I was lucky enough to go on the Daniel Smith factory tour on Saturday, and we got the scoop on how Shadow Violet came to be--it was a mistake!! The person mixing a batch of Moonglow made an honest error and added Transparent Pyrrol Orange PO73 instead of Anthraquinoid Red PR177, and didn't realize until it had gone through most of the process. The artists who worked on the sales team loved it and were sure they would be able to sell it so they decided to release it as a limited edition, and it was popular so they added it to the line! Someone on the tour asked if there were any more happy accidents, but Thom said no and they've added even more tests to the process since then so it's very, very rare that they have a problem with a batch. It was a really fun tour and we got to learn a ton about pigments, saw all the primatek minerals in rock form and played with lots of watercolor!
everart! That is such a wonderful story about the Moonglow. Thank you for sharing it with us. Would you mind if I pin your comment? I'm sure everyone would be fascinated to read your story too. :D
I was so sad after doing my Daniel Smith lightfast tests for over a year that Moonglow ended up being just as fugitive as Opera Pink. My Shadow Violet also faded, but less so than the Moonglow, with only the warm hue fading. While doing my video review of the new DS half pan sets, I noticed the color chart insert said "LF1/N.R." for both Moonglow and Shadow Violet. The NR meaning not rated or independent rating. I can only assume that each pigment they mixed into this is normally considered lightfast, so they assumed the whole mix would be without actually having it tested. The tricky part with that is that some pigments have a stronger lightfastness when they are NOT diluted. But when used in small amounts thinly spread in water, they fade much quicker in the sun. Because I hang artwork on walls that have a window nearby I decided not to use these unless I plan to scan art for print making or for fun in my sketchbook. I only found 13 fugitive colors in over 240 colors I've tested from D.S. over the years, so almost all of them are a safe bet, but these were not :(
I love both of these colors and at first I thought they were interchangeable colors, but the more I used them the more I realized that shadow violet is fine as a Neutral and for mixing, but moonglow is freakin gorgeous color that can definitely be used on its own and it’s subtle color separation gives really lovely effects that I can’t live my life without. I’m a big fan of purples anyway so that makes sense. Love that you’re continuing the gauze in these swatches!
Yes I thought you would pick Moonglow!! I too am picking moonglow because I love bright, bold colours. You can always neutralise a bright colour, but you can brighten up a muted tone.
I use the Shadow Violet, because it makes the most beautiful soft shadows under furs and feathers in animals and it’s amazing for doing shadows in white botanicals.
Am I too far gone if I kinda like the shadow violet + quin gold mix? It's a nice moody earth color... (*prepares to dodge stuff thrown at her*) It's interesting to see how mixing every color of your palette with the same color really unifies the palette, I must remember that for future paintings. (Though, personally, I'd have switched the paints names? Like have the more violet color be Shadow Violet and the oranger one be Moonglow.)
Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault lmao Eve I would never throw things at you! It’s the great thing about art, we all get to enjoy our own tastes! I think it’s awesome that you like the shadow violet and quin Gold mix. In fact, I challenge you to a painting using that mix! Yes, using a mother colour is a fab and easy way of unifying any palettes. I never remember to do it tho. I agree with you about the naming, yes they should be the other way round!
It was the first of all the mixed colors that jumped out at me... I have moon glow already but when I saw that mix I thought Oh, maybe I need shadow violet too! Then when oto kano didn't like it I wondered if it looked different in person. :)
I think the Moonglow is the correct choice as far as saturation but the Shadow violet seems more neutral and therefore better versatility for mixing. I quite like the quin gold with it, makes a nice brown- hair, fur and shady trees. etc. Lovely review, lots of info here. Nice video!
I ordered quinacridone coral but a shadow violet was delivered. (These too have one code difference) I was sooo excited to try it out that I didn’t realize there was a mistake with the order until I made a color swatch. I totally fell in love with it and thought it was my favorite out of the 58 watercolor paints I have. I believe it was meant to be 😍 I do have moon glow but shadow violets hidden orange tone that seeps out here and there is just damn gorgeous.
To my surprise, I find I must have both on my palette, even in my most limited 28-color pocket palette. I like to use moonglow for darker shadows on the dark side of an object, but shadow violet makes perfect and subtle cast shadows under and around them. They are just so gorgeous I can't choose between them, and they both get a lot of use.
I am so excited for this series! If all the videos were out I would for sure binge watch it! 😆 The comparisons are so thorough and include things I’ve never seen people consider. It was just a pleasure watching this! I’ve also wondered the difference between these two and you’ve totally cleared it up for me.
Oto Kano hmmm Moonglow fits a position for a dark purple in my palette , so I’d probably choose that one. Shadow violet is nice though and I’ve seen it used for really nicely for soft shadows on animals and flowers. If I used neutrals more often I could probably find more use for shadow violet then.
Your channel should have 500,000 subscribers by now. You produce such detailed, thorough, organized easy to understand educational videos with high quality videography. I’m going to advertise your channel on my Twitter feed.
What a dedicated and lovely person you are. Thank you so much for a thorough and wonderful explanation. I would go for Moonglow too, I like the colours and granulation.
I have both of these on my permanent/studio palette and use both quite often! Shadow Violet I generally use for creating depth and shadows on all of my watercolor illustrations. It works great with shadowing fair to tan skin tones and animal fur/feathers. Moonglow I use to shadow darker skin tones as well as create a nice mysterious night sky. It is great for adding effects. I would say I use both of them by themselves since theyre already a three-pigment mix, but when I do try and mix them with other colors it is to add effects in the backgrounds and not on the main subject of the piece. Anyway, it was a great review you did Oto Kano, and I hope you enjoy your Moonglow color!
