Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencil Review.
Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencil Review.
In the last few days, Medihealth1 aka Wally, has launched the newly anticipated Black Widow Monarch set of Colored Pencils. I was so fortunately to have a set sent to me for review as well as three extra sets which will be going to three lucky winners in a fee giveaway. As with all the giveaways I do, no matter where you live in the world you can take part, but I will explain the details further into the review.
If you are new to the Black Widow Colored Pencils, let me briefly explain the origin of the pencils and what sets are currently available. A man in Australia called Wally under the company name of Medihealth1 decided quite a few years back, that he wanted to help out those of us suffering with mental health. when he looked into this he discovered that the adult colouring book community was huge with a lot of people suffering with mental health and so decided to develop a set of colored pencils that would be best suited to this style of art.
Wally first developed the 24 set of Black Widow Colored Pencils and from this point going forward, all future pencils would be under the Black Widow banner. The next set was the 24 Scorpion Colored Pencils which came about six months after the Black Widow Set. The third set was the 24 Cobra Colored Pencils and this rounded up 72 pencils in total with a varied palette.
Not long later, Wally introduced 24 Skin Tone colored pencils to the range, however these pencils were split into two twelve sets of pencils, a Dark Skin Tone set of 12 and a Light Skin Tone set of 12. Wally had always intended adding another set to his already hugely popular Black Widow pencils but the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, slowing down production and shipping on so many products.
Once the COVID-19 restrictions lifted in certain parts of the world, Wally was able to continue on with his expansion of the Black Widow range hence the brand new 48 set of Monarch Colored Pencils. When it was first announced that the name of this set was going to be Monarch, many people expected to see an image of the Monarch Butterfly on the tin, however, the Monarch is also a specific Stag, the naming of the Monarch is dependant upon the number of points on the Antler, I have left a link if you are interested, the Monarch Stag is one of the most beautiful majestic animals on Earth.
The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer
Black Widow Monarch Characteristics.
If you have purchased or used any of the other sets in the Black Widow range, you will notice straight off the bat that the Monarch colored pencil set is a little bit more upmarket so to speak. The pencils come in a tin, just as the other sets, however there is a cardboard sleeve that simply slips off the tin. I know this is only a small difference and certainly not a feature that determines the performance of the pencils, but it does slightly set the Monarch set apart from the others.
The actual pencils in the Black Widow Monarch set are visually quite similar to previous pencils in the Black Widow range, especially the Skin Tone pencils.
The Monarch barrels sport that same jet black wood barrel that has become so synonymous with the Black Widow pencils, however, with the Black Widow, Scorpion and Cobra pencils there was no pigment identifier, that was introduced to the Skin Tone pencils and it features again on the Monarch barrel.
The core of the Monarch pencil is a luscious 3.3mm housed in that gorgeous 7.8mm black wood barrel. the feature that makes the black barrel so appealing is also the issue with the black barrels. For the brighter and lighter colors in the sets, they almost glow against the black barrel, however the darker core colors are much more difficult to determine, this is where the pigment identifier comes in helpful.
It is important to highlight that the pigment identifier is not identical to the core pigments, but, of the 200 plus pencils I have reviewed, not one of them have provided identical pigment identifiers on the end of the barrel. there are lots of reasons for this of which I briefly talk about in my video review of the Black Widow Monarch Pencils.
the barrel has some information printed along the side in easy to read gold print, the print does not appear metallic in nature which can often cause issues trying to read the print under lights. On the Monarch barrel we are presented with a small Monarch logo, similar to the logo icons on the Black Widow, Scorpion and Cobra pencils.
After this we have the brand of pencil printed, which in this case is “Monarch”, closely followed by the pigment name. Next we have a number printed on the barrel which is related to the core pigment, however, as of yet, none of the Black Widow pencils are available open stock, this number is purely retail ordering purposes only.
