ARTEZA Expert Coloured Pencil Review & Demo

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Another Update: I'm currently testing these pencils against a few other brands to see how reliable the lightfastness ratings are. *I do not recommend using any of these pencils for artwork you want to display or sell* . The ratings are NOT reliable and many colours (even some rated ++ , ASTM II) have faded considerably after just a week. Some colours have disappeared almost entirely. Meanwhile, the pencils I'm testing from other brands (with similar or lower ratings) are showing no signs of fading. Check out my blog post for more information ( claudiasketches.wixsite.com/home/single-post/ArtezaLF2 ) - this is just up until the end of Week 2 of testing. I'll continue running the experiment for a while, the results so far were just to important not to share. (Information from the previous pinned post: They said they didn't have plans for releasing open-stock pencils & they still don't offer these pencils open stock. The pencils don't contain animal products. They claim that the core size is 4mm and the barrel size is 7mm.)

[@cmcasadoiro]

Thanks! I was wondering if the lightfastness ratings were reliable.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Update! I received an additional e-mail back from Arteza, regarding some extra questions I asked. First of all- open stock and smaller sets: They said "We currently do not have plans for open stock for the Expert Colored Pencils, perhaps in the near future." -Their products don't contain any animal products -They claim that their core size is 4mm and pencil size is 7mm. Check out my blog for additional information, including a comparison to Prismacolor Premier pencils- link to which is in the description :)

[@StaceyHH]

Disappointing but not surprising. I suspect a lot of their market is geared towards people who don't care about open stock, and just want to buy big sets which will likely never get used up.

[@Kirakishou322]

Both your art and your reviews are absolutely amazing ! I appreciate the insane effort that goes into your analysis of the pencils :’) I just wish you had more popularity and recognition than the other youtubers who merely hoard art supplies and pretend to “review them” only to use them for one video then let them sit on the shelf, collecting dust. You have a really professional tone and I just love how you don’t get carried away with new supplies, but create an in depth analysis. Love you so much ! Keep uploading

[@ParasolMushroomStudios]

I was gonna ask, but then I figured I'd ask here in case someone else has the same question. Are these better than Prismacolor colored pencils? Because I love my prismacolors and they're pretty affordable!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Excellent question! Check out my blog post in the description box ;)

[@ParasolMushroomStudios]

@@ClaudiaSketches okey dokey!

[@reaganthomas4315]

Parasol Mushroom Art The Arteza pencils are a lower price than Prismacolor, so you can try them out without spending too much money.

[@Holly-ew7ps]

@@endofchat7832 The arteza are significantly cheaper (£18 for 48 compared to £34 for prismacolours) are they really of similar quality??

[@HillbillyTrash]

I love them both!! And the Black Widows.

[@ruthannmolyneaux478]

I am so impressed with your thoroughness and professionalism. Very impressive artist, you are. You’ve been level and fair about these pencils. While I’m not crazy for Arteza products I’m impressed with their enthusiastic support of artists, young crafters and adult hobbyists. Their products are well received for such a young company. Although I haven’t used them much yet, I do have a set of, their acrylics and several types of papers and inexpensive canvases to do practice and demonstrations.Thank you so much for all the work you put into this video.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Another Update! It appears as though Arteza do now sell these pencils "open stock" in packs of three of the same pencils. This is a really big step forward- if you like these pencils and use up some of your favourite colours, you won't have to buy a whole new set to replace just a few pencils!

[@bleuvertetforetdepin]

As always you offer the most detailed review possible and a beautiful artwork peace. Your review are reliability master piece.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much- I'm so glad you enjoy my reviews! :) I try and leave no stone un-turned as I know how frustrating it is to sit through 20 minutes and not have the important questions answered!

[@BabySquirrelBeading]

Thank you for your review. I just purchased a set of 72 for $18 USD on Amazon. It was a 'lightning' sale. I was looking for something to fill my sketchbook rather than use my luminance pencils. Your reviews are amazing and your art spectacular.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you for watching and commenting, Emma! I always appreciate it :D I'd love to hear what you think of the pencils when they arrive. That was an incredible bargain you got- and definitely a good way of saving those expensive luminance. I keep eyeing mine up to try to decide what to draw with them. They still feel a bit like a guilty pleasure!

[@davidzepeda4828]

Emma Devost I just purchased mine for 31 on the actual website

[@JustTom-nv6mo]

Fantastic review Hard to find this amount of quality in a video breaking down everything about a product so thanks so much!!!

