STAEDTLER 8880 C12 Karat Watercolour Paint Tube - Multi-Colour (Pack of 12)...

I purchased this set looking for a cheaper option than my beloved but wildly expensive Caran DAche crayons for sketchbooks and studies and other things that dont call for the most premium supplies. These are.well. Not premium. But not terrible. The pros: applied with a light hand to cold press paper and was able to dissolve all of the marks and get a smooth color gradient with a reasonably good vibrancy. They are the size of normal crayons, not an odd or awkward shape - though the tips are weird; why taper them if youre not going to give us a pointed tip? Not sure what the point of the shape is. I didnt bother to sharpen them because Im quite used to using the edge of a blunt crayon or pastel for thinner lines, but if youre wanting a pointed tip youll have to sharpen it yourself. Anyway. Other pro, a nice assortment of colors. Warm and cool everything so I can make any color I need with the set. Cons: The wrappers are loose and slide around annoyingly. I want to just rip them off and I may well do that. Sloppy. The crayons all had this white residue on them - Im assuming its the wax binder? I ended up wiping each crayons tip with a lightly damp shop towel before using it to make sure what I was laying down wasnt just pure binder. I dont know if it make any difference but I did it anyway. The color payout is decent but not awe-inspiring; the much cheaper Faber Castel set I got thats aimed at children has a much more vibrant color payout. On the one hand, the wet pigment looks very similar to the dry pigment, so you know what youre getting, but on the other hand, who uses watercolor crayons expecting the pigments to look the same wet as dry? I was expecting a bit more vibrancy. Thats what I like and what I seek from my art supplies and most of the colors were just too subdued for my taste. The crayons are very hard, which is a pro or a con depending on what you want. Because of their hardness I was able to shade in some very fine lines, better than I can get with some pencils. But if I want that consistency Im probably using pencils; for me, crayons are not for fine details, theyre for bold and expressive strokes, and these dont deliver that. All in all, theyre a mediocre offering from Staedtler. Sad, because I am in love with their fine liners and their permanent ink brush pens. I thought these would be better than they are. The only reason I kept them is the other set I got only had fifteen colors. Im going to keep experimenting with what the best way to use these is. I really need to stop using my Neocolors in my sketchbook. Those are meant to be seen in something hanging on a wall.