Arteza Put To The Lightfast Challenge. Epic Failure

[@domn8dontw8]

Just found this. Amazing work. Great test. I love my Schpirerr Farbs and I'm glad they did well. Was a pleasant surprise considering how well they play with my Prismacolors, Derwents, Caran d'Ache, & Polychromos. Looks like I'll have to get myself some Holbeins

[@lorrykohls]

The hazmat suit was a hilarious start to a super informative video. I sincerely appreciate the unbiased tests. You have saved me a lot of $ in the past by sharing your experiences w/honest uncompromising approach & standards.

[@ColorMyWorld]

Thank you Lorry. Love the way you spell your name.

[@F3mal3Titan]

😳 Arteza sucks more than I thought. And to think that they are almost as expensive as prisma colors. 80 dollars for 120 is ridiculous

[@mchobbit2951]

Only in North America. In Europe, Prismacolor is more expensive than Polychromos, believe it or not. I am not defending Arteza. They do suck. But Prismas are expensive as heck outside of North America.

[@F3mal3Titan]

@@mchobbit2951 really?? I had no idea. Thanks for letting us know. Wow prismas should NOT be more expensive than polychromos.

[@mchobbit2951]

@@F3mal3Titan Yeah, it's because you HAVE to order them from North America as they are not sold anywhere here. It is annoying because they are good, but I just can't make myself spend more than I did on my Polys and then not be able to get open stock replacements either. Maybe one day Prismacolor will make it to the global market.

[@F3mal3Titan]

@@mchobbit2951 yes what a shame. I don’t blame you I would have a hard time spending crazy money on prismas. The quality is just not there for that kind of money. I own polychromos and those are the most expensive pencils I own. I honestly don’t think I will buy any more pencils. I have prisma and poly and they are both open stock. I have a hard time spending too much on pencils those polys were hard for me to buy.

[@mchobbit2951]

@@F3mal3Titan I have Polys, Derwent Coloursoft and Derwent Drawing, plus a few Pablos open stock. I like them, but not enough to spend the money Caran d'Ache is asking for because they are crazy expensive. My eyes always bulge out when colourists get Holbeins and Luminances. I mean, I have expensive pencils myself but those are the level where I'm just like nope, I can't spend that much money on another set, especially when I have very nice pencils I am happy with already.

[@charmsm1691]

Hi, I am in the UK and stumbled across you by chance. I like your style. I got into colouring in 2014...in 2016 my world crashed...and my hobby came to an abrut end. But now I am trying to find my way back. I am shocked, and I mean shocked about the change. I am the wrong side of 50 to get involved with social media, in fact I detest it with a passion. However, you I can understand, and Kristopher Michael. Between the two of you and what I dub Artezagate you have restored my faith in my gut...if it seems too good to be true etc. It has been the best entertainement I have seen for a long time...and I mean that in a good way. I am sick of buying pencils and books. I purchased my last set today...the Brutfuner square pencils...I actually found them in the UK on Amazon. That is it for me. I will, if I can actuallly start to use them...I do not want to say how many sets I have and books and get back into this again for the sheer release and enjoyment...which is what they are for...I am not sure what you call people like me..hobbyists? But I will be keeping up with you, becuase you tell it like it is for people like me. Thanks

[@rolaru3349]

The intro gave me life. Also thank you for this, you’ve answered a lot of questions for me!

[@dneel468]

Great video as always. Your intro always makes me laugh and we all need that these days.Was wondering what set of caran d’ache pencils you used? Arteza better buck up or they may not be around for much longer. Especially with better prices and quality we can find now on line. Thank for all you do for us. Keep well.

[@ColorMyWorld]

Pablo but I heard they were pastel so they reacted like they should have

[@dneel468]

Thanks for the reply, I would have been surprised if they were luminance and not in a good way.

[@WaysideArtist]

My concern too. I almost had heart failure.😂 Thanks for asking the question.

[@sassybanjo3586]

I received my 120 set Arteza Expert Pencils in December 2020 and they are water-soluble.

[@WaysideArtist]

This was so helpful. I do pet portraits in watercolor and gouache with colored pencil detail work, especially for eyes. I take so much care choosing lightfast water based pigments, but now I need to consider my pencils as well. Thank you for putting so much effort into this test.

