Some clarification about the blackest black: if someone was already buying other products (like the pinkest pink) and were therefore already paying the shipping prices,do you think it would be worth picking up to try on other mediums?
If you’re ordering already, I’d say go for it and just don’t expect miracle paint.
As a paint (ha ha, as intended) it’s just… well, it’s not that black. The pigment itself is warm-toned and not really blacker than anything else I already have. I tried a second experiment grinding some black PanPastel to use with the Super Base medium and it was actually slightly darker (and smoother) than the Culture Hustle Black.
The matte Super Base is whitish, which I think is a problem. It is very matte, and I actually planning to try the Base with the pink and green pigments because I think they’ll be killer… but it sort of chalks up the black. It also tends to hold the brush strokes on non-porous surfaces.
You get more of that super-black effect in ambient light, but directional light kills the effect entirely.
One thing I will say for the Super Black is that the coverage is excellent. It is a true one-coat black and that degree of coverage is very attractive. As I wrote this, it also occurs to me that everything that I have painted has been non-porous - resin and vinyl. Perhaps porous surfaces like wood, paper, or porcelain would be more successful.
You can see my experiments on my Instagram - seed.arts. missmonstermel also did a painted mask recently with it and her results looked similar to mine.
I really don’t mean to shit on the pigment/paint. I just feel like the phrases “your mileage may vary” and “manage your expectations” are the best advice I can give.
Semple just posted a new vid that shows his mixing technique and I’m gonna watch that tonight and see if I’m doing something wildly wrong, but I dunno. I’ve mixed a lot of pigments in my life, man. I wish I could communicate to more people that the beta still needs work; I love the openness and collaboration, but I must admit to being kind of disappointed with the actual product. I hate thinking of other people feeling the same way, especially college kids for whom £20 plus shipping is an incredible amount of money. I can write it off as a business expense, y'know? If money's an issue, I'd wait for version 2.0.
