Marco Tribute 80 Box Set Review

When I first started out reviewing art supplies, the Marco Renior were among the first sets of colored pencils that I reviewed. Back then for the 72 set they were really inexpensive and I personally enjoyed them as their core was quite soft and well pigmented. For some reason I never really liked the look of the Marco Rafine but when I eventually got round to reviewing them I was pleasantly surprised. However, more recently I reviewed the Marco Square 24 of Pastel Shades.

There is no doubt about it, Marco are certainly expanding their brand especially here in the West. With Marco being a Chinese company, we here in the west have only had a small taster of the delights Marco has to offer. One such delight that would not appear to be quite so popular here in the west, is the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencils, however after this review things might change

I have to be honest, the thing that first drew my eye to the Marco Tribute 80 Set of Colored Pencils was the gorgeous packaging. Whilst the packaging clearly has no significance to the performance of the pencil, on this occasion I just simply couldn’t resist. The Marco Tribute Master Collection is very reminiscent of the TomBow Irojiten Colored Pencils

Marco Tribute Master Collection 80 Box Set Characteristics

Obviously when I ordered the Marco Tribute 80 Set from Ali-Express I was quite excited to get my hands on them and start reviewing them and for the most part I knew what to expect in terms of packaging, however one minor surprise that came part of the packaging was the black Marco Tribute shopping bag. This is a really small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I thought it was a really classy touch.

The Marco Tribute Master Collection 80 Box Set comprises of Eight separate book like boxes, each holding Ten Marco Tribute Colored Pencils and they are all held together in an sturdy, sophisticated looking, marble looking box. For the purpose of the review I will refer to each box of pencils as books and when wanting to remove a book from its surround, each has a silk ribbon attached to the base of the book spine.

Each book is named after a famous artist, however there is no real correlation to the artist regarding each set but it is a nice touch and in my opinion brings the names of these wonderful artists to the forefront for younger artists to research and learn about.

Monet

Each book is a masterpiece in its own right, each one is intricately designed and displaying faint works of art from the relevant arts. The first book is Monet and inside this book is the most gorgeous selection of pinks, violets and dark violets. Each book is magnetically sealed when closed making the closure for the nindiciual pencils secure.

Every book is inlaid with black foam protecting each pencil individually as well as the cores and pencil ends. On opening each book, the inside of the cover has some beautiful Chinese script but it also has a list of each pigment name held within that particular book as well as the pigment number.

Degas

Next up is the book called Degas inside this book is a beautiful selection of each tones, Ochres and Siennas, every book includes the same information so for the remainder of the books I will simply display the images.

Klimt

Next up is the Klimt book and inside this book is a wonderful selection of yellows and oranges

Matisse

Next up is a gorgeous selection of reds and dark reds in the Matisse book.

Renoir

Next up is the Renoir book with some of the most amazing botanical greens I have seen, I personally always check out the greens because I love to draw botanical art and so this selection is perfect.

Cezanne

The Cezanne book is filled with aqua greens and blues and some gorgeous Turquoise Blues.

Marco Tribute Master Collection

Marco Tribute Master Collection 80 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 48 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 72 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 120 Set

Van Gogh

Of course one of the books had to take the name of the amazing Van Gogh, in this set we are presented with rich dark blues, Indigos and Prussian Blues.

Escher

The last book which now totals 80 pencils is Escher, I have to admit I had to look this artist up myself and incase any of you are unfamiliar with any of the artists mentioned I have linked to their sites so that you can learn a bit about them and help develop your own knowledge. In this book we are presented with a selection of Greys as well as the Black and White pencils.

The Marco Tribute pencils are well balanced and also really attractive to look at, which often seems to be the case with the Chinese and Japanese pencils. The barrel of the Marco Tribute Colored Pencils is a comfortable 7.7mm, holding in place an ample 3.6mm pigment exploding core.

Along one side of the barrel is printed in gold leaf, making clarity a tad difficult, is the pencils name “Tribute”. Next is printed “Master Collection” and finally the company name and logo is printed “Marco”. The end of the pencil is capped which is something I personally prefer, it doesn’t really enhance the performance of the pencil, but I rather not have the core of the pencil exposed.

On the opposite side of the Marco Tribute barrel there is printed a bar code and this is followed by the pencils pigment name and number. Although the pigment names and numbers are printed on the inside lid of the books, also having them printed on the barrel just makes things even easier.

The barrel of each pencils is lacquered the same color as the core, this makes visual selection quick and easy. Of all 80 pencils, I only had one issue with a pencil not sharpening and even that was quickly remedied by using a hand crank sharpener as opposed to a hand held.

Marco Tribute Master Collection Performance

Ordinarily I beat around the bush a little bit and tease with the performance of the pencil, but in this case there is no point, I can’t contain myself anymore. I absolutely loved using the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencils. I have to admit, as I mentioned at the beginning, the packaging was the initial attraction to these pencils and on that basis I wasn’t expecting too much from the pencils. I thought that more time and effort was placed into the aesthetics of the packaging allowing them to supply substandard pencils, I could’t have been more wrong if I tried.

