I really enjoy painting with the Kuretake GANSAI Tambi 48 watercolors from Japan. They behave a little different then the Western watercolor brands we are used too. They have wonderful lifting qualities. They are not as transparent as other brands, but can be transparent. Very Pigmented and vivid colors. A little goes a long way. So if you want a transparent wash, then use very little. I suppose a beginner can use them with no problem as long as they realize they work a little differently then USA and EU watercolors. The watercolor I did is of a Japanese honeysuckle. The paints come in a beautifully wrapped in WASI tape and a generous pan of paint for each color. The paints are covered with a plastic cover that fits all 48 colors. I like that it comes with swatching template so you can test and see the colors as with all watercolors, the pan of paint does not always look like it on paper. So swatching them first I always swatch all my watercolors and keep them with my palettes. Enjoy! Its is a lovely medium to explore! Very satisfied with my purchase and will buy them again when I use them up. Read more

Gansai is "traditional Japanese paint" that doesn't perform exactly the same as watercolor. Here are some characteristics that may help you decide whether they are what you need.- They are less transparent than watercolor, which makes mixing, layering and blending tricky. They could become murky more easily than watercolor.- They are water soluble and can be "lifted", but they don't blend (less bendable) and migrate (less migration) on paper the same way as watercolor. You may see some tiny granular particles after blending, indicating pigments are not as finely ground as some other premium watercolor.- They are more pigmented than some watercolor and have more coverage. Think of them as something in between watercolor and gouache.- These are Gansai's expected characteristics and are not indications of bad quality. In fact, you can use them to create great art, just not exactly watercolor if that's what you are looking for. Read more

The colors and the smoothness of this is just absolutely beautiful. I enjoy all of its 48 colors and their uniqueness. I purchased this product because I wanted to get back into art again. The packaging was great and I had no broken pieces of paint when I received it. The brushes are great too.Although, I would say that when trying to blend colors together, the water regenerates the dried colors and creates weird patches (as you can see in the provided picture). I recommend to not use too much water when blending or trying to work on small details, which is what caused it to look weird.Overall, these colors are great for painting your own imagination in its physical form. Read more

I am a bit upset because I bought the set that was supposed to come with 3 water brushes and I didn’t see a single one. Other than that the paints are absolutely gorgeous and I haven’t seen any western paints that lifts as much as these do, a lot goes a long way however the pans are pretty much empty. I don’t think the paint in it is even up to a regular half pan you would find with other paints quiet low quantity hence why I need to hoard this because I so love the way they rewet easily and lift easily.Other people seemed to have gotten packs that didn’t have the color names but mine does the only thing missing is the lightfast information and pigment info even thous they aren’t like other western paints. However they are beautiful. Some flecks of paints here and there but those are fine. My major reason for the low rating is with the missing brushes Read more

I LOVE these watercolors. The colors are beautiful and saturated. I ordered the larger assortment with the watercolor pens. I have never used the pens but thought this was a good opportunity to try them out. The pens are great, they won’t replace my normal brushes but I used the smallest one to paint the color sample in the lid - just using the water in a pen and a rag it was super easy to transition from one color to another without bleeding colors. These are a little more expensive but well worth the money. The watercolors are the best I’ve used and the larger pan size is nice. Read more

Beautifully saturated colors and pans are a nice shape, especially for children, or really anyone who wants a little more room for the brush. Colors seem to translate accurately to paper, and are very rich-a little seems to go long way. Definitely more opaque than other brands-but varying one’s technique might allow most painters to control for that fairly easily. Lastly-though haven’t yet filled it out, I love the swatch card and am looking forward to helping my daughter (for whom I purchased the set) complete the legend. Read more

Pros: Stunning colors! The golds are amazing! Greens are perfect! Creamy. Sheer & opaque. Beautiful box. Good brushes.Cons: Must store flat & the pans are hard to take out of the box. I'm going to transfer the pans into two smaller metal boxes using magnets so I can store them upright after drying. Read more

I've been hoping to try these paints for a while and wish I had took the plunge sooner. They are truly lovely. A trio of brush water pens were a great bonus and are a fun change of pace. I would definitely buy again. Read more