First Impressions -Derwent Graphitint & Tinted Charcoal Pan Sets

In this video I'll take a look at 2 new Derwent watercolor pans sets, Tinted Charcoal and Graphitint 12-color sets.
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Derwent Tinted Charcoal 12 Color Pan Set - amzn.to/3zBYwD1
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12 Color Set - amzn.to/3btSMDn
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[@pennypop408]

I spend a lot of my time in the car waiting to pick up family members, so I picked up the graphitint set with the idea of leaving it in the car as something to do to fill in time. Sometimes I will be waiting an extra hour or so at doc or train station when the train is delayed so to have this set in the car works for me. Its not too expensive and if it gets damaged I will not be to precious with it. I keep it in a large pencil case along with a small sketchbook and a mechanical pencil. Water and paper towel I always carry in the car as well. So far I love doing this my good paints get used when I go out to paint on purpose.

[@janarlenesogge1729]

In the little wall between the brush holder and where the sponge sits, i carved it out a bit so that the brush fits in while its put together.

[@dshe8637]

I did the same with my intense sets

[@SharonH11100]

I did learn something new! The soluble charcoal thing! Wow, I'm off to make a large mess...💁🏼‍♀️👍🏼

[@tralijntje1540]

me too! and wonder if it also stops giving colour off

[@SharonH11100]

I plan to see if the water makes the charcoal permanent or if it will smudge when dry. Of course in the end one can use a spray fixative ~

[@marynorby9530]

@@SharonH11100 I was wondering the same thing. I hate charcoal for its messiness. Yet I don’t mind graphite, which also is messy! Go figure!

[@SharonH11100]

@@marynorby9530 so far so good! I drew with charcoal pencil on Arches cp, painted with water and let dry, then colored with c'aran NeoII ~ I'm liking the effect! So glad to have a new "pinch."

[@simonebourque1061]

I dabble in watercolour and watercolour pencils and I am slowly learning about these. I find your videos to be very good. I can't draw worth a darn but I enjoy watching the lucky people that do, many thanks.

[@naiomiskelton]

Your voice really draws you in and is so soothing and pleasant. Thank you for offering this information!

[@space.tel-e-grams]

I'm going to guess that the Juniper color is named for the berry and not the leaves.

[@watercoloursquirrel2232]

Happy squee! Yes, I did learn something today...I had NO idea you could use charcoal pencils to get a watercolor effect! I bought charcoal pencils and hated them. My butt was out of my chair with your comment 'if you didn't know that you could do this you learned something today'. I dug them out of the stash, scribbled on some paper...and ooooo my gosh. Thank you!

[@condorreades2148]

I appreciate these reviews and tests of sets. I’ve always loved Derwent products, and decided to try the graphitint pans. I wouldn’t have known about them had it not been for this review. I’ll let you know what I think of the graphitint when I get it and test it out.

[@judybowles4226]

The Kuretake graphite set, with six colors, is also nice. The colors are a little deeper but still pale. I appreciate these product demos. I can see how products work but without the expense!

[@OldTess]

Hi, I have bought both color boxes + 24 sets of watercolor pencils. And have several boxes of Win-Not old colors and bought new tubes of both watercolor and acrylic paint...

[@donnad7373]

I have the Derwent Graphitone and swatched (layered) with watercolors and watercolor pencils. Very interesting results. Best was my watercolors mixed on a palette with wetted Graphitone. Gorgeous muted colors. Had good results with my Derwent watercolor pencils too. Can't wait to try them in some art. I'm trying to take as few supplies with me for plein air art.

[@lisathaviu1154]

I really enjoyed this video. I purchased the Graphitint pan set a month ago but I haven’t started using it yet. One thing I really recommend is adding Graphite Grey watercolor to a regular palette. Schmincke makes a very good version of this color and so does Daniel Smith. I made myself a mini-palette with 13 pans in a small tin (thank you Cheap Joe’s!), and doing it, I made a mixing chart and included Graphite Grey paint as my dark. I found that the mixes were super granulating and I was really pleased with the way it mixes with the colors for a muted range of colors. This might be more popular for urban sketchers, but I plan to go to Europe next fall and expect to use this color range, at least for the most of my drawings/paintings.

