What I learned after swatching all my pencils together in one chart

#swatching #adultcoloring #coloredpencils
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[@TravisBrady-wn8fr]

Great idea. Think ill throw on a show and do the same.

[@judysimmons5203]

The intense labor is phenomenal. You are talented. When I saw these charts I thought I was in pencil heaven. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I find swatching so relaxing Judy. So it didn’t feel like labor to me! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!❤️❤️❤️

[@zhanna8632]

Brilliant work! Thank you very much for sharing!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

@@zhanna8632 Glad you enjoyed the video!❤️😊❤️

[@marilynperez-martinez6769]

I married all my pencil sets by color using Prisma as my primary & matching the other brands to it as best as possible. They are in my pencil cases that way so it is easier to find subs when I'm coloring for more details, smaller non-smoosh coloring areas etc. I'm very happy I did that as I mix my pencils on a coloring page all the time. It was freeing to do that.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I completely agree Marilyn! I am loving using any pencil I want now on a page. Being able to compare colors with one glance is wonderful!❤️❤️❤️

[@joanne5083]

I am a swatch nerd too! I use all my pencil brands together too and I've never had a problem with them working together. They don't always all like the same kind of paper, but that's a different rabbit hole. I have a couple of "full sets" and a couple of 24 sets and a number of "open stock" pencils I have acquired to fill color gaps and slowly acquire some of the pricier brands. (As I level up my drawing skills, I level up my pencil quality :) ). I've swatched them all by brand, but with this 'eclectic' assortment I do a lot of swatching in the moment. Thank you for making the video--I swear I'm about one more obsessive search for the perfect red away from doing this myself!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m so glad I did it Joanne! It’s already been a huge help and really enjoying mixing things up! I hope you find your perfect red!!!❤️❤️❤️

[@bridgetvernon6330]

This was very helpful. My summers are hot and extremely high humidity. My prismas were very sticky and blending was clumpy. I could feel them sticking to the paper. Now in the winter, they are just fine.

[@CherryBlossomHill]

The Lumi color you had trouble with, mine was a problem too but for me it was so so soft it became really waxy like a crayon. (Caran D’Ache recommends using the Luminance in your base layers and the harder Pablo’s (my favorite) as the final layers. Each Caran D’Ache pencil has been formulated to have the same hardness so the amount of wax or binder varies by pigment, could be why that one color was off for you.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I suppose that’s possible. There always seems to be one or two pencils in every set I have that done behave quite like the others.

[@Lisecouleur]

I love this! The problem is that I hate swatching! It takes up so much time when I could be colouring! A chart like you have would definitely make it easier next time someone decides to discontinue a pencil!🥰🤩😘😍🤗

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Lol! I love swatching!! It’s just mindless coloring which is exactly what I needed! I’m hoping it will help during color alongs if I decide to throw in a different brand. ❤️❤️❤️

[@alexandraemrick2799]

Thanks bunches for doing the chart! It was a lot of work. I have about half the Luminance pencils and I LOVE using them for portraits. I have a handful of Holbeins and I love how soft and creamy they are. Now that I have your chart, I can figure out which ones I must have, without having to order the whole set. You've saved me $$$.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

That’s wonderful Alexandra!! I’m so glad you found it helpful!!❤️❤️❤️

[@tereza89]

Thank you your swift chart, because I don't have all pencils and I am happy, that I easy to find match ♥

[@aliciabushman7806]

This was a really major undertaking and I thank you for doing it. The charts are beautiful and your process has been fun to watch. It is not particularly useful for me however. Even though I have 5 of the sets that you used. The reason being that coloring in pencils is a long experience. I feel that I can come up with harmonious color pallets from whatever set I am using.

[@dmaug]

Thank you for sharing all the work you put into this!! I have been wanting a way to use all of my pencils across sets.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m glad you found it helpful!!❤️❤️❤️

[@kelliJANSEN]

hi! an update video would be awesome -- how you've used the charts in the last year, did you end up liking Coloursoft in practice as much as you did from swatching?, do you wish you had included the Pablos after all? haha, etc, and more, such as: are there any specific pencils that stood out as particularly unique hues? did you discover any hues from this that you ended up going out of your way to incorporate more in your work? I'd also be interested in whether this revealed inexplicable favorites -- like, of all the lemon yellows that are identical, does one in particular nonetheless make your heart skip a beat?

