The media could not be loaded. This is decent product. I have been painting for more than 15 years now and have tried few different student grade gouache paints. This set is great value for what I paid for it. I give it 4 star because:

1) large paint quantity in each cup.
2) A lot of missing area on the lid
3) Colors are vibrant and layer very well.
4) Colors have good opacity unlike cheap paints.
5) When wet colors feel creamy and I enjoy working with it.
6) I appreciate the fact that there are two cups of white in there.

Things that can be improved:
1) Cups are prone to contamination. You have to take extra measure to keep it pure.
2)I take some paint on a palette to use it. Upon drying some paints crack and crumble in the palette and are not re-wettable anymore. I had to discard them which is kind of waste.
3) The lid is not white. I (like many other artists) prefer to use white mixing surface.
5) If I want to use the paint I have to keep entire box open. I would rather have only those cups open that I need to use. This way other paint dont need to sit open and dry.
6) Very bulky and not travel friendly, unless you dump some paint out in another travel palette which is also risky and paints dry and crumble.

Overall I am happy with this set. I have gotten a lot of use out of it. This is great set for practicing gouache for beginners or experience artists alike.

This set was my first experience using gouache, so at first I could only compare it to other kinds of paints and not other brands of gouache. My initial impression was very good. It's the best of both worlds between watercolor and acrylic -- the flow of watercolors with the opaqueness of acrylic. You can paint light on dark, and still get the soft transparency of watercolors if you so choose by adding more and more water. Super versatile. Only con is that color matching is really difficult. The jelly cup design is kind of weird, but not awful. You have to reactivate the paints with water after you use them the first time, or remember to add a bit of water to each cup before sealing it up and putting it away.

I later bought the cheapest set of gouache from Michael's, (which came in small tubes) just to see if the quality was comparable. I'd say that the Arrtx (jelly cups) have a better consistency and are slightly better to paint with, but I really do appreciate having the small tubes with the Michael's set so that I can just use a tiny bit of paint at a time instead of needing to reactivate each cup. A little gouache goes a long way, so I'm not sure why a consumer would ever really want the jelly cup design. The case isn't particularly small or light either so I don't see a travel benefit. I imagine it's just cheaper for them to produce.

Overall I do like the Arrtx paint -- it's better quality than the Michael's set and you get a little more bang for you buck in terms of quantity, but I wish they would offer the same paint in tubes. Whenever I run out of what I have, I think I'm more likely to look for something that comes in tubes again, possibly from a mid-level brand.

There's nothing like opening a container of ready to use paint. Gouache is a very picky medium, in the sense that it needs to be splooged out its little tube prison anytime I feel an artistic surge. I'm a watercolorist who works from palettes, so it's very nice to be able to just go into it when I want to, and not have to think about the colors I want to use, especially if I don't really know what I want to paint yet.

The paint itself is delightful, thick, and easy to apply, it's very pigmented and nice for beginners and I would say, intermediate gouache painters. I'm not sure how lightfast they are, but I'm sure it's about at the beginner to intermediate level. The paints can be a little streaky and require a few layers, but honestly, I love the set so much, it doesn't bother me. They do dry pretty quickly as well and can be watered down for a nice watercolor effect.

Overall, I am a professional artist, who has used W&N Designer Gouache, Holbien, M.Graham, but these- there's something special about them. I would give them a shot, they're worth every penny.

I originally bought a set for my niece's birthday. It arrived weeks before needing to give it to her. I used it, couldn't resist, and then had to purchase a new set for her. Totally worth it, even when the price jumped up a bit. They're fun to use, I love all the colors and they mix beautifully together to create even more options. The white really is a game changer, modifies standard colors to produce a more opaque look and as a stand alone does an outstanding job. The coverage is great. I like to first do a light wash, then continue to add light layers over it. My palette is a mess, but a bit of water and I can reconstitute the mix to paint again and again. Sometimes the leftover, dried up color on my palette will flake, but again, just adding water makes it a smooth liquid ready for use. I typically work from the included palette and only open the case when I need a specific color(s), but even as some of the colors in the case appear to be a bit dry some, adding a bit of water revives them. Love this set - oh, and so does my niece. Great for adults and kids alike! When I was researching which gouache paints to get, the YouTube videos people posted for this set made it a no brainer, so glad I tried these!

We had fun. It was Covid and it did the job passing time as a family.
Colors are good lots of choices