[@noursh6290]

This is the best review of arteza colored pencils I've seen so far.. thank you so much for your thorough and detailed review I really appreciate it 🌷🌷

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you for watching and commenting, glad you found it helpful :)

[@mattariety955]

Hands down best review , subbed

[@iLustrando-iDeas]

Esta super increible tu reseña sobre estos colores muchas gracias! Amazing review! thanks !

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting :D Glad you liked it!

[@bernardmarlow9727]

Spot on review I actually bought the 48 pk & anybody looking to use these in colouring books I would recommend the 48 pk it has a large enough selection of colours to work with. I find them higher grade than Crayola but lower than Prismacolour I hope this helps any prospective buyer. I do recommend at the price.

[@kandicecappello8557]

I do have these pencils, and the watercolor pencils as well. I really like these!! Much better than my expensive breakable fragile Prisma pencils. I have the Arteza acrylic, gouache, and watercolor paints as well. I am testing the Mica powders now! This is a great company, and the prices are exceptional!

[@manthasagittarius1]

The smell may also remind one of the old-fashioned, gray plasticine modelling clay we used to have in elementary school in the 1950s and 60s. Those of us who loved our art class and supplies could be quite fond of it. Oil based stuff has a distinctive characteristic smell that attaches to pleasant experience just as much as the aroma of baking bread.

[@SpyroTheGerudo]

I'm going to be testing out the watercolor pencils tomorrow, but I got the set since I also got a set of Polychromos colored pencils, and I like to combine both watercolor pencils and regular for my painted projects. They're also pretty cheap, so I don't mind practicing with them while saving my faber Castell and Prismacolor sets for client art.

[@johnjarvis8731]

This is a great, very professional review; the best I have seen. Have just bought a 48-pack, as the 72 are no longer available, which is a bit disappointing. Having just purchased them, I am pleased that you found their performance to be reasonable. Thanks for sharing.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting. I hope you enjoy your new pencils :)

[@manthasagittarius1]

A fine review, and I've been using these and can agree with everything. Two things I specifically agree with: the pencils do smell quite strong, and you could dislike it and find it hard to tolerate, but I like it for sentimental reasons, as my dad used to do house painting as a sideline when I was small, when most work was still done with oil based paints, and I liked to go with him and watch him work. 🤗 More seriously, I take exception to the use "insurpassably" lightfast. Insurpassable implies pretty clearly that there might be an equal, but no one can do any better, and that is simply not true. The observation about the early inflation of price, well, that is true too in my own experience, and not very commendable. So I think you are right in all respects. These are lovely for the developing artist, rich colors, thick nice texture and good performance. Not enough for the professional, but great for a hobbyist or maybe someone who digitalizes their work commercially and doesn't need long life.

[@donkeygal2854]

Brilliant video. Your drawing was incredible you are so talented and deserves so much more subscribers!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much, you're very kind! :)

[@sophie_createsart7903]

Ive only noticed you're channel 3 days ago and the fact youre English and posh talking really has made me subscribe and youre artwork is supurb x

[@markolorista]

Hi Claudia! I just received my 72 set of arteza and i have noticed some curiosities: 1. The plastic trays of my set are red, not black. 2. The ivory pencil is named jasmine yellow, but its the same code number. 3. Same with the space gray that is named cloudy gray. 4. Maybe those are few variations of last year edition. And definitelly, i wont use them for exposing art purpouses!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Yes, they also now come in a 120 set and as far as I know, since releasing the 120 set they've changed some of the colour names and packaging design, just like you say!

[@bluesfan1699]

Thanks for all this hints - you are a great artist!!!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you :)

[@MaZEEZaM]

Really great drawing and great review as always :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much! :D Lovely to hear from you again!

[@claritzairosario68]

Thank you for your review of this pencils! I Was thinking to buy it, for Ilustrations, and the reason I want to buy it, is because I don't have much money right now to buy other professional pencils. I have a 36 box of Faber Casttel polychromos, and Derwent Drawing of 24 pencils package. And I need more range of colors pencils. 🤷🏻‍♀️😔 I Just want to use them for create ilustrations, but selling the prints.

