Summary I love these!

Reviewer's Comments

I love my FC Polychromos. They are so wonderful to work with and strong in color. I don't have to worry about waxblooms or wonder how lightfast the color is (as I have to if I use Prismacolor).

They are not as soft as Prismacolor but almost. I never ever have any breakage with this pencils. I know they are a bit more pricey in USA than Prismacolor, but I live in Sweden and here they are a bit cheaper and Prismacolor is no where to be found. I think that they are worth the higher cost even in USA because these pencils really are built to last. Can't go wrong with them.

Summary First class

Reviewer's Comments

The Faber-Castell Polychromos was born in 1908. Now there are 120 of them and they are one of the best color pencils ever made. They are not the softest but they are the smoothest I've ever met. They glide on the paper just like you want them to and you never lose control. They can be sharpened to a very fine point.

There are exceptionally many dark colors, from red and violet to blue and green and cool & warm browns. There are six warm and six cool grays as well as bluish-black Payne's gray 181 & Dark indigo 157, three light ultramarines, a fine series of cool greens and many reddish-brownish flesh and skin colors. The lightfastness is exceptional and the *** colors are completely lightfast in average household lighting. (Some colors have been modified for better lightfastness since the 1990s. Check the stars of your own pencils, they may differ from the current.)

The contents of smaller sets has been modified radically in 1991 and 1999. Now they are rather balanced – gone is the time when the 48 color set included four blues, twelve browns and four very fugitive violets! A long tradition is that there is no violet in the 12 and 24 color sets. It's a pity that the 48 and 72 color sets aren't available any more; the current sets include 12, 24, 36, 60 and 120 colors.

In 1999, when 23 new colors were added, several color names changed. Like this:

104 zinc yellow > light yellow glaze
105 lemon cadmium > light cadmium yellow
106 light chrome > light chrome yellow
107 lemon > cadmium yellow
108 canary yellow > dark cadmium yellow
109 orange yellow > dark chrome yellow
110 azure blue > phthalo blue
111 tangerine > cadmium orange
113 light orange > orange glaze
115 dark orange > dark cadmium orange
117 vermilion > light cadmium red
118 scarlet lake > scarlet red
125 dark magenta > middle purple pink
126 dark carmine > permanent carmine
127 light carmine > pink carmine
128 purple madder lake > light purple pink
133 wine red > magenta
134 magenta > crimson
135 red violet > light red-violet
136 dark violet > purple violet
143 deep cobalt > cobalt blue (hue adjusted towards green)
144 light cobalt blue > cobalt blue-greenish (hue adjusted towards green)
146 sky blue > smalt blue
149 oriental blue > bluish turquoise
151 Prussian blue > helioblue-reddish (hue adjusted towards violet; the name Prussian blue now belongs to 246)
152 dark phthalo blue > middle phthalo blue
153 peacock blue > cobalt turquoise
154 aquamarine > light cobalt turquoise
155 night green > helio turquoise
156 blue green > cobalt green
158 sea green > deep cobalt green
161 viridian > phthalo green
162 true green > light phthalo green
167 sap green > permanent green olive
168 moss green > earth green yellowish
173 olive green > olive green yellowish
174 cedar green > chrome green opaque
177 light sepia > walnut brown
183 gold ochre > light yellow ochre
184 ochre > dark Naples ochre
185 light ochre > Naples yellow
194 purple > red-violet

The German name of 185 has always been Neapelgelb, in which Neapel is Naples. In some recent examples it has been corrupted to Nepalgelb!

The full 120 color set also includes a CD-ROM with examples of what you can do with pencils and pastels. (22 Feb 2009)

Summary I always reach for these

Reviewer's Comments

When I first picked up some colored pencils, I started off with the usual mix of open stock in my local art store. I tried Primsacolors, but they always broke. I tried Derwent but the texture was too brittle and difficult to blend. I tried and still love Bruynzeel and cried when they quit making them. I tried Pablo but couldn\'t get them to blend very well.

I finally tried Polychromos and these are my definite HG colored pencil. They keep a point much better than other brands and I don\'t have to deal with the breakage. They blend very well as long as you stick to light layers, no annoying wax bloom. The colors are magnificent and they\'ve gotten much better at providing lightfast information as consumers have started to demand it.

I don\'t use WC pencils too much, preferring watercolor paints, but their Albrecht Durer WC pencils release the most unbelievable blooms of color.

Although they tend to be more expensive than other CP, I think it\'s worth it for what you get. Then when I compare the cost of pencils to the cost of watercolor paints and brushes, I think it\'s an outstanding value.

I do wish they\'d offer a kit that includes only pencils with the highest lightfast rating, similar to Derwent\'s signature set.

Summary Pedigree Pencils

Reviewer's Comments

Colour range is very good, especially greens and blues, although I dont think you can beat the Prismacolor range for portrait tones. These are an oil based pencil so are slightly harder than other wax based pencils. They therefore keep a very good point for completing more detailed work and need sharpening less often without the breakages. I have tried many different brands for Botanical Illustration but find these are by far the best. You dont get that horrible waxy bloom and they layer beautifully. Highly recommended.

Summary A quality product

Reviewer's Comments

I started off with a few polychromos - mainly to get certain colours that are not available in other brands. I've now almost exhausted all the stock that I can buy from open stock at my local dealers as I keep going back to buy more and more colours. I'm particularly impressed with the reds and the greens as they have a range of colours which are difficult to beat. The flesh tones are also very good. All in all the range of colours is excellent.

These are oil based pencils. Keep working with them and after a time they start to transform on the page - it's magic! Or feels like it!

These pencils are very robust, sharpen well and keep their points well. I'd like to see more info on lightfastness on the vendor's site.