I’m a fan of Holbein’s watercolors, so I was really excited to try their 24 new granulating colors. These are currently only available in Japan, with a North American release expected late summer or early fall.

Importing

I imported mine. Partially, because I’m impatient. And partially as it’s usually cheaper to import Japanese manufactured goods than buying stateside.

I got mine from Sekaido (a Japanese art supply store) via Buyee—a shopping proxy service for exporting Japanese goods. [Direct link to buy Holbein Watercolor]

In total, I spent 12694円 (or, approximately  $81 USD) .

¥7744 - Item Cost
¥0300 - Buying Service Fee
¥0500 - Standard Plan
¥0660 - Domestic Shipping Fee
¥3490 - International Shipping Fee

¥12694 ≈ $80.74 Total

For comparison, buying a 24-set of Holbein’s pre-existing watercolors from Blick is $117 (with an MSRP of $180).

Swatches

With watercolors, I have a lot of things I want to consider for a color. I find the layout of Kimberly Crick’s swatch stamps useful for laying them out (left swatches). For these, I use Fabriano cold press paper in traditional white, as that’s what I’m normally painting on.

I start with a gradient wash on the left side. Here, the black bar gives me an idea of opaqueness. I also sprinkle salt on the right side of the wash to see reactivity and granulation.

On the stamp’s upper right, I test the pigment’s creep factor. Filling the rectangle with water and just giving a single tap of color to see how much it will bleed into wet areas.

Next, is a wash at about 50% water. I use a lot of water, so this is probably the closest to what it’ll look like when I’m actually using it.

Next, is a glazing test. Using a very saturated brush, allowing it to dry, and repeating. This is the closest representation of how dark I can make a color.

The final lower right square is a flat wash. Once, it’s dry, I come back to lift out a middle band of pigment. This tests how much the pigment will stain.

… Since this is a granulating pigment, I wanted to evaluate how well it granulates on it’s own. So, I did larger flat-wash swatches on Fabriano’s hot-press paper (right-hand images).

アキクサインコ
Bourke’s Parrot Pink

WG501
Color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PY159, BV10, PR122

ノウゼンカズラ
Trumpet Vine Red

WG502
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PY159, PR177

サクラ
Cherry Blossom Pink

WG503
Color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PR233, PO73, PW6

フラミンゴ
Flamingo Orange

WG504
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PR233, PO73

月食（げっしょく）
Lunar Eclipse Red

WG505
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
BV7, BV15, PY110, PR122

ススキ
Pampas Grass Yellow

WG511
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PR233, PY43, PY83

満月（まんげつ）
Full Moon Yellow

WG512
Absolute color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PY159, PY42, PBk6

ウグイス
Japanese Bush Warbler Green

WG521
Absolute color-fast, Transparent, Semi-staining
PG17, PY42, PY43

ミモザ
Mimosa Yellow

WG522
Absolute Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PY159, PB29, PG17

深い森（ふかいもり）
Wonder Forest Green

WG523
Absolute color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PY43, PG50

クジャク
Peafowl Green

WG524
Absolute color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PY159, PR232, PG7, PB15

大海（たいかい）
Ocean Blue

WG531
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PY159, PB15

ヒスイカズラ
Jade Vine Blue

WG532
Color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PV47, PG7, PB15, PW6

宵（よい）
Nightfall Indigo

WG533
Color-fast, Semi-opaque, Staining
PG50, BV7, BV15, PB60

クレマチス
Clematis Violet

WG541
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Semi-staining
PY159, PB29, PV23

地球照（ちきゅうしょう）
Earthshine Violet

WG542
Color-fast, Semi-transparent, Staining
PB29, PR177, PR122

薄明（はくめい）
Twilight Purple

WG543
Absolute color-fast, Semi-transparent, semi-staining
PV47, PR233, PO13

暁（あかつき）
Daybreak Orange

WG551
Color-fast, Transparent, Staining
PG50, PO73, PR254

カケス
Eurasian Jay Rose Grey

WG561
Color-fast, Transparent, Staining
PB29, PG18, PO73

朧月（おぼろづき）
Hazy Moon Yellow

WG562
Color-fast, Semi-opaque, Staining
PY159, PBk6, PB15

ルリタマアザミ
Echinops Green Grey

WG563
Absolute color-fast, Transparent, Staining
PB29, PG17

ハシビロコウ
Shoebill Blue Grey

WG564
Absolute color-fast, Semi-opaque, Semi-staining
PB71, PB29, PBk11

月夜（つきよ）
Moonlit Night Blue

WG571
Absolute color-fast, Semi-opaque, Staining
PB29, PBk6

雨夜の月（あまよのつき）
Rainy Night Moon Black

WG572
Absolute color-fast, Transparent, Staining
PB29, PR101

Comments

So, of these, 20/24 of the colors have at least 1 new pigment not previously used by Holbein. The outliers are:

• Lunar Eclipse Red: Bright Violet, Isoiondolinone Yellow Deep, and Quinacridone Magenta.

• Jade Vine Blue: Cobalt Violet Light, Viridian Hue, and Peacock Blue (or Compose Blue and Chinese or Titanium White).

• Moonlit Night Blue: Ultramarine Blue (in light or deep) and lamp black.

• Rainy Night Moon Black: Ultramarine Blue (in light or deep) and either Indian Red or Light Red.

Manual Mixes

Useful Links

🎨 Pigment Information 🎨

  ❥ 🇯🇵 Holbein’s Granulating Colors: https://holbein-shop.com/?mode=grp&gid=2973105 
❥ Holbein’s Watercolors: https://holbeinartistmaterials.com/watercolors/
❥ Dr. Oto Kano’s Holbein Database [archive]: https://web.archive.org/web/20240318041505/https://otokano.com/colors-by-brand/holbein/ and YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@otokano
❥ Kimberly Crick’s Pigment Database: https://www.kimcrick.com/pages/pigment-database-swatch-card-color-charts-for-watercolor-paint-ink-gouache-acrylic and Rubber Stamp (https://www.kimcrick.com/collections/rubber-stamps/products/swatch-card-rubber-stamp-for-watercolor-ink-acrylic-markers-for-universal-art-medium-color-chart-organization-select-mounting-option)
❥ Art is Creation Color of Art Pigment Database: https://www.artiscreation.com/Color_index_names.html
  ❥ Blick’s Holbein Watercolors: https://www.dickblick.com/products/holbein-artists-watercolor-tubes 

📦 Importing 📦

  ❥ 🇯🇵 Sekaido Online Shop (https://webshop.sekaido.co.jp/)
      ❥ 🇯🇵 Holbein Granulating Watercolors: https://webshop.sekaido.co.jp/product/A009183
  ❥ Buyee: https://buyee.jp/?lang=en