Thank you for covering this underappreciated and undervalued medium! FYI for anyone who is interested in colored pencils the $350 price is direct from Faber Castell. In the US, if you purchase from an art supply store, you’ll pay significantly less (I’ve never paid more than $200 USD for a full set of Polychromos). The same is true for purchasing individual pencils. I usually pay about $2-$3 USD for one Polychromos pencil. Also, if you’re just starting out, it’s worth buying a small set of different brands to see which ones you prefer.
There are sets which are with wooden case and other stuff that is that much. I have bought all the 120 open stock in 2021-2 slowly and it cost me 170 euros , the full pack cost the same with the tin case as a bonus. But Luminance are out of my reach, they cost 2-3 times more than faber ones, and I am not a pencil artist.
And in Europe, you pay even less for a full set of Polychromos. On the other hand, here in Europe, you pay over the odds for a set of Prismacolor Premiers (NOT a professional brand, in my eyes, by the way). It's the price of importing products that adds to their price.
A decade++ ago I bought some colored pencils that tasted different based on what color they had. I suppose they were something in between pencils and awful tasing candy. I gave them to a friend’s kid. Who is still alive to this day and now as an adult is more into eating sweets than drawing. [Correction… typed ”fiend’s kid”… But no… it was actually a friend’s kid!]
So awesome you commented on the video. You do absolutely stunning work. I did wonder what you could do with a budget set of pencils. It is said that if Jimi Hendrix played a budget Squire guitar, he would still be Jimi. Was curious if you ever challenged yourself, now that you are well into your career and have advanced tools, to see what you're capable of using suboptimal pencils. Would be interesting to know. 😊
Your art is incredible, and it's great that you're able to run a business selling it and teaching others as well. One of the things I'm always curious about with every job and career are the hard parts. Everyone always sees the highlights but they never see the struggles and frustrations, so I'm wondering what those are for you
@@grllwrfr Thank you so so much! I've been drawing most of my life but I set up the business 8 years ago after dropping out of university (studying marketing). I actually failed art at college because they wanted me to create all abstract work so I am completely self taught.
Please do a story about the amazing Hahnemühle papers (also from Germany). They are famous among both traditional fine arts artists (for watercolor, pastel, drawing etc) and photographers or "digital fine art" artists (for inkjet printing). I would love to see a video about how they make such high quality papers and understand the craftsmanship behind it.
I love the FC Polychromos. They're the best. Also the best tip I ever heard by an artist: don't use the cheapest material to teach your kids. The results will be so bad, they'll lose interest before they even started. I wouldn't exactly buy them polychromos, but there are good alternatives for kids :)
The same for musical instruments! I’d have my music teacher (trumpet player) bring me his students flutes, and 9/10 had leaky or broken keys behind their failure to learn*. It’s so easy to become frustrated when nothing you try allows you to progress! And we already struggled to get and keep students as the least popular path at our fine arts school. *The tenth usually had braces. Unfortunately the nemesis of flutists.
@@christieapAbsolutely… The professional harmonica manufacturers and their retailers made a mistake back in the last century when they started ”spitting out” cheap harmonicas. But the quality was so poor that it lead to kids and adults alike giving up on their playing. I got one of those. And never come to play it (while decades later I got a good quality harmonica and: WOW!) So the manufacturers/retailers really created a loss of future sales for themselves Really… I got poor quality musical instruments because my parents didn’t know better and couldn’t afford much better, but my musical interest was too great so I kept on playing anyway. And today so much cheap art material and musical instruments are sold. And unfortunately too many these days seem to neither buy from those who know what is a reasonable quality, nor investigate what is reasonable stuff. At least when they buy for their kids. And I would argue that capitalism has changed substantially. And “demand” doesn’t mean “what we actually want”, but “whatever is the absolutely cheapest” in many areas of consumption. Not saying that there isn’t cheap stuff that isn’t good. But usually you have to pay a bit for quality.
I always suggest buying beginners the student grade or middle grade of a quality brand even if there are less pencils than a cheaper kit. RoseArt will make anyone think they're terrible at coloreded pencil
For a couple of decades, the pencil I'd recommend for kids would be the Staedtler ergosoft, comes in packs of 24 and 36 for cheap, and they're *almost* on the level of polychromos. Unfortunately, Staedtler has discontinues them as of a year ago, so finding them is difficult now, but some places still have stock. If you can't find those, the Uni 888 is good, the Caran D'Ache supracolor is fine, and the derwent chromaflows are okay. ---- Cheap pencils don't lay down a lot of colour, so you get washed out pictures, and they're difficult to work with. Often the lead is very hard, or very crumbly, or worst, both. Anyone of any age using cheap pencils is going to conclude that they don't know what they're doing, or they're bad at art. It's *much* better to buy a small set of decent pencils than a large set of bad ones.
That seems about right. $3 a pencil would mean it’s produced for $1 in materials. I would be cautious about using something below that quality. Maybe as a kid the cheap stuff is fine. But as an adult, the good stuff in any industry is usually worth the cost.
@@Patrick-y4d1z and most of the pencils will last very long as you dont use all the colors equally so you only need to reorder some of the colors more frequently
@@Patrick-y4d1z These are not "hobby" quality pencils. These are of "professional" quality. In other words these pencils are meant to be used to make art for sale by those whose income is based on selling their art, where customers demand longevity. For hobbyist there are much cheaper pencils that are not as good when considering lightfastness but are nearly as good in workability.
I love colored pencils and have a few high end sets. Nobody ever pays the “retail price” stated on the company’s website. Polychromous pencils, for example, can be found for around $200 for a 120-pencil set. I bought them for even cheaper when they were on sale a couple of years ago.
The best ones I use are Caran D’ache Luminance because they won’t fade in sunlight. Faber Castell polychromos are also close. Best ones for sketching or for the first layers are Caran D’ache Pablo. Prismacolors are nice but lots of colors will fade.
