Comparing and testing watercolor pencils! How to use them & which is best?! 🎨

[@KatieMoody]

Hi all! Sadly it looks like my Prismalo pencils aren’t in working order - I didn’t realise quite how old these were or how much time would affect them, so please bear this in mind whilst watching the review. The Albrecht Durer’s and the Inktense pencils are much newer so the comparisons and my opinions still stand 🤗 Thanks for watching and for your understanding!

[@annferguson3581]

Great video, Katie, thank you. Love the way you do these comparison road tests of different materials. I was sad about your Primalos though! I have all 3 of the brands you tested and they’re all good, but the Prismalos have a special place in my heart. They’re so vibrant and mix wonderfully. I’d say yours have gone off. My Inktense are about 15 years old and their casings are a bit cracked but they still work ok. They’re getting a bit hard though. Thanks again 😊

[@PaulaScardamalia]

Caran D'Ache's Museum Aquarelle may be more of an equivalent to the FB Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils. Both are wonderful to work with...and travel with. :)

[@Paintsplash4]

The Prismalos are interesting. I always thought colored pencils had a reasonably indefinite shelf life, but maybe I need to start using my pencls more. Thanks for the review. I wanted a full set of Faber Castells, so I opted for the Durers rather than the Polychromos, because I found that dry, the Durers and Polychromos that I have were almost identical. But about 2 years later, the Durers seem sticky. Sooo, thanks too for the reminder to use supplies!

[@KerryAA7130]

I started with the prismalo then went on to the supracolor and now use the museum aquarelle & the faber castell Albert durer . The prismalo’s are good but not very much pigment and not as good quality as the supracolor or museum aquarelle. Yes I would agree that the prismalo are student grade . I have the derwent inktense pencils they are amazing and a joy to use on fabric as well as Art paper .

[@hippopotamusbosch]

I suspect the best use case will be for taking a dozen pencils and a water brush for a lightweight plein-air kit.

[@KatieMoody]

Definitely planning on taking the Albrecht Durers with me for some plein air adventures this year 😄

[@PetitCrocus]

I got curious when you said that Prismalos was lightfast because I have the caran d'ache museum and I thought they were the lightfast range of caran d'ache watercolor pencils. My friend gifted me a set of Albrecht durer a while ago and I'm not using them often mostly because I prefer the color selection of caran d'ache but they are definitely more expensive 😭

[@ladyflimflam]

To use as watercolors, it’s nice to scribble the color onto yupo or duralar film or onto the caran d’arche plastic palette. I keep a sheet of yupo in my pencil case in case I want to do that, though I prefer to mix on the page.

[@KatieMoody]

I've heard good things about that plastic palette! Good to know there are some alternatives too 😊

[@sabinesimon2222]

Hi Katie I think your Prismalo pencils must be old. I have Supracolor pencils that are over 35 years old and the pencil leads have hardened so the pigment doesn't spread as well. However, I bought a few new ones and they are great!

[@KatieMoody]

Aah that makes sense, thanks so much for sharing your experience too Sab! That's such a shame, I didn't expect them to deteriorate over time!

[@ladyflimflam]

@@KatieMoodyYou might try baking them. This is recommended with the prismacolors that crumble. I don’t remember time and temp for that but a quick search should find it. If the pencils seem to be a loss it sounds like a no risk proposition.

[@DariaMotorina]

Great comparison, Katie, thank you! It's surprising to see how different Prismalo pencils can behave

[@KatieMoody]

Thanks so much Daria! I was writing them off, but totally changed my mind when I was using them on top of paint! Such a difference!

[@cypteacher1]

Hi, great video! Can you tell us more about the paper that you used? Is it hot or cold press and cotton? I find that the paper changes the results. Thanks

[@jlm517rocks]

So many approaches ii wouldn't have thunk to do got my mind spinning... wonder if oms (odorless mineral spirits) might rev up the older set as it does w/my (very) old pencils...or perhaps watercolor medium on a caran d'ache aquarelle palette using shavings mixed in... as for the interesting 'underpainting' swatches, that was quite brilliant... ii've used mildliners (permanent hiliters) as underpainting for shadows (& under chalk pastel sticks & pencils) & less dust... feels like ii'm watching an alchemist each week...

[@kristin.1124]

I've got some Goldfaber (Heft & Tafel) Pencils over 30 years now which I keep so dear as they're my absolute favourite ones 😊 Really love your testing videos as they give so much insights 😁 Also, I'm wondering if the inktense products are the same material? Do the pencils consist of the same material as the inktense blocks or the inktense "watercolor Palette"? 🤔

[@michellecampbell4194]

They should but I don’t have any science to back that up 😊😊😊

[@cerealnana]

My Prismalo don't act like yours at all! Mine are quite new.

[@KatieMoody]

Sadly I didn't realise quite how old these were or how they'd be affected! Really glad to hear that the new ones work much better 🤗

[@melatonin6811]

Nearly adriana lima

[@Fluorite-Fox]

Yeah your prismalos are old