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I rally like to use colored pencils. Crayola is the brand that I have used the most of and I like them but I think I want to move up the colored pencil ladder and maybe pay a bit more for a better set. I was wondering if everyone would share advice on this! I would like to know what types you like, approx. cost, and why you think they are great! I also would like to know what you do not like on different brands. I don't want to spend a huge fortune but want to get out of the Crayola. I love to blend with pencils and yes I have alcohol markers (a few not many) but I am not real keen on them. I like the pencils because of shading and color combinations. I look forward to hearing everyones opinions! Thank you so MUCH!!
I love my colored pencils, use a range of quality to cheap pencils and am not enough of an expert to rate the pencils (vs user skill level, lol!) but here are a couple of people I learn a lot from, who may answer your question:
Peta Hewit does amazing work with colored pencils. She has all sorts of videos, but this one is a review of a bunch of brands (about an hour long video)
This one is more 'to the point' on cheap vs pricey pencils, and I like how easy it is to watch her comparisons: (13 min or so)
and then there's always the amazing Lindsay, over at Frugal Crafter. If you go to YouTube and type in Frugal Crafter colored pencils, she has a bunch of videos where she reviews various brands (just not an 'all in one' comparison sort of video ... at least not one that I could find).
Have fun exploring!
__________________ If you don't want your tax dollars to help the poor, then stop saying you want a country based on Christian values, because you don't. ~ Jimmy Carter
Last edited by jeaniebean55; 11-08-2016 at 03:06 PM..
Hi Marie, my favourite pencils are Prismacolor Premier. They are a beautiful soft core pencil. If you type Prismacolor Premier Artist Soft Core Colored Pencils 72 Assorted Colors Set into eBay or Amazon you will get lots of varying prices. The sets come in 48, 72, 132 and 150 pack. I love the 72 pencil set, great range of colours and shades of colours.
The soft, thick cores are perfect for blending and shading.
My other favourite pencils are Derwent Inktense pencils - very expensive though, if I had my time over again I would have purchased the pencils individually (in colours and shades that I use) and not as a set. Hope this info helps.
__________________ Susie
Please don't take your organs to heaven - heaven knows we need them here.
One thing the video doesn't show is how vibrant the watercolor pencils become when water is washed over them. This is also true of the Derwent Inktense - even a little water totally intensifies the color. For this reason, the paper you use will make a huge difference in the outcome.
With all colored pencils, you want a bit of tooth but not too much texture to your paper. If the paper is too hard and smooth, it won't catch & hold the pencil pigment. If there's too much texture, you'll see the debossed areas as white - they won't fill in (except with the water color pencils used with water).
I am no Picasso, but people are surprised when I show them my cards coloured with crayola pencils. In fact they are the ones my daughter used in grade school over 40 years ago.lol
I have some prismas but usually use crayolas which work well with blender pen and oms. I have yet to learn how to do perfect shading, but I am getting there.
I have no idea if newer Crayolas are of the same quality.
I bought an expensive set of Prismacolor pencils when I first started stamping. I didn't use them very much, and ended up giving them to my granddaughter, who is very artistic, and uses them a lot.
Of course, I then decided that I wanted to try colored pencils again, and went on a hunt for a less expensive set.
I found this brand at Walmart, and find them excellent to work with. Don't be put off by the cheap price, they really do color well. In some locations, you can order them online and pick them up at your local store, or have them shipped to you.
There is a good color selection, and as a bonus, they come already sharpened! Here is a link:
For me it's a toss up between the Fun Stampers Journey Color Burst and Color Splash pencils. Depending on what look I'm going for. The Color Splash are watercoloring pencils, such amazing rich true colors. You can color directly then go back with a brush and water to blend it. You can create a palette using a brush and water then paint with it. You can wet the pencil itself and color with it. There are so many ways to use them!
The Color Burst are pure color pigment pencils, similar to the prismacolor I guess. I use baby oil and a blending stump to blend them.
Both sets come with 48 pencils that when blended according to the directions make all of the FSJ colors. They're in a wonderful metal tin that has the "palette" showing you the coordinating pencil numbers to the FSJ colors on the inside of the lid and on the bottom of the tin on the outside. It's printed on there so you don't have to worry about keeping up with a list or anything. The Color Burst are $79.95 and the Color Splash are $59.95, both plus shipping & tax. They're not cheap but they are AMAZING!!!
I bought an expensive set of Prismacolor pencils when I first started stamping. I didn't use them very much, and ended up giving them to my granddaughter, who is very artistic, and uses them a lot.
Of course, I then decided that I wanted to try colored pencils again, and went on a hunt for a less expensive set.
I found this brand at Walmart, and find them excellent to work with. Don't be put off by the cheap price, they really do color well. In some locations, you can order them online and pick them up at your local store, or have them shipped to you.
There is a good color selection, and as a bonus, they come already sharpened! Here is a link:
I like the prang pencils. Cheap and work well. Also like craz art ones. Also cheap. But the best of all these lower cost lines is Marco raffine. Google them on eBay. They are so soft and creamy and blend so well. I think my set of 60 or 70'was around $30 or under. Except buy. Excellent quality.
But my first love is faber castell. I am going to buy them slowly over time. When I was in a dick blick store- I was able to test them and caran d'ache myself. So I suggest buying 1 pencil of each the expensive brand and trying it yourself.
__________________ Creativity is intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein
I found because of the wax in Crayola they really blend nice with oms, more so than using a prisma blender pen .the extra few minutes using oms for me makes a big difference. I do not have to press hard like the video above, perhaps it is all due to the paper I use.
Great points (no pun intended). I'd only add that professional quality pencils have more pigment and less binder, so are more light fast. So if you think a card or picture might hang on a wall it may be worth considering.
It's no different with paint. I blend colors more easily and get better results with a really inexpensive set of watercolors, most likely because they are what I started with while waiting for good paints to arrive. It's really annoying I can't [yet!?] get similar results with high quality paints that others rave about.
Last edited by bjeans; 11-13-2016 at 06:05 AM..
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Colored Pencils
