Kalour Colored Pencil Review, Can They Do What It Says On The Tin?

[@wanderingstar5673]

Happy you are back !! It’s great that you are gaining more subscribers . Your reviews are so well done and thorough. 🙂

[@TheArtGearGuide]

You are far too kind and generous, thank you so very much for your donation but most of all your wonderful comment. I can't tell you how much I appreciate the absolutely amazing support you have committed to this channel over the years. I've said it before and will say it many times again, I am so incredibly fortunate to have so many wonderful friends on the channel who have been a fantastic support for me over the years. Thank you so much for all your years of support, thank you.

[@Amodgirl]

I just found your channel and I’m so glad I did. This is a great review and I agree about the terms used for marketing, which is why I looked for a review of these pencils. I’m in the USA and found these on a Black Friday deal of $9.99 for 72 pencils and wondered if it was worth it, you answered the questions I had! I can’t wait to check out your channel for other reviews. Thank you for your time and honest review!

[@LewisLittle66]

Thanks Harry, great review. I've seen another review of this set which seems to suggest they're exactly the same as Casle Art Gold - every pencil was a perfect match for one of theirs. They're a lot cheaper than Castle Arts though.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Thank you so much for your comment and support. I am heading back to Northern Ireland for a week as I’ve not been back home since my Dad passed away last November, I’ve not been to his grave to see his headstone, I think I just need to spend a bit of timed back home to help clear my mind. However when I return I shall be getting started in a comparison video, I plan of comparing the Castle Arts, Arrtx, Kalour, and the Brutfuner range, I think all of them could be the same pencils but I need to do a more thorough test. Anyway thank you so much for your comment and support it really does mean the world to me and I am for eternally grateful, thank you so much.

[@laureenhawes8093]

Hi from the USA. This is the 1st time I've viewed your channel and it was very well done. I bought the 300 set of Kalour pencils just because I NEED to have all the colors not that I'm very good at coloring. I was just testing them and they do perform differently on different papers as you well know. Thanks for the review. I will be watching again and subscribing.

[@kassaArt]

You're back 🎉🎉🎉

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Thank you so much, I am so happy to be back working on reviews, I have been really suffering lately in a very dark place, but I am certainly beginning to see a little bit of light, hence the review. The more I work, hopefully the quicker I get out of this slump.

[@kassaArt]

@@TheArtGearGuide, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I enjoy your reviews but I also look forward to hearing how you are. I'm so sorry to hear you were in a dark place. Is there anything I/we can do to help? Have you considered another channel for discussions on this topic as I'm sure it could help others too?

[@queenria7]

@@TheArtGearGuide Harry, I'm just throwing it out there in case it could help you or someone who reads this: what has been helping me with my own 'dark place' situation is breathwork, specifically the Wim Hof method. I use free guided videos on YT. It was hard to do at first and I couldn't do all 3 rounds, but I worked up to it slowly, and the peace I experience during the breathholds is worth it! Been doing it for almost 3 months now, it has gotten much easier and I feel better in general. It is helping me come off my self-medication!

[@kt.hartigan]

Great review as always Harry. I have the 180 set of Kalour and they have some lovely colours but I reach for other budget sets like the Markart first.

[@stevemurray6543]

Good grief Deceptive marketing Thank you You and your videos are greatly appreciated. Stay well and remain positive

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Thank you so very much my friend. Kindest and Warmest regards to you as well. As always thank you so much for your continued support and kind comment.

[@ninner196]

Thank you H. Looking at how you did your review being very objective but also as someone who can tell when hard hitting hand cramping happens well….there it is. For those who like to have just decent quality coloring pencils there are so many brands that you have featured in your videos. It is frustrating even for me to have to search even those considered real pro brands with my eyesight as the writing that has back glare is even more obscured. I do however enjoy passing the lesser lightfast quality of real pro pencils to newer ones and let them get a feel for the differences. Thank you for your videos again. Greetings to you, your loved ones and all.😊

[@thewendylady26]

I bought them, the only breakage issue I had was initially sharpening the Cream pencil, but it’s fine now. I knew, Harry, if you reviewed these you’d have something to say about the “lightfast” ratings. Why even have the 1 or 2 stars on the chart if none of the pencils qualify? I’m using them in coloring books, not for fine art, so lightfastness isn’t an issue for me at all. I like using them. They remind me a lot of Castle Arts Gold.

