Friday, March 25, 2016

Distress Crayon's - Part 2 & GiveAway!

NOTE - I have added additional information at the bottom to answer a few questions I have been getting...

O.k. so I decided to see what the Distress Crayons looked like side by side with Gelatos and Prima's Oil Pastels.


First, let's take a look at what you get with each of the mediums...  As you can see even though the Distress Crayon is about twice the size of a Gelato stick the contents are about the same with the Distress Crayon being a about 1/4" longer.  These two products probably have the same amount of medium because the Gelato stick is actually a bit thicker in diameter than the DC.  The Prima crayon has probably 2-3 times more medium as it's not only longer but has a much thicker diameter as well.

Price wise -

Prima's Water Soluable Oil Pastels - $15.00-20.00 for 24 crayons = $0.63 - 0.83 each

Gelato Sticks (regular size) - sets vary greatly depending on set size and extras. Generally you can get a set of 4 for 7.00 = $1.75 each

Distress Crayons - $11.00-15.00 for set of 6 =  $1.83 - 2.50 each


So, I did a side by side of Gelato, Distress Crayons and Primas Water Soluble Oil Pastels on plain regular cardstock.  I chose this substrate because let's be honest, most people aren't going to take the time to gesso a piece of cardstock for every card they want to make.

So, I scribbled a 3" long line with each of the mediums - I smudged the bottom portion with my finger tip.  As you can see the Primas smudged away to the point you couldn't see the initial markings, smudged Gelatos didn't do quite as well but - you can tell it's a bit darker where the initial scribbles were but it did disperse very well.  Distress Crayons on the other hand were more difficult to diffuse - they just don't glide over the paper much and all of the lines still show up.

Next I went in with a water brush and tried to move the mediums around that way. Gelato's and Primas were very water friendly and could easily be spread over a very large area.  Great for watercoloring if you chose to do so as they dissolved quite easily.  Distress Crayons on the other hand were difficult to dissolve and didn't have much travel, you could in fact still see all of the initial markings which no matter how much I tried I couldn't diffuse on this or any other attempts.

Since that wasn't working so well I decided to try a "removal" technique - basically just color a piece of cardstock with the various mediums, over lay a stencil and use a baby wipe to remove the color medium.


First up I tried the Distress Crayons - as you can see I had a difficult time smudging out the crayon.  The original scribble lines don't go away and I really couldn't blend the colors much either.  


I placed the stencil over the panel and tried to remove the medium with a baby wipe.  I had a difficult time with this.  I just couldn't pick up the color much at all - in the end I basically rubbed the top layer of paper away trying to get the color up.  (see below).


I ended up pilling the paper instead of removing the color...not the look I was going for.


Next up Gelatos - scribbled, blended and removed without much problem.


Finally Prima's - WOW, I used the same amount of medium as the other two examples but had far more medium than was necessary.  It blended so nicely and I could have moved it over a much larger area than I had room on my panel which is why some areas are still so dark with pigment.  A little bit of this stuff goes a very long way!  So then I placed the stencil on the panel and easily removed the color with a baby wipe.  This took almost no effort whatsoever.  The results were amazing.


Here are all three side by side.  You can see the startling difference for yourself.  I had planned on trying a few more technique comparisons but decided that I had seen enough.  I don't know about you but I don't want to have to fight a medium to get it to work.

***Edited to add - a couple people have mentioned that in some of the Distress Crayon videos they make the colors/techniques look amazing...Why don't they look like that here?

Here are a few things to think about/look for - if you look at many of the demos people share if you really look when they run a waterbrush over them - they get the same look but they don't focus on it for long.  They just swish the water over the medium then move on.  In most of the videos I've seen of the Distress Crayons when you color directly on an uncoated (no gesso or collage medium) paper/cardstock/etc. some of the color moves around (as it does in the above examples and again below) but you'll be left with a darker stain where the medium was originally applied.


So I colored an area that has solid color and a heavy coat as advised - 


I then went over it to blend it out with a waterbrush.  While there is color movement you still end up with the darker stain of color where the original DC was originally applied with a much lighter wash surrounding it.


It is stated right in the demos that you have to use LOTS of product to get the intended look - I find that this is far more product than what you would normally apply with Gelatos or especially the Prima pastels (a little goes a very long way).  In this example I colored a large block of color with a thick layer of medium and smeared it around with my finger.    The black lines outline where the original product was applied.


Next I overlapped two colors to blend - both solid coats with heavy layers of medium.


Smudged it together with my finger tip and this is the result.  The black lines show where the colors were originally colored and where they overlapped.