I completed a swatch of all 80 pigments and I completed this on the Clairefontaine Paint On Mixed Media Paper, which is an excellent all round paper to get started on. As you can see from the images provided, the pigment strength of the Marco Tribute Colored Pencils is absolutely excellent, in fact when I was using them, I found them to be quite similar to Faber Castell Polychromos only with a slightly softer core.

After completing the swatch of the full 80 pigments, I decided to carry out the layer test and blending test. This time I completed the test on a high quality paper, the Derwent Lightfast Paper which is 100% cotton, I will be making an individual review on this paper as I was actually really impressed with the quality.

With the Layer test, I was able to apply the 5 layers with ease and as you can see from the single heavy application, the pigment strength is really impressive. There is no doubt that I could have gone on and applied many more layers and in fact if you watch the speed drawing of the art I completed, you will clearly see the number of layers I was able to apply with ease. There was no bloom or sticky film after a certain number of layers, the paper continually accepted and the Marco Tribute pencils kept delivering.

Next up was the blending test and here you can clearly see that with the blue and yellow I was able to create a clear green, likewise with the red and yellow I was able to create a good orange. The core of the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencil is as I previously mentioned, very similar to the Faber Castell Polychromos, however, in my opinion it is slightly softer, which means it doesn’t hold a point quite as long as a Polychromos. That being said, I would say that the Marco Tribute Colored Pencil core is slightly better pigmented than a Polychromos.

Next is the Odourless Mineral Spirits test which I completed on my YouTube video review in real time. I personally don’t use OMS however I am aware that a lot of you guys do and so it is important for me to demonstrate how various cores react to OMS.

As always I demonstrate the pigments on black paper, this test shows whether or not a particular pigment is opaque or translucent, this is not to say that one is better than the other as many colored pencils prefer one over the other. All this test does is demonstrate those pigments on the darker paper.

As far as performance of the Marco Tribute Colored Pencils is concerned, I absolutely loved using them, really strong pigment levels, excellent layering abilities and fantastic blending properties. I was really impressed with the final outcome of the artwork and although I completed the artwork on the Derwent Lightfast Paper, which is excellent quality, the testing results I produced on the Clairefontaine Paint-On Mixed Media were fairly similar.

Marco Tribute Master Collection Price And Set Availability.

Although this review is of the Marco Tribute Master Collection in the 80 Set Presentation package, the Marco Tribute Colored Pencils also come in standard tins starting with a 48 set, 72 set and 120 set. Unfortunately I was unable to get hold of the color swatch for the full 120 set, which would have shown us the additional colors in the 120 set over the 80 set. Some point down the line I will try to purchase the 120 set and show you which pigments are present overall.

The Marco Tribute Master Collection also provide a Watercolor Set of of 60 similar to that of the 80 set I am reviewing here, however this is a set of pencils we will review at a later date. I used Ali Express when I purchased my set to review and I couldn’t fault the service at all, incredibly well packaged and promptly shipped. All the prices I have listed are from Ali Express and I can assure you the experience I have encounter has been first class.

Marco Tribute Master Collection

Marco Tribute Master Collection 80 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 48 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 72 Set

Marco Tribute Master Collection 120 Set

I have asked Marco regarding the open stock nature of their Tribute Master Collection but as of yet I not heard back from them. I am guessing if they do sell them open stock it will only be in China or regions there of, however, as soon as I find out one way or the other I will update the review.

Marco Tribute Master Collection Lightfast Information

Unfortunately I was unable to ascertain whether or not the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencils had been Lightfast tested. Given that there is nothing on the packaging referencing ASTM or Blue Wool, if they are Lightfast Tested, they will most probably be in house tested. As I mentioned in my most recent video regarding Lightfast Colored Pencils, unless you are selling original artwork, hanging your art or entering a competition, using Lightfast tested pencils is not the most important aspect to choosing your pencils.

Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencil Conclusion

As I am sure you can tell from this article, I absolutely love the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencils. I would love to check out the 120 set just to see what additional pigments have been used, that being said, the overall quality of the Marco Tribute pencils is just phenomenal.

Even though the Derwent Lightfast paper I used for the artwork with the Marco Tribute Colored Pencils was of high quality, the pencils still performed magically on the much cheaper Clairefontaine Paint-On Mixed Media Paper. The Marco name in the colored pencil world until recently has pretty much started and stopped with the Renoir and Raffine colored pencils, however that seems to be changing with the introduction of the Marco Square and the Marco Tribute.

The Marco Tribute are Marco’s top range pencils and to be honest this is clear to see once you use them, as I mentioned earlier in the review, I really liked the Marco Renoir and the Marco Square, but I am absolutely in love with the Marco Tribute.

I have as always completed a full YouTube Review of the Marco Tribute Master Collection Colored Pencils which you can watch and see the OMS test in real time. I have also completed a speed drawing of the artwork created with the Marco Tribute pencils, this demonstration will help you to see the many layers applied and the pigment strength. Finally I have added still images of the artwork from start to finish on The Art Gear Guide, you can enlarge the images and inspect them at your own leisure.