MAKING A MARK Coloured Pencils - Brands and Manufacturers

AN INDEX OF REPUTABLE COLOURED PENCILS AND PRODUCT REVIEWS

Scroll down this page to review an alphabetical index of reputable brands of coloured pencils suitable for artists.

Not all brands are available in every country and even leading art stores often only stock one brand.

Click link to view information from manufacturers and comments by me about the brands I've personally tried:
Caran d'Ache (Switzerland); Derwent (UK); Faber Castell (Germany);
Lyra (Germany); Sanford (USA), Royal Talens (Netherlands)

RETURN TO: Resources for Coloured Pencil Artists

August 2008: Which is your favourite make of artist grade coloured pencil?

April 2009: Which is your favourite make of artist grade coloured pencil?

November 2009:
November 2009: Opinion Poll: Which is your favourite make of artist grade coloured pencil?The chart on the left relates to a poll which ran up until the end of 2009. and reflects preferences as at November 2009

What the poll indicates (718 responses as at November 2009)

The poll indicates that the market for coloured pencils is an oligopoly. Some might call it a duopoly. Two firms, two brands and two pencils alone account for very nearly 60% of the market - in terms of brand preference.
Faber Castell Polychromos and Sanford Prismacolor continue to fight it out for top spot of most popular brand of coloured pencil with each having just under 30% of the responses. I review the poll on a regular basis and the positions do change on a regular basis and they are almost always with 1% of one another.
Derwent has about 20% of the responses with Derwent Artists (c. 10%) and Derwent Coloursoft (c. 10%). This mimics the fight for the top spot as the two pencils resemble Polychromos and Prismacolor respectively in terms of the way they work
Caran d'Ache Pablo share 3rd place with Derwent Coloursoft with just over 10%. What's missing is artists who prefer the new Luminance pencil - this addressed by the new poll in 2010 - see right.
Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor have dropped back in terms of popularity to 6th place and just over 7% of responses. I suspect this may well be to do with distribution as the pencils work well with Polychromos and most shades do pretty well on the lightfastness tests. It's a brand which certainly will always find a home in my pencil tub.
Talens Van Gogh pencils continue to attracted few votes despite being predominatly lightfast and an excellent pencil to use. Again I think the issue relates to availability.

Two new coloured pencil opinion polls for 2010
Click the links below to view the options and vote:

2010 POLL: Which is your favourite make of artist grade coloured pencil?

2010 POLL: What's your favourite watercolour pencil?

Manufacturer / Brand / Manufacurers' Product descriptions (click the hyperlink to go to the manufacturer's website)	Independent Review
Caran d'Ache Caran d'Ache - artist pencils A swiss company producing superior quality artist pencils.
CARAN d'ACHE - Luminance 6901 New smooth and permanent lead for artists and creative professionals. Lightfastness in compliance with the highest international standard: ASTM D-6901. Wide range of colours developed with a large variety of highly concentrated pigments.	They're very good coloured pencils - they're pigment rich and sharpen well, but they cost a lot more than other pencil. I've not yet seen a lot of evidence of the new Luminance lightfast range in art shops. They may well become more popular in time although current pricing suggests this might take some time.
CARAN d'ACHE - Pablo "Pablo" is the brand name of the artist quality pencils . Dry and permanent lead resistant to any powder formation. Excellent luminance / opaqueness ratio. Wide range of colours	What I like about the Pablo range is it includes a lot of colours which other brands don't have - for example, their range of colours involving olive is awesome!
CARAN d'ACHE - Museum Set of watercolour leads instantly water-soluble. Very high pigment concentration with 6 monopigmentary tints
CARAN d'ACHE Supracolor Soft and water-soluble lead. Excellent luminance / opaqueness ratio. Wide range of colours	I find these harder than Pablos when used dry and they don't 'let go' of pigment quite so easily meaning it takes a lot more layers to achieve the same effect - unless you use them as they should be used - with water!
CARAN d'ACHE - Prismalo The first water-soluble colour pencil since 1931. Thin lead allowing a clear and precise trace. High pigment concentration
Derwent Derwent Derwent are a major UK pencil company based in Cumberland. They produce a range of pencils for artistic and graphic purposes.	back to top
Derwent Artists (WAX) The first colour pencil Derwent ever developed, and still one of the most popular on the market. Artists has a traditional, round wooden barrel and a large diameter, break-resistant colour strip. Artists’ slightly waxy texture is ideal for multiple layering and blending to produce an infinite spectrum of subtly different hues and tints. Available in a range of 120 colours. Colour chart and lightfastness rating (by Derwent)	This is a long established brand which I have grown to like a lot. Fantastic layering abilities. Favoured by botanical artists such as Susan Christopher Coulson. Lightfastness is a weakness for some colours READ Making A Mark Ashness Bridge - my drawing for the new Derwent Catalogue
Derwent Coloursoft (WAX) This is Derwent's softest pencil which is perfect for mixing and blending. Despite its soft texture, Coloursoft sharpens to a fine point. Available in a range of 72 colours. Colour chart and lightfastness ratings Colpour chart and lightfastness ratings (page 2)	Coloursoft is the brand which Derwent positioned to replace the very popular Karisma pencil. Derwent have certainly achieved the degree of softness which a lot of coloured pencil artists like. READ Making a Mark: Derwent Coloursoft Pencils - a new brand Derwent Coloursoft Update (May 2006) - includes a link to the Derwent colour charts for all 72 colours
Derwent Drawing Derwent Drawing Pencils are very soft and creamy. The colour strip is extra wide and needs the Derwent Sharpener. Produced in 24 subtle shades, including a wide selection of traditional sepia tones together with soft neutral greys, greens, blues and creams.	READ Making A Mark - Derwent Drawing Pencils and 'Drawing a Head' (May 2007) - Review of Derwent Drawing Pencils - in relation to portraiture. Colour chart and lightfastness information
Faber Castell Faber Castell - Art and Graphic Range (OIL based) FABER-CASTELL sets high manufacturing standards for artists' colours. Top priority is given to the use of high-quality materials, including light-fast pigments. The tough leads are the result of our Secural bonding.
Faber Castell Polychromos POLYCHROMOS artists' colour pencils have particularly soft waterproof wax leads. They are pigment rich and produce a smooth effect which is resistance to smudging. The leads are not brittle, and can be sharpened to a very fine point very easily. The colour chart for the Faber Castell polychromos range lists all colours plus numbers against a block of colour which is - at least on my screen - very accurate as to the colour in reality COLOUR CHART	These pencils are the most popular pencil made in Europe. They are frequently the pencils of choice for artists involved in producing fine and detailed work.
ALBRECHT DÜRER watercolour pencils are high-quality artists' colour pencils for drawing and colouring which can be used to produce watercolour effects. The 120 colours can be blended to form an unlimited number of new hues, either in sharp contrast to each other or merging imperceptibly. COLOUR CHART
Lyra Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Lyra Rembrandt is top quality artist’s pencil for artists, graphic artists, designers and architects etc. There is a choice of 78 colours which are pigment rich, very smooth and water resistant. Colour can be applied to paper, synthetic materials, wood and textiles.	This is pencil works well with the Polychromos. It's a brand which always finds a home in my pencil tubs and it also does pretty well on the lightfastness tests. READ Making A Mark - Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Pencils (March 2007) - includes my colour chart
Lyra Rembrandt Aquarell colour pencils offer 72 distinctive shades for the artist who requires pencils of a very high standard. The finest pigments in the coloured leads (4mm diameter) can be dissolved almost completely with water.	Not easy to find.
Sanford Sanford Prismacolor Details of the Prismacolor range of pencils - including the new lightfast pencils. (Karismacolor - the European version - has been discontinued)	The main problem I have with Prismacolor Pencils is the way they break. The rate of breakages far exceeds that found in any other brand of coloured pencils - using exactly the same pencil sharpeners. I sometimes find myself sharpening most of a pencil away simply because of the breakages. READ Making a Mark: Janet Couture's Prismacolor Colour Wheel - Janet Couture has created a colour wheel for her Prismacolor pencils and describes how she did this VIEW: Gary Green video demonstrating Prismacolor products
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils Artists' quality colored pencils for every level of expertise. High quality pigments for a rich color saturation. Soft, thick cores create a smooth color laydown for superior blending and shading Available in 132 brilliant colors sold individually or in sets of 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 120 & 132 Now listed as Prismacolor - Premier Soft Core	READ Making A Mark - Prismacolor - new colours for 2006 but no change in the breakages (August 2006) - includes my colour chart Unclear which lightfast colours have been included in this brand
Prismacolor - Premier Verithin® Hard, thin cores can be sharpened to a fine point. Ideal for outlining, detailing, lettering and cleaning up edges. Available in 40 brilliant colors that match Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil, Prismacolor Art Stix and Prismacolor Watercolor Colored Pencil palettes. Sold individually or in sets of 12, 24, & 36
Prismacolor - Col-Erase® Strong medium-point colored pencil leads that erase effortlessly. Available in 24 brilliant colors sold individually or in sets of 12 & 24
Premier Art Stix® - the same as the core of Prismacolor pencils. Available in 48 brilliant colors sold individually* or in sets of 12, 24, 36 & 48 (*Only 24 colors are available individually)
Royal Talens Royal Talens: Van Gogh Lightfast pencils (Choose country/products/pencils from the menu) This is one of only two brands tested during the initial research into a lightfastness standard. They also do very well in the CPSA lightfastness tests. Royal Talens states: "These pencils are unique due to their guaranteed lightfastness. Royal Talens has combined its expertise in the use of pigments in artists' paints with the specific properties of pencils. The result is a complete range of fine art pencils with an excellent colour transfer and colour intensity."	These are excellent pencils with the bonus of also being lighfast. Their apparent unpopularity is likely to be due to the availability of this brand in open stock - it's not easy to find. Better distribution would help to boost market share. READ Making a Mark: Royal Talens Van Gogh Coloured Pencils Read my review of Van Gogh coloured pencils and find out why I recommend them. They're also particularly useful for sketching.
DISCONTINUED BRANDS OF COLOURED PENCILS	back to top
Berol Karisma - Discontinued 2005	This brand was the European equivalent of Prismacolor but was discontinued in 2004 as the marketplace changed due to the switch to digital illustration. Karismacolor are no more. They are deceased. They have passed over to the great sharpener in the sky. They have fallen out of their box. They have been permanently erased - they are GONE. Bob Ebdon
Derwent Signature - Discontinued Decmeber 2007	This is one of the two brands tested during the initial research into a lightfastness standard.
Prismacolor Premier Lightfast Colored Pencils Complies with ASTM D 6901 for lightfastness; Highest ASTM approved lightfast ratings (I or II) . Available in 48 brilliant colors sold individually or in a set of 12, 24 & 48	READ Making A Mark - Prismacolour Premier Lightfast Colored Pencils (October 2006) - lists the 48 new colours by name and number 2010: No longer listed by brand name - unclear how these have been incorporated into main product line as no information about lightfastness provided on the website
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