I remembered that you had reviewed moon glow and came back to watch again. I purchased a tube of moon glow today to add to my palette. I have a plan that for the next year I will buy a tube each month to build up my palette, this is going to be so much fun.
LOL i actually kinda liked that weird brown you get when you mixed shadow violet with the quin gold haha!! But it is so funny that you made this bc I was literally talking about these two colors with a friend yesterday!! I already had moonglow but wanted to try shadow violet bc i am trying to recreate Eve’s fall palette. 😁😁 i love them both but think shadow violet might be interesting (and easier) to incorporate into portraits. :-)
I was the same as you, talked to A LOT of people about the two colours and couldn't get good answers. I love Eve's fall palette too, such a rich gorgeous palette
Excellent, thank you for this. As it happens I have both on my palette at the moment, and was trying to work out which to keep. But they are indeed different enough that I think I'll keep both. I got Shadow Violet because John Muir Laws recommended it for doing shadows on wildlife, and it is great for that. Moonglow, on the other hand, seems perfect for moody landscapes. So which is on the palette would depend on what my subject is, which correlates with whether I'm going for high realism (wildlife) or something more impressionist (landscape).
I actually have both and like them equally but for different things. In painting rocks and mountains in landscapes they give a very beautiful texture and I´ve also used them when painting birds to give life to very dark or black patches of feathers. I found that glazing they gave beautiful textures too..
Wow, love how Shadow Violet looks in the washes. I have Moonglow. One of a few mixes I use, and I use it often. I like pairing Moonglow as a shadow for yellows and oranges. My doggo in my avatar is a creamy color and I painted her with Quin Gold PO49 (she's special so I broke out the rare pigment for her) and Moonglow for shadows. It turned out so pretty. One of my most liked paintings on Instagram ever.
An excellent comparison demo!! I love Daniel Smiths colours, especially the Primateks, and I too have battled with choosing between so many of these similar shades. Thank you Oto. Angela Mills.
I actually have both and love both of them, the shadow Violet I use in shadows, and the moonglow is great for night skies and heaps of other things really, I also quite like the colour mix you said not to mix 😂 I could see it in trees, bark, any foliage really, but then I’m a sucker for nice colours and just have to have as many as possible 😀
I bought a tube of Shadow Violet awhile back because I love Moonglow and would not be without it. I tried the Shadow Violet once and haven't used it since. Moonglow rocks!
I saw that moonglow actually can fade pretty fast, specially if it is more diluted because they used the fugitive PR177 pigment. Such a bummer. I wish they would use a more lightfast cool red instead
I'm so excited to have Moonglow, though I'm not sure where it will fit into my illustration style! It was still very cool to see Shadow Violet swatched like this -- it makes me think of a foggy scene when you have the sheet sideways, but I'm sure I could recreate that look easily enough. Also, Shadow Violet + Quin Gold? Totally looks like alligator skin or something. It's definitely ... unique. And both Shadow Violet and Moonglow look a bit like marble to me when they're on hot press!
ha ha yes, 'interesting' is a good word for those two colours mixing! I am not sure how to include these new colours I am discovering atm either, yet. I figured I need to learn how to pick between colours first. Maybe I can do a follow up on how to figure out bringing in a new colours to your style? (Although I don't know the answer to that yet....)
Oto Kano I think with all watercolours it's just a lot of trial and error! I do think Moonglow will be a really interesting shadow colour and a way to sometimes create more muted pieces since, uh, as you know, I'm not so good at that.
Great review. I too already have moonglow. I have to admit that I DO like shadow violet as well,, having seen this review. Maybe one day, but I must do some painting first!
I am relatively new to watercolors and just learning about how things separate and blend. I found your swatching very helpful. I think I would lean more towards the moonglow and have added it to my wish list. Now I have to go back and watch your swatch book flip through! thanks as always for sharing.
Ahhh, that gauze is soo... *shivers* trippy. Ahhh. I do like them both but I think the blue shows up more on the shadow violet which to me gives it more character. I might be more bias but I really love shadow violet more because when its really diluted, it does look a little bit more neutral where as moonglow's granulation and purpley tones is a little too much for what I want.
I haven't used any Daniel Smith colors yet. However, I would pick Moonglow because purple is my FAVORITE color. I love the intense purple of it. That said, because purple is my favorite color, I would buy both!!! The shadow violet is a good grey-ish tone and would be perfect for shadowing. Thank you so much for this series!!! I appreciate how scientifically you compare the colors. It's going to be immensely helpful to me as I pick my first set of professional grade paints.
I follow you a great deal and you are top notch. I have learned so very much from you, especially your color theory series and wall the comparisons of 10 PR more brand of a single color. Thank foryou!
I’m rewatching this video for info on shadow violet. I have and love Moonglow. I have also done several layers on a hat in a painting and the texture was unbelievable. It was as if I touched it I could feel the material of the hat.
I would look at the pigment list, make sure I have those paints as a single pigment and experiment with mixing those colors or colors similar to them for myself. I need to find myself using a particular mix all the time to want to purchase it premixed for me.
Since I saw this video, I grabbed a small tube of Shadow Violet (I already had Moonglow) and honestly I find Shadow Violet indisepensable as a pre-mixed grey similar to Liz Steel's Soft Grey. I may have to adjust my palette to put Shadow Violet on there permanently.