[@gertietheduck]

I have a 300 set of Kalour that I use to do thumbnails to work out colours and composition and to make storyboards for my video art and I really like them for that as I can get the exact hue I need and I don’t worry about it looking good or lasting. I assume none of the lightfast ratings mean anything - I just treat them as fugitive. But the confusing ratings and descriptions are irritating and would confuse a first-time buyer. It’s a shame because their products are pretty nice for budget pencils so people would still buy them! I also have the full set of pastel Brutfuner and the Brutfuner squares and although they look very similar and I assume they must be made by the same factory I feel that the Brutfuner are much more consistent and have less “scratchy bits” in the leads so i tend to use those for fun sketchbook drawing more. I also have plenty of sets of artist grade pencils (Polychromos, Luminance, Derwent Lightfast, Holbein,…) but I really enjoy the Kalours and Brutfuner for quick stuff where I am not too worried about it looking great or lasting forever. I would pick Brutfuner over Kalour (and could I do it all over agin I would just buy a larger Brutfuner set), but both are fun (though I don’t think I need any more).This new set looks gorgeous!

[@Abi.Cadaver]

Great review as always. I'd be really interested in seeing what you think of the Kalour PDA's 120 in the case and if they are the same as the regular kalour.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Is that the set where the zip bag looks like it has tiles covering it from a kitchen? amzn.to/3XxMPt6 is this the right set? If so I’ll order them now for a review. Thank you so much for the suggestion, I always love it when people ask me to review a certain set, it makes the review all the more important to me and a desire of providing the most accurate review I can. Thank you so much for the support and comment I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.

[@AdrianSebastianPinero]

Could it be they got the lightfast legend order inverted? Seeing earth tones, blues and black having worse lightfastness than lavender, rose or cream is kind of unexpected.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

It absolutely could be like that, but it’s really difficult to contact Kalour directly, ordinarily when I review a product and I need clarification, I’ll contact the company directly, I never look it up online, because I am not getting source information at that point. But with Kalour it so difficult, so I can only review the product as I find it, unfortunately, trying to guess if it is back to front, is on you guys. Mind you, having said that, I have emailed them about this and if I get a response I will absolutely amend the written review. But even if it is back to front, the wording doesn’t make sense either, just “Lightfast” is the third rating, so even if it is back to front, simply lightfast will always remain in the middle, but it means nothing, even with the 3 +++. Thank you so much for your comment and support and I will of course keep you all updated if they reply. Thank you so very much.

[@roslynnaidoo3564]

Good review … appreciate the effort

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Thank you so much I am glad you found some value in it . Thank you so very much.

[@KarenKhen94]

In regards to the lightfast they for some reason they have the star system the wrong way round as in other packets the more stars the more lightfast the pencils are. This must be a typo mistake in production a big mistake if you ask me

[@Christine__D]

I was thinking the same thing, that has to be in error! Because browns and earthy colors are often extremely lightfast and according to their system they're fugitive. I wonder if someone is going to get in bug trouble lol

[@KarenKhen94]

@@Christine__D I use this brand as it's great for colouring in and for practice projects or a draft so I don't waste my very expensive profecinal pencils. They are good pencils for what they are and this is the only set the lighgfast is backwards on it it's a typo

[@janetstorey416]

There is more than one light fast system, the most commonly used is the American system, although I believe the Chinese use the other system. The star rating is different in each case making it confusing.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

