If you’ve been on the Puddles of Ink Instagram this week, you’ll have noticed two things:
I’ve actually been uploading real posts again! Sorry for the unexpected gap, but re-vamping this website took much longer than planned. There are going to be much more regular uploads now, so make sure you’re following me there!
I’ve been playing a lot with the Viviva Colorsheets! I’ve uploaded an unboxing video, and one where I swatch all the colours and create a little piece in my sketchbook - you can watch them here!
The lovely team at Viviva Colors contacted me and asked if I’d like to try their portable paints out for myself. I did some research and the more I read, the more intrigued I became. Artists are raving about them from all across the world, and some of the pieces being created are stunning, so I couldn’t wait to try them out for myself.
As you can see from the pictures above, the Viviva colorsheets are tiny enough to take anywhere and come beautifully packaged. The branding is so fun and vibrant, and they’ve put so much thought into the various features artists need. The standard 16 premium watercolour sheet is their flagship product, but they also have gorgeous sets with brushes and sketchbooks, making them perfect gifts for artists or craft lovers too!
Underneath each pan, there is a swatch section complete with the name of the shade - this is so useful as it means you don’t need to carry around a separate sheet, and a few of the colours transform completely when activated and therefore look totally different wet. They also have a separate sheet of paper you can stick on the inside of the back cover, and it works as a mixing sheet - I’m yet to use it but I think it’s the perfect feature because, for me at least, part of the fun of painting is mixing colours and creating new ones! It also means you can dilute the pigment as much as you want in order to build depth.
I’m really drawn to Viviva Colors as a company. Not only is their story so special and unique, as you’ll be able to see from the screenshot above, but they employ local women in the community to make the products. Click on the image to go straight to their website and learn more about them! They’ve grown so much as a company and it’s inspiring to see their worldwide reach.
Their products are eco-friendly, beautiful, and incredibly clever. I found it so interesting to read about how they’ve made them to ensure the best quality and ethics - you’ll find that information here.
I love the fact that these sheets make using watercolours so easy. It takes a lot of the faff out of carrying so many supplies with you everywhere, and if you’re a bit of a spontaneous painter like me, this is ideal. I also really love how big the pan sizes are; there’s enough room to activate a good amount of the paint (for larger areas) and not use the entire pan. The website claims that these last as long as a regular half-pan watercolour set, but obviously I won’t be able to judge that for myself for a little while!
I was a bit wary of the paint running or getting messy once I was done with a colour and in need of using one of the other pans on a separate page. But so far, the colours haven’t done that at all, nor have they stuck to the tracing paper covers, which is amazing. They blend beautifully and seeing them merge on the page is like a dream - you’ll be able to get a feel for it in this particular video I filmed.
I really hope you enjoyed this post, and that you’ve been enjoying more watercolour content from me recently - it’s definitely been a while! I’ve got lots of new and exciting things coming up, particularly as we get closer to Inktober season, so make sure you’re following my socials and keeping your eyes peeled!
Have you used these colorsheets before? If so, what do you think of them? Are you enjoying them? Do you have a favourite colour? I think mine might be Peacock Blue or Violet!
If you haven’t used them before, are you more intrigued to try them now? Let me know in the comments!