Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Review | 120 Gold Castle Arts Colored Pencils.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Review | 120 Gold Castle Arts Colored Pencils.
In this review we take a look at the new Gold Colored Pencils from Castle Arts, the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils are advertised as an oil based set of pencils. As you guys know, I try to avoid discussing pencils in the wax or oils categories and rather describe to the best of my ability how the pencils feel to me of the different papers I test the pencils on.
As always I have created some artwork with the pencils as I find this is an excellent way of helping you guys see the potential of the product. You can see this artwork in two formats, the first is still images taken of the work at various stages of completion and of course the second is the speed drawing which you can see on The Art Gear Guide YouTube channel.
As well as the artwork, I test the pencils in other ways which I will show case to you in this written review and you can also check out the tests on my YouTube review which you only have to click the links to see. If you have any questions for me about the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils, please do not hesitate to ask, if for some reason I am unable to answer I will ask my contact at Castle and get back to you. I have to admit leading up to Christmas I have not replied to nearly half as much of you guys as I would like and normally do, but I plan on rectifying this immediately.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Characteristics
One of the most impressive things about the 120 set of Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils that I was sent to review, was the information booklets included. One of the booklets is completely invaluable to all colored pencil enthusiasts buying them. I have provided a few images of the pages included in the booklets but to see more about the amazing information provided, check out the YouTube video review.
The Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils are quite a stable pencil, they feel good in the hand, they feel like quality. The 3.9mm core is held within a round 7.8mm, this is a good size for a colored pencil but the more budget priced pencils seem to be slightly thinner in my experience. Every barrel is lacquered a deep Ultramarine blue.
Along one side of the barrel is elegant Castle Arts logo in gold leaf print followed by “CastleArts”. The end of each barrel sports one and a half inch pigment identifier with a gold band separating the identifier to the rest of the barrel. Printed along each pigment identifier is the word “Gold”, obviously representing the new line of pencils in the Castle arsenal.
On the opposite side of the barrel, the pigment name is also printed in Gold Leaf, which as is the case with all pencils, gold leaf can be difficult to read in certain light. Along the pigment identifier on this side of the barrel is also printed a code corresponding the pigment.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencil Performance
Castle have marketed the Gold Colored Pencils as oil based, now if you are new to The Art Gear Guide, I spent a good year or so researching this whole wax and oil based pencil issue and after conversations with two Chemists from two large colored pencil companies. It was explained to me that no pencils are just oil or wax, there are various types of wax that can be used that may make a pencil feel like, what one would expect an oil based pencil to feel like.
So I prefer to simply explain how the core feels to me and how it performs. The Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencil definitely feels different from the first Castle Colored Pencils. Although the core of the Castle Arts Gold core holds a good point on light applications, there is a silkier smoother lay down for the Gold pencil.
Of the 120 Gold Colored Pencils that were sent to me, 2 of the pencils during the swatch did feel a little bit gritty. At first I thought perhaps I had grit or dust on the paper as none of the other pencils felt like this at all, but after cleaning the paper, ensuring there was no grit or dust, the same two pencils continued to occasionally provide a gritty experience.
With regards to sharpening of the Castle Arts Colored Pencils, the wood appears to be good quality, sharpening perfectly and providing a perfect point. I did however come across three or four pencils that when using a hand held sharpener, the cores continually broke. For the most part I was able to sharpen the same pencils using my Caran d’Ache hand crank sharpener, suggesting that this was perhaps more of an off centre core as opposed to a badly shattered core. For me personally, after reviewing a lot of colored pencils over the years, I have come to accept that this is simply part and parcel of the medium we love so much. No matter how expensive the pencils are, you can still get a pencil in a set of 120 that will not sharpen correctly. It is frustrating but not the end of the world.
To help show you guys the level of performance from the Castle Arts Colored Pencils I have, as always a few tests to show you and with the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils I tested them on 5 different papers. The first test is the swatch which was completed on Strathmore 300 series Bristol Velum Paper. Here you can see all 120 colors in the palette of the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils. All in all, the Gold Colored Pencils reacted really nice on the velum paper, for those of you new to colored pencils, Velum paper is quite smooth but there is a little bit of tooth and texture to the surface making the paper ideal for detail pieces.
The next test is a little bit more comprehensive, this test was completed on Clairefontaine Paint On Mixed Media paper, this paper has a little bit more texture than the velum and with it being a Mixed Media paper, it can handle very light washes for watercolors or watercolor pencils.
the first test on the Paint On Mixed Media paper is the layer test, again for those of you new to colored pencils, in this test I apply 6 columns. The first five are light layers of the pencils, so the first column has one light layer, the second column has two light layers and so on all the way to five. the final column has a single heavy application just showing the over all strength of the pigment.
The reason I stop at 5 light layers is because it’s generally considered by colored pencil artists who use Odourless Mineral Spirits, that at least 5 layers of pigment needs to be applied before you get the desired effects of the OMS. As you can see in this test, the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils layered beautiful and as I will explain in the artwork I completed, a lot more layers could have been applied.
