Faber-Castell Polychromos Artists' Color Pencils - Tin of 120 Colors - Premium Quality Artist Pencils

I really would recommend these pencils to any artist out there who wants to try new brands, or kinds of pencils. They may be a little on the expensive side for someone just starting out, and it’s great that they have options for set sizes. I started out with the set of 36, and I loved how sturdy they are, they have a lot of colors, and they hold a sharp tip pretty well. I’ve gotten a few other brands, but these are by far my favorites. The colors are vibrant, they are thick and durable, I haven’t had any crumble while sharpening. I also like that the ends are covered, I think that helps with their durability.Since I got the set, these are the only colored pencils that I’ve used. They’re awesome! I have multiple Faber Castell supplies, such as the Pitt Graphite Matte pencils, and they are wonderful as well, they’re the only brand I use for my graphite drawings.

JUST GET THESE! I have many kinds of colored pencils, from budget to higher end, including Prismacolor, and all pencils get the job done, some better or more enjoyably than others. These Polychromos are hands down, without an argument or hesitation, the BEST!!!Yes the price is steeper than many others, but so worth it. They sharpen with just a few twists to a super fine point - without breakage - and are great for fine detail work. You need to use less to get the same effect as other brands, so in the long run they will last longer. Any number of art stores carry open stock of Polychromos so you can get what you need instead of doing without or needing to buy a complete set to replace just a few pencils.The colors are vibrant, saturated, and just plain gorgeous; many of them are unique and unexpected compared to other brands. The laydown is silky smooth and complete. They layer, blend, and burnish with ease so you are in total control of your color. They also erase relatively well (especially the lighter colors). This is an oil-based pencil so the color is strong even among the softer colors, that is, the tooth of the paper is well-covered quickly, even when using a light hand/touch.The only "negative" I have found is minor: the metallic print on the pencil for pencil number, color, and lightfastness is small and a little difficult to read at times and on certain pencils because of the size and reflection. I make color swatches anyway so it is not a problem for me, just wanted to give a heads-up regarding this.There are many pencil brands available, especially from China. Many are quite good and reasonably priced, I even have favorites among them. However, these Polychromos (made in Germany by one of the oldest and continuously family-owned companies) are a definite step above. If you are new to pencil art or coloring, you will fall in love and believe yourself to be a budding artist, if you do occasional coloring or art, you will be spoiled, always reaching for these over other brands. And if you are a serious artist, or trying to be, you will know that you have finally found a color pencil which will do your bidding and inspire you to do great art!

As a life long artist and fan of coloring I use colored pencils quite a bit as my medium of choice. I am also am admitted pencil hoarder and have tried several dozens of different brands trying to find the perfect pencil, and while I have come close to finding it on a few occasions I often felt I was missing out on the professional pencils I used during my art school years which were Faber Castells. I purchased this smaller tin set before splurging for the 120 set to be sure that these would be what I long remembered, in fact they are.These pencils, like so many artists and colorists describe, are really soft and buttery to use. The cores are durable and retain a nice point when compared to the softer counter part brands which are wax based. These sharpen without any issues, the tips do not break when using a sharp, clean blade, quality pencil sharpener. Because these are oil based cores and are hard so to speak they produce more color with less lead than wax based cores, in other words my comparable name brand wax brands and not so name brands are constantly needing sharpened which in turn ends up wasting lead, these pencils do not.These pencils do lay down well and blend quite well, colors are rich and vibrant, and even with a small set of 12, you can obtain many different hues and or colors by layering.There is no doubt that this is "the" best professional set of pencils to own. Pricey? Yes, but worth every single penny. I am so happy with these pencils that I purchased the 120 set and can't wait for it to arrive.It is worth noting that working with quality oil based pencil is a different experience than wax based and so if you are in doubt I do suggest you purchase the 12 count tin set for yourself and see if you enjoy them as much as I and thousands of others do.