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
Well folks, we are back to reality! While not officially over, summer for us is done, and we are having a little bit of a hard time heading back to the real world. Because I work in public education, I am lucky enough to have the summers off with my boys, and we had so much fun! Between baseball and local county fairs, we were very busy, but enjoyed sleeping in, relaxing, all while uprooting our usual schedule. Now we are trying to get to bed early, rushing home to make supper, and then start all over the following week. That being said, I was a little overwhelmed when this month's SketchBox arrived, but was excited to carve out a little "me" time to unwind and create. Read below to see what we received!
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
SketchBox runs an ongoing contest to put a subscriber's artwork on the lid of their box. This month's featured art was created by @ssansbur and is of a field of flowers. Love it! 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 Pamphlet
Instead of the traditional post card, SketchBox has now transitioned to an entire pamphlet featuring the boxes contents, a QR code for the SketchBox school where you can learn how to use the materials, other tips, and even information for your chance at a giveaway!
Artist Card
This month's artist card was created by Jennifer Nolan and showcases a beautiful chickadee design, which inspired my monthly art! More of Jennifer's art can be found on her Instagram page @Jen.jen.nolan. Check her out, she is very talented!
Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic Paint Set - Retail Value $22.20
This month's theme is "Premium Dark Metallic Acrylic" and it contained this large set of acrylic paints. Included were six 20mL tubes of pearlescent acrylics. Pearl Yellow, Pearl White, Pearl Green, Pearl Red, Pearl Blue, and Pearl Violet were the hues I received, and I have to admit, they surprised me! When dabbed from the tube onto the paper, all of them looked the same. I honestly thought something was wrong at first, but quickly figured out once you start painting, the actual hues appear. Fun to play with, this is a medium I have no experience with, but loved the shimmer it created on the included dark paper. Mixed with black, I was able to create a whole new set of colors which made for a lot of fun. A great theme, I look forward to many more sessions with these beautiful colors!
Amsterdam Standard Series Acrylic Oxide Black - Retail Value $3.70
The next item we received went with the metallic colors perfectly, and was the same brand and size. This Oxide Black version helped create varying tones of color and helped clean up edges on our artwork. Easy to use and a bold pigment when compared to the pearlescent ones, this made for great contrast and a fun box!
SketchBox Signature Dual Brush - Retail Value $15.99
Brushes are such a universal tool that I love receiving them each month. This month's version was perfect for my style of painting as it included both an 1/4 Angled Chisel side and a Bright 2 side. Created by SketchBox, I find these brushes to be well made and with great bristles. Keep 'em coming SketchBox!
Legion Stonehenge Aqua Paper - Retail Value $10.65
The last item we received was this set of Legion Stonehenge Aqua cold press, black, 4" X 6" paper. Featuring 10 sheets of thick paper, this is extremely heavy weight and sturdy. Great for holding large amounts of acrylic paint, this does not curl around the edges or bend. With enough pages for 10 pieces of artwork, I love the small size to send in the mail as post cards, and am excited to try out these awesome metallics!
Testing
I mentioned this above, but look at how similar those colors look when dabbed on to the sheet! I really thought I received a bad batch! But like magic, when spread out, the colors came alive. Crazy!!
SketchBox September Project
Birds are often my go-to for painting, and this month I absolutely loved the chickadee painting Jennifer did on the artist card, so I decided to try my hand at some sort of metallic bird. To start, I sketched out the head, beak and body, and just started mixing paints. Varying between the chiseled end of the paint brush and the small end, I added texture to create feathers, and ended up with a plump little bird. I LOVE the way this paint pops on the black background, and though I didn't have a ton of time to play, thought the little guy ended up looking pretty cute. To use up the extra paint on my plate, I created an abstract piece to send to my mom. The magic of these metallic acrylics is kind of addicting!!
The Verdict
SketchBox is a really great subscription that sends high quality supplies in all sorts of different mediums. This month featured a really fun and unique theme, and it may have been one of my favorites of all time! Typically I prefer watercolor, but the sheen and magic of these metallic acrylics really impressed me. With all high-quality tools, we are geared up with enough supplies to create over 10 pieces of metallic art! I can't wait to see what we will discover in October. Any guesses?
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Value Breakdown
Because some 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 $52.54 value, which is close to the cost of the box, but allowed me to discover products I probably wouldn't 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 September box was August 21st, but you can still subscribe to get next month's box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $5 off your first box!CODE: SKETCH5
What do you think of SketchBox?
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