Hi friends! Remember when I was sick during my birthday and I mentioned some misspent time watercolor shopping online? Well, the first of my crafty loot has arrived, my set of Mijello Mission Gold watercolors. I had been hearing about these paints a lot lately because there is a very popular set of 36 colors with a palette that had been going for $57 on amazon (regular $180-$285 on sale at art supply websites) and I was quite tempted to buy them but I did not like the fact that most of the colors were mixed pigments and I prefer single pigment paints due to the fact that they are more vivid and mix well without becoming muddy. A friend had sent me a tube of Peacock Blue (thanks Jacqueline!) and the color was really pretty and vibrant but when I went to mix it with other colors it was very weak. It did not make mud but the color was weaker than the others I mixed it with. So I decided that I would pass on the tempting set. But then I saw that they offered a set of 24 pure pigment colors in larger 15ml tubes for $86 and I decided to take the plunge. The cold medicine made me do it, but I am glad I did!
The 36 set with a palette for $57 that most crafters had been buying had either 5 or 7ml tubes of paint, I heard it both ways and the listing did not specify which, even if the tubes were 7ml the pure pigment set of 24 15ml tubes only worked out to a few cents more per 7ml (not counting the black and white freebies that came with the set.) I feel that a single pigment color is more versatile and more valuable than a mixed pigment color so I was happy to pay the extra. That said, if you don’t plan on doing much mixing the 36 color set is fine. I asked folks on YouTube what they thought of the colors in the 36 color set and my viewers were pleased with the quality. I only had the one tube of mixed colors and it is not fair to judge a line on one tube.
If you want my full review and to see the paints in action watch the video!
Now let’s break it down:
- No cadmium pigments are used (this can be a plus or a minus, cadmium is toxic)
- Excellent/Very Good lightfastness across all pure pigment colors
- Rewets well
- Lots of reds in the kit, few greens so you will need to mix, the amount of reds might be wasteful to a landscape painters
- Price: $86 on Amazon but individually the tubes for $15-$30 a pop! This set would cost over $500 if bought open stock at MSRP or over $300 o sale at the major online stores. PS I am not an amazon affiliate so click on an amazon link from another favorite blogger and help support their content:)
- 15ml is a large tube for watercolor, it will take a while to use them up and you can replace colors as you use them up (however it might be cheaper to just re-buy the set if the price stays low.
I did notice that they relisted this set on amazon for $88 and included a palette with it, I kinda wish I waited for the palette but I have my eye on a Steven Quiller palette for these, I have always wanted one:)
So far I am very pleased with these paints and I look forward to painting more with them. If you have used these or any other Mijello sets and want to rate them in the comments below it would be helpful to fellow readers. I also wanted to let you know that I was not asked to do this review or compensated for it:) I will share a painting done with this set soon, til then, happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 
This was a helpful review. I always like hearing your opinion about watercolors, Lindsay. Where did you obtain the white plastic palate you are using? Thanks.
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the palette is from Salis corp (Dr PH Martin)
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I’d like to see how to mix skin tones using primary colors. My dark friend turned orangey and I was green in a recent attempt to water color best friends in a color book.
On Mon, Jul 18, 2016 at 7:07 PM, Thefrugalcrafters Weblog wrote:
> thefrugalcrafter posted: “Hi friends! Remember when I was sick during my > birthday and I mentioned some misspent time watercolor shopping online? > Well, the first of my crafty loot has arrived, my set of Mijello Mission > Gold watercolors. I had been hearing about these paints a lot l” >
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I have these in my cart. I have seen several vlogs/blogs with them and keep resisting them but I would really like some “professional” level watercolors to go with my Koi and Cotman…
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I ordered the set of 36 with the palette some time ago knowing I would get some birthday money and that set was on sale here in Germany but I also ordered five of the Pure Pigment colors to replace some paints in that set. After watching your video I was glad one of those tubes was Bamboo Green! Later I saw lots of the premixed greens in the set contain Bamboo Green.
I’m glad the reds are transparent and don’t contain Cadmium. Some of the secondaries and tertiaries consist of three pigments but if I’d have to mix them myself I guess they would end up the same way so I guess that’s okay.
My idea was to first find out if I really like these paints before I buy huge tubes of it. If I knew some people nearby who would like to try them out too we could have shared a box of the Pure Pigments. I just didn’t want to buy those large tubes of paints if I end up not using them. I’m probably going to wait for a bargain and buy the Pure Pigments for Christmas, use them at home and keep the palette with the set of 36 for outdoor painting where premixes might be handy.