Shadow Violet + Hooker's Green and SV + PG#1 are winners for me. They're both decently saturated greens that manage to avoid looking 'cartoonish' or (in Ginger Cook's terminology) 'circus-y.' Plus, the SV + Quin Violet (you swapped Quin Violet and Ultramarine Violet, right?) also balances saturated vs neutral very well.
I think I would always go for the darker brighter one before the muted one. My main reason is because if you wish to muted it, it is easier to mute. On a muted color it's hard to build it up to something brighter. You can make it dark, but not bright. I hope I am explaining my reasoning correctly. Thank you for this series! I love it. It has truly taught me a lot!!
Thanks so much for this color comparison!! I’ve seen both of these colors recommended, and I was very curious about the difference between these two. I’m all in for the Moonglow! I love the intensity and the beautiful purple/pink color. 💕
I got moon glow ages ago when it was really recommended by everyone. However I've never used it in a painting and am a bit lost on what to use it for. As you said you don't get any benefits from mixing and the mixes can be made with less colours. I love videos like this and love exploring paints in this way, it gives an added insight.
Thank you Dan! Means a lot coming from you. I am still trying to figure out how to bring this colour into my practice. I know I LOVE this colour and I need to use it, but how? I'm not sure yet. I will let you know when if and when I figure something out.
I painted an eggplant with it, bahaha only thing I could think of that was purple, and Moonglow suddenly made its way into so many of my paintings. Space, skies, shadows...you name it.
Steve over at Mind of Watercolor suggested using Moonglow as a substitute for Neutral Tint. I tried it, and have to say...I do love it for that purpose. Can use it on its own, but it makes a wonderful neutral tint color.
I use both moonglow and shadow violet. I actually find them both to be useful for different types of shadows and objects. There are certain things I’d only use shadowviolet for and some I’d only use moonglow for.
ive really been contemplating the Moonglow as my next purchase and this really helped. i will definitely be getting it. I would like to see a sample of exactly how much you can get the paint to seperate. I'm so glad you added the gauze test to this sample! thanks for all your hard work!
I picked the moonglow but I'm going to get the shadow violet too as I love muted colours and like eve I quite like how it mixes with the quin gold although I don't have any tubes of the real stuff.
I painted an eggplant with it, bahaha only thing I could think of that was purple, and Moonglow suddenly made its way into so many of my paintings. Space, skies, shadows...you name it. I considered Shadow Violet after Moonglow but when at the art store the woman said if you have moonglow no need for Shadow Violet. Took her word for it, that same day I managed a free 15ml tube of it. I came home with Serpentine Genuine. I also have Autumn Mystery and Mayan Blue Genuine. Try Autumn Mystery with Moonglow or Quinacridone Rose and you will never be the same again.
I went on your twitter page and replied to your post of this video with pictures of my swatches. In all seriousness, it is a lovely paint. Coppery and shimmery.
This is the first video of yours I've seen. I'm not sure whether to be impressed by your level of forethought and thoroughness or concerned about the level of obsessive detail lol. -- My vote is for the Moonglow too just for the Aurelion/Moonglow mix.
Personally, I go for both. You know individual tastes are funny, I think the quin gold and shadow violet make a wonderful bark brown and I can see using it in a forest scene.
This was really useful! I was thinking to get one of these colors, but now I think I will just do mixing by myself. One reason being that I don't have space in my tube palette and these seem not to work well in mixes. But maybe if DS start to do pans... I have always place just "one more halfpan" xD
I actually really LOVE the shadow violet + quin gold mix. I'm not sure I'd call it pretty, but I really like those deep, rich, earthy greens. As for which I'd choose. Well, I have Moonglow and not Shadow Violet, so I guess technically that's the answer, but this definitely bumped Shadow Violet higher up on my wishlist. THEY'RE BOTH So LOVELY.
I like the idea of writing the names of pigments in the palette. Can anyone tell me which pen is best to use - and if it’s not permanent might not one rub it out when working around it - and/or if permanent one is stuck with always setting the palette up that way? Maybe tiny writing on strips of masking tape? Any ideas - as I like the idea - new to wc (usually work in egg tempera) and have difficulty sometimes telling what’s what. :)
Hi, Seeking for guidance. If you have to choose between a set of 70 colors from Daniel Smith and 98 from Sennelier, which one you would choose? Kindly note: 1) They both are in half Pans. 2) They both come as a set only. So can't choose seperately and mix match. 3) Both are available at the same price. I agree, we don't need so many colors. But if you really want to choose one of these two sets.. Which one would u pick up? I have only used Winsor and Newton. Thank you!
Full of useful info as always! I had made my choice prior to your video but you confirmed it here. I caught the peachy under tone when Eve @boltsvault swatched the colours the other day and it doesn't agree with me.
So glad this video could help in deciding with confidence. Watercolors can be so pricy, it's nice to be able to make a buying decision that you can be sure of.
ok i just orderd moonglow along with my very first ds palette. i just did not had it in me to wait for the half pan mixing sets. so its now on its way to its proud new owner and i can safely say i feel like gollum going like ' where's my preciousss come to mamaaa' I think i will see myself plopping in one of my conveniance reds in the mijello palette,if the paint so willingly comes out of the pan,since i am new to ds i thought id start carefull on the reds using the pv19 and pyrrol scarlet i thought from the essential set.
