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 August 2018 "Creating A Mandala" Review
This month's project was creating a mandala! 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 Pentel 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.
Pentel Milky Pop Gel Pens - Violet, Sky Blue - Retail Value $2.69 each (found here for $2.19)
Pentel Sparkle Pop Gel Pens - Black/Red, Blue/Green - Retail Value $2.69 each (found here for $2.19)
Pentel Sign Pens - Orange, Purple - Retail Value $1.45 each
Posca Acrylic Glitter Paint Markers - Yellow, Green - Retail Value $3.50 each
General's Layout Pencil - Retail Value $9.27 for 12
Limited Edition Fashion Journal - Canvas Coloring - Retail Value $12.99 (found here for $10.39)
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 and I go back and forth on who is doing the Smart Art project every month, and this month, I decided to give it a shot! I don't love coloring, but I do love mandalas, so I thought hey, why not? So, I initially attempted to do this with only the materials provided, and this was the result. It was very un-centered, even with me using various round objects as a guide. I wasn't happy about this.
So I grabbed my son's protractor out of his math box and made a set of symmetrical concentric circles! I used the sketch pencil provided, which was very smooth and easy to work with.
The directions said to start drawing all the shapes within the circles in pencil and then go back over them with pen but there is no way on Earth I have the patience for that. So, I just started drawing the shapes in pen free-hand. It is not as tidy, but honestly, I would need to create a substantial series of stencils to make this completely symmetrical, and that would take forever. We will all just have to live with a little wabi-sabi when it comes to my artwork. I used the red-black glitter pen for this, and I was happy with the color and coverage. The action of all the gel pans was incredibly smooth, and the fill was impressive, too.
I completed my design in pen and started to color in the shapes.
This is my completed mandala! I love it! I know it's not super symmetrical like you might expect, but it's the first one I have ever done, so I am happy with it. I liked working with all the implements provided, but I am really happy with the way the blue/green glitter pen looks. So pretty!
The Verdict: My husband and I are both huge fans of Smart Art! This was a new form for me, but I enjoyed trying it. I love all the pens that were provided! They are all so pretty! The value this month was a little low at $34.42 in a $49.95 box, which includes free shipping. That's a little low, even for a fine arts subscription box, which tends to run low anyway. I definitely feel like the curation and instruction adds to the overall value of the box, but it is subjective, so you would have to decide for yourself if it is worth it to you.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, you will receive the October 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 April 30th will be shipped May 1st.
Coupon – Use code COLORJOY to save $5 off your first box!
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