I mainly do watercolor, but with colored pencils are you not finishing with a protective UV matte finish or does that ruin the look of the pencil that you want? I do this to my watercolors that I want to last vibrantly, even after using expensive pigments.
I don't have a good eye when it comes to art. But man is that artist gifted. Those were some of the most amazing pieces of art I have ever seen. They actually look like real photographs
But that’s the thing. Her ability is very impressive but excessive realism doesn’t add much to a picture, you might as well just take a real photograph.
Stein is such an unassuming little town, you'd never think such a household name produces there. Staedtler has its headquarters just a few kilometres away in Nuremberg. Kaweko also comes from Nuremberg
Even the cheaper Faber-Castell options are a grade above other brands. Only takes a session with these pencils to notice the difference. Been using these pencils for watercolor paintings (special kind of pencils).
I think there are a couple other brands that are competitive with the FC polychromos too. Stadetler Ergosoft, Uni Mitsubishi 888, Tombow Irotijen, Caran D'Ache museum aquarelle. If you like watercolours, that last is specifically designed for watercolour, and they're phenomenal!
excellent. FC are among my favorites, One thing I really appreciate is that colors across their lines is the same. They also have an excellent range of pinks and purples.
I'm a professional artist and it makes me so happy to see the work and engineering going behind each of those high quality pencils! ✏️✏️✏️ Thanks BI for showcasing them today in this episode! 🎨🖍️🖌️
Faber-Castell is such a great company and the quality/price ratio of their products is quite good! An idea for a new episode: Why are fountain pens so expensive? Specially those with gold nibs (Example: a Graf von Faber-Castell Magnun can cost almost 1300 USD!)
I guess fountain pens have become something of a luxury/lifestyle product in places where they aren't the common implement of choice for learning/teaching to write, or even for adults. In France at least there's usually a range of affordable options in supermarkets because until more recent years it was what you were taught with and expected to use throughout mandatory education unless you really couldn't handle them. And of course if you're wiling to import from China there's a vast range from the surprisingly cheap but perfectly serviceable, to luxury.
A lot of fountain pens are high price specifically because there's a collector market and they do limited runs. These super high price pens don't cost that much because of functionality or materials, it's more like collecting art. If you want low priced fountain pens, there's three good recommendations I have. First is the platinum preppy. It's really cheap at the $5-10 price point, and it's a great pen for someone who wants to try out fountain pens, but isn't sure. Second is the Lamy Safari - generally costs $15-20, comes in a huge range of colours, and it's a decent workhorse that's low maintenance. Many people swear by the Lamy Safari and never get anything else. Third would be the TWSBI ECO. It's around $40-50 and it's a little more "premium" feeling than the lamy. I like it because it writes very smoothly, and has an inbuilt resevoir for ink (so you can fill it from a bottle without a converter)
Absolutely fascinating! Thank you for sharing this insightful information about colored pencils. Who knew there was so much science and precision behind their production. Superior quality and craftsmanship is well worth the price! I also loved the feature artist, Bethany ... Her works were amazing and so photo realistic! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
My wife is the artistic one, having seen the difference between “quality” art mediums and typical classroom mediums, I think it’s like comparing McDonalds to a ranch owned burger joint. Comparing the two at face value doesn’t make sense until you take a bite from each. But if you don’t know how to compare the two then a pencil is a pencil and a burger is a burger.
I love this kind of content. I have several sets of colored pencils, some are over 40 years old. I love knowing how they are made and why some are more pleasing to use than others.
That was absolutely beautiful and flawless work. Makes me want to try those pencils. I mostly work in acrylic but have used colored pencils, primarily Prismacolor.
Thank you for including some detail about the hardness of the cores vs the creaminess. Usually one finds out by trial and error which brands are best for blending and which are best for detail. Also thank you for including information on lightfastness, as a professional artist it is important to understand which colors are fugitive.
Such a great video, l can’t draw for nuts but l do appreciate the dedication of the artist and Faber-Castell. I love seeing the the quality of the work and the pencil. Awesome coverage Business Insider, Thankyou. 😊
Bottom line, is if you're making a living with your skill set then you buy better tools, this has been true regardless of what that tool happens to be.
When you hand out cheap tools to students, then students learn that the tool is crap and they tend to lose interest in the skill. When you hand out quality tools, the students may learn that they can focus on the craft instead of needing to comprimise thus developing interest and even passion for the craft. Bottom line, quality always pays off.
Crayola is definitely made for kids. The sound (and smell) of the Crayola is very soothing- a throwback to my childhood. The Faber Castell is completely silent. Very good video.
I am from India, Hyderabad,my father is a Drawing expert , he regularly purchase your brand along with CAMLIN INDIA. In my childhood days. Now no more he is.
It is all utility. Crayola serves a purpose. Higher end pencils aren't for the typical gradeschool student. I think I need to get back into art now. I always loved higher ends pencils as my medium.
As a professional artist, I really appreciate videos like this. Polychromes pencils are hands down the best pencils I’ve used. They are well worth the investment.
I absolutely love pencils I am an artist and collector and i wouldnt take a million dollars for my pencil collection. There is nothing like the feeling you get opening a tin of brand new pencils. Priceless.
When Bethany Vere investes days, maybe even weeks on a piece, she deserves the price for the piece she demands. Besides, it is a noble thing to capture a loved pet and family member in the best and most professional possible way so that the impression lasts at least a lifetime.
I love colored pencils! You can really tell the difference between school grade and artists pencils. Faber Castell makes some of the best pencils I've used and their construction quality remains top-notch unlike Prismacolor which I also like but has seen a downgrade in construction quality through the years.