[@condorreades2148]

I just got graphitint paint pan set and dicovered that not only do paints dry very quickly, but because they are graphite based, the easiest lifting method is to simply use an eraser when the “paint” is dry. Doesn’t lift to white because the colors all seem to be staining, but nevertheless, erasing works incredibly well.

[@iadenicole931]

I learned something new today, thank you! Btw, I always look forward to the inspiring Bible quotes at the end of your videos. Very much appreciated. 🙏🏻

[@danettebutcher4865]

This is part of the definition of frugal! Patiently (3years?!) waiting for the product you want to come into the best price point you can find! Definitely frugal.

[@mindykeys206]

Thank you for the new video!! You are such a fantastic teacher, I appreciate you so much

[@MaxfieldMini]

Wow, just ran to my stash and pulled out the Generals Charcoal pencils. Can't wait to add water to see what fun I'll be with them. Thnx Stevery!

[@ralphcrosby9622]

I did learn about these today, I really did not know how they are used. Now that I do. I think that is a rabbit hole I don’t need not discover.

[@andreagriffiths3512]

I love the graphitint pencils and paints. They’re some of my fave products

[@annefisher5381]

Here in the UK Derwent products are often available at big discounts. I bought full sets of both Graphitint and the charcoal pencils several years ago when volunteering at an art festival. I love the Graphitint…the muted colours are much better for our usually duller weather (current heatwave!) than most water soluble coloured pencils and Inktense. However I must now get out the charcoal set again although I find the 'colours' difficult to differentiate. Having the pencils I resisted on offer on these two pan sets….but I DO have the tone set which with its greys and sepia is wonderful for portrait sketching

[@B1ackDahlia767]

@The Mind of Watercolor - thank you, Steve! I've been staring at these for some time. I think I'd probably prefer the Graphitint over the Tinted Charcoal if I were to choose, but at the moment, I'm still absolutely SWOONING over my Schmincke Liquid Charcoal! I absolutely love it. (Grapeseed)

[@yelsyels]

I have the Graphitint pencils/pan set and just the Tinted Charcoal pan set! I (head bowed down in shame) have not used them as of yet. after watching this video, it has inspired me to get them out and experiment with them! Thank you

[@renmuffett]

You do such beautiful work Steve! I have really wanted the pencils for so long and finally broke down and ordered some. I have heard that some of the colors when used with water have lightfast issues but I don't care since its for my sketch book. I adore that graphite organic look even sketched behind watercolor. The more graphite the better! I have loved using simple graphite for drawing as long as I can remember and around I'm your age. Thank you for continuing to share videos and I appreciate your use of scripture at the tail end. You are a mainstay wealth of info that I look forward to.

[@mindofwatercolor]

There are no serious lightfast issues that I can find. All pencils are rated good to excellent. No "Poor" at least.

[@renmuffett]

@@mindofwatercolor Wonderful! My Graphitint came in the mail today. I was blown away! Its a blast. PS, I would LOVE to see you use the Graphitint pencils in a landscape. You do such amazing work.

[@mindofwatercolor]

@@renmuffett thanks! Sounds like a good idea.

[@sanrepenti]

This was very interesting! thank you again Steve.

[@stellarcrisp6284]

Recently discovered this channel and am absolutely loving the videos!! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing. 🙏

[@karenturner-cf7vq]

I like the look of these Graphic colours. Thankyou.

[@katel9378]

Oh my goodness! I must have! Thanks for the information, Steve. I didn't know these paint sets existed.

[@missmishpot]

I love all of Derwent’s charcoal pencils. I mostly use them for figure drawing, and the tinted charcoal pencils are a fun change up for these sessions.

[@Linda-qq5mg]

Thank you for your reviews. They are always appreciated!

[@lightwavz]

I love the Derwent brand and have both a little and a lot of most of their lines. I did invest in the Graphitint Paint Pan set and immediately realized it needed a yellow, badly. I would say either set would benefit from carrying a couple of yellow pencils with you. I then watched Mel Chadwick test out the Line and Wash kit and decided that the blend of Inktense blocks, Graphitint and tinted charcoal along with 2 permanent liner pens was the set for me for plein air. Might as well throw some extra Inktense pencils in if you are already carrying a pencil pouch out. It is a good mix and match brand of products for how I use them. But add lots of yellow. And maybe a sky blue or two.

