Faber-Castell Polychromos Artists Color Pencils - Tin of 120 Colors - Premium Quality Artist Pencils

Well, I wont reinvent the wheel here. I can only echo every serious artist and colorist who have tried these and absolutely fell in love with them. Ever since I began adult coloring a year ago I have wanted this set! In the meantime I have bought other serious sets -- Prismacolor, Marco Renoir, etc. -- in hopes they would appease me, because I simply could not afford to purchase the 120 set. There was no need in teasing myself either with other smaller sets -- it was either the 120 or nothing! Well, my boat came in today and I am over the moon! They are worth every flipping penny I spent and then some! The quality is unmatched and the color pigments are to die for! I have seven other quality colored pencil sets and they dont hold a candle to the Polychromos! Now I know the hype is real! These are the truth when it comes to coloring! Quit messing around and get these for yourself -- come inside, its cold out there!

I purchased this set about a month ago and have been really pleased. I use them for adult coloring books. I do a lot of coloring and the rich colors and smooth lay down are amazing. These are outstanding artist-quality pencils. But Im not an artist, so dont trust me - instead, watch this great YouTube video from Lachri reviewing Polychromos pencils versus Prismacolors: [...]. Its 12 minutes long, but really worthwhile to watch - not only is Lisa reviewing the pencils, but you also get to speed-watch her creating side-by-side versions of artwork using each brand. I figure you might as well spend some time learning about these before laying down your money. After all, youre probably planning on spending a lot of quality time with these. Lisa convinced me before I bought the pencils that I would be really happy with them. And I am! Pros: Amazingly rich colors Leads dont break Sharpen to fine point Blend and layer beautifully Tin is sturdy and snaps closed securely Good color selection I have been able to blend colors really easily, so this set has waaay more colors than 36. I like the traditional artists color names, printed on the pencils. Total of 120 Polychromos colors are available. Cons: I could say expense, but you get what you pay for! Actually surprised by reasonable price now that I know their quality. Obviously a set of 36 pencils is a little less convenient for carrying around! Case protects them, though. Colors will smudge slightly if your hand rubs over artwork very much. In spite of good color selection, 36 pencil set does not have something like sky blue. Some colors in the tin are almost exactly the same, or extremely close, to my eye. There are no lighter flesh colors, just browns and soft, dull reds. Solutions: To prevent smudging, put a piece of tracing or copy paper under your hand as needed. But usually smudging is not a problem. A plastic artists eraser, such as Staedtler Mars, usually removes smudging or stray marks. I ordered a couple of flesh tones from Dick Blick. (DBs prices arent bad, just no free Prime shipping!) I put away a couple of almost redundant colors and store my new flesh tones in the tin. Again, Im really enjoying these and hope you will too. Cheers.

I have tried a lot of pencils, but these are my favorites. They dont pop as much as some of the more pigmented pencils out there, but they lay down the best layers and blends of any of the top brands. They also work so well with many of the other top brands. I tried all the major brands in small doses and this was the only brand that I purchased in a full set of colors. Well, this set and the Blick Studio set, which are limited in colors (91 total) but are great pencils for the price.

I cant decide which I like better, the Prismacolor premiers or the Faber Castell Polychromos, as they are both amazing. The Faber Castell polychromos are oil based and therefore the core is strong and less prone to breaking. You can get a very fine point on them, and rarely have breakage when sharpening. For all over color they cant be beat. They give great coverage with little white showing through with very little pressure. The pigmentation is amazing, and while you cant pull the colors into one another like you can with wax based pencils, these can layer for days with no problem. You also cant get wax bloom with them. The 120 count pencil set has more than enough shades and colors, allowing you to create any color you can imagine. The quality controlers are on point as Ive never seen a single pencil off centered, broken, warped or chipped. They are truly beautiful just to look at. I use blending stumps, prismas colorless blender, and solvents, all of which work great with the Polychromos for blending. You really cant go wrong with these and you will fall in love the moment you try them!

I had been using LYRA Rembrandt pencils previously. The 600 series of those pencils are extraordinary and are a wonderful product. However, recently they have discontinued this line and thus I was forced to find a replacement product. After an exhaustive search, I decided to try the Faber-Castell POLYCHROMOS pencils. These are also oil based colored pencils and are absolutely as excellent as the former LYRA Rembrandt 600 series product. They draw smoothly and give a truly fabulous rendering with a perfect sheen as would be expected from an oil based pencil product. They are easy to sharpen, hold a sharp edge and truly give everything an artist or draftsman would be looking for in a fine artist grade colored pencil set. The color assortment in this 36 color set is a wonderful selection of the entire line and should be sufficient for everything except the most demanding color usage. In addition, the pencils allow the artist to blend 2 or more colors to get a different color which allows the artist to get precisely the color they need, even if it is not one of those in the set. I highly recommend this set and would put them up against any other oil based Artist Color Pencil set on the market anywhere. I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed in the quality of the renderings that are possible with these pencils. Any artist I believe will be more than satisfied with the results they get from this line of oil based colored pencils. Do not be hesitant to give them a try.

They dont break when you sharpen to a fine point. They have no crumbs. And they work brilliantly. Love mine.

Faber Castell what more should I say

Using these pencils have taken my art to the next level. still have a set of prisma colors and I still love my Staedtler Noris eco-pencils ... honestly I havent used the last two in a couple of months although they are good for layering with my FC Polychromos- I dont know where one goes from here? Just use and replace use and replace using replace and create create create! Go with the German made pencils make sure that what you buy is actually made in Germany or Holland or Czech- beware the fakes and the Indonesian market – thats all I have to say about this – I even drive a Volkswagen so…

Our teacher recommended it. Seems a bit expensive. But totally worth it. Beautiful color. Very smooth and blends well. It makes me love my drawing even more.

I really love these pencils. They are my very favorite brand of wax based colored pencils and work very well together with the harder oil based Pablo pencils, and the Museum Aquarelles, also made by Caran dAche. The name luminance aptly describes these pencils, as anything colored with them seem to look illuminated from within, rather than leaving a flattened out look that harder tipped pencils can sometimes leave. I like to use my Luminance for most of my color blocking, and then the Pablos to finish filling in the tooth of the paper in selective areas, then a final burnish with their blender pencil. They also allow you to create a really beautiful, natural look by using the Aquarelles for your first few layers (which provide a very lovely soft matte finish), then laying down the final layers of color with the Luminance, which is a particularly beautiful combination. The box is so beautifully designed to protect each pencil, it is such a pleasure to hold them in your hands and color with them. Each color has its own recipe for the binder to insure that every pencil has the same hardness, the company never uses cheap fillers, the pigments are sourced exclusively from Germany and Switzerland, and they are particular known for their range of neutral colors (perfect for portraits, landscapes etc.)