Review: Optimist Mixable Color (shellac inks) from Federal Color

Review sample provided by St. Louis Art Supply

This review is incomplete because I've only done some tests and not actually created any art with the inks yet, so this review will be updated in the future.

Optimist Mixable Colour is pigmented inks with shellac that's designed for painting, and writing with dip pens. They are made and sold by Federal Color, a new company or brand from the same guys at St. Louis Art Supply.

The inks are available in 50ml tall bottles with nozzle and 45ml glass bottles. The tall bottles cost US $1 more.

At the time of review, the range of colours available are listed below. Prices below are for the 45ml glass bottles.

1. #000 Black - Carbon Black PBk7 - $14
2. #002 Federal Red - Pyrrole Red PR254 - $17
3. #015 Tangerine - PR154 and PR254 - $17
4. #110 Basil - PR154 and PB15:3 - $17
5. #150 Seaweed - PB7 and PY154 - $17
6. #200 Mediterranean - PB15:3 and PY154 - $17
7. #220 Prussian Blue - PB27 - $17
8. #230 Primary Cyan - Phthalo Blue PB15:3 - $14
9. #300 Red Violet - PR122 and PB27 - $17
10. #325 Primary Magenta - Quinacridone Magneta PR122 - $17
11. #360 White - Titanium White PW6 - $18

These are colours in the CMYK+ set (50 ml bottles) priced at USD 97:

1. #000 Black - Carbon Black PBk7 - $15
2. #047 Primary Yellow - Benzimidazolone Yellow PY154 - $18
3. #230 Primary Cyan - Phthalo Blue PB15:3 - $15
4. #325 Primary Magenta - Quinacridone Magneta PR122 - $18
5. #360 White - Titanium White PW6 - $20
6. Colorless Shellac Medium - $13

Colours in the Sketching set (50 ml bottles) priced at USD 104 are:

1. #002 Federal Red - Pyrrole Red PR254 - $18
2. #015 Tangerine - PR154 and PR254 - $18
3. #110 Basil - PR154 and PB15:3 - $18
4. #200 Mediterranean - PB15:3 and PY154 - $18
5. #220 Prussian Blue - PB27 - $18
6. #300 Red Violet - PR122 and PB27 - $18

Optimist Mixable Colour are heavily pigmented inks with shellac as binder. Shellac when dried will form a waterproof coating with a beautiful matte finish.

Shellac inks should not be used inside fountain pens and brushes should not be allowed to dry out because the ink will clog pens and harden brush hair.

These are not watercolour since they do not use gum arabic as binder. It is however possible to dilute the inks with water to get lighter values, but doing so may make the ink less waterproof.

I recommend using a separate palette just for these shellac inks because the ink will harden when dry. When the ink has dried, the ink has to be scraped away and can't be wiped away.

There's so much pigment that the pigment will settle at the bottom of the bottle.

There's a bead inside the bottle to help with mixing but the bead can get stuck if it's submerged within the pigment. Shown above is me using a screw driver to release the bead.

If the nozzle is clogged due to dry ink, a paper clip can be used to unblock the nozzle.

I recommens storing the bottles by the side so that the pigment would settle horizontally rather than as a big clump at the bottom of the bottle.

If you want to use the inks with dip pens, you can buy the 45ml glass bottle version with bigger bottle opening. To extract the ink, you can buy cheap plastic droppers.

The coloured inks look pretty vibrant, and they mix well. There's a painterly effect to them that looks kinda like gouache.

The inks are semi transparent though so if you want to make them opaque you have to add Carbon Black or Titanium White.

The inks behave very differently compared to watercolour. When painted on wet surface, the inks will resist spreading and blending.

When the inks are made opaque, they are very opaque and have good covering strength.

The inks can be used to create calligraphy art.

The inks dry quite fast, and once dry the ink is waterproof so they cannot be reactivated with water.

The techniques for painting with such inks is different from using goauche or watercolour. And since I'm not familiar with ink painting techniques, I can't say much about the experience with painting with such inks.

From the tests I have created, I can certainly say that the inks are of good quality.

If you want to see the kind of art that can be created with ink, have a look at Matthew Cook's amazing ink paintings.