(I'm commenting on this 2 yrs after the orig post.) I just got the new CA Gold 120 set for Christmas 2023 & have swatched them all out, but not done an art piece yet. So far I love the texture, somewhere between Prisma & Polychromos in softness. I never bought their classic pencils, but reviewers say they are softer. I do think CA may have more quality control than white labels & CA currently has a rep of trying to provide good customer service and develop new products based on customer feedback. I also own a 72 Prisma set, a small collection of Polys from open stock, and 72 Artezas. I think Castle and Arteza are pretty comparable in softness & blendability. It will be fun to try them out together & compare the color ranges as well.
You could compare this to promotional items. For instance, the promotional pens businesses hand out to their customers. They all come from the same factory, the only difference being the business name on the pen. So companies such as Castle Arts go to a pencil-making factory and ask them to produce a set of pencils. Company X does the same thing, asking the same factory. Same pencil, different name on the barrel. Cheap, but with one major disadvantage: Castle Arts and the like have no control over quality whatsoever. I believe that's what's called white-labelling. Same happens with markers and, probably, lots of other products. I read a very wise comment underneath a different video here on YT last week: "if you can't buy it in a physical store, be very careful".
Exactly. Castle Arts does a lot of advertising on Amazon and have their own ‘brand storefront’ but, it could just be the same factory products as the cheaper brands. There is so much white-labelling these days, you have to be wary of the “mutton dressed as lamb”. Prices of the same product can vary widely just because a brand got more exposure on TH-cam or provided lots of ‘influencers’ with free product. Buyer beware!
They definitely look the same to me but feel Castle Art are the better pencil, have learnt one thing a lot of these pencils we buy are all from the same factory, thank you for your review, found it very interesting xxx
Oh definitely Janet, since making this video a couple of years ago, I spoke to the factory who made Castle Arts and they told me all the different pencils they make!
You make so much sense…I got the CA 120 when they first came out…swatched them…they were awful…I took a gamble last year and bought the new editions…this time I had duplicate colours and it took weeks to get it sorted….They replaced the whole set but I haven’t the heart to open or swatch them…Just got the Arteza 120 set yesterday and am building myself up to open them…🤣🥰
I much prefer the Arteza to the Castle Arts, they are softer and easier to use. For me anyway. Swatching is laborious, I just wanna colour! lol! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, it's appreciated!
I like my Castle Arts set and they are soft. I think, personally, that they may pay extra to get a different amount of wax put in. Similar to Tesco Finest. I was writing this just as you were saying the same thing 🤣 Great minds
thank you for this video, i was just on amazon and realized there were plenty of different brand pencils that looked the same - you have answered my questions ! 😅 could you please tell me the name and the brand of your favourite paper, i didn't catch it ?
Faber-Castell Polychromos are superior to Castle Arts, but also firmer and more expensive! Castle Arts are nice pencils but in reality you can get a similar experience from the black barrelled Brutfuners (or any shown in this video). Merry Christmas! 🎅
@@ArtJourneyUK merry Christmas 🎁, I was up until 2am watching pencil videos. Faber are too pricey right now. I have a 50$ gift card to use. I bookmarked 120 castle and castle gold. 59$ and 49$. I’m considering myself a beginner for adult coloring. Great videos
I checked the addresses for the companies who produce the different brands mentioned in this video. Two are UK based, completely different companies and one (Sundance) are Chinese Therefore I can't see how all are the same pencil!
All three sets of these pencils are manufactured in China, it says that on the packaging. It’s just like Marks & Spencer are a UK company but they get clothes manufactured in China and India.
@@ArtJourneyUK I understand what you mean now, so all these companies are probably getting their brands made in the same Chinese factory! Makes it hard to find a unique set of pencils😒
It is really something with these colored pencils. Putting a different name on them, when they could possibly be the same? No one wants to buy the same pencil. Castle Art does have their own line of art products, so this may give them more integrity. I color dark to light as well. ☺️ Works for me.🌝
Exactly Pamela! I see lots of TH-camrs buying new sets of pencils every week.. when in reality lots of them are the same products! I’m sticking with what I have now 😊
Castle Arts can get their whole line of art products from the same factory used by other companies .... in other words, it's not necessarily 'their own line'.
@@leonnehaaijman4709 yes, exactly. They’ve just sourced more products from other factories rather than sticking to pencils. It’s the same with Deli, the sell “wonderful” pencils... and now they also sell slim alcohol markers just like the Taotree markers. Broadening their range doesn’t make them a more reputable company with control of the manufacture of the products they sell. You need to go to the old skool brands who still manufacture their own products for that.
@@ArtJourneyUK Yes it is a shame. I dont buy alot of pencil sets. It is nice to have a decent budget set, to switch off with. Give my Prismacolors a rest. I think the 120 Castle Arts are just overpriced for what your getting, and they are hardly a budget friendly pencil anymore. The Prismacolor arent even made good anymore, since they changed hands somewhere. But Im like you, Ive got plenty. 🙂
Same - I’m happy with my Castle Arts. I wouldn’t have bought the CreativePeak ones if I had known hubs was buying me the CAs at Christmas. I think I’m making these types of videos as the antithesis of everyone else’s “I’ve bought more pencils/pens/stuffs”. The ‘use what you have’ and ‘only buy what you need’ genes are strong with me and I’m also not a collector of things. I feel like I’ve seen what’s out there with most colouring mediums now and am happy with what I’ve got so I’m kinda trying to warn others not to get suckered in to buying one of everything.
