Im a painter- thats my preferred medium- but I recently decided I wanted to expand my artistic repetoire with colored pencils and pastels. Years ago I purchased a full set of Prismacolors and hated them, then picked up some Polychromos and felt ho hum about them. When my interest in colored pencils was renewed I quickly found a deep appreciation for Polychromos. I like to work in many, many feather light layers and Polys are amazing at just that. But I knew there was more out there. Better? I dont know, but Im the kind of artist that really HAS to try every variation of a medium I can get my hands on until I find the one that fits just right. Enter Caran D Ache. Given my preference for a firmer core, I knew I would rather invest in a large set of Pablos over the softer and more expensive Luminance, and I expected something very similar to Polychromos, but I wasnt prepared for how creaminess of the Pablos. I dont really get all the comments about grittiness or scratchiness of Pablos. I find it falls somewhere between Polychromos and Prismacolor in texture- buttery smooth, with a velvet like lay down that take multiple layers. And when I say multiple I mean, I easily lay down a minimum of 20 layers. I dont burnish- I hate burnishing- but I did give it a good test try and its easily accomplished with the Pablos but they are so creamy, and I dont mean waxy which is how I would describe Prismas, that you really do not have to burnish if you have the patience to build up and blend thinner layers. I also find they are excellent for detail work. Not as good as the Polychromos, but close. Im absolutely in love with Pablos, and I couldnt be happier with my investment. I dont consider them another brand of Polychromos, but I think the two greatly compliment each other, and work well together also. I couldnt see myself only settling on one or the other. As for the color selection with the set of 80, its pretty good, but I do find that its short of flesh/portrait tones, which is really where my interest lies. Portraiture. Im okay with that, because I tend to start with a foundation of pastels and I do have the range of skin tones from the Polychromos, but if you are purchasing your first set of artist quality pencils and plan to work with people and skin, I would supplement this set with a handful of shades from another line. Either the Polys or Luminance. That is the ONLY reason I have to rate the Pablos with four stars instead of five, and I understand it that stands true for the entire range of Pablos. There is a very limited number of traditional skin tones, and thats very surprising, though I doubt it is an oversight of any kind. Still, I wish Caran Dache would amend the palette. Its a shame really to make such a hefty purchase on quality materials and still have to spend more to graze from another line. That said they are beautifully opaque and easy to mix with careful layering/blending techniques. The over quality is excellent. Some people may not love the hexagonal shape but it makes no difference to me. Theyre very light in weight and feel which makes it even easier for me to work as I normally do in ultra thin layers. The pencils hold their point for quite a long time, and to avoid waste, after I sharpen it as well as I can in an electric sharpener I continue to maintain the sharpness with sandpaper as I work instead of sharpening it again with a sharpener. Finally, I have to say I think I found my favorite pencils thus far in my foray into the realm of colored pencils. I think they are a superb option that falls somewhere in middle of the Polychromos and Luminance price range, with a several advantages over the Polychromos and one or two disadvantages. I will recommend them to every artist I know. On one last point, I have to say if you are researching pencils for adult coloring in coloring books, these arent the pencils for you unless you have money to throw away. These are artist quality pencils and I believe they are most suitable and beneficial to people who are creating original artwork. There are less expensive options for coloring books that will meet your basic needs if that is your goal.
