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

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!

These pencils are back on track like they were years ago! This is my 3rd set in the past 2 years and I see zero flaws and have had zero issues! I love the way the woodless pencils so easily flow onto the paper...great for arthritic hands because you dont need to apply any pressure as there is enough weight in the pencils that they do the heavy lifting....you just need to be the guide ;) The turquoise pencils are back and great as they were from the beginning. Being a watercolorist, Im looking forward to trying the water soluble pencils. Ill update this review if I run into any issues. Ive been drawing graphite portraits for 40 years and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these awesome pencils!!!

I got a full set but it was missing a pencil in the lineup. Not sure why but from what I understand this is something Prisma does with all their sketch sets? At any rate the pencils you have are pretty nice, and you get most of what you need to produce good work. The case is nice and sturdy and I would think this would be good for the beginner, art student etc.

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.