Artful Unboxing | Box 2

I can't believe it's already been three months since Artful's first box issued and today, we're here unboxing box number two which has promised to be bigger and better than the first! All the sneaky peeks and the hype Artful have built upon their Instagram has got me really excited about this box and I can't wait to show you what's inside. Let's go!

Blue box with a brown bear on the front

What is in this quarter's Artful Box Box 2?

A box open showing cards and a magazine
In this quarter's box, the theme is drawing. I love drawing and pencil is one of my preferred mediums to work in. I'm excited to use what's inside to improve my drawing skills and learn some new ones as I'm stuck in a little "this is all I can do" rut.
In our last box, we got a lot of pens and paint pens as well as sketchbook paper. We also got an Artful magazine which I thoroughly enjoyed. I got talking to someone on the Artful Instagram who told me to expect a 100 page plus magazine and for this box to be a lot better than the first one. Does it live up to the expectation though?

A flatlay of the contents of the Artful box

Magazine - Issue 2

Artful Issue 2 cover
Magazine open to an article
Magazine open to an article
Magazine open to an art tutorial

As promised, this month's magazine is jam-packed with content from drawing tutorials to interviews with some amazing artists. I'm so excited to read the artist interviews and learn how to draw things like fur, hair and animals in proportion.
These magazines inspire me to find my art style. I've flitted between so many and I love how committed to their work these artists are! I want to be like them.

Faber Castell A5 Sketch Pad & Blank Greeting Cards

A sketchbook and a blank greeting card pack

In the last box, we received a sketchbook and it's brilliant to get another sketchbook. Something I lack in my art collection is a good set of art sketchbooks with decent paper. During lockdown, I used every last piece of art paper I had whilst on a painting streak and I'm so excited to have some more to practise my drawing work on. Faber Castell is known for being an amazing and high-quality brand and I'm excited to see so many Faber Castell products in this box.

DIY Jack Print

A postcard and a postcard drawing guide

This postcard print is the same as the print on the box's packaging and I think it's so cute. I wish I could draw detail like that and with the paper guide and instructions to follow in the magazine, I can make my own version of this cute bear they've called Jack for myself. I feel like if I can nail drawing fur, I can finally create a painting or drawing of my little Cracker.

Faber Castell Mechanical Pencil

A mechanical pencil
I've not always been the biggest fan of mechanical pencils but I'm pretty happy about getting one in this box. I've always been a little too heavy-handed with pencils but I see the benefit in mechanical pencils like this as there's no need for sharpening and it's always read for precise drawing. The other benefit is that these are refillable which means buying the lead only. Better for the environment too?

Faber Castell Pencil Set

A set of pencils
In this box, we have even more Faber Castell pencils and I am not mad at it! I have a lovely collection of pencils but I'm always happy to get more. You can tell when a pencil is made well and these clearly are. I'm excited to use these to follow the drawing tutorials in the magazine.

Faber Castell Pencil Sharpener, Natural Rubber Eraser and Blending Pencil

A blending pencil, eraser and sharpener
Next, we have two classic must-haves with a pencil drawing: an eraser and a sharpener. Who doesn't need a new sharpener every now and then? I love getting a new sharpener and some of my best ones are the metal ones. And this eraser, on the other hand, is a little different to your regular eraser being made out of natural rubbers which I've heard is great for rubbing out pencil markings. I'm looking forward to seeing how 'smear-free' this one can be. I hate an eraser that smears pencil!

A blending pencil is something I'm still new to and have started to see the benefits of. Blending pencils are used to "duh" blend pencil markings smoothing out lines, blurring edges and creating texture without compromising the quality of your drawing's colour.

Polychromos Faber Castell Colour Pencils

Two coloured pencils
Two coloured pencils
I've heard great things about these polychromos pencils and at around £180 for all 120 colours on Amazon (or around £1.95 each on the official website)... These are a pricey coloured pencil! I'm really looking forward to testing these and seeing how good they are. I saw a gorgeous drawing tutorial of a butterfly in the magazine using these pencils and I can't wait to see how it turns out.

A flatlay of art stationery

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My thoughts on the box

For me, this quarter's Artful box is amazing! I love how much content they've included in the magazine and the theme is a perfect follow up to their very first box. They're not compromising on the quality in this box especially knowing that Faber Castell are a well-loved and high-quality brand in the art community.

There is so much in this box compared to last time. We have blank greeting cards to get creative with as well as the sketchbook and the art print and guide. (Btw the art print is signed by the artist!)

The stationery is also really purposeful in this box. We've got colours that help us follow the guides in the magazine and a selection of pencils and materials that would help anyone at any level of drawing learn something new. For me, what's in the magazine is really valuable to my improvement as an artist.

The box is £35 per quarter which at first made me wince, but when you look at the contents, it's well priced and personally, I feel it's worth it. It's also a quarterly box, so you're only paying this for the box every three months. I don't feel so bad about doing that.

In my last review of the first box, I said that I'd be decided if I would continue my subscription to this box based on how this one turned out and it's safe to say I'll be staying subscribed and I can't wait to see what Issue 3 brings!

What do you think of the Artful box? If you're interested in this particular box, they're still currently shipping this box (24th July 2020), so get your hands on it before they stop sending them out!

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