[@mariahcampbell5385]

Same with the yellow! I ended up layering a regular yellow watercolor pencil with a water-soluble graphite pencil and that really does work, so that's an option.

[@ChantelleArts]

These muted colours look really interesting to try out! I’ll have to keep a look out for them ☺️

[@starvingartistscollective]

I love these products but don't often use them alone. I'm not a purist with media so I mix them with transparent watercolours in my plein air watercolour palette for landscape scenes and textures. I also use them as base colour washes under pencils or markers. They are fabulous as companion products!!

[@colleenmcchesney1482]

Ohh wow that’s all new to me and the tip of charcoal being water soluble just blew my mind. 🤯!! I am just amazed by the colors of both sets & hope to give them a try soon. Thanks for sharing this informational video review with us.

[@nattyw495]

Second time watching this video enjoyed it both times and found ot interesting and informative would like to see you do more videos on these art supplies, i think its good to challenge ourselves and use supplies to create new art..mikelle art mom👩‍🎨🎨✍🇨🇦🇺🇸💛

[@watercolornewbies]

I did NOT know that about charcoal!! Thanks for the tip - and the review

[@sunnycharacter]

I love my Graphitint pencils and the paint pan set, very cool and fun to use. And the Inktense pencil of course I love them but the Inktense paint pan set is amazing!

[@juststartingover2735]

I love the Inktense paint pan set more than the pencils..wish Derwent would make a larger paint pan set!

[@FreeSpokenOne]

I love these products and have a lot of their Inktense line from pencils to long thin square blocks, had to get them all that’s how awesome they are. The Graphitent I also love but they are clearly not quite the color expected as pointed out. This is their weakest link. I got a large blocks set to add color I felt was missing along with all of the Artgraf colors (one which adds a nice yellow and red, along with white). The XL blocks added blue, green. These were made for people who enjoy Urban Sketching work and what you did with them simply blows my mind Steve. Then I found liquid graphite… lol It’s like an addiction, and Baku-Undo E-Sumi paints and they all seem to play nicely together. Like you I’m like a kid in a candy store when it comes to art supplies and it’s hard to rein in!

[@danielleb.7055]

Thanks for your initial thoughts always appreciated. I personally dont have experience with derwents palettes but Lindsay-The frugal crafter had mentioned, as you did, that derwents pallets like your using are super thirsty. Her reviews of these type products were super helpful and informative. Have a great day.

[@WhstlblwrBlastingEpsteinsILK]

I'm a watercolorist and cannot afford Intense pencil sets. These look like a good affordable introduction to these Derwent water soluble Inktense & Graphatint ranges without shelling out $100 for a full set of both.

[@Northrai]

I've ended up being a pretty big fan of Derwent products, and I'd never heard of them until I watched some videos by Lindsay Weirich. Even Inktense is really neat since it's so lift-resistant, although I could see why some people might not appreciate that quality very much. I consider the Graphitint set to be a really nice gift for many watercolorists since it fits in nicely, but is still a very unique product that can really let people have some fun or try new things out. Only real downside is that you can be left with some graphite sheen, but it's also possible to play into that when making a piece. So mildly gimmicky, but still a lot of fun.

[@mindofwatercolor]

I have found no sheen at all in the pencils once activated.

[@gailframe5667]

I enjoy mixing the Graphitint pencils and pan set with graphite... much like you did with your recent goose video. The granulation and metallic sheen shows up beautifully on cold-pressed paper.

[@josephinemitchell9504]

Last time I put all my Derwents together and lined them up in numerical order there wasn't any doubled numbers/names which impressed me. 🤣🤣 I have the colour soft...inktense....graphitint... amongst my colouring stuff. Your drawing was immense....and could see the paint pots would be easier outside as imagine a tin and them rolling out everywhere....

[@BirdwithaBrush]

I did learn something new today! Thank you!

[@viviandibrell849]

That tree looks like Wiley Coyote crashing into the ground snout first! 😂 thanks for new information to me anyway. Always fun to explore with new art supplies.

