Since I discovered Daniel Smith watercolors I have found that I actually feel great joy in working with wet color. I became even more curious and I wanted a more affordable option to satisfy my creative urges. So instead of ordering more varieties of colors from Daniel Smith ( which I will , because Gosh I love the Daniel Smith colors) , I decided to go for watercolor pencils from Faber Castell. I did a long video review of these on my channel
I did quite a lot of research and I have found the high end of pencils and Faber Castell can offer a great deal of variety. I picked a set of 60 colours *** Albrecht Durer Faber Castell watercolor pencils*** because well…you can never have enough colors so I splurged a little bit. I like to buy myself nice gifts , especially now as I grow up, realizing the things I wished I had as a child. I didn’t have many pencils or colors and I always had to beg to get colors for painting as art was seen as a hobby, as something not so serious worth investing for. Looking back now, I was able to create amazing art with limited resources. Now I have the power to invest in myself and I am not going to pick cheap stuff.
In Romania you can find this set at a price of 118 Euro and it is also available on Amazon
You now might ask yourself why pay such a high price for these pencils? The Albrecht Durer pencils are expecially made in Germany for professional artists. The pigments are really vibrant and they produce unsurpassed watercolour effects .
As stated on their website here we have the product details:
High-quality acid-free pigments in bright colours, unsurpassed lightfastness
Soft, vibrant colour laydown
Fully water soluble lead
Thick 3.8 mm lead
High break resistance due to secural bonding process (SV)
Tin of 60
Available in individual colours and various assorted sets
Albrecht Dürer artists' watercolour pencils provide artists with great versatility of expression when drawing, shading and painting in watercolours. High-quality materials, combined with over 250 years of experience, have resulted in watercolour pencils that produce unsurpassed watercolour effects and vibrancy. The coloured surface can be transformed with only a few fine or broad brush strokes to reveal the full and unique power of the colours. Depending on the paper being used, the pigments can be completely dissolved, and will then behave in the same way as classic watercolour paints. Source
It sounds good right? Let me tell you how it was for me to experience these first hand. First of all the colors are superb and they are truly pigmented. On the paper it only takes a gentle stroke and you have good coverage. I would not like to use them as pencils only though because I have seen them blend with water. They go 10x in pigment power. As soon as you put water they transform. I really like that they blend well. The only downside is that once you wet the color it becomes permanent. I am used with Daniel Smith’s colors, where you can come back and maybe wash away a color that you do not like. As an artist I find this to be a little uncomfortable as I might change my mind. But for someone who is very sure of the creative direction of the drawing, these are the perfect choice.
Here are the colors directly on paper
Another thing that I noticed is that once put on Arches paper, the pencils tend to leave little marks of pigment and it is better to not use harsh hard strokes because they do not blend as well. I guess it all comes down to personal taste. I believe that if you want true watercolor effect then watercolour pencils might prove harder to work with at the beginning.
Here I have mixed water with the colors. I like the intensity of them, the shades of blue are incredible
I am still getting used to them and for me I find that they give me a more of a marker on paper effect visual vibe. I truly like the virbrancy of the colors, it is an unique aspect of this brand. Overall, I will choose to use the pencils as little add-on aids for my drawing. For small details or to provide me with a color I do not have in normal watercolor . The thing is that I believe that a great watercolor drawing could be made with these if you are very precise. I like to be all over the place and I often do not know how the final drawing will look like. Therefore I enjoy Daniel Smith more and I will continue to play around with these more to see if they get my creative juices going. I believe that as an artist you might be tempted to stay in the safe zone and maybe feel uncomfortable with experimenting, but this is precisely why I have chosen to shift my style from pointillism to watercolor and now to pencils. Change is always good. I recommend this set for artists who are into realism and truly precise color work. The pigments are extraordinary and they do not fade. This was self-gift which was totally worth the money.
Have a great day and toodle loo!