DANIEL SMITH001900501 Extra Fine Watercolor 66-Dot Try-It Card, Multi Color

Great way to sample the colors--especially all those Primatex gray shades that just look like blurbs of gray in the online color charts. This way, you get to sample them all and compare the subtle variations in color. I've discovered some very cool colors I might not have noticed otherwise..think bloodstone, hematite, tourmaline and zosite to name a few.

These sample portions are very generous portions in unique color assortment for trying before investing in the larger tubes. That they are made in Northwest USA with that quality of water the USA has, is important to me to attest to the quality of manufacture. And all of that supports my professional prices. Each dot has a series number, archival rating, and opacity listed. Daniel Smith are world known for their professional quality.

This is a great way to test out a bunch of different Daniel Smith paints and see which ones you might wish to add to your toolbox. You can even use them for small paintings or projects. I love swatching, so I had a lot of fun with this dot card.

Daniel Smith has so many different and unusual color choices that this seemed like a great way to try some new colors before investing a fortune in colors I might end up not really using.The samples are large enough to see how they mix with other colors, but not generous enough to actually use in completing a subject in a painting. They do give you a chance to discover the underlying tones, and to determine which colors might fit with your palette.Over all, the sample pages were worth the money.

The only criticism I have is that some of the paint dots are so small/thin, and sometimes the paper is old/handled too much? they're difficult to get a nice swatch to see the full mass tone, or true color. Also if you want to attempt some mixing to see which pigments would suit your pallete, thats not always doable. Its fine for wetting them on the paper they're sent on, most of the time; but I've had more then a few instances where I'm scrubbing the paint off of the paper for every last bit of pigment, in an attempt to test them on my own paper, because there was an issue with the paper they came on, ( like spotting, maybe oil or some kind of residue? Sizing issues?where the pigment wouldnt stick and the color turned out splotchy, to the point it was difficult to see what it actually looked like.) and/or the paint dot was so thin it took one or two swipes of my brush to hit paper; like they just touched the residue paint off the rim of the tube and thats it. I completely understand the need to be conservative with the amount of paint for how many sheets that are likely made, but it would be nice if they were a bit more consistant. Because of the issues I've mentioned, I now test the paints on my own paper regardless of how much paint. There have been times where the swatch on my own paper looks entirely different then whats reconstituted on the paper it's sent on. It's typically not much of an issue, but it's happened enough that I'm questioning if the charts that I've gotten are just a bad batch? Or maybe old? Or is it just inconsistancies in the making of them? I don't know, but its worth noting I think to make sure your getting what you pay for and aren't surprised at any possible differences in the chart as opposed to the actual paint.

Beautiful colors and sufficient amount.

I found the dot-sized samples to be consistent in amount. This is a great way to sample paints before committing to a whole tube or pan. I like to get mini-pans, put a dot of water in them, and then using a razor, I can razor off the dot into the mini pan and then I get the most out of the colors for a swatch and to use it on an actual watercolor to see if I like it! Once it dries, the dot melds into the mini-pan (which are the perfect size for dots!) and then I have a tiny mini palette. Granted, it's not a lot of paint. You aren't going to be able to paint a whole background on a 5x7 or anything with one dot, but it's a good way to get more use out of the dot than letting most of the color bleed back into the paper that it's attached to. And do I get some paper with my dots? Most of the time, yes. But does it affect my use of my little sample that I'm trying to see if I want to buy a whole tube of it? Nope! So it works for me and maybe it will work for you too!

Since 2021 I have been thrilled to work with Daniel Smith paints. They give me a means to sample a color before I buy an entire pan or tube. When I became enthralled with Aussie Red Gold and Quinacridone rose, for example, I tried the dots and then moved forward to invest in them. When I travel or I want to join my plein air painting group it is easy to take the dots along. I can spray them with water as usual to activate them on site. Two thoughts: since 2021 the pprices have risen but the dits did not remain the same sample size. For this I am upset, as they are not cheap by any means, but the quality of Daniel Smith watercolors still remains, in my opinion, the best of all. Five stars for the convenience but a big "boo" for giving customers a smaller dot of paint.