The Great Colored Pencil Comparison! First up: Caran d’Ache Pablo!

Want to learn more about memberships with Art on the Creek? / @artonthecreek
*please note-time stamp 6:34
l misspoke in this video while explaining lightfastness, and I apologize! To clear up any confusion: in the lightfast rating of 150h exposure to UV light, the “h” refers to strength of the light used in testing (typically Xenon), not hours. 150 hours would be awfully short for a lightfast claim!
Unboxing, swatching and testing the Caran d’Ache Pablo colored pencils!
In my quest for THE perfect professional artist-grade colored pencil set, I thought Faber Castell Polychromos would be the love of my life.
Call it cold feet at the altar, call me a runaway bride…but when it came time to commit to the Polychromos, I was suddenly plagued with doubt.
The only way I can be 100% sure I’m investing my art budget wisely is to actually test these colored pencils. I bet some of you are having the same doubts, so I thought we could spend some time in the months ahead thoroughly comparing all of the professional artist-grade colored pencils I can get my hands on!
Reference photo submitted to Pixabay by OpenClipart-Vectors:
pixabay.com/ve...
The links below are affiliate links on Amazon US. I may earn a small commission should you choose to use these links. Any commission earned through your purchase will go directly to sustaining and growing Art on the Creek. It will allow me to continue to create video tutorials and art supply reviews for you here on TH-cam. I can't thank you enough for your support! I hope this channel brings you as much joy as I have creating it for you.
Light Box
www.amazon.com...
Caran dAche Pablo Set of 18
www.amazon.com...
In all, these 12 sets are the ones I will tesr. I’ll put all the videos in a playlist as they publish:
•
•Caran d’Ache Luminance
•Caran d’Ache Pablo
•Derwent Chromaflow
•Derwent Coloursoft
•Derwent Lightfast
•Derwent Procolour
•Faber-Castell Polychromos
•Holbein Artists’ Colored Pencils
•Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Oil-Based Colored Pencils
•Prismacolor Premier
•Prismacolor Verithin
Blick Studio Artists’ Colored Pencils
Show Theme Music: Charles Shomo, Caffeine Creek Band "Forest Trail"

[@jamesgoldthwait979]

My suggestion in case you drop pencils or they roll off have a thick carpet underneath you. I had saved a lot of my pencils from breaking that way.

[@artonthecreek]

That’s a great tip! I do have carpeting but I think most studios don’t…I have the risk of ruining said carpeting with art splashes….but a patch of carpet or inexpensive rug would really be the best solution! Thanks for watching & commenting, James🤠❤️

[@berolinastrassmann]

Great strategy! Plus, those beautiful metal tins can be used "on the go" if/when you decide to get more pencils and bring your own custom made palette on the go. I find small sets challenging because it is difficult to find the right mix, but it strengthens colour mixing and combination. I loved your cat eye! I am off to see the next video!

[@artonthecreek]

Excellent thoughts, Berolina! I have scads of empty tins, which are the perfect thing to use for limited palettes on the go! Enjoy this series❤️❤️👩🏻‍🎨👩🏻‍🎨

[@ritawilbur6128]

A friend got some Pablos, and she let me try them out. I thought they were rather like Polychromos - a harder pencil, more for layering than blending, kept point longer. I personally prefer the softer pencils, Prismas and Luminance. But certainly they were very nice!

[@artonthecreek]

That’s what I’m finding as well! Still looking for my 🦄… thanks for your comments I hope you found this helpful!

[@ritawilbur6128]

@@artonthecreek Haha! It's more that I've done exactly what you're doing: I bought 12-sets of Polychromos and Luminance to compare with the Prismas. The friend I mentioned scored a ton of unused art supplies at an estate sale. She kept some, gave me some, let me use some of what she kept. It was like stumbling across a cave full of treasure!

[@artonthecreek]

@@ritawilbur6128 oh my gosh yes!!! Huge score on the treasure!!!

[@shellyjharris]

What sharpener do you use that gets your pencils sharpened to such a long point?

[@artonthecreek]

Hi Shelly! I have 2 sharpeners that really work well to create a long point. (affiliate links) The Derwnet:amzn.to/3Q3SV1C
or the Afmat: amzn.to/3LORAZZ
Here is a link to a review of pencil sharpeners I did in case the ones I've mentioned aren't quite right for your needs: th-cam.com/video/yKzSLSyCnVM/w-d-xo.html
Hope that's helpful!

[@arrumadas]

Amazing video

[@artonthecreek]

Thanks Amanda! I’m happy you enjoyed this! I’m going to pick this comparison test on other brands back up in August-keep an eye out for new colored pencil comparisons!

[@SunithaJohn-nf4id]

l actually use the pablos for my commissions

[@artonthecreek]

Hi Sunitha! They are decent pencils! I’m happy you like them. I don’t think you’re alone in that-a lot of artists really reach for the Pablos first. Happy drawing!❤️🤠

[@SunithaJohn-nf4id]

@@artonthecreek I also use the Derwent Light fast and amazing videos keep it up.

[@artonthecreek]

Awesome! I’m excited to compare the different Derwent colored pencils! I’ve heard great things about the Lightfast. Thank you so much I appreciate you!

[@jae_january_oli]

i didn’t know that you are quite same in my neighborhood kinda

[@artonthecreek]

That’s cool!

[@jae_january_oli]

@@artonthecreek we might have bumped into Meininger’s lol.. I like how you compared these pencils..all of them are good and it depends on the style ,the effect you want in your art. I work on portraits and creating skin tones accurately is my obssession, different brands have their best colors that i can’t resist to mix n match , but i just had to be careful and be patient. I guess my point is, it really depends on one’s preferences. Holbien are good as well ,really buttery soft. However Pablo has better color choices than Luminance in my opinion. they look different if layed on paper.

[@artonthecreek]

@jae_january_oli Meininger’s is a dangerous place! Next time I win the lottery I will arrange to meet you there ha ha ha!!!!
As I continue this comparison, I’ve got many brands left to go, well, actually, a lot of the Derwent lines, and then I’ve tested some generics, and some of them are actually quite good! I like the Arrtx but of course you can’t trust the lightfastness. And frankly they leave as many crumbs as Prismacolor do. I am finding, though, that I use them in sketchbooks often for thumbnails and mapping out work. They’re excellent for that! And very affordable!
I recently purchased the Caen d’Ache luminance set of portraits plus I think the 48 set and I think that is the most economical way to buy their full selection. Do you like using the luminance for portraits? I am intrigued because right now Derwent lightfast is on sale and I thought I would invest in a set of 120. What do you think?

[@jae_january_oli]

@@artonthecreek I have never used Derwent cp yet so I could not compare it to luminance , but i like lumis because of its blending characteristics. it does not get too waxy if
compared to prismas and polys. and more forgiving.

[@artonthecreek]

@jae_january_oli good to know! Thank you for your insights!