[@reneekennedy38]

I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time. Thanks for the video

[@jenniferjohnson7277]

The time it took for you to do this, I can't even imagine. I've always wanted to do this with all my pencils, but just never did. I have not used different sets together before and would interested to see how it will turn out, especially with wax (Prismas) and oil (Polys) pencils.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Hi Jennifer! I mix them all time. But I think I may start doing it on camera too so you guys can see how they work together. ❤️❤️❤️

[@waymire01]

I love to play with my stuff, not making any kind of art, just messing around with color combinations, color order, different paper, etc. I just can't get on with combining sets.. it bugs me to have an opaque shade one minute and a transparent the next, or a pencil that will blend and then grab one that won't. The two exceptions are my Polys and Arteza which I added a set of pastels to.. they greatly benefit since both have a very poor selection of light shades, and I chose a formula that is comparable in attributes. I think climate does have something to do with it.. I own about 20 coloursoft and most say they are soft (and often say they are too soft and crumble apart) I find them hard as a rock.. at first I thought I just got a bad or old set (I started with the skin tone set from a local craft store) but I've purchased open stock from two other stores and they are all the same. My most reached for pencil is my Prisma, but part of that is that they were my only set for decades when I was doing actual pencil art so I know them inside and out.. part of it is my personal preference to the color palette...and part of it is my most used coloring techniques. They are amazing to go over a marker or other base due to their outstanding opacity, and the other thing I like to do with them is lay down darker pigment and then spread it out over white paper with a blender... no other pencil does that like a Prisma. I've purchased at least a few of almost every brand there is.. and I was shocked to discover I really don't care for Lumi, Lightfast, or Pablo. Not only do I not care for the formula of Lightfast (i find them chunky and clumpy even when blended) but I have had some very serious quality issues with the brand. I thought it was just bad luck at first but again, purchased some from multiple stores and I've had continuous crooked cores (we are talking so bad you have to carve wood off the tip to use it), cracked barrels, misprints, knots in wood, etc. Also the color palette is really awful. I find Derwent's build quality to be poor across the board, but at the price of Lightfast it's just not acceptable. I did discover I really love the Derwent Chromaflow.. they are much thinner, yet still smooth, soft, and blendable...and have great opacity. I wish they came in more colors, but the color palette they have is extremely well balanced.

[@elizabethireland3192]

Thanks so much for sharing your swatches. I love swatching too and may try this but I don't have Prisma's and only a few Holbein. Also lovely to see you at the beginning of the video.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Thank you Elizabeth! It doesn’t matter what brands you have. Just use what you do have. I’m already so happy I did this as I’m putting together color combos I was missing out on before. ❤️❤️❤️

[@elizabethireland3192]

@@ArtbyKarenValentine you've inspired me to try it. x

[@jenscoloringcorner]

Love this, Karen!! So much work you put into this!! Wow!! I got a copy from your Ko-Fi, so I'm ready to go! I have most of these pencils, so it'll be fun to use some different ones other than Prismas (though I'm a Prisma-lover, too!) Thanks so much for these! I need to get out my Holbeins!! I've had them for 4 years and hardly ever use them!!! Anyway, looking forward to another beautiful color along with you!! Take care! ☺

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m so glad you found it helpful Jen! I’m really enjoying it myself. ❤️❤️❤️

[@Dustyrosepetal]

I've been tempted to do something similar to this. Take all of my pencils and put them in order, but then I look at all my sets and get overwhelmed so I haven't. I think I might take my smaller sets and put them together and go from there. Maybe if I put the smaller sets together I'll use them more.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I found if I just did one color family at a time, and took a break it wasn’t so overwhelming. But I also like your idea of just doing the smaller sets. Maybe try that and see how you like it!❤️❤️❤️

[@mandybarlow]

Great video ❤ I am a swatch addict. Coloursoft are such an overlooked pencil. I adore them ... same as the magnificent Derwent Drawing and those two work together brilliantly. Both are a top quality lightfast pencil. My experience with Holbein = 😠 Quarter of them are off-centre can't sharpen... keep breaking . At $5.50 each Australian that's outrageous. But you like Prisma which are not great build either. Interesting. I live in the driest state on the driest continent (South Australia). Interesting! Nice work Karen 👏

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Thank you Mandy! I’m so sorry about your Holbeins! I would be extremely annoyed by that. Especially with the price. Prismas here in the US are so reasonable priced I can overlook any quality issues. Thankfully I have an art supply store near me so I can walk in and hand select my pencils.

