The Stash Series Pt. 1 | Watercolour Pencils Tested & Compared!

[@TheColourCave]

For those of you who got 'early access' - hope you enjoyed! Apologies if you had to sit through lots of ads - YT autogenerates ad breaks when you upload, and I always find it's way too many and adjust it manually. Hope you still enjoyed the video!

[@sueellens]

Oh I was an early bird 😀 . I didn’t notice the ads actually, and yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the video! Have a good day (it’s 2am and I guess I’m up for the day!).

[@ninafairyart]

I was up late cause I've been ill and didn't notice the ads either. Really enjoyed the video, I used to have a wee Norris set too. Lovely to use, just really not light-fast at all.

[@artatjules]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the caran dache museum aquarelle pencils, I love my albrecht durer and have been toying between derwent and caran dache as an extra. Caran dache are soo much more expensive but are supposed to be the best on the market but are they worth it? The reviews I've watched rave about them, but neglect to mention costs

[@eileenvalachovic9435]

Some things I love about the Albert Durer Watercolor Pencils is that the whole pencil is the color and not just the end and I like that the color doesn't seem to change with water. The intensity may change depending on how much water but not the base color. Thank you so much for doing this review,

[@TheColourCave]

Most welcome, and I agree entirely!

[@debbiethedoodler1074]

Wow...comprehensive, informative and fun. I look forward to arting these and learning about their lay down and water dilution. Thank you Gem and take care.

[@paulalister80]

Loved this, was loads of fun. You’ve out done yourself with information.

[@lorisharp1152]

Love all the information you provide is. You make buying supplies easy. You're awesome Gem!

[@kendraiacouzze4930]

WOW did I learn a boatload from you today. Thanks so much Gem💖🌈

[@TheColourCave]

Most welcome! 🙂

[@sueellens]

Thanks Gem. This was very interesting.

[@janetlitchfield1774]

Interesting review and finding. Can't wait to see how they hold up in application. Thank you for sharing

[@mjpete27]

Wonderful video! I enjoy watching your methodology and your joy in art is so apparent in your manner too! I seem to recall my gran teaching me watercolor a lot when watching your videos. I used the Koh-I-noor brand for years and did not realize that not ALL color pencils were water soluble! I look forward to watching you continue with this series of videos using watercolor pencils. I have tried to glaze with pencils and you did quite well, it is not their best use. I find they work very well adding details to established compositions. Gem, you are truly inspiring and such a joy to watch, thank you for continuing to share your art journey with us. Please take care and be safe over there!

[@sarascope]

Thank you, Gem! This was very helpful and fun to watch (as always ❤️)

[@poetspicecolorwrite]

Fun to see the differences.

[@fullmetalweazle5410]

Made myself wait so I could have coffee and cave 😄 Brilliant video Gem, I love the amount of detail and effort you put in 💕 x

[@TheColourCave]

😊 thank you

[@pooshkahnla6074]

Missed the early access, and tuned in at the usual time... This is very useful and detailed - I recently got a set of the Derwent watercolour pencils (old old stock apparently as the numbers and colour names are all different to what's on the current website plus the tin and barrels are all changed...) and I really love them, so it's good to feel my opinion is vindicated...LOL I look forward to the next steps...

[@lisapt6702]

I’m wondering if Gem started the upload at the same time as always, but with the spiffy new internet, it finished hours earlier than it used to. In any case, this video was a delight to find on a Wednesday evening. Thanks so much for the comparison. I have a very cheep set of watercolor pencils I use very rarely. There is a very good chance I’ll start using them a bit more once I watch the video series. Of course, I’ll probably have to get a better set of watercolor pencils along the way :-)

[@TheColourCave]

You aren't far off actually with your wonderings!

[@christineskinner8217]

Great video v interesting to see the comparisons

[@fathobbit6160]

This was very informative. I really enjoy this sort of content. I remember getting my first art supplies from W H Smith and I’m not surprised that the quality was so bad. I use the Koh I Noor Mandeluz pencils from the Czech Republic. They are up with the Albrecht Durer in my opinion but much cheaper. Thanks for this well put together review. More please😀

[@elainetyrrell4669]

Very interesting thanks Gem. My first watercolour pencils were Reeves (bought many years ago) but I just did a comparison swatch with my Derwent ones, they are abysmal - very scratchy and very little pigment. Wondering why I didn’t throw them away years ago, but I just hate throwing art supplies away! In your next video would you mention which is your favourite pencil sharpener for watercolour pencils please? Happy weekend.

[@Mirrigold]

Fab video as ever, I recently found my original Derwent watercolour 24 set of pencils which must be at least 25 years old!

[@TheColourCave]

Would be interesting to see how they compare to the newer ones!

[@byulgzr]

Interesting to hear about how Derwent changed their formula in 2009 and it got better. My experience is that the few pencils I purchased open stock were better than the 72 set, so I ended up returning the set and going with the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer. A bummer cuz I really liked the colors from Derwent, but they were very crumbly and the same colors in the set did not match to the open stock pencils I had. Makes me want to try the Derwent again because I love their Inktense pencils.

[@blackrose538]

I'm very interested to see what you do with these, even though I'm not really a fan of watercolour pencils myself. Maybe because I haven't really found a good use for them, since I enjoy working with a paintbrush, haha. I did own a lovely set of Caran D'Ache watercolour pencils once, though, but I gave them away last year, since I haven't used them in years.