@janetstorey416 there is only two internationally recognised lightfast standards, the Blue Wool which is graded 1 to 8, with 1 being the least lightfast and 8 and 7 being the most. The other standard is the ASTM and that is LF1 is the highest rating and LF5 is the lowest. Now anyone can come up with their own way of lightfast rating, but unless that system has been recognised as an accredited standard, the artist using that system could not, in good faith sell their work as lightfast. In other words, if I swatch out a set of colored pencils, say the Kalour pencils on review and I left them in my window for a month, with half the pigments protected from light, I could tell myself all the pigments are lightfast, because I tested them. The only problem is, I live in the north of England where we don’t see the sun that often. So if someone in Arizona tested the same pencils in the same way, for the same period of time, they would almost certainly get completely different results. That is why, companies pay huge amounts of money to have their products lightfast tested under the ASTM or Blue Wool standards. If it was as easy as placing a swatch on a windowsill for a month or so, every company would do this and save themselves a lot of money. The Blue Wool and ASTM standards off the companies and artists and insurance, that when they sell an original art piece and they tell their client that the work is lightfast for 100 plus years, they are protected. Both standards are able to replicate the perfect conditions to emulate 100 years of indirect sunlight. For anyone else to make this claim, they would have to leave their swatch in the windowsill for 100 years, which of course is pointless, at least for the artist starting the project as they will most likely be dead by the time the final results are in. There are lots of colored pencil companies on the market that claim their pencils are lightfast but they have used their own in house testing methods. So taking into consideration the protection and insurance the ASTM and Blue Wool standards provide, you as the artist have to determine how credible those other lightfast testing methods are. You see, I can talk to people from the Blue Wool and ASTM standards, which I have, and ask them to explain their methods in layman’s terms. But with these other companies, they are very reluctant to explain their lightfast testing methods. If a company claims their product to be lightfast but can’t explain their methods, well, that is a little bit suspicious to me.

[@lorenzodegidio9991]

These are identical to the castle art gold pencils. Literally just white labeled.

[@KarenKhen94]

They are the same pencils they are all manufactured in the same factory just different packaging

[@TheArtGearGuide]

I’m going to be comparing in one video the Arrtx, Castle, Brutfuner, Kalour and CcFoud colored pencils, I have a sneaky suspicion they might all be one in the same, but we will have to wait for the testing and comparison video.

[@CrystalsColorStyle]

​@TheArtGearGuide hey Harry please compare them to the Castle Arts Gold pencils, I found them to be very similar if not identical and found a color match for every single color with some even using the same names.

[@KarenKhen94]

@@CrystalsColorStyle they arenthe same they are made in the same factory just rembranded

[@KarenKhen94]

@@TheArtGearGuide most of the brands you mentioned are manufactured in the same factory they are the same pencils just different branding. You could order the same pencils under your own brand and packaging if you order a minimum amount

[@danielaferrari1380]

Thank you for the thorough review. Helpful as always.

[@Renata-rv7wp]

I think there are less than ten legitimate brands of coloured pencils (I can only think of Faber, Prisma, Kohinoor, Caran, Derwent, Royal Talens - although I have my suspicions there too... and perhaps school brands like Crayola or Maped), the rest (including this) is all just white label and I sigh everytime someone comes up with yet another set of pencils that is the same as all the others from China (hell, they even have similar logos, Kalour looks like Arteza). Reminds me of your review of White Nights pencils which is also white label. These pencils just don't deserve to be treated separately.

[@DC-gh6dy]

Commenting for KZbin 🤠

[@heejin0303]

Thank you thank you😊

[@TheArtGearGuide]

You are most welcome and thank you so much for your comment and for your wonderful support, it truly does mean the world to me

[@sophieellie3193]

I have expensive sets of pencils and budget sets as well. The budget sets are great for adult coloring books and just noodling about. I have both the Kalour and Artistro sets for those types of just relaxing coloring sessions when artist quality and lightfastness ratings don't really matter. You don't want to use up your really expensive pencils on that kind of stuff.

[@judithtrigg1694]

I bought the 120 kalour in the case,they are soft i read reveiws on amazon,they stated that they are light fast.but now im wondering,im not going to use them on my art.

[@KessaWitdaFro]

The lightfastness scale and printing is just like the arteza scale 🤔

[@MustiCat1]

A non- lightfast ivory black ??? I get the feeling the colours got "lost" in translation 😂

[@artadict]

I've tried various brands of pencils bust always go back to Derwent Colorsoft. My favorites. You channel is so informative keep up the good work. This is my first time posting. I feel like mjpete27 having using so many pencils before he passes away.

