The pick of them - Which coloured pencils to buy.

There are so many different types of coloured pencils on the market, how do you know which ones are right for you?

I have already done a post discussing the different paper types, this is important as this will have an impact on how coloured pencils behave, for example a cold pressed paper has much more tooth and therefore gives you the option of working your lights over your darks, drafting film, Bristol board and hot press don't allow you to work this way.

My previous post explaining what lightfast is also be something to consider when purchasing coloured pencils, after all you want your art to last especially if you plan on selling your work.

The next factor I would consider is the binder of the coloured pencils, the pigment in them is bound with wax and oil, how much of each determines the behaviour of the coloured pencil. Pablo and luminance coloured pencils have a high wax content they are buttery smooth and blend well, but because wax is smooth they will break easily if sharpened to a fine point. The coloured pencils that hold the sharpest point are the polychromos they have a high oil content so they don't blend as well with mineral spirit, they aren't as smooth but you can get some amazing details. Just to cause confusion because why make life simple! Derwent light fast have a higher oil content than the pablo and luminance but behave more like a pencil with a higher wax content than an oil one.

So the top players in our coloured pencil Quest are:-

Pablo

Polychromos

Luminance

Prismacolor

The only one of these I don't recommend would be prismacolor, I started with these and whilst I loved them at the time I didn't realise that very few were lightfast, they break an awful lot (it seems you simply look at the pencil and the point snaps off), they also had a wax bloom (a weird opaque white that makes your art look foggy after time) they sold a fixative to combat this which was actually a really good fixative but you can no longer buy it, This could indicate they resolved the wax bloom, but as I don't use them any more I couldn't say for sure.

So how to pick which ones are best for you, that part is actually fairly easy, they sell them loose online (Jacksons art for example) depending on the type of art you plan on producing will give you an indication of the colours you would use regularly. With pet portraits I use mostly brown, grey, pink, orange, black, white, yellow and green, so pick a good selection of the colours you would use the most, of each type. This way you can trial them experiment with layering them on top of each other, see how well they blend, how transparent certain brands are, ultimately you will probably find you prefer a selection of each as opposed to using just one type.

Coloured pencils are expensive and whilst buying a shiny new set in a lovely box brings joy to your artistic dopamine it can break you wallet!

Have a great week and don't forget to let you creativity run wild! (Just remember your office chair is not a car or a spinning tea cup).

Vicky x