New Arrtx 126 Colored Pencils Set Review & Update to the 72 set

Arrtx recently added a larger set of colored pencils to their range of art supplies. Let's see what's new with this 126 set and how it compares to the old 72 sets released earlier this year.
You can find both sets of these on Amazon: amzn.to/3X8cB5l
US fans enjoy 15% off from 9-15th Jan.
UK fans enjoy 15% off from 16-22th Jan.
What's New:
*Improved storage box: the pencils stay in place with slots for each row, this will keep your pencils upright and in order as you color.
*Better color matching on the barrels (also in the 72 set)
*New midtones added to aid in blending.
*2 yellows have been removed from the line and a blue and purple have been added (same with 72 set)
*Other than that the pencils feel and color the same as before.
Pros:
Soft lead
Price
Sharpens well (no breakage with any pencil in my electric sharpener, I use this one: amzn.to/3GjioxY )
Nice color selection
Nice storage
Cons:
No open stock availability.
Some colors are very similar (about 12, but since they are not available in open stock it might be good to have extras.)
Other: You might want to put an elastic band around the boxes to prevent spilling the pencils.
Bottom line: I recommend these to artists and crafters on a budget. If you are not worried about lightfastness give them a try. I also think these would be nice for people with arthritis as they don't need much tressure to get a lot of color. I like them.
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#thefrugalcrafter #watercolor #art

[@winternight8813]

Lindsay that Orange Fruit on black is FREAKING AWESOME!!!! I love it! I love watching your reviews for things like, use an elastic band and protect your pencils is such good advice for us, AND the manufacturer.Thank you for another very informative review!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you!

[@smitachengappa]

I don't need new pencils, but I'm very glad I watched the review for that fabulous marketing slogan that companies are missing out on..."for kids who don't eat their art supplies"🤣🤣

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😆

[@B1rdLadee]

Thank you for the review! Just curious, would you consider doing a mini tutorial on how to use the fluorescent colors over watercolors or other pencils? For some reason my mind is struggling to grasp how that would work….

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Great idea!

[@corvus3513]

I second that video idea 🎉

[@lindseywarren44]

Yes, please!! I would love that!

[@AprilRoseNW]

I just think you are an awesome artist . I’ve been following you for quite some time and I can honestly say you’ve never shown a drawing or painting that I would ever call anything but beautifully, professional. ! Love your work ❤️

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Wow, thank you!

[@Gingerwalker.]

Super informative. Thank you. I really enjoyed your deeper explanations about why there can be differences within a brand. The manufacturing, and the costs associated with those aspects. It helps as a consumer to understand what they are up against.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Glad it was helpful!

[@vickicervantes1817]

I bought my colored pencil set the same time as you got yours and that was in May 2022. I really like my set other than how they fall to one side when you. When my grandchildren come over to stay the weekend and color with the colored pencils I give them this set and they stand up to other colored pencils🥰❤😊❣

[@justacatwhocantype]

This is already on my shopping list, because I have bought the smaller set and I totally love it. I don't mind that they may not be lightfast, I have other brands for that. Apart from the packaging, which is pretty but extremely annoying, I have zero complaints about these pencils.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I totally agree!

[@heianwoman]

The orange on black background is stunning. This is the most beautiful piece I’ve seen.

[@heianwoman]

On black I mean. And I just heard that isn’t an orange lol.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks!

[@melissaaldosari8024]

Wow! Your artwork is incredible!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you so much 😀

[@DAYbreaking_Ideas]

I. Am taking my 72 to work (art therapy) and just got the 126 set for 38 and came down to 30 with credit points. Happy 😃 They work in my journal and coloring.

[@katarinaholik]

I have the Brutfuner 120 square pencils set and I don't plan to get this one, but I like to watch your reviews, I like to know what is new.

[@PursuingHeaven]

Thanks Lindsay as always appreciate your reviews. I have the 126 set an got them for my Rita Berman books when I travel because I normally use Holbein in in her books and didn't want to travel with my expensive Professional sets. I think for budget Arrtx works well. Big shout out to you for recommending Canson sanded grain mix media. I am doing nearly ALL my single coloring pages on it now and I have started doing my grand kitty on it to practice before I do her on Pastelmat. Love this budget friendly paper! BIG Thank you for that tip!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Do you print on the grain grain paper? I wondered how that would work.

