Derwent Drawing Coloured Pencils: A Detailed Analysis
Derwent Drawing Coloured Pencils, first manufactured in 1986, are a professional-grade medium valued for their unique qualities, making them a preferred choice for artists specialising in wildlife, nature studies, and portraiture. Produced by Derwent, a British company with a heritage dating back to 1832, these pencils are crafted in the Lake District, UK. Developed to provide a soft, creamy pencil with earthy tones for naturalistic subjects, the range was designed to deliver a velvety finish and strong opacity, ideal for textures like fur or feathers. Launched with six earthy colours, including Chinese White, Ivory Black, Brown Ochre, Sepia (Red), Sanguine, and Chocolate, the range expanded in the early 2000s to 24 natural shades, adding soft greens, greys, blues, and beiges. This article, examines their key features, technical specifications, and applications, prioritising critical information for artists.
Core Characteristics and Performance
Derwent Drawing coloured pencils feature an 8mm round barrel with a 5mm wax-based core, designed for broad, expressive strokes and efficient coverage with minimal layering. Their soft, creamy texture delivers a velvety finish, allowing seamless blending—whether used dry or with water-soluble mediums—to support mixed-media techniques. These pencils offer excellent grip on textured papers and surfaces, enhancing depth and vibrancy. Their opaque pigmentation ensures bold coverage, but maintaining a sharp point is crucial for fine lines and intricate details.
While these pencils provide a smooth laydown, due to natural pigment variations, some shades may be more powdery or less cohesive, occasionally leading to crumbling if excessive force is applied. However, they are not excessively soft—they wear faster than firmer alternatives but do not require heavy pressure to deposit rich pigment onto paper. They can be sharpened with a standard pencil sharpener, though a sharp blade is recommended to avoid damaging the wood casing.
While these pencils provide a smooth laydown, due to natural pigment variations, some shades may be more powdery or less cohesive, occasionally leading to crumbling if excessive force is applied. However, they are not excessively soft—they wear faster than firmer alternatives but do not require heavy pressure to deposit rich pigment onto paper. They can be sharpened with a standard pencil sharpener, though a sharp blade is recommended to avoid damaging the wood casing.
Base: Wax based |
Colours: 24 |
Lead: Soft-Medium |
Lightfast rating: Blue Wool |
Costs: £ - ££ |
Unique Earthy Colour Palette
The Derwent Drawing range consists of 24 carefully curated colours, designed to evoke the natural world. They are highly pigmented, providing strong, opaque colour application that performs exceptionally well on a variety of surfaces, including mid-tone and dark papers. This opacity is particularly valued for layering over other pencils or creating striking contrasts. Artists appreciate the smooth laydown, which allows for multiple layers to show through while maintaining vibrant coverage, though the soft core may not be ideal for ultra-fine details compared to harder pencils like Derwent’s Lightfast range.
The palette includes rich, earthy tones such as Light Sienna, Olive Earth, Brown Ochre, and sepia-inspired shades like Sepia Red, Sanguine, and Venetian Red, alongside soft greens, blues, greys, and creams. Notably, the Chinese White and Ivory Black pencils are praised for their opacity, making them excellent for highlights and deep shadows, particularly on mid-tone or dark papers. This limited yet purposeful selection is tailored for wildlife illustrations, landscapes, and portraiture, though some artists note the absence of vibrant or bright colours as a limitation for certain styles.
The palette includes rich, earthy tones such as Light Sienna, Olive Earth, Brown Ochre, and sepia-inspired shades like Sepia Red, Sanguine, and Venetian Red, alongside soft greens, blues, greys, and creams. Notably, the Chinese White and Ivory Black pencils are praised for their opacity, making them excellent for highlights and deep shadows, particularly on mid-tone or dark papers. This limited yet purposeful selection is tailored for wildlife illustrations, landscapes, and portraiture, though some artists note the absence of vibrant or bright colours as a limitation for certain styles.
