I don’t know how you ‘met’ colored pencils for the first time, or how you were introduced to them. I feel confident to say that we all started really really early in our life using them. But when did you discover them as an art medium? I mean for ‘real’ fine art? 2013 was the year I have seen them for the first time as an art medium when some artists posted their masterpieces on Instagram. WOW was I impressed, and I wanted to do the same.
I know it is not all about the tools (as I also point out in this article: How to improve your drawing skills?) but if you want to have good results, you have to have the proper equipment. Using student grade pencils is like learning how-to motorcycle on your bicycle. You can learn some simple basics, but not the whole depth of what is involved.
Google knows everything (and depending on how you ask the result will be the total opposite), and this is where I started my research. Artist grade pencils are not that cheap, so I wanted to buy the right ones. After some days of research, (you have it easier today with so many Facebook groups and much more blog posts around this topic) I narrowed it down to 2 brands: Polychromos by Faber-Castell and Prismacolors. Living in Europe the Polychromos were easier to buy, and many artists were complaining about some quality issues on the Prismacolors, so I made my choice!
1 week later:
My Polychromos have arrived. I am so excited! Here they are in front of me, still in the Amazon box. My heart is beating a little bit faster, and the smile on my face is revealing my excitement and joy. I try to savor every moment while I slowly unpack them. First the packaging, then the wrapping and last the Faber-Castell box.
As I open the tin, I see them for the first time. All in the same length with the same sharp point. And OHHHH how they smell. I am in artist heaven.
BUT WAIT: they are not perfect! The labels are all up and down and not aligned. I touch them gently – a little bit scared that my fingers will destroy this perfect moment. I take another start and roll them until all the names face up. HAHA, I have to laugh. I touch them as if they were soap bubbles which would scatter into million pieces. They don’t!
Now everything is perfect!
120 Pencils!
I am overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start. No, the problem is not that I have no ideas for drawings. I have plenty of them, but these colored sticks in front of me are total strangers. I don’t know how they behave. I don’t know how they work. I don’t know what the colors are like. I don’t know which paper they prefer. I don’t know their favorite technique. Like I already mentioned: total strangers.
It is up to me changing that. But how?
Should I just start with one of my ideas? No, since we are strangers, I am not sure if the result would be good. What if it doesn’t work out? Will I be discouraged? There has to be a way to get to know each other! Now I know, I will start with a color chart. Again Google is my friend, but nothing that comes up seems to do the proper job. Read my next post about ‘The Perfect Colored Pencil Color Chart‘.
How did you feel, holding/seeing your pencils for the first time? Tell me in the comments:
I bought a full set of Polychromos back in January this year. I can’t bring myself to actually use them yet, they are so beautiful and the smell is divine, I don’t want to spoil them! I just keep opening the tin and having a sniff. I really must get over this silly blockage. I can’t even draw properly, and I’ll never learn if I just leave these beauties in their tin.
I just went nuts about the excitement of not wasting more time sharpening than using those colored pencils to actually color. I took a class at a terrible local university and they told students to waste their money on Primsacolor colored pencils claiming they were the best. It would be years after finishing that class that I mentioned I really wanted to get back into using colored pencils just as long as they weren’t the dreaded Prismasharpen. I wasted so much money on one semester of coloring projects because the instructor had students buy the wrong pencils, paper, and didn’t bother to show how to properly blend.
When my birthday came around I got a 120 set of watercolor Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer pencils and a set of 60 Polychromos colored pencils. I was smiling for a solid week and kept drawing and coloring for a while. I don’t care what your age, gender, or background is, coloring is a timeless way to enjoy yourself. I did color studies, sketches, full size drawings and really enjoyed it.
Using the Polychromos pencils I was cautious and finally found a way to blend them. Ironically, I didn’t get my first colored pencil book until years later after being frustrated with them turning out like crayons in texture instead of the photo realistic colored pencil drawings I fell in love with. The oil-based colored pencils were a whole new toy, but I was timid about breaking them and didn’t want to experiment with yet another blender. I couldn’t stand anything wax (until Caran d’Ache released Luminance colored pencils!) because Prismacolor was such a nightmare. Students had points taken off their grade if they had a wax bloom effect show on their project so I avoided using the blender. Everyone had a wax bloom show up!
You could say I was taught the worst possible way to use colored pencils with the most frustrating brand out there. I moved onto airbrushing and dropped out of that awful university. After working three jobs to pay off those student loans I applied to and was accepted into a better college for a degree in Visual Effects using computers and haven’t regretted it. I love drawing even more and got back into it so I can make photo realistic textures for my 3D models. Yep, I ordered replacement parts for my airbrush and I’m coloring full throttle both in computer graphics and on the right paper. While I wait for an animation or effect to render I work on my airbrushing and colored pencils projects.
I love your blog and got the referral so I could make my color chart. I’m going to make one for my Luminance set too. Keep sharing the fun and practical advice!
Sarah
Thank you Sarah for the time you took to read my blog and leave such a great comment.
I am sorry that you had such a bad experience at your university. WOW it went wrong in any possible way. I have my Favorite Brand of Colored Pencils and it is the Polychromos, but when someone asks me for THE best pencils I recommend that they buy a few of each and test for themselves. Who am I to tell you how you work, and what you like for a feel? I can give you tipps and things you should consider, and maybe your choice will also be the Polychromos after you red everything, but it is not my decision to make. And I am fascinated that you still have your love and the joy doing art.
I have not invested in the Luminance yet – they are on my wish-list though. I love my Polychromos, but also use the Prismacolor. They are so different – almost as using 2 different Media. And some effects are more doable with one brand or the other. But I really hate the breakage you mentioned. It is frustrating to see the pencils been eaten up by the sharpener, and it hurts double because they are so expensive in Europe.
It means a lot to me that you like and enjoy the blog. (a Luminance and a Prismacolor Chart are in the making)
MaryJane
Ahhh yes, the piney, woodsy spice scent of a new set of pencils! My first thought is usually, please God, do not let any of the leads be snapped inside, usually not a problem, but the last shipment of Castell’s box was bent *PANIC* though all seems well so far. GREAT post, I love that you write about these things, they are important and relateable. <3
Thank you Charleen for stopping by and leaving a comment đ
Oh I was like that too, in the Beginning. Now I just throw them Around. Knowing their Quality, and that nothing can Destroy them. My desk is quite Messy when I am in my Creative Stage, and some fall down on the Floor. I don’t care, while I was totally getting nervous about this in the beginning.