These are one of my favorite colored pencils (tied with Holbein) 🥰. Excellent quality, a true soft core and dreamy colors.
Holbein and Derwent Drawing are my favorites out of all the pencils I’ve tried because they have the least “dry” and least scratchy sensation when using. As a highly sensitive person in all the sensory ways, I’ve always hated colored pencils because of the scratchy noise and feeling, as well as the crayon-esque coverage/texture. I’ve been excited to find that some brands don’t have this issue, which has awakened a new mixed media lane for me ☺️
Here’s my breakdown of all the pencils I’ve tried:
Holbein — high-end feel, a softer pencil (though not so soft you can’t apply pressure easily or control details), lays down smoothly with no scratchy sound or feeling, oily rather than dry feeling, really covers solidly with ease, shows up beautifully over watercolor & gouache. Lovely and wide color selection.
Derwent Drawing — the softest pencil out there I’ve tried so far. The softness does make it a bit harder to control details unless you have a very sharp point. Also the thickest pencil I’ve tried with the biggest diameter color core — very pretty design & comfortable to hold. Really smooth and easy lay down, oily feeling rather than dry, dense pigment that shows up easily over watercolor & gouache. Very limited color palette but I personally ADORE all these particular colors for landscapes, botanicals & portraits.
Prismacolor — a small step up in quality compared to Brutfuner, with most of the colors less dry feeing. Pigment load is much better though — on par with Holbein & shows up over watercolor & gouache. HUGE color selection and great price point, though not the most classy looking pencil out there — compared to the more expensive competition, these seem somewhat childish looking (to me, anyway). They are the narrowest pencil I’ve tried and not the most comfortable to hold but the color core diameter is equal to Holbein.
Brutfuner Macaron Pastel set of 50 — a deliberate dupe of the Holbein set of pastels — very similar to Holbein & Prismacolor, though a bit more dry feeling, smaller color core diameter and less pigment load. Gorgeous colors that have dense pigment on white paper but don’t show up very well over black paper or watercolor/ gouache. A great set for the price.
Faber Castell Polychromos — similar quality to Holbein, equal feeling when laying down to Brutfuner (more dry leaning but smooth and not scratchy), good pigment load & shows up well over watercolor and gouache.
Luminance — a high-end feel soft pencil but definitely more “dry” almost chalky feeling when laying down. Shows up well over watercolor & gouache. A bit wider barrel than Holbein (about equal to Derwent Drawing) with an equal color core size. Lovely muted color selection but not the widest color palette available.
| Manufacturer | ACCO |
|---|---|
| Brand | Derwent |
| Item Weight | 15.2 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 9.3 x 0.55 x 7.8 inches |
| Item model number | 0700672 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Color | Red |
| Material Type | Tin, Metal |
| Number of Items | 24 |
| Size | 1 Count (Pack of 24) |
| Point Type | Medium |
| Ink Color | Black,Blue,Grey,White |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 0700672 |