[@TheCurious1626]

Thanks so much for putting this together and for sharing! I have almost all the same sets 😃. Just got the download from Ko-Fi.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

My pleasure Donna! I hope you find it helpful!❤️❤️❤️

[@vivianhawkes2120]

Thank you so much for doing this and have never commented but I really love your videos I’ve learned so much

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Thank you so much Vivian!! I really appreciate the comment. That stuff is always nice to hear. ❤️❤️❤️

[@NekoSimiColoring]

I tell you Karen this is the most brilliant idea 😻I will have to try it because I have so many pencil sets which I don't even use and by this way I could get to use some of them more. Thanks for sharing your idea :)

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

You are most welcome Neko! I’m glad you like the idea! I’m using all my sets so much more now!!

[@SashaColors704]

Makes me wish I had more brands of pencils! So many very beautiful colors. The prisma that acts weird is Electric Blue - I thought it was just me - but I have seen other comments about the same color prisma-- and it is similar looking to the Luminance you showed

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Yes! Electric Blue! It’s awful! Thanks! Lol. You arent alone. I think we all want more pencils, no matter how many we have!❤️❤️❤️

[@mariaflor9279]

Que excelente trabalho. Parabéns. Maravilhoso. Obrigada por compartir.

[@pamelakay]

thank you so very much for these swatches, they are going to be so helpful; I have prisma, poly, lumi, lightfast and arrtx in these 💜💜💜

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Awesome! I think I’m going to start using more variety in my color alongs too!!

[@carolberres5528]

Yes please I would love to have your color order charts. Thank you for sharing this.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I just made it an easy download Carol. You can get it here. ko-fi.com/s/c0a8874c3f ❤️❤️😍

[@Finilikescoloring12]

Wow!!

[@robynbroderick6822]

Fabulous Thankyou so much for your time🌸🌸

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

My pleasure Robyn!❤️❤️❤️

[@janeteggleston4764]

I would love to have these charts. I tend to stay in one set of pencils and ignore the others I have

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

That’s what I found I was doing quite often Janet. They aren’t perfect as I just did them for myself. But you are welcome to download them from my Ko Fi shop. The link is in the description box. ❤️❤️❤️

[@poetspicecolorwrite]

Fabulous info.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Thank you! Glad you liked it. 😃

[@LoriLClark]

What a brilliant and helpful idea! I have a few sets that I like, and if I could marry them all together, I could grab a case and go!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Yes! I’m glad you found it helpful! Have fun!❤️

[@mandypoole6828]

Gosh Karen. You have been a very busy bee. You have alot of patience to swatch soooo many colours. These will help so many colorists. To have dupes in different brands is a great ideal. You should colour in a mix of coloured pencils and not feel guilty, and this way you can. You've worked incredibly hard. Are you doing another video before faebruary.? Just wondered. Love Ya. x❤❤❤❤

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Hi Mandy!! Working one color family at a time really helped!! I’ve been using the chart and wondering what took me so long!!! It will definitely help when I’m doing a color along. No. No more videos until next Saturday. ❤️❤️❤️

[@PursuingHeaven]