Woooo yay for getting the moonglow and yay for putting together your first DS palette. Hope you have a wonderful time painting with the moonglow when you get it :)
@@OtoKano i enjoyed the dotcard, found it ver smooth, wich I did not expect since im mainly used to sennelier I was expecting it to be uneasy on my part as granulating paints is something i tried to avoid a long time, on the palette, quin gold ,duh, buff white,raw sienna- as a sub for me not liking the ds ochre,burnt umber,burnt sienna,sap pyrelene and olive green, the essential set of six & moonglow with the mijello palette of 18 for some conveniance spaces,one being white gouache from schmincke for highlights,schmincke sofar the only gouache i can afford that is lightfast.
@@OtoKano oh it was undersea green,not olive. have a guess i mostly do botanicals,lol husband was like duuuh that much for such tiny tubes, i was like,yes but i can get at least 3 half pans out of one tube wich i thought was a good enough reason to do the tube thing, need to buy me a tube wringer tho,lol. these are colors i use to paint with my sennelier minus the greens and buff; i wanted to know what the fuzz was on the buff haha
Sorry for being blind and stupid, but I can't be sure what the differences are. I can see that they're different, but I wouldn't be able to explain it to someone if someone were to ask me is what I mean.
Very interesting and useful video for me. I have moonglow, but was wondering about shadow violet, so learned a lot. I tried printing on WC paper on my Brother laser printer, but the toner smeared. What printer did you use? Any special tricks?
Hi Tussah, I recommend using the waterproof ink printer by Epson! I think the ink is called Durabrite? And you need a printer that is compatible with that ink.
I like the quality of Daniel Smith paint.They make really good stuff, no question. And for the quality, prices are competitive. But all that being said, they really have no shame. They hype to the extreme and take advantage of people who are art supply addicts. This is a perfect example of what Daniel Smith does. A magenta red + ultramarine blue + viridian = moonglow. And the same thing with Shadow Violet, only substitute the magenta with an orange. You can make most of the foofoo colors that Daniel Smith cons you into buying with paint that is most likely already in your box. People can do whatever turns them on. If people want to spent money and have 300 tubes in their box then that's okay with me. But it really isn't necessary. This is a good video that talks a lot about mixing, which is great! We would learn more about paints by learning to mix rather than buying into Daniel Smith's incessant marketing schemes.
I was lucky enough to go on the Daniel Smith factory tour on Saturday, and we got the scoop on how Shadow Violet came to be--it was a mistake!! The person mixing a batch of Moonglow made an honest error and added Transparent Pyrrol Orange PO73 instead of Anthraquinoid Red PR177, and didn't realize until it had gone through most of the process. The artists who worked on the sales team loved it and were sure they would be able to sell it so they decided to release it as a limited edition, and it was popular so they added it to the line! Someone on the tour asked if there were any more happy accidents, but Thom said no and they've added even more tests to the process since then so it's very, very rare that they have a problem with a batch. It was a really fun tour and we got to learn a ton about pigments, saw all the primatek minerals in rock form and played with lots of watercolor!
everart! That is such a wonderful story about the Moonglow. Thank you for sharing it with us. Would you mind if I pin your comment? I'm sure everyone would be fascinated to read your story too. :D
No problem, I'm happy to share :)
Thank you for your generosity everart :)
Thank you for sharing:)
Woah, so cool!!
I was so sad after doing my Daniel Smith lightfast tests for over a year that Moonglow ended up being just as fugitive as Opera Pink. My Shadow Violet also faded, but less so than the Moonglow, with only the warm hue fading. While doing my video review of the new DS half pan sets, I noticed the color chart insert said "LF1/N.R." for both Moonglow and Shadow Violet. The NR meaning not rated or independent rating. I can only assume that each pigment they mixed into this is normally considered lightfast, so they assumed the whole mix would be without actually having it tested. The tricky part with that is that some pigments have a stronger lightfastness when they are NOT diluted. But when used in small amounts thinly spread in water, they fade much quicker in the sun. Because I hang artwork on walls that have a window nearby I decided not to use these unless I plan to scan art for print making or for fun in my sketchbook. I only found 13 fugitive colors in over 240 colors I've tested from D.S. over the years, so almost all of them are a safe bet, but these were not :(
oh gosh that is so sad. I'll be doing my own lightfastness test soon too so will let you know what I find as well.
I think it's the fugitive PR177 that makes Moonglow fade so badly. PO73 (in Shadow Violet) is much more lightfast.
I made my own moonglow substituting quin coral for the pr177. (Thanks to your UA-cam videos.).
Oh dang. I just purchased Moonglow this afternoon. I think I’ll see if I can swap them out since it’s unopened. Thanks for sharing.
@@glorioskiola have you done lightfast testing on your homemade version?
I love both of these colors and at first I thought they were interchangeable colors, but the more I used them the more I realized that shadow violet is fine as a Neutral and for mixing, but moonglow is freakin gorgeous color that can definitely be used on its own and it’s subtle color separation gives really lovely effects that I can’t live my life without. I’m a big fan of purples anyway so that makes sense.
Love that you’re continuing the gauze in these swatches!
Yes I thought you would pick Moonglow!! I too am picking moonglow because I love bright, bold colours. You can always neutralise a bright colour, but you can brighten up a muted tone.
I use the Shadow Violet, because it makes the most beautiful soft shadows under furs and feathers in animals and it’s amazing for doing shadows in white botanicals.
Kathryn, thank you so much for your tip, it's very useful to know and great to find out from someone who has used it in their practice. Thank you!
Thanks for the great tip!
