Prismacolor Premier Graphite Drawing Pencils with Erasers & Sharpeners, 18-Piece Set

These are my favorite pencils to use when rendering portraits. I actually already have several of each pencil but they are so nice to work with I couldnt pass up this buy at such a great price. It had every pencil I would normally buy but I saved a ton buying the set. The turquoise pencils are very smooth and blend amazingly together, whereas some other brands can get grainy or overly shiny. I definitely recommend this product to anyone that loves drawing in pencil. (Its a good idea, however, to have your own sharpener because the little one in the kit is a basic sharpener and is only really good for a backup plan...not comfortable to use at all, but it will come in handy if you cant find another sharpener.)

I got these because my old pencils were… old. I am trying to learn how to draw realistic facial features as my usual art-style is in cartoons or tattoo-style drawings. They draw so smoothly! I’m still playing around with them and learning a bit, but these are so much better than my cheap-o “artist” pencils from Hobby Lobby!

While Prismacolor isn’t known for its graphite pencils, this is a serviceable set in a nice tin that has almost everything you need, minus perhaps a tortillon or two. Not the greatest quality and the leads tend to be off center with the wood pencils, but the hardnesses seem accurate and the addition of the aquarelle pencils was a nice surprise. Overall a good set for on the go drawing and sketching.

Pencils are fine, Im no fine artist, just a hobbyist, but I know when something is bad & the kneaded eraser that comes with this set is grossly dry. I was incapable of stretching it even a little. The picture shows a cheap Artists Loft brand kneaded eraser from Michaels on the right, & the left one is the one that came in the Prismacolor set. It just breaks & separates when you try to mold it in any way. Apparently this is an ongoing problem that has yet to be addressed.

I have bought this before, so I wasnt disappointed.

I ordered 2 of these sets. The first one came with no issues. My daughter really liked them so I gave her mine and ordered a new set, which arrived with a broken pencil. After looking at other reviews, I do see that I’m not the only one that had this experience.

If you or someone in your life is serious about drawing, but you dont want to go broke getting supplies this is the kit to get. It would make a wonderful gift. The quality of artwork is definitely effected by the quality of the art supplies. With this kit you can create professional quality artwork.

Have not had a chance to use these pencils but the 2H was not in the kit. Instead, there were 2 4H pencils. The container and description clearly say there is a 2H. This is my first artist pencil kit and I would like to have the variety of pencils that that were advertised.

So I sketch with these pencils and I go in with a charcoal at the end. I’m happy with the pencil quality and despite being graphite the drawing isn’t shiny! I’m sure these are on par with almost any graphite set. The erasers (a block and a kneadable) work great. The pencils sharpen well.

I have used Prismacolor color pencils for over ten years now and their markers for 3 years. I am an avid believer in the brand, which is what led me to try their graphite pencils. Until I bought this set, I was using Derwent pencils. I am pleased to say, that Prismacolor has once again impressed me as one of the best brands out there. They are a bit more expensive than some others, but the quality is well worth it. I would have bought them sooner, but waited until my skills improved with the Derwent pencils, enough to make the jump to a better quality product more worth it. Buying This set was the best thing I could have done! It gives you everything you need to get started, if you are looking for a great quality set to start out with. You will have plenty to experiment with. It is also great for pro artists that want to delve into graphite on a more serious level and need all the goodies (erasers, sanding board, etc.). I am freelance, but have been an artist for over 14 years. Amazons price is more than fair for this product. Unless there is a dramatic change in the quality of Prismacolors products, I will be an advocate for them until the day I die. The woodless graphite pencils (2B, 4B, 6B, 8B) are very soft and lay down wonderful jet black strokes. These are the best for getting high contrast work done fast and easy! Extremely dark areas dont take forever to build up (with lighter/harder grades), if you have these! Out of the 7 turquoise pencils (8B,6B,2B,B,2H,4H,6H), I have used 2B, B, 2H and 4H. They have worked beautifully. Im guessing I would say the same for the other grades. I havent yet tried any of the 3 water-soluble gray graphite pencils(HB,4B,8B), but am just about to. I will update this review when I do. They way things are going, I dont expect Ill be disappointed. I found the Magic Rub Eraser (vinyl eraser, latex free) is perfect for graphite, but especially for erasing the lighter (harder) pencil grades. For the darker stuff, I switched to the good old kneaded rubber eraser. Im always forming it into odd shapes to fit my highlighting needs and it sucks up dark graphite very well. Ive also used this kind of eraser for pastel chalks and charcoal, so I knew what to expect. Prismacolors version isnt any different than any other brand of kneaded eraser Ive tried, but it is not anything less than expected. The sanding board was a big plus in buying this set, for me. It is great for sanding your pencils to any shape you desire, giving you more leeway to produce the kind of line you want (I use it for the woodless pencils). I especially like to shape them flat, so I can get a very fine line holding it horizontally, or a nice thick line holding it vertically (or anything in between)! I would also recommend only using the provided pencil sharpener, unless you know what youve got. If you have something of lesser quality and try it on these nice, soft pencils, you might be disappointed. I havent tried any other sharpener, so dont take my word to the bank on that, but I would stick with what they give you unless you are a more experienced graphite user. This sharpener works perfectly well anyway. I would recommend this to both professional artists and artists that want to get into graphite for the first time!