Happy Prime Day, friends! I hope this review will help some of you who might be purchasing this HIMI Jelly Gouache Set. It’s not currently on sale on Amazon.ca, but I did purchase this a year ago on Prime day for CAD$23.79. Its regular price is CAD$36.99 so I got a good deal. I am a bit late to the jelly gouache game but I was very curious about this for a long time. Without further ado, let’s get straight to my HIMI Jelly Gouache review!
Inside the box
This set contains 48 shades (12g each), 3 brushes and a plastic palette. The box has a strong closure that is quite airtight; be sure to close properly (2 clicks) so the jelly gouache doesn’t dry out!
The plastic palette is very thin and light.
The three brushes that came with the set include a size 4 round brush, size 6 flat brush and a size 8 filbert brush, all with firm bristles. I actually really do like these brushes, as I had bought a set of HIMI brushes before and they came in a pretty box as well.
Each of the twin cup has expiry date printed on the seal. The dates vary–some had already expired at the time I posted this review. When I first used these none of them had expired yet but some were close to expiration date. Personally, I would prefer the expiry dates to be the same for all of them, but at the price I paid for the set I could not nitpick.
Unsealing The Twin Cups
I did not expect unsealing the twin cups to be such a monumental task. It took me a good hour to unseal and swatch each shade! The seals are not the easy peel kind. Put on gloves and use a box cutter because it does get messy. As you can see, straight out of the gate, there is binder separation in a lot of the shades. More on that later.
By the way, there is a smell to the gouache but nothing unpleasant.
I swatched all 48 shades on 100% cotton paper. I had used a black marker to draw a black stripe on each square before swatching to show opacity. Half of the colours are only semi opaque. The two whites (titanium white and white) did not have much difference alone or mixed with other shades. The whites are the most disappointing; they are not opaque at all and only lend a milkiness to any shade you mix with.
In addition, I noticed that regardless of the expiration dates, some were a little more dry and pasty than others. A few shades have this thick paste consistency even when freshly opened.
Gouache Spray
By the way, due to so many complaints about mold, I purchased the MIYA (manufacturer of HIMI) Gouache Spray on Aliexpress for about CAD$12(+free shipping). I had let my jelly gouache sit for almost a year before using it, so I wanted to have the spray ready in case it’s already dried up. Thankfully, none of the gouache had dried up or gotten moldy, but the spray is also for moisturizing and anti-mold so I did feel better having it.
I don’t let the jelly gouache dry out. I usually just scoop a bit out of each colour I want onto the palette and close the box to prevent drying. At the end of each use I gave it a spray and closed the box (snap to hear two clicks) until the next use.
HIMI Twin Cup Jelly Gouache Review
Opacity
Not gonna lie, I struggled with the jelly gouache in the beginning. I tried to paint portraits with it, but found the light colours to be thin and not opaque enough to go on top of the darker colours. I had started out with Holbein designer gouache and was used to being able to put down the dark colours to block in some of the shaded areas like many gouache artists do, and I was not able to do that with this gouache easily. The lighter colours are so thin and near transparent that they do not layer well on top of darks.
That said, the darker shades are opaque and vibrant.
Mixing/Layering
By itself, each colour can be quite opaque (except the lighter shades), but somehow, when mixed together, the jelly gouache became very thin. In addition, the binder separation is an issue too. I had stirred each shade, but the next time I open the box to use the gouache, the binder separation is visible once again. The shades with the binder separation do not come out very thick and tend to be runny and semi transparent.
I wanted to show the opacity by using a preprinted cotton paper from Altenew. I really struggled with painting the gradation on the flowers, because the gouache was not opaque enough. In fact, I had thrown out quite a few portraits I painted out of frustration because the gouache did not layer well. It did test my patience, and I did not have this kind of problem when I used Holbein, or even the cheap Mont Marte gouache set I picked up at a discount store.
Also, the white palette that came with the set didn’t stay white for long. After just two uses it’s pretty much stained all over.
Alas, I did not want to waste the gouache. It was cheap when I bought it, but I still hate to waste art supplies. I did try to do some quick loose paintings and find that if I don’t need to do many layers, it works just fine.
Summary of HIMI Jelly Gouache Review
Admittedly, I bought this because of all the good reviews on Amazon and Youtube. My opinion might be unpopular but I have seen artists who were not gifted the product or paid to review it share similar sentiments about the jelly gouache.
Overall, for the price this is pretty decent. I am not a big fan of the jelly gouache concept, as it is so prone to drying out. I prefer to squeeze it out of a tube.
As with cheaper paints, don’t expect these to be as opaque as your more expensive gouache. You will need to do more layers than using artist grade gouache, which can be a little frustrating. However, once you get past that, this is not a bad set and you can produce some nice artwork. It’s for people who want to dip their toes in the medium before they invest in a more professional set. Unfortunately for me, the low opacity of the lighter shades negates the advantage of working with gouache, which would normally allow you to work from dark to light.
