I finally learned I would like a small set of good products rather than a bunch of low quality. I'm never selling anything as I'm not an artist but enjoy using nice products. You never know...something might turn out great!
I’ve got a full set of Prismacolor and a 60 set of Polychromos. Instead of buying a few budget brands (although they’re tempting sometimes) I’m saving up for a big set of either Lightfast or Luminance, I haven’t decided yet. Why not save up for the real deal instead of buying lots of dupes that never satisfy.
I don't like or see the sense of buying stuff that can't be replaced individually. However if one has not got any pencils at all they could get a small set of twelve or 24 and then save for a big set in the mean time while practicing snd learning with the smaller set.
Not everyone has the money to spend on higher brands, cheaper art materials are essential for people/students who are on a really tight budget who love to create art.
@@Kyomiibrown I don't have the budget anymore either. All my expensive art supplies were bought before my divorce. I do want a new set of pencils though. Instead of buying a few cheaper sets I'm saving for a good one. As a beginner I didn't have much either and was happy to have most anything decent. If you have nothing then there's no shame in using inexpensive supplies, I did. But now I know what I like and I'd rather save for a year to get a professional quality brand than buy many student or craft grade supplies.
@@ladyinblack3398 I agree with this but in all honestly? I also don't see the sense of buying something as pricey as the Luminance or Lightfast to just mess around or color in my coloring books. It's just a hobby and a hobby doesn't need to be THAT sinfully expensive. Also, a set of 12? Mixing colors pencils is pretty advanced stuff imo. A beginner is not going to be able to do anything with a set of 12.
They're great. Very similar to Polys, but not as hard. As vivid as Primas, but not as soft. Open stock pencils are sold online by Schpirerr Farben's Etsy shop. As a sale price guideline, the MSRP for a set of 96 is $79.99. They're not budget price or quality.
I totally thought I was having a 'Groundhog Day' when you opened the tin! 😁 I think the colour looks more saturated when you used the mineral spirits. I've got the ice lollipop video queued up to watch later. 😊 I'm glad the Polychromos still outperformed them - I'd be miffed if I thought I could get the same quality much cheaper! 😂
you are right exzellent is german spelling. And you do not rant, you have great informative reviews. love them, the only problem is that I want to try all the products you review 😀 and I really don't need so many supplies. I suppose no one needs so many, except people like you, who do reviews.
The one good thing about the availability of all these colored pencils is the competition is fierce so the budget pencils up their game and provide better quality pencils (most of the time). There are several brands to choose from, as you just demonstrated, especially if you want to craft/color with them as opposed to producing art for sale. Therefore, I would definitely consider the price at the time of purchase. If I wanted to sell my art, I would consider purchasing only the brands known to be light fast, smoother, more pigmented and don't move with water.
Honestly that's the big difference for me in recommending these. They preform great and are good for getting the practise miles in but they will likely fade in sunlight
I watched your video of the popscicles when you did them and I just loved them so much, so delicous looking and seeing the picture again I still love them. I wish I could color something like that, I would hang it up somewhere in my kitchen. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! Thanks for the review as always very thorough. I am always amazed as someone as talented as you can be so unsnobbish about supplies.
You can order the Schpirerr Farben pencils open stock on their Etsy shop here: www.etsy.com/listing/788673456/schpirerr-farben-open-stock-pick-any?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=schpirrer+farben+colored+pencils&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1
Thank you for your typical thorough and thoughtful review. They too look almost identical to the Cezanne I own, which I will not buy again due to the strong chemical smell they still have even after a month out of the tin.
@@thefrugalcrafter wish I knew. I have put them all together in ceramic crock and then divided the 120 by 4ths into my DIY tin can holders. They still smell and now the cans stink. The tin they were in, including the plastic holders don't smell.
@@Neelloc83 Mine too. Most of the budget pencils have that awful chemical smell. I liked the pencils but the smell takes forever to go away. I’ll just stick to the brands I like.
I really appreciate you putting in the time (and money!) on all these reviews. When it comes to budget pencils, I'd love to see/create a database of all the available white labels and how they cross over. For instance, I'm fairly sure the square Brutfuners are coming from the same factory as the Markart 120s. A good number of the colors & numbers are duplicates.
I finally got the giant Polychromos tin about a year or so ago. I had been using the four tins of Spectrum Noir pencils, but had decided to save up and splurge. I recently got the big set of Inktense after using the Arteeza watercolor pencils. I should be done with pencils, but might end up with some for more neutral ones. It's so fun watching you compare all the old and newer brands of pencils and paints. I'll live my dreams through you! So informative! Thank you Lindsay!