[@berolinastrassmann]

Indeed "shiwing us something we don't want" is also very useful I figured out charcoal is not for me, but am very interested in tinted graphite. I got the 12 set of Staedtler tinted graphite watercolour pencils (great value under $10) and liked them a lot. Same as you, I created my own colour chart, as the paint in the barrels is hard to read. I thought, If I like the medium, I know I will not mind spending considerably more in a Derwent set. However, as a watercolour artist, I found pencils not easy tonusem i would scribble some pencil on masking tape around my painting and use it like a palette. I think I will like using graphite tinted watercolour pans more than the pencils. Thanks for this video, I look forward to seeing you paint some of your usual paintings with them.

[@jrm2716]

Tyvm I wondered what the difference between the two is. I think for me I would lean toward the graphitint. Tfs.

[@FelineFurKin]

So helpful to see the full comparison. I forgot they do a set of tinted charcoal pencils. I have the graphitint pencils and considered the pans, but wanted the fuller range of colours. The charcoal pans look so samey and I do like some greys, but I use bright colours a lot and have a few palettes already so adding another to remember to use, I wonder if I’d get overwhelmed or forget (both easily done). On some papers, it’s harder to fully dissolve the pencil marks and I’ve had stiff and painful arms and hands for years so pencils with their tiny tips needing more arm, that isn’t ideal, but my back treatment is making some progress and I love pencils. Tempted by the tinted charcoal pencils more for using dry cos the colours seem more distinct here at least. Only thing I think of at last is the charcoal pencil you’re using sounds scratchy and I had a few scratchy ones a few years ago that I couldn’t stand using, damn 😏

[@ummyousuff]

Yes I did learn something new today,thanks..!

[@1234dvarela]

Thank You! Definitely helpful.

[@naiomiskelton]

Just watched you draw the tree using the charcoal, and to see this product review is great... I want to try!

[@WendyW123]

I love my Graphitint pencils the best and tend to mix the pencils with the pans. I spray the pans with water and tend to use my watercolour brushes and have a jar of water handy, as I'm not keen on the travel brushes.

[@twodogstudiomt]

Thank you so much! Love your videos!

[@krudler406]

i ❤️ my graphitint 24 set. so much fun.

[@evolvvartstudio]

If you haven't tried Schmincke's liquid charcoal I highly recommend them. They come in three colors. I poured mine into half pans and let them dry. They rewet really nicely.

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes, I have a video on them.

[@Rachel-sv6gm]

Juniper berries are that color.

[@nicoleperron3315]

I learned something new today.

[@sanrepenti]

I was curious about these. Thank you.

[@nattyw495]

Love all the sets....mikelle art mom🎨✍👩‍🎨

[@wulfseig1864]

Ugly tree? Nope. Curious about these and didn't know if I would use them. Have the Graphitint and never use them. Thanks for sharing the water soluble charcoal tip.

[@debbiemarchant3261]

A little late to the party but i have both sets. I'm a relative beginner but ive done some lovely muted pebbles and stone stacks with both sets. I think ill try an English winter landscape as the colours look sbout right for a cold foggy day.

[@purity2706]

I make swatch cards of the pencils and then use a brush to paint off the cards. I'm really interested in the paint kits, since I've already been using the Graphitint like watercolor. I also use the Graphitint with the Derwent colored pencils.

[@SerenWen_art]

I’ve got both the pan and pencil sets of the graphitint, and even though I love them, I don’t really use them much! I do find the pencils more vibrant than the pans, but the pans are fab for outdoor sketching, I guess lockdowns over the past few years mean I’ve got out of the habit of going out sketching! Interestingly, I found the pans took a while to “break in” - it was hard to get much colour off them to start with, a bit like you were experiencing with the charcoal pans, but after using them a few the surface seemed to break down, making it easier to rewet the paints. The charcoal pan set looks very interesting, but I don’t use the graphitint enough to really justify yet another art supply!

[@CJCalvertArt]

Awesome 👍 I did a first impression on the pan set of the graphitints a few weeks ago. I am looking forward to trying the ink ones.

