I love these pencils! Mine never break.

I think im sold with Oil Based for their durability. I prefer layering rather then blending

I cant wait to get my hands on the polychromos. I can either get those or the luminance and im leaning toward the polys

I've been a collector and superfan of Prismacolor for over 35 years. Recently I've been experimenting with other brands. Crayolas are so worth having. They have colors you can't find in prismacolor and just have alot of fun playing with them.

I prefer Wax but i love few things about oil.

out of all the professional graphite pencils i tried the ones i liked the least where the castell 9000 and goldfaber but still don't try to ghastlight us. The FC are better built than the derwent graphic

After a long hard days work it's nice get my "pencil on". 😂

Самые лучшие Polihromos. F.C.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I got the full prismacolor set and i dig em. Gotta wait for christmas for the polys.

Im having good luck with my prismas. They were shipped. I think alot of the issues is from the pencils getting beat up and banged around and the box they come in isnt made to take that. Anyway have a good ern

Your’s is the BEST comparison that I’ve seen. THANK YOU so much!

Great video , thank you for sharing ❤, I have a question though if you water color then use the pencil on it for detail does it make shiny marks like the FC color pencils 😞

Thank you, Amy!

Really well done comparison. In June 2024, the Dick Blick price is $150 for 120 Faber-Castell Polychromos = $1.25/pencil and $324 for 100 Derwent Lightfast = $3.24/pencil. The Amazon (US price) is the same for both the Polychromos and the Derwent Lightfast . Three years after your video, there is a big reduction in price for both, but the Derwent Lightfast iss about 2.6X more expensive than Faber-Castell Polychromos. Thank you for your research. God bless you, Amy!

I love them both.

Thanks for the video! Much appreciated.

I have both sets. I enjoy them. I recently ordered Artxx 126, in the range of both.

May I ask what paper you use?

i think wax pencils are mostly popular in US while oil ones are more popular in EU

very helpful!!

You are the best!

I LOVE THIS ❤❤❤❤❤😊😊🤣

Great video. I like your detailed and systematic style.👍

Thank you . I noticed that this about the paper. I mentioned it to friends and they were so skeptical. i’ve been enjoying the video. Keep up the good work. thank you.

You can start with just black and white (or brown and white).. Any dry medium like conte, charcoal, colored pencil etc. Toned paper is amazing.

This was awesome! I'm new to watercolor and this helped explain a lot. I also signed up for Skillshare a while ago and I'm going to look for your classes!

I have a question: I do botanical art l- which colored pencil set is better for such kind of art? The derwent lightfast set of 100 or the caran'dache PABLO set of 120? At first I thought the lightfasts, cause of their creamy Buttery consistance, but they are also be able to hold their point (I heard) - but then I saw their COLOUR RANGE! And even they are 100 colored pencils , there are so few LIGHT and BRIGHT colours, the most colours are muted and in the darker range... and thats also VERY BEAUTIFUL , but is it the RIGHT choise for a botanical and flower artist? The Pablos -I dont know much about them, only that they are firmer then the lightfasts, near to the polychromos. And there colour range is MUCH brighter. What DO YOU personally think? There is a big sale at the moment, so the time to decide is running of 🙈 You would be a Real help!!

Unfortunately the Derwent Lightfast have a pretty crummy color selection, compared to BOTH the Polychromous and as well, the Caran DAche Luminance.

You might like to try conté :)

I'm so sorry to hear you're so ill. I wish you a speedy recovery. Get well soon. And when you're feeling all better, could you do a review of the new Posca colored pencils, They are wax and oil so you could compare them to something similar. I don't know which of any are wax and oil.

Thanks for this video, really clear information.

wow thx 4 this amazing review, and you later beautiful 👍

I don't know why it is but shops do not appear to stock Derwent as open stock. The Derwent web site suggests they are available as open stock and some sellers online appear to offer them. I moved away from Derwent due to the difficulty of getting hold of individual pencils. I feel the Faber Castell are better, especially the new Matt range which goes to a 14B. A Derwent equivalent if they might come about might be around a 12B. Derwent are very easily available as sets but that can work out incredibly expensive when looking for individual replacements.

Just bought the set of 100 seems to be alright, similar to the Caran de arche pencils.

I, gina.ive been watching you tutorials but am unable to draw the black fur on my kitty 🐳 as . Do you have any tips for Mr. She died a week ago and I really want you have a good picture of food her.

