* COMPLETELY REDO THE PENCIL PRACTICES on white watercolour paper AND ADD ANY EXTRA PENCIL(S) TO THE LIST.
- Arteza
- derwent chromaflow
* ORGANISE THE PAGE TO BE MORE AeSTHETICALLY PLEASING AND EASY TO FOLLOW.
* WRITE IN THE THIRD PERSON *WE*
* add the pencil name to each image (rather than through the caption gallery)
* REWRITE every PARAGRAPH, AS THEY ARE A BIT LONG WINDED.
* add results (1 - 12) for an easy view - add a short paragraph where needed
* redo layering test (10 layers + )
* redo blendability test (blending with pencils and blending with solvent)
* redo opacity test (pigmentation - opaque versus translucency)
* redo core strength (hard versus soft)
* REDO THE WHITE ON BLACK AND MAKE IT TIDY AND UNIFORM - add on black on white paper
* add to fixative samples and redo images to a smaller cpt
Comparing coloured pencil brands
This article has been written for the coloured pencil artist. (OBVIOUSLY!) You may be looking to purchase your first pencil brand or wish to expand your collection. In this article, we test 12 different coloured pencil brands, primarily wax-based, but also oil-based too. Every brand varies in their formulation and will contain differing amounts of pigment and binding agents, which creates the variation in colour, capabilities, hardness and softness.
allowing you to compare one brand over another, so that your decisions can be based on the requirements most important to you.
We don't tell you which brand you should buy or which brand is the best, this is subjective, and is for you to decide. We hope this article provides you with some useful pointers, by showing you what each brand offers, so that you can make an informed decision before you spend money on something that may not be suitable.
All coloured pencils are wax, oil or water based. Each brand varies in their formulation, providing differing amounts of pigment and binding agents, which creates the variation in colour, capabilities, hardness and softness.
We cover the following requirements, picking out the six most important factors and one extra, that a pencil range can offer. How does each compare for the following tests:
allowing you to compare one brand over another, so that your decisions can be based on the requirements most important to you.
We don't tell you which brand you should buy or which brand is the best, this is subjective, and is for you to decide. We hope this article provides you with some useful pointers, by showing you what each brand offers, so that you can make an informed decision before you spend money on something that may not be suitable.
All coloured pencils are wax, oil or water based. Each brand varies in their formulation, providing differing amounts of pigment and binding agents, which creates the variation in colour, capabilities, hardness and softness.
We cover the following requirements, picking out the six most important factors and one extra, that a pencil range can offer. How does each compare for the following tests:
- Layering
- Blending
- Opaqueness
- Core strength
- Lightfastness
- Vibrancy
- Fixative
Which brand should I buy?
There is no single answer to this question. With so many brands available, and more appearing on the market every year, the answer to this is which pencil brand(s) is right for you.
In this article, we will test a wide range of coloured pencils, allowing you to compare one brand over another, so that your decisions can be based on the most important requirements for you. Most importantly, we recommend that you buy a small selection of different brands, so you can compare them yourself. You may even find that mixing and matching colour palettes and brands, work better for you. It is common for pencil artists to own a wide selection of brands which they use in different areas of a drawing. A soft pencil like Prismacolor Premier is great for tonal backgrounds. A pencil like Caran d'Ache is great for multiple layering. If you like creating photo realistic art, Faber Castell's Polychromos pencils might be the one for you as they are hard and offer fine detail. These are just 3 brands, and companies like Derwent, are working on new lines every few years. "
What kind of work you will be creating with your pencils? For school? For colouring books? Creating design sketches? For demonstrations? For commissions? A collection of these?
You are unlikely to use expensive pencils when passing the time with your colouring book and it is not recommended that you use a cheap set of pencils, when creating a portrait for a paying customer.
