I love pencils. I don’t know how many times I have mentioned it; probably not enough! They are simple, handy tools that help fight stress and anxiety. They have an unfair fame of being children’s instruments, but luckily there are more and more artists everytime who create amazing illustrations that almost look like real photographs. Pencil colouring implies patience and layering skills, but it is also very satisfactory.
I still have to try many pencil brands (which I will do when I use the ones I currently have). The brands that I have tried so far are: Alpino, Arteza, Caran d’Ache, Castle Art, Conté, Derwent, Faber-Castell, Koh-I-Noor, Prismacolor, Staedtler and Stylex. From those, my favourite ones are:
Caran d’Ache
Faber-Castell
Koh-I-Noor
Prismacolor
Derwent
1) First, I have chosen Caran d’Ache because of the list of qualities it comprises. Particularly, Luminance pencils are solid and creamy and they blend very well. Pablo pencils are a cheaper line that is harder to work with but still produces very good blendings.
2) Faber-Castell is a great brand which I enjoy using. Polychromos are the favourite pencils of many, a solid series with oil-based yet creamy pencils, and with a high capacity of blending. The colour chart ascends to 120 colours, which enables endless combinations and the creation of new shades. The scholastic grade Goldfaber is also a very good line, and cheaper than Polychromos, but since it is wax-based it leaves more shiny traces on the paper. Albrecht Dürer pencils by Faber-Castell are the water soluble line and has vivid pigments that dissolve well in water. Pitt pencils are the pastel pencils line and their tones are bright and creamy.
Polychromos | Albrecht Dürer | Pitt | Goldfaber
3) Koh-I-Noor is a Czech brand founded almost 200 years ago which is well known in East European countries. This brand offers the most professional and innovative art supplies for the best price. I love all products that I have tried from this company, and when it comes to pencils I have tried practically everything: Magic, Progresso, Tri-tones, Gioconda, Polycolor, and so on. The Polycolor series is one of the most popular ones in the brand, they are creamy and highly pigmented pencils with wax-based leads and an oil bathe. The only downside is that from the 72 tones of the chart, some of them are very similar.
4) Prismacolor falls to the fourth position because of the fragile wood barrels. From this brand I have tried Premier and Verithin. Premier pencils are one of the most famous pencil series in the world, with really creamy colours, soft and easily blendable. However, they use up quickly and are fragile. It is not helpful either that the barrels are rounded and thin. While prices are more affordable these days, the quality has gone down to match the price, and this is the problem.
5) A prestigious and well known brand in the UK is Derwent. This veteran company has a wide range of coloured pencil lines. I have tried the Drawing, the Coloursoft and the Inktense lines. But Coloursoft is one of the most celebrated ones because of its creaminess and similarities to Prismacolor pencils. The downsides are that they spread some crumbs while colouring, they present certain troubles when being sharpened and they use up quickly. Other than this, these extra soft pencils are a joy to work with, easy to blend and with bright tones.
EXTRA
6) Staedtler: Ergosoft series doesn’t enter in the professional pencil category, but they are ideal for colouring books and for students and kids. These solid and unbreakable pencils have sturdy leads that transfer vivid pigments to the paper, and they are available in 36 tones. Ergosoft pencils are light, triangular (for a better gripping) and inexpensive. It is difficult to ask for more, and I thought it was a good idea to include a cheap line as an alternative for everyone.
Learning to draw 