Faber-Castell24 Piece Polychromous Colored Pencil Set in Metal Tin

So I’ve used quite a few colored pencils. Prismacolor was my favorite because I thought it could not get any better than Prismacolor. Come to figure out, it’s no longer my favorite colored pencil anymore. Polychromos is expensive, but the investment is worth it as these are very high quality. I’ve not had a single breakage after 4 full color drawings and they hold a point for a LONG time, they are very pigmented and layer beautifully, no wax bloom, beautiful colors, nice thick core, easy to hold and color with, they sharpen well and not to mention the lovely shavings smell of cedar wood! Knowing that each other is lightfast with no fade for a lifetime is icing on the cake. Polychromos is the best colored artist pencil I’ve ever used. I highly recommend these colored pencils to anyone who has the patience to use these correctly with the right paper to just buy these! It is not a waste of money and I’m getting a larger set.

These colored pencils are AMAZING! I am starting to get into light sketching and working on coloring abilities and I have also gotten into adult coloring books. I did a ton of research on some of the best colored pencils I can use. I needed them to be able to be easily blended and I needed decent pigmentation without having to press too hard to get the effect I needed. I sometimes get cramps in my hands when using the cheaper brands, depending on how hard it is to get the color to lay down. Throughout my research I was told by many to get Prisma Color. I was set to grab those until I found out that there are many issues with the quality control and that the pencil lead, if not centered, can cause a lot of breaking issues. The real issue is that now it's a toss up of if you're going to get a useful set or a set that you ultimately can't use. Therefore I came to Faber Castel Polychromous because that was the second name I heard the most. These pencils can be very expensive, I have found. Due to this I chose to get the 24 count collection to make sure that these are worth purchasing. Now I wish I had gone the next collection up because I am in love with these pencils. They are super smooth to color with and the good part is the pencils don't ware down too quickly meaning you will be getting some good use out of the pencils. The blending was off the hook, I don't think I have ever owned a set of pencils that was so fluid in blending. The colors are nicely pigmented and I'm shocked at the ability to use little to no pressure and I was still able to get a lot of color on the page. The biggest coup for this pencil company is that these are oil-based. I had no blooming whatsoever while I was layering, and I do a lot of layers. This is amazing because the more layers you have the more intense your artwork will look. Now that I have 24 pencils I am going to add to this collection a little at a time. There are other companies that sell these pencils separately for under two dollars a piece so eventually I will have a complete collection. I definitely recommend this brand from Amazon as this was the cheapest I found them. You won't be sorry!

I bought this set to compare with my Prismacolor Premiers and Lyra Rembrandt Polycolors. After using these FC Polychromos I can say I will never purchase anything else. There are many pros to these pencils.In no particular order:1) They look and feel great and have a nice finish that matches the color of the lead;2) The barrels are slightly thicker than the Prismacolors and Lyras. Makes them easier to hold with less hand cramping;3) They lay down a nice color immediately with little pressure.4) Wonderful for blending and shading.5) The tin is high quality and the pencils stay in place while being transported6) Easy to sharpen with a hand held sharpener and they hold their points. So far no crumbling leads or breaking wood in the hand held sharpeners (unlike the Prismacolors and a couple of the Lyras)7) Oil-based leads that are water resistant and8) Each pencil has a rating of *, **, or *** denoting it's light-fastness.The only Con I can think of for these is the price. They are pricey pencels but you are getting a very high quality product. I would definitely recommend these to friends and suggest you buy the largest set your budget can afford. The 24 set is adequate but you will feel limited in your color selection. I feel the color range in the set of 24 is very nice in the yellows-reds, the blues are adequate, but I really would appreciate some more natural green shades. Browns and greys seem adequate for me.