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

They are very nice pencils. I own a large amount of Prismacolors, the whole set Caran dAche Luminance, some Derwent coloursofts and Koh i noor polycolors, so didnt need any more colored pencils. But I wanted these and am glad I got them. They feel different from the other pencils I own and lay down color differently.. The Koh-i-noor polycolors feel closest to them, but these feel like a bit higher quality. Its a more substantial pencil and you can feel the difference in the quality of the wood. They are harder than wax-based, but lay down color silkily. I wanted them more for the different feel than because the colors are different/ I like the way they layer. Of course one can use all these together. The lightfastness of most of the pencils is a plus. I think the pencils you prefer to use depends on a lot of different factors and your favorite pencils may not be my favorite pencils. I would say, Caran dache Luminance are the highest quality that I own. But these are a very good second.

These color pencils are great. The pigments are nice & vibrant. Theyre easy to sharpen without lots of splintering or breaking. Coloring with them whether using soft or hard pressure theres not a lot of crumbing. I received them as described, great condition. I received them quickly which was great & Theyre a great value. Recommend for sure, thank you!!

These polychromes are so beautiful - the colors are vibrant and they go on smoothly which makes blending.

Art quality drawings possible with this product for professionals or serious pursuit of image-making.

the box is metalic, the pencils are good material, the bases for the pencils are ropes for helping extract the complete line.

Excellent quality, very soft and creamy. Awesome with multi layers! Best oil pencils ever!!

Envío rápido y llegó en perfecto estado. Recomendado.

My Rambling (but Hopefully Informative!) Review: Having been accustomed to primarily wax-based pencils (namely the Derwent Coloursofts and Soft-core Prismacolors gifted to me by family/friends over a decade ago), my early endeavors with Faber-Castell’s Polychromos were not exactly love at first sight. However, as I was looking to delve a bit more seriously into colored pencil art and buy my own supplies, I was bothered by the flimsy feel of the new Prismacolors (apparently from cheapening/outsourcing their manufacturing process) even after carefully selecting open-stock pencils with the leads adequately centered and limiting vigorous applications/sharpening to avoid breaking inches of lead off them. Unfortunately, the only widely available pencil I could find emulating the cherished qualities of my old Berol Prismacolors (Caran D’ache Luminance) were priced beyond my budget for any large set, so the Polychromos (which were broadly lauded on the Internets as a reliable, high quality professional artists’ pencil) ended up making the majority of my (then 25) colored-pencil collection. A lot of people compare these to the Prismacolor Premiers as competing alternatives, but working with the Polychromos almost felt like learning a different medium in the beginning. For one, laying and burnishing the paper with color is a much more gradual, time-consuming process (taking considerably more layers and strokes to get the same coverage as the softer pencils). At the same time, however, each stroke yields a great concentration of rich pigment, so carefully modulated pressure is important for getting the desired consistency and saturation (though the tooth of the paper will accept plenty more layers on top if initial touches were too light). The biggest difficulty I had with Polys was realizing that you can’t really blend them in the same way you do with the wax-based pencils (i.e. using the pencil to push the waxy clumps of pigment from different colors into eachother). Instead, blending colors with Polys by themselves mostly entails iteratively/alternately layering the colors (from initially very soft to progressively harder applications) to combine them. Pressing too hard in attempt to force two dissimilar colors together can occasionally cause noticeable streaking of dark/deep pigments across transparent/light colors (this usually results from pieces of dark binder/pigment getting stuck to the lighter lead, and can easily be wiped or sharpened off). However, as my techniques improved (with the help of Youtube and a few other video tutorials!), I started really appreciating the detail, depth and subtle effects that these pencils added to my work. Furthermore, I found I could cover most of the Polys’ weaknesses by combining them with my residual collection of Coloursofts and Prismas (entirely intermixable, given their binders are all comprised of oil and wax - albeit with differing ratios). The Polys also lend themselves to relatively smooth blending with a myriad of solvents (turpenoid, odorless mineral spirits, rubbing alcohol, etc.), although I personally prefer to go with the non-toxic, non-fumey stuff (baby oil on a brush), and have heard rave reviews about a recently invented non-toxic powder blender by “Brush & Pencil” which specifically leverages the oil in colored pencils (for those who want the ultimate painterly look in their work). One thing that has remained constant throughout my experience with FC Polychromos has been their reliability and readily apparent construction quality. The thick barrels are comfortable to grip with a confidence-inspiring sturdiness, and anything I lay into the paper is consistently rich with pigment and vibrantly colorful. The pencils that arrived in my tin of 120 (when I finally took the plunge) were also in great shape and true to form. Literally the most nit-picky thing I could think of (besides very mild abrasion on the tin) was that a few of the pencils were a bit dulled from their sharpest point from contact with the tin (but were still, amusingly, probably still sharper as-is than most Prismacolors could stay!). My set also had no duplicates (which I feel I should take for granted, but apparently is a common issue with other said brand), and the colors of the barrels are actually representative of the color you can get out of them. As a little bonus, the case still has that nice California cedar smell two weeks after opening! The most common complaint I hear about the Polychromos is that they’re “very expensive”, but I’d argue that (when you account for the sheer amount of pigment/color you get from your lead, and the overall longevity of the pencil), they’re actually a great value - arguably more color than you’d get from the equivalent amount of Prismacolors. Of course, they’re a non-trivial up-front investment, but (assuming you’re also investing in large quantities of decently toothed paper), $2~3 per pencil a la carte isn’t crazy (and you can do plenty with 20 colors). Should you wind up buying one of the larger sets on Amazon, they’re currently averaging around $1.20~1.50 a pencil. The only area I found where you don’t get so much bang-for-your buck is with the lighter colors (yellow, white, cream, etc.) which are a bit underwhelming on their own. At best, they can subtly tint darker undercolors (while the opaque shininess of wax-based pencil makes for far superior highlighting material). In sum, the Polychromos is a reliable workhorse of a pencil whose sturdy points also lends itself to more detailed, refined artwork (and thus, unsurprisingly, the choice of many professional artists doing portraits, natural scenes and hyperrealistic drawings). However, they also take a fair amount of patience and finally controlled applications to bring out their best qualities. These characteristics incidentally also makes them ideal for getting immersed in coloring books/projects (where I sometimes enjoy just practicing my shading, and taking my time to build up color depth). They’re a great value staple for people who know they want some oil-based pencils in their collection and desire vibrant (but lightfast) pigments. If you’re just starting out with the colored pencil medium, however, it is probably best to start with a few individual pencils from open-stock or a small pack (along with some softer wax-based pencil such as Derwent Coloursoft). PROS *Top-Notch Reliability and Construction Quality *Great for advanced artists who desire working in fine details/realism, or colorists who like to take time developing depth in their colors *Stands toe-to-toe with some of the more expensive oil-based pencils on the market (e.g. Caran D’ache Pablos and Holbeins) *Comfortable grip and easy application *Great Longevity and Durability *Deep, Vibrant Pigments (especially in the darker colors) that match the barrel color *Excellent, Responsive Blending with almost all conventional solvents (baby oil, alcohol, mineral spirits, etc.) as well as some products designed expressly for colored pencil (especially Brush & Pencil’s Powder Blender) *Decent erasability (by colored pencil standards) *Widely available in packs or individually CONS *Mid-High Sticker Price, requiring greater up-front investment than lower-tier brands *The light colors don’t stand out nearly as much, even on darker toned paper *Not great as a standalone product for beginning artists looking to get quick decent-looking results in their early short projects *Don’t blend easily on their own (requires lots of layering in overlapping circular strokes)

