Pablo v Polychromos v Holbein Colored Pencils
Pablo v Polychromos v Holbein Colored Pencils
I love trying to put together these comparison articles and videos, I find it therapeutic trying to analyse each product and then compare against the other products. For this analytical comparison, we are looking at the Caran d’Ache Pablo Colored Pencils, Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils and the Holbein Colored Pencils.
In this comparison we will look at any differences between the actual pencils, set sizes, prices, pencil abilities in the form of a layer test and blending test, finishing up with an identical piece of art, completed three times using each pencil.
Caran d’Ache Pablo Colored Pencil
The Caran d’Ache Pablo Colored Pencil sports a hexagonal barrel, a shape many artists have come to love given its secure nature on a studio desk, less chance of falling on the floor shattering the internal core. The Pablo barrel girth is 6.7mm, holding within its wooden case, a 3.7mm core.
The barrel has printed on it the pigment name and a star system registering the lightfast rating. It is important to note, that all of the pencils in this comparison are in-house lightfast tested. The ASTM lightfast rates LF1 as the highest rating as low down as LF5 being the least. The alternative lightfast rating is the Blue Wool lightfast testing and this rates out of 8, with 7 and 8 being the most lightfast and 1 being the least lightfast. If you would like to know more about how lightfast ratings work and just how reliable or unreliable they are, follow the link to my video review. That being said the pencils in this comparison use a star system, with 3 stars being the most lightfast and 1 star the least. As you can see, this in house testing does not line up with either of the industry standard testing, so bear this in mind.
The largest set size for the Caran d’Ache Pablo is 120, however the other set sizes are 12, 18, 30, 40, 80 and 120; which as you can see there is a really good selection of sets. A vital element for artists is the ability to purchase pencils individually and the Caran d’Ache offer this for the Pablo. Caran d’Ache also offer some set sizes in luxurious wooden gift box sets. The barrel of the Caran d’Ache Pablos are all lacquered the same color as the core, making visual pigment identification quick and easy.
Of the full 120 Caran d’Ache Pablo Colored Pencils, 43 of the pencils are rated 3 Stars, 68 of the pencils are rated 2 Stars and finally 7 of the pencils are rated 1 Star. For those artists that provide commissions and original art pieces for sale, only 43 pencils from the 120 count can be used, however, keep in mind the lightfast testing that has been performed and how it stacks up against the ASTM and Blue Wool system.
Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils
The Faber Castell Polychromos Colored Pencil sports a round barrel, which a lot of artists find clumsy on their studio desks, lots of potential rolling off the table onto the floor. This might seem trivial to non artists, but given the cost of artist grade colored pencils, the last thing you want or need is a shattered core, unable to sharpen.
The barrel is a 7.7mm diameter with an internal core of 3.8mm; as with the Pablo, the Polychromos barrel is lacquered the same color as the core, making visual pigment identification quick and easy. On the barrel of the Polychromos the pigment name and lightfast ratings have been printed on. This is quite important for fine art artists when identifying the pencils they are using and ensuring they are using the highest lightfast pencils possible.
Again the Faber Castell Polychromos full count is 120 with smaller sets available; 12, 24, 36, 60 and 120 as well as open stock availability. As well as the main sets, Faber Castell also offer various set sizes in wooden box gift sets. Of the 120 colored pencils total, 103 of the Polychromos colored pencils are rated 3 star, 15 of the pencils are rated 2 Star and only 2 are rated 1 star.
Holbein Colored Pencils
The Holbein colored pencils also sport a round barrel, weighing in with a 7.7mm diameter for the barrel and a 3.9mm core. Of the three pencils in this comparison, the Holbein pencils have the largest core, not by much, but you do get more core for your money than you do over the Pablo and Polychromos.
Again the barrel is lacquered the same color as the core, with the pigment name and lightfast rating printed on the barrel. The Holbein Colored Pencils largest set size is 150 offering 30 more pencils over the other two pencils in this article. Perhaps the largest appeal to the Holbein colored pencils is the 50 pastel tone pencils in the range, delivering the most beautiful muted tones.
Holbein actually have a selection of sets to chose from, a 12 set of traditional colors and a 12 set of Pastel Tones, 24, 36 and 50 set of traditional colors and a 50 set of pastel tones, a 100 set of traditional colors and finally the 150 count. One of the main problems for artists in the West regarding the Holbein Colored Pencils was the lack of open stock availability, this has now been remedied with certain art stores such as Jacksons Art here in the UK stocking the pencils individually.
Of the 150 Holbein Colored Pencils, 6 don’t hold any lightfast rating because they are luminous colors, this leave 144 pencils among the lightfast count. 72 Holbein colored pencils sport a 3 star lightfast rating, 60 pencils sport a 2 star rating and 12 of the pencils sport a 1 star rating. It is important to note that on the Holbein website they actually declare that although their pencils are lightfast tested, they have not used either the ASTM or Blue Wool systems, according to Holbein their testing system is more accurate. The only issue I take with this statement is both the ASTM and Blue Wool testing have been the industry standard for years and recognised as such.
