HISTORY
Koh-I-Noor is a Czech Brand that was established in 1790 by Josef Hardmuth. It is particularly well known in countries like Poland, but less popular perhaps in West Europe because of brands such as Faber-Castell or Staedtler. Koh-I-Noor is one of the biggest producers of art supplies in the world, and it is famous for being innovative and for launching quality products for a reasonable price.
Koh-I-Noor comprises a big variety of colouring tools such as watercolours, pencils or markers. In this entry I am going to speak about the watercolour crayons, which are called Wax Aquarell.
SPECIFICATIONS
Wax Aquarelle is a line of rounded chunky (but not heavy) pencils of 336 mm. They are solid and give off a nice woody scent. The barrels are painted on silver colour and end on a closed base, the tip painted on a colour that matches the lead. On one side of the barrel we find the words “Wax Aquarell Koh-I-Noor” and on the other, a serial number that is presumably the colour number, plus some stars from * to *****, which stand up for the lightfastness degree. They also include the picture of a brush, which means they have watercolour properties. These pencils are handy, although slightly thick to say they are “comfortable”.
In the official 2018-2019 catalogue we find that 9 of the 48 colours available have 5 stars, 4 have 4 stars, 12 have 3 stars, 22 have 2 stars and 1 colour has 1 star, which means that half of the colour chart has a light resistance from excellent to medium.
PERFORMANCE
The lead, which seems a mixture between soft crayon and pencil, is made of wax, but this is softer than normal, therefore it smudges, and can also offer problems when it comes to sharpening, due to its softness and the thickness of the barrel. I think the best way is to use a blade or craftknife, because even if we have a big sharperner, the inner blade will become sticky and stained with the wax. It is also a good idea to keep these crayons away from the heat, as they can melt.
Wax Aquarelle crayons have vivid colours and they are beautiful both used dry or with water. If used dry, their appearance is the one of a wax crayon, but if water is applied, they look like normal watercolours: both results are bright and beautiful.
Wax Aquarelle is a versatile pencil that can offer from fine traces like the ones made with a pencil to thicker ones, just like an ordinary crayon. If not too much pressure is applied, the colour looks somehow like the one made by a colour pencil, but if pressure is applied we will find a bright, waxy crayon effect, and very vivid watercolour effect when water is applied.
Wax Aquarelle crayons can be blended and don’t produce clots.
SETS AND PACKAGING
I bought the set of 12 crayons that came in a carton package, which is obviously not the best one to store them. The sets come in carton packages or tins of 12 or 24 colours, although the total palette contains 48 tones. The tin of 24 crayons includes a brush, a pencil and a special sharpener, wich is quite convenient.
The colours are arranged by number, not by name. However, if we go to the official 2018-2019 catalogue, we find the opposite case: the crayons appear arranged by name, which means I cannot offer here the name of the colours in my set, because I would have to find those 12 colours from the 48 tons offered in the catalogue.
COLOUR CHART AND DEMO
This is the chart for the 12 crayons set:
3 / 5 / 170 / 7 / 25 / 26 / 19 / 18 / 13 / 30 / 32 / 36
Yellow / Orange / Red / Dark red / Blue / Dark blue / Purple / Light green / Dark green / Light brown / Dark brown / Black
As mentioned above, the colours are assorted by number, not by name. The names that I gave in the picture are just orientative suggestions.
And here are the same colours once that water has been applied:
Here is an illustration produced with Wax Aquarelle:
WHERE TO BUY
These crayons can be bought both in the official site and in Amazon, although these sets are not so easy to find online as Polycolor pencils. In addition, their price mysteriously shifts from 7 to 40 pounds, as I had the chance to observe for a complete year. Wax Aquarelle crayons can also be purchased individually (approximately 3 pounds per crayon).
Wax Aquarelle crayons in Amazon UK
CONCLUSION
These versatile crayons seem to be a good acquisition for those who love crayons and watercolours. I think their bright tones cannot disappoint anyone.
PROS, CONS AND RATING
Pros: The colours are vivid and saturated. You have a crayon and a watercolour all in the same pencil.
Cons: they are not always easy to find, and it is difficult to find a cheap deal.
Rating: 9/10
MORE INFORMATION
Learning to draw 