SketchBox is a monthly subscription box for art supplies. Each month, they'll send you 4-9 art supplies (often full kits) plus a piece of art to inspire you. The items included are for 2D media, such as pens, markers, pencils, paints, etc.
This is a review of the $35/month Premium box. SketchBox also offers a $25/month Basic box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $5 off your first box!
CODE: SKETCH5
Summer vacation is here and with that comes a whole lot of celebrating. June 30th is our 16th wedding anniversary AND it's puppy pick-up day! Two days later, I will be celebrating my 35th birthday followed by the 4th of July craziness. That being said: bring on the maxin' and relaxin'! Because I procrastinated a bit (and hate spending money on cards) this month's SketchBox arrived just in time for me to create a little anniversary card for my hubby. Read below to see what I discovered and how I utilized it.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
First Impressions
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SketchBox runs an ongoing contest to put a subscriber's artwork on the lid of their box. This months featured art was created by Liz Beaudoin and included a very realistic owl. Liz is MEGA talented and has a beautiful piece on her Insta featuring swallowtail butterflies that you NEED to check it out! Included in this box is information regarding how to enter the monthly contest on the info card. Check it out if you are interested.
What's Inside the Box
Content Card
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Each month we receive a content list of all this month's featured products, along with a short summary of each item and listed retail prices. Also included is a QR code for the SketchBox school where you can learn how to use the materials, try different techniques, and even create your own piece of artwork.
Artist Card
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This month's artist card was created by Anastasia Vasileva and showcases some really cool architecture and landscape. Anastasia is self-taught and encourages others to practice art daily not only for improvement for also for fun. I love this quote: "Forget about perfection - just put pencil to paper and enjoy the creative ride!" Yes, yes, yes! More of Anastasia's work can be found on her instagram page @missis.artista. Check it out, she is really talented!
Sticker
This month's sticker features three of the palette of watercolor we received the month and the SketchBox logo. Bright and cheery, just in time for summer.
SketchBox Signature Opaque Watercolor Palette - Retail Value $18.00
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If you have read my past reviews, you know I love watercolors. While I love almost every type of watercolor paint I have met, palettes that are easy to tote around, feature a multitude of colors, and are set at a high quality standard are my favorite. Guess what we received this month? Just that!! Here we have a plastic cased palette set complete with 18 colors. The pigments are beautiful and the array of colors is exactly what I look for in watercolors. They blend together well and create some really pretty washes. Easy to pack and clean up, this is great for short time increments and for traveling. I highly recommend!
Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencil Walnut Brown - Retail Value $3.35
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Perfect for sketching out a drawing, or utilizing with water, this walnut brown watercolor pencil is the epitome of high quality. Perfect for avoiding those pesky sketch lines you often see in watercolor, this takes it all away! An amazing product that I haven't utilized as much as I should have in the past, has quickly become a must have in my stash.
Faber-Castell Water Brush - Retail Value $10
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I have a little bit of experience with water brushes, but honestly prefer a plain brush. This is neat if you are traveling though and creates smooth and subtle gradients. The brush can also be used without the tube of water filled and works great. So far these inclusions create an extremely packable set for one to watercolor basically anywhere. I love it!
Copic Multiliner Warm Grey 0.1mm - Retail Value $3.99
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Ahh my obsession with fineliners continues as we received a 0.1 mm version in warm grey. Light in color, this liner is perfect for creating architecture and allows you to retain line work after you paint with watercolors. I love these pens and can't get enough of them, so was excited to receive a warm grey version.
Hahnemühle Landscape Watercolor Book - Retail Value $18.56
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The last item we received this month was a Hahnemuhle Landscape Watercolor book and was the one with the biggest retail value. With 30 sheets of 4.13 X 5.83", 200 gsm paper, this book has a pretty grey cover and elastic binder to keep it closed. With a fine grain and extended size when opened, the opportunities are endless!
Testing
Look at those beautiful colors! I am so impressed with the multitude of colors in this palette! Oh summer, how I love you so!
SketchBox July Project
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Like I mentioned above, on June 30th, my husband and I will be celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. I hate spending money on cards, so I decided to utilize this month's SketchBox products to create an anniversary postcard. Hank has been super into drawing NBA players as cartoons, so I thought why don't I try the same thing with us?! To start out, I sketched goofy cartoon versions of Dustin and I, then used the water brush to add color to our oversized heads and bodies. After the colors dried, I added details with the warm grey marker, and went in with a black fineliner and traced. I discovered men's hair is a lot harder to watercolor than females, but thought it turned out okay. We will see soon if he likes it! LOL!
The Verdict
SketchBox is a really great subscription and one of my favorites. I love creating art and while I am only an amateur, especially loved Anastasia's quote of "Forget about perfection - just put pencil to paper and enjoy the creative ride!" Though I'm not professional, I find art extremely helpful in reducing anxiety and stress and sometimes need the push of a monthly box to make time to create. Through this month's box, I discovered some really nice supplies that are ultra travel friendly. I already can't wait to see what I will discover next month!
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Value Breakdown:
Because most of this month’s products were custom sizes or custom made for SketchBox, it was hard to determine an accurate retail value. BUT, now you can purchase some individual products from the Sketch Shop, making it easier to buy more of the items you love! The included contents card had a $53.90 value, which is almost $20 over the cost of the box! Because we received exclusive launch items and this amazing of a curation, I felt this was a decent value, and a great way to try items I may not have discovered otherwise.
To Wrap Up
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? According to SketchBox's website, the cutoff to purchase the July box was June 21st, but you can still subscribe to get next month's box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $5 off your first box!
CODE: SKETCH5
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