SketchBox is a monthly subscription box for art supplies. Each month, they'll send you 4-9 art supplies (often full kits), plus a piece of art to inspire you. The items included are for 2D media, such as pens, markers, pencils, paints, etc.
This is a review of the $35/month Premium box. SketchBox also offers a $25/month Basic box.
I can’t believe we’re already in December—and that I have a 13-year-old on my hands! Life has been a whirlwind, and our schedule has gone from crazy to downright insane. I’ve been pretty much living out of my office, so this month’s SketchBox arrived just in time to keep me busy while I waited for Hank’s basketball practice to finish. Sneaking in a little craft time lifted my mood and was honestly so much fun. Read on to see what I came up with!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
First Impressions
SketchBox used to have an ongoing contest where a subscriber's artwork was featured on the lid of their box. For the past few months, they’ve been sending out repeat boxes—likely to use up inventory—but they mentioned that new artwork would return in the new year. However, we've still been receiving repeat boxes up until now. But here’s a twist—there’s no artwork on the box at all this time! It looks like they’ve decided to continue showcasing the winning artwork on the back of the pamphlet instead, which you’ll see below.
What's Inside the Box
Content Pamphlet
Instead of the traditional postcard, SketchBox has switched to a full pamphlet that showcases the box’s contents. It includes a QR code for SketchBox School—where you can learn how to use the materials—along with extra tips and information on how to enter a giveaway. This month even features a written tutorial!
You’ll also find the winner of the monthly contest highlighted in the pamphlet, a spot that’s usually reserved for the shipping box. This month’s winning artwork, created by @amami.kunst, is a super fun anime character holding a paintbrush with an ink backpack. Cute in both color and texture—be sure to check out her Instagram page; she’s truly talented!
SKETCHBOX SIGNATURE Color Shift Watercolors with Brush Set - Retail Value $16.00
This month, we received a premium box featuring my favorite medium: watercolor! The first item inside was a gorgeous set of color-shift watercolors. The set includes five shades—Hydrangea, Shimmer, Alarm, Mermaid, and Chartreuse—and each one transforms depending on the angle of the light. On black paper, they absolutely glow, creating brilliant, iridescent effects that are incredibly fun to play with!
SketchBox Signature Artist Quality Colored Pencils - 6 Piece - Set - Retail Value $9.99
The next item was another exciting addition—a signature set of colored pencils. The hues included Blue Spruce, Robin’s Egg, Chartreuse, Cream, Cherry, and Chocolate. These pencils are definitely high quality and paired beautifully with the color-shift watercolors, adding texture both over and under the paints. With such a thoughtful range of pigments, this set offered a versatility I really appreciated!
Sakura Pentouch Gold Imm - Retail Value $3.93
I love gold pens, so I was absolutely thrilled to find a Sakura Pentouch Gold pen in this month’s box. The color is gorgeous, and it adds such fun, eye-catching accents—easily my favorite item of the whole collection. I use gold pens in all my watercoloring, and this one brings the perfect touch of sparkle to every piece. I couldn’t be happier with this inclusion!
M Graham Watercolor 15 mL - Retail Value $19.97
To round out this month’s box, we also received a tube of M. Graham watercolor paint in Titanium White. This paint has a thick, creamy consistency and worked beautifully on the black paper. It’s a high-quality watercolor that performs wonderfully on its own, but it also blends nicely to tint the included color-shift paints. I’ve received this item before and always appreciate it—I use it all the time!
Prismacolor Color Pencil
This month’s box was packed with so many goodies! Another item I received was a white Prismacolor colored pencil. It worked wonderfully for adding highlights and texture over the color-shift watercolors, making it another fantastic addition to the collection.
Legion Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress - Retail Value $10.65
The last item I received was a set of Stonehenge paper. With a mix of white and black sheets, it was the perfect surface for testing out the color-shift watercolors. Acid-free and sized at 4" x 6," this set paired beautifully with the rest of this month’s supplies.
Testing
Aren't these bright colors gorgeous?! I loved the curation this month!
SketchBox December Projects
I have to say, I'm really loving the monthly tutorials we've been receiving with our SketchBox. This month's project fit the December theme perfectly and featured a beautiful tree decorated with lights and ornaments. The sparkly paint looked stunning on the black paper, and the whole piece turned out really fun. I picked up a lot of great techniques from this tutorial and appreciated how it incorporated every product from the box. By following the photos and written instructions, my final piece turned out pretty well—and I can’t wait to experiment more with these supplies soon!
The Verdict
SketchBox is a fantastic subscription service that delivers high-quality art supplies across a wide range of mediums. This month’s Color Shift Watercolor Premium Box offered a medium is my favorite. With enough products to make multiple pieces of artwork, I was really happy with the amount of products in this curation. While my schedule has been busy, I am looking forward to utilizing these more in the near future. Overall, I had a ton of fun, and I can’t wait to see what January’s box has in store. Any guesses?
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Value Breakdown
You can find all these items as a set in the Sketch Shop listed at the top of the page as the Color Shift Watercolor Premium Box for $40. The included contents card had a $62.74 value, which is higher than the cost of the box and allowed me to discover products I probably wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
To Wrap Up
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? According to SketchBox's website, the cutoff to purchase the December box was November 21st, but you can still subscribe to get next month's box or buy this box in their shop as the Color Shift Watercolor Premium box.
What do you think of SketchBox?
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