HISTORY
Derwent is an English brand that was born in the 19th century, but launched its first pencil in 1938. A famous company in the UK, this prestigious brand originated in Cumbria, the place where is the valley where graphite was firstly discovered.
Derwent has an extensive variety of colour pencils series. If you want to know more about them, please visit the Articles section.
SPECIFICATIONS
Coloursofts are rounded, painted on a brown colour and made of Californian cedar wood. On the barrel can be read the brand name, the manufacturing country (England), the name of the series with the capital letter “C” and the number of the colour (for example: Black C650). The pencil top is covered, so we cannot see the lead. It ends on a shiny colour that matches the lead.
These pencils give off some scent, but it is not especially nice, and I guess it is related to the paint of the barrel. The leads are 3,4 mm and are wax-based. The pencils are highly pigmented, especially warm tones such as orange, although paler colours such as yellow don’t perform as well.
The degree of lightfastness is overall excellent: from the 72 colours, 45 reach the maximum degree (number 8), 7 reach number 7, 3 reach number 6, and the rest are mainly number 5. The lowest degrees are in the tones deep fuchsia (2), soft pink (3/4), pink (1/2), pink lavender (3/4) cloud blue (3), and pale mint (3/4).
PERFORMANCE
Coloursoft pencils are designed to be very blendable and to generously spread their pigment on the paper. They are really soft, just like the Prismacolor, and in fact these pencils were thought to rivalize with them. Working on layers is also an easy task with Coloursoft, and their colours are enhanced when using a blender or burnisher. Ocassionaly they can create some clots on the paper.
Coloursoft pencils are handy and ergonomic, they are light in weight and spread some crumbs when pressed against the paper if they are too sharpened. They don’t smudge and have a vibrant colour chart. Sharpening is a delicate task if careful is not applied, and it is important to use a suitable sharpener (possibly it is even better to use a blade). These pencils are so soft that the lead can break off. Pale blue in my set, for example, has repetitively been breaking off since the moment I started using it, to the point that I have wasted more than half of its size and I couldn’t use it much, which is irritating. The pencil never fell on the floor, so it is not a problem of a fragmented lead. I keep all the points in a box to see if I can use them some time. The colour is so bright that it would be a pity to throw them away! I have other Derwent lines, but I did not have the same problem, so I am guessing I was just unlucky with that particular pencil. The good thing is that I can always replace the pencils because they are sold individually.
SETS AND PACKAGING
Coloursoft pencils come in tin boxes without hinges of 12, 24, 26 and 72 units, and there are also wooden boxes with 48 and 72. Blisters with 6 units are also available. The pencils come assorted by colour and pre-sharpened. While beautiful, the tins aren’t strong enough as to protect the pencils in case of an impact, so careful is advised when transporting them.
COLOUR CHART AND DEMO
This is the colour chart for my 12 pencils set:
White C720 / Dark cadmium C040 / Bright orange C080 / Red C120 / Dark fuchsia C140 / Lime green C460 / Green C420 / Blue C330 / Indigo C300 / Dark terracotta C610 / Dark brown C520 / Black C650
Here is an illustration I made using the Coloursofts:
WHERE TO BUY
These pencils can be bought in Amazon UK. A set of 24 costs around 30 pounds.
They can also be purchased individually.
Coloursoft pencils in Amazon UK
CONCLUSION
The Coloursoft line features soft and bright pencils, but they are fragile and, after having tried other brands such as Faber-Castell or Prismacolor, I don’t find anything particularly convincing as to move to them. They are another good option within the multiple professional options in the colouring market.
PROS, CONS AND RATING
The best: the colours are bright and easy to blend on their own.
The worst: they are fragile and careful has to be applied when sharpen. They can also create some clots and some pale tones need more layers to spread all the pigment.
Rating: 8/10
MORE INFORMATION
Learning to draw 