Overall I am very happy with these. They work exactly as I'd heard and are very pleasant all around. A few limitations made me think 4.5/5 for a rating but I considered it worthy of rounding up.
Physically The box looks extremely pleasant but I'm sure it would dent easily. In this regard I think I'd have preferred the
Polychromos 36 Pencil Studio Set
simply because of the more compact and robust packaging. The pencils themselves are extremely pleasant. The entire barrel is coloured and reflects the colour of the core nicely. The core lays down the colour you'd expect meaning that you don't get any unpleasant surprises.
With respect to the colour selection I am happy to see familiar pigment names on the pencils which makes colour selection and matching between media helpful. One negative is that the "rainbow" colours are skewed toward the warm end of the spectrum. I think I'd have preferred a more uniformly distributed collection in that range, in particular the warmer colour range could have been reduced in favour of some other "non rainbow" tones. There are a few browns as well as two mid greys which make the selection suitable for monochrome/sepia drawing. The one lacking in my opinion, is in flesh tones.
In use the pencils are fairly hefty with a nice thick lead. The colour applies smoothly but the leads themselves feel very hard (i.e keep a point and are break resistant). The hardness of the lead means they can take an extremely sharp point and keep it well. They sharpen nicely in a regular sharpener or with a blade and can hold a variety of shapes should you with (chisel, short/long point or extended exposed lead).
The colours are almost all rated as "three star" light fastness which I believe is considered permanent/archival quality. As far as I understand the (very few) "two star" light fastness rated colours. When applied with the tip they give an extremely deep/dense colour and when applied with the edge of the lead coverage is quick while also showing paper texture through. The application has a smoothness that reminds me of a graphite pencil that I find very enjoyable. The colours also layer extremely well and can be mechanically or chemically (OMS or mineral oil in very small quantities) resulting in a very clean/pigmented finish.
Despite them being a coloured set I find myself enjoying how they feel on the paper and I've been using the black for initial sketching quite a bit. The contrast between the lightest/darkest tones is comparable to my harder charcoal with none of the dusty, scratchy application. They are quite comparable in feel the the "Pitt oil base" pencils but with a slightly harder/less waxy Additionally they sharp point they can take gives comparable capability for detail as a graphite pencil. In fact, if they sold a monochrome 12 set of grays and earth tones, I'd definitely purchase it.
Overall I am enjoying these pencils a lot. The easy layering/blending almost makes up for the lack of flesh tones and the easy of application makes them quite suitable for sketching. With the lack of a nice monochrome I might pick up a "walnut brown" just for sketching, or even make my own out of open stock. I feel like I'll be augmenting/replacing this set as it gets more use. Given the blending/layering I suspect even the set of 12 would be usable: get some and enjoy.
| Manufacturer | Faber-Castell |
|---|---|
| Brand | Faber-Castell |
| Item Weight | 5.9 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 3.94 x 0.31 x 7.17 inches |
| Item model number | F110012 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Multi |
| Pencil Lead Degree (Hardness) | H |
| Material Type | Metal |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Size | 1 Count (Pack of 1) |
| Point Type | Thick |
| Ink Color | assorted Colors |
| Manufacturer Part Number | F110012 |
