Let’s talk pencils ✏️
Now this is likely to be a long one! 😮💨 Because lord knows, over the years I’ve tried and tested a lot of brands of pencils. So if you’re curious on my thoughts, and how/when I use each type of pencil, keep reading! I’m going to group each pencil by overall brand, then break it into the subcategories of pencil. I’m only going to be talking about pencils I’ve tried, so it’s 100% honest views.
What we’re going to cover: (in no particular order)
Price
Core
Lightfastness
What you can use them with
Range
Availability
Size
Overall feelings
Derwent
We’re starting with a big one! Derwent have a lot of different pencils to talk about.
Lightfast
Lightfastness - Excellent
These are pencils with a very high lightfastness rating, as the name suggests. This means that under museum conditions, they will last up to 100 years. On the pencil themselves, it says LF1 or LF2 at the end, which is a great way to reassure us as artists, that these pencils have hit the grade for lightfastness. If you’re looking at creating work to sell to a collector, using any pencils which don’t hit this grade will greatly devalue your work. It’s also a great way to reassure your clients (if you do commissions), that their investment is well protected for generations to come.
Core - Oil
Derwent lightfast pencils have an oil core, which is generally less popular, as it’s more expensive than the alternate, wax core. The oil core in Lightfast pencils is what gives them such a high lightfastness rating. The core is 4mm wide, which may seem irrelevant, but when you’re spending a lot on pencils, the slightly larger core (compared to others), may work out better in the long run. I personally haven’t had any issues with the core snapping, crumbling or breaking with these pencils; they’re pretty sturdy.
Price - High end
These pencils are probably my favourite, but they come with a high price tag. The full set of 100 straight from Derwent, will set you back £398.99. I personally buy them individually to save money, and only purchase what I need. From Derwent, they are £4 per pencil. (I don’t buy straight from Derwent, I buy from the Colour Pencil Shop, and am fortunate enough to also have a discount code too, but for the sake of being fair whilst comparing, I’ll do each pencil as if it’s from the supplier). They do have different discounts and sales throughout the year, and you can create your own tin for a slightly lower price.
Usage - Excellent and broad
I’ve yet to find a surface where these pencils don’t excel. They are smooth on any paper I’ve tried, and provide excellent coverage to even the toothiest of surfaces. The pigment is vivid and true to what is printed on the paper, and you don’t get a transparent, or watered down effect on the page, as some pencils offer.
Range - Medium
Due to the high standard of lightfastness with these pencils, the range isn’t huge, but it’s not small either. It sits at 100 pencils at the moment.
Overall thoughts - Really good pencils
They come with a hefty price tag, but they give you a lot for your money. Professional grade materials, with a good range, and the ability to work on a multitude of surfaces. It’s a yes from me!
Chromaflow
Another one of my favourites, these pencils are fab little gems, that are often overlooked.
Lightfastness - Dependant on shade
Just to confuse matters, Chromaflow pencils are measured on a different scale - the blue wool scale. It still measures the ability for the pencils to last 100 years + under museum conditions. Now with the Lightfast pencils, they’re all guaranteed to last 100+ years, but with Chromaflow, not every pencil has this guarantee. A good majority have an excellent rating, but if you’re doing commissioned work, or work to sell to collectors, it’s something to bare in mind.
Core - Wax
Chromaflow pencils have a wax based core, measuring 3.5mm, which makes them significantly lighter than the Lightfast pencils - this could be something to consider for artists with disabilities. Wax cores are more popular, as they’re normally a cheaper option for pencils. I’ve never had issues with breakage with the cores, and they’re a solid, sturdy pencil.
Price - Lower end
A tin of £150 will set you back £277.49 direct from Derwent, with individual pencils being £1.85. This is significantly cheaper than the Lightfast pencils, but they do offer a little less.
Usage - Mixed
I think the Chromaflows really shine with how they’re used. Their pigments are stunning, and they give great coverage, and blending power too. They work fantastically on most surfaces, but, they don’t work well on drafting film. They can leave a sticky feeling on the surface, which makes layering a little hard.
Range - Good
The Chromaflow range is 150 colours, which is on the larger side for pencils.
Thoughts?
Chromaflow pencils are great if you want big, bright and bold colours, and easy coverage - they’d be great if you’re just starting out in the colour pencil world. Their drawbacks come with the lightfastness rating, and how some of the range can’t be used in a professional capacity. Despite this, I still use what I can in my work, and appreciate their vivid pigments.
