middle, in the bottom row.
I lived with this arrangement for almost a year, until I finally decided to rearrange them in rainbow order as I would like it!
I used a small exacto knife to lift out the cups and re-arranged them.
After they had been rearranged I decided, since it had been awhile since I had used them, to revive them a little. So, I sprayed water on them generously, and mixed them up to a nice consistency with a palette knife!
I know Stelling.com also sells a HIMI Gouache spray…. I don't know what is in it, other than H2O, but they advertise it as “a spray that will keep your paints alive, smooth and beautifully clean” and apparently the spray can also keep the paints wet for longer? Hmm… Curious….
I have also seen that you can get refills of Himi gouache paints in small bags with a nozzle on them, but I think that's only in the Asian part of the world… For now! Maybe you can get them shipped… Who knows?
I had an old swatch chart somewhere, but I have not by the life of me been able to find it, so I made a new one, labeling the colors by their temperature as I see it.
(Color temperature is really relative and kind of depends on the color beside it, the colors surrounding it, or compared to another color in the same category by a different temperature.)
I also made an opacity chart by making a stroke of mars-black acrylic paint, and seeing how opaque or transparent the jelly gouache paints were.
I have no idea about the lightfastness of these paints; but I would most likely, if my gouache painting had to be displayed on a wall in sunlight, spray them with an UV sealing meant for gouache and watercolor, just to be safe.
If you need to know the lightfastness of these paints I'm sure somebody on the internet somewhere has made such a test! 🙂 Sorry I couldn't be of help!
Working with and using the paints.
I've been using the paints an extra lot while making this review, beside all of the time I used during the year since I got them.They have been enjoyable and fun to try out and get to know, but I personally don't know if I'd buy another set once these have run out, simply for this reason!......
Using them I realized a thing that may just be personal to me, that I want to get off my chest first. Traditional water gouache, which these paints are, can activate the layer underneath that has already dried on the paper. That feature is not my strong suit, I don't particularly like that very much.
I personally, am more an acrylic gouache kind of person, where dried layers can’t be reactivated when fresh paint is layered on top. But that's just personal preference and not something that really affects my review of these paints, just thought I would mention it…..
The paints are really bright and vibrant both wet and dry. The color selection for such a small set is really good, since you get all of the basic colors whether you choose to work with the CMYK system or the Red, Blue, Yellow system. CMYK standing for Cyan (which is a sort of sky blue color) Magenta (which is a warm purplish pink, slightly reddish color), Yellow (which usually is a bright vibrant yellow like the skin of a lemon) and K = Keycolor (Which is basically just black)
Where as in Red, Blue, Yellow is the more classic immediate color you think of when you hear their names, Red (is a bright fire truck red) Blue (is a dark purplish blue, like ultramarine blue) and Yellow (You’d think of something similar to a lemons skin but slightly darker or deeper in color)
Why does this matter, can't you just any type of the reddish, bluish and yellowish colors in the set to mix the color you need?
Well, yes and no. I give you the short version cause we are here to talk about jelly gouache not for color theory 101.
While you can use the RBY system to easily mix colors, they won't be as vibrant and pure as if you used the CMYK system! You'd get a brighter result with CMYK, because Cyan, Magenta and Yellow are colors that cannot be mixed by any other colors, naming them the primary colors! Whereas the colors you may think of when you imagine RBY, can all be mixed by using CMYK.That's it really… I learned all of this in graphic design class back in 2012….
Now, the jelly gouache…What I said is that the Himi Jelly gouache 18 color set, does have both warm and cool versions of the primaries, both in the CMYK and RBY understanding…
Which is super handy cause what that means is that you can, without almost any restrictions, mix any color you desire!The whites can of course not be mixed since white is, sort of, a lack of color…And all of the other extra colors such as the violet, the 3 greens and the 3 browns are only a bonus that expands your color library!
The colors I used the most in my set, are one of the whites, the bright cool yellow, the bright cool red, the light cyan like blue and the black.The two whites… I'm not completely sure what the differences are, BUT however after using them and testing them in different paintings in my sketchbooks….
I am almost 98% sure that what I have called “White1” (the white on the left) is a mixing white, whereas the other white is a more opaque Titanium white kind of color. But I cannot be 100% certain. I have used them interchangeably, with the same results…..
The paints do feel smooth and buttery, however, they can dry a little crusty and chalky on the paper afterwards. But it's not like they are cracking up, and since all gouache dries matte and changes color slightly after they are completely dry, I'm not concerned about the crusty feature. I do think however, that the coverage on the paper is not quite as good as, let's say, Winsor & Newton gouache or Schmincke’s designer gouache… But I guess that's to be expected since the Himi gouache is basically student grade paints.
