Teoh Yi Chie: The Art Supply Reviewer Who Tests Everything
Before you buy a sketchbook, a watercolor set, or a fountain pen, check whether Teoh Yi Chie has already reviewed it. Based in Singapore, Teoh has spent over 15 years building the most methodical art supply review archive on the internet. His YouTube channel has 305,000 subscribers and 70 million views, but the real resource is his blog, Parkablogs, which hosts over 2,000 written reviews with high-resolution photographs, specification tables, and side-by-side comparisons.
The numbers alone tell you something: 1,900-plus videos, most of them product reviews, uploaded with relentless consistency since 2007. No other reviewer, on YouTube or anywhere else, has tested this many art supplies with this level of detail.
The Review Methodology
Teoh's reviews follow a consistent structure that makes cross-product comparison straightforward. Every sketchbook gets tested with the same range of media: fountain pen ink, brush pens, markers, watercolor, gouache, colored pencils. He photographs results on both sides of the page to show bleed-through and ghosting. He documents paper weight, tooth, sizing behavior, and buckle resistance. Every watercolor set gets swatched, mixed, and demonstrated in actual paintings. Every pen gets tested for line quality, ink flow, and feedback on different paper types.
This consistency is what makes the archive valuable. When you are choosing between a Stillman & Birn Alpha and a Strathmore 400 Series watercolor sketchbook, you can find both reviews on Teoh's channel and compare them directly because he tested both with the same methodology. Reviews posted years apart remain comparable because the testing framework never changes.
He also updates reviews when manufacturers change formulations or release driver updates for digital tools. A six-month-old review from another channel might be stale. Teoh goes back and revises.
The Asian Art Supply Advantage
Teoh's Singapore base gives him access to art supply markets that Western reviewers rarely cover. His reviews of Japanese stationery brands like Sakura, Kuretake, Pentel, and Holbein, Korean watercolors from ShinHan and Mission Gold, and Southeast Asian art materials introduce English-speaking audiences to products that offer excellent quality and value but lack the marketing presence of European and American brands.
This coverage matters for two reasons. First, many Asian art supplies are genuinely better than their Western equivalents at similar price points. ShinHan watercolors, for example, perform comparably to Winsor & Newton Cotman at a lower cost, but you would never know that without a reviewer who has tested both. Second, urban sketchers and travel artists who visit Asia encounter unfamiliar brands and need informed evaluations before purchasing. Teoh provides those evaluations with a familiarity that no Western reviewer can match.
His recent content also covers digital drawing tools, including Wacom pen displays, iPad Pro, and Huion tablets, always from the perspective of an artist who sketches with them rather than a tech reviewer reading spec sheets.
The Parkablogs Archive
The blog is where Teoh's review operation gets its depth. Video reviews are good for showing how a product performs in use, but written reviews are better for quick reference. When you are standing in an art supply store trying to remember whether a particular sketchbook handles fountain pen ink well, you can search Parkablogs on your phone and get the answer in seconds.
The blog includes high-resolution close-up photographs of paper texture, paint swatches, and pen line tests that video cannot match for detail. It also includes specification tables and written analysis that let you compare products without scrubbing through a 20-minute video timeline. For artists making purchasing decisions, the blog's searchable archive is the single most useful art supply reference on the internet.
How Teoh Compares to Other Art Supply Reviewers
Teoh is not the only art supply reviewer on YouTube, but he is the most thorough. Aaron Rutten covers drawing tablets and digital painting hardware with a focus on the drawing experience. Brad Colbow reviews art supplies and tablets with higher production value and tighter editing. Neither matches Teoh's depth on traditional art supplies, particularly sketchbooks, watercolors, and pens.
The difference is scope and methodology. Brad's reviews are punchier and more entertaining. Aaron's are more focused on digital hardware. Teoh's are slower, more methodical, and cover a broader range of traditional and digital products. If you want to be entertained, watch Brad. If you want to know whether a specific sketchbook's paper handles watercolor without buckling, watch Teoh.
For pen reviews, Peter Draws covers similar territory but from an artist's perspective rather than a reviewer's. Peter tells you what a pen feels like to draw with. Teoh tells you how it performs across different papers, how the ink behaves over time, and whether it is worth the price. They complement each other well.
Editorial Independence
Teoh maintains strict editorial independence, which is the foundation of his trust. He clearly discloses sponsored content and provides honest assessments even of products from sponsoring brands. In a review landscape where many content creators prioritize brand relationships over honest evaluation, Teoh's willingness to say "this product has a problem" is both rare and valuable.
His reviews are not performative negativity either. When a product is good, he says so and explains why. When a product has a specific weakness, he identifies it precisely: this paper feathers with fountain pen ink, this watercolor set has poor granulation, this pen skips on textured paper. The specificity is what makes the reviews actionable.
Who Should Watch
Artists buying supplies get the most direct value. Before any significant art supply purchase, check Teoh's channel and blog for a review. If he has not reviewed it, he probably will eventually.
Urban sketchers and travel artists benefit from Teoh's practical perspective. He tests tools in real-world conditions, sketching outdoors in Singapore's climate, which means his assessments account for factors like drying time, portability, and performance in humidity that studio reviews miss.
Artists interested in Asian art supplies have no better English-language resource. Teoh's coverage of Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian brands opens up a market that most Western artists do not know exists.
Who Should Skip It
Artists looking for tutorials or technique instruction will not find them here. Teoh is a reviewer, not a teacher. For watercolor technique, look at Will Kemp Art School. For drawing fundamentals, go to Proko.
Artists who only use digital tools will find the traditional media reviews less relevant, though Teoh's growing catalog of digital tool reviews is worth checking. His recent coverage of the Wacom MovinkPad Pro and iPad Pro comparisons is useful for digital artists making hardware decisions.
Insider Tips
- Always check the blog alongside the video. The written review often contains additional photos and details that the video does not cover.
- Teoh's monthly newsletter rounds up all his reviews. Subscribe if you want to stay current without checking the channel daily.
- His urban sketching videos show the tools in action, which is more informative than studio reviews for artists who work on location. Look for his Singapore streetscape and cafe sketching videos.
- He reviews a lot of budget-friendly options. If you are starting out and cannot afford Daniel Smith or Schmincke, his reviews of student-grade watercolor sets will help you find the best value options.
Final Verdict: Who Is This Actually For?
Teoh Yi Chie is the art supply reviewer you consult before you spend money. His combination of methodical testing, editorial honesty, global brand coverage, and the complementary Parkablogs archive makes his channel the most reliable purchasing resource for artists available anywhere. If you buy art supplies regularly, his channel and blog should be your first stop. If you are looking for art instruction or entertainment, you are in the wrong place.
Start with his sketchbook review playlist and bookmark Parkablogs for quick reference before your next purchase.