[@ilovecoloringhazel4597]

1st of all your light fast video was awesome! Pretty much had me smiling though the whole testing & reveal. Thanks for reminding about acid-free paper. Once again another informative video from you. Thanks loads!

[@cyndih4720]

I love the music you put on your videos. Whether dramatic or peaceful. 😊

[@junbug1029]

Hey! I live in Las Vegas and if Prismacolor and Polychromos pencils survive the sunlight here they are good! I have both P and P pencils and am boycotting Arteza, especially after The Art Gear Guide did his video about his experience with them.

[@ColorMyWorld]

hey neighbor. I am up in Spring Valley

[@charmsm1691]

I think Art Gear Guide was used and abused...shame on Arteza for abusing a talented person who has gone through so much...

[@melissascoloringandmulti-taski]

Thank you Lori your video has given me answers to questions that I was thinking about. You are awesome.

[@treasurespastnpresen]

I received my Arteza 120 expert colored pencils about the middle of 2020. I paid $40.00 on a special. They do not move with water. I was lucky I guess.

[@sassybanjo3586]

I bought the Star Joy 120 set yesterday for $1.37. Amazon had a $5.80 promotional discount. I applied a $10 Amazon gift certificate I received over the weekend and I used $13.97 of Prime card cash back rebate credit.

[@ColorMyWorld]

You sound like one of those super couponers LOL.

[@sassybanjo3586]

@@ColorMyWorld I just got lucky with the timing! 😊

[@Nenezilla]

Well, I live in Pennsylvania, so no worries about fading here, we never see the sun LOL

[@bethmc95]

Lord if that ain't the truth!!

[@AurineD]

I already commented this under Kristopher's Arteza drama video, but because I don't see anyone talking about this, I'll repeat it here, too. Arteza is TRICKING people into thinking their pencils are lightfast. Typically, the more stars a colour has, the more lightfast it is - well, not with Arteza. They switched it up on purpose, and their pencils with the least stars are the most lightfast ones... P.S.: I'm glad I found your channel through our mutual dislike for Arteza :D

[@Dadyo09]

Perfect timing on my 15 minutes break oh love ur videos and first once more

[@ColorMyWorld]

Yep, you are quick. I saw this and was like, Edward has light speed.

[@Dadyo09]

Yes i do have light speed when it comes to your content absolute quality 👌

[@LeeDee5]

I personally don’t care about lightfastness because I only color in books for myself, I close them and put them away and that’s that. Though these companies need to be more aware as how they market their pencils.

[@arjunterrence4149]

i dont mean to be so offtopic but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an instagram account..? I stupidly forgot my account password. I appreciate any tips you can offer me.

[@rhettnash7287]

@Arjun Terrence Instablaster ;)

[@arjunterrence4149]

@Rhett Nash thanks so much for your reply. I got to the site on google and im in the hacking process now. I see it takes quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@arjunterrence4149]

@Rhett Nash It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy! Thank you so much you saved my ass !

[@rhettnash7287]

@Arjun Terrence No problem =)

[@davek12]

I left swatches of mine on the dashboard of the car since 12/10 and brought them in this weekend, coincidentally. Out of 122 Crayola colors, 39 faded visibly and the regular pink color nearly faded away. Prismacolor Mulberry faded quite a lot, too. The pink and lavender General's Kimberly Watercolor pencils faded, too.

[@ColorMyWorld]

Red is always the pain in the butt color for everything.

[@ColorMyWorld]

Oh, I forgot, winter fading is different than summer fading. Do the test again June though august. You will get interesting results.

[@davek12]

@@ColorMyWorld I may, I just would've figured it would be faster, not different. I did think winter wasn't ideal, my original plan was a month, but I decided to go for more like two after only feeling like I saw a problem start after 3 weeks. I think that people at high altitudes (like Colorado) would get a very hard hit even though angle wouldn't be direct. Places like Ecuador with high altitude and tropical angle could probably fade more in a week than a month here in Tennessee. Thanks for the answer, love the channel. Coloring and art channels are good to mostly listen to while I draw. I'm in that mode, and ready to learn about new ones.

[@treasurespastnpresen]

The pigments that make up those colors can be quite fugitive even in other mediums.

