In this video I got properly nerdy and made my own shiny watercolours from loose pigment powders—because why buy one tube of sparkle when you can make a whole little pan of it? I tested two different types: Schmincke Aqua Bronze (which is basically “add water and go”) and some colour-shift/chameleon pigments from Shimmer Drops (which need a proper binder—so I used gum arabic—to have any chance of behaving like real paint). I mix everything up on a glass plate and use a glass muller to really work the pigment through (you can do it on any tempered glass surface, but the muller makes it so much smoother). Then I put them to the real test: will they actually re-wet and paint onto paper, or will they just sit there looking pretty? You’ll see what worked straight away, what needed more binder, and the big takeaway—sparkly powders aren’t all the same, and the binder step is what makes or breaks whether your DIY watercolour is usable or just glittery sludge. If you love swatching, shimmer, and experimenting, this one’s a fun rabbit hole.