The 2023 coloring planner is here.
And with just 1600 going to print this
year, I'm expecting that we'll sell out before the end of the year.
So I didn't want to wait any longer
to give you a look inside and show you what is new.
I've been so excited to be able to upgrade our Planner over the last few years,
from the original design to now having this beautiful hardcover, gold binding,
laminated tabs, and even this beautiful custom box.
So everything about this feels creative
and makes for a quality gift for a friend - or for yourself!
There isn't any other planner like this on the market right now,
with coloring pages for every month and coloring borders along every page.
So creativity becomes a part of your everyday.
But I know there were some disappointed
people last year, and I've heard your concerns.
The paper in the Sample Planner from 2022 ended up being slightly different to
the paper in the final planners that were printed and sent out.
So while the thickness was the same, the actual performance with pencils wasn't
quite to the standard that some of our amazing users were hoping for.
So for 2023, I've made that right.
I've personally been working with my manufacturer to sort through
a range of paper samples and have chosen what I believe is the perfect paper
to work with as many mediums as possible without doubling the size of the Planner.
And today, I want to put it to the test against pencils, markers, paint pens,
and even watercolor to see just how much the new planner can handle.
First, I want to see how this paper feels with my pencils and not just
my Prismacolors, because they tend to work on any paper.
I'm testing Brutfuner, Holbein, Crayola, Black Widow,
the Faber Castell Polychromos, Arteza, Caran d'Ache Luminance and Prismacolor Premiere.
I knew this paper would handle pencils
well, but I'm really surprised at just how well it works
with every brand I'm using here.
I've tried to choose a variety of pencil types with different feels and different
quality levels, and all of them are performing beautifully.
The colors are vibrant, even with the Crayola's, and overall,
I'm really happy with this first test of the new paper.
But it's time for the markers.
And this is where things will get a little trickier, because markers are far less
forgiving and will usually bleed through any paper if you do too many layers.
So let's see just how far we can push this paper with Crayola super tips
first up to the challenge,
I've drawn some straight lines, blocked out a thick single layer,
and then I've attempted to blend between two layers.
This is something that I'd expect to leak
through the page at this point, but we'll see how it goes.
And finally, I want to add a silly amount of layers here just to see how many times
I can layer this marker before it starts to damage the paper.
At six layers, it's starting to warp.
And at seven layers, it seems to be at the point of pulling up some of the paper
so that is our limit.
We'll check the back of this page
in a moment to see the damage that it's done to the other side.
But first, I want to see how some of our other markers compare.
The Ohuhu markers are next
and these are the water based markers,
not the alcohol markers that you've seen me use on this channel.
We'll get to those soon.
For this test, I decided to take a more direct approach and compare our brand side
by side, trying to replicate the different ways someone might want to use them.
If I can layer these up to seven times
before damaging the paper, that's a really good sign,
because you do not need to color an area seven times over.
I'm not sure if it's normal for these water based markers or if it's just this
paper, but I'm really surprised how these markers are blending together.
I use alcohol markers so often that I
don't really give these water based markers much of a chance.
So maybe it's time that I get them out
again for a coloring page in a future video.
Let me know if that's something that you'd
like to see, and make sure you're subscribed.
Okay, it's time to see the damage.
Remember, I've done seven heavy layers
of these markers here, which is far more than you should ever do when coloring.
But let's have a look at the back of the page.
Wait.
What?
They didn't bleed through at all.
These heavy layers have maybe warped
the page by like, the tiniest amount, but this - I'm really surprised
and impressed. They have not gone through the page at all.
After this crazy discovery, it was obvious that the highlighters were
not going to bleed through the paper either.
But I wanted to see just how many times we could highlight the same spot on the paper
before it actually started to bleed through.
I tried the Spectrum Noir, Aquamarkers and some acrylic paint pens,
and neither showed up on the back of the page at all.
But I knew this next test would be the ultimate challenge.
And let's face it, there is no way that this paper can
withstand an alcohol marker without being at least twice as thick.
But first, when you buy the 2023 Planner, you can also get 50% off my entire sticker
range when you purchase them in the same order, including the brand new sticker
book for 2023, or the variety sticker books that you might have seen last year.
Some of my older sticker sheets won't be re printed when our stock runs out,
so take advantage of these 50% off deals when you can, as there is no limit on how
many sticker sheets or how many sticker books you can add to your order.
I'm testing Sharpies, Copic, Ohuhu and Arrtx, all alcohol based markers and all the kind
of markers that I wouldn't recommend in any coloring book or planner where you
want to keep the artwork on the back of the page.
I've numbered my lines here to show how many layers I've applied so we can see if
there's any amount of layers that don't bleed through.
And I've tried a simple blend.
I also decided to try the Windsor
and Newton Pro Markers just to see if they bled through any more or less.
And the results?
They've all bled through the page,
but honestly, not nearly as much as I would have expected.
It was only my final blend with the Pro
Marker that went onto the next page, and I wasn't using anything in between
and compared to the bleed on any other paper I've tried,
I'm actually really impressed with this.
Given how well the water based markers
worked already, I'd probably just avoid alcohol markers altogether.
But I had to at least give this a try, even just for my own curiosity.
I also offer a DIY printable planner
if you want to save on shipping,
Bind it your own way or customize it by adding your own pages.
It comes as a PDF in both US letter
and A4 sizes, along with the cover files that you can
print yourself and even color in your own colors.
So you can really make it your own or add
it to an existing planner that you might already have.
And if you just want the extra copies of the coloring pages,
you can add the printable planner to your hardcover planner order for half price.
Okay, we could leave this here, but now that I know this paper can handle
quite a bit more than I expected, I want to push it a little further.
So I've got my Derwent Inktense,
my Faber Castell,
Albrecht Durer and my Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle.
These are all watercolor pencils.
Because if this paper can handle watercolor, that opens up a whole range
of creative possibilities that we can explore
this year. I'm testing each pencil
with an alcohol blender on one section and with water on the other.
And I'm not a watercolor expert, so I'm probably adding more water than I should.
But again, this is more about testing what
the paper can handle than about creating a perfect technique.
Right now, this needs a moment to dry,
so let's come back to this shortly. For my digital planners
I've got you covered too, with the totally paperless experience
of the digital coloring planner that you can use on your iPad or tablet.
It still looks like a planner and allows for creativity, like a paper planner if
you use it within an app like GoodNotes or Xodo.
The file itself is a PDF,
so these apps are the key to really getting the most out of this planner.
And I'll have more info about these on the website when you purchase.
It also comes with the frames for each
page and bonus sticker files as separate images.
So you can color these in a separate app like Procreate and get really creative
with them, then bring them back into your planner.
You can import your own photos,
you can type, or you can use an Apple pencil to write notes.
And just like the printable planner, you can buy the digital planner on its
own, or you can get it for half price when you buy it with the hardcover planner.
Let's see how our paper held up against
the water and the colors haven't gone through the page at all.
The paper has buckled in the areas where I
added quite a lot of water, but I don't feel like this necessarily ruins it.
If you're wanting to do mixed media, there's always going to be a small amount
of buckling, and the paper still feels fairly strong and nice to write on.
I knew the paper would be an improvement
this year because it was my main goal for this planner, but I'm actually surprised.
I didn't expect it to handle as much as I've thrown at it today,
and I'm excited to see what you can create in this year's planner.
The planners are being printed now, which means I'm limiting the run this year
to 1600 copies so that I can get them into your hands as soon as possible.
So please don't wait to order, as I'd hate for you to miss out on this year's planner.