[@mariaalejandracardozo3879]

What I do is to mix watersoluble graphite with watercolor but I dont know if I can get similar results as I dont have the graphitints to compare to. I knew conte crayon is watersoluble but I havent tried with charcoal, great to learn that.

[@lunakat7020]

Steve I have the Graphite paint kit and mine are really vibrant they look very different from your swatches. I got these the Inktense and Pastel kits I like them all.

[@ArtAnswer42]

All of the Derwent pan sets i have are VERY thirsty, it's really weird. I've shied away from getting more because of it. Thanks for the video!

[@betsybirge7934]

I used the Graphatint Pan Set to paint a spontaneous landscape.

[@jdschneider5858]

Just looked it up: white charcoal is calcium carbonate plus binder. No charcoal, at least according to what I found on Google!

[@dshe8637]

I love the look of these sets, but as with many Derwent products, lightfastness is an issue for me.

[@margueritegouin2621]

I personally like the Graphitint pencils, however in the set of 12 there are 2 colors (Chestnut and Cocoa) quite similar and it's a bad thing. I also really like the Staedler Tinted pencils, they are really amazing and have a nice range of off colors, I prefer them to the Graphitint. There are often 'mistakes' in Derwent products, e.g. 2 pencils of the same color in the box for Inktense and I've seen a lot of comments about this.

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yeah, I noticed the sporadic lack of quality control.

[@spiritsjoy]

I have most of the sets that Derwent came out with except that shade/skintone? set you showed, that set must be very new(need to pick that up). I think they are cute and i love portable...... However, I have been waiting on the charcoal set since the colors look too similar, and i dont use charcoal on the go. What I did pick up was the Derwent XL Charcoal set. Much better variation and I only use charcoal for large one time pieces, not a fan of the mess for everyday and that XL set has beautiful variation that is much more useful.

[@jdschneider5858]

Hi Steve, I noticed a white charcoal in the pan set. How is that possible? Would you know how they make a white charcoal?

[@mindofwatercolor]

It's really more of a hard pastel in the white since charcoal is actually burnt or charred organic substance.

[@rosamariaadradosgarcia6468]

You are a " genius" of watercolor,

[@kmeldrom6932]

Great video, thanks. I love graphitint pencils and bought the pan set to complement them. LOL. I used them a bit, liking them very much, and then dropped them. The case survived but little pucks of color were all over the place. Some broke into little shards of what they are, graphite 🫢 To this day I’m not sure that I have them in their correct spots. I’ve repeatedly swatched them and the pencils and I’m still stumped so just use them as I think they are and leave it at that. The case itself is worth the money. Thanks again!

[@kimstelly9480]

I’ve found that, with both mediums, if you want a wider variation in values, you need to use a real paint brush and a fair amount of water. In these cases for me, more water meant more saturation in color.

[@mindofwatercolor]

True but I was after the muted tones. If I wanted more saturation I would use regular watercolor.

[@kimstelly9480]

Yep, just mentioning how I use them. 😉

[@mindofwatercolor]

@@kimstelly9480 👍👌

[@catherinelevison3310]

Helpful.

[@valasafantastic1055]

It’s good to have options and fun! Interesting stuff thanks for this video. As for lightfastness I hear some are and some aren’t so learn which is which. I still use fugitives but it’s good to know when you are. They used to be very fugitive but apparently they have 19 of 24 that are now lightfast (for the Graphitint pencils). I think I’d do a bit more lightfastness research before getting them personally. but let’s still use fugitives if it’s for fun/not for sale if they aren’t too expensive. It’s good to know the lightfastness and make informed decisions. I’m considering adding these to the maybe someday category of art supplies to get.

[@mindofwatercolor]

Some of the Graphitint pencils have less than excellent lightfastness (only good) but are still considered light fast. Check their website for individual color ratings. To my knowledge none are fully fugitive or rated poor.

[@valasafantastic1055]

@@mindofwatercolor Yes I'll go do more research if I decide to get them. I still use fugitive supplies but I really love to categorize and learn which is which so When I do wall hanging art/commissions I can prioritize lightfastness. Of course I may find them on sale sometime too.