On the same paper we move to the blending test. This test is simply to try and create a third color from two. As you can clearly see from this test, with the blue and yellow I have created a beautiful green, the red and yellow has created a nice orange. Finally and this one is always more difficult to create, but the red and blue has created a really nice reddy purple which I was incredibly pleased with.
the final test on the Paint On Mixed Media paper is a sphere using multiple layers of the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils in order to use odourless mineral. To best see this test you should watch the YouTube video review where I display the Castle Art Gold Colored Pencils layers break down using the OMS.
As I have mentioned before, I personally don’t use OMS, however there are many advantages to using it. One such advantage is after applying your layers to the paper, once you apply the OMS, it helps to reinvigorate the tooth of the paper thus allowing for more layers.
Next up I have displayed the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils on Black and Tan paper, this test does not define whether or not the pencils are good or bad, just simply if they are opaque or translucent. Colored pencil artists have their own preference when it comes to their own colored pencils and this test simply helps them to decide if the pencil on review will meet their requirements.
With the artwork, I created this on Derwent Lightfast Paper, I loved the greens in this set so much that I wanted to do yet another botanical piece. Ordinarily, many fine art colored pencil artists would advise against using non lightfast pencils on high grade art paper, however, the paper texture is gorgeous and I wanted to help display how the pencils looked on such a paper.
to get a better understanding of the artwork created with the Castle Arts Gold colored Pencils you can check out the speed drawing I have provided or if you would prefer to simply study some still images taken throughout the drawing process follow the relevant links.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Pricing and Sets
As has usually been the case with Castle Arts, they have provided options for artists purchasing their colored pencils, you can either purchase in the traditional tin format or in a wallet which a lot of colored pencil artist find incredibly convenient.
Castle have provide their largest count of 120 Gold colored pencils in a both wallet and tin format and the same formats for their smaller count of 72.
Here in the UK to purchase the 120 set in a tin you can expect to pay £59.99 and for the 120 wallet set you can expect to pay £79.99. for the smaller 72 set in a tin you can expect to pay £49.99 and for the 72 set in a wallet you can expect to pay £59.99
In the US to purchase the 120 set in a tin you can expect to pay and for the 120 wallet set you can expect to pay $74.99. for the smaller 72 set in a tin you can expect to pay $54.99 and for the 72 set in a wallet you can expect to pay $59.99
Unfortunately at the time of writing this article I was unable to get prices for EU artists with the exception of the 120 Wallet set which will cost approximately €79.99. As and when the prices become more available in the EU I will of course update the review.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Lightfast Information
As is to be expected giving the price of these gorgeous pencils, the Castle Arts Gold colored Pencils are not lightfast tested, certainly not under the ASTM or Blue Wool. If Castle were to dedicate time and effort regarding the lightfast nature of the Gold Colored Pencils, this would almost certainly increase the price significantly and place them out of reach to so many of us colored pencil artists who love them so much.
Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Conclusion
I really enjoyed using the new Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils and it is obviously very clear to see that Castle are certainly making a name for themselves, they are not resting on their laurels by any stretch of the imagination. Castle have a wide range of products on their catalog but perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Castle eco system is the literature they provide with their products.
Castle are determined to arm their customers with the right information in order for them to get the very most of their new product and I think this is amazing. Of all the products I have reviewed over the years and there has been a few, not a single company comes even close to the information Castle have published in the pamphlets provided.
Other than the two small issues I experienced with the 120 wallet set of Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils, I was very impressed with this new range. I tested and displayed the pencils on five different papers, Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum, Clairefontaine Pain On Mixed Media, Derwent Lightfast Paper, Caslte Black Paper and Castle Tan Paper. Incidentally, I will be talking more about Castles new paper in an upcoming review. The Castle Gold pencils reacted well on all papers with the exception of the opaqueness on the black paper, however if you are looking for a translucent pencil then the Castle Gold pencils will fit well with your requirements.
I would just like to wish each and everyone of you a wonderful Merry Christmas and for those of you amazing people who do not celebrate Christmas, seasons greetings. I hope you all get what you want this year, but above all, perhaps most importantly, I hope you are all surrounded by love, that you are all with people during the Christmas period and that none of you are alone unless this is what you wanted. It has taken me a while, but I have learnt that family, friendship, love, happiness and good health are the most important things we all have in life, all of which is free to give to others. There is far too much hate, destruction, spite and greed in this world a lot of it out of our control, but we can control which of these negative forces are present in our daily lives and the less there is, the happier and more fulfilled we will all become.
Thank you all so very much for the wonderful support you have shown to me throughout the years, you will never fully understand the true extent of how much this means to me, not just in terms of the channel growth, but more importantly on how your love and friendships have impacted on me and my family.
Don’t forget, if you would like to watch my YouTube review of the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils you can follow the link, you can also watch the speed drawing of the artwork created using the pencils or check out the still images of the art.