Yep my full Faber Castell set of 420 cost me over $500. Worth it though!!! The quality is tangible, the cores are thicker and such high quality, even compared with other brands like the american one starting with a "p" 😉 I go back to F-C year after year because, for someone who is a fine artist like me, they simply ARE the best 👌🏻
I like using a combination of the smooth core pencils Prismacolor, Caran d'Ache, Faber Castell on a smooth bristol paper. I usually then smooth and soften with a layer of white pencil on most of the piece. Really is a great medium to feel very controlled of the results, unless you get a random tip break that jabs the pencil to an unwanted spot.
If one is in North America and starting out, go with Prismacolor. Cheap, easy to get, best selection of colors, and trust me, although many will disagree, the artwork you make will look just as good as the more expensive pencils. The only reason to get the more expensive pencils is if you are either a professional artist or the cost is not a problem.
I highly disagree. At one time Prismacolor was the standard for professional colored pencils. But after moving the factory to Mexico, these pencil's quality was significantly reduced. The biggest concern is that the core is no longer centered in the wood. This means when you sharpen them ,the core breaks and when you use them with any pressure the core breaks. Instead get the minimum number of pencil needed to do your project of the best quality you can afford. Never use substandard, "cheap" art tools to learn from. When they don't preform correctly you are only asking for frustration and mistaking the tools lack of performance for your lack of ability. This is how/why people stop trying to learn.
I think it’s better to learn about the differences between the brands of colored pencils, and match up your style to what each brand does best. I think a lot of artists settle on Faber-Castell because of their consistency of pigments, ability to layer, ability to cover large areas and cover tiny spaces, ease of finding them in open stock, and while they are expensive, they aren’t ridiculously expensive. You don’t have to buy a huge set. Caran d’Ache are quite a bit more expensive, and have a thicker texture that some find too aggressive, but they are gorgeously pigmented. Both FC and CD feature excellent lightfast ratings. Prismacolor have excellent pigments, but it’s true they’ve compromised the quality of the wood and construction, so sharpening and drawing can be problematic. You might use up one pencil in one project, if the wood and lead split. They’re also so softly waxy that it’s difficult to draw in small, tight spaces, and they don’t layer well. For that, they sell the Verithin Prismas, which are quite hard and able to maintain a needle point. So with Prismas, you don’t have one pencil line that does it all, and their soft pencils sharpen away quickly. But their line of pigments is brilliant and their soft smoothness is unmatched, if you like to color in one layer. So the argument can go on forever. Best solution is to buy a few of each brand in open stock, test them out, and see which pencil style and price fits your needs the best. All three are really quite different from each other. I think most artists own more than one brand, just to take advantage of the different characteristics. But I think Faber-Castells are used by a majority of professionals. Derwent is a good brand too, but harder to get in open stock, in the USA.
That’s all perfectly legitimate. It’s just not my experience. I’ve heard all the negatives about Prismacolor for years, and for me personally, they are just overblown. Not necessarily untrue but overblown. Just one example: will they break more than the expensive pencils? Yes they will, but a couple of broken points for the price you pay just is not a deal breaker for me. 4 seconds to put a new point on a pencil is not a great problem, and of all the hundreds of Prismacolor pencils I’ve owned, I think I tossed one away because it was so flawed. If I could only have one pencil brand, it would be Polychromos, but I still use my Prismacolors and think they are an excellent starting choice for beginners.
This video is correct, you need these pencils if you want to sell your art, lightfastness is they key and the cost is not that high in the long run. When you cut corners you can see, quality control issues, defective products etc
Amazing video and Bethany’s artwork is stunning! I feel like Crayola got a bit shortchanged here though, I don’t think they market themselves toward artists so the comparison is somewhat unfair, but the difference in quality was interesting to see nonetheless.
Does FC actually use workers to manually weight and blend pigment? Or is that just for the show? It seems they have sophisticated machinery for other processes, so why use manual labor? 🤔
What you pay is what you get be it BMW, PORSCHE, MERCEDES, VW, Leica or any other product German products are really value for money and Faber Castell is being put in the forefront. Thank you for such amazing products.
I live in Nuremberg which right next to Stein where Faber-Castell is located. Love them and all their products. They have an awesome flagship store in Stein. I use the Polychromos for my art but I also love their budget pencils for kids. I use them in my teaching job.
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Studying Art, Art professionally careers are expensive due to the materials. High Quality materials makes easy the work when you apply different techniques. In my perspective, When a person or an artist paints, their hands shows their style, their essence. Every technique requires high quality paper, crayons, brushes, it’s very difficult and takes more time in the process. The smoother or the characteristics of a crayon helps a lot with movement and with the technique.
I love a good set of colored pencils and I own a few of these myself. It's an often overlooked medium but as you can clearly see in this video, in the hands of an artist, they can produce stunning results. I can't say the same for what my hands can produce with these pencils but hey art is subjective. Right? 😂
For anyone that uses color pencils in their art, what’s your preference? I’m curious about the Prismacolor brand. Also, what’s a decent beginner collection? I’m not exactly new to sketching, but I’d like to update the products I use along with learning new techniques. I recently turned 40 and have been getting back into artistic endeavors that as I got older I slowly gave up on. I’m now more serious about the art I create as it’s my only meditative escape from stress and mental illness.
Depends on what you need and where you live. Polychromos are nic and a smaller set of 36 pencil is enough for many works, but they are more expensiv in the US, which is why people there tend to turn to Prismacolors. They are nice and a bit cheaper, but they have a high tendency to break, even while they are good quality. Luminance on the other hand are amazing, but I know of people who dislike them, because of their weird feeling while drawing. They can feel weirdly butterly scartchy. If money is not the problem, Holbein is like the highend pencil of all of them. Would suggest to go with something that wont break the bank for you so you can start and then you can built up your collection.
I have a few expensive sets. Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Pablos still look new because even though I use them a lot. They rarely need to be sharpened as they are hard and so pigmented that they just last.