Design & Practicality
The pencils are designed with practicality in mind. Their 8mm light mahogany-stained barrels feature colour-coded end dips and embossed white text detailing the range, colour name, and number for easy identification. The round, 8-ply barrel fits standard pencil sharpeners, though artists are advised to sharpen gently due to the soft core’s susceptibility to breakage. Available in open stock and sets, they cater to both individual purchases and comprehensive sets.
Exceptional Lightfastness
One of the defining features of Derwent Drawing pencils is their 100% lightfast rating, guaranteeing that all 24 colours remain vivid and resistant to fading for over 100 years under museum conditions. The lightfastness of these pencils is rigorously tested using the Blue Wool Scale (ISO 105), an industry-standard method, equivalent to ASTM II standards, that measures how pigments withstand prolonged UV exposure. 23 out of the 24 colours in the Derwent Drawing range achieve a Blue Wool Scale rating of 8, meaning they have the highest level of lightfastness available. Ink Blue is the exception, rated at 7, which is still considered highly lightfast and suitable for professional, archival work, ensuring that they meet professional archival criteria. This makes them an excellent choice for professional artists producing archival-quality work intended for sale, exhibition, or long-term display.
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Why Derwent Drawing Pencils Only Have 24 Shades
The Derwent Drawing collection was intentionally limited to 24 colours to focus on natural, muted tones suited for life studies, portraiture, and wildlife art. When first introduced, the range featured just six earthy shades, inspired by traditional drawing materials such as sanguine, sepia, and charcoal. Over time, Derwent expanded the palette while ensuring the pencils retained their soft, creamy texture and highly lightfast pigments, making them an excellent choice for organic textures and subtle shading.
Unlike broader ranges such as Derwent Lightfast or Coloursoft, the Drawing pencils emphasise rich, subdued hues that blend seamlessly for fur, feathers, and landscapes. Rather than offering an extensive colour selection, this range was designed to provide a cohesive, harmonious palette, allowing artists to recreate the delicate tonal variations found in nature without overwhelming colour choices.
Unlike broader ranges such as Derwent Lightfast or Coloursoft, the Drawing pencils emphasise rich, subdued hues that blend seamlessly for fur, feathers, and landscapes. Rather than offering an extensive colour selection, this range was designed to provide a cohesive, harmonious palette, allowing artists to recreate the delicate tonal variations found in nature without overwhelming colour choices.
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According to Derwent’s official resources, the palette was curated to offer "rich and earthy" tones that complement each other, enabling effective blending and layering for a wider spectrum of shades. While some artists appreciate this specialised focus, others find the limited selection restrictive, especially for projects requiring vibrant or diverse hues. Instead of expanding the range, Derwent positions Drawing pencils as a supplementary tool, encouraging artists to combine them with broader collections like Lightfast or Coloursoft for enhanced colour versatility.
Understanding Pigment Blends: Why Some Colours Reveal Unexpected Undertones
Notice the unexpected hint of yellow in the Smoke Blue swatch image? This subtle undertone is a result of naturalised pigments, a key characteristic of the Derwent Drawing range. Unlike single-pigment colours, these pencils rely on carefully blended formulas, where secondary pigments—such as synthetic iron oxide (PY42)—can emerge during application. Because the soft, creamy core of these pencils allows pigments to disperse gradually, undertones may appear more prominently under light pressure or textured surfaces. While this layering effect enhances depth and realism, artists expecting a flat, uniform colour might be surprised. It’s important to note that this phenomenon isn't limited to Smoke Blue or the Derwent Drawing range—many professional-grade coloured pencils and even pastel pencils, particularly those designed for earthy tones, share similar characteristics.
Application Characteristics and Comparison with Derwent Lightfast
Despite their different formulations—with Derwent Drawing pencils being wax-based and Lightfast pencils primarily oil-based—the two ranges work exceptionally well together. Their shared focus on lightfast, high-quality pigments makes them ideal for artists creating archival work that requires both earthy, muted tones and vibrant, striking colours.