To get the really vibrant mixed colors the Distress Crayons were applied on a coated surface (coated with something like gesso, a collage medium, or other sealed surface) then mixed but if you notice most of the time the demonstrator either adds additional layers of Distress Crayon or another Distress product to enhance the results.  Many of the examples you see are not just a single layer of color as shown here.

I'm not saying these crayons are good or bad, that is for you to decide. I'm just showing what this particular medium looks like in a few real life tests/comparisons.  I don't get paid for this and I buy the product with my own money.  Again, I'm not the judge here, just showing you what it looks like IRL.

So there you go...
the choice is yours to make.

Give-Away Time

Would you like to try the Distress Crayons for yourselves?  If so, please post below. (be sure I have some way to contact you)

I have 6 sets (2 of each set) to give away - please note that 3 of the sets were used to make the examples so while they aren't brand new there is still lots of life in them to experiment and play with. You have until April 2nd to post a comment to be eligible for a set.  If there are more than 6 people that would like to try them I will draw names at random using Random.org.

40 comments:

  1. Thanks for all the examples! I'd love to try these out... just starting to get my old papercrafting supplies back to use again since stashing them away when we moved a few years ago! (And you've got me on FB messenger if I win, ty!)

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  2. I'd love to play with a set too please Roni and I don't mind about one set being used either hun, pre-used is pre-loved! After reading your reviews I have to admit that I don't think I'd purchase them. There are other products out there that I would be happy to purchase, as I've a limited budget I carefully pick my supplies lol! Karen x

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  3. Thank you for this comparison. I also wouldn't mind trying them out. I am one of those that need to play hands on for myself. I am on your Facebook as well so it will be easy to contact me.

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  4. Thanks for all the information you have shared on trying these out! I'd love to have a set to play with !

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  5. I really appreciate your honest sharing of these products. It also gave me some insight into some other products I have considered. I think I would invest my money in one of the others but would still love to have a set of the DC to just try out for myself. Thanks.

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  6. I have been following your comparisons and find them very helpful. I wish I could find a chart somewhere that would list which mediums are the same or get the same effect. I sometimes think I am duplicating art supplies if you know what I mean. I would love to play with a giveaway set. I don't have any of these yet! You're the best! kReN

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  7. I will try them out so that I can see what medium will work best with my style of coloring. I have some gelatos but they reactivate again with other wet mediums, I heard that the DC don't. Thanks for your comparison.

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  8. Very interesting in how they all blended out. I doubt after seeing how these worked out that they would be for me. The Prismacolor on the other hand sound great and for all I own of their products I'm never disappointed in them. So please don't include me in this but thanks for the reviews hugs Nikki

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  9. Thank you for the information! I haven't tried Prima and Distress, yet!

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  10. Thanks for taking the time, Ink Stained~ Good test. I'd love to try the products you have in your give-away.

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  11. Your comparisons are amazing!! I really appreciate your detailed play and what you found out about them!! That is very useful information....thank you for that! I would love to win a set of the distress crayons to play with. Thank you for the chance to win.
    trishajo@gmail.com

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  12. i love your comparisons. you basically read my mind and answered every questions I had regarding the crayons!! thank you for the opportunity to win a set of crayons!! keep the demos coming...love them!

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  13. Thank you very much for creating and sharing this post. I have been interested in the crayons since their release. Interesting product that I do want to try. Your post has peaked my interest in the Prima product- I will need to find some to try, too! Love the Prima colors.
    Thanks again for sharing your findings!

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  14. Thanks for the detailed post. I don't own any of those mediums & wouldn't mind giving these a try.

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  15. Roni, thank you for showing all the differences between these products. I have a set of oil pastels but not sure if they are water solvable...I'll have to check. thanks for the chance to win a set.
    stamping sue
    http://stampingsueinconnecticut.blogspot.com/

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  16. I'm not impressed with any of the results, but think I'd like to try the gelotos just to see. Tim Holtz makes the distress look so nice???? Thanks for the comparison. That's really helpful. Edna Burgess

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  17. This is great info, thanks for doing this

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  18. I would like to win this prize because I want refresh my stamping syle and want to try new things. COLLEEN cdmoore@shaw.ca

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  19. thank you for this review - from what you have said - this is something I would not waste money on but winning this for myself and other members of my stamp club to play with would be something to try. Thanks for the chance - gabriele

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  20. Thanks for the honest, thorough review. Your results line up with several others I saw. I think I would like to try the Distress crayons as a additive( for color) to texture paste, etc, rather than as a direct to surface item. Might be the best use for them? I do like my Gelatos, but have not yet experienced(did not know about) the Prima . Will have to keep my eye out for them in the future.

