Comments | mieronna: This is me, rambling about one of my favourite subjects...

mieronna

This is me, rambling about one of my favourite subjects...

Feb 28, 2009 18:09

Recently I started comparing more different brands of coloured pencils, partly because I just want to have tried them all and partly because I need to find a replacement for the prismacolors that currently form my largest stock of different colours. I figured I should better write down what I thought of them, to see if my opinion changes. Will add ( Read more... )

coloured pencils

Comments 16

bzzinglikeneon February 28 2009, 18:06:00 UTC

I swear by Prismacolor, but then, I live in the US, so they're probably not as expensive nor difficult to get than they are for you. I find that the softness of the lead varies by color -- Some I can sharpen to a very fine point, others you can just forget about. I haven't had much problem with them being broken inside, but again, mine haven't been shipped across the Atlantic, either. So, you're right about them being kind of iffy for detail work, which is a real bummer, because they're the absolute best for layering and blending. When I use other brands, I always feel really handicapped in that respect.

ninepointfivemm February 28 2009, 19:14:13 UTC

Prismacolors are REALLY REALLY pricey here (also in the US), so I haven't tried them, due to price alone.

mieronna February 28 2009, 19:45:15 UTC

All artist grade pencils are horribly expensive. In anything that contains colour it's because artists' materials have a high amount of the expensive pigment in them. Cheaper pencils have less pigment and more filler and binding mediums, which leads to bleaker colours and limits you in what you can do. Anyone who wants to do a substantial amount of work with cp should invest in some artist grade pencils - it's amazing how different drawing feels when you use them... in fact, I rather think I'm a junkie, that's why I'm spending money I don't really have on more and more pencils. :D If however, cp are not for you, it's probably not worth it.

mieronna February 28 2009, 19:37:34 UTC

The problem with them here is that they csn't be sold in Europe, due to trademark issues, so it's only a handful of sellers importing them - in fact I only know one in Germany, though there probably are some more. The price itself isn't too high, but if you add shipping, and you only need a few colour to replenish your stock, it gets painful.

My problem with prismas is that they just don't suit my drawing style very well. I prefer to build layers by hatching or cross hatching the same spot over and over with pretty bold, strong strokes and for that you simply do need a fine tip. However, if I want to do a smooth surface with wide "washes" of changing colour, or burnish a spot with a lighter colour, they are unmatched.

I agree about different colours being softer than others - I noticed this in pretty much all brands. I wonder if it's got to do with the relation of binding medium vs pigment that needs to be used to achieve the necessary colour, or if the pigments themselves add to the lead's firmness.

glockgal February 28 2009, 18:51:32 UTC

This is an awesome list, thank you! *memories*

There's a Canadian brand called Laurentien, which I've found much richer, softer and creamier than Prismacolour (which I found waxy). And also stronger! However, I'm starting to wonder if that was just an anomaly pack of Laurentiens that I found, LOL.

mieronna February 28 2009, 19:50:57 UTC

I'll be adding to it - I haven't really worked much with any of these, apart from the top three - just done some (a lot) of colour swatches and random layers, so my opinion might change when I actually draw with them.

Richer, softer and creamier? Now I have to find it.I never heard of it, though - I doubt it'll be available here.... You wouldn't consider sending me some, if I can't find them? In exchange for something you might not have or for $$$? Why do you think it might have been an anomaly pack - the others didn't match?

ninepointfivemm February 28 2009, 19:15:58 UTC

I'm not good with the colored pencils (much prefer markers), though the watercolor pencils I liked the best were Derwent, I think.

tripperfunster February 28 2009, 20:26:47 UTC

I have Koh i nor, but only ...24 colours!!

I really like them because of their NO WOOD! I love woodless pencils and pretty much use them (and the woodless graphite ones) exclusively.

I cannot compare the koh i nor to anyone else, because I haven't really used many others.

I'd love to hear how they compare.

mieronna February 28 2009, 20:39:13 UTC

Oh, I got the normal koh-i-noors, the woodless ones are called progresso and I think the colour range is rather limited, though I'm not sure. It's the same lead, though. If I like it, I'll maybe get them, too.

cluegirl February 28 2009, 22:51:02 UTC

Berol Col-erase. I use them to tranfer my watercolours, and also in the underpainting for same. They don't travel much, and they don't repel the paint, so I can wash right over them, and basically make the lines of the transfer completely disappear under the painting -- which is what's supposed to happen with transfer lines, really.

I highly recommend them.

mieronna March 1 2009, 10:40:38 UTC

Hmmm, sounds interesting. Are they really fully erasable?

cluegirl March 1 2009, 15:26:35 UTC

On drawing paper, they act pretty much like an H2 pencil -- they go down lightish, but you can get a good, clean line with them if you press. However, the harder you press, the more you score the paper, and the less well it comes up again.

Watercolour paper is a bit of a different animal, of course, because erasing alters the tooth of the paper. So I haven't actually ever tried to erase them on a painting underdrawing.