Am I too far gone if I kinda like the shadow violet + quin gold mix? It's a nice moody earth color... (*prepares to dodge stuff thrown at her*)
It's interesting to see how mixing every color of your palette with the same color really unifies the palette, I must remember that for future paintings. (Though, personally, I'd have switched the paints names? Like have the more violet color be Shadow Violet and the oranger one be Moonglow.)
Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault lmao Eve I would never throw things at you! It’s the great thing about art, we all get to enjoy our own tastes! I think it’s awesome that you like the shadow violet and quin Gold mix. In fact, I challenge you to a painting using that mix! Yes, using a mother colour is a fab and easy way of unifying any palettes. I never remember to do it tho. I agree with you about the naming, yes they should be the other way round!
I like them a lot, too!! *hi-five!*
I think it's a gorgeous color. Golden muddy green..
It was the first of all the mixed colors that jumped out at me... I have moon glow already but when I saw that mix I thought Oh, maybe I need shadow violet too! Then when oto kano didn't like it I wondered if it looked different in person. :)
I love it too, a nice rich brown.
I think the Moonglow is the correct choice as far as saturation but the Shadow violet seems more neutral and therefore better versatility for mixing. I quite like the quin gold with it, makes a nice brown- hair, fur and shady trees. etc.
Lovely review, lots of info here. Nice video!
I agree with you. They can work in different ways for different needs. Which is great to find out :D Which one do you like best?
my thoughts on shadow violet with quinachridone gold, too! dark-olive-greenish brown from what i can tell, great for an earthier palette.
I have both in my palette, I love moody colours, I could never choose between them! Thanks for the video!!
Wooooo could you tell me how you use each colour and how you differentiate between them? I'd love to know!
I ordered quinacridone coral but a shadow violet was delivered. (These too have one code difference) I was sooo excited to try it out that I didn’t realize there was a mistake with the order until I made a color swatch. I totally fell in love with it and thought it was my favorite out of the 58 watercolor paints I have. I believe it was meant to be 😍 I do have moon glow but shadow violets hidden orange tone that seeps out here and there is just damn gorgeous.
If I had to pick one color I couldn’t do without, it would be moonglow. It’s literally in every painting I do.
Shadow violet all day! Look at all those colors as it lightens with more water. I can even see blue which looks great with the pale orange
To my surprise, I find I must have both on my palette, even in my most limited 28-color pocket palette. I like to use moonglow for darker shadows on the dark side of an object, but shadow violet makes perfect and subtle cast shadows under and around them. They are just so gorgeous I can't choose between them, and they both get a lot of use.
I am so excited for this series! If all the videos were out I would for sure binge watch it! 😆 The comparisons are so thorough and include things I’ve never seen people consider. It was just a pleasure watching this!
I’ve also wondered the difference between these two and you’ve totally cleared it up for me.
So happy that this video cleared up the difference between the two for you. Which one do you prefer more?
Oto Kano hmmm Moonglow fits a position for a dark purple in my palette , so I’d probably choose that one. Shadow violet is nice though and I’ve seen it used for really nicely for soft shadows on animals and flowers. If I used neutrals more often I could probably find more use for shadow violet then.
I feel exactly the same. If I used more neutrals, then I would use the shadow violet more.
Your channel should have 500,000 subscribers by now. You produce such detailed, thorough, organized easy to understand educational videos with high quality videography. I’m going to advertise your channel on my Twitter feed.
Moonglow. It has interesting uses and when mixed carefully with some single pigments it can yield some interesting auto-layering.
What a dedicated and lovely person you are. Thank you so much for a thorough and wonderful explanation. I would go for Moonglow too, I like the colours and granulation.
For me it is Shadow Violet, I love the softness of the color and I tend to paint on the softer side. I am writing it down on my wish list.
Love this series. Hoping it seriously reduces the size of my plein aire palett. Thank you for all of your comparisons.
You are so welcome, and thank you for watching the video!
I have both of these on my permanent/studio palette and use both quite often!
Shadow Violet I generally use for creating depth and shadows on all of my watercolor illustrations. It works great with shadowing fair to tan skin tones and animal fur/feathers.
Moonglow I use to shadow darker skin tones as well as create a nice mysterious night sky. It is great for adding effects.
I would say I use both of them by themselves since theyre already a three-pigment mix, but when I do try and mix them with other colors it is to add effects in the backgrounds and not on the main subject of the piece.
Anyway, it was a great review you did Oto Kano, and I hope you enjoy your Moonglow color!
I remembered that you had reviewed moon glow and came back to watch again. I purchased a tube of moon glow today to add to my palette. I have a plan that for the next year I will buy a tube each month to build up my palette, this is going to be so much fun.
LOL i actually kinda liked that weird brown you get when you mixed shadow violet with the quin gold haha!! But it is so funny that you made this bc I was literally talking about these two colors with a friend yesterday!! I already had moonglow but wanted to try shadow violet bc i am trying to recreate Eve’s fall palette. 😁😁 i love them both but think shadow violet might be interesting (and easier) to incorporate into portraits. :-)
I was the same as you, talked to A LOT of people about the two colours and couldn't get good answers. I love Eve's fall palette too, such a rich gorgeous palette
Excellent, thank you for this. As it happens I have both on my palette at the moment, and was trying to work out which to keep. But they are indeed different enough that I think I'll keep both. I got Shadow Violet because John Muir Laws recommended it for doing shadows on wildlife, and it is great for that. Moonglow, on the other hand, seems perfect for moody landscapes. So which is on the palette would depend on what my subject is, which correlates with whether I'm going for high realism (wildlife) or something more impressionist (landscape).