In this article, we will test a wide range of coloured pencils, allowing you to compare one brand over another, so that your decisions can be based on the most important requirements for you. Most importantly, we recommend that you buy a small selection of different brands, so you can compare them yourself. You may even find that mixing and matching colour palettes and brands, work better for you. It is common for pencil artists to own a wide selection of brands which they use in different areas of a drawing. A soft pencil like Prismacolor Premier is great for tonal backgrounds. A pencil like Caran d'Ache is great for multiple layering. If you like creating photo realistic art, Faber Castell's Polychromos pencils might be the one for you as they are hard and offer fine detail. These are just 3 brands, and companies like Derwent, are working on new lines every few years. "
What kind of work you will be creating with your pencils? For school? For colouring books? Creating design sketches? For demonstrations? For commissions? A collection of these?
You are unlikely to use expensive pencils when passing the time with your colouring book and it is not recommended that you use a cheap set of pencils, when creating a portrait for a paying customer.
ADAPT THIS SECTION TO EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR CHOSEN BRAND(S) EXPLAIN HOW
STYLE, PAPER USED, SUBJECT PREFERENCE ETC ETC. WILL AFFECT YOUR CHOICES AND LINK TO THE PENCIL CHECKLIST ARTICLE.
Whichever range(s) you choose, the type of paper you use can also mean that you need to use a different brand. An abrasive paper like Colourfix or Pastelmat, will wear you pencils down faster, so you may select the Polychromos pencils over the soft core Prismacolor Premier or Derwent Coloursoft. As you progress in your techniques, your artistic style may also change, and you may find a different brand is now far more suitable. As products come onto the market, you may prefer their colour palettes, or their application is better. They may be easier to access, whatever the reason, we recommend buying a handful of pencils and trying them before buying a full set. If they are not suitable, at least you haven't spent too much money on them.
STYLE, PAPER USED, SUBJECT PREFERENCE ETC ETC. WILL AFFECT YOUR CHOICES AND LINK TO THE PENCIL CHECKLIST ARTICLE.
Whichever range(s) you choose, the type of paper you use can also mean that you need to use a different brand. An abrasive paper like Colourfix or Pastelmat, will wear you pencils down faster, so you may select the Polychromos pencils over the soft core Prismacolor Premier or Derwent Coloursoft. As you progress in your techniques, your artistic style may also change, and you may find a different brand is now far more suitable. As products come onto the market, you may prefer their colour palettes, or their application is better. They may be easier to access, whatever the reason, we recommend buying a handful of pencils and trying them before buying a full set. If they are not suitable, at least you haven't spent too much money on them.
Here is a list of the pencils we compare in this article. We will add more examples as we acquire more brands.
1. Arteza (Expert)
2. Berol Karismacolor \ Prismacolor Premier
3. Caran d'Ache Luminance
4. Derwent Coloursoft/Drawing
5. Derwent Chromaflow
6. Derwent Inktense
7. Derwent Lightfast
8. Derwent Procolour
9. Lyra Polycolor
10. Faber Castell Polychromos
11. Royal Talens Van Gogh
12. WH Smith brand
1. Arteza (Expert)
2. Berol Karismacolor \ Prismacolor Premier
3. Caran d'Ache Luminance
4. Derwent Coloursoft/Drawing
5. Derwent Chromaflow
6. Derwent Inktense
7. Derwent Lightfast
8. Derwent Procolour
9. Lyra Polycolor
10. Faber Castell Polychromos
11. Royal Talens Van Gogh
12. WH Smith brand
10 Layer Test
MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS
The layering test is the practice of applying one application over another. For this test, we will apply 10 layers to see how far you can build, and see how opaque each layer continues to be. Although you may not apply so many layers, you may find it interesting to see how far pigmentation and application can go.
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. |
7.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
RESULTS:
Do a 1 - 12 (add number here) add a short explanation where possible. (Add the number of layers it will go up to)
The Luminance pencils easily allows for mixed multiple layering (10+ layers) with the white continuing to show strength over darker colours, I have easily applied over 15 layers too with these pencils. Surprisingly, the non brand pencils allowed multiple layering too offering over 10 layers. The Derwent Lightfast pencils are confusing as I have found that oill based pencils don't allow me to layer extensively but these did however drawing using these pencils will require organisation as they can only layer light to dark and do not intermix. The Verithin and Procolour are not ideal for overlaying as they only really allowed up to four layers and the Prismacolor Premier would only layer light to dark, refusing to intermix (see below) - the stage that follows these layers are where the pencils will then start to blend losing their hard edges which could give a 'muddy' appearance and become more a tonal blend than definitive strokes. Click on the images below to see how all the pencils fared.