There is a thin orange band that separates the barrel from the pigment identifier and then of course we are presented with the one and half inch pigment identifier itself. I have already mentioned about the identifier not matching exactly to the core pigment, but I would also like to talk briefly about the pigment names.
Wally explained to me a day after reviews started to go up on Amazon that some people were unhappy with the naming of the pigments, in particular the Sapphire which is more a greed blue than the traditional Blue one might associate with Sapphire.
I would like to mention something about the pigment naming from my own perspective. The Black Widow pencils were originally and still are aimed toward people with mental health and the adult colouring book community. From the very beginning, Wally had a bit of fun with the pigment names keeping in mind the ethos of the pencils, the Black Widow never have been marketed as fine art colored pencils were pigment naming and lightfast ratings are vital.
Some of the pigment names from the other sets range from, Pig Ear, Irish Green, Brown Bug, Venom, Space, Purple Haze, Lady Bug, Forget Me Not, Stink Bug, so as you can see from this small selection, the pigment names are not really on the list of importance with this brand of pencils. I am not suggesting that Wally does not take this business seriously, I am sure he does, but given the mental health nature of what got him started, I think he wanted to keep things such as pigment names light hearted.
Black Widow Monarch Pricing
There is obviously only one set with the Monarch name on it and it is this 48 set, as with the other sets in the Black Widow banner, Wally has tried to keep these pencils as inexpensive as he possibly can.
Here in the UK, this set of 48 Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencils will cost you £26.57
In Europe the Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencils will cost approximately €26.04
Unfortunately at the time of writing this review, the Monarch Colored Pencils are not available on Amazon.com, nevertheless I will of course update this page as and when they do become available.
Black Widow Monarch Performance
The actual core ingredients of the Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencils is not different to that of the other sets, the Black Widow, Cobra, Scorpion and Skin Tone, so there is not really much I need to say in this section. Because I am doing a giveaway with the Black Widow Monarch pencils for three lucky people to win, I wanted to get the bulk review done and uploaded as soon as I could.
As a result I have not completed my art work with the pencils, however, as soon as I have completed it I will of course upload it in all the relevant formats. For this particular art work, I am using just the Monarch set, however, I am also going to be completing a piece using all 144 pencils from the Black Widow brand, well not using them all, but creating the art work with the option of using any palette from the full range.
As you can see I have completed a swatch of the pencils so that you can get a better look at the colors included in the Monarch set. With the other sets in the Black Widow range, the colors were quite bright and bold, with the Monarch set the colors are definitely a lot more understated with quite a few gorgeous pastel colors.
Whilst the Black Widow Monarch 48 set is a set of colored pencils in its own right, I personally feel that this set is best placed in an already established collection of pencils and let me explain what I mean by this and why I think this.
The only set of pencils I have seen that have a wide range of soft pastel tones has been the Holbein Colored Pencils, until now that is. the Monarch set has a beautiful range of soft pastel shades, colors that I have not seen in other colored pencil sets as a collection.
Whilst I feel the Black Widow Monarch set is best placed among an already established colored pencil collection, I feel they would obviously be a perfect attachment to the existing Black Widow Pencils but not exclusively the Black Widow pencils. If you have other soft cored pencils of which there are too many to list, the Monarch set would slot right into place expanding your palette range beyond what may have thought possible.
The reason I feel the Monarch set is a better expansion set is because whilst the palette is to die for with regards soft pastel tones, the most gorgeous greens, purples and pinks, there are one or two colors missing that would be needed for certain genres. the Monarch set lacks any Reds, there is also no white or black pencil, however there is a Coal color that is quite dark. Whilst the selection of Greys in the Monarch set are also gorgeous harbouring more towards the amazing French Grey scale, my own personal favourite family of Greys, there are only two Browns. for a Botanical artist the Monarch set as a stand alone set would be perfect and perhaps landscape with the selection of Blues available, but for other genres you would need one or two additional colors.
I personally would love to see Wally produce a large compilation set of Black Widow pencils, either a full 144 set or a 120 set and keeping the Skin Tone sets separate for artists to purchase if required.