I’m not a color pencil expert but I find Prismacolor premier pencils are unable to layer as much as Luminance, Polychromos, or Derwent Lightfast pencils. I haven’t used my Prismacolor pencils in quite a while, but from what I remember they leave little waxy shards that needs to brushed off, or if they get stick to your hand they smear on the paper. Just like others have said buy a few open stock from each brand (or some of the smaller sets, if you have a healthy budget) and try them out. Trouble is ‘trying’ out different brands has turned me into a collector! 😂
Faber castle make cheaper pencils as well they are the most common pencils you’ll find kids buy in Australia for school and even the pencils schools have are the cheaper faber castle
No, I disagree. A master of an art might be able to produce a good or even very good work with subpar materials, but there is a certain level of quality you simply can't achieve with subpar materials. You can't fully "replace" lack of quality in the materials used with skill.
Because of the sharpening issue? 🤔 I get your point, I think. The thing is, that the mechanical pencils often are used for technical drawings and line work and cross hatching. Whilst coloured pencils are used to fill areas. It may be just far too tedious to colour areas with mechanical pencils.
@@Herr_Vorragender I wouldn't use them to color in areas.I have found some 2.0mm ones but I don't know if they are light fast and I would like some in 0.7mm. I have found colored lead from Uni in 0.7mm.
While I really appreciate the information, you don't have to denigrate another brand to do it. Crayola are the best of the best for kids to learn with. For my 14yo niece, who is a beautiful artist, I bought a small set of very expensive pencils. Now I know why I had to pay so much.
They don't eyeball. We just don't get to see anything substancial. I.e. the process of weighing the pigments on the extremely sensitive scales. We saw how that guy just shoveled pigments into another. We must remember that manufacturers must keep every little detail in their production line a secret. Having the competitors think that Faber Castelle shoveles pigments may be a strategic clever idea. I would therefore not be suprised if that video snip where the guy shoveled the pigment into the other was pretty much cinematic for the camera.
PSA Faber Castell Polychromos don't meet lightfastness standards, and they've failed in home tests too. If you really want professional, then you need to get ASTM 6901 certified pencils, and there are only three brands of those, Van Gogh, Caran D'Ache Luminance & Derwent Lightfast. This video is like sneaky advertising.
Thank you for covering this underappreciated and undervalued medium! FYI for anyone who is interested in colored pencils the $350 price is direct from Faber Castell. In the US, if you purchase from an art supply store, you’ll pay significantly less (I’ve never paid more than $200 USD for a full set of Polychromos). The same is true for purchasing individual pencils. I usually pay about $2-$3 USD for one Polychromos pencil. Also, if you’re just starting out, it’s worth buying a small set of different brands to see which ones you prefer.
There are sets which are with wooden case and other stuff that is that much. I have bought all the 120 open stock in 2021-2 slowly and it cost me 170 euros , the full pack cost the same with the tin case as a bonus.
But Luminance are out of my reach, they cost 2-3 times more than faber ones, and I am not a pencil artist.
And in Europe, you pay even less for a full set of Polychromos. On the other hand, here in Europe, you pay over the odds for a set of Prismacolor Premiers (NOT a professional brand, in my eyes, by the way). It's the price of importing products that adds to their price.
I just use their classic lineup. Bcuz im poor
I just bought the 120 for 160US. Worth every penny.
As a kid I liked the taste of Crayola more than Faber Castel.
I agree who cares how well it goes on paper if ur just going to end up eating them anyways
That comment really took me out !!
That's the only honest criteria a "young artist" is looking in tools for the craft, proper taste 😂
A decade++ ago I bought some colored pencils that tasted different based on what color they had. I suppose they were something in between pencils and awful tasing candy. I gave them to a friend’s kid. Who is still alive to this day and now as an adult is more into eating sweets than drawing.
[Correction… typed ”fiend’s kid”… But no… it was actually a friend’s kid!]
There are a few brands that have a terrible smell and it is too distracting to use. The smell stays on your hands even after washing a few times. 🤢
I really hope you grew up to join the US Marine Corps! (crayons give less splinters when chewed)
Thank you so much to business insider for the feature on my work and i! If anyone has any questions, just let me know and I’ll be happy to answer ❤
your work is beautiful! how long have you been making art and did you have any formal training?
So awesome you commented on the video. You do absolutely stunning work. I did wonder what you could do with a budget set of pencils. It is said that if Jimi Hendrix played a budget Squire guitar, he would still be Jimi. Was curious if you ever challenged yourself, now that you are well into your career and have advanced tools, to see what you're capable of using suboptimal pencils. Would be interesting to know. 😊
Your art is incredible, and it's great that you're able to run a business selling it and teaching others as well.
One of the things I'm always curious about with every job and career are the hard parts. Everyone always sees the highlights but they never see the struggles and frustrations, so I'm wondering what those are for you
Your work is amazing, hyper-realism artists always baffle me, so much detail.
@@grllwrfr Thank you so so much! I've been drawing most of my life but I set up the business 8 years ago after dropping out of university (studying marketing). I actually failed art at college because they wanted me to create all abstract work so I am completely self taught.
Please do a story about the amazing Hahnemühle papers (also from Germany). They are famous among both traditional fine arts artists (for watercolor, pastel, drawing etc) and photographers or "digital fine art" artists (for inkjet printing).
I would love to see a video about how they make such high quality papers and understand the craftsmanship behind it.
Agreed. Hahnemühle and St. Cuthbert's Mill are my go-to brands. Far better than Archer's, in my opinion.
I love the FC Polychromos. They're the best. Also the best tip I ever heard by an artist: don't use the cheapest material to teach your kids. The results will be so bad, they'll lose interest before they even started. I wouldn't exactly buy them polychromos, but there are good alternatives for kids :)
The same for musical instruments! I’d have my music teacher (trumpet player) bring me his students flutes, and 9/10 had leaky or broken keys behind their failure to learn*. It’s so easy to become frustrated when nothing you try allows you to progress! And we already struggled to get and keep students as the least popular path at our fine arts school.
