What is Jelly Gouache? (Testing out Himi Jelly Cup Gouache)
September brought a lot of changes. If you’d like to watch the full video with the studio vlog, click here.
This article is a full review of the Himi Jelly Gouache set I purchased on Amazon. Himi jelly gouache is an opaque water-based medium. It is a little different from regular gouache in that these paints are always wet. They stay wet inside cups in their container. If you’re new to painting with gouache, these might be unexpected and challenging to use.
Gouache in general is similar to watercolors, but thicker, more vibrant, and less see through. This medium creates a colorful and egg-like painting material. Gouache, a popular medium for cartoon artists and landscape studies, provides a great method for laying down layers of color quickly, as it dries fast. You don’t have to build layers like with oil painting, but you still can if you want to.
I recommend if you are a beginner that you start here with my watercolor tutorials where I discuss supplies and technique, then continue on to using gouache.
I ordered the set right before Inktober. The Himi gouache set I purchased included 26 colors in a pink container. I purchased the Himi set instead of the Miya set, because of its popularity online and price. The set cost me $26.99 and it came within a few days of purchase.
Not knowing what to expect, the set surprised me with 26 vibrant colors, a set of brushes, and a palette. At first I thought the palette was too small for a proper mixing area. However, it ended up working out just fine. The paint cups were messy to install in the container, but well worth it. I also got used to spraying the paints to keep them from drying out.
What I love about these paints are their vibrant colors, they look the same when they dry, and they feel like oil paints. I have never found a paint brand that makes me feel like I’m oil painting on paper. It feels somewhat like it’s between using oil paints and watercolors. It dries slower than watercolors, but you can blend colors like oil paints.
Blending is easy with the jelly gouache paints. LOVE that.
One down side to the jelly gouache set is that the cups will dry out after so many months. They need to be covered and unexposed in order to stay wet. I don’t think that is a reason to avoid these paints. However, if you are a recreational painter and don’t use paints every day, you might want to reconsider using these only for that reason.
I love them. I’m going to use them this year and they are definitely my favorite set of paints now. I’ve used the Acryla Gouache, Windsor & Newton, and other brands. These are by far my favorite.
They dry out, so that’s unfortunate.