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I'm so excited after reading this thread - I always thought it was my lack of artistic ability that made using Prismacolor pencils seem so difficult to use. Maybe there is hope for me yet.:p Going to WalMart tomorrow so hope they have the pencils!
As far as sharpening I have found a wonderful sharpener made by Faber-Castell. Here it is.
I'm so excited after reading this thread - I always thought it was my lack of artistic ability that made using Prismacolor pencils seem so difficult to use. Maybe there is hope for me yet.:p Going to WalMart tomorrow so hope they have the pencils!
As far as sharpening I have found a wonderful sharpener made by Faber-Castell. Here it is.
It has 3 different size holes so just about any pencil fits.
If you have a little time, be sure to watch this short video with tips on coloring with colored pencils. It is an easy technique to learn and even a beginner can make lovely images:
It seem that Gina K did some videos on this technique a while back. Her videos are amazing and I have learned a ton from her! I think she has two web sites...one for products/store and one for her videos...I think it is called STAMP TV...I'm not entirely sure b/c I am one of her subscribers so I automatically get an email notification so I never have to "physically type it in."
HTH,
Valerie
I'm so thankful for the thread. I just wish I found it before buying the 72 set of Prismacolors. I bought a set of the Cra-Z-art pencils from Walmart for $5.74. Maybe I went in with such low expectations, but they are easier to work with compared to my Prismas. I didn't even have to use OMS to get it to look smooth.
I will have to try again with the same light hand with my Prismas and see if I get a better result. With the Prismas I was depending on the OMS to blend and smooth out the pencil marks.
I'm so thankful for the thread. I just wish I found it before buying the 72 set of Prismacolors. I bought a set of the Cra-Z-art pencils from Walmart for $5.74. Maybe I went in with such low expectations, but they are easier to work with compared to my Prismas. I didn't even have to use OMS to get it to look smooth.
I will have to try again with the same light hand with my Prismas and see if I get a better result. With the Prismas I was depending on the OMS to blend and smooth out the pencil marks.
Yes, they are pretty amazing, aren't they? I have a 72-set of Prismas that I've had for a couple of years and not used much because they were hard to work with. I am shocked at how nice the Cra-Z-Art pencils are. And like you, distressed that I didn't know about them when I bought the expensive Prismacolors.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
FishyMom- Your card is absolutely gorgeous! I was looking at gel baby oil the other day wondering how it would work for stamping techniques. Now, you have inspired me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by from the heart
Did some research and decided on Koh-I-Noor pencils.
I love the Koh-I-Noor pencils. I wish they had more colors. I had sadly lost my Koh-I-Noors. My DH took them, lol.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linda from Clinton
Is there a good place to go for instructions on how to use these colored pencils ( Cra-Z-Art). Any inside tips to get me started. And what kind of paper would you recommend. Has anyone ever done anything like pen and ink application only using colored pencils instead of paint with the ink? Oh and how about the kind of sharpener you'd use to sharpen these pencils? I appreciate any help that will be shared.
Linda from Clinton
Use your Cra-Z-Art pencils instead of the pencils in the tutorial.
Also look for good coloring pencil books at your library, Amazon or your favorite bookseller.
A good starter paper would be Georgia Pacific 110lb cardstock. You can get a huge ream for under $7 at WalMart or Sam's Club. You will find it in the stationery section.
Lost me on the pen & ink application? My dyslexia got me on that one. You have me curious.
I have a nice metal sharpener I use for my color pencils. I can't even remember the brand. I have a new favorite sharpener now. I know some of you will laugh.
I love Monster High Dolls. I collect them. The other day in WalMart I found a cute journal with Monster High notebooks, pencil and a sharpener. Of course I had to buy it. I tried the sharpener when I got home and it was the most amazing sharpener I have ever used. Sharpened my pencils to a beautiful point with no breakage. Now, I am using a Monster High sharpener and I am proud of it. !
I know since I started posting at this thread I am have shown a serious obsession for the WalMart stationery department. !