These pencils are as wonderful as everyone says. I read a ton of reviews before buying because I am no artist so any investment in quality materials has to pay off in pure personal pleasure and satisfaction. Everything I read said they are wonderful, but I started with the small set of 12 anyway. I wanted to see if the pencil quality would encourage me to draw more. The quality does! I would love to have bought the set of 60 or even 120. I can already see from the greatly increased time I am spending drawing that that day will come. I enjoy using these pencils so much more than other colored pencils Ive tried. The color lays down beautifully. Its easy to achieve effects from translucent through saturated and opaque. No bloom because they are not wax based. Just outstanding in every way!

This set is GORGEOUS! I am assuming that if you are looking at this set you are already sold on the virtues of the Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencil. So I wont be discussing their rich color, their creaminess, sturdiness, or that they are oh so worth the price. Instead, I will review this 150 color set. (Pictured) They come in a rectangular tin, which isnt as sturdy as Id like it to be. It would also be nice if it came with a solid way to keep the top closed. But then, you pop it open, and the beauty of the set knocks your socks off. The pinks, reds, blues, grays, greens, etc ... so vivid. No color is repeated. The shades are varied enough to tell the difference between each one. (Pictured) It was properly shipped. None of my pencils are broken, and all of the tips are perfectly sharpened. There are three trays, and each tray has an elastic on either end for easy lifting. (Pictured) The bottom of each tray has been lined with foam (pictured) making the tray more sturdy. The pencils do not easily pop out. (Attempted picture) Im so glad I own this set. It will give me hours of joy. And you too.