Art Snacks: November's Box is Here! — The Once & Future Podcast

For those of you who don't know, Art Snacks is a subscription box of art supplies. I've been getting it since the summer, and always look forward to opening it up to see what's inside. I also challenge myself to make a piece of art with ONLY the items inside (plus some paper if that's not included).

This month's box contained:

OK, yes, the Sweet Tarts wrapper actually contained some candy for a few seconds after I opened it.

This month's Art Snacks box contained three different types of pens. The first is the MOLOTOW GRAFX Aqua Ink Pump Softliner. Mine came in bright pink. This is has water-based ink and a soft brush tip that can make several different lines. The tip is replaceable and the ink is refillable. You can get heavier flow of ink by pressing down on the tip. This makes a darker line. You can smudge it before it dries to make different effects. A very fun pen.

Then there is the Plumchester 1.5 Fine Brush Pen. This is a new product that is part of Art Snacks new line of their own art supplies. The black pigment is nice in this pen, and the brush tip sees to be durable and springs back into shape nicely.

Then there is the third pen, the Pentel Arts Sign Brush. This pen was a surprise. When I looked at the tip, I just expected a regular old marker, and started using it as such. Then I realized that you can change the pressure and angle, and make a wide range of marks! And you can also be smudgy with it to make effects. The pigment is water based, and the pen I received was blue.

Sample lines from all the pens.

Next up is Marabu Mixed Media Art Spray. I'd never played with anything like this before, and it's so much fun! You can add instant texture to a lot of different things. This is water based acrylic that is water proof once it is dry. My bottle is green.

Finally, all these materials are perfect to be used on the Stonehenge Aqua Coldpress Mini Pad! This is some great cold press watercolor paper that handles the inks from all the new pens and spray wonderfully.

So, what does one do with the materials in an Art Snacks box? Well, you make art, of course!

A couple quick sketches using all the materials in November's Art Snacks box!

Did you get the November Art Snacks box? What did you make?

Melanie R. Meadors is an author and editor of science fiction and fantasy, blogger at The Once and Future Podcast, and a professional author publicist. She studied physics and astronomy at Northern Arizona University, where no day was complete without a heated debate over relativity versus quantum mechanics. You can find her at her website, melaniermeadors.com, on Facebook, and Twitter, @melaniermeadors.