With 13 overlapping colours, including Warm Grey, Cool Grey, Ruby Earth, Olive Earth, Mars Violet, Mars Orange, Sepia (Red), Venetian Red, Chocolate, Brown Ochre, Warm Earth, Wheat, and Yellow Ochre, the two collections blend seamlessly. Artists can use the soft, rich laydown of Drawing pencils for subtle shading and depth, while Lightfast pencils provide sharper precision and intense vibrancy where needed. Additionally, the Chinese White and Ivory Black in the Drawing range are often preferred for their opacity and pigmentation, making them useful for highlights and tonal adjustments.
By combining these two ranges, artists can expand their creative possibilities, balancing muted realism with bold, saturated hues. Whether working on portraits, wildlife, or landscapes, this pairing offers versatility without compromising quality.
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Perfecting Plumage: Using Derwent Drawing Pencils for Bird Illustrations
The palette’s muted hues and blending capabilities are well-suited for rendering detailed subjects like this Chaffinch, completed on Bockingford NOT watercolour 'tints' paper
This illustration showcases the exceptional versatility of Derwent Drawing pencils, allowing artists to achieve natural, nuanced effects through careful blending and layering. With their soft, muted tones, these pencils are particularly well-suited for wildlife and bird illustrations, such as the Chaffinch, where subtle colour transitions are essential in capturing realistic plumage.
The warmth of Light Sienna forms the foundation for the bird’s soft belly and chest feathers, providing a delicate, organic tone. To balance the cooler hues in the head's plumage, Smoke Blue and Ink Blue are layered together, creating a natural gradient between earthy warmth and subtle blue contrasts. The wing feathers, an area requiring precision and depth, are enhanced through the blending of Ivory Black with Chinese White, producing a range of grey tones that shift dynamically depending on the pressure and layering applied. Additionally, Yellow Ochre serves as a vital transitional shade, introducing creamy highlights that refine the texture and add dimension to individual feathers.
Maximising Soft-Focus Areas with Derwent Drawing Pencils
Derwent Drawing pencils are particularly well-suited for soft-focus backgrounds, allowing artists to achieve seamless tonal transitions without the risk of harsh edges. Their creamy texture and rich pigmentation ensure effortless blending, making it easy to create smooth gradients and atmospheric effects. Whether rendering subtle depth behind a subject or building a natural, diffused backdrop, these pencils offer exceptional control over softness and tone.
Masterfully rendered in Caran d'Ache Luminance and Derwent Drawing pencils, this 'in-progress' piece captures a Springer Spaniel within a dynamic coastal scene.
When working on a large-scale coloured pencil drawing, such as this Springer Spaniel illustration, created using Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils for the fine details, managing materials efficiently is crucial. The soft-focus areas, such as the blurred reflections in the water, distant seaweed-covered rocks, and subtle transitions in the background, benefit from the creamy, easily blendable texture of Derwent Drawing pencils. Their ability to produce smooth tonal shifts and softened edges makes them perfect for building atmospheric depth while avoiding wasteful use of firmer, more expensive pencils. By reserving Luminance for detailed elements like the Spaniel's fur and facial features and using Derwent Drawing pencils for gradual blending in softer regions, artists can maximise efficiency while achieving a natural sense of depth.
Conclusions
Derwent Drawing Coloured Pencils, with their focused palette of 24 shades, offer artists a versatile spectrum, particularly for those dedicated to nature-inspired work like wildlife and landscapes. This set distinguishes itself as the only professional coloured pencil range combining full lightfastness with exceptional opacity in such a compact selection, rivaling broader professional lines. For artists content with a streamlined palette, these pencils deliver unmatched quality, blending ease, and durability, making them a valuable asset for creating vivid, lasting compositions.
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Derwent Drawing pencils are not classified as vegan, meaning they may contain animal-derived ingredients in their formulation. While Derwent has confirmed that some of their ranges are free from animal derivatives, the Drawing range does not appear on their list of explicitly vegan-friendly products. The specific ingredient responsible for this classification isn't publicly detailed, but it could involve binding agents, wax components, or processing materials that contain traces of animal-derived substances. |