[@jannick7625]

I'd really love to try these pencils now. Even though they won't replace my polychromos or luminance colored pencils, they seem to be ideal to use in sketchbooks, Since I really enjoy sketching in colored pencils. But unfortunately they aren't available in Germany. At least the 72 set. They are sold out on Amazon and the German arteza website doesn't carry them either

[@ClaudiaSketches]

They seem to be sold out on the UK sites as well- and for at least the last few days since I've been finishing up this video. It may be worth sending them an e-mail so you can find out when they're back in stock?

[@jannick7625]

@@ClaudiaSketches that's a great idea^^ on Amazon they have been sold out for at least a month. One day they seemed to be back in Stock but as soon as I tried buying them they weren't available anymore. Maybe one day I'll manage to buy them haha

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I have my fingers crossed for you! :)

[@jannick7625]

@@ClaudiaSketches thank you^^ btw your videos are the reason I picked up my colored pencils again for bigger, more finished and realistic pieces ^^ have neglected them for a while and focused more on watercolors but after binge watching almost all of your videos I was very eager to use them again^^

[@ClaudiaSketches]

That's so awesome to hear! :D I hope you have fun creating. Be sure to let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer them as soon as I can ^_^

[@aartadventure]

Brilliant, detailed review, and a lovely piece of art! Thank you :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much! Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@kat2023.]

I really like my arteza pencils, they are impressive for the price but I agree about some of the colours being almost the same. They're worth the money.

[@sambeawesome]

Nice to hear your opinions about these pencils :) Including the blog posts. It was difficult for me to guage how great these were, especially compared to Prismacolor, since I'm not too familiar with colored pencils. Thanks for sharing, and I LOVE how the artwork came out x3

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much, Sam :D I'm so glad you liked it!

[@techjunkie68smusicandtech56]

Hi Claudia, do you have a chart of how you rearranged the pencils (72 colours) in the trays? I have used the chart on the back of the tin but I don't like how it looks, I did like your arrangement better. Many thanks

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Check out the blog post in the description- there I have scans of my charts :)

[@699jude]

That is a wonderful tiger! Your comments about the pencils don't surprise me either; they seem to be excellent budget priced pencils, but it is lack of open stock availability that is the clincher. Thanks again Claudia.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I agree, I hope they consider to offer smaller sets and open-stock in the future. I did contact the company regarding this, but I've yet to get a response for this question. Thank you very much for watching and commenting. :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

They responded- check out the pinned comment :)

[@suecabrero3916]

I will agree with every thing you just said about this product, I think they are not as professional grade as they claim to be but for practicing they worth the money. I will also suggest them to sell them on smaller sets and open stocks. Your video is quite good with a lot of good points when it comes to quality and performance, thank you!!!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I'm even more certain that they are not professional/artist grade now than I was when making the video. I started testing their lightfastness a week ago (19.04.2019) where I'm comparing their lightfastness against some larger/more reputable brands. Many of the colours in Arteza's set have faded or changed colour already- the ratings they've given the pencils seem very unreliable- they are fading much, much quicker than colours from other brands with equivalent or lower ratings. I wouldn't even recommend using Arteza pencils rated a + or ++ (ASTM I or II) on pieces destined for sale or display.

[@suecabrero3916]

@@ClaudiaSketches I thought so too! wonder why companies can not be honest in the first place, the price speak for itself, if they were so "professional quality" the price would be way more higher, like Luminance for instanse. Thank you again and by the way, you are a very talented person ;)

[@Lee-rf8bh]

Thanks for the great in depth review, really fair and helpful!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vanessamarella]

Although I work with Polychromos, Luminance and Derwent Drawing I would love to try these pencils, unfortunately to deliver in Brazil makes them very expensive!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

That's too bad :( They're good pencils for practice but if they cost a lot in shipping fees then I wouldn't consider them cost-effective, or as good value-for-money. The pencils you already have are the best though

[@ginasartcorner5686]

Woah girl O,O how long didn´t I see a video from you?! Congrats on 5+k subs! Such a wonderful drawing! ANd great reviwe!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you Shiroichi! My goal is to upload once a week still but I don't have any set day as my schedule can get busy pretty fast! I was also in England for two weeks, so I had a little break- but I'm back now! :D

[@lindapino8862]

Your drawing of the tiger is beauiful .... just too awesome . I had put the 72 set of pencils and the woodless water color pencil on my wish list and didn't get them, but got a really nice set from a another company in which i really. Love so i'll have to wait for the sets that i want...🤔