*The tenth usually had braces. Unfortunately the nemesis of flutists.
@@christieapAbsolutely… The professional harmonica manufacturers and their retailers made a mistake back in the last century when they started ”spitting out” cheap harmonicas. But the quality was so poor that it lead to kids and adults alike giving up on their playing. I got one of those. And never come to play it (while decades later I got a good quality harmonica and: WOW!)
So the manufacturers/retailers really created a loss of future sales for themselves
Really… I got poor quality musical instruments because my parents didn’t know better and couldn’t afford much better, but my musical interest was too great so I kept on playing anyway.
And today so much cheap art material and musical instruments are sold. And unfortunately too many these days seem to neither buy from those who know what is a reasonable quality, nor investigate what is reasonable stuff. At least when they buy for their kids. And I would argue that capitalism has changed substantially. And “demand” doesn’t mean “what we actually want”, but “whatever is the absolutely cheapest” in many areas of consumption. Not saying that there isn’t cheap stuff that isn’t good. But usually you have to pay a bit for quality.
I always suggest buying beginners the student grade or middle grade of a quality brand even if there are less pencils than a cheaper kit. RoseArt will make anyone think they're terrible at coloreded pencil
For a couple of decades, the pencil I'd recommend for kids would be the Staedtler ergosoft, comes in packs of 24 and 36 for cheap, and they're *almost* on the level of polychromos.
Unfortunately, Staedtler has discontinues them as of a year ago, so finding them is difficult now, but some places still have stock.
If you can't find those, the Uni 888 is good, the Caran D'Ache supracolor is fine, and the derwent chromaflows are okay.
----
Cheap pencils don't lay down a lot of colour, so you get washed out pictures, and they're difficult to work with. Often the lead is very hard, or very crumbly, or worst, both. Anyone of any age using cheap pencils is going to conclude that they don't know what they're doing, or they're bad at art. It's *much* better to buy a small set of decent pencils than a large set of bad ones.
As an artist I really appreciate this information. It’s a treat to my eyes to see the behind scenes from one of my most trusted brand.
She's such a talented artist. 🤯
Aw thank you so much!!
Talent is only applicable to the natural ability of someone starting out with a craft, not if they've been doing it for years and years.
@@BethanyVerethere's a lot of people that call themselves artists but if anyone truly deserves the title it's people like yourself. Mind blowing work
People can practice and develop a "talent" in something, but starting out really good and progressing really fast - that is "gifted".
no way in hell would a normal person drawing for fun would be able to draw with that level of intricacy and realism lul
That seems about right. $3 a pencil would mean it’s produced for $1 in materials. I would be cautious about using something below that quality. Maybe as a kid the cheap stuff is fine. But as an adult, the good stuff in any industry is usually worth the cost.
Indeed. And while £350 is a lot of money, you have to think that any hobby really is nowadays.
@@Patrick-y4d1z and most of the pencils will last very long as you dont use all the colors equally so you only need to reorder some of the colors more frequently
Откуда вы знаете, что на материалы ушёл один доллар? У вас есть информация о ценах на сырьё, закупаемом в промышленных масштабах?
It would entirely depend on the task you're trying to accomplish if high-end stuff is worth it.
@@Patrick-y4d1z These are not "hobby" quality pencils. These are of "professional" quality. In other words these pencils are meant to be used to make art for sale by those whose income is based on selling their art, where customers demand longevity. For hobbyist there are much cheaper pencils that are not as good when considering lightfastness but are nearly as good in workability.
I love colored pencils and have a few high end sets. Nobody ever pays the “retail price” stated on the company’s website. Polychromous pencils, for example, can be found for around $200 for a 120-pencil set. I bought them for even cheaper when they were on sale a couple of years ago.
The best ones I use are Caran D’ache Luminance because they won’t fade in sunlight. Faber Castell polychromos are also close. Best ones for sketching or for the first layers are Caran D’ache Pablo. Prismacolors are nice but lots of colors will fade.
I mainly do watercolor, but with colored pencils are you not finishing with a protective UV matte finish or does that ruin the look of the pencil that you want? I do this to my watercolors that I want to last vibrantly, even after using expensive pigments.
The price tag dont lie.
In my country Caran d'ache is 4x Polychromos.
You also need an insanely delicate touch to use prismacolors without constantly shattering them- and god help you if you ever drop one
I think they are just different, there is no real better or worser between those two brand - each have their own benefits. I like both
I don't have a good eye when it comes to art. But man is that artist gifted. Those were some of the most amazing pieces of art I have ever seen. They actually look like real photographs
I’m impressed by her talent. Worth every cent
But that’s the thing. Her ability is very impressive but excessive realism doesn’t add much to a picture, you might as well just take a real photograph.
Stein is such an unassuming little town, you'd never think such a household name produces there. Staedtler has its headquarters just a few kilometres away in Nuremberg. Kaweko also comes from Nuremberg
Also Stabilo and Lyra are in the region
Even the cheaper Faber-Castell options are a grade above other brands. Only takes a session with these pencils to notice the difference. Been using these pencils for watercolor paintings (special kind of pencils).
Watercolor pencils!
I think there are a couple other brands that are competitive with the FC polychromos too. Stadetler Ergosoft, Uni Mitsubishi 888, Tombow Irotijen, Caran D'Ache museum aquarelle. If you like watercolours, that last is specifically designed for watercolour, and they're phenomenal!
excellent. FC are among my favorites, One thing I really appreciate is that colors across their lines is the same. They also have an excellent range of pinks and purples.
And FC is considered a semi-budget brand, too. The first time you use a Caran d'Ache, your heart melts on the paper with the wax.
Polychromous is not budget at all! Caran d’Ache is just overpriced 😂
@@le2382 I disagree with both statements.
"Things" are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Using both together is the best! The results are gorgeous!
