First of all, I am not a professional artist, or even what one could call an expert in watercolor painting. Originally, I was using watercolors to fill in some adult coloring books I had that would tolerate wet media. I bought the 66-dot sheet to try some higher end watercolors, and was AMAZED how far these tiny dots of paint would go. I have since bought some actual Daniel Smith paints, and have absolutely fell in love with them. I now have painted a few original paintings to give as gifts to friends. For many years, I didn't understand why I was so bad at watercolor, and now I realize that the quality of your supplies (including paper and brushes), makes a hell of a difference of how your projects turn out. Using Daniel Smith watercolor on Arches 100% cotton watercolor paper, and using my first genuine kolinsky sable brush, made techniques like glazing possible for the first time!
Anyway, I digress. I ordered invested in the 238 dot color chart so I could have a way of testing out the other colors in the Daniel Smith series. The card is expensive because the paints are expensive too, so those who aren't familiar with Daniel Smith paints or who are newbies like me, might want to go for the 66-dot card first.
Dot cards are exactly that. You get a 9x12 inch sheet of watercolor card stock with TINY dots of paint--even smaller than pea-sized. However, because high end paints contain less filler and more pigment, a little goes a long, long way. I was absolutely amazed when I first tried these of how much I managed to paint--absolutely enough to create swatches on your own watercolor paper. You also can use these sheets as a portable, mess-free way to take paints with you on trips.
Now for artists who take their paints very seriously, the dot cards are essential ways to test out the different colors in this brand. Pigment information is not actually on the card itself, but you should readily be able to find that information by looking it up online. However, the color charts do list ASTM lightfast ratings for each color, as well as indicating things like levels of transparency, staining, and granulation. Some artists love granulating colors; others hate them with a passion. I love anything shiny and sparkly (and Daniel Smith makes a ton of iridescent, glittery, and/or metallic colors). Others would be horrified by just the slight sparkle present in a lot of Primatek colors. Some colors rewet very easily, and others take some effort to get going. Since you are getting actual paint samples, you will get an accurate idea of what the paint is actually like before plopping down around $20 USD for a 15 ml tube of Lapis Lazuli Genuine, and finding it isn't at all what you wanted.
I have now been able to try out a few other brands of professional and intermediate grade paints, and in my opinion, they tend to all be of comparable quality and price. It all boils down to how each individual brand, and even individual pigments behave and look and what the artist wants to do with those paints.
The 238 dot chart is also useful for those artists who already have lots of watercolor paints, either in this brand or others, and who want to try out different colors or effects .
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
Videos for this product
2:08
Click to play video
DANIEL SMITH 001900482 Watercolor 238 Dot Color Chart
Merchant Video
Videos for this product
0:19
Click to play video
Customer Review: So glad I purchased this!
AFoxDavis
Reviews with images
A Marvelous Dot Chart for Watercolor Enthusiasts
I enjoy doing a lot of sketching, sculpting, and painting, and while I already have quite a sizable collection of watercolors and gouache laying around, I was looking to pick up a few more niche colors from Daniel Smith, who makes, in my opinion, some of the best watercolors out there.Now as anyone who has bought art supplies online knows: you're doing a bit of a guessing game wondering how your monitor's color lines up with pantone and pigment colors and so on. That's one of the reason this dot chart is fantastic: it doesn't just show you an approximation of what the paint colors are, rather, this four-page chart has 238 actual dots of Daniel Smith watercolors, so you can dampen them yourself and test out each of the pigments individually and try them for yourself before having to drop $12-$15 on a 15ml tube.In addition to being able to indulge in the eye-candy of so many diverse and beautiful pigments, each one also coded with further information, including its ASTM Lightfastness rating, non-staining/staining, granulation, transparency, and if it's a Primatek series pigment (unique colors mage with authentic mineral pigments). There are solids, pearlescent colors, duochrome colors, interference colors, iridescent colors, and more.If you're at all interested in expanding your watercolor collection, I would highly recommend you consider trying these out for yourself firsthand. They are truly an invaluable tool for watercolor enthusiasts.I am a longtime Amazon Prime customer who enjoys writing reviews in my free time. If you have any questions or comments, please comment or message and I'll be glad to help!
Top reviews from other countries
Redsgotravels
Best thing you can buy!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2020Northern light
Genius super useful ideav
Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2018
Northern light
Reviewed in Canada on November 22, 2018
What a simple but genius idea.
I wanted to try Daniel Smith paints after reading and seeing utube videos that gave them such positive reviews but where to start ?
The dot sheets solve that problem and you can turn the dots into swatches for future reference with all the info about the paint colour already written out for you.
The dots are small but you could do small paintings with them as the paints are highly pigmented. You won’t use up all the dot by turning them into swatches.
The paints on the whole activate quickly and are creamy and very pigmented. Some ( mostly the genuine ones ) are slower to activate.
It took a fair bit of time to turn the 4 sheets into swatches but well worth the time investment. I am truly impressed by the rich vibrant colours and some that are unique to Daniel Smith and GORGEOUS.
The paints are expensive so the dot sheet is a big plus to choosing the paints you want.
I ordered a dozen today and can’t wait for them to arrive.
Attached it a pic of the first sheet swatched to give you an idea.
Images in this review
Sara Salomoni
Assolutamente indispensabile per scegliere i colori da acquistare!
Reviewed in Italy on August 22, 2019