Thanks Lindsay. I was looking forward to your opinion on these pencils. I mainly use colored pencil over watercolor for detail or punching up the color some or sharpening or softening an edge. Other than that I just play in a sketchbook once in a while. I got a great deal on the large set too. NOTHING beats a prismacolor white or cream pencil. I get sad when they get short. But the white is open stock, yay! These SF will do and if I see a great deal on the cezanne whenever I need some supplies from Jerry's I'll keep them in mind. I got a 24 set of their wc pencils and they are ok. But I'll save for Albrecht Dewer as I'm so done with budget wc pencils . Out of them all Crayola gave the best saturation. Lol. Not like I'm hanging wc pencil art all over the place. Rambling? Who rambles?😉😅💜
I don’t need colored pencils but appreciate these reviews in case need them for Xmas/bday presents. Love your popsicles! I like softer pencils but really love picking up colors I love in poly, derwent lightfast, etc.. open stock. It’s always fun getting couple gorgeous pencils when placing orders. I’m loving my budget pencils that you recommended for sketchbook. Really pretty colors. Thanks Lindsay!💕
Nice video! Wonderful review too! I purchased the Cezanne from Jerry’s when they were launched and only paid $29.99 for the 120 set! I kinda like the same colors since they are not sold open stock and you can substitute pencils with similar pigments/colors. I have a small set of 36 Poly’s and honestly I prefer watercolor pencils. I do have a full set of Albrecht’s even all 30 of the Magnus pencils! When I create a pencil drawing I use my best supplies, working in a sketchbook I use the budget pencils, in fact you convinced me to buy those square pencils just for that reason! Enjoyed watching and listening to you ramble on or espouse your informed opinions, to be more elegant! Hope you have a lovely day!
I always enjoy your honest reviews. I agree with you, I like a softer lead. I use Prisma color. I do have a medium set of VeriThins because for color books or bible journaling, the harder lead. I also get more enjoyment out of using better products.
I got roundabout 70 Faber-Castell's (mostly because they're local, a 36 set + added single ones), but those always felt too hard for my crampy left hand. I last tried Zenacolor's, mostly because they were on sale and I wanted something more waxy to do wax resist techniques with and because I hoped that those would be a bit softer. Not much to my surprise, they actually didn't really feel much softer. Lessons learned, I guess, I just have to safe up for Prismacolors or something similar 😅
I recently bought a few loose Blicks artists grade pencils and boy are those close to my polychromos. I have never bought a cheap set of pencils other than crayola for school. But I plan on buying a complete set of Blicks artist pencils when more of my polychromos and prismas run out. I have yet to see a good review on Blicks artist pencils hopefully you can review a set.
This is what I discovered. SCHPIRERR FARBEN are the same as Castle arts. Yes, the same colors and the same feel (dry)...SCHPIRERR FARBEN has less colors though. Castle arts gold has the same colors but different formula (more wax) than Nyoni. Castle arts gold are probably made at the same factory as Nyoni and they have the same exact color pigment but different binders. I am very Suspicious of surgent art Supreme as being the same pencil as SCHPIRERR FARBEN, however they can also be the same pigment, just with more wax in them. Castle arts gold are not in any way oil based, they in fact are wax based and Nyoni are oil based (dry)
I have these and use them for practice pieces in my sketchbooks etc. I have polychromos for more serious work, personally I think they're softer than poly's and think they blend beautifully and are veryvibrant too. Don't mean to be critical but I've made blends far better than demonstrated in this video. I think it all comes down to technique, but these are a wonderful pencil for practice and actually like the feel better than the polychromos, but ido choose the polychromos for serious work simply due to the lightfastness of polychromos.
I have been collecting some budget brands because I’m at the beginner stage. I have some top brand names too but I need the cheaper pencils to practise with. I’m now testing which of the lower quality brands are my favourites. I have also been collecting the top brands in 12 pencils sets and I can travel with those or move them easier around the house. I really don’t know what I’m doing but I’m determined to train myself because there is no artistic genes in my body, none not one.
Actually yes exzellent is german for excellent :). Confirmation from hubby whom is Munich born :D this is an awesome review thankyou so much Lindsay. Much love from Australia
Hi I love your reviews! I have a question according to Amazon the cezanne pencils are wax based whereas the schpirerr are oil based. Wouldn’t that make them different? Would they perform differently? Thanks
I'm assuming the budget pencils use less wax and oil in the process of extruding the lead. Then the loose pigment, which is less surrounded by oil, is apt to dissolve with water. I also assume "Cezanne" and "Schpirrer" are the same company because "Schpirrer" is a non-standard German spelling (Schp not found in the language.)
Then there must be another filler because they are not more pigmented than the artist grade. I'd suspect clay but they are not dry or opaque. Maybe it's an inferior binder.
I do think these are the same lead as the Marco Renoir. I have the 96 SF and 72 set of Marco Renoir. I wonder/am not sure about the barrel, though. The unpainted wood grain on the Marco Renoir barrel looks very smooth and nicely finished… possibly a higher grade than most budget pencils? I wonder if a company would choose to have that barrel painted? I also heard that Bruynzeel Design are the same (maybe this was the original outsource, like Cotman/Phoenix?), but I don’t have those so can’t say myself. Lori from Color My World did lightfast testing (and she lives in Las Vegas, so plenty of UV exposure), and she indicated Schpirerr Farben did very well… the best of any budget colored pencil set she tested. I have to say, Schpirerr Farben seems to choose the nicest quality lines for their white label products, curates their sets thoughtfully, sticks to a small number of products that they research well , and have excellent customer service. It makes me much more likely to purchase new additions to their line in the future. I’ve ordered about their watercolor brushes for that reason (I have their watercolor 48 set), but I have managed self control so far.