Caran d’Ache Pablo, Faber Castell Polychromos and Holbein Colored Pencils Layer and Blending results.
As you can see from the image, I have laid all three pencils side by side and completed two very simple and basic tests, but important tests. The top test is the layer test, this is where I apply a single light layer on the first column, two light layers, three light layers all the way to five light layers, the last square is a single heavy application. This particular test was conducted on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum Paper, an ideal surface for colored pencil art.
Now the reason I always apply this layer test to colored pencils is for this reason, the vast majority of colored pencils artists that use OMS (Odourless Mineral Spirits) generally agree that at least four or 5 light layers of colored pencil need to be applied before using OMS. The reason for this is because if you apply OMS after only applying a single light layer, you are not going to achieve the desired results artists seek from using OMS. This test demonstrates how the pencil behaves in such a test.
With the layer test, all three pencils performed well, there was no resistance at all and as you can see from the heavy application all three pencils are well saturated. With the Caran d’Ache Pablo Colored Pencils, they felt slightly dried than the other two, the best way of describing it is a much milder version of a pastel pencil, that dray texture feeling you get with a pastel pencil. With the Polychromos and Holbein pencils there was a smoother, more oil like consistency when layering, however I must stress if you would like to know more about my years of research into Wax and Oil based pencil Myths, follow the link.
The second test is the blending test, anyone that uses colored pencils will know just how difficult it is to mix two colors and achieve a third, as opposed to the same exercise with acrylics, oils or watercolors. Of course we all see different and so the one I think is the best will not necessarily be the same one you think is good. Nevertheless in my opinion the Holbein blending test provided the more saturated and convincing third color.
Pricing
For the Caran d’Ache Pablo sets, you will pay the following. 12 set of Pablo = £24, 18 set of Pablo = £33, 30 set of Pablo = £40, 40 set of Pablo = £78, 80 set of Pablo £170 and the 120 set of Caran d’Ache Pablo = £249
For the Faber Castell Polychromos you will pay the following - 12 set of Polychromos = £15, 24 set of Polychromos = £36, 36 set of Polychromos = £58, 60 set of Polychromos £78 and the 120 set of Faber Castell Polychromos = £163
For the Holbein Colored Pencils you will pay the following 12 set of Holbein - £41, 12 set of Pastel Tones = £32, 24 set of Holbein = £64, 36 set of Holbein = £74, 50 set of Holbein = £115, 50 set of Holbein Pastel Tone = £99, 100 set of Holbein = £195 and 150 set of Holbein Colored Pencils = £290
Pablo, Polychromos and Holbein Artwork Comparison
For this test I used the Derwent Lightfast paper, an incredibly high quality paper, 100% cotton content and a beautiful surface to work on. I drew out a simple apple, traced it and transferred it three times to the Derwent Lightfast paper, I wanted the drawings to be as close to identical as possible.
I have added images of all three images side by side and individually, here you can see any differences between them both. For me personally, I think the Holbein Colored Pencil art piece looks the best, the saturation levels are better but more importantly, in the Holbein set the lighter shades make creating transitions better.
When drawing botanical art, occasionally you will find the underside of a leaf that looks a mix of grey, white Green. I initially thought the Earth Green in the Faber Polychromos would do this job but it was far too dark. Also whilst the Pablo range have a fantastic set of greens, olive greens in particular, they are all too dark. It was in the pastel tone section to the Holbein set that I found the Misty Green, Opal Green and Willow Green, these three colors were perfect for the underside of the leaf in this drawing.
Conclusion
This is a really hard comparison, the Caran d’Ache Pablo, Faber Castell Polychromos and the Holbein Colored Pencils are all very similar. They each have their own unique qualities, if you are on a tight budget there is no contest, the Faber Castell Polychromos are the option.
If budget is not an issue, for me it is the 150 set of Holbein Colored Pencils, this is due to the over all palette, the selection of colours are excellent. If lightfast is your thing then again the Faber Castell Polychromos is the set for you, however, with all three sets, when selling original art, you would have to explain to the buyer that the pencils are not ASTM or Blue Wool tested. Having pencils tested in either standard comes with a certain guarantee of testing results. For the three pencils in this article, you would need to find out exactly how they lightfast test their pencils and what if any guarantee comes with the grading. This is something I will look into and contact all manufacturers and find out exactly how they test.
Thank you so much for checking out this comparison review and please don’t forget to check out my YouTube video comparison of all three pencils by simply following the link. You can also check out the still images of the artwork placed on The Art Gear Guide website, but there is no speed drawing video as they are present in the comparison YouTube video.