Do a 1 - 12 (add number here) add a short explanation where possible. (Add the number of layers it will go up to)
The Luminance pencils easily allows for mixed multiple layering (10+ layers) with the white continuing to show strength over darker colours, I have easily applied over 15 layers too with these pencils. Surprisingly, the non brand pencils allowed multiple layering too offering over 10 layers. The Derwent Lightfast pencils are confusing as I have found that oill based pencils don't allow me to layer extensively but these did however drawing using these pencils will require organisation as they can only layer light to dark and do not intermix. The Verithin and Procolour are not ideal for overlaying as they only really allowed up to four layers and the Prismacolor Premier would only layer light to dark, refusing to intermix (see below) - the stage that follows these layers are where the pencils will then start to blend losing their hard edges which could give a 'muddy' appearance and become more a tonal blend than definitive strokes. Click on the images below to see how all the pencils fared.
add new images. create light over dark as well as a mixture. do it on white paper this time.
Blendability
PENCIL V'S SOLVENT
The blendability test researches how well the pigments blend together. This will depend on the base of the pencil, and the wax based pencils will almost always provide a smoother mix than the oil-based ones, but lets see how each compare. We also trial a solvent too, so we can see how well every brand mixes with the use of a solvent. For this exercise, we use the Zest-it pencil blend on watercolour paper, which is suitable for such applications.
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. |
7.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
RESULTS: As expected the Derwent Coloursoft pencils blended the best due to its soft core, closely followed by the Karisma pencils. The Derwent Lightfast pencil appears to have shattered expectations again as an oil based pencil, as it blends smoothly and little pressure is needed to apply and blend, more like a wax based pencil. I was very surprised with this outcome (Well done Derwent!) The Luminance pencils, Lyra Polycolor and Prismacolor Premier do not blend as smoothly but a BLENDER pencil can be used to improve this somewhat (results will depend on the amount of layers and heaviness of the application) - The 'Non brand' range are limited in their blendability but allows for some and due to the hardness of the Verithin, Procolour and Polychromos pencils, I found these blended the least. Finally the Van Gogh pencils let me down with their blending abilities as I thought these would act the same as the Premier Prismacolour, sadly they don't, when an oil based pencil (Derwent Lightfast) blends far better than a wax based pencil (Van Gogh).
OPAcity
INTERMIXING
We have termed the name 'Intermixing' for this experiment, which tests the opaqueness of one pigment over another. This will include a mix of paler pigments over dark ones and vice versa. We apply two white lines (top) and apply darker colours over the top. This is followed by applying the white pencil (bottom) over the top of the darker ones to see how opaque the lighter tones are.
Why does this information matter? My coloured pencil art was originally applied light to dark with very little to no room for deviation or mistakes and this took some serious thought process and planning - with the introduction of higher quality pigments in coloured pencils and stronger whites, I can now alternate and this is perfect for applying highlights in very dark areas for greater effect and in the long run, my work has become even more detailed.
Why does this information matter? My coloured pencil art was originally applied light to dark with very little to no room for deviation or mistakes and this took some serious thought process and planning - with the introduction of higher quality pigments in coloured pencils and stronger whites, I can now alternate and this is perfect for applying highlights in very dark areas for greater effect and in the long run, my work has become even more detailed.