[@CubNan]

I too have a 72 set from Arteza website in July 2019. They bleed with water. Not happy.

[@gnostie]

A nice combo of hilarious and informative. :-)

[@MultiFly5]

I love your videos, Lori as they are so informative and we learn so much! You are the best and I love all your critters too!

[@bethmegansmith4642]

I love the Zinomorth hahahahah Brilliant video thank you for sharing xxxx

[@sandywedmore1238]

Interesting stuff! Everybody whose anyone involved in coloured pencils should be encouraged to watch this video for sure!

[@Vladyyy]

Super thorough, awesome! If you ask Arteza they will say the "Professional" is for professional artists and the Expert is student grade. I wonder if the pros would fair better.

[@ColorMyWorld]

I think Arteza is full of ship. They are only into the money

[@Vladyyy]

@@ColorMyWorld unfortunately : /. That pretty much leaves the crumbling Prismacolors as the only budget lightfast brand.

[@ColorMyWorld]

@@Vladyyy They all get dusty but they don't all crumble. I do get crumbles from my expensive pencils too. Even my Holebein have been known to give a bit of crumble. Most pencil sets are lightfast to a degree. I wouldn't use a budget pencil for something I would sell. For coloring books they are fine. No pencils should be exposed to strong UVB rays. They all degrade. Even the expensive ones. It also has to do with the color. Reds are the worst even in expensive pencils.

[@Vladyyy]

@@ColorMyWorld I was more so alluding to them breaking so easily but the crumbling definitely adds to the annoyance. I literally can't even use the smaller side of my Prismacolor sharpener to sharpen my Prismacolor colored pencils!! They break before reaching a sharp point EVERY single time without fail. I couldn't believe it at first smh. Ohh, that's all good to know, thanks. Yeah that is a good point to keep in mind (no strong exposure). It's just the nature of things. The Sun can and will fade a ton of stuff.

[@jjsmakeupobsession323]

If I did a legacy book, I would want ever member of my family to color a page. So that each generation adds to the last generation.

[@ColorMyWorld]

That is a brilliant idea!!!!

[@anyartnettyandtheknittykit4038]

woah crazy, great video and super informative, I only heard about this today from watching Kristopher Michael's video concerning the Arteza pencils, I decided to try a watercolour test on Castle Arts, I have the older set of their soft waxy ones, I absolutely love them, but I was keen to see how they would react to water , guess what, very similar to Arteza, so had I spilt water or tried to cover it with a fixative it'd be ruined, I wonder if they would be similar to Arteza with lightfast, there's no claims on the box, now I'm aware, I am glad to know, but concerned should anyone want to archive their work, this is fab stuff and good to know x

[@melindabraun6060]

aaawwwww....saving heartache down the line. :) you are so sweet. totally happy to have found you. :) uuuh! one more thing....where did you get that alien in this video from? is it your creation? absolutely love it...so much so....I would be thrilled to have one of those too :D

[@ColorMyWorld]

There are places you can pay for them or sometimes they are free. I use a few of them so I am not sure which one this came from. My B-roll video comes from Video Blocks and I have a subscription for music, video b-roll, intros and images. It's expensive but makes my life so much easier. Once you download it's yours for life. It doesn't cut off when you stop the subscription like some do.

[@melindabraun6060]

@@ColorMyWorld oooh great! :) thank you very much. really appreciate the informaiton.

[@RealMelodyBlue]

Arteza, if we knew then what we know now, Arteza breaking down with water it's no surprise that they failed the light fastness.

[@beckywebster90]

Love the goofy old video. Still great info. I'm one of those artist that sells pet and wildlife portraits, etc. I do landscapes too (mostly pan and stick pastel). Everything I have is top of the line lightfasr, but am looking for some good pencils for practice. I love a good coloring book. Very relaxing

[@creativesolutionstoart]

I found it fascinating when learning about color pigments in professional art products, that a lot of secondary colors are not necessarily a mixture of two primary colors. For example, Qacridone purple is PV 55, and The same with the oranges and the greens. Purples are notorious for fading even in professional lines I think that’s why it took Derwent so long to test and come up with pinks and purples that did not fade for their light fast range.Thanks for doing this test, it’s a lot of hard work and patience :-)

[@djhadaverde]

Excellent video and funny as hell! Thanks! Have you think about making a lightfast to the other "budget sets" from China you have? I mean: Deli, Star Joy, Marco, Brutfuner, etc It could be very interesting to see how lightfast they are too. Take care! Greetings from the sunny Canary Islands ;)

[@DarietaBand]

I am also interested with Brutfuner test, would be great to see Kalour too? (Are they the same??)

