HISTORY
Arteza is a relatively new art company that specializes in all sort of supplies including pencils, markers and watercolours. It gained popularity lately partly thanks to Amazon campaigns and partly because of their affordable prices and quality products.
I am always interested in trying art supplies from new and affordable brands, so I decided I would give it a try and bought the 48 coloured pencils set, which also have a watercolour version.
SPECIFICATIONS
Unfortunately, we don’t know many specifications about Arteza pencils, as the official site doesn’t give many details. These wax-based pencils are rounded, handy, they give off a nice scent, but I could not find the wood source they are made of. The base of the pencil is closed, so we cannot see the lead. Anyway, the leads seem resistant and designed to prevent breakages.
The barrels are shiny and sturdy, and they are painted on a colour that matches the lead. On one side of the barrel it says “Arteza Expert” and on the other appears the number and the name of the colour and the lightfast degree, which this time is represented with crosses and not stars. In my set of 48 pencils, 40 of them present the maximum lightfast degree (+++), which is a fair average.
Arteza pencils have the ASTM certificate, which means they have been tested and approved according to the American quality standards and they are safe for both children and adults.
These pencils are made in China.
PERFORMANCE
Arteza pencils can be sharpened to a fine point without problems. They are creamy, easily blendable and they don’t smudge, covering well the paper.
It is not the first time that I read in a set of pencils from this brand there is a pencil missing while another one was duplicated. My case has been similar, as I have two indigo tones and I am missing the black pencil. Luckily I don’t use the black pencil much.
For this picture I used two different pinks to check the blendability. The first sample shows the two colours alone, the second one has been blended with Derwent pencil blender and the third one with Derwent blender marker:
SETS AND PACKAGING
Arteza pencils are commercialized in tin boxes of 48 and 72 pencils (the set of 48 pencils can also be purchased in a carton cylinder that is cheaper than the tin). These tins are beautiful and useful, they have hinges on the upper side, which does not allow us to save space on the table. The back side of the tin presents a sample of all the colours included and their names, which is something to thank for. The pencils rest on plastic trays that will not protect them in case of an impact, and the tin can be dented, so careful is advised. My 48 pencils set is arranged in 2 trays that can be separated by means of 2 notchs on each side of the trays.
The pencils are ordered in a strange way: although they are arranged by colours, not all the tones of the same colour come in the first tray; some appear in the second one. The pencils also come pre-sharpened, but to a flat point, which kind of forces to sharpen them again before usage.
COLOUR CHART AND DEMO
Arteza colour palette is bright and joyful, especially the pinks and the greens.
Here is the colour chart for the 48 pencils set:
A075 Ivory / A077 Tumeric / A004 Lemon / A052 Pumpkin / A064 Yellow ochre / A016 Sunflower / A110 Camel / A003 Orange / A073 Blood orange / A001 Rose red / A049 Carmine red / A078 Crimson / A025 Magenta / A081 Plum / A086 Eggplant / A026 Peony / A083 Pink macaroon / A022 Peaches & Cream / A034 Apricot / A062 Lilac / A109 Lavender / A088 Amethyst / A070 Blueberry / A032 Ultramarine / A008 Peacock blue / A068 Periwinkle / A106 Aegean blue / A007 Indigo / A017 Turquoise / A089 Ocean blue / A101 Lime / A100 Pear / A042 Spring green / A006 Matcha / A030 Mint / A094 Emerald / A029 Moss / A041 Forest green / A111 Coyote / A113 Burnt ochre / A072 Garnet / A118 Dark chocolate / A036 Cocoa / A012 Noir / A024 White quartz / A035 Elephant grey / A047 Space grey
Here is a couple of drawings that I completed using the Arteza pencils. The first one was blended using the Derwent blender pen (marker):
WHERE TO BUY
These pencils can be both bought in the official site (free shipping and they offer discounts from time to time) or in Amazon. The set of 48 pencils is around 17 pounds and the 72 pencils set is around 30 pounds, which is a fantastic price in my opinion. These prices are more or less the same for both Amazon and Arteza sites so, for once, I think it is actually more clever to purchase them from the official site, because, like I said, the Arteza site offers free shipping (only for USA and the UK).
These pencils cannot be purchased individually, which is surprising if you consider they have taken so many considerations to establish a lightfast degree and a colour chart. Being such an inexpensive and good quality pencils, I am sure many artists would be glad to know they can buy them individually.
Arteza pencils in Amazon UK | Arteza pencils in the official site
CONCLUSION
Arteza site classify these pencils in the professional grade and, to be honest, the result is quite satisfactory. I think these sets make an excellent gift for any colour pencil lover, for colourists in general and for professional artists on a budget. I miss more blue tones in the 48 pencils set though.
PROS, CONS AND RATING
The best: the quality and price and the bright colour chart.
The worst: they cannot be purchased individually, and there are not enough blue tones in the 48 pencils tin.
Rating: 8/10
MORE INFORMATION
Learning to draw 