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.
I can hardly believe that we are already well into the second month of 2025, when it just seems like I was sending out Christmas cards! Life is flying by, but I have done a decent job at sticking to my New Year's resolution regarding craft time. While I haven't done as many drawing activities as I would like, I have made multiple sets of porcupine quill earrings and beaded necklaces! To set the tone of February, SketchBox came at the perfect time for Charlie and I to sit down and create. I swear, there is nothing better than spending quality time with the ones you love most while creating art! ❤️
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, but this month there was a twist. This was a recycled box from a previous month, so the new art was included with the pamphlet instead. It sounds like this will be a change until sometime in the new year, when the new boxes will arrive. The wild bird picture was a fun to see again though!
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! Here you can see the winner of the monthly contest that is usually featured on the shipping box. Created by @rachaelbui_art, it was a fantastic drawing of a calico cat catching some zzzz's!
Artist Card
This month's artist card was created by Natalie Higgins and showcases a beautiful portrait of a young woman. Check out this fabulous artists instagram @nhiggins123 for more of her art - her portraits are so well done that they look like photographs!
Custom PanPastel Set - Magenta Shade, Turquoise Shade, and Dairylide Yellow - Retail Value $24.87
This Custom PanPastel Set is a vibrant and high-quality selection, perfect for artists who love rich, blendable pigments. The Magenta Shade, Turquoise Shade, and Dairylide Yellow offer stunning color depth and seamless mixing for endless creative possibilities. Whether for bold artwork or delicate shading, this set delivers smooth application and exceptional results! As I prefer watercolor to pastels, this is a medium I'm not as comfortable with, but I did enjoy watching the tutorial and trying them out!
SketchBox Signature Artist Pastel - Cloud White - Retail Value $5.99
To compliment the trio of PanPastels, we also received a square pan of cloud white pastel. This media worked great with the pigmented versions to create highlights, and lighter colors. Easy to work with and use, I had a lot of fun giving it a try!
Soft Art Sponge Set - Retail Value $5.79
The next item we received was a set of art sponges. Handy for pastels, these multi-faceted sponges created a variety of lines and textures. Charlie loved using these for his background and was able to create different textures with the different sides of the sponges. Easy to clean and fun to use, this was a great inclusion for the curation of this month's pastel box.
Stick Sponge - Retail Value $5.99
I have to say, these stick sponges were probably my favorite tool included in this months box. With two different sized nibs, these sponges were easy to use and offered great texturing help. A great way to help me get started with pastels, these gave me a watercolor brush feel to get me more comfortable!
Black Blender - Retail Value $0.99
The next item I received was a quite reminiscent of a beauty blending sponge. This black sponge is large and round with one pointed end. Great for blending backgrounds and highlighting details, this sponge is versatile and easy to use.
Bruynzel Pastel Pencil - Retail Value $3.75
Also included in this month's box was a pastel pencil. This brown pencil had a really nice feel and blended out really nicely with the included sponges. A great way to start a sketch, the rusty brown color paired nicely with this month's pastel colors, and was a key component to my art this month!
Pentel High Polymer Soft Eraser - Retail Value $1.19
I've received erasers similar to this in the past and haven't utilized them as much as I probably should. Great for creating highlights and fixing mistakes, this soft eraser has potential, I just haven't unlocked it yet!
Rembrandt Pastel Paper - Retail Value $7.95
The last item I received was a pack of drawing paper. With 10 sheets of 4" X 6" paper, I am set to create multiple pieces of art with all of my new tools.
Testing
Aren't this month's shades beautiful? As you can see, I didn't clean the stick sponge off as well as I should have to keep the colors from blending, but together they look amazing! Fun!!
SketchBox February Projects
As I mentioned above, I have made a New Years resolution to set aside time to get creative each and every month. I have been pretty good about it, but it has come in the jewelry making form rather than drawing. After just finishing my latest pair of beaded earrings, I decided to put the beads away and focus on the pastels. I sketched out a small landscape theme with the pastel pencil and got to work with the stick sponge and blender. Testing out the different edges gave me different textures, and I have to say, I had a lot of fun! While simple, I enjoyed the mountain scene I created, and loved spending time with my Charlie boy!
Charlie Projects
Some months my kiddos are just too busy to create art with me. But this month, Charlie decided to give the pastel pans a try. Charlie is a very outdoors boy and enjoys hunting and fishing. This month his art depicted a white tail hunting trip on the side of a mountain. He had a lot of fun utilizing the blending sponges, and even made a blending sponge tower when his art was complete! ❤️
The Verdict
SketchBox is a really great subscription that sends high quality supplies in all sorts of different mediums. This month's "Premium Pan Pastel Box" featured a medium that I'm not extremely comfortable with, but I'm always happy to try. I appreciated the variety of colors and the multitude of blending tools to play with. With enough product to create at least 10 different pieces, I was happy with the curation, and plan on testing them out a bit more seriously via YouTube videos in the future. Overall, we had a lot of fun! I can't wait to see what we will discover in March. Any ideas?
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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 $56.52 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 February box was January 21st, but you can still subscribe to get next month's box.
What do you think of SketchBox?
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