They are both great, they just have different benefits
these pencils from farber castell are my favorite to work with and it was one of my most beloved gifts for my birthdays way back then
I'm a professional artist and it makes me so happy to see the work and engineering going behind each of those high quality pencils! ✏️✏️✏️ Thanks BI for showcasing them today in this episode! 🎨🖍️🖌️
Faber-Castell is such a great company and the quality/price ratio of their products is quite good!
An idea for a new episode: Why are fountain pens so expensive? Specially those with gold nibs (Example: a Graf von Faber-Castell Magnun can cost almost 1300 USD!)
it honestly reeks of cartel, even the finest tips wont be that expensive and the rest of the pen just depends on the material.
I guess fountain pens have become something of a luxury/lifestyle product in places where they aren't the common implement of choice for learning/teaching to write, or even for adults.
In France at least there's usually a range of affordable options in supermarkets because until more recent years it was what you were taught with and expected to use throughout mandatory education unless you really couldn't handle them.
And of course if you're wiling to import from China there's a vast range from the surprisingly cheap but perfectly serviceable, to luxury.
@@TheWretchedEgg12some pens are artworks themselves. Nakaya and Namiki have incredible pieces.
A lot of fountain pens are high price specifically because there's a collector market and they do limited runs. These super high price pens don't cost that much because of functionality or materials, it's more like collecting art.
If you want low priced fountain pens, there's three good recommendations I have.
First is the platinum preppy. It's really cheap at the $5-10 price point, and it's a great pen for someone who wants to try out fountain pens, but isn't sure.
Second is the Lamy Safari - generally costs $15-20, comes in a huge range of colours, and it's a decent workhorse that's low maintenance. Many people swear by the Lamy Safari and never get anything else.
Third would be the TWSBI ECO. It's around $40-50 and it's a little more "premium" feeling than the lamy. I like it because it writes very smoothly, and has an inbuilt resevoir for ink (so you can fill it from a bottle without a converter)
7:00 the artist's pencil renderings of animals is absolutely stunning.
Thank you so much!
Absolutely fascinating! Thank you for sharing this insightful information about colored pencils. Who knew there was so much science and precision behind their production. Superior quality and craftsmanship is well worth the price! I also loved the feature artist, Bethany ... Her works were amazing and so photo realistic! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
My wife is the artistic one, having seen the difference between “quality” art mediums and typical classroom mediums, I think it’s like comparing McDonalds to a ranch owned burger joint. Comparing the two at face value doesn’t make sense until you take a bite from each. But if you don’t know how to compare the two then a pencil is a pencil and a burger is a burger.
I’d like to learn more about Bethany’s work. It’s quite unique
I love this kind of content. I have several sets of colored pencils, some are over 40 years old. I love knowing how they are made and why some are more pleasing to use than others.
That was absolutely beautiful and flawless work. Makes me want to try those pencils. I mostly work in acrylic but have used colored pencils, primarily Prismacolor.
My goodness Bethany is a magician. I’ve never seen such realistic and expressive animal portraits in my life.
Crayolas have their own uses too, they're great in their own way!
Thank you for including some detail about the hardness of the cores vs the creaminess. Usually one finds out by trial and error which brands are best for blending and which are best for detail. Also thank you for including information on lightfastness, as a professional artist it is important to understand which colors are fugitive.
Such a great video, l can’t draw for nuts but l do appreciate the dedication of the artist and Faber-Castell. I love seeing the the quality of the work and the pencil. Awesome coverage Business Insider, Thankyou. 😊
I recommend grabbing a small nice set. You might just be surprised....
Bottom line, is if you're making a living with your skill set then you buy better tools, this has been true regardless of what that tool happens to be.
When you hand out cheap tools to students, then students learn that the tool is crap and they tend to lose interest in the skill.
When you hand out quality tools, the students may learn that they can focus on the craft instead of needing to comprimise thus developing interest and even passion for the craft.
Bottom line, quality always pays off.
I would’ve liked the comparison between low, medium, and high-grade colored pencils to see if there’s a difference between medium and high grade
What a great video and what a talented lady!
Thank you so much!!
Crayola is definitely made for kids. The sound (and smell) of the Crayola is very soothing- a throwback to my childhood. The Faber Castell is completely silent. Very good video.
No clue how or why this was recommended to me but I sure dig it. What a cool thing to watch :)
Babe, wake up!! New Business Insider just dropped!
I am from India, Hyderabad,my father is a Drawing expert , he regularly purchase your brand along with CAMLIN INDIA. In my childhood days. Now no more he is.
It is all utility. Crayola serves a purpose. Higher end pencils aren't for the typical gradeschool student. I think I need to get back into art now. I always loved higher ends pencils as my medium.
I quit for 30yrs. Started back and loving it more than ever.
I love my Faber-Castell color pencils, and the series 9000 drawing pencils, too. Worth the price.
I wish I had some of these machines to test pencils! 😮
Ah ah ah ! That would have saved you a lot of time!
She is one incredibly talented artist, those animals look so beautiful
As a professional artist, I really appreciate videos like this. Polychromes pencils are hands down the best pencils I’ve used. They are well worth the investment.
I absolutely love pencils I am an artist and collector and i wouldnt take a million dollars for my pencil collection. There is nothing like the feeling you get opening a tin of brand new pencils. Priceless.
When Bethany Vere investes days, maybe even weeks on a piece, she deserves the price for the piece she demands.
Besides, it is a noble thing to capture a loved pet and family member in the best and most professional possible way so that the impression lasts at least a lifetime.
I loooove my Polychromos pencils, you get what you pay for in my opinion. Just excellent quality.
I love colored pencils! You can really tell the difference between school grade and artists pencils. Faber Castell makes some of the best pencils I've used and their construction quality remains top-notch unlike Prismacolor which I also like but has seen a downgrade in construction quality through the years.