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. |
7.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
RESULTS: The strongest white is the Coloursoft which is able to eliminate nearly all trace of colour which shows that even when a darker colour is placed over the top, the white pencil can play a huge part in lightening tones. The Luminance pencils are just as good and lighter layers can continue to be effective over darker colours, the Lyra Polycolor had very good results especially showing how strong the white is over the black! The Polychromos range proved rather impressive too but the Prismacolor Verithin lacked strength and the Prismacolor Premier white failed to overlay any colour very well as did the Van Gogh pencils, although you can see how strong the pigments of both pencils are. The Derwent Lightfast pencil has strong pigments and although darker colours apply easily over the white, the white does not layer well over darker colours however you can see some shift in the black pigment as the white pencil has dragged out this pigment across the page somewhat, I have not seen this before. This may be a negative to some and a bonus to others. Lastly, as expected, the non brand lacked the strength of the white but this has already been mentioned in the black & white test.
CORE STRENGTH
hARD V'S SOFT
The images below were created with newly sharpened points, I then drew a line by pressing heavily onto the paper. There was little difference between them all really but I did find that the Verithin pencils broke constantly and the Lyra & Coloursoft pencils had a tendency to crumble at the beginning, not unexpected from the Coloursoft pencil as its name denotes a certain caution, but the Lyra pencil surprised me as it is oil based and these tend to be harder 'leads', the Derwent Lightfast was also somewhat crumbly as an oil based pencil too.
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. |
7.
8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
RESULTS: I found the Polychromos & Procolour to be the hardest (with little to distinguish between the 2) and the Prismacolor Premier being the softest followed by Coloursoft & Van Gogh. The surprise was the Derwent Procolour, as it is wax based, I would have expected it to be softer, however the Derwent Lightfast which is oil based and usually harder, is actually softer which creates thicker lines - Derwent challenging the norms it seems and why not! As the Polychromos, Procolour and Verithin pencils have hard cores, they are ideal for creating fine lines and whiskers/hair whilst the Coloursoft & Premier pencils are particularly good for tonal backgrounds. The importance of using the correct pencil sharpener for your pencil brand can play a huge part in avoiding breakages and an article is currently in the making on this subject.
Lightfast information
Every pencil brand uses different lightfast ratings. Derwent work on the Blue Wool scale, Caran d'Ache & Prismacolor uses the ATSM-D6901 rating and Faber Castell & Lyra use the star rating system. This makes it quite confusing when artist wish to compare each brand to see how lightfast their pencils are. Ratings are usually numbered between 1 and 5, with 1 and 2 being the most lightfast (which will last for 100 years under museum conditions) and the quality will diminish the higher the number.
If you wish to find out more about the lightfastness of each brand, you can view links at the bottom of this page, Simply click on the pencil of interest, which will take you directly to the dedicated page.
If you wish to find out more about the lightfastness of each brand, you can view links at the bottom of this page, Simply click on the pencil of interest, which will take you directly to the dedicated page.
|
|
Prices recorded November 2022
* Current recommended retail price
** Current UK pricing
* Current recommended retail price
** Current UK pricing
VIBRANCY
THE Black & White Test
I always advise in my workshops that it is a good idea to sample the black and white pencils before you splash out and buy a whole boxful, this can offer an insight into how strong the pigments in the range will be and may save you a lot of mistakes and more importantly, cash.
RESULTS: I found the brightest white to be the Karismacolor (sadly discontinued) closely followed by the Caran Dache Aquarelle and then the Coloursoft and the weakest white was both the Prismacolor Verithin and the cheap, non brand range (understandable) I no longer have the Karisma white to be able to include this in my findings sadly but for the black pencils, I found 3 brands matching in strength which are the Derwent Lightfast, Royal Talens Van Gogh & Caran Dache Luminance pencils to be the darkest - the weakest black was the Coloursoft. Lyra Polycolor have 2 blacks in their collection and the 'Black' is much darker than the 'Black Hard' - there is more binder in the 'Black hard' pencil core which gives a finer point due to the hardness but this tends to compromise the strength of the pigment. The Coloursoft black was poor in comparison to the strength of the white and I don't actually use this pencil at all preferring the Luminance black instead. I also found that the Prismacolor Premier, Derwent Lightfast, Van Gogh, Procolour, Karisma and Luminance black are all matt blacks (no wax bloom) but the others give out a shiny finish, however further layers of these matt blacks will produce a shiny finish too (wax bloom). The non brand black was rather a strong tone but its white was the weakest - both this brand and the Verithin pencils are quite weak in pigment. The Premier, Procolour & Polychromos white have strong pigments, but the Luminance white is marginally brighter than both these. The Van Gogh White is not as strong a pigment as it's black counterpart and the Derwent Lightfast white is as strong a pigment as the Caran Dache Luminance.