[@veryberry39]

Holy crow, that fruit looked like it was taken out of a photograph. It's funny, I'm so used to you painting fairly loosely that when you do realistic stuff like that, it blows me away! ...Which probably sounds like a backhanded compliment, and I do NOT mean it to be! I adore allllll your art!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you!

[@adventurerke]

realistic or loose style is not a superiority vs inferiority thing!! it's just a matter of artstyle, so it's not a back handed compliment imo

[@kashiomi_art]

I love your reviews, they are so in-depth and informative

[@mjpete27]

Hullo Lindsay, thank you for this wonderful review! I don’t believe that I would use any of those boxes! I am just a bit spoiled, my wife makes pencil roll containers from felt and or fabrics! I put my Brutfuner square pencils in jars or big can type containers. I like keeping my pencils in rolls and felt is my favorite as they cushion them and are easy to slide in and out! Sweet looking fruit and your hamburger has made me hungry for lunch! Very well done! See ya next video.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@JenniferHRoss]

My set came perfectly packaged, but I assume someone must have been playing football at the Amazon warehouse. I used them on a colouring book page and was pretty disappointed. They are definitely water soluble, and I had so many problems with breakage. Some of them are about half the original size purely due to the leads snapping while sharpening. I didn't mind the 72 set, but these are kind of disappointing. I will never use them for any original art. But I love the tangerine you did on the black paper. That restored some of my faith in these - they may be okay on black or dark paper. Thanks as always for the video.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I'd contact the seller about the breakage. That's not typical. They may replace your set.

[@128titanic]

Hello, Nice to meet you soon! I'm Sokwon kim and I always thank you for your videos and drawings! Your drawing works are always most beautiful works! Dear Lindsay!🧡!❤!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you so much 😀

[@TerrieJohnson731]

I'm considering adding these to my collection. I purchased the 72 soft pastels and they arrive today 🎉 Excellent color range I found on them ❤ I have been thinking about a softer colored pencil but no sure about springing for Prismas. Thank you for the review. I use SF, and though they are nice, they are a little hard to me.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

You’re going to love them!

[@kristenvigne3590]

I love your fruit art! It might make a great tutorial!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Oh thank you!

[@Sadia..t]

Your reviews feel so trustworthy, thank you darling. Good to come across your vid earlier, I was about to buy them😅 I think I am gonna for Marco tribute for beginner wax pencils after my brutfunner 120✨

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Glad I could help!

[@esthermarx482]

Love the red on your nails, fits your hands perfectly🌸

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks 🤗

[@marytesta3003]

Thank you. Very good review. I always trust your opinion. Amazon is really rough on packages but it's delivery companies in general. My Blick box looked like something smashed the box.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Very true!

[@37miiaa]

Thank you so much for this video! I am looking for a good set of colored pencils to buy and I really appreciate how honest you are 💗 also you literally answered any question I could ever think off 💕💕

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Via_Von]

Thank you Lindsay! 👏🏻♥️👏🏻

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Any time!

[@anna334100]

These are more similar to Prisma Junior, maybe a little bit better. I love them, the colors are beautiful.

[@spiritsjoy]

I am a hot mess, lol. I said i wasnt going to get another set of colored pencils, but curious monster got me with everyone comparing these to prismacolor. They are 10 dollars off today so at least its a sale and the barrels seem to have a cute jewel design on them..... Hopefully Amazon adds a bit of packing material instead of tossing them in an overly large box.

[@ChantelleArts]

This is a really thorough review, great video 😊

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Glad you liked it!

[@rubberartist]

Lindsay, i told you i would buy another tray of the Meiliang Pretty Excellent if you confirmed they were still pretty great. Up pops the 126 Arttx pencils with the box of paints for $60.99. I snatched them up. The boxes are a PIA, for sure! Also, i had a video of a cover band doing Fat-Bottomed Girls and I thought of you when he sang about all the blue-eyed floozies he had seen on the road, down South. ❤ You and me, Lady! 😅😂

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😄 funny! Great price in the combo. Enjoy!

[@tracyvis2101]

Love that orange!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks!

[@suearcher8708]

I'm so glad you did this video! I have been meaning to ask you about pencils. I love my Prisma Colors, but have been wanting to ask you about sets of pencils that are soft like Prisma Colors.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sandylecomte2846]

I would love a tutorial on the persimmon…it’s so beautiful!!

