Koh-I-noor is an art supplies brand from Czech Republic that was established in 1790. Its products are well known in terms of quality and price. They have a wide variety of colour pencils. The main series are Polycolor (dry pencils), Mondeluz (watercolour pencils) and Gioconda (pastel). In this entry I am going to talk about the different colour pencils sets in the Polycolor family.
PORTRAIT
The Portrait line gathers skin tones and it is indicated to draw portraits. It includes 24 pencils with pink, salmon, orange and brownish tones, and it also includes some green and blue pencils to colour the eyes. The only missing tone is black.
Portrait pencils belong to the Polycolor series and therefore they have the same characteristics. However, some of the portrait pencils are not included in the biggest Polycolor set (which comprises 72 colours). The portrait set costs around 20 pounds and it has a watercolour version.
For an extensive article on the portrait set, please visit the Reviews section.
LANDSCAPE
The Landscape set is a beautiful collection of greens, blues and browns, thought to draw landscapes and flower details. It includes 24 tones and, just like in the Portrait case, the pencils belong to the Polycolor line, although not all the colours in this set are included in the biggest Polycolor set. The landscape set costs around 20 pounds and it is also available in watercolour version.
BROWN LINE
The Brown line comprises 12 pencils and collects a beautiful selection of brown and yellow tones created to draw hair, trees and autumn landscapes, among other things. Some of the colours in this set are not available in the biggest Polycolor set. The Brown set costs over 10 pounds and it also has a water soluble alternative.
GREY LINE
The Grey line has 12 pencils and gathers a selection of cold greys that go from practically white to black. The grey shades are good for snowy landscapes, winter illustrations and also for drawing animal fur. This set costs around 10 pounds, and it also has a watercolour versión.
All these sets are presented in tin boxes without hinges and hexagonal cedar wood pencils of 3,8 mm leads. These pencils have a creamy texture but they don’t use up quickly. They can be blended, but ocassionally spread some crumbs on the paper, especially after being sharpened.
For an extensive review on the Grey line, visit the Reviews section.
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