The Art Gear Guide is your one stop shop for the most recent, up to date, honest reviews on all your favourite art supply products.
The Koh-I-Noor Woodless colored pencil is a generous 7.3mm diameter of pure pigment, no wood barrel eating into precious space for additional pigment. I have received many emails and messages asking for these wonderful pencils to be reviewed, however, before actually getting them in my hand, I must admit, i thought they would have a waxy residue to the touch, but this is absolutely not the case.
There are three different types of Stylefile markers available at the minute and as I have mentioned, as a collection, as a collaboration between all three styles of marker, Stylefile make creating your art such an amazing experience.
Derwent have been extremely busy over the past few years and we as consumers are about to bare all the fruits of their labour. Let me be a bit more specific, Derwent have been working on a few new products of which I am incredibly honoured to have been allowed access to for review purposes. I don't want to get ahead of myself, so we will take it one new product at a time.
Watercolor pencils have become an incredibly popular medium, allowing for all the beauty and movement of conventional watercolor paints, while allowing for the all the detailed precision and portability of a pencil. Given the wonderful advantages of combining watercolor paint and the humble pencil, it is hardly surprising that watercolor pencils have become a very popular medium.
toward the end of May, I was incredibly fortunate and honoured to have received an invitation to the official opening of the new and improved Derwent Pencil Museum. This is only an hour and a half drive from were I live, which doesn't sound like much, but with my spinal injury, the journey took much longer due to many stops needing to be made to ease my pain.
A short while after the release of the Illustrator markers, Spectrum Noir and Crafters Companion the parent company, released the Graphic Markers. I have had the privilege once again to use and review these markers and show you what they are capable of.
Over the year or so that I have been in love with colored pencils, I, like so many others hooked on the thrill and excitement of this wonderful medium, have used all sorts of systems to keep our pencils safe and accessible, however, in my opinion, none come close to the Robax Engineering Colored Pencil Plastic Tray Storage System.
Spectrum Noir are a British born company, run by parent company Crafters Companion. On the grand scheme of things and in comparison to other colored pencil manufacturers or art suppliers in general, Spectrum Noir are relatively new to the scene. However, they have absolutely made up for lost time and now pack a metaphorical punch in this industry.
Tombow is a Japanese company, originally setup back in 1913, from this date on, Tombow have been producing cutting edge art supplies at mid table affordable prices. This may be a stereotypical comment to make, however I don't intend it to be, but the Japanese as a culture are immensely hard working and invest so much pride into their work that the end results are immaculate and TomBow is no exception to this.
The shaft of the pencil comprises of traditional, high quality Cedar Wood, hexagonal and lacquered in a black matt finish. The core of the pencil is approximately 3.8mm with an 8mm barrel, allowing the user a generous core width for laying down graphite
I get asked quite a lot, "what is my favourite pencils sharpener?" which is a really difficult question to give a straight answer to, so as with most things now, I decided to write a bit of a review and make a youtube video to go along with the review.
When I was asked to review these Derwent Pastel Pencils, I was really excited, I purchased my set quite a while back, however, it was the Derwent Pastel Collection, meaning that in the 38 set, there was 19 pastel pencils, 13 pastel blocks, blending stump, needed eraser, sharpener and a sandpaper block. As wonderful as this set is, especially for those looking to get into pastels, I am only concentrating on the pencils for this particular review.
During the time period that I have been writing reviews and creating youtube videos, relating to art products and in particular colored pencils, as well as showcasing my own art; I have been asked by many of you for advice on where to find the best tutorials.
I would just like to start this review by thanking Alyona for asking me to write a review on her new up coming book, "Colored Pencil Painting Portraits". The book is not yet released and so I was incredibly fortunate and excited to get a copy months before the publication date in which to review. According to Amazon, the digital version of the book will be released on the 20th of June 2017 and the print publication is available now for pre-order but release on the 7th of July 2017. I would advise pre-ordering this book as I have a feeling stock will move very fast once released.
A few weeks ago I was contacted, via email, by a company called Chalk Ola, asking me if I would like to review their product, the Chalk Ola Chalk Markers. According to the email, they had seen my reviews and like the format and honesty behind my reviews, so I was absolutely thrilled to be contacted in the first instance and once I read a bit about the products, I was excited.
A little while back, I was contacted by a gentleman called Albert, after a bit of dialogue, Albert explained to me that he had branched out into colored pencils, a kind of subsidiary from his main business. Now, it is his main business and the connection to these pencils that I personally think make them a story in their own right.
There is really no two ways about it, Prismacolor is a mammoth name within the world of colored pencil artists. For many colored pencil artists around the world, but primarily in America and particularly in the 70's, 80's and 90's, Prismacolor were thee pencil of choice for the colored pencil artist. That unmistakably creamy smooth texture of the Prismacolor Premier pencil, was the magic wand belonging to the artist which aided almost every colored pencil MasterPiece.
There is no doubt about it, Caran D'Ache products are expensive, however, never has the phrase "You get what you pay for" been more suited and appropriate for any product. As usual, I have checked the various Amazon sites to give a general idea of pricing, however I am sure if you shop about you may find a cheaper alternative.
Whether you love or hate Prismacolor as a company or their products, there is absolutely no denying that they are a massive hitter in the colored pencil community, especially in America. I've heard many artists talk fondly of Prismacolor Premier colored pencils, remembering them from their youth, perhaps even recalling their parents using Prismacolor.
Before I begin with my review of the Caran D'Ache Pablo colored pencil, I'd just like to say how honoured and privileged I am on becoming the new review columnist for "COLORED PENCIL Magazine". I'd like to say a huge thank you to Sally Robertson, Editor-in-Chief of the magazine for taking me under her wing and helping guide me along this new adventure and also to Sally's husband for his help.