As with the other Black Widow pencils, the pencil core is perfect for adult colouring book enthusiasts, adult colouring books vary so much with regards to the paper types used. Of course the Black Widow pencils are not exclusively adult colouring book pencils and can be used for sketching, journaling, crafting and general colored pencil art.
Black Widow Monarch Lightfast Ratings.
There is no doubt about it, the lightfastness of a colored pencil is vitally important for artists who want to create original art work that they are either going to sell, take commissions on or submit to Galleries and competitions. If you do not plan on doing any of these with your colored pencil artwork, you don’t need lightfast pencils, that’s not to say you can’t use them for practising your craft, but it is a waste of good materials.
If you are looking for Lightfast pencils, you are not ever going to find a set of highly lightfast pencils in a set of 48 and above for less that at the very cheapest £60, in most cases £80 plus. There is a reason for this and that is the process companies have to go through to have their pigments lightfast tested is time consuming and expensive.
There is absolutely a time and a place for Lightfast art products, but non lightfast products absolutely have their place as well and this is all predetermined by the individual. I sometimes feel that people new to the art of colored pencil feel they must have lightfast pencils and as I have already mentioned, this is true but only for the situations I have highlighted. the last thing I want is for people new to the colored pencil medium to feel before they refine their craft, they have to spend fortunes on lightfast pencils, this is not the case at all.
As of yet, none of the Black Widow pencils have lightfast ratings nor do I think they ever will. If Wally went down this route, it would mean a huge increase in price and thus derail the initial reason Wally started production on the Black Widow range. The last thing in the world people suffering with mental health need is financial burden.
Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencil Conclusion
The Black Widow entire range is a wonderful set of budget colored pencils, they are not the type of pencils that you are going to set the world on fire with selling the next Rembrandt or anything like that. However, they are an incredibly inexpensive set of pencils, that will deliver a beautiful coverage and lay down of pigment.
With a total palette of 144 colors you are spoilt for choice, currently being sold in cheap bite size sets, you can build up your collection over a period of time. The Monarch palette in particular is perhaps one of the most stunning palettes I have seen in a single 48 set and together with the other Black Widow sets, you will be equipped to create from any genre.
From day one of testing and demonstrating the Black Widow pencils I have throughly enjoyed using them, considering their incredibly inexpensive price point, the Black Widow are a solid choice for so many colored pencil artist types.
Black Widow Monarch Giveaway Details
Three lucky people will win a set of these beautiful Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencils and there is very little needed to enter the free giveaway.
First of all the giveaway is open to everyone, no matter where you live on this beautiful earth, providing you have a postal service, be it Polar Bear, Post Man or Women, Tiger, Squirrel etc, so long as something or someone will deliver the pencils to your address, I will get the pencils to you.
To enter, all you have to do is visit my YouTube video review of the Black Widow Monarch Colored Pencils and leave a comment in the comment section. It doesn’t matter what you write, so long as you leave a comment. the reason for this is when I select a winner it is done through software which detects the comments and selects a random name as the winner.
If you find the video helpful it would be helpful to the channel if you give a like and if you are not already a subscriber that would also be amazing if you became a subscriber. These are not essential to winning the pencils but would be helpful and really appreciated by me if you could.
All three winners will be announced on September the 30th 2020, giving approximately a month for people to see the video and have a chance at taking part. When the winners are selected the names will be announced on The Art Gear Guide YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Once the winners are announced all I ask is for the winners to contact me via my email address theartgearguide@gmail.com with your address details. People under the age of 18 can enter the giveaway, all I ask is that you please make sure your parents or guardian are aware you have entered the giveaway and are okay with you providing me your address. If your parents or guardian wish to ask me questions before permitting your entry to the giveaway I am more than happy to answer their questions. As a parent myself I know how daunting it is for parents and the last thing I want is for any parent or child to cast worry on account of me or the giveaway. I wish you all the very best of luck.