Just skimmed through this colored pencil thing, quickly, so don't know if anyone has already mentioned this. But I was at Michael's yesterday and their Prismacolor pencils were all 1/2 off... like 84 cents each. I believe their sets were also 50% off.
What is "subbing"? I have seen it 3 or 4 times on this thread but have no idea what they are talking about.
When you post a reply to a thread, you will get notifications when new replies are posted to the thread, so you can keep up with what's going on in the thread.
Sometimes people just post "subbing" instead of actually making a reply, so they will get notifications of any new replies to the thread.
The reply you posted will "subscribe" you to this thread.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
Just skimmed through this colored pencil thing, quickly, so don't know if anyone has already mentioned this. But I was at Michael's yesterday and their Prismacolor pencils were all 1/2 off... like 84 cents each. I believe their sets were also 50% off.
I picked up a dozen new colors because of that sale! I can't buy sets because I have a lot already and would end up with doubles...
Buggainok, Kathy is correct. You are already subscribed because you have posted on this thread, therefore your only available option is unsubscribe. Try it on another thread that you have not posted in, you should see subscribe on the pulldown.
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Oh, wish would I have found this thread earlier, I was at Wal-mart today. I have prismas - started with a set of 12 and have been purchasing more with coupons. I will be looking for the Cra Z pencils. Great for taking workshops. Thanks for the links and the cards coloring was terrific!
Well went to Walmart yesterday and picked up a box of those pencils, 72count for $5.74. Also bought a box of 12 in the bright colors for $1.84. Other then using a blender pen I actually have not water colored! Well I tried yesterday and also used water coloring paper. Guess I had to much water because my paper did pill some. I was using the Aquawater pencil thing from SU! Also used the Prismas too, could not tell much difference. Still need to practice (a lot!!) more!
Just skimmed through this colored pencil thing, quickly, so don't know if anyone has already mentioned this. But I was at Michael's yesterday and their Prismacolor pencils were all 1/2 off... like 84 cents each. I believe their sets were also 50% off.
50% off is still no bargain if they won't blend, which is what I've found since they aren't made in the US anymore. I would love to hear from some stamper who has success with the Prismacolors that DON'T have USA debossed on them.
It's been 4 years since they were manufactured in the USA, so the open-stock USA ones are almost gone, except for the greys, which I was able to get just yesterday.
Buggainok, Kathy is correct. You are already subscribed because you have posted on this thread, therefore your only available option is unsubscribe. Try it on another thread that you have not posted in, you should see subscribe on the pulldown.
Thanks, you guys. Now I get it.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
My Prismas have mexico printed on them. They work great but they sharpen like crap. Actually it is not the sharpening that is the problem it is that they are breaking inside the wood. Mine were shipped to me in a large box with no packing so they slammed all over the place while in transit.
I also used baby oil and by far the OMS works much better for spreading the colors. Also you do need to use a smoother paper. I am sticking to SU whisper white for the price is good.
I would love to get my hands on those cheaper pencils from Walmart but I won't be in the US for many months yet. If they did work I would totally sell off my current prismas. And the Ki a noor pencils are so great, I only wished they had more colors.
My Prismas have mexico printed on them. They work great but they sharpen like crap. Actually it is not the sharpening that is the problem it is that they are breaking inside the wood. Mine were shipped to me in a large box with no packing so they slammed all over the place while in transit.
Lorri
It's the Prisma's from Mexico that are breaking. If the pencils are even dropped at the manufacturing plant it causes the lead to break inside the casing. One simple drop and that's all it takes. Your pencils probably got broken in transit. I just don't know what Prisma was thinking changing the wax formula. I have read you can still buy open end stock that were the original pencils with the original wax formula. As Bahb said they are getting really hard to find.
My DH bought mine a couple of years ago as a gift. I was so excited to get a whole set. Prisma's were my favorite pencils. My original set was stolen. My Dh buys me a beautiful set of Prisma pencils. He got me every single color. I also have lupus. I have spasms in my hands that make items go flying. Can you visualize what happened? My pencils took a hard fall. All of them are broke. I didn't know about the lead breakage problem until I read about it a few weeks later. Then I was in tears.