ProColour
Now with ProColour, I’m not going to do a full analysis like the previous two pencils, as I haven’t used them enough to feel I can offer a full insight. Why haven’t I used them? I find their pigment to be a little lacking. Getting those colours down has felt a little laborious compared to other options available.
Lightfastness wise, 40 out of the 72 in the range will last 100+ years in museum conditions, which is good, but like the Chromaflow, drops the, down slightly from the professional grade pencils.
The full 72 is £172.99 from Derwent or £2.39 per pencil. This price range, for me, makes me choose Chromaflow instead, as I feel they offer a lot more for the work I like to do, for a lower price point.
Caran D’Ache
Luminance
Luminance 6901 are Caran D’Ache’s main competitor to Derwent Lightfast pencils, so for most of this analysis, I will be comparing the two. Most professional artists, creating professional grade work, will normally use one of these two pencils.
Lightfastness - Excellent
81% of the Luminance range is LF1, the highest you can get, with the remaining 19% being LF2, which is still a very high rating, and meaning that work will last 100+ years under museum conditions. This matches Derwent Lightfasts lightfast assurance (say that five times fast!).
Core - Wax and oil
A usual mixing, and as far as I know, one of the only pencils that boasts such a mix. They have the creaminess of a wax core, with the ability to be sharpened to a perfect point of an oil pencil. The core is 3.8mm, so slightly smaller than the Derwent Lightfast core. In my experience, the core has always been strong and I haven’t experienced breakages.
Price - High end
The set of 100 will set you back £449.49 direct from Caran D’Ache, which includes 8 exclusive pencils that can only be bought from them. They don’t sell individual pencils direct, but they do do a smaller tin of 12 for £51.99. This puts their price point quite a bit higher than Derwent Lightfast pencils.
Usage - Excellent
I haven’t found a surface that these pencils don’t work with yet. They tackle smooth papers, and very toothy papers alike, and work really well on drafting film. They’re super versatile and a lovely pencil to work with.
Range - Medium
The range is 100 pencils, so exactly the same as Lightfast, but 8% of hard to get hold of due to them being exclusive to the largest tin, so I’d argue that the range is 92.
Overall thoughts
They’re a great pencil, and any professional would be happy to use them. They’re almost neck and neck with Derwent Lightfast, the only real difference is the colours that are available. I find the Luminance range has colours that are great for most skin tones, whereas the Lightfast range has colours that I find suit animals a little more. The only other thing I have to note about Luminance, is that I’ve had some quality issues with a couple of colours before - Cassel Earth in particular is a ‘bad’ one, with a gritty core that has inconsistent quality.
Honourable mentions
This is a little area to talk about pencils I don’t use super regularly, but I have thoughts and opinions on.
Prismacolor Premier
I won’t sugar coat it - I hate these pencils. I got a tin of 48 and it was the worst mistake of my life. Okay, that was dramatic, but you see my point?
They’re marketed as a soft core, which is very true, they are soft cored. But so soft cored it feels as if they’re melting the paper, creating a sticky mess. They are also the most brittle pencil I’ve ever used. Out of the 48 that arrived, about 20 were unusable. The core was snapped in about 30 places, so they were unsharpenable and unusable. I have nothing positive to say about them.
Faber Castell Polychromos
They’re a cheaper pencil in the range, and they’re okay when used in combination with other pencils. They sharpen nicely to a point, but have found they can be brittle sometimes and snap easily. I tend to only use these pencils in black, grey and white, as they’re great for adding small, final details. The pigments aren’t overly bright, and I find getting good coverage with them quite difficult, but they are good if you need detail work. They don’t work on drafting film, as it creates a translucent effect, and you get almost no coverage. They need a bit of tooth to be effective.
Caran D’Ache Pablo
The only Pablo I’ve ever used is black, and it’s one of my favourite blacks. It’s soft enough to get good coverage, but sharpens to a point when needed. It’s a hexagonal shape, which is a bit unusual, and worth noting for some sharpeners. I’ve never felt compelled to try the rest of the range, but maybe one day I will.
So that’s it…. I think 🤔 I know that’s a lot to process, but if you have any questions, let me know!
If you want to know my favourite pencil, that answer is totally dependant on what I’m up to, so here’s a brief summary.
Humans - Luminance and Lightfast
Animals - Lightfast and Chromaflow
Flowers - Chromaflow
Drafting Film - Luminance and lightfast