The names of the colors are misleading so I added the pigments on my color chart to prevent getting mixed up. Like: burnt sienna isn’t like what burnt sienna usually is (I just ordered Indian Red instead and hope that will work out) and Viridian is more like Phtalo Green concerning the pigment. Rich Boden will probably have a LOT to say about that! Maybe I should have asked for his advice first.
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Great video as always
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I loved your review since I never used watercolors but wanted a good brand to start with since I have only been painting with Acrylics. I ordered my set today. thanks again
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Fantastic review! I just received my set. One bit of info concerning your comment about the rarity of a pigment affecting price., not an importan fact, but I suspect you’d enjoy knowing…I recently took a tour of the M. Graham plant and they told us that it isn’t usually the rarity but the intensity of a pigment that is most important in price. Cobalt is cheaper than Ultramarine per pound or raw pigment, but a tiny pinch of Ultramarine creates deep color, whereas it takes a lot more Cobalt to get the same intensity in a tube of paint. Watercolor Trivia. Gotta love it!
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good to know:)
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I got a sample of this line of paints so of course I came to you to see if you have done a product review. You have and so I found this exact set plus the palette on Amazon for $94.50 so I ordered it! Can’t wait to try these out! I always trust your videos so keep them coming!
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Hiya,
I am not an artist, I use water colours for my cardmaking etc only, but I do like to find out what’s behind the latest hype of new paints before thinking about possible investment.
I have looked at a few Watercolour Artists forums regarding these paints including ‘Wet Canvas’ & they are not greatly received for a few reasons (one you yourself have stated – mixed pigments).
The lightfastness issue is another major issue but of course it is not that important to a cardmaker I suppose; but it does still make me wonder why then would a crafter pay so much for something without it having been properly tested. These are very expensive but have no valuable testing results or reputation to justify the cost. As several artists questioned, surely they should be building up a good reputation first before charging more than say Holborn or W&N who have earned their reputation.
They are a new fad for the crafters market that many will buy because they think another expert crafter they admire has bought them therefore they must be good. They will often spending vast amounts of their limited budget when really they didn’t need to at all to get the same results with much cheaper brands.
My question to you, as I do so love your blog & opinion, why did you need to change what you used? Was it because others have, as you mentioned, or had you become unhappy with the product/s you have previously used?
I bought a set of 36 Gansai Tambi paints after expert crafters recomendations & luckily for me, for my background & detail work they are great & I’m glad I invested. Basically what I’m asking is do you really think they are worth changing for OR do you believe they are not better than, but just an alternative choice?
Oh gosh sorry that was winded wasnt it, but I have so much confusion I wanted your opinion, comparison based please as I’m sure other crafters will feel the same.
Thanks for sharing your fab ideas, your blog is always a joy to read. Xx
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A lot of the reviews on WetCanvas are the old versions of the Mission Gold paint, they had dogy pigments and were not very trustworthy but they were bought by Webber and revamped the recipes. I pourposly got the pure pigment set because single pigments are more versitle and valueble and if you know the pigments you can tell if it will fade or not because the same pigment from different makers are going to be very similar and for pure pigment colors in 15ml tubes it was a great deal to replace other tubes I had used up. The 36 set that a lot of crafters are excited about is mostly mixed pigments. I think it got popular because it was selling for less than $40 with a nice palette but as it got popular they raised the price and now that it has momentum people are just buying it up. It’s good paint though, I think it is better than Windsor & Newton Pro range which to me is a bit weak for the price. Honestly, once you are in the pro range there is not a ton of difference. For cardmaking your best bet is a Gansai Tambi or other eastern color as it works better on paper that is not watercolor paper and heavily sized as it is designed to work well on rice paper. Bottom line, as always, the best supplies are the ones you have:) And more expensive does not always equal better performing.
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Thanks for your review I saw your YouTube review as well but now I’m confused because the spin doctor has put out a warning about the cheap guy base pigments not even pigments used in these more cheap dye ‘hues’….. and I was just getting ready to purchase the set, sigh I’m a newbie and now I don’t know what to do…help!
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sorry for the delay in replying, I think the paints aregood, the old version had some sketchy pigments but the mission gold that has come out over the last 2 years uses tried and true pigments. I think Rick might have had old paint info.
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