Smart Art is a fine arts subscription service that sends a new project every month and all the supplies needed to complete it. My husband and I are both artists, and we have been having a blast with our Smart Art subscription!
This box was sent to us at no cost to review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Smart Art
The Subscription Box: Smart Art
The Cost: $49.95 per month with free shipping. Save with 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.
ACTIVE DEAL: $5 off your first subscription
CODE: ENJOYART5
The Products: A fine arts project, complete with instructions and supplies
Ships to: U.S. only
Good to know: It's a different project in a different media every month, using different techniques!
Smart Art January 2018 Review
This month's project was creating colored pencil drawing! This is the booklet that Smart Art sends every month. It includes art history related to the project, a list of the included supplies, project pointers, and instructions.
Subscribers can upload a picture of their finished project to Smart Art's Facebook page for a chance to win a free box! That's really cool! On the other hand, our projects usually take forever, so we always seem to miss the boat on this contest.
This is the inside of the booklet. On the left are the art history and project pointers, and on the right there's some info on colored pencils plus the supply list.
The instructions are printed on the back of the booklet. They are pretty clear and easy to follow, but they still allow for as much creativity as you like.
Here are the supplies that were included for this month's project:
Bruynzeel Expressions Colored Pencil Set, 12pc - Retail Value $25.20 (found here for $18.79)
Fabriano Venezia Sketchbook - Retail Value $23.95 (found here for $14.39)
Finetec Blending Pencil - Retail Value $19.20 (found here for $12.70)
Color-Combi Colored Pencil Sharpener - Retail Value $4.96 (found here for $4.25)
Faber-Castell Perfection Eraser Pencil with Brush - Retail Value $3.20
Please note that the values listed here are list prices. Almost all of them can be found for less at most online discount art supply stores.
My husband took on this month's Smart Art challenge! His first step was to create a pencil outline of his design. He mentioned the high quality of the sketch book and its excellent binding.
His next step was to start filling in some color with green on the top and grey in the body. He remarked that this was a very nice colored pencil set, possibly the best he has ever owned. The colors fill nicely.
Then he started adding the black and blending it with the grey. He actually really liked the least expensive item in the box this month, the eraser pencil/brush combo. He said it was really useful for blending, and he has never had one before. Cool!
He then deepened the green and added blue and black and shading to the head, blending as he went along. He blended two yellows and red into the beak.
Then he deepened the wing colors with grey, black, and blue, and colored the feet with brown and orange.
This is his completed drawing! It's beautiful! He finished up by adding some white highlights and making use of the blender pencil, which he said was outstanding.
The Verdict: My husband and I are both huge fans of Smart Art! My husband enjoyed creating his duck drawing, and I think it turned out really beautiful. He felt that the quality of the materials this month was really good. I was impressed by the value this month, which was $76.51 (less with sale prices). That's fantastic for a $50 box, particularly a fine arts box!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the February box. From Smart Art:
Sign up on or before the last day of the month to get the current box that will be released on the 1st of the following month! All orders processed after the last day of the month will ship the following month. For example, a purchase made on January 31st will be shipped February 1st. A purchase made on February 1st will be shipped March 1st.
Coupon – Use code MSA20 to save 20% off your first box
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