[@valasafantastic1055]

Also when it comes to non lightfast Fadeproof vs Lightfast. Some dyes and colours that are not lightfast are even worse, they are not fade proof. That is to say some bad players ALSO fade after exposed to air. So they will still fade in a closed sketchbook if NOT exposed to light! Be aware. Also, Say it with me: "Your test was Better than theirs probably was!" Also it depends some artist grade use full pigments not just mixes. Lots of research is needed. Often consider getting and doing your own lightfastness tests and researching. I separate my pencils into two categories: Lightfast and not lightfast. You can buy acid free paper (Best of all 100% cotton) and print on that paper to colour. There are digital download pages if you are not an artist. Then bind it together as a book. (only necessary for legacy book projects) We are all just learning on our continuing art journeys together. Fun video thanks.

[@ColorMyWorld]

You have some good ideas. I think we will be exploring some of them

[@ladyseshiiria]

Man I didn't know color pencils could fade that badly. I'm glad my art stayed in a binder. I'm sure that would happen to my Crayola works. D: Kind of sucks sometimes when that's all you can afford. Makes me wonder how long those images will last now? I haven't noticed fade from ones from high school so we're a good 17ish years out. But it's in a binder covered.

[@ColorMyWorld]

All pigments fade from Carpet to drapes. Colored pencils are among the things that fade fastest and that's why they make such a big deal out of a pencils lightfastness. In the dark isn't that tramatic but if you ever put your kids artwork on the fridge you probably would have noticed over time.

[@ladyseshiiria]

@@ColorMyWorld I think something in me knew instinctually when I was younger cuz of your examples. But having hard fact is making this set in big time and it's killing me. I've done a lot of artworks hand drawn and colored through the years and I've not displayed any of it out if lack of hanging materials and fear. 😨I'm one of those artists I guess that had to learn this late.

[@ColorMyWorld]

@@ladyseshiiria You can put colored pencil behind UV glass and it's fine. They do it in museums. Ever wonder why there are no windows in museums or the windows are not in the art rooms. They used to have a thing with flash bulbs fading colors but nobody uses that these days.

[@mchobbit2951]

You can always do what people that use alcohol markers (known to be not lightfast) do and make copies of your work to hang up. Then you can enjoy seeing it every day without having to worry about the original fading.

[@ladyseshiiria]

I wondered about this on an instinctual level with fading so it's why I've never displayed works openly. But that stinks to know because I've created quite a few I wish I could boost up. There wasn't a lot that we knew or were taught. We just practiced and drew.

[@Finn-qg7vv]

Goofy you say? I LOVE it.

[@mariatriesart8389]

I paid for sudee stiles after finding them after a long search...they shipped then they gave me a refund saying they had run out. So please Lori, let me know what they are like....

[@maggies5049]

The bottom line here is that Arteza advertises these as quality color pencils, NOT water soluble/water color-type pencils. I haven’t checked mine yet, but will shortly. All of us have a reasonable expectation that these will respond as either wax/oil type pencils. NOT water soluble. If I want watercolor pencils, I will buy accordingly. They need to get their act together and fix this.

[@tabbylynn4130]

People getting mad about the results lol it's funny.

[@ColorMyWorld]

I know. I wonder if they kick their Doctor if their blood sugar is high?

[@lorianndupont7586]

It's funny... But professionals (those that sell their work) just depend on the products they use to perform- for a long time. It reflects directly on the artist if their work starts to look like shit after a year, or whatever. That's when the funny stops. 🙂🖍📚🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

[@debbierusso5943]

What brand did sudee style turn into??

[@theamoore6787]

Which Caran d'ache pencils did you use for this test? Pablo or Luminance?

[@ColorMyWorld]

Pablo. I only have a small amount of Luminance, not a full set, but it's on my dream list.