[@vishneva2000]

Thank you for your always informative review. I passed on this set. I like Kalour pencils (the ones that have full color barrels). But I saw on Cristal's Color & Style channel that these were exactly the same as Castle Arts Gold set (except that's 120 colors and this just 72). Since I have the CA Gold set, I passed. I was looking through Amazon's Kalour offerings and it's crazy that there's so many variations. These or the black barrel and the full color barrell. I like the latter. They just seem to grab anybody's overstock and then slap their label on it. It really ruins their reputation, IMO. Again, I really like the ones that have the full color barrels. I actually have several size sets of these and I'm very fond of them (as a budget set). Maybe the have the lightfast info on there for consistency because some of their other pencils also have those lightfast rating (those full color barrel ones have them).

[@wolfmoon2010]

I have been trying a lot of different ones Brutfuner, hiforny, castle arts, Derwent academy and I like the brutfuners the best and they were the cheapest. Not tried kalour 🙈🤣.

[@marjo-riittareinikainen9740]

Temu sells those Kalour pencils.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

Yeah you can get them in most places but I looked on both and for here in the UK at least, £15 was the cheapest I could find on AliExpress. Thank you so much for your comment and support.

[@olegdolganovskiy487]

Столько карандашец у Калур, столько видов ..... Маркетинг. Все не купить. Но думаю что эти стоит купить и испробовать.!!! Набор в 72 цвета это вполне ок.

[@Christine__D]

I do like this palette, i see a lot of more natural colors.

[@Christine__D]

And the ultramarine is a lovely warm blue.

[@bonjovi1354]

plz if u can get brustro color pencils do a review ..here in india .. prisma color pencils r just so expensive 72 set can get upto 190 us dollars .. caron da ache ones r 4 times that price ..but derwents are way cheaper as 90 us dollars for 72 lightfast thats the most expensive derwent .. also kohi nooor ones r less expensive but 100 dollars and thats expensive for 48 pieces and brustro ones r 72 pieces but 24 dollars as its an indian brand so no import and other taxes .. i was thinking about buying kalor they r cheaper in here ..arrtx is not available i have 48 sets of derwent colorsoft and 36 set of polychromos .. faber castell is abit expensive than derwent .. but better deal 120 set costs 140 us dollars and can b purchased single .so its a good deal .. anyway i want to get brustro 72 set for more practice so i dont waste my poly and colorsoft

[@mjpete27]

Hullo Harry, I am just glad that I have more pencils purchased than I am likely to use up before I pass away! I decided to buy the Cezanne brand from Jerry’s Artarama for my better budget pencils and Brutfuner Square’s for my basic budget pencils! I use Faber Castell Poly’s or Albrecht Durer’s for my fine art pieces. I have occasionally used my Prismacolor pencils for a project. I have not created a pencil only fine artwork in years! I know that you are respected and depended on for recommendations for new purchases and who we can send people to when they have questions. You Sir are truly amazing and quite a wonderful person. I have sent people to watch your videos when they have questions and I believe that they base their purchases on your reviews, especially for budget and professional grade supplies! I have thought that when the marketing department gets involved with the quality of any product, that’s when you get these “wacky” tables like this one! Thank you Harry!

[@theartisticactuary]

Those lightfastness ratings make this pencil set junk. Although… …it's weird that lightfastness is numbered 1 to 5 rather than 5 to 1. It's always possible that the legend is wring and that 5 is superlightfast and 1 is vampire. I won't be taking any chances though.

[@UrMumNsuch]

This was helpful, I almost bought these. I’d like to see a review on CcFoud colored pencils; I’ve been seeing them a lot lately and wonder if they’re similar to Kalour and Brutfuner (since Kalour and Brutfuner are the same pencil)

[@TheArtGearGuide]

I have a set of them to review and once I review that set, the plan is to try a compare between, Arrtx, Castle Arts, Kalour, Brutfuner and Ccfoud. I have a very funny feeling they could all be from the same factory, but we will have to test and see.

[@山下鈴花-t9o]

カラー❤

[@ybe7011]

Most not light-fast? Not worth it in my opinion.

[@TheArtGearGuide]

For the 72 set, they are only £15 or $23, so in my opinion there was just no need to ever mention lightfast at all. Anyone who has been using Colored pencils for any length of time should know that a 72 set of colored pencils being sold at such Low prices and not going to be archival in any way shape or form. This is absolutely fine, there is absolutely a place and a time for non archival pencils. Just don’t try to market, advertise and sell them off as something they are not. This type of marketing is unfair for young artists and new artists.