I prefer the Moonglow as I love richness in color. I love the manner in which you laid out your testing sheet. Fantastic idea. Thank you.
Yes I agree with you, I think I love Moonglow more for the same reason. Thank you for your kind words, it's really encouraging.
I actually have both and like them equally but for different things. In painting rocks and mountains in landscapes they give a very beautiful texture and I´ve also used them when painting birds to give life to very dark or black patches of feathers. I found that glazing they gave beautiful textures too..
So I bought Moonglow yesterday!! It's really beautiful I think.
Wow, love how Shadow Violet looks in the washes. I have Moonglow. One of a few mixes I use, and I use it often. I like pairing Moonglow as a shadow for yellows and oranges. My doggo in my avatar is a creamy color and I painted her with Quin Gold PO49 (she's special so I broke out the rare pigment for her) and Moonglow for shadows. It turned out so pretty. One of my most liked paintings on Instagram ever.
I love these color stories artists are doing. So informative and lovely to watch.
So excited for this series Oto! Wonderful idea :)
I have seen you lots on eves chats but I have no idea how I lived my life without your channel!!
lol thank you so much for coming over :D It's such a pleasure to have you here!
Thank you! I’ve been debating this for a couple months and I now see which one I prefer 😊
An excellent comparison demo!! I love Daniel Smiths colours, especially the Primateks, and I too have battled with choosing between so many of these similar shades. Thank you Oto. Angela Mills.
I'm going for both. I enjoy looking at both.
I actually have both and love both of them, the shadow Violet I use in shadows, and the moonglow is great for night skies and heaps of other things really, I also quite like the colour mix you said not to mix 😂 I could see it in trees, bark, any foliage really, but then I’m a sucker for nice colours and just have to have as many as possible 😀
I bought a tube of Shadow Violet awhile back because I love Moonglow and would not be without it. I tried the Shadow Violet once and haven't used it since. Moonglow rocks!
I saw that moonglow actually can fade pretty fast, specially if it is more diluted because they used the fugitive PR177 pigment. Such a bummer. I wish they would use a more lightfast cool red instead
Just bought the Moonglow and Rare Green Earth this weekend! Good timing and an excellent review of these two beautiful colors! Cheers Dr. Oto! :)
wooo yay! What did you think of them?
I'm so excited to have Moonglow, though I'm not sure where it will fit into my illustration style! It was still very cool to see Shadow Violet swatched like this -- it makes me think of a foggy scene when you have the sheet sideways, but I'm sure I could recreate that look easily enough.
Also, Shadow Violet + Quin Gold? Totally looks like alligator skin or something. It's definitely ... unique. And both Shadow Violet and Moonglow look a bit like marble to me when they're on hot press!
ha ha yes, 'interesting' is a good word for those two colours mixing! I am not sure how to include these new colours I am discovering atm either, yet. I figured I need to learn how to pick between colours first. Maybe I can do a follow up on how to figure out bringing in a new colours to your style? (Although I don't know the answer to that yet....)
Oto Kano I think with all watercolours it's just a lot of trial and error! I do think Moonglow will be a really interesting shadow colour and a way to sometimes create more muted pieces since, uh, as you know, I'm not so good at that.
Great review. I too already have moonglow. I have to admit that I DO like shadow violet as well,, having seen this review. Maybe one day, but I must do some painting first!
Have you tried neutralising & watering down the moonglow a bit? That might make it look a lot like shadow violet.
I am relatively new to watercolors and just learning about how things separate and blend. I found your swatching very helpful. I think I would lean more towards the moonglow and have added it to my wish list. Now I have to go back and watch your swatch book flip through! thanks as always for sharing.
LOVE how you approached the test. So thorough and completely appreciate it. Can’t wait for more!
I have an love moonglow. I was shocked at how much I love it!
This is very helpful... thank you!
Ahhh, that gauze is soo... *shivers* trippy. Ahhh.
I do like them both but I think the blue shows up more on the shadow violet which to me gives it more character. I might be more bias but I really love shadow violet more because when its really diluted, it does look a little bit more neutral where as moonglow's granulation and purpley tones is a little too much for what I want.
Yes I agree with you, the shadow violet does look more neutral and is thus much easier to work with for a natural look. Great choice :D
Thank you for this video! I’m starting with Daniel Smith and had trouble deciding which one to get. I got the Moonglow with my basic colours :)
So glad the video helped you pick the right color for you. Hope you enjoy using moonglow!
I haven't used any Daniel Smith colors yet. However, I would pick Moonglow because purple is my FAVORITE color. I love the intense purple of it. That said, because purple is my favorite color, I would buy both!!! The shadow violet is a good grey-ish tone and would be perfect for shadowing.
Thank you so much for this series!!! I appreciate how scientifically you compare the colors. It's going to be immensely helpful to me as I pick my first set of professional grade paints.
i needed both of these on my palette. so worth it.
Your observations are so professional ! Merci !
i've heard a lot of nature journalists put shadow violet on their palette to use as the base color for tree trunks
I follow you a great deal and you are top notch. I have learned so very much from you, especially your color theory series and wall the comparisons of 10 PR more brand of a single color. Thank foryou!
I’m rewatching this video for info on shadow violet. I have and love Moonglow. I have also done several layers on a hat in a painting and the texture was unbelievable. It was as if I touched it I could feel the material of the hat.
I would look at the pigment list, make sure I have those paints as a single pigment and experiment with mixing those colors or colors similar to them for myself. I need to find myself using a particular mix all the time to want to purchase it premixed for me.