Yep my full Faber Castell set of 420 cost me over $500. Worth it though!!! The quality is tangible, the cores are thicker and such high quality, even compared with other brands like the american one starting with a "p" 😉
I go back to F-C year after year because, for someone who is a fine artist like me, they simply ARE the best 👌🏻
They really are.
I,m 66 years old and colored all my life .i just love it. Thank you for this info. Very interesting to me.💖XO DB
I wonder where all the reject pencils go… I wonder if they donate them, we want to know! :-)
This takes me back to all of my college material prices as an art major 😅
0:33 either she is drawing on a photo or her skills are god tier.
Looks like a printed stencil of the image
I never knew colored pencils could do what Bethany does with them. She's awesome.
I like using a combination of the smooth core pencils Prismacolor, Caran d'Ache, Faber Castell on a smooth bristol paper. I usually then smooth and soften with a layer of white pencil on most of the piece. Really is a great medium to feel very controlled of the results, unless you get a random tip break that jabs the pencil to an unwanted spot.
That's what I do as well.
The color pigments mixed workers,
already creates an artistic masterpiece.
If one is in North America and starting out, go with Prismacolor. Cheap, easy to get, best selection of colors, and trust me, although many will disagree, the artwork you make will look just as good as the more expensive pencils. The only reason to get the more expensive pencils is if you are either a professional artist or the cost is not a problem.
I highly disagree. At one time Prismacolor was the standard for professional colored pencils. But after moving the factory to Mexico, these pencil's quality was significantly reduced. The biggest concern is that the core is no longer centered in the wood. This means when you sharpen them ,the core breaks and when you use them with any pressure the core breaks.
Instead get the minimum number of pencil needed to do your project of the best quality you can afford.
Never use substandard, "cheap" art tools to learn from. When they don't preform correctly you are only asking for frustration and mistaking the tools lack of performance for your lack of ability. This is how/why people stop trying to learn.
I think it’s better to learn about the differences between the brands of colored pencils, and match up your style to what each brand does best. I think a lot of artists settle on Faber-Castell because of their consistency of pigments, ability to layer, ability to cover large areas and cover tiny spaces, ease of finding them in open stock, and while they are expensive, they aren’t ridiculously expensive. You don’t have to buy a huge set. Caran d’Ache are quite a bit more expensive, and have a thicker texture that some find too aggressive, but they are gorgeously pigmented. Both FC and CD feature excellent lightfast ratings. Prismacolor have excellent pigments, but it’s true they’ve compromised the quality of the wood and construction, so sharpening and drawing can be problematic. You might use up one pencil in one project, if the wood and lead split. They’re also so softly waxy that it’s difficult to draw in small, tight spaces, and they don’t layer well. For that, they sell the Verithin Prismas, which are quite hard and able to maintain a needle point. So with Prismas, you don’t have one pencil line that does it all, and their soft pencils sharpen away quickly. But their line of pigments is brilliant and their soft smoothness is unmatched, if you like to color in one layer.
So the argument can go on forever. Best solution is to buy a few of each brand in open stock, test them out, and see which pencil style and price fits your needs the best. All three are really quite different from each other. I think most artists own more than one brand, just to take advantage of the different characteristics. But I think Faber-Castells are used by a majority of professionals. Derwent is a good brand too, but harder to get in open stock, in the USA.
Prismas quality is far below the top brands. While, of course, you can produce art with it, you will be limited as discussed in this vid.
That’s all perfectly legitimate. It’s just not my experience. I’ve heard all the negatives about Prismacolor for years, and for me personally, they are just overblown. Not necessarily untrue but overblown. Just one example: will they break more than the expensive pencils? Yes they will, but a couple of broken points for the price you pay just is not a deal breaker for me. 4 seconds to put a new point on a pencil is not a great problem, and of all the hundreds of Prismacolor pencils I’ve owned, I think I tossed one away because it was so flawed. If I could only have one pencil brand, it would be Polychromos, but I still use my Prismacolors and think they are an excellent starting choice for beginners.
I love Prismacolor. They are what got me hooked all those yrs ago.
This video is correct, you need these pencils if you want to sell your art, lightfastness is they key and the cost is not that high in the long run.
When you cut corners you can see, quality control issues, defective products etc
Couldn't agree more!
Amazing video and Bethany’s artwork is stunning! I feel like Crayola got a bit shortchanged here though, I don’t think they market themselves toward artists so the comparison is somewhat unfair, but the difference in quality was interesting to see nonetheless.
Would never imagined the tech and development behind simple pencil
Faber Castell my beloved. Not kidding I loved my polychromos set.
I like the part she says, "Only half of the pigments will give you cancer."
same lol
Caran d'Ache smiles politely.
I absolutely love the Pablos.
I've only used mid-tier colored pencils (like $70) but they feel so amazing
Does FC actually use workers to manually weight and blend pigment? Or is that just for the show? It seems they have sophisticated machinery for other processes, so why use manual labor? 🤔
What you pay is what you get be it BMW, PORSCHE, MERCEDES, VW, Leica or any other product German products are really value for money and Faber Castell is being put in the forefront. Thank you for such amazing products.
You really won't go wrong with Polychromos. They are the workhorse pencil.
I live in Nuremberg which right next to Stein where Faber-Castell is located. Love them and all their products. They have an awesome flagship store in Stein.
I use the Polychromos for my art but I also love their budget pencils for kids. I use them in my teaching job.
Once you try oil based coloured pencils, you are ”spoiled” for good! They are so buttery and vibrant!
Her voice is so beautiful and elegant which makes watching this video more interesting..
creep😂
Her accent is so elegant, that's why my original comment... it's not my fault there are people who are not well "upstairs" and think bad.
I'll show you something elegant. The Arabic word "ma'rakh" (مئرخ) means "a place with historical ambience". The anglicized word for "ma'rakh" is "murque". The italianized form is "amorico", and the dutchified form is "meurage".
Have absolutely zero interest in pigments or pencils, but as a photographer those colors are stunning
How does the same grandma work at all these factory's !?!?!
