I took a leap of faith and ordered Akashiya Sai watercolor brushpens from Artmedia Trading, Philippines. While I learned the hard way that Multiply marketplace has yet to catch up with the times (they don’t have a ‘saved orders’ page the way ebay does), thankfully Artmedia got the order and processed it quickly. Within 24 hours of payment posted, my Akashiya Sai Summer Colors were in the mail and on the way from General Santos City, where Artmedia is based.
If you’re put off by multiply, Artmedia also processes orders and messages via facebook. They also sell copic products and deleter supplies, and a number of others materials you won’t find in your neighborhood arts and school supply stores.
I initially had high hopes for the Akashiya Sai, but was easily tempered upon reading Nattosoup’s review. In a nutshell, some colors work well with that dreamy wash look, some don’t. It boasts to be a watercolor, but it’s marker based. It didn’t blend as well as I’d like.
In the summer color set, I found the Sky Blue color most resistant to wash –
While it’s apples to oranges, I couldn’t help but compare it to the Pentel Aquash, which works like the Sai except that they’re watercolor crayons. They blend well, and are very cooperative with wash.
I haven’t spotted the Pentel Aquash set at the bookstores, but I spotted a few for sale on ebay or sulit. OfficeFab ships it to the Philippines for P299.75.
If having a set of colors is too big of a commitment, you can also buy individual Koi waterbrushes from Artmedia Trading, and use them with your choice of watercolor.
I highly recommend these materials for people who are just too big a control freak for watercolors. These wooed me back to them after years of sticking to acrylics, pastels, and oils.
Let me see how we can put these babies to work.