I read something interesting about the Marco Renoir and how they relate to the Schpirerr Farben (I think it was an Amazon Review): They do feel the same or at least extremely similar, but their colors are different and there are very few duplicates. Now I can't confirm if this is true, since I refuse to buy anything without an open stock option. But it is interesting nonetheless.
@@ma-rhianmck6919 yes, my 72 set or Marco Renoir are all different, I believe. They are kind of an odd set of colors by themselves, but that makes them a good complement to most other pencil sets. They work well with the Art n Fly, too.
Thanks for the info. The square Brutfuner are the last budget pencils I intend to buy. I have a 96 set of Prismacolor, which I love. I'll have to hunt for your reviews of Derwent Lightfast and Colorsoft. Are they physically the same except for the lightfast part? Do they perform the same, is what I mean. Have you compared those 2?
I got this set early 2021. A few of them are very scratchy and the denim blue was not blended well. I should’ve returned them, but I didn’t. I’ve not used them since.
Good morning Lindsay I was curious how do you think these pencils and a square Brutfuner’s compare you’re still my favorite budget pencil although I do not have this set as of yet anyway watching your video from Allentown Pennsylvania today
I agree. I wanted a less expensive since I was a beginner and did not want to waste.my prismacolors on practice. I used Marco Raffine they.worked well for me.
Thanks for the review! I kinda want a cheap Polychromos alternative for playing around in my sketchbook, but maybe I'll have to accept that one doesn't exist. And yes, that is the German spelling of excellent, but someone probably already told you :)
Thank you for reviewing these pencils kid! Pray tell, where do you get the swatch paper? I remember you showed us once before, but I’m an old bat & I went & forgot hahaha. Thanks either way if you can’t answer. Love watching you & keep up showing us cool stuff 😎🎶💕
Lindsey prismacolor 150 was selling for 78.00. I hope they are not substandard. Amazon kinda makes me a little nervous when they drop their prices. I bought my first set of the big 150 set years ago and the set was $89.00. I know you are doing a video for these new other pencils. Forgive me if it was a problem. Thanks Jo Ellze
I think they are fine. I got my last prisma 150 set for $59 on amaxon 4 years ago and they have all been fine. Some people say they get factory seconds but I didn't.
"Colored pencils as one knows,comes in rainbow colors and can paint a beautiful scene that will amaze you,Lindsay on the other hand will paint a masterpiece. "-lynn. ❤🙂🍷👍🍇
I have the 24 set of Polychromos on my wishlist but I just got a set of 12 Master Class (russian brand) and love them over watercolor. Have you tried them?
@@thefrugalcrafter Yes, I know you prefer softer pencils. Me too But I do want to test the Polychromos and see what the buzz is all about. The Russian ones are soft and waxy though and, as you said, because of the price, I'm not afraid to sharpen them.
Thank you, Lindsay, for once again providing artists with the public service of a common sense review of tools,…and therefore theoretically saving some of us from making costly mistakes.. Is there a brand of budget colored pencils that are quality, but also waterproof? Or is that a quality exclusively confined to colored pencils that are predominantly wax based?
Most oil based pencils (even artist grade pricey ones) will move a bit with water. The arrtx ones were waterproof and they are a nice soft pencil. I recon they have wax on them.
@@thefrugalcrafter i havent tried them but i keep looking at them. I think they look hopeful. I was brought up in hongkong and we used to get a lot of chinese and japanese brands... and mungyo paints are pretty good from my memory. I think i'll give them a try! I think i'll try the big set.
I have recently been told that coloured pencils expire and the leads can dry out. How do you mediate this with have many sets. I use mine but want maintain the sets I have?
That takes decades if it happens at all. Colored pencils are generally considered to have the longest shelf life. I got a used set of Polychromos from the 1950s and they are working just as well as my modern open stock Polychromos.
Thank you so much to both of you! I had heard this… looked at my crazy collection and went oh shit… Research rabbit hole later and the jury was out. I appreciate your experiences, they make me feel better. I love using my sets but use them for different purposes.
just received my polychromos 120 set and completed a floral piece. All I can say is if you can afford them, just do it. you will not be sorry. I certainly am not.
I realize that but they do move (or bleed) with water which was what I was getting at here because people were saying that some pencils were bad because they were supposed to be oil based or wax based but bled after a watersoluble medium was used on top and I was showing that even expensive pencils do that.
Exzellent is not German for excellent. It’s ausgezeichnet. It looks like they took the German word for excellency and made it seem German for excellent. But it’s not correct.
@@thefrugalcrafter Let me help. Exzellent is the German word for excellent, but is rarely used and generally seen as antiquated. Something the 100 year old great grandaunt with the chunky pearl necklace would say. Today we use ausgezeichnet or großartig. Source: I am German. Fun fact: "Farben" is indeed the german word for colors. Schpirerr, however, isn't a German word or name. Both "Schp" and "irerr" are not found in the German language (unless it is a super obscure or rare name, lol).