Heavenly. Thankyou.
this was super interesting!
I wish that both polychromo and prismacolors had woodless pencils!
omg I love ur pfp so much!!!!!
This is journalism
Studying Art, Art professionally careers are expensive due to the materials.
High Quality materials makes easy the work when you apply different techniques.
In my perspective, When a person or an artist paints, their hands shows their style, their essence.
Every technique requires high quality paper, crayons, brushes, it’s very difficult and takes more time in the process. The smoother or the characteristics of a crayon helps a lot with movement and with the technique.
Never seen such a realistic image on paper. Great work @BethanyVere
To be fair, Polychromos are 160 at amazon right now.
Why are hogs so pink?
It's because of the pigment.
Because corporate greed knows no limits!
I love a good set of colored pencils and I own a few of these myself. It's an often overlooked medium but as you can clearly see in this video, in the hands of an artist, they can produce stunning results. I can't say the same for what my hands can produce with these pencils but hey art is subjective. Right? 😂
The student grade Faber-Castell was also good. But sadly i cant find them anymore in my country
My eyes genuinely hurt looking at the green and pink. I need those pencils.
Better ingredients, Better Pencils. Papa Johns.
I love FC pencils ❤
I always loved faber castell pencils
Same.
I was today years old when I found out the Russian generic word for pencil is just a german brand of pencil.
I could watch videos like for dayssss
For anyone that uses color pencils in their art, what’s your preference? I’m curious about the Prismacolor brand. Also, what’s a decent beginner collection? I’m not exactly new to sketching, but I’d like to update the products I use along with learning new techniques. I recently turned 40 and have been getting back into artistic endeavors that as I got older I slowly gave up on. I’m now more serious about the art I create as it’s my only meditative escape from stress and mental illness.
Buy couple of pencils from different brands to test them out. But caran d'ache luminance is my preferred one.
Polychromos girlie here.
Depends on what you need and where you live.
Polychromos are nic and a smaller set of 36 pencil is enough for many works, but they are more expensiv in the US, which is why people there tend to turn to Prismacolors. They are nice and a bit cheaper, but they have a high tendency to break, even while they are good quality.
Luminance on the other hand are amazing, but I know of people who dislike them, because of their weird feeling while drawing. They can feel weirdly butterly scartchy. If money is not the problem, Holbein is like the highend pencil of all of them.
Would suggest to go with something that wont break the bank for you so you can start and then you can built up your collection.
I have a few expensive sets. Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Pablos still look new because even though I use them a lot. They rarely need to be sharpened as they are hard and so pigmented that they just last.
I’m not a color pencil expert but I find Prismacolor premier pencils are unable to layer as much as Luminance, Polychromos, or Derwent Lightfast pencils. I haven’t used my Prismacolor pencils in quite a while, but from what I remember they leave little waxy shards that needs to brushed off, or if they get stick to your hand they smear on the paper. Just like others have said buy a few open stock from each brand (or some of the smaller sets, if you have a healthy budget) and try them out. Trouble is ‘trying’ out different brands has turned me into a collector! 😂
My neighborhood 🤩 Staedtler and Schwan Stabilo are also around
Faber castle make cheaper pencils as well they are the most common pencils you’ll find kids buy in Australia for school and even the pencils schools have are the cheaper faber castle
at least now we have 2024 footage of these pencil factories. Thank you!
Thank you
its a good thing that crayola pencils are aimed at children for art class and hobby art.
A master of an art can produce perfection with any material, but the durability and longevity of that art produced is only as good as its material.
No, I disagree. A master of an art might be able to produce a good or even very good work with subpar materials, but there is a certain level of quality you simply can't achieve with subpar materials. You can't fully "replace" lack of quality in the materials used with skill.
@VoidVerification i actually think we are saying the same thing
@@lukemeck You aren't, you can't produce "perfection" with imperfect materials.
I'm inspired to organize my pencil crayons in glass bottles, and to throw out my cheap ones : )
Informative 👌
I would love it if they made polychromos mechanical colored pencils in 0.7 that are light fast. Maybe one day.
Because of the sharpening issue? 🤔
I get your point, I think. The thing is, that the mechanical pencils often are used for technical drawings and line work and cross hatching. Whilst coloured pencils are used to fill areas. It may be just far too tedious to colour areas with mechanical pencils.
@@Herr_Vorragender I wouldn't use them to color in areas.I have found some 2.0mm ones but I don't know if they are light fast and I would like some in 0.7mm. I have found colored lead from Uni in 0.7mm.
While I really appreciate the information, you don't have to denigrate another brand to do it. Crayola are the best of the best for kids to learn with. For my 14yo niece, who is a beautiful artist, I bought a small set of very expensive pencils. Now I know why I had to pay so much.
There really is a difference. I have Crayolas and Prismas and there is a big difference. But I’m not selling my work so it doesn’t matter to me.
how are they eyeballing all these colors to mix! And the voice-over says its exact and measured. It is driving me insane
They don't eyeball. We just don't get to see anything substancial. I.e. the process of weighing the pigments on the extremely sensitive scales.
We saw how that guy just shoveled pigments into another.
We must remember that manufacturers must keep every little detail in their production line a secret.
Having the competitors think that Faber Castelle shoveles pigments may be a strategic clever idea.
I would therefore not be suprised if that video snip where the guy shoveled the pigment into the other was pretty much cinematic for the camera.
Her name is wrong in the description . It’s Bethany, not Britney.
Upload in 2160p, so that the colors look better on camera. Also, HDR version would he perfect for this one
PSA Faber Castell Polychromos don't meet lightfastness standards, and they've failed in home tests too.
If you really want professional, then you need to get ASTM 6901 certified pencils, and there are only three brands of those, Van Gogh, Caran D'Ache Luminance & Derwent Lightfast.
This video is like sneaky advertising.