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  21. Roni: Excellent review. What would we do without you. Leave the DC's for others to play with. I'm headed out to get some Primas because I had not used those!

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  22. Wow, what a thorough review! I have yet to try any of these products, although I recently ordered some Gelatos and can't wait to give them a try. I've been hearing about the Distress Crayons and would love to play with them, even though it looks like the two other products work better. LOVE your honest reviews of products!

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  23. Interesting comparisons and I was happy you also included the price of each medium. Would still like to try the distress crayons for myself, just because.

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  24. Nice comparisons, Roni! I have the Distress Crayons and gelatos. I've never tried the Prima water-soluble crayons, maybe will try a set. I do have the Neo-color IIs and imagine they're similar to the Prima. When I did a test with my Distress Crayons, I first used them on Bristol Smooth that I'd prepped with Golden Gesso (I had done several pieces for another project and decided to use one piece to test the DCs). The Golden Gesso is extremely smooth and the DCs just glided over the paper. They blended beautifully with my finger. I next tried them on Strathmore 140# watercolor paper. I didn't bother trying to blend with my finger, just used a water brush to "bleed" them out. As you mentioned, the places where I laid down the original swatch did not bleed out smoothly - the original swatch stayed very visible. The one thing that worked very well was taking the color from the tip of the DC with the water brush and then painting with it. I think I did hear someone mention that the DCs gave the best results when used over some type of collage medium and may have been designed for that.

    I have a love/hate relationship with Gelatos. I don't like the way they blend unless I use a baby wipe, but when I do, the baby wipe lifts most of the color. I've gotten some nice, intense color, but only by applying layer after layer.

    I love the Neocolor IIs, but haven't had a lot of experience with them. They're probably my favorites because of the wide range of colors available (I'll admit that I hate to mix my own colors, lol).

    Thanks for all of the great comparisons you provide. I find them very helpful, especially if you come up with the same results as I have.

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  25. Wow, that's the best review I've seen yet on DC's. Have to say that I certainly appreciate your honesty. Most folks seem to feel if it has TH's name on it it must be perfect. While I do love my Distress inks and stains haven't loved all his products. I'd still like to be the winner of one of the sets (certainly wouldn't matter if it was used) so that I could show them to my stamp group. They do seem to work better if used on a surface prepped with gesso. Now the thing I'm really intrigued by is the Prima's!! I've got some old oil pastels, will have to see if they can be used with water. Thanks for all the experimentation! Saved me a lot of time and money!

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  26. Love your product comparisons! Thanks!

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  27. Thanks for the review and the chance to win!
    Annie daskala@zeelandnet.nl

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  28. Hey, Roni, please do not include me in the giveaway. Just wanted to comment to thank you for an honest review. Happy Easter! xoxo

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  29. I have really enjoyed these product reviews. The only watercolor crayons I have are the Lyra Aquacolor ones and I like those very much. Thanks for a chance to win a set of of the Distress crayons. They sound interesting to try on some of my more collage-y pieces. Happy Easter! Anne

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  30. Good honest comparison, thank you. I have Gelatos, and wonder if I should just stick with those. These colors look so enticing, yet......

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  31. I thought it was something I was doing wrong that I wasnt getting a good blend! Thanks for confirming Im not crazy....at least when it comes to these crayons lol.

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  32. I got some Gelatos, because of your posts, and love them. Thanks for your product comparisons and tutorials about them!

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  33. What a great review! I don't have any of the products you compared so I would love to try the Distress Crayons - thanks for the chance!

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  34. Thanks for the review. Very fair and I agree about the problem of gesso'ing every time so using plain cardstock is a fair evaluation (similarly the expense of watercolour paper). I have Gelatos ad Prima and find each different in use so now to try the Distress.

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  35. Thanks for the great review. I haven't had a good feeling about the Distress crayons and this review proofs I'm right ;). I already own Gelatos so I'll stick by it.

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  36. I am glad that you showde the effects of these crayons. I was going to buy them.
    But now I'm not so shure anymore. But would like to try before I really say yes or no to this product. Thanks for showing Anneke.

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  37. Roni I cannot get your e mail link to work . I wanted to thank you so much for the Dis stress Crayon set I can hardly wait to play on the weekend. It was a wonderful to win after a challengeing Monday at the daycare where Iwork. Take good care Colleen

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  38. Thanks for taking the time to share this review with us all! Very much appreciate your time and thoughtfulness! Thank you!

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Thanks for your thoughts and comments!