[@CautionArtistatPlay]

I bought this set a while back and still haven't reviewed them, I have only gotten as far as doing some swatches, doing my own lightfast tests (because of their confusing ratings,) and weeding out the non-lightast colors (ouch.) I haven't really gotten around to doing a real project with them yet. I really enjoyed your thorough review, and a lot of what you said falls in line with my first impressions of these pencils. I am a colored pencil fiend and love to try many pencils which is why I bought them lol. But lightfastness is really important to me, so I have a feeling that when I finally do review them, I will probably feel the way you do about who to recommend them to.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I think Arteza really dropped the ball with making the LF ratings clear. Your home tests might yield some very interesting and curious results! I'm not sure how reliable or accurate the Arteza ratings as their scores are identical across Premium & Expert ranges, and their Watercolour pencils too. That makes it quite likely that they've only tested the pigments rather than the products themselves- which makes sense as it's the cheaper way of offering ratings.

[@CautionArtistatPlay]

My test was pretty enlightening, I testing 3 pencils from each rating, I did a swatch for each of the colors I chose and covered have of it with the other half exposed to the sunlight, and hung it in my window for three months. (I know very scientific right? lol) The ones with 3 or more crosses faded out pretty quickly, one of them within a month! There was a bit of fading on a red one that I tested which was a ++ and no fading on any of the ones I tested marked with a +. I weeded out all a lot of pencils after that. I think you may be right about how they do their ratings. That being said, if they do work well in application they are still an affordable learning tool.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Sounds like the ratings they've been given are quite accurate- the ratings you got sound comparable to some Derwent Inktense I tested with similar ratings. (3 on the Blue Wool had considerable fading within a week or two, 4 took about a month, 5s started showing some differences towards the end of the 3 months). No, definitely not an accurate or reliable way of testing lightfastness but it's good to get a ball-park figure! And it's interesting and good fun :P Plus, it certainly backs up Arteza's response about them using the ASTM system to rate their pencils, rather than some contradictory information I've seen elsewhere/on their website etc

[@CautionArtistatPlay]

It was definitely a good way to get a ball-park idea and it is so difficult to find good information online!! I was happy to see that my results were inline with the ratings, but disappointing to see how many pencils I had to weed out. That is interesting to hear about your lightfast testing done on Inktense because I was thinking about doing the same thing! I went by the Colored Pencil Society of America's test results to weed out my Inktense but I do not know if they tested them after wetting them or only tested them dry which is why I was thinking about doing my own testing at some point.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I tested them both wet and dry- there's absolutely no difference when activating them with water. The only thing to look out for is that your washes don't become diluted- because like any pigment, the fading will be more noticeable in lower concentrations. Water/solvents shouldn't affect the chemistry of the pigment- it only interacts with/dissolves the binder :)

[@teego3936]

What is that "pencil-extender" that you used with the Derwent blending pencil called?

[@shadowlife4779]

Hi, sorry if I’m really late...but I was wondering if these would be good for animal drawings? I have these and the Prismacolors, but the Prismacolors do not do well when it comes to sharp details due to being soft. I saw one review saying the colors are very bright and they lack neutrals, so it may not look too natural.

[@aoualisouhila1329]

Hi Claudia, Arteza seem good and budjet friendly, so I'd like to ask you: are they really worth? and can I use them to sell my work? Thank you 🙂 . Souhila.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Hi! Lightfastness is the most important aspect of artwork when selling or displaying. I talk about this throughout the video, and the blog posts in the description box will give you a thorough breakdown of the ratings. I give you my opinion about these pencils' value for money in this video in the demonstration part of the video. Additionally there's this video, which will explain lightfastness, and why you should (or shouldn't) prioritise purchasing lightfast supplies: kzbin.info/www/bejne/en-0n36HbrF0pKc

[@timyank8433]

I have the 120 set and I think they work quite well for my uses, especially for the money. I just wish they were available as open stock. Once I start to run out of colors, I don't see myself spending the money on whole new sets just to replace a few colors.