Karen THANK YOU for doing this!!! Finally someone is putting their pencils together the way I want to do them. I have spend so much money this last two months trying to put them in order with swatch sheets and no one does them this way. Do you sell your swatch order each brand on your etsy shop? If not will you consider it? You order your pencils exactly like I want, and literally EVERYONE that sells swatching charts or other tools goes in and out of color families focusing more on undertones and it drives me crazy (once I leave orange I don't want it to come back until I am in brown). Anyway let me know. I have Holbein, Luminance, Polys, Prisma, Lightfast, (my go to's) and many others but those are the ones I am looking to put in a proper order and then i will tape labels on them like you have so I can get them in better sense of order. Some days I have literally have hundreds of pencils all over the house and I am trying to find a good way to get myself better organized.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m glad you found it helpful!! If you reach out to me on IG or Facebook, I’ll take pics of my charts and send them to you. ❤️❤️❤️ when people sell the charts on Etsy, are they blank charts with the pencil number and name under the boxes, so you can swatch your own, or colored swatch charts?

[@PursuingHeaven]

@@ArtbyKarenValentinethank you, yes pictures would be awesome. If you decide to add them to your Etsy shop the names and the numbers on a blank swatch would be appreciated. I know there's new names so some only do numbers but that makes it hard to find so the name really helps. I can't tell you how many times I have bought these charts and a color like peach which is clearly between orange and red is located after red on the way to violet. I have some Holbein, Lightfast and a Luminance charts all half done because of this. But at this point if I can see the pictures I can type up my own, but I would pay for a nice ordered chart of each brand.

[@carolynkessler7292]

Oh gosh Karen, I'd willingly pay for a digital download, or PDF via email. I'm in Cape Town, South Africa, so it's a tad difficult to come pick them up🙈🤣. But seriously, I started this for exactly the same reasons you did, and tied myself up in knots. Please let me know if you're happy to sell them, given how much hard work it's been! This is gold!!!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Hi Carolyn! The link to get the pdf is in the description. It’s set up so you can pay anything you want. Its not professionally done as I did it just for me, but it may help you as you organize your own. ❤️❤️❤️

[@carolynkessler7292]

Thank you so much! Could you let me details on where to pay?

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

@@carolynkessler7292 this is link Carolyn. It’s very self exp once you get there. 😊 Thank you! I hope you find it helpful!❤️❤️❤️ ko-fi.com/s/c0a8874c3f

[@michelletokos4529]

Thank so much for your hard work, I saw that you did a convertible chart for prism as and hobein. It would be nice if you do that with the other sets. Maybe is a lot of work, or you can also do a KZbin video explain how a person that is starting their own color pencil collection how we go to do it ourselves.

[@anjavanderbeken5960]

This is amezing karen...

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Thank you Anja!❤️❤️❤️

[@sheshechic]

How did you know that I was thinking about doing this too? and for the same reasons. lol Thank you Karen.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Great minds think alike!❤️😂❤️

[@clairec1560]

This is a great idea 🤗 I only have the 150 prismas but I’m thinking of maybe branching out n buying some diff brands

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I started with Prismacolors and slowly added other brands. I still love my Prismas but there are some really excellent pencil choices out there!

[@paigeme886]

Thank you so incredibly much for sharing your thoughts & the colours! I definitely agree about weather and paper making a MASSIVE difference … paper is so critical ( most important)- I hate the feeling of some pencils on certain paper but love them on others. And definitively temperature - I actually put my open stock lightfast in the fridge for a bit today 🙈 made a difference to their lay down! My chryscolla blue is really nice… my Indian yellow is absolutely horrible though( I did some swatches tonight to try get me back into colouring & relax etc. That yellow looked awful too) . Lol. I don’t particularly like swatching the lumi but do love when they have layers & then feel squishy… the more layers the nicer it feels which is odd! 😂perhaps because of the humidity here they don’t seem as dry ( quite possibly!). Thank you so much for also making these coloured charts available. I love the idea of you showing the charts during tutorials so people can use what ever, but that may be a lot of work for you. And don’t be ridiculous! No one can or should hate you for not liking lumi- everyone is so different! Some hate poly, some hate prisma . 🤷‍♀️ all have their place I feel ❤ I would be happy to purchase a copy after all the work you have done 💙 Thank you so very much Karen

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

You are most welcome Paige! I know I had more stuff to share but unfortunately I didn’t write my thoughts down as I had them, so they got lost!😂 I’m happy to send you the pdf if you message me your email!❤️❤️❤️

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Paige I just added the chart as a download. You can get it here. ko-fi.com/s/c0a8874c3f 😳❤️❤️

[@jenniferjohnson7277]

I feel the same about my Indian Yellow and I also don't care for the laydown of my Cassel Earth pencil too. I do live in the south, but never thought about how the weather could affect them so.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

@@jenniferjohnson7277 Yes! Cassel Earth is awful!! But thankfully I gave an Indian Yellow that works fine for me.

