Castle Art Supplies 120 Colouring Pencils Set | Quality Soft Core Coloured Leads for Adult Artists, Professionals and Colourists | Protected and Organised in Presentation Tin Box

Product Information

The core of your colored pencils also determines how useful they are for different drawing effects. “Hard-core pencils are best for creating sharp lines and drawing in details,” says Markham. “They are also great for lettering and outlines. Soft-core pencils are best for shading, blending and layering.” I really enjoyed using the new Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils and it is obviously very clear to see that Castle are certainly making a name for themselves, they are not resting on their laurels by any stretch of the imagination. Castle have a wide range of products on their catalog but perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Castle eco system is the literature they provide with their products. For children, colored pencils are a cornerstone of fun activities. They are used at home and at school to make whimsical pictures, complete homework and doodle aimlessly.

Having a box or case to store your colored pencils makes it easy to manage the clutter that can come from having dozens of pencils. There are colored pencils that come in a metal durable, double-hinged storage tin case. The Crayola Erasable Colored Pencils, 50-Count comes in a peggable, see-through window box. If you want to know more about our incredible Satisfaction Guarantee, we’ve outlined all the details below. Satisfaction Guaranteed Also, the 72 set of Arteza pencils that I am using is one of the very first sets that Arteza released when they first started reaching out to reviewers. Apparently the more recent sets of pencils from Arteza have a slightly different ingredient making them feel and lay down a little bit different. Obviously I don’t have these pencils and so I can’t talk of the validity to this claim and also keep this in mind throughout the comparison. Being only available in 72-count sets (as far as we know) the Castle Art Supplies Colored Pencils provide an adequate range of colors to meet most artists’ needs. We particularly like the range of brows and tans which are perfect for coloring animals, furs, trees, etc.It is also important to note, especially for those of you new to the world of colored pencils that Lightfast pencils are not the, be-all-and-end-all. The only time that Lightfast pencils are essential are if you plan on selling your art, sending it in to competitions or hanging your art work and want it to last a number of years. Castle Art Coloured Pencils V Arteza Expert Colored Pencils Conclusion. We work hard to ensure that we always deliver top-quality products and thought you might be interested to know the steps we take to ensure your Castle Arts products arrive in the very best condition. We do have some minor complaints, however. First, the bright and light colors struggle to produce the level of color intensity that the darker pencils possess. This is particularly noticeable in the yellows and oranges which seem to require multiple passes to lay down deep color tones. As is to be expected giving the price of these gorgeous pencils, the Castle Arts Gold colored Pencils are not lightfast tested, certainly not under the ASTM or Blue Wool. If Castle were to dedicate time and effort regarding the lightfast nature of the Gold Colored Pencils, this would almost certainly increase the price significantly and place them out of reach to so many of us colored pencil artists who love them so much. Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils Conclusion

If 72 beautiful colour pencils just aren’t enough for your artistic needs, then this is the set for you! Featuring 48 additional shades for you to create your best work with, this is the ultimate in affordable coloured pencil sets, offering an enormous amount of tones that you can really rely on. However, in addition to being popular with kids, colored pencils are now also part of an adult pastime. These days, you’ll find adults — professional artists and beginners alike — creating beautiful works of art using colored pencils. Available in dozens of colors, the pencils are used for drawing, sketching, shading and coloring.

From The Manufacturer

We work with professional partners that share our passion for quality, accuracy and customer service. Here at Castle HQ we place the utmost importance on your happiness and strive to ensure that you have “the best” shopping experience with us from start to finish. And by ‘finish’ what we really mean is that we hope you will fall ‘ head over heels’ in love with your pencils, paints, pens and paper. After speaking to Arteza representatives myself in the past, they confirmed that their Lightfast testing was conducted within the company and not via the Blue Wool or ASTM highly recognised systems. Given this fact and the amazing price the customers are given, its difficult to know how such an in-house lightfast test would stand up against the Blue Wool or ASTM scales. The Arteza Expert Colored Pencils do have a lightfast rating on the pencil barrel, however, as I talk about in my video review, at the very beginning when Arteza first hit the art world, there was a lot of mixed messages about the actual scale being used. Some reviewers were being told that of the three star system used, one star was the highest lightfast rating and three was the lowest and visa versa.

I personally really love the concept of these drawing or sketching sets that so many companies have provided for us artist and art enthusiasts, so when I seen that Castle Art had one, given my enjoyment with the Castle Art Colored Pencils, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity of reviewing them. Simply get in touch with our friendly Customer Service team via [email protected] and they will support you every step of the way. Our pencils feature a ‘soft series’ core, allowing for silky smooth application, as well as expert layering, blending and shading. This makes them incredibly easy to use, a fantastic feature for beginners and experts alike.

Castle Art Supplies Colored Pencils Review

Its also important to note the type of paper used in the testing and art work created with both the Arteza and Castle Art Colored Pencils, which in this case was the Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper. Also I completed some translucency and opaqueness testing, helping you to determine how the pigments react on a darker surface. This set features our premium quality coloured pencils that you can find in our other sets. Made with top quality materials featuring a strong centred core to prevent frustrating breakages and a Basswood rounded barrel for easy sharpening and added comfort, you can trust that these pencils will be there for you when you need them most. We work with our partners to develop and refine processes that mean we can offer both exemplary products and high-quality service to our customers at all times Also, the external shell color of the pencils is a bit off when compared to the actual color that they put out. Several readers have mentioned making a color template on some scratch paper before using these so that you will have a better idea of the true color and we certainly agree with that. Usability and Durability – 4/5 The wax core applies very good color with each pass and you will find that layering is also quite effective. Blending, for the most part, is also responsive although we did find that wax bloom was a bit higher than some of the other wax-based brands we have reviewed.

Easily the biggest selling point (and likely a huge reason why these colored pencils have become so popular) is their fantastic asking price. They are extremely affordable considering the number and quality of the pencil you get and this makes it within just about everybody’s budget. And it is also a big reason why these are so popular online. We feel that if money is tight but you are still after quality, these should be on your shortlist. Overall Ranking – 4/5 There are two main techniques for using colored pencils: layering and burnishing. Layering is generally used at the start by coloring different colors on top of one another to create unique shades and tones. Burnishing involves additional layering and blending the layered colors until the appearance is smooth and shiny. For many artists and coloring enthusiasts, being able to layer, shade and blend colors is a vital factor when choosing coloring pencils. If the lead core is too hard, then the pigment won’t blend in and shading will not be smooth. Some sets have a soft core designed to glide smoothly across the paper, while other models feature ultra-smooth and even color laydown.There were a few tiny little things that I mentioned about the set, however most of what I mentioned was really my own personal choice and subjective. For example the graphite grade location on the pencil barrel, the replacement of the woodless graphite pencil for a water soluble graphite pencil, a white pastel pencil or charcoal pencil and a softer kneaded eraser. As you can clearly see, most of the things I have mentioned are very subjective and not really to do with the performance of the product. Of all the pencils that I have already compared and will compare going forward, I think the Arteza and Castle Art Colored Pencils are the most similar in so many ways. They are aimed toward the same market and price the points are very similar, so they are both excellent for people to compare and see which set, if any, is best for them. Castle Art has explicitly come out and said that their cores are strong and reliable and help to minimize breakage. We do see the fruits of their efforts and have found that these cores are above average in terms of toughness and reliability. This is great for those of you who are notorious for pushing down very hard with your pencils to get that extra color out of them. And even for those that apply color with less pressure, it is good peace of mind knowing that these pencils will hold up to typical wear and tear.