[@ArtJourneyUK]

My favourite watercolour pencils are my 20+ year old Derwents, they’ve always been great and nothing compared. Not sure what the Derwent ones are like now.

[@wendyellis6008]

Great informative video

[@catbraunwell6450]

You’re a hoot. Love your videos.

[@TheColourCave]

Haha, thank you!

[@e-dubbses403]

Cannot wait to see these bad boys in action. 🥰

[@kstewart3901]

I don't use watercolor pencils, but have been thinking about getting some. If I do, I think I'll go for the Stadtler ones if I want to try. Thanks, that was very thorough!

[@TheColourCave]

I was so pleased with the Staedtler pencils (in case you couldn’t guess!) I would highly recommend the little set of you want to try them out, especially if it’s for colouring books where lightfastness isn’t so much of an issue.

[@s.e.hebert7307]

I think I heard you say "Y'all" :-) Thanks for the demos and peek at these pencils -- I voted to see this type of tool in your series! I have a budget set of WC pencils (MagicFly) on the way, but discovered my Arteza regular colored pencil set is HIGHLY water-soluble and the other budget set of pencils I ordered to try, the StarJoy 120 set (excellent), is soluble as well though not as much as the Artezas. I'm thinking I may not even need the WC set, anymore.

[@TheColourCave]

I do use 'y'all' sometimes 😊 It's well-known that the Arteza regular pencils are water-soluble, but not something I've tried.

[@imNayara]

Awesome video Gem, thank you! Last year I started to buy some nice coloured pencils (mostly because of your influence :D ) and since my preferred medium is watercolour, I figured I should start with the Albrecht Durers. However, when using them in "normal pencil" format I always wonder how much of a difference there is between them and the Polychromos, if any. Anyway, looking forward to part 2!

[@TheColourCave]

I find that the Albrechts aren't as smooth going down as the Polychromos, and you have far greater layering capabilities with the Polychromos if you are using them as 'normal' pencils. Just my thoughts!

[@imNayara]

@@TheColourCave That's really interesting, thank you very much Gem!

[@KitarraChaosWeaver]

Oooo early video! This is very useful and interesting! I like that you are not including Inktense because they are not technically a watercolor pencil. I did notice that most sets of water color pencils sets are smaller than the regular pencil and that a lot of them are limited to 12 or 24. I do wonder if that means that these sets are meant to actually be blended on a palate like watercolors to make other colors. I wonder how that would work?

[@TheColourCave]

Not true, Polychromos/Albrecht Durer = same number. The limitations on set size is more likely to do with the development of the pigment into core - some shades work better than others and companies wanting to keep within a budget. Regarding blending, you do it on the paper by layering the pencil. More to come on that later.

[@KitarraChaosWeaver]

@@TheColourCave You may have a point. Just interesting that on several sets I have seen that normal colors is 72 and watercolor is 60. Or 48 and 36. It's interesting! Can't wait to see part 2!

[@ranamcmahon7653]

Awesome review. ✏✏✏ I have the Albrecht Durer Magnus. I think that's how you spell it. It's like riding a thoroughbred as opposed to a Quarter horse. Their just not the same ride.

[@TheColourCave]

I'm not a fan of the magnus pencils - they don't seem to sit well in my hand at all. what do you find different about them?

[@Dannyashcroft98]

a water colour pencil set i particularly enjoy are the caran dache supracolour

[@ColzoArt]

Interesting video, Gem! My Albert Durer set of 12 came with a white... I ended up buying an indigo open stock and swapped out the black. I didn’t like the derwent watercolour pencils much at all, they kept crumbling every time I sharpened them.

[@TheColourCave]

I've heard a few people say that, it will be interesting to see how they fare over the next few videos?

[@ColzoArt]

@@TheColourCave yea, I was really disappointed with the derwent W/C pencils, but I liked the inktense pencils but not the sticks. Have you used the arteza wood less watercolour pencils, I enjoyed them as a wee intro to watercolour pencils

[@traceycromwell864]

Thank you again for another great informative video. When I began coloring about 3 - 4 yrs ago I bought a 36 count of Prismacolor watercolor pencils. I have never used them. Im surprised that I dont see any mention of them in KZbin videos. Have you ever used these pencils? If so, how are they to use? If no, have you ever heard anything about them? I want to try & use them but don't know how to use them. 😣

[@KitarraChaosWeaver]

I have not used those personally but from what I have read, everyone says to avoid the Prismacolor watercolor pencils. Pretty much they are universally panned by everyone who has used them,

[@TheColourCave]

I’ve seen very mixed reviews, I’m sure you could search on KZbin for an independent review to get an idea? In the next few Stash Series videos I’ll be talking more about practical uses for watercolour pencils, so stay tuned!

[@RamoArt]

This review makes the Albrecht Dürer pencils look amazing, but compared to other fancy pencils they are the worst in my opinion. I would choose Supracolor over them any day. My biggest issue with them is that they don't draw well over color that was laid down and "activated" with water.

[@TheColourCave]

That’s very interesting, I’ll look forward to testing that out in the next video. Thanks for the comment!

[@margaretsmith9954]

💜💜💜🇬🇧

[@bakerby]

[Staedtler are] not very good for making artists quality colour pencils... I won’t even let my students use them. I bought a few large sets a few years back and regret that purchase to this day. Dry and scratchy (to borrow your phrase) at best.

[@TheColourCave]

You are the first person to agree ever agree with me on that, but I’ve tried a few of their colour pencil incarnations, and they’ve all been awful! It’s a shame, the rest of their products are very respectable!