[@carolesauter4205]

Lovely. I too could download it to Books on my iPad. Paper and humidity are key for using pencils and other media as well. Prisma and Holbein do not like smooth paper, in my opinion. Nothing feels dry to me as I live in the Seattle area. Works well for laying gold too. I can’t get used to any of the papers they print color books on. It’s not archival and eventuality will yellow. Thank you Karen for sharing your very hard work. I consider myself a lifetime learner.

[@sherryscoloringandpaintingcorn]

thank you so much for doing the charts for us and i love my holbeins too.. I have way more than 6 tho ROFL so i will have to choose my 6 favs LOL. I have thought about trying this but how do you decide which pencil to choose from each of the sets. Thats what is stumping me Hugs to you my friend.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Hi Sherry! I have a few more, but I don’t really use them. 🤣 I just pulled out all my yellows and swatched them, then yellow oranges, and then oranges and so on. Doing it one color family at a time made it much easier. ❤️❤️❤️

[@priyashah007]

Dear Karen, This is such an excellent idea. I cannot imagine the amount of time you put into this. Goodness!! but its so very helpful to me as I often end up neglecting some brands. I was able to find a downloadable version through your link but do you happen to share a blank chart as well? Maybe i misunderstand. If you do, could you please point me in the right direction so I could customize it to the brands that I have. Thank you again for your time and hardwork.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m glad you found it helpful! If you reach out to me on IG with your email I’ll send it to you. I had to take the downloads down because I was finding them being sold on Etsy.

[@priyashah007]

@@ArtbyKarenValentine Very helpful indeed. I have reached out to you on IG. Please be assured that the chart is for my own personal use only :). Cannot thank you enough for your time and efforts.

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

@@priyashah007 I didn’t get any messages from you on IG.

[@jessicamcbee8702]

This is awesome!!! I’ve been toying with the idea of putting my most used brands all in one case in some kind of color family order. This will be a BIG help!!! Do you happen to have a chart with Pablos included or a blank chart? I love the layout of this chart and want to try to expand it, if I can. Thank you SO much for all your hard work!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I’m glad you found it helpful Jessica. I only used a few Pablo’s to help complete a color section. They are my least used pencils ( I don’t really like them myself) But I’m sure you could interject them into your chart!❤️❤️❤️

[@jessicamcbee8702]

@@ArtbyKarenValentine I should have proofread what I wrote! Multitasking is hard sometimes! Lol Do you have a swatch chart with only Pablos on it? Can you tell me which program you used to make your charts? Thank you SO, SO much for responding!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

@@jessicamcbee8702 I’m sorry Jessica. Those are the only ones I don’t have charts for. I used Photoshop Elements to create my charts. 😊

[@maureenmorley9555]

Hi Karen, Wow!!!! You did a lot of work! May I ask did you then put your pencils in these orders? Or have you left them in the pencil sets? I have wondered about doing that? I have all but the Artex that you are showing here. I think the first thing we do is pull prisma because we are used to them but then using a different one we are like its not Prisma! I am glad to hear all of your thoughts! This was super…Thank you for all of your work!

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

Hi Maureen! I left all my pencils in there separate cases. Each one has a number on it. And that number is on the swatch chart. So it’s really easy to find the pencil I want. ❤️❤️❤️

[@maureenmorley9555]

I wanted to also say, I understand your concern with using different colors as not all people have them! But I am game for you trying different brands! Again wow and what a super tool!

[@carolesauter4205]

I meant to ask you about numbering your pencils. What do you use? I bought the little sticker labels but…..they didn’t stick. Could you use artists tape?

[@ArtbyKarenValentine]

I used the little stickers and then I wrapped scotch tape around it. It’s worked great so far.