June 12, 2012

Biggie Paint


I use these "Biggie" palettes for my kindergarten students.  I like the fact that they are big, only four colors, and pretty easy to clean up.  However, the cakes are super thin & tend to crack.  Do you have a brand of these that you like best?  Or do you have another option I may not have thought about?!?! 

15 comments:

  1. I've tried them and think the paint is AWFUL. The Crayola was better than the School Smart, but still not good enough. The yellows turn green in no time flat, the reds are washed out, and the color doesn't last. I like the concept but haven't bought them for a while. I usually use liquid tempera w/my K's and start with just one color, then add more, as they learn to wash brushes and control their paint. I've given up on watercolors with the little guys.

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  2. Phyl...I've thought about putting tempera in muffin tins ...and making my own tempera cakes instead of using the watercolor. Prang makes a good watercolor..but it is still kind of high priced.

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  3. I think you're right to try to make your own paints. Most of these Biggies are poor quality. But if these are so bad, why not pop them out and pour your tempera into these palettes? Then you don't have to worry about covering and storing the muffin tins. Good luck. Cynthia S.

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  4. I think you're right to try to make your own paints. Most of these Biggies are poor quality. Since these are so bad, why not just pop out these paints and pour your tempera into these palettes? That way, they are ready to go and you don't have to worry about covering or storing them.
    Cynthia S.

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  5. I usually use tempera cakes with kindergarten. The cakes are quite large and last a long time. They aren't quite the same a watercolors, but they do look similar.

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  6. dissolve those leftovers in small tubs of water to make your own liquid watercolors. Have you seen the idea of using dried up markers to soak and make liquid watercolors?

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  7. I have been using the tempera cakes from Sax. The previous teacher had purchased the white "muffin" trays and we still had a huge supply of cakes, so I just went with it. I was very surprised at the intensity of the colors! If you want to see a project example, http://www.artsonia.com/museum/gallery.asp?exhibit=426571
    Not to mention the fact that they are sooo easy to clean up and last forever! It's a great way to start teaching color mixing and if the cakes get all mucked up, just wipe them or quick rinse them under the faucet.

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  8. After 2 first grade classes used the Crayola Biggie watercolors for one project, they were destroyed and almost completely used up. HUGE wast of money. I tend to use the inexpensive Crayola washable watercolors, 8 count.I justoutlaw the black. No need for mud, ya know?

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    Replies
    1. I also use the washable watercolors and do not let my students use black! I just cut off the black section. I noticed a big difference in the artwork and the colors not being muddy after one use.

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  9. I love and have used Prang Watercolors in the box of 8 colors in my Kindergarten classroom and the color lasts forever! I find I must give the proper lesson on Painting with watercolor and make it seem like this huge exciting wonderful PRIVILEGE ...and it has worked for me for years:)
    Many of us under estimate the abilities of a 5 year old, especially when they really want to do something...hehehe
    I love all Art teacher blogs and have a great respect for all you guys do. Our art program isn’t what it should be and I take all of your ideas that I find and use them in my room so I can expose the children to a creative experience.
    Thanks for helping me do that. :)

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  10. I'm glad you posted this question as I've been wondering what direction to go in with watercolors. Agree that the ones you tried don't last and are a waste of money. I still have some old Crayola watercolors (full pan, not half pan) and a bunch of refill colors. However I'm out of yellow of course. I think you can still find the refills online but don't know if you can buy the trays anymore. A veteran art teacher I really respect used liquid watercolor but I just haven't tried it and figured out the management of it. I love the Prang Tempera Cakes. They don't look like watercolor but I use them a lot with K-2nd and sometimes for "flatter" work with older kids. You can see a K sample of a koi painting done with the tempera cakes on my blog http://fingerpaintinggenius.blogspot.com/2012/05/week-7-wet-n-wild.html

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  11. I use the dick blick tempera cakes. they last forever and the kids love the bright colors. I take out the black and white and add purple and orange to the 6 colors. that way nothing get muddied.

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  12. tempera cakes are the way to go. I started using them this year with all my students k-5 and was impressed with the results. they last a while, are easy to clean out with a damp sponge, and you can get a wide range of effects.

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  13. I teach 4 year old kindergarten and we are heavy into art in my classroom. In the summer I teach "Great Art" as a part of the summer school program with K4 through 1st grade. Anyway I use Crayola watercolors with my kinders, but I always pop out the black and the brown from the trays. We typically do some drawing with black sharpies and then we paint over and or through them. Today we took a walk with a line and did some watercolors on top of them. I also use the Prang refills on small trays when I am trying to do warm and or cool color paintings with the kiddos. I have had much success with watercolors, I think it is all in the delivery on how to use them, how to clean the brush in between when switching colors etc, most young students can handle it, those who can't still need the experience to learn how.

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  14. When I've bought poor quality watercolors, as soon as they crack I pour liquid tempera (that the school provides) directly over them, then let it dry overnight. In the morning, perfect looking paints!

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