[@xargothunter5746]

I just reviewed their watercolour paint, and I got the same hesitations when it comes to their lightfast claims as you do. If they follow the same sysem as you say the pencils do, then the lightfastness is terrible for their watercolours as all but two out of 24 colours score three plusses. But even if they rated it as high, I would still be a bit meeeh, about it, as there is a good deal of fillers in the paint, so even if the clean pigment might live up to the lightfastness claim, it drops when you dilute it with fillers.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

This is a REALLY good point- Arteza almost certainly haven't tested the lightfastness of the individual products. Their Premium pencils score the same as the Expert ones- and the ratings are identical to the same colours in their watercolour pencils too. That certainly does seem suspect- Derwent and Fabercastell have coloured pencils with matching watercolour lines, and their ratings vary quite a bit, despite (what I assume) to be made up of the same pigments. Concentration plays an important role!

[@xargothunter5746]

I have for a long time actually suspected that Derwent was beeing punished by artists for beeing very honnest as well as thorough with their lightfast testing. They do not pool all the mid-range lightfastnes pencils together in a two star category, and I think they test the actual product, not just the pigment. So I got this thought that eg. their Artist pencil line might very well be en par with some other artist coloured pencils of other brands, -brands where you do not get as detailed information about each single product and you never really can know for sure how and what is tested. Pure pigment, or actual product? I really find the whole lightfastness issue quite iffy and I have so much doubt about a lot of products to be quite honnest.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

That's an interesting perspective, and not one I had considered before! 🤔 I always assumed that maybe Derwent were just not as critical of the balance of their ratings overall for most of their sets. I did an in-depth comparison between lightfastness ratings (links are in the description) where I created weighted averages for lightfastness, which included interpreting the data from sets that use the 1-3 star grouping system. For example Faber-Castell uses the 1-3 star rating system where they correspond to 3-4, 5-6 and 7-8 respectively. So the 120 Polychromos range got a weighted average lightfastness of 6.6-7.6 on the blue wool scale. The Derwent Artists 120 got an average of 4.99 on the Blue Wool scale. It could be interpreted that the star-rating system that FC uses is a way to bolster and disguise lower ratings. But in my opinion the star rating system actually shoots them in the foot- the lack of precision means many artists will refuse to use the ** pencils as there's a chance they're not high enough to meet expected lightfastness. So grouping ratings can have positives and negatives. Making ratings more obscure doesn't benefit artists with high standards as many artists will flat-out refuse to use them. I don't doubt that some companies use careful grouping to make their LF ratings appear better though... but my hunch is that FC isn't one of them. The Caran d'Ache Pablos on the other hand... well that's a different story ;)

[@Dennis-xs9cn]

Hi Claudia - Super video thank you. You have very long sharp points - Can you advise what sharpener you use please? regards Dennis

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I like the Helix Metal Desktop sharpener- it has adjustable sharpness settings and is easy to use. Links to it are in the description. :)

[@craftyblock7519]

Are they fade resistant? Do they fade in sunlight over time? Pls answer! Love your videos btw the 😀

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Fade resistance is technically known as lightfastness- something I discuss in the video and pinned comment.

[@craftyblock7519]

Claudia Sketches oh ok thanks for telling 😅

[@lucavanderleeden3910]

What sharpener did you use on these? I see you mentioned two in your description box. Thank you for a lovely video again!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I used both- I sharpened them originally with the Derwent Superpoint Mini (in my first impressions video), and then I used the Helix crank sharpener for the entirety of the completion of this video. I think I prefer the Helix for these pencils- the Superpoint gives a slightly longer tip which is very easy to snap off- true for all coloured pencils really. So the extra length is a bit of a waste. The Helix has a button on the back that can turned to select the sharpness setting too- that helps to save the cores as well. And the Helix doesn't give the indents in the barrel that the Superpoint does with its metal teeth, which helps to keep the pencils looking nicer. :D The only downside for the Helix is that it's a little harder to open the aperture/grips, and a little stiffer to crank.

[@lucavanderleeden3910]

Thanks! That is really helpfull. I have been looking to buy a nice sharpener but have been hesitant on which one to get

[@rtb03791]

Do you use the zest it blender on the light colours like the white and how many layers do you put on before you use the zest it blender

[@StaceyHH]

I think I'd be more interested if they were going to be available open stock, even if they had to be ordered directly. They look really nice in all the demos I've seen, but I burn through my dark blues so quickly, I'd have an incomplete palette within a couple of projects, with no way to replenish.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I agree- I did ask the company if they had any thoughts about releasing this line open-stock or in smaller tins, but I haven't yet got a response. We can always hope though- if I get an answer or something changes, I'll put it in a pinned comment :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

They responded- check out the pinned post :)

[@ellagrace2857]

Where do you get the solvent from that you used for the white pencil?