Hi, Amy. Thanks for doing this review. It was useful. A couple of points on vocabulary (readers, please note: this is *not* negative criticism, but intended to be helpful!): *Lightfast ratings* aren't based on normal, everyday display. They always have the caveat, '... under museum conditions.' where the lighting, etc is carefully balanced to protect the art. This simply isn't possible in the average home, where light changes constantly and so do humidity and temperature, all of which are carefully monitored and controlled in museums and on which lightfastness is tested by manufacturers. So where we need to take care is to understand this difference and to accept that even the most lightfast of pencils or paints may fade / darken or otherwise change depending on the climate and conditions in which they are kept / hung, because change they will, some sooner than others, some so subtly that we don't notice until perhaps, we change the frame and see the difference between that under glass and that under the mat of the picture. *Wax bloom:* This is not the shine we get when using our coloured pencils - the shininess we see when we change the artwork's position. Wax bloom is a totally different phenomena. Here's an easily understood quote from The Virtual Instructor: "Wax bloom occurs because of the waxy binder inherent in colored pencils. As the material in the pencils “settles” on the surface, _the waxy binder slowly rises to the surface on the drawing, producing the light white haze on the surface._ This usually happens with heavily layered drawings that have been drawn with waxy pencils. Some brands of colored pencils are more wax-heavy making them more prone to wax bloom. The trade-off being that waxy colored pencils layer easier and are generally more brilliant in color. "So how do you remove the haze? Fortunately, removing the haze is rather easy. A soft cloth will do the trick. Be careful though, if too much pressure is applied, some of the pigment could accidentally be removed as well. Light swiping is recommended to gently remove any waxy build-up. If you are concerned that you may accidentally remove pigment from the surface, use a cotton swab or a q-tip instead of a cloth. "To prevent wax bloom from appearing on your work, use a colored pencil fixative. Fixative is available in an aerosol can and is applied to the drawing using swift passing sprays. Fixative can come out of the can in unpredictable ways, so do a test spray before applying to your drawing. Fixative can also change the color of your drawing slightly. If this concerns you, create a test sheet using the same colors as your drawing and spray this area first. Light applications of fixative is always recommended." End of quote. Hope this helps? 😊 Thanks again for the video. I don't have the Derwent Lightfast, but I have been tempted to try them (!!!). Price is one major issue, and availability where I live is non-existant, so it would have to be online via Jackson's (my best option for pricing and postage / Customs fees clarity). Thankfully, I'm happy with my 38 Polychromos and a mix of other brands, including Luminance (totalling an adequate 73 altogether) collected over the years. 😄.

Hey im a new medical student so im looking for colour pencils that are quite affordable. But i have no idea about all this until i saw this video. Can you suggest what will work best for me? Oil or wax based and cheap ones in market which acts good. This would help really well

Jackson’s are usually cheaper for the singular pencils

Hi, you mention Derwent being available as open stock. I no longer use Derwent due to that issue. One supplier used to create his own open stock by breaking up complete sets. That was for the Graphic, Artist and Studio pencils. I don't know anywhere that sells the Lightfast as open stock. I don't like buying online as there is a risk of damage in the post. I now only use Faber Castell and Caran d Ache as they are more readily available as open stock. You mention dollars, so maybe things are diffferent in the US.

WOW! What a terrific, honest review. I actually like the Derwent Lightfast, despite the high cost, but F-C Polychromos is my default set and I supplement with both Derwent Lightfast and Caran d'Ache Luminance, especially for skin tones. I thought without question you were going to endorse Derwent. Honestly, it's your accent, and my bias indicates unjustified prejudice. I think the genesis of my bias can be found in the fact that in 2014, when I began as a graphite artist, the most enthusiastic reviews I heard were all from British artists, and all of them endorsed Derwent Graphic, so I purchased a full set. What a mistake. I conducted a full-blown scientific technical study of graphite pencils in 2015 and published my results as a 360-page book, Pearson's Graphite 2015. I found Derwent Graphic was just about the worst graphite pencil set, containing scratchy pencils, dark grade pencils that gave lighter lines than light grade pencils, broken leads, misaligned leads, and so on. Faber-Castell and Mitsubishi Hi-Uni had some of the best scores for the 370+ pencils I tested. I have yet to hear a British artist say anything bad about Derwent Graphic, which raises all kinds of questions in my mind. I find nothing at all wrong with any of the Derwent coloured pencils, but their graphite pencils are simply crap. Maybe Derwent has (I guess you would say 'have') decided to give up on graphite and concentrate on coloured pencils?

The prices of Derwent lightfast are more expensive than the Fabercastel polycroms years ago Derwent pencils wear a lot more affordable.

Thanks. Which paper are your swatches printed on? Very useful!

Thanks for giving us information on the lightfastness of each pencil. As an owner of Derwent watercolour pencils, which I highly rate, it was interesting to note your Polychromos values. As, I nearly a year ago purchased a set perhaps they are better value for money. But, like you I think it’s a shame Derwent are so over priced, even if they are good quality! Thanks

Hi Amy, excellent video explaining the differences between oil and wax based pencils. My wife has been using Prismacolor for some time now, but lately has been disappointed with the build quality. She finds them difficult to sharpen, mainly because in many of the pencils the lead is not centered. She uses the pencils for adult colouring books. I am considering the Posca, Holbein, or Lyra Rembrandt Polycolour. They are all basically oil based, so I'm a little concerned that they would she would find them difficult to use. She does use an eraser, so I'm not sure if that would work with oil based pencils. The Caran D'ache Luminance pencils do look very good, but are very expensive here in Australia. Is there anything you could recommend?