Since I saw this video, I grabbed a small tube of Shadow Violet (I already had Moonglow) and honestly I find Shadow Violet indisepensable as a pre-mixed grey similar to Liz Steel's Soft Grey. I may have to adjust my palette to put Shadow Violet on there permanently.
So glad you are enjoying the Shadow Violet!
Love the muted color...Tfs Oto😃🌸
Shadow Violet + Hooker's Green and SV + PG#1 are winners for me. They're both decently saturated greens that manage to avoid looking 'cartoonish' or (in Ginger Cook's terminology) 'circus-y.' Plus, the SV + Quin Violet (you swapped Quin Violet and Ultramarine Violet, right?) also balances saturated vs neutral very well.
I think I would always go for the darker brighter one before the muted one. My main reason is because if you wish to muted it, it is easier to mute. On a muted color it's hard to build it up to something brighter. You can make it dark, but not bright. I hope I am explaining my reasoning correctly. Thank you for this series! I love it. It has truly taught me a lot!!
That's such a good point Kat. Thanks for reminding me!
Thanks so much for this color comparison!! I’ve seen both of these colors recommended, and I was very curious about the difference between these two. I’m all in for the Moonglow! I love the intensity and the beautiful purple/pink color. 💕
Thank you for your most informative videos. They are sooo helpful.
The gradation swatch of the shadow violet looks like is a landscape on its own.
I got moon glow ages ago when it was really recommended by everyone. However I've never used it in a painting and am a bit lost on what to use it for. As you said you don't get any benefits from mixing and the mixes can be made with less colours. I love videos like this and love exploring paints in this way, it gives an added insight.
Thank you Dan! Means a lot coming from you.
I am still trying to figure out how to bring this colour into my practice. I know I LOVE this colour and I need to use it, but how? I'm not sure yet. I will let you know when if and when I figure something out.
I painted an eggplant with it, bahaha only thing I could think of that was purple, and Moonglow suddenly made its way into so many of my paintings. Space, skies, shadows...you name it.
Steve over at Mind of Watercolor suggested using Moonglow as a substitute for Neutral Tint. I tried it, and have to say...I do love it for that purpose. Can use it on its own, but it makes a wonderful neutral tint color.
okay I'll eventually get moonglow overall it seems the better for me and the way I will work; of the two! thanks!
I’m glad you shared this. I own the moon glow and was very curious how the shadow Violet compared to it. I love the Moon Glow and will stick with it.
Wow, the detail in this video 🙏💕
Moonglow! Its what drew me to the video as I have been hardcore eyeing it since I first saw it. I think its supa cool:)
I use both moonglow and shadow violet. I actually find them both to be useful for different types of shadows and objects. There are certain things I’d only use shadowviolet for and some I’d only use moonglow for.
ive really been contemplating the Moonglow as my next purchase and this really helped. i will definitely be getting it. I would like to see a sample of exactly how much you can get the paint to seperate. I'm so glad you added the gauze test to this sample! thanks for all your hard work!
also, would you characterize Moonglow as a black? I always thought of it as a purple.
You are so welcome! I think you can make the separation more obvious by using rougher textured paper and more water. So glad you like the gauze test!
No, I would characterise it as purple. It's a beautiful cool purple :D
Moonglow...like the mixes it makes best.
I picked the moonglow but I'm going to get the shadow violet too as I love muted colours and like eve I quite like how it mixes with the quin gold although I don't have any tubes of the real stuff.
I painted an eggplant with it, bahaha only thing I could think of that was purple, and Moonglow suddenly made its way into so many of my paintings. Space, skies, shadows...you name it. I considered Shadow Violet after Moonglow but when at the art store the woman said if you have moonglow no need for Shadow Violet. Took her word for it, that same day I managed a free 15ml tube of it. I came home with Serpentine Genuine. I also have Autumn Mystery and Mayan Blue Genuine. Try Autumn Mystery with Moonglow or Quinacridone Rose and you will never be the same again.
woooooo what does Autumn Mystery with Quinacridone Rose look like??? It sounds fascinating!
I went on your twitter page and replied to your post of this video with pictures of my swatches. In all seriousness, it is a lovely paint. Coppery and shimmery.
I just replied to your tweet. Those are lovely gorgeous colors. Thank you so much for sharing pics of them and for inventing these mixes!
This is the first video of yours I've seen. I'm not sure whether to be impressed by your level of forethought and thoroughness or concerned about the level of obsessive detail lol.
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My vote is for the Moonglow too just for the Aurelion/Moonglow mix.
Personally, I go for both.
You know individual tastes are funny, I think the quin gold and shadow violet make a wonderful bark brown and I can see using it in a forest scene.
Moon Glow is my absolute life. I use it almost every single painting.
This video is very useful for me thank you so much😊
This was really useful! I was thinking to get one of these colors, but now I think I will just do mixing by myself. One reason being that I don't have space in my tube palette and these seem not to work well in mixes. But maybe if DS start to do pans... I have always place just "one more halfpan" xD
oh my goodness, can you imagine if they started doing pans? mmmmmmm a 48-half pan set!
Oto Kano Or wooden box with 120 pans.... :D
I think I would choose the moonglow.
Good choice!
Moon glow seems to fit the tones and undertones I am drawn to.
I actually really LOVE the shadow violet + quin gold mix. I'm not sure I'd call it pretty, but I really like those deep, rich, earthy greens.