[@ClaudiaSketches]

All materials used are listed in the description box. :)

[@slyseyes]

Thanks for the detailed review and the beautiful tiger drawing.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you for watching and commenting, glad you like my artwork :)

[@fleurelia10]

Thanks for the video I just received my arteza pencils and they are worth the money.I got it for 18 dollars since there was a sale from Amazon.I am new to your channel and this is my first vid I am watching of yours and I haven’t watched any other videos so if you haven’t done this vid I have a suggestion for you ,can you do a video about prismacolour vs Faber castell vs arteza

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thanks for watching! I'm pleased you think the pencils are worth the money :) I'd love to do a comparison between some of the most popular pencil brands, I think that's a great idea.

[@triciat-b3972]

Lovely review Claudia. And lovely tiger. And interesting about the Arteza. I was thinking about them but decided to see what everyone else thinks first !! I love You Tube : )

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed the video. :)

[@triciat-b3972]

You're welcome and I subscribed so you'll be seeing me again : )

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you! :D Be sure to comment if you have any questions- I always read and respond to them :)

[@vicfranky2796]

Soo beautiful!!!! Congratulationsss 😆😘

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you :)

[@victorfranco7709]

hello, are they resistant to light?..thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I talk about this in the video at 16:00 and 19:00 Also check out the links in the description. :)

[@frenchpoppy6531]

loved your finish piece

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I'm pleased you like it! :D Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@paulapeterson-warnock3030]

Love it!!

[@valerieohle6813]

Would you mind expanding on the "odor" issue you mentioned? I had just received Arteza's gouache paints and was considering these for my husband who is disabled and loves using colored pencils in adult coloring books. He suffers from asthma and severe COPD, though. Do you feel the odor might trigger asthma or is it just simply "unpleasant" or "odd"? Thanks in advance. The tiger is beautiful.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Hi Valerie! Thanks for watching and commenting :) I don't feel like I can really give you a firm answer here, because I wouldn't want to recommend something that could have a negative impact on your husband's health. Everybody has different tolerances, so what might be fine for one person could be an issue for another, so I feel like all I can say is "better to be safe than sorry". The smell is definitely the strongest when newly opened, but dissipates with time. I've known people who have headaches/migraines triggered by smells to leave supplies open in a garage (or similar) to allow to air for a week or two before using them. If you did choose to buy them and ran into problems with the smell, I'd suggest doing this. Prismacolor Premier pencils are a very comparable product (check the blog post in the description), so if they're about the same price for you, it might be worth purchasing those instead. They don't smell as strong, and they have a waxy scent (akin to wax crayons), rather than the lacquer smell.

[@jendesign5537]

I heard that the colored pencils are also water soluble / just like their water color pencils could you tell me if that’s true? Thx

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I haven't tried it with these, but most coloured pencils do spread a little if you use water and a brush on them- though the results are never usually the same as the solubility you get from watercolour pencils.

[@robertbradshaw9367]

Great video!!

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you for watching and commenting :D

[@fernandocrespo4571]

What sharpener did you use to sharpen them so well? pass product link by fa 

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I always leave a list of materials in the description- check there :)

[@abproduction301]

what did you use for blending

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Check the description, I always list materials there :)

[@rebe_eka]

I wanted to buy the set of 72 but I'm reluctant to bc I don't really like the greens they have in here

[@Kyomiibrown]

Claudia, I’m confused why the Pablos have a poor rating on your blog, worse than Arteza, yet have 94% >5 ? What am I missing?

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I left more in-depth information about each individual brand in a separate blog post- I did include a link to it at the top of the blog-post you read ^-^ But here's a link to it anyway : bit.ly/2Nn7Roh EDIT: Just for some added clarity, highly lightfast/archival is considered to be ratings scoring 6, 7 or 8 on the Blue Wool Scale or I or II on the ASTM scale. A lot of the Pablos (potentially) score a 5, meaning that only a small fraction (38%) of the set is deemed to be archival/highly lightfast. I've been happy to go down to a 5- as do many artists- so including the pencils that score a 5 greatly improves the % usability of the set. I'll edit the video description to include this link too :D

[@Kyomiibrown]

Claudia Sketches Thanks for explaining Claudia. I don’t own Pablos and would think twice about getting them now to be honest.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

