Paletteful Packs December Box Review: Unboxing & Painting Test

Unboxing Paletteful Packs' December Art Box

Opening the Paletteful Packs December box reveals a curated selection for acrylic painters. The festive packaging contains four Golden fluid acrylics (Phthalo Blue Red Shade, Magenta, Hansa Yellow Light, and Titanium White), a Robert Simmons #8 white sable flat brush, three primed artist panels (6x6 dual-sided, 4x4, and 6x12 ultra-wide canvas), and a practical spray bottle for moisture control. After testing these materials, I appreciate how the box pushes artists beyond standard supplies—especially the unconventional 6x12 canvas that challenges traditional composition approaches.

Golden Fluid Acrylics Performance Analysis

Golden’s fluid acrylics behave distinctly from heavy-body variants. During swatch tests, they demonstrated:

• Cream-like consistency enabling smoother blends than budget paints
• Variable opacity (Titanium White covered marker lines completely while yellows remained translucent)
• Fast drying time requiring prompt blending or the included spray bottle
• High pigmentation creating vibrant pastels when mixed with white

Compared to my usual student-grade paints, these professional-grade colors offer richer pigment load and smoother application. Industry studies confirm that fluid acrylics like Golden’s maintain lightfastness ratings above ASTM II, ensuring artwork longevity—a crucial factor the video rightly highlights.

Canvas Surfaces: MDF vs Stretched Canvas

The box includes two surface types revealing different creative potentials:

• 6x6 MDF artist panels provide warp-resistant rigidity ideal for detailed work
• 6x12 stretched canvas offers textured depth for expressive pieces

Testing both, I found the smooth MDF superior for fine lines, while the canvas texture added dimension to blended backgrounds. For beginners, MDF panels are more forgiving—they mimic paper’s flatness without buckling. The ultra-wide 6x12 format particularly sparks innovation, pushing artists toward dynamic compositions like flowing hair or panoramic landscapes.

Step-by-Step Painting Process with New Supplies

1. Sketching Phase: Embracing Unconventional Format

Facing the 6x12 canvas, I adopted the creator’s proportion-blocking method:

• Draft thumbnail sketches exploring portrait vs landscape orientations
• Chose a vertical composition with swirling hair and dress elements
• Refined pencil lines lightly to prevent graphite bleed-through

Pro tip: Use colored pencils for underdrawings to avoid muddying paints—a lesson learned after visible graphite complicated layers.

2. Color Application Techniques

Working with the fluid acrylics required adapting to their properties:

• Mix colors on separate palette areas to maintain hue purity
• Apply background first using the wide brush for gradient blends (white to Phthalo Blue)
• Build dress sections with tonal variations (magenta-yellow mixes created peach tones)
• Use spray bottle to reactivate paints between layers

The Titanium White proved invaluable for creating opacity and correcting edges. Unlike cheaper whites, it covered underlying layers in one application—validating Golden’s reputation among professional artists.

3. Problem-Solving During Painting

Common challenges emerged with solutions:

• Hair-skirt separation: Used darker magenta shadows to define overlapping forms
• Facial features: Applied multiple thin layers to counteract graphite bleed
• Edge control: Switched to round brush for tight areas when the flat brush struggled
• Color harmony: Limited the palette to three base colors plus white for cohesion

Key Takeaways for Artists

Why Unconventional Canvases Boost Creativity

The 6x12 format forces compositional innovation—something stretched canvases rarely achieve. This aligns with art pedagogy research showing constrained formats stimulate novel solutions. Try panoramic canvases for:

• Narrative sequences
• Flowing figurative poses
• Atmospheric landscapes

Fluid Acrylics: Best Practices Checklist

1. Pre-wet surfaces for slower drying time
2. Work in small sections to maintain blendability
3. Layer transparent colors over opaque bases
4. Seal sketches with light acrylic wash
5. Clean brushes immediately—dried paint damages bristles

Recommended Next Steps

• Beginners: Try Golden’s starter set—consistent quality simplifies learning
• Intermediate artists: Experiment with Ampersand panels for detailed work
• Advanced creators: Test Daniel Smith acrylics for specialized effects

Final Verdict: Is the Paletteful Box Worth It?

After hands-on testing, the December box delivers exceptional value for acrylic painters seeking professional materials. The Golden paints outperform budget options in blendability and pigmentation, while the unconventional canvases push compositional growth. If exploring new formats or premium paints aligns with your goals, this box is a strategic investment.

What Paletteful Pack item would you test first? Share your art goals below!