[@Sherlock2022]

Hi, good to see you trying a product from the UK. Do you think that the inclusion of white is a waste of time? Thanks.

[@marynorby9530]

I was wondering what the white consists of. Does charcoal come in white? Or is it a gouache or something??

[@mindofwatercolor]

Not at all. It's pretty opaque actually. I should have demonstrated it.

[@mindofwatercolor]

@ Mary Norby No. Charcoal is a charred substance, in this case with a little added pigment and binder. Their white is more like a pan gouache, calcium carbonate maybe and a binder.

[@Sherlock2022]

@@mindofwatercolor thank you.

[@michemman]

Hello Steve, I do have a few QUESTIONS for you about the comparison of graphitint products; If you could compare your swatch charts for me please, I would appreciate it! 1) What media product is "less smudgy with your finger", when swatched, whetted and dry? Graphitint 12 pans? compared to the graphitint pencils? (I prefer no smudge, no fixative, no chalky feeling to touch) 2) Does the graphitint, pencils have a "sheen from the graphite" before it is wet, when the swatches are tilted to the light? Any sheen difference, wet and dried, compared to the pans? (I prefer matte wet or dry media) In terms of hue, thanks Steve, for letting us all know about the ones that don't match in this video. :) Very helpful! I like the sand and lavender in the tinted charcoal colours, and I like the portrait of both the man, and the tree in one colour. I am likely to buy 10 of the open stock graphitint pencils (plus 1 Chestnut) that can be matched to the colours in the graphitint pan set. (I love 10 colours out of 12 pans, and I think there are too many similar greys for me to justify the 24 set...) Been watching their open stock prices for years on Amazon, or Jacksons UK. I am torn, as I have a lot of watercolour paint sets, quite a few handmade colours, as well as 72 Inktense pencils which I love, and Albecht Durer watercolour pencils, (and gave 20 of these Inktense from the tin, and sent to a young girl so she could have something nice...) Do the pans come out from the set and if so, what half pan brands fit? If I take it in the field, does the water run from the palette mixing area under the hinge or is the water contained? I may have to wipe the wet off before I close it? (eg like the plastic Daniel Smith ultimate mixing palette of Jane Blundell, leaks) (I don't like leaks) I generally don't like plastic sets, but if you could help me make my mind up, you may have saved me the purchase cost of either, or both! In kindred spirit, Eliza Most Beautiful Day is Today! Friday 12th of August 2022, 9:32pm Dulwich Hill, Sydney Australia xx PS A tip for you! A glue stick on plastic or metal palettes works to stop beading and staining. Put on, wipe off with wet tissue. ;) Rubbing alcohol gets stains off without scratching the surface.

[@ohbli_oh]

I sharpened my graphitint pencils and put the shavings (minus the few bits of wood that were easy to remove with tweezers) in individual half pans. I put drops of water on. I did a whole A4 painting and had paint left over from just one sharpening. Pans then dried out and I can save the shavings the next time. Since I can’t stand these pencils it gives them a little bit of versatility. The colour range in the 12 pencil set is so bad. Has three orangey browns that are more orange nothing actually brown. The darkest colour (midnight black) is so pale it’s hard to get contrast and good values and mixing your own darks hardly improves the situation. And you can hardly see the graphite. I also found them too soft to do anything resembling graphite and would say they’re more of a soggy watercolour pencil than graphite.

[@lzal9204]

I have several of the inktense palettes. I like them for line and wash. They are very vibrant but they are inks, not watercolor. I also have the Graphitint set. I didn’t care for it as much. I didn’t love the sheen/shimmer.

[@cindyhorton6980]

So the graphitint pencils have a shimmer? I was thinking of maybe picking them up, but if they are shimmery I don't want them!

[@lzal9204]

@@cindyhorton6980 they are made with graphite so the shimmer comes from that- like a graphite pencil has a shimmer. It’s basically tinted graphite. I think that once you wet it, it’s more noticeable because the graphite gets dispersed. If you like pencil drawings and want some tint to it, then you would like them.

[@cazkiwinz4300]

From Derwent FAQs - Is Derwent Inktense classed as an ink or watercolour product? It is classed as a watercolour product but it has different properties to a regular watercolour pencil, making it look like an ink.