A rating of Blue Wool rating of 5 isn't bad, but if you're wanting to sell work that's designed to be displayed for a long time (decades) then it's wise to stick to higher rated pencils - at least when possible. I bought an 80 set and then a bunch open stock because I liked the colours so much. I think open-stock is the way to go really. They are great pencils in themselves (fantastic pigmentation and laydown), just the rating system shot them in the foot- who knows how many ** are actually a 6, and which ones are a 5. The Polychromos also have the same issue, although the vast majority score ***, which helps to avoid this problem. I've spoilt myself with some Caran d'Ache Luminance now, and that's been the turning point for me. No more 5 rated pencils- at least not on commissioned work anyway!

[@Kyomiibrown]

Claudia Sketches I need to apologise to you. Initially, I misread your chart as Pablos being worse than Arteza, but I don’t think that’s the case, specifically when 5’s are in the mix. I have the Luminance too, my husband bought them for me last Christmas. The Luminance and Polychromos are my favourite colour pencils by far. I also have the Irojiten by Tombow - beautiful sets and very beautiful colours you don’t see in other sets - however - LF is a probable issue since Tombow stated they have not graded them at the time I contacted them a couple of years ago. That’s a real let down as some of the colours are beautiful and unusual, and I expected better from Tombow. They are extremely well made too, and the packaging looking like a mini library is just awesome.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

No need to apologise! :) The way I've organised my chart is by % of the pencils that score 6 or above on the Blue Wool Scale- and in that respect Pablos are worse than Arteza (because of the reasons mentioned previously). Most artists looking up lightfastness comparisons will be using this cut-off point, so if they're looking to buy pencils it makes sense to buy sets with higher %. But that's certainly not true for everybody- and the % figures don't represent the skew or distribution of the lighfastness ratings in each set. The Irojiten pencils are simply gorgeous looking. I've been eyeing them up for a while (for a review maybe?), but I can't really warrant purchasing pencils that don't have lightfastness ratings.

[@deejay2838]

Thanks for the review....I don't like the fact you cant get these in openstock, so I will stay with my Prismas, and Polychromos

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Yep- it's a shame! A lot of people have commented with the same thoughts. I did send a message to Arteza, questioning if they were considering releasing them as open stock or smaller sets, but didn't get a response. If I hear anything though, I'll send out a tweet and pin a comment here :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

They responded- check out the pinned post :)

[@3thalluing339]

DeeJay28 they’re open stock rn

[@nunesuart8341]

Amazing !

[@FloraNovax3]

Have you tried Castle Art pencils?

[@frenchpoppy6531]

great review

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you :)

[@piawartsback395]

Prisma / Faber Castell Polychromos, Caran D'Ache Pablo, Koh - I - Noor Polycolor and then this brand

[@diondremathis261]

I need help understanding what light-fastness means lol

[@ClaudiaSketches]

How quickly a pigment fades when exposed to light. :) I've made a video that gives more information about this property, and why you should (or shouldn't) buy lightfast supplies: kzbin.info/www/bejne/en-0n36HbrF0pKc

[@diondremathis261]

Claudia Sketches Thank you! 😁😁

[@mrpencilvester9460]

Mmmm they look lovely

[@ClaudiaSketches]

They're definitely great value for money and very stylish! :)

[@lynnrushton7458]

Beautiful Tiger ❤️x

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Thank you very much :)

[@jeremyespinosa9065]

Are they new ones

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Hi! I'm not really sure what you're asking?

[@bionicplanet]

what does the "+" symbols mean?

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Lightfastness :) Check the time stamps in the description to find out more about lightfastness.

[@jaydee177]

Why would these pencils have a wax bloom when they state they are oil based?

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Their website claims them to be wax based (can't find anywhere that states that they're oil based), and I'd also describe their texture as "wax based" because of their properties align with other pencils that claim to be wax based. However, that being said, all coloured pencils contain wax- and oil based pencils can still exhibit wax bloom when a lot of layers are applied. Alyona Nickelsen gave an excellent explanation about wax vs oil based pencils here: facebook.com/notes/alyona-nickelsen/oil-andwax-based-confusion/10209120131660274/

[@jaydee177]

Claudia Sketches - my bad. You are correct. I gather you prefer the Derwent and FB Polychromos?

