The new Shire set from Schmincke’s Super Granulating Watercolour line is now available and the second I saw it pop up on my favorite art supply site, I had to buy it. Thankfully my lovely supporters helped me earn enough affiliate credit to afford these beautiful but expensive colors. So I decided to do a full review and share them with you so you can decide if they are worth it to add to your collection.
And in case you’re wondering, I’m an American expat who lives in Scotland which is why I use both “color” and “colour.” It will probably be another decade before I completely switch. 😂
What are “Super Granulating” Watercolours?
These paints are a combination of multiple pigments that are each heavily granulating. For instance, potter’s pink and cobalt blue – both of which are famous for their intense texture – combine to create a beautiful purple with a lot of character.
They are currently sold in half pan, 5ml, and 15ml – but be warned, they are pricey!
(My affiliate link, if you want to buy them AND support me)
A closer look the Super Granulating SHIRE colors
The Shire set contains five earthy pigments, all leaning towards green/brown. There are no reds/pinks in this set, so you’re going to have to do your best to assign the right color to the right subject. In my experience this is a fun challenge and lends itself nicely to very nostalgic fantasy illustrations.
Here are some close-ups.
As you can see, the colors compliment each other nicely, and I am very much looking forward to using these with my other Schmincke super granulating watercolours (I bought several from the Volcano, Tundra, and Deep Sea lines) which we will look at in the future.
For now, enjoy my review video. Let me know if you have a favorite and I might consider adding it to my collection!
I saw a post for these on the gram and immediately had to have them as well. Since I have some empty 12-color trays / pans, I bought this set and the Tundra set, filled the last two with Buff Titanium (DS) and a Titanium white Gouache. LOVE the colors too.
I find granulation quite irritating and tend to avoid it, but I can see from your work on this that they can produce some lovely textured effects. Thanks for a super post!