[@lzal9204]

@@cazkiwinz4300 this is from Derwent’s Inktense Expert guide: “Inktense is water-soluble ink and should not be considered a straight ‘swap’ for watercolours. While watercolours are ‘washable’ across a broader page, Inktense creates bolder, more vibrant colours.” It’s also permanent once dry.

[@mindofwatercolor]

The activated graphitint is completely flat. No sheen. Dry graphite is what typically has a sheen.

[@MadebyDawn23]

Thank you for your video Steve, I have the complete inkense pan set and graphite xl blocks. Watching your video is now inspiring me to pull out inktense pan set. Do you have any inktense products, pencils, paints or sticks?

[@mindofwatercolor]

I have the pencils but have not used them yet.

[@jdschneider5858]

Thanks for your answer, it was really odd to see white charcoal. I guess they use titanium white pigment plus chalk or something.

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes, exactly. It seemed like a pan white gouache. I should have demonstrated it.

[@jdschneider5858]

Oh well, next time!

[@palnagok1720]

...why not just dip your colour-laden watercolour brush into charcoal powder for more possibilities ?

[@gennydavidsonsmith85]

Thanks Steve, What is the strip of yellow on the right side of the pans?

[@sunnycharacter]

Also, don’t count on the Inktense paint pan set to lift very well. They mean business! Lol

[@palnagok1720]

What are the pigments used ?...are they lightfast?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes, mostly. Good to excellent. None are rated as "Poor". Check the Derwent website for specifics.

[@sherrym.2413]

Do either or both sets smudge like graphite and charcoal?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Not after they are applied like paint and let dry. You can smudge off some of the charcoal on the pans themself before they are wetted.

[@BrichaJulbry]

Do the colors dry matted or shiny? (Couldn't tell from the angle you showed in the VIDEO.)

[@mindofwatercolor]

Matte

[@johnchapin9270]

Steve did the paper change the color? From their swatch.

[@mindofwatercolor]

I don't thinks so. Just inaccurate swatching. Not unusual when it's a printed facsimile.

[@sketchingjohn1678]

Steve, I've never used water with charcoal. That'll save me from buying watersoluble graphite pencils. (for like 2 bucks each these days.)

[@Nancy-tr5fi]

I have learned a lot from you. Thanks for passing on your knowledge. I am writing you because I bought some of your recommendations. But when I tried to buy the Lebezon Paintbrushes I was treated to nothing but stress and was ignored each time I contacted them about SHIPPING INFORMATION. Never got a single reply. I wrote them & I called them…….nothing. It was July 24, ‘22. My password was canceled, finally got in to account today. I discovered they cancelled my order. No word of refund. Does this mean they keep my money? Never happened to me before & I have to order everything due to my condition. I started watercolors 7 months ago, have a MFA but never tried watercolors. Learning so much from you. Love my new medium & painting every day. Any advice? About Lebezon? Thanks you

[@mindofwatercolor]

If you email me your complete contact info I'll drop Tracy an email to see what's up. [e-mail]

[@waltpierluissi2301]

I always do my very own swatch color chart, I do not trust the ones provided by the company. I have always saw differences when I do my one!!!!!

[@jannil.jensen3933]

What is the sponge for ?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Cleaning the tip, but I personally don’t use it.

[@max-romano-santo]

Do you have tried the Inktense Pan Set, also by Derwent..???

[@mindofwatercolor]

No, I have the pencils though.

[@max-romano-santo]

@@mindofwatercolor I recommend you to try them. They have the best advantages of watercolor plus the best advantages of color india inks. I'm pretty sure you will love them..!!! Greetings from Chile..!!!

[@ruthbosveld449]

Are the colours archival to your knowledge?

[@mindofwatercolor]

Yes. A few of the Graphitint pencils have a lower lightfast rating but satisfactory.

[@ruthbosveld449]

@@mindofwatercolor Thank you!

[@Kj1947jfr]

Pass

[@jrz7325]

Is lightfastness an issue with these two sets?

[@mindofwatercolor]

No issues that I can find.

[@awatercolourist]

First!

[@claritzairosario68]

Thank you so much for this review!