[@ClaudiaSketches]

For what I use coloured pencils for mostly, the Arteza pencils are not up to standard in terms of lightfastness ratings. I'm even hesitant to use the pencils that are rated ASTM I or II because the ratings don't seem to be particularly trustworthy (which I discuss in the blog post, link's in the description). For the pieces I created for commissions and sell, I use Faber-Castell Polychromos (the ones that are rated ***), Caran d'Ache Pablos (likewise, also just the ones rated ***), Derwent Artists Black & White, Derwent Drawing and Caran d'Ache Luminance. Caution must be taken when purchasing sets of Derwent pencils because most of their products have mixed (and poor) lightfastness ratings. In the description box I've linked to my blogposts where I've compared the lightfastness ratings between several popular sets. But Arteza's pencils are considerably more affordable than the highly lightfast brands I use. So preference is going to depend on budget and intended purpose I think :)

[@ricardomayorga7882]

Really good

[@ricardomayorga7882]

Hi Claudia, I really like your chanel and I have a question, I need more information about the paper that you usually use for your drawings, I'm from Ecuador and I was very happy for reply to my comment, I love your talent.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I always include material information in the description. I mostly use Pastelmat, which I have a specific video abut on my channel.

[@ekasetiawanart8202]

👍👍👍👍

[@jeremyespinosa9065]

I understand

[@trapize3821]

I love tigers :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Me too! They're one of my favourite things to draw!

[@drama.llama3411]

I’m sorry , but you need to blot the brush that you had zest it on , you applied wayyyyy to much to the paper and zest it pencil blend works so much better if you use less

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I got the result I want and didn't have any problems during the process :) I always start relatively dry, evaluate, and increase the wetness of the brush as needed. If you find that this is too much for your own work, by all means use less.

[@drama.llama3411]

Claudia Sketches sorry I didn’t mean to seem rude ! But on the grey paper you could see the zest it bleeding into the rest of the paper ! It works sooooo much better if you don’t use as much ! The colours look more vibrant aswell :) we all have our own opinions though :) have a great day :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

@@drama.llama3411 Yes, I definitely used a little much on the swatches (I was probably getting antsy after colouring the same things over and over!) but on the drawing I certainly didn't use too much :) . Not sure which you were referring to in your first comment, but I assumed you were talking about my tiger. Either way, the materials tests I did are there just to give a basic idea of how the materials work with each other and how they compare. In that sense, I think the materials were successful. An easy way to tell if too much solvent is used on Mi-Teintes is to check the reverse side- if the paper still looks wet after the solvents have "dried", then too much has been added. From personal experience it can take weeks for this staining to fade. Not a huge deal if the staining is visible just from the reverse, but if the solvents have crept past the coloured area on the front of the paper--- that's a problem! :P

[@drama.llama3411]

Claudia Sketches i wasn’t referring to your tiger ! The tiger was amazing it was just when you were swatching :) thanks for replying and I hope I didn’t offend you at all :)

[@ClaudiaSketches]

Then we're in agreement! :D

[@xcaseyyexe]

this whole time I thought it was artzea, not arteza tf-

[@TheWipal]

3 hours- *coughs up blood* 💀 i can only dream

[@ClaudiaSketches]

These pencils lay down fast! Usually I would've spent something like double that on a piece like this- but that's also because I didn't include as much detail as I would usually either. This was a decision made because of the pencils' qualities (they're not as well suited to fine detail as the combination of pencils I'd usually use). Also I was conscious of the size I was drawing at, and knew that if I were to make the piece highly detailed all-over that it would take a long time. So I "trick" the eye by making the areas around the focal points highly detailed, and just give an indication of fur texture around the edges of the piece. The use of liquid solvents also speeds up the process a lot too. It's also worth mentioning that I have become quicker with practice! :) Takes me roughly half the time that it took me a year or so ago to complete something of equal quality.

[@TheWipal]

@@ClaudiaSketches even so, still an amazing piece in my eyes. i strive and dream to be able to make something close to this in a fast time one day and learn the techniques to trick eyes like this! :D 🙏

[@james-dt4ei]

Arteza is horrible there customer service is very bad, there pencils, pads of paper I paid for was all ruined. We were going to do a review about them in our next magazine issue but the pencils were broke, paper was all bent. We tried to reach out to them no answer at all. So the review in our next issue about them. Will be about them as a bad company.

[@ClaudiaSketches]

I'm sorry you experienced that! They should do better for you.