They rinse easily off the paintbrush, and even if you forget to rinse the paint off immediately, maybe you left the paintbrush lay covered in paint, to the next day, the paint brush won't most likely take much damage. Except, the bristles may be drying out, becoming stiffer than they were before and more prone to breakage. But that is not something some brush soap and a teeny tiny bit of vaseline won't be able to fix!
Take care of your paint brushes, folks!
What I like alot about the Himi Jelly gouache sets is that you only have to remove ONE lid, and then you have all of the colors at your disposal!BUT, that can also be a downside, cause, if you forget to put on the lid overnight, they will start to dry and crack on the surface, which will make them less usable in the understanding of vibrancy and buttery texture, plus, dried gouache is harder to activate, and have a more watercolor-ish consistency.
Also, having all of the colors in one box with one lid, also makes them great for taking alon on travels…. You probably shouldn't paint with them on a plane, but bringing them along on some pleinair adventures is totally possible. I painted with these gouaches in my mothers garden last summer, and that worked out super easy!
I do like them for the price that they come at. All of the sets are a really good deal for the amount of paint you get, to the quality you get.
I bought my set (the smallest set) on Stelling.com for 253 DKK (danish crowns)
that translate to:
33,90 Euros
28,97 British pounds
36,73 American Dollars
The bigger sets do ofcourse cost more, but not that much more to be honest…. So it is still a great deal!
Maintenance and storage.
The most optimal way of storing them, in my opinion, is, when you are done using them, you spray some clean water over them with a spritzer, put on the lid, making sure it's closed properly, and put it in a ziplock bag, closing it just for good measure. That way, IF the lid is not closed properly, the sealed plastic bag will help with that problem.
I found that it's a good idea to clean both the casing and the paints now and then to make sure no filth contaminates the paints. If you use the paints like I do, and only clean the paintbrush in between getting fresh paint sometimes! Then, remember to, maybe, take a pallet knife or a plastic spoon, and scoop out the contaminated paint. Like let's say you had blue on the paintbrush but you needed a pastel version so you got some white, and now you have blue paint in one of your white cups. Just, very carefully, scoop out the blue paint from the white cup, BEFORE you revive and mix the cup with white paint. That way, they will last longer without getting muddy or completely ruined.
I'll recommend NOT turning the set upside down, especially for a long period of time! Without the lid, the cups will fall out and you’ll have paint all over. But with the lid on, even then, the paint might scoot out of the cups and land on and get stuck to the lid.
I am not speaking from experience, just… Common sense here…
Most people advise storing it, away from direct sunlight, and not in too warm places, as mold might be able to grow then. But also do not freeze! I believe the paint won't react well to that…OBS: These paints DO stain plastics and some types of fabrics, I found that out by accident…
Who would I recommend them to?
All in all they are great paints that almost anyone with some sort of knowledge of how to use gouache paints, even just a little, will get the use of!
I won't recommend the paints to:
Children under the age of 7…(it says no children under the age of 3 on the packaging, but I believe that's safety regulations)
People who are new to or just starting out with gouache…(as I believe it's better to get to experience and learn to maintain tube gouache before going to the jelly cups)
People who prefer acrylic gouache…(these paints are more traditional water gouache, and do not behave like acrylic gouache)
People who are just beginning their art journey!...(there are other mediums i'd recommend learning to be skillful with before tackling gouache)
I will recommend the paints to:
People who are experienced with gouache…(if you are used to artist quality gouache, you might be disappointed in the quality, but i'm confident you'll know how to use the paints properly!)
People who are looking for a good deal, and knowing what they will get!...(Are you used to gouache of student quality? Looking for a good deal? The Himi gouache sets might be for you!)
Experienced artist, looking to try something new!...(Bored with watercolor, or oil? Do you already know how water-gouache works, try these! They are aesthetic and fun!)
Now take these guidelines as well, guidelines! You don't have to follow my advice to a tee. Make your own conclusions! These recommendations are really just, rough recommendations.
BUT, I will strongly advise you to follow the word on the package from the manufacturer, and DON’T give the paints to children from 3 years old and below…..There is probably a reason why it's there!(I mean, 3 year old me would have painted the floor-carpet with these paints and tried to eat them as well… Don’t eat paints….)
I’ll give the Himi Jelly cup gouache paints, 3½ stars out of 5!
They were pretty to look at and enjoyable to use, but a bit disappointing in the coverage and reactivation department…
Do you use Himi jelly gouache, or any other brand of jelly cup gouache? How do you like them? And is there anything worth mentioning that I missed? Let me know!
This was all for now, take care!
-ONYX