As for which I'd choose. Well, I have Moonglow and not Shadow Violet, so I guess technically that's the answer, but this definitely bumped Shadow Violet higher up on my wishlist. THEY'RE BOTH So LOVELY.
yeah they really are both lovely!
Love shadow violet
I love& have Moonglow!💛
I like the idea of writing the names of pigments in the palette. Can anyone tell me which pen is best to use - and if it’s not permanent might not one rub it out when working around it - and/or if permanent one is stuck with always setting the palette up that way? Maybe tiny writing on strips of masking tape? Any ideas - as I like the idea - new to wc (usually work in egg tempera) and have difficulty sometimes telling what’s what. :)
That's so helpful! Thank you! :D
Can I ask where you get those amazing test sheets from? Would be super helpful to have a set
This is great. I had just added moonglow. But now I am looking for a cool color similar to it, to supplement. What do you suggest?
Hi,
Seeking for guidance.
If you have to choose between a set of 70 colors from Daniel Smith and 98 from Sennelier, which one you would choose?
Kindly note:
1) They both are in half Pans.
2) They both come as a set only. So can't choose seperately and mix match.
3) Both are available at the same price.
I agree, we don't need so many colors. But if you really want to choose one of these two sets.. Which one would u pick up?
I have only used Winsor and Newton.
Thank you!
Full of useful info as always! I had made my choice prior to your video but you confirmed it here. I caught the peachy under tone when Eve @boltsvault swatched the colours the other day and it doesn't agree with me.
So glad this video could help in deciding with confidence. Watercolors can be so pricy, it's nice to be able to make a buying decision that you can be sure of.
this vid didnt give shadow violet its justice 😭 this paint is so beautiful though id still want to buy moonglow to see which one i prefer more
Can you please test Mayan Blue, Indigo, Payne's blue grey or/and similar?
Hi Oto 😊 you should go back and do your salt test with moonglow it’s incredible. 👍🏼
wooooo great tip, thank you geckonia! :D
ok i just orderd moonglow along with my very first ds palette. i just did not had it in me to wait for the half pan mixing sets. so its now on its way to its proud new owner and i can safely say i feel like gollum going like ' where's my preciousss come to mamaaa' I think i will see myself plopping in one of my conveniance reds in the mijello palette,if the paint so willingly comes out of the pan,since i am new to ds i thought id start carefull on the reds using the pv19 and pyrrol scarlet i thought from the essential set.
Woooo yay for getting the moonglow and yay for putting together your first DS palette. Hope you have a wonderful time painting with the moonglow when you get it :)
@@OtoKano i enjoyed the dotcard, found it ver smooth, wich I did not expect since im mainly used to sennelier I was expecting it to be uneasy on my part as granulating paints is something i tried to avoid a long time, on the palette, quin gold ,duh, buff white,raw sienna- as a sub for me not liking the ds ochre,burnt umber,burnt sienna,sap pyrelene and olive green, the essential set of six & moonglow with the mijello palette of 18 for some conveniance spaces,one being white gouache from schmincke for highlights,schmincke sofar the only gouache i can afford that is lightfast.
That all sounds wonderful! that's going to be so much fun to paint with :D
@@OtoKano oh it was undersea green,not olive. have a guess i mostly do botanicals,lol husband was like duuuh that much for such tiny tubes, i was like,yes but i can get at least 3 half pans out of one tube wich i thought was a good enough reason to do the tube thing, need to buy me a tube wringer tho,lol. these are colors i use to paint with my sennelier minus the greens and buff; i wanted to know what the fuzz was on the buff haha
Sorry for being blind and stupid, but I can't be sure what the differences are.
I can see that they're different, but I wouldn't be able to explain it to someone if someone were to ask me is what I mean.
Try a lot of water and touch it with moon glow, pyroxene green and cadmium orange. Step back and gasp!!!
Id put moonglow i because i use darker colors in most of my work...though daniel smith colors are hard to come by in the philippines...
Filipino here - They're sold at Craft Carrot and Desartroom! Although they're more expensive than other artist wc brands sadly
Arantxa Orig i'll go check out desartroom,because the most of the colors for daniel smith in craftcarrot are sold out...thank you :3
Very interesting and useful video for me. I have moonglow, but was wondering about shadow violet, so learned a lot. I tried printing on WC paper on my Brother laser printer, but the toner smeared. What printer did you use? Any special tricks?
Hi Tussah, I recommend using the waterproof ink printer by Epson! I think the ink is called Durabrite? And you need a printer that is compatible with that ink.
Thanks so much for your quick reply. I'll look into the Epson printer right away.
Hope you find the perfect printer for yourself. It's not 100% waterproof, but it's very good, as you saw in the video.
Do you have a tutorial on the chart? Is there a pdf of the chart available?
I am a Moonglow girl, all the way.
Moonglow
Good choice!
I like the quality of Daniel Smith paint.They make really good stuff, no question. And for the quality, prices are competitive. But all that being said, they really have no shame. They hype to the extreme and take advantage of people who are art supply addicts. This is a perfect example of what Daniel Smith does. A magenta red + ultramarine blue + viridian = moonglow. And the same thing with Shadow Violet, only substitute the magenta with an orange. You can make most of the foofoo colors that Daniel Smith cons you into buying with paint that is most likely already in your box.
People can do whatever turns them on. If people want to spent money and have 300 tubes in their box then that's okay with me. But it really isn't necessary. This is a good video that talks a lot about mixing, which is great! We would learn more about paints by learning to mix rather than buying into Daniel Smith's incessant marketing schemes.
I tend to use warm color palettes in my works so I prefer Shadow Violet