How come the set I got is not as what I read from the review? I guess I bought a fake set. It’s very hard and it does not blend. My index finger is still numb because of using these pencils and had to press so hard to get pigments. It is still numb after 24 hours.
@@cantranslateI’d suggest trying it on different paper and see if that makes a difference. Some of my pencils prefer smoother paper and some more toothier paper. Also make sure you sharpen your new pencils to get the factory wax or whatever it is off the pencils
![Castle Arts Gold vs Soft Touch - Which is Better? [Free Swatch Charts]](/img/n.gif)
(I'm commenting on this 2 yrs after the orig post.) I just got the new CA Gold 120 set for Christmas 2023 & have swatched them all out, but not done an art piece yet. So far I love the texture, somewhere between Prisma & Polychromos in softness. I never bought their classic pencils, but reviewers say they are softer. I do think CA may have more quality control than white labels & CA currently has a rep of trying to provide good customer service and develop new products based on customer feedback.
I also own a 72 Prisma set, a small collection of Polys from open stock, and 72 Artezas. I think Castle and Arteza are pretty comparable in softness & blendability. It will be fun to try them out together & compare the color ranges as well.
Enjoy your new pencils! The CA Gold are a lovely oil based set.
You could compare this to promotional items. For instance, the promotional pens businesses hand out to their customers. They all come from the same factory, the only difference being the business name on the pen. So companies such as Castle Arts go to a pencil-making factory and ask them to produce a set of pencils. Company X does the same thing, asking the same factory. Same pencil, different name on the barrel. Cheap, but with one major disadvantage: Castle Arts and the like have no control over quality whatsoever.
I believe that's what's called white-labelling. Same happens with markers and, probably, lots of other products.
I read a very wise comment underneath a different video here on YT last week: "if you can't buy it in a physical store, be very careful".
Exactly. Castle Arts does a lot of advertising on Amazon and have their own ‘brand storefront’ but, it could just be the same factory products as the cheaper brands.
There is so much white-labelling these days, you have to be wary of the “mutton dressed as lamb”. Prices of the same product can vary widely just because a brand got more exposure on TH-cam or provided lots of ‘influencers’ with free product. Buyer beware!
I have the castlearts pencils, 1st 1s i had, Love The Tin.
I'm using them today, on the 3 dragons on a clock picture in 1 of the RJ Hapson books
Oh I love that picture! Enjoyed colouring it.
They definitely look the same to me but feel Castle Art are the better pencil, have learnt one thing a lot of these pencils we buy are all from the same factory, thank you for your review, found it very interesting xxx
Oh definitely Janet, since making this video a couple of years ago, I spoke to the factory who made Castle Arts and they told me all the different pencils they make!
You make so much sense…I got the CA 120 when they first came out…swatched them…they were awful…I took a gamble last year and bought the new editions…this time I had duplicate colours and it took weeks to get it sorted….They replaced the whole set but I haven’t the heart to open or swatch them…Just got the Arteza 120 set yesterday and am building myself up to open them…🤣🥰
I much prefer the Arteza to the Castle Arts, they are softer and easier to use. For me anyway. Swatching is laborious, I just wanna colour! lol! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment, it's appreciated!
I like my Castle Arts set and they are soft. I think, personally, that they may pay extra to get a different amount of wax put in. Similar to Tesco Finest. I was writing this just as you were saying the same thing 🤣 Great minds
Yes, I like the CAs too. Ooo yes, Tesco Finest is a good way of describing it! 🥰
thank you for this video, i was just on amazon and realized there were plenty of different brand pencils that looked the same - you have answered my questions ! 😅
could you please tell me the name and the brand of your favourite paper, i didn't catch it ?
Hi! The paper I like is HP Matt Professional paper. There’s much better art papers out there but the HP Matt is good enough for me ☺️
@@ArtJourneyUK ok, thanks a lot, i'll check it out :)
I’m trying to decide between castle and Faber-castell
Faber-Castell Polychromos are superior to Castle Arts, but also firmer and more expensive! Castle Arts are nice pencils but in reality you can get a similar experience from the black barrelled Brutfuners (or any shown in this video).
Merry Christmas! 🎅
@@ArtJourneyUK merry Christmas 🎁, I was up until 2am watching pencil videos. Faber are too pricey right now. I have a 50$ gift card to use. I bookmarked 120 castle and castle gold. 59$ and 49$. I’m considering myself a beginner for adult coloring. Great videos
I checked the addresses for the companies who produce the different brands mentioned in this video. Two are UK based, completely different companies and one (Sundance) are Chinese
Therefore I can't see how all are the same pencil!
All three sets of these pencils are manufactured in China, it says that on the packaging. It’s just like Marks & Spencer are a UK company but they get clothes manufactured in China and India.
@@ArtJourneyUK I understand what you mean now, so all these companies are probably getting their brands made in the same Chinese factory! Makes it hard to find a unique set of pencils😒
@@tracroft9513 yes, exactly that. One factory being used by multiple companies. Saves money for us