The Berol Karisma Coloured Pencil
Gallery & History
Written: July 2019
Sections of this article was put together using my own personal experience as I was a Karisma user back in the 1990's but I also undertook extensive online research to ensure that this article is as comprehensive as possible.
I will update this page whenever I find new information that I feel will be of benefit to the reader but if you have any additional
information on these pencils that you would like to share, please get in touch with me HERE
For all those ex Karisma pencil lovers, I hope you enjoy the memories!
I will update this page whenever I find new information that I feel will be of benefit to the reader but if you have any additional
information on these pencils that you would like to share, please get in touch with me HERE
For all those ex Karisma pencil lovers, I hope you enjoy the memories!
CHARACTERISTICS
No of Colours: 129 |
Base: Wax |
Hard or Soft Lead: SOFT |
Lightfast rating: Blue Wool scale |
Costs: Average £1.75
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These pencils were originally made by Berol in the UK before Sanford acquired the company in 1995 and production was then moved to the USA. These were the European version of the Prismacolor pencils, although the design differed from the Premier pencils, the colours and product code were the same, apart from a few colour names that differed but these were later changed to match. Karismas were only commercially available in a box set of 108 yet there were actually 129 colours during the entire production period. Due to falling sales, the European market was no longer viable and the pencils were discontinued at the beginning of 2005. Remaining stock would have been reduced and sold off, with some people buying in bulk before reluctantly looking for an alternative. The Prismacolor Premier pencils were - and indeed still are very expensive to ship in from the USA at that time and so it would be, that Artists alike would have gone in search of a completely new range. I personally turned to the Derwent Coloursoft pencils but finally settled down with the Caran d'Ache Luminance.
Even after 14 years, Karismacolor pencils still turn up on auction sites although prices can be high. |
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ADVANTAGES
* Buttery consistency great for smooth transitions * Bold pigments * Although the Karismas have been discontinued, the American Prismacolor Premier range match colours and product numbers. |
DISADVANTAGES
* Now Discontinued * Open stock no longer available * Some colours had poor lightfast ratings * Pencils with soft leads are more prone to damage than oil based pencils |
Colour chart
After many weeks of searching, I was unable to find an official colour chart online, however I was able to locate a copy showing 108 colours including the lightfast information. Unfortunately the lightfast information for the extra 21 colours remain a mystery at present. The Karismacolor pencils used the Blue Wool scale with lightfast ratings graduating from 1 (Poor) through to 8 (Excellent)
As a personal observation, comparing the lightfast ratings of the Karismacolor pencils next to those of the Prismacolor Premier, I note that the lightfast ratings of the Premier pencil range have not really changed much over the years. Some have improved and others have worsened. As the Blue Wool Scale was used to grade the lightfastness of the Karisma pencils back in the day, I would suspect that the Prismacolor Premier pencils were graded the same way. Today the Premier pencils are rated using the ASTM-6901, whic is a different and more rigorous way of testing the lightfastness of each pigment and so I am rather surprised that, having changed the way they rate them, they do not appear to have improved some of the lesser grades. Knowing how popular the Prismacolor Premier pencils are with many Coloured pencil artists, to be able to compete against the latest pencil offerings from such as Caran Dache Luminance & Derwent Lightfast, natural progression would be to improve the lightfast qualities in their pencils too. Of course it may be an intentional decision by Prismacolor to ignore lightfast issues in some colours, thereby allowing them to keep their costs down and their prices more affordable to the artist.
Sets sold
The Karismacolor pencils were packaged in a beige coloured box and available in sets of 12, 24, 36, 72 and 108. There was also a mixed set of 36 . This set contained 24 mixed colour pencils & 12 watercolour pencils which were marketed as “Aquarelles” . This set is not shown as I do not have an image available. Different pencil sets contained different colours and the range of each was not constant, with variations in both the American and European sets over a period of time. Some of the rarest colours featured in very few sets and only for short periods. Over the years, three or four different 108 mixes were noted and at least the same in the 72 piece sets, but all 129 colours did at one time or another, exist in sets albeit some colours appeared in hardly any sets at all . The colour mix in the smaller sets was more consistent, but not absolutely so.
Some of the 129 colours were only ever made in the USA and some only made in England. The 72 set colour chart seen above shows only colour names with no code numbers present. This is because in the early days (exact date unknown) there were only 72 colours in the Karisma range and the pencils were produced without numbers. These were produced in the UK only. Karismas disappeared in 2005 , at a time when only 120 Prismacolors were being marketed
The greys supplied in the 72 set fell into two ranges : Warm Greys & Cold Greys – and in each range there were four grades – Dark , Medium , Light & Very Light . In later sets , French Greys were added – and the number of grades increased from 4 to 6 . A further change was that Dark , Medium , Light & Very Light grades were replaced by percentages , thus : 10% 20% 30% 50% 70% & 90%. Lastly , the “Cold” range became a “Cool” range. The code numbers of these latter greys are different to the former and the pigments were different too. I will be adding colour charts of the greys to this article in the next few weeks so you can see the difference for yourself.
