Monday, June 2, 2008

As promised: Comparison of Niji Pearlescent and Twinkling H20s

Well, I finally finished the comparison, took pictures, uploaded the pictures and am ready to share my "findings" with everyone.

I love Twinkling H20's, but they are expensive (even though they last forever), so when I found the Niji Pearlescent Water Colors online I was intrigued for two reasons: they looked to have a bit more sheen and the set of 21 colors was $5.95. I put the Niji in my bookmarks and was going to order them when, but was able to purchase them in person at the stamp convention I attended this weekend.

Are the Niji paints a good buy? In my opinion yes! And in many ways they have a much better sheen then the H20s. One concern is that the Niji set seems to be a bit stingy on the quantity, however, if they perform like the H20s, the colors will last a long, long time. Another drawback to the Nijis is that they only have 21 colors, however the color choice is broad enough to use with almost every color. Some of the Niji colors seem to have a bit less color pigment in them, and I found that by using a marker first, then painting over with the Niji I was able to get wonderful, deep, rich color.

The Nijis do not have a good red or yellow, but I found that applying the Niji over marker can create the color I am missing, for example, color a stamped image with a red marker or water brush, and then go over with a related Niji color. You will have to experiment to find what will work best.

So, sit back, grab a cup of coffee and follow the slide show of the comparison. You have two choices to view the slide show, either right below, click on the image and the slide show will start (a bit small and it is hard to read the captions) or you can go directly to the album (larger images and you can read the comparisons better) by clicking here.



I hope you like this comparison, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

Enjoy your day, now I am going to try to get some cards made : )

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for putting together a great comparison of the two products. Great work!

Coletta

Bugga in OK said...

Thanks so much for taking time to post your comparison. I don't have the H2O's but just ordered the other ones. I can't wait to get them and start making lovely colors!

Bugga in OK said...

Thanks so much for posting the comparison. Great job.

I don't have the H2O's but just ordered the other ones.

I can't wait to start painting with them!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the comparison - it's often so hard to determine the differences & decide between similar products.

I have some questions about other attributes of these 2 products - do the Niji take as long to soften and be ready for use as the H20s...and how did you find the paints flowed (did they spread easily, etc.)?

I imagine that, as well as using them with markers, the Niji could also be used with other watercolours and also ink pads to create more depth to the colour and a bigger range of colours

Jheffner said...

Hi Elizabeth,

The Niji's are a bit different then the H20's, I don't soften them, just add the water and pick up the color. The paints flow very well, and add wonderful depth without changing your base color.

The Niji's are more of a "shimmer" addition then color.

I hope this helps :)

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

You are incredible! What a glorious comparison. Thanks so much for you hard work. You ROCK! Hope it's okay that I linked you up. :O)

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