[@spiritsjoy]

Oh no. I cant believe Caran Dache faded. So freakin terrible. Wow. Lesson learned. Expensive doesnt always mean quality. They should not fade that way.

[@ColorMyWorld]

I was a bit surprised too, but considering this was way more sun exposure than a normal colored pencil gets it's probably not a problem. Also in every set there are some pencils that aren't lightfast. Many artists take them out. I don't know what colors that Caran D'ache says is lightfast and what isn't. The arteza set actually puts a backward lightfast marking on their pencils. They rate one the best and 5 the worst, but most pencils are marked 1 the worst and 5 the best. If you think about their lightfast markings, if you didn't know they did it backward you would think they had good lightfast. It's deceptive.

[@dewisalim3320]

Hi, I am definitely not an expert in this. From what I learnt from the watercolour community, even the most expensive reputable brand of watercolour paints have certain colours which are not lightfast. They keep offering such colours because the colours are very unique and artists like the colours. However, such colours usually have low lightfast rating printed on their labels, so customers who choose such colours are aware of the risk. Example of the notorious fugitive colours are alizarin crimson, opera pink, anthraquinone red, methyl violet, etc.

[@spiritsjoy]

@@dewisalim3320 I dont understand your point. I am a watercolor and color pencil artist. Of course there are fugitive colors, but they are, as you said clearly labeled. They are also clearly labeled on artist grade pencils. Why would Lori test lighfast result comparisons on fugitive pencils and say she is surprised they failed?

[@dewisalim3320]

@@spiritsjoy I don’t have any Caran Dache pencils, so I don’t know if these pencils have the lightfast rating printed on the barrels or not. The only artist pencils I have are set of 12 Lyra Polycolor, which don’t have the lightfast ratings printed on the barrels, only on the cardboard that encased the tin. My guess is, maybe Lori accidentally picked the fugitive red, because the yellow and blue looks okay.

[@domn8dontw8]

If you look closely, she used Caran d'Ache Pablos. Those are not the tested Luminance line. They do have a lightfastness, but not like the Luminance pencil. Still, they performed admirably in a very harsh test. The big surprise here is the Schpirerr Farben. Great test!! And a lot of work. We must really appreciate this in whole. I have the CD Pablos and the Luminance; both wonderful pencils. Durable, and definitely beautiful. If you want good, durable artwork, start with the paper. A good, acid-free, 100% cotton, hot-pressed paper should be where you start. Then consider your pencils, if you're on a budget, the Schpirerr Farben would do amazing for your application. If you want museum piece artwork, then Prismacolors, Polychromos, the Caran d'Ache, Holbein, TomBow Irotijen, Van Gogh, and most of the Derwent line of products will be all stellar choices.

[@RealMelodyBlue]

It gets pretty hot and dry in SE Oklahoma

[@ColorMyWorld]

But it's a dry heat... yes, stick your head in an oven and tell me how comfortable it is LOL... my standard answer. I guess it's better than humidity. I never think of Oklahoma as dry because you have farm land. The only thing we grow here is cactus and weeds.

[@RealMelodyBlue]

@@ColorMyWorld it's been really dry here the last couple of years, we've had large wildfires here too. It does get unbearable here during the summer, and we aren't getting as much rain here either. I'm as far south as you can go in Oklahoma or you'll cross the Texas/Oklahoma state line.

[@ColorMyWorld]

@@RealMelodyBlue I always think of Texas as very humid. I spent a lot of time in Lousianna and it's unbearable there in the Summer.

[@RealMelodyBlue]

@@ColorMyWorld if you live near the water it does get pretty humid, but not where I'm at. Just hot heat asphalt and concrete jungle, LOL 😂

[@tabbylynn4130]

I'm truly 😲 shocked

[@tabbylynn4130]

Suede style are marco raffine

[@ColorMyWorld]

I thought they were another brand, but no wonder, I like just about every pencil Marco put out. I would be happy to hear they were the old Sudee Stille. I used to give them good reviews. I don't know what went into my head about them. I remember liking them and now they are turning up really good in my tests.

[@lorianndupont7586]

Marco Raffine are a favorite of mine. You really don't hear about them a lot.