RESULTS: I found the brightest white to be the Karismacolor (sadly discontinued) closely followed by the Caran Dache Aquarelle and then the Coloursoft and the weakest white was both the Prismacolor Verithin and the cheap, non brand range (understandable) I no longer have the Karisma white to be able to include this in my findings sadly but for the black pencils, I found 3 brands matching in strength which are the Derwent Lightfast, Royal Talens Van Gogh & Caran Dache Luminance pencils to be the darkest - the weakest black was the Coloursoft. Lyra Polycolor have 2 blacks in their collection and the 'Black' is much darker than the 'Black Hard' - there is more binder in the 'Black hard' pencil core which gives a finer point due to the hardness but this tends to compromise the strength of the pigment. The Coloursoft black was poor in comparison to the strength of the white and I don't actually use this pencil at all preferring the Luminance black instead. I also found that the Prismacolor Premier, Derwent Lightfast, Van Gogh, Procolour, Karisma and Luminance black are all matt blacks (no wax bloom) but the others give out a shiny finish, however further layers of these matt blacks will produce a shiny finish too (wax bloom). The non brand black was rather a strong tone but its white was the weakest - both this brand and the Verithin pencils are quite weak in pigment. The Premier, Procolour & Polychromos white have strong pigments, but the Luminance white is marginally brighter than both these. The Van Gogh White is not as strong a pigment as it's black counterpart and the Derwent Lightfast white is as strong a pigment as the Caran Dache Luminance.
How white are the whites?
A great way of testing the strength of the pigments in a pencil is to trial the white pencil on black paper. Below I have trialled 12 different pencil brands and found varying degrees of brightness between them, the brightest was the Karismacolor closely followed by the Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle and the worst was the cheapest brand (understandably) WH Smith which is a UK store brand followed by the Rembrandt Polycolor. Sadly the Karismacolor range was discontinued in 2005 but its twin sister is the Prismacolor Premier which isn't quite as bright.
Fixative between layers
ADDITIONAL TECHNIQUE
Fixative is one of my best friends and although the brand I use (Loxley) is not sold as a re-workable spray, I find using it between layers helps additional layering, aiding vibrancy without changing the colour in any way. I occasionally use it between layers if necessary but not regularly. The examples below show the 'fixed' colour tone (marked) which has been treated with 2 separate 'fixative and fur' layers and the unmarked side shows line application without the use of fixative.
RESULTS: The Luminance and the Non branded pencils came out the best for this technique. Most of the other brands, particularly if they are oil based) are not affected by the fixative or caused blending rather than aiding further definition so using fixative with some pencil brands is an unnecessary technique. The worst outcome was the Van Gogh pencils which caused a blotchy effect over the fixative.
RESULTS: The Luminance and the Non branded pencils came out the best for this technique. Most of the other brands, particularly if they are oil based) are not affected by the fixative or caused blending rather than aiding further definition so using fixative with some pencil brands is an unnecessary technique. The worst outcome was the Van Gogh pencils which caused a blotchy effect over the fixative.
visit our coloured pencil articles
Our articles are never finished.
As more products appear on the market, we continue to extend the information to incorporate these products.
If you found this article helpful, please share using the tabs on this page (not available on a mobile)
Why not bookmark and come back at a later date to see what we have added.
Thank you for viewing!
As more products appear on the market, we continue to extend the information to incorporate these products.
If you found this article helpful, please share using the tabs on this page (not available on a mobile)
Why not bookmark and come back at a later date to see what we have added.
Thank you for viewing!
Original article written: July 2015
Updated: November or December 2022
Updated: November or December 2022