I was using RoseArt at the time before the family sold the company. Those were excellent pencils too. RoseArt was sold when the sons wanted to go on to different endeavors. After that the new RoseArt owners changed the formula on their pencils. Now, I am not too crazy about them. I think they are like Crayola's. So RoseArt are still pretty good pencils but don't blend as well as Cra-Z-Art. One of the original Rose Art sons decided to go back into making children's art supplies and Cra-Z-Art was formed. I read Cra-Z-Art's web site.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NannyBarbara
CRA-Z- ART pencils sound great. I wonder if they are available in the UK?.
NannyBarbara- I am not sure if Cra-Z-Art is sold in England. I think it's a American company. I wonder if you could get a set of pencils on Amazon. Amazon does sell them really cheap. Our WalMart stores run the pencils for around $5.78. Amazon sells the pencils for $7.99.
Okay ladies, thanks to this thread I ordered a set of the cra z art from someone on ebay and they will be delivered soon. I then emailed customer service of Prisma and they want me to mail all of my pencils to them and they will reimburse me my postage and I think I am getting a new set of the pencils.
Hope you get some satisfaction form your Prisma pencils! I need to try my Cra Z Art pencils. I'll bet if the demand goes up Cra Z Art price with go up.. I may need to get another set for the future and/or GKids.
If you want to see some breath-taking color pencil art, visit Arlene Steinberg's gallery. I especially love her tromp l'oeil ("fool the eye") section -- looking at some of them, you have to remind yourself that the *entire* image you see is her drawing, right down to the 'frame', 'matt', tape, etc. She is absolutely amazing. There are many cp artists out there that I admire, but she is my #1 favorite
And Ann Kullberg has a wealth of resources for anyone interested in cp art --- I've done a few of her "kits" -- they are a wonderful learning tool, and her books are fantastic too.
uh, as you might guess - I totally adore color pencil art..... I'm glad I stocked up heavy on my prismas a long time ago, although the only problem I've had with my handful of "new" ones has been more frequent breakage... coloring has been fine with them so far.... (I've never used any type of solvent though, so maybe that's where the blending issue that some of you have mentioned comes in, I don't know??)
I noticed that no one has addressed the question of coloring with water. There are 2 types of pencils, water soluble and non soluble pencils. Water soluble pencils as the label suggests melt when wet and can be used as watercolor paints. The non-soluble pencils are either wax or oil based and do not disolve in water, which is where the use of baby oil or odorless mineral spirits (OMS) comes into play. Either one can be used to melt the wax or oil in the regular pencils for blending and giving your work a smooth finish.
I just turned a book back into the library that is probably the best book I've read about coloring with pencils. I want, want, want this book now, it is called; "Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencils" by Kristy Ann Kutch. It is spit up into 3 sections: regular pencils, water color pencils and using both together. Lots of very consise easy to understand techniques and explaination.
If you are considering water color pencils, the preferred brand is Dewert but they are a bit pricey. You could try a cheaper brand but the experience/results will not be the same because they have less pigment/color and do not disolve in water as readily. They will give you a general idea of what it is like to use this type of pencil though.
There is a fairly recent thread where watercolor pencils are discussed. If I find it I'll come back and add a link.
I just turned a book back into the library that is probably the best book I've read about coloring with pencils. I want, want, want this book now, it is called; "Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencils" by Kristy Ann Kutch.
Thanks Stampin Stacy! I just put Kristy Ann's book on my Amazon want list!:-D
__________________ : : Frances : : Housework is for people without hobbies.
Thanks Stampin Stacy! I just put Kristy Ann's book on my Amazon want list!:grin:
I'm such an enabler lol, ;) I immediately went to the Half Price Books store by me to see if they had it but no go :. I'm thinking mother's day gift?!?! :mrgreen:
