Colored Pencils

[lovemywhirlygirls]

My girls (10, 7 and 5) are pretty much coloring with colored pencils only now...no more crayons (by their choice). Seems to me I've seen posts about some special sort of colored pencils that are well worth the additional cost. So far we've only used Crayolas. Please tell me which colored pencils you use and, if you use the "fancy" ones....why they are better than Crayolas. Note that my oldest has a particular and growing interested in all things art.

Thanks in advance for your responses. Off to the library......

Lovemywhirlygirls

[jeri]

are wonderful! They have great color and last a llloooonggg time. You can get them at Michaels or maybe even RR. Try to use a 40% off coupon for Michales.

jeri

PS. Get a special pencil sharpener for them too. Ours is German, handheld, and it's much gentler on them. DON'T use an electric!

[kjprice]

Yep, totally agree ... great pencils! My daughter is an artist and she won't use anything else!

[Hausunterricht]

We really like the German ones. The colors are smoothness are amazing.
We buy ours locally but here is an example of what to look for. http://www.artistcraftsman.com/lyraPencils/index.html

I used to use Prismacolor, but I think these are even better. My kids use the triangular shaped ones which are nice because they don't roll AND the lead is really thick all the way through.

My younger guy uses their crayons and we have markers, too.

[Jenny in Atl]

We really like the German ones. The colors are smoothness are amazing.
We buy ours locally but here is an example of what to look for. http://www.artistcraftsman.com/lyraPencils/index.html

I used to use Prismacolor, but I think these are even better. My kids use the triangular shaped ones which are nice because they don't roll AND the lead is really thick all the way through.

My younger guy uses their crayons and we have markers, too.

:iagree: I also like Prismalo, Berol Canadiana, Coloray, and Bellcolor.

[Lorna]

We really like the German ones. The colors are smoothness are amazing.
We buy ours locally but here is an example of what to look for. http://www.artistcraftsman.com/lyraPencils/index.html

I used to use Prismacolor, but I think these are even better. My kids use the triangular shaped ones which are nice because they don't roll AND the lead is really thick all the way through.


I agree with the :iagree:

We just renewed our pencil set and got a set of Lyra/Stockmar triangular pencils. The children love them. They are even softer and more intense that their old Karissma artist ones.

[Colleen]

Caran d'ache are high-quality Swiss pencils; I honestly don't know if you can get them over here. I do know you can buy Lyra (German brand) here, and we like those very much, too.

[In The Great White North]

:iagree:We really like the German ones too. In particular, these
http://www.waldorfsupplies.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap/psstone/store/agora.cgi?product=Pencils_and_Pens&xm=on

The colors are stronger, the "lead" is softer (ie. blends better and goes on easier), they're thicker, they're not scratchy, etc.

If there's a Waldorf school anywhere near you, you can usually buy them there.

[nmoira]

We use Prismacolors (some Scholar, but mostly Premiers for the extra colors) and Koh-I-Noor woodless colored pencils which are leads with a a thin layer of lacquer on the exterior. They're all mixed up in the same box. The Koh-I-Noors are expecially good for often used colors because they rarely have to be sharpened. We have some Prismacolor Art Sticks which my oldest uses for map work (they match the Premier colors), but my 3yo can't use them without breaking them so we don't leave them out. Koh-I-Noor is a better choice for everyday use.

[Karin]

Prismacolor are the best we've tried. I haven't tried the German ones and they may be good, too. But we're also trying to buy made here so we're going to stick with these for now. I'm all for trying to buy things made in your own country first.

[freethinkermom]

Since you question was "why are they better?" not if people liked them better I will try to answer your question.

This answer can pretty much apply to all art supplies, btw, just replace "wax" with whatever the carrier medium is for that media.

Artist grade colored pencils (Caran d'Ache Pablo, Prismacolors, Coloursoft) have both a higher ratio of pigment to wax and higher quality materials used for color (pigments instead of dyes). There are different grades of pencils sold from children's (Crayola) to student to artist grade. As they climb up the ladder, the amount of wax is reduced and the pigments are increased in quantiy and quality. There are also different levels of light fastness. The manufacturers of the artist grade pencils have reports that state the light fastness of their different colors. The paper used also has an effect on the performance of the pencils. With artist grade pencils and good paper you can lay down many layers and blend colors to create thick, rich pieces that cannot be acheived with lower grade pencils.

Edit: I believe Lyra's are an oil based pencil with quality pigments in their artist grade Polycolors. They perform differently than wax based pencils, but in a way that is popular with many people.

[Stacia]

Agreeing on the Lyra pencils here. We love them.

Also, they have a nice skin tone set too that we have enjoyed having.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

Very much appreciate all of your responses and especially the detailed explanation from freethinkermom.

I'm so grateful for the thoughtful and specific answers given to the questions raised on this forum. What a resource we have in each other!

[LNC]

When my children use their Prismacolors they break so easily, and there is a hollow core where it breaks. So, when I sharpen it with my Prismacolor hand sharpener I end up having to take off a lot of length of the pencil.

Does this happen a lot? Are my kids just pressing too hard? We've gone back to our Crayolas bc of this issue...

[Mama Bear]

Daniel Smith has carried these, though it's been years since I shopped there. They have a store in Seattle and do plenty of mail-order as well.

Jerry's Artarama usually has the best prices on Prismacolors. I don't recall if they carry Caran d'Ache, but if they do that's probably the best price there as well. I resisted ordering from these guys for years because of the name (what a snob!) but finally overcame that little issue :tongue_smilie: and have been thrilled with their service, availability and prices.

[chiguirre]

We love Lyra Ferby pencils too. I'd also try beeswax block crayons (Stockmar or Lyra). They're great for drawing because you can use either the sides for great swathes of color or the corners for line drawing and the beeswax allows you to blend colors.

[Tap, tap, tap]

We like having variety in drawing so they have

Traditional Prismacolors (fatter leads for blending) and Verithins (harder lead for fine details).

Lyra traditional pencils.

Prang water color pencils.

Rembrandt or Stafford pastel pencils

Conte Crayons-flat drawing sticks and pencils

We like them all for different purposes!

We do use Crayola when we are just doing a quick sketch for school. Especially if I am just illustrating to make a point.

[nmoira]

When my children use their Prismacolors they break so easily, and there is a hollow core where it breaks. So, when I sharpen it with my Prismacolor hand sharpener I end up having to take off a lot of length of the pencil.We use an electric sharper and never have this issue. It was a problem when we used a hand sharpener.

[Karin]

When my children use their Prismacolors they break so easily, and there is a hollow core where it breaks. So, when I sharpen it with my Prismacolor hand sharpener I end up having to take off a lot of length of the pencil.

Does this happen a lot? Are my kids just pressing too hard? We've gone back to our Crayolas bc of this issue...

Electric pencil sharpeners work better than regular ones. Also, my eldest has one with 2 holes, one for regular pencils and one just for coloured pencils that works well.

Pressing too hard can make a difference. Also, the Verithin are thinner, so they'd break more easily, and the watercolour ones tend to break more easily.

[kalanamak]

Daniel Smith has carried these, though it's been years since I shopped there. They have a store in Seattle and do plenty of mail-order as well.

Jerry's Artarama usually has the best prices on Prismacolors. I don't recall if they carry Caran d'Ache, but if they do that's probably the best price there as well. I resisted ordering from these guys for years because of the name (what a snob!) but finally overcame that little issue :tongue_smilie: and have been thrilled with their service, availability and prices.

Dick Blick has the larger sets of Caran d'Ache significantly cheaper than Jerry's. I paused over ordering from Dick Blick, but not for years.

In googling Caran d'Ache I came upon wikipedia's entry on the cartoonist of that name, and found out one of my favourite cartoons was by him! (see bottom right hand corner of page). The name is Turik, meaning pencil or black stone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caran_d'Ache

[freethinkermom]

When my children use their Prismacolors they break so easily, and there is a hollow core where it breaks. So, when I sharpen it with my Prismacolor hand sharpener I end up having to take off a lot of length of the pencil.

Does this happen a lot? Are my kids just pressing too hard? We've gone back to our Crayolas bc of this issue...

Excessive breakage is usually due to a bending force being placed on the pencil during hand sharpening with a small handheld sharpener (it does not need to be rough force, just the normal torque that happens), or the pencil having been dropped in the past, or the pencil is yellow (seriously, yellows break easier). A good electric sharpener kept clean and sharp by frequently sharpening a regular number 2 graphite pencil works well. Many artists also like the heavy manual sharpeners with the handle you turn. I have both, but the manual does not work well for me. My old Boston electric is my workhorse.

Crayolas are harder to break because more wax=sturdier pencil.

[freethinkermom]

Very much appreciate all of your responses and especially the detailed explanation from freethinkermom.

I'm so grateful for the thoughtful and specific answers given to the questions raised on this forum. What a resource we have in each other!

I am glad I could help :)

[Stacey in MA]

I had ordered some Prismacolors from Rainbow Resource for my olders, and needed something for younger DD to use. I tried their Prang set of 24 for about $3, and it turned out to be pretty good! The kids now use them all interchageably - the Prismacolors and the Prangs. Quite a difference in price though! I think the Prang set of 24 was about $20.

FYI, Oriental Trading Company now sells art supplies, including colored pencils and such. You might check them for price and selection, as well as rainbow resource....

GL! - Stacey in MA

[sweetbaby]

We love Le Walmart colored pencils!:D