[@susanhodel3194]

I love the way Prismacolor work, but I have switched to Faber Castell, due to the constant breakage of the Prismacolor pencils. I felt like I had wasted too much money on them. I tried different sharpeners, but still had too much breakage. Thank you for doing these reviews, they are very helpful.

[@carolynpicken6949]

I use an electric sharpener and have no more issues with breakage

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I have the best luck with an electric sharpener.

[@mjpete27]

If your pencils have been dropped there’s no sharpener that’s going to work well. I have used the trick to resurrect prismacolors before and that is simply putting them in the oven for a half an hour at 350° you have to experiment a little you do small batches and you don’t want to burn them! But you want to re-liquefy the core and eliminate that breakage. Good luck in your oven! You might also want to avoid buying the absolute cheapest version of the pencils.

[@marytesta3003]

I have the same issue with my prismacolo. I'm so disappointed with them. It's frustrating.

[@samhugh4965]

I have a 72 set of the Kalour, 12 set of Prisma, 24 set of Faber-Castell, and a whole bunch of odds and ends (which includes, apparently, Prisma when they were called something else), and I do like the Faber-Castell the best…however, I can’t really afford to spend a great deal on more very high quality pencils because my two granddaughters often color with me. And even with the sets and pencils I have, I’ve found that I actually could use more colors. So I’m debating about getting the brand you just reviewed or possibly Black Widow, which I think is maybe a higher quality than Arrtx but not as high as the premium pencils. Any thoughts on that?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I've never used black widow so I can't say.

[@BeckyTregear]

I got a dinged box too; maybe they send the imperfect boxes out to reviewers, lol. 😂 Otherwise I really, really like these pencils! This bigger set is really great, and I wish they had singles available. Oh wow your artworks are beautiful; I love the burger!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😆 maybe!

[@ravenofthewild]

Thank you. What sharpener do you recommend for soft core pencils? My Prismacolor pencils have so much breakage, I feel I end up getting use of only about half of my Prismacolor pencils.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I use this one amzn.to/3kuPXGr

[@ravenofthewild]

@@thefrugalcrafter thanks so much.

[@patriciadickerson6628]

Interesting that they are somewhat water soluble. I can see using them to sketch out a watercolor painting. Do you still like the Jarlink electric pencil sharpener? I've had no luck finding a decent sharpener that doesn't break off the leads of most any kind of pencil.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Yup, it's working great for me still! I've really put it through its paces!

[@shanicestella2226]

Looks Delightful

[@deborahbloom4624]

The orange is just beautiful, Lindsay!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks!

[@twingytwango6971]

Those pencils are sooooo pretty. Just love to look at them, instead of using them.

[@Art_by_Nicole]

Hi! Thanks for the review! I already have the Arteza set and Arrtx looks a bit the same to me when I saw the comperrisment with PC, Derwent etc. Do you think the Arrtx is a set to have with the Arteza or are they quite similar?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

The arrtx is much softer in my opinion. It just depends on what you like. Arrtx is like prismacolor and arteza feels more like hobein to me.

[@Art_by_Nicole]

@@thefrugalcrafter thanks! I don’t have the Hobein so I will take your word for it 😁 I find the Arteza a bit stubborn. Good for a few layers with bright colour but it if you burnish it will get streaky; it reacts like a oil-pencil burnished to soon 🤔 especially the lighter colours. For my chronic pain I need a pencil that gives instant good colour and is good for details (hair, eyes etc). I tried the Luminance but the barrel is too thick for me. Derwent also has thicker barrels. PC is great to hold but to soft for most of my work. I am now saving up for the Pablo. I’m the meantime I could try the Arrtx. God, this coloringworld is beautiful but sometimes so exhausting 😅

[@judygrandstrand9784]

I found these today on Amazon for about $46.00 with a 5% off coupon! Yay!

[@sambabird7]

I love your drawing!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thank you so much 😀

[@cheesim]

Great review! I like mine, but unfortunately the box cover started to split like yours after a week 😅

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Sorry to hear that

[@Welcome_to_colour_time]

Beautiful colours and what sharpener do you use to get the best long point?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

This one: amzn.to/3jiY48a

[@wanderingstar5673]

Maybe put a couple of binder clips between the two lower sections when they are being put away??? Enjoyed the video and drawings , but I definitely don’t need more colored pencils.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Thanks for the tip!

[@twingytwango6971]

I am pleasantly surprised at the results of the Arrtx in those works you prepared.

[@rachelsilsby2099]

I’m looking at getting the Arrtx 126 pencil set or some of the Black widow colour pencil sets ….. or get both. Anyone got any advice on what is best ?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I haven't used black widow.

[@twingytwango6971]

Has anyone seen or been using the pencils called Limidix? What has your experience been like with the Limidix?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I have not heard of them.

[@dcsparkle4783]

1/3/22 - Hi, Can you list the pencil sharpeners - manual and electric you used to sharpen these Arrtx Color Pencils? Thank you!!!!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I use this one amzn.to/3IO9JXf

[@karemmathes1443]

Please do a video on the orange.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I might!

[@confidential5897]

"don't feel an urgency or a rush to buy any of these things" ...FYI the price dropped by almost 20% today 🙊

[@lenelk5074]

They are on the promotion! I got news from their group and US people can enjoy 15% off from 9-15th Jan. UK people can enjoy 15% off from 16-22th Jan.

[@frogspotting4685]

What are the colors that were removed, and added? I got the small set and ordered the bigger set, it'd be nice to know what the names of the colors are.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

It was 2 yellows replced by a blue and purple. They've done that to both size sets. I don't recall the names.

[@After40Art]

I ordered these for myself for my Birthday. So annoyed, my box is all messed up too stupid Amazon needs to learn to be more careful with stuff :(

[@ChiseledDiamond]

You can always put them in a old cake tin!

[@After40Art]

@@ChiseledDiamond I could. But I won't. I can't have colored pencils knocking around inside a tin. I do that with my graphite and charcoal stuff. I will most likely resort to buying a case for them. It's just annoying that Amazon is so careless when packaging stuff for shipping.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I would contact them. It's not a lot to ask for your pencils to arrive in good condition.

[@taylorjudi]

"I want more..." Little Mermaid.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

😆

[@deepowers3117]

Would the lack of water fastness to these pencils effect how they should be used over a base of alcohol markers or of a base layer of water color markers? Is there a video you know of on how to use Artxx markers with colored pencils for us beginners?

[@thefrugalcrafter]

It should be a problem because you would use the pencils as a last layer.

[@deepowers3117]

@@thefrugalcrafter reads should be a problem. Did you mean shouldn't be? Does it take longer for water based markers to dry than alcohol? Your artistic talent is incredible. And listening to your enthusiastic reviews and your cheerful tutorials on how to use products, by showing us how, always gives me a needed life when I'm down. Thanks for being you. Sincerely, Dee

[@phillipstroll7385]

I personally do not care about packaging. Unless that box is going to complete my drawing and under painting I couldn't care less. They all end up in our own personal caring devices eventually anyway.

[@dianawiltse6679]

Hi Lindsay I have a unrelated question, I can’t get into my critique club I usually use the link on my invoice but it keeps going away. HELP please!

[@thefrugalcrafter]

That is odd. Please email me at [e-mail] and we can figure it out. If you are having trouble logging in you can request a password reset but otherwise email me and I'll look up your account.

[@dianawiltse6679]

I tried to send you an email but it wouldn’t deliver it. When I try to go into critique club it is just where we originally went to sign up I can’t find anything else. I’m probably not making much sense but I went to google and it wasn’t any help either.

[@maryfeist8080]

I got my set June 1, 2024, for 27.49. Amazon.

[@thefrugalcrafter]

Good price, enjoy!

[@winterrain1947]

I am SO jealous! I got mine a while back and they were $50 😤

[@Rebecca640]

What I don't like about them is that they have too many dark colors, too many similar colors and the barrels don't match the core colors. The barrels seem cheap. But I like the stars on them. The box is terrible. They are scratchy on toothy paper. I like the kalour and brutfuner much more

[@linden211]

Fyi...comments are turned off on your declutter video

[@thefrugalcrafter]

I saw that! It's fixed now:)

[@amyx231]

These sets are getting ridiculous. 24? Yes! 48? Of course! 72? Wow! 120? Er… More? Hmmm…..nowadays….

[@thefrugalcrafter]

That's nothing. The sets get bigger every month!

[@amyx231]

@@thefrugalcrafter ikr?! I still remember that book-like set you got. So big it couldn’t even fit inside 1 box, they used 4! Or the huge suitcase-like (stuff duffle bag-like?) box packaging for that Aliexpress one.