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CHARACTERISTICS

BASE: ​Oil

HARD OR SOFT LEAD:  Hard

LIGHTFAST RATING: Blue Wool scale

COSTS (AVE): RRP £2.80

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​Polychromos artists' pencils are valued internationally by professionals and semi-professionals for their unsurpassed quality. The high quality standards of the Polychromos coloured pencils shine through, whether they are used for graphics, artistic free style or for the exact rendition of plans.

​Colours Available: 120

Sets Available:
Open stock (Individually) Tin sets of 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 & 120
Studio box of 36, pencil roll with 36 colours
Wooden box sets of 48, 72 and 120 colours (see illustration)

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ADVANTAGES
*  High-quality acid-free pigments in bright colours with                     unsurpassed lightfastness
*  Soft, vibrant colour laydown
*  Water-resistant and smudge-proof
*  Thick 3.8mm lead
* High break resistance due to secural bonding process (SV)

DISADVANTAGES
* May not be able to apply as many layers as wax based pencil ranges allow

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Individual pencils

Tin of 12

Tin of 24

Tin of 36

Tin of 60

Tin of 120

Studio box of 36

Wooden box of 48

Wooden box of 72

Wooden box of 120

Pencil roll with 30 colours

The Polychromos colour chart

This official Polychromos chart taken from the Faber Castell website, has been edited by ourselves, so you can see both the pencil name and code number, which was far too small on the original chart making it unreadable. The star ratings have also been included, so you can check how lightfast each colour is. The star rating guide can be found below the chart.

Lightfastness:

The Faber Castell Polychromos pencils use a star lightfast rating system
​There are:
100 colours with the *** (3 star rating)  = Maximum Lightfastness. Maximum Fade Resistance of 100+ years
18 colours with the ** (2 star rating)  = Very good lightfastness. Very good fade resistance 25+ years
2 colours with the * (1 star rating)  = Good lightfastness. Good fade resistance 5+ years

The pigments in these pencils are highly lightfast, with a few exceptions. Lightfastness can be affected if the pigment is diluted too much, particularly important if you use a solvent like Zest-it to blend your colours. This range is rated using the 'Blue Wool' scale. The worst colours being the usual suspects; pinks & purples. 

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How is the 'Blue wool' rating achieved?

The Blue Wool Scale measures and calibrates the permanence of colouring dyes. Traditionally this test was developed for the textiles industry but it has now been adopted by the printing industry as measure of lightfastness of ink colourants. Normally two identical dye samples are created. One is placed in the dark as the control and the other is placed in the equivalent of sunlight for a three-month period. A standard bluewool textile fading test card is also placed in the same light conditions as the sample under test. The amount of fading of the sample is then assessed by comparison to the original colour. A rating between 0 and 8 is awarded by identifying which one of the eight strips on the bluewool standard card has faded to the same extent as the sample under test. Zero denotes extremely poor colour fastness whilst a rating of eight is deemed not to have altered from the original and thus credited as being lightfast and permanent.
Taken from the Wikipedia website

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Other related articles that may be of interest

Tonal layering tutorial for those new to coloured pencils

A selection of hot pressed papers suitable for use with coloured pencils

New to Coloured pencils? A comprehensive article offering lots of helpful information for a beginner!

Comparing the Polychromos pencils against other brands

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Which paper is suited to the Polychromos pencils?

As I do not personally use the Polychromos pencils, I have eight colours in my collection that I used to create a few trial samples of how these pencils lay down on various papers. This is very subjective and all down to personal preference, but the findings may offer you some help on choosing which paper or papers to buy. Of course, this will depend on your artistic style too. There are plenty of papers out there that may be more suited, but the ones seen below include five of the most popular papers with a textured paper (Bockingford tints) thrown in.

Bristol plate - Very smooth paper. The pencils are difficult to apply on the paper and the pigments are not as strong. Great for creating smooth gradations of colour   -  2 out of 5
Bristol Vellum - Slightly textured, matt surface. Pigments are the most vibrant on this paper. Easy to apply, goes on smoothly  -  5 out of 5
Bockingford NOT (grey tint)  - Easy to apply. Texture noticeable but pigments are strong. Smooth gradations not possible due to texture  -  4 out of 5 ( Bockingford is also available in hot pressed which may be the better option if you do not like the textured look)
Saunders Waterford HP - Pencils glide on well and mix smoothly. Matt paper. Pigments vibrant. Easy applications. Can create seamless gradations  -  4.5 out of 5
Fabriano Artistico HP - Slight resistance to pencil on paper. Colours slightly more muted than Saunders and Bristol vellum. Small weave like texture  -  3 out of 5
Pastelmat grey - Due to texture, paper grabs pigment well but darkens tones on the grey base  -  4 out of 5

Click on any of the links below to find out more about each paper. There are links to stores you can purchase from too.

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See how the Polychromos pencils compare to other pencil ranges on the coloured pencil comparison page.

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Article written: October 2020