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

I am using these pencils for coloring books. They are fun to use, and the color selection is great.

My first trial with these pencils was a portrait of my granddaughter. The pencils are incredible for blending and achieving delicate skin tones. The strong colors easily layered as well. They are so smooth! They exceeded my expectations in every way. I LOVE these pencils.

Faber Castell what more should I say

They are of such high quality and so worth the investment. Very satisfied with the way they are displayed and so easy to use.

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.

But nice. Not waxy as Prismacolor pencils are but instead are oil based. Which is good or bad depending on what youre looking for. Not yet convinced to buy a larger set. Updated 11/04/2014 I still like the pencils but I just didnt love them enough to replace my prismacolor. Positives are the smooth layer of pigment with no wax crumbles to swipe away while using, buttery wood makes sharpening on a hand sharpener a spiritual experience. Cons are that it didnt deliver the pigment load I was expecting from a no wax pencil. Weak colors and similar coverage over the paper as wax based pencils. Ended up gifting them and the recipient loves them. Because I know many artists who swear by these pencils and create great art with them I think you should try at least the small set to see how you like them and I stand by the 5 star rating because they are great. They werent for me but they are high quality pencils. Heck buy some of all of the professional brands to see whats out there. This is one area where what doesnt float my boat may be your cloud nine. Oh and the tin case is to die for. I nearly kept it when I gifted the pencils.

New comment: dont know why I love them...but I do! Id give them a 5, except they have a fault which is a pretty serious one (below). First, what I love about them is the laydown. As much as I love PrismaColors, they tend to go down heavy. Having that buttery laydown and being able to layer colors and burnish - all great characteristic to have, and I think Prismas do all these much better that Polychromos. But, when you dont want full color laydown, but would rather have a rougher laydown, with some paper exposed behind the color - Polychromos are great for that. They erase much more cleanly, too, probably because they arent as heavy & waxy. Its hard to describe, but the laydown is really nice & you can get great effects. Where these are also way superior to Prismacolors is that the lead doesnt break when you sharpen it. Many Prisma users know the frustration of literally sharpening away 4 of pencil, just trying to get a workable point...you give up on trying to get a sharp point, you just want something you can apply to the paper, you can truly lose 1/2 the pencil length just on 1 sharpening session. (btw - if you have a breaker try microwaving the pencil for about 7 seconds...carefully - they get hot fast & you can blister the paint, but if you soften the lead & then leave it & let it cool you can firm up the broken sections, oftentimes.) Anyway, Polychromos tend not to have that problem, in my experience. The drawback is the STREAKING. The lighter colors frequently streak darker colors (yellow, for example, will suddenly streak red). It happens with the lighter colors - not constantly but regularly. This occurs because they arent mixing the wet lead thoroughly enough - during manufacturing the scraps or other reworks are frequently mixed into a new batch of lead...a perfectly legitimate thing to do - but if you dont those pieces thoroughly, its like mixing colored sprinkles into cake batter, you get flecks or pieces of color in the finished product. Great when its a cake, not so much when its on your artwork! This is a pretty bad issue...if it wasnt for the streaking thing, Id give these pencils 5 stars easy!! I bought the 36 set some months ago, Im graduating up to the 120 because they are nice pencils!! Prisma still rates #1...but these are a pretty close 2nd!

Well I finally broke down and bought the number of Polychromos I could afford (12). I have to say I am very pleased with these pencils. Very Pleased. They lay down plenty of color with little pressure, blend and layer effortlessly, the colors are vivid and bright and I can sharpen them without breakage. I would say the only flaw of these pencils is when using them you just want more of them. They are very expensive, but if you color a lot, or draw etc... it would be worth the investment, plus theyre just fun!

These are the pencils you save for the pieces that count. I mix them with my Prismacolors. They layer really well. If you want something similar to practice with or you just need oil-based pencils that are less expensive, I would recommend Schipirerr Farben pencils. They are very similar but much less expensive. However, they only come in 72 colors, so far. I like to mix several brands in one drawing. Every one of the higher quality brands offers something different and most layer well. I like the Polychromos because the lay down so well and there is no wax bloom. They just feel good to use and the colors are beauriful. I cant afford to use them for everything, though. Great seller.

What can I say about polychromos other than they are by far one of the best colored pencils that Ive tried. They go on smoothly and blend exceptionally well. The price is high, but the quality of what you get makes it well worth it. No wax bloom like you get with prismacolor pencils as they are oil based and just glide across the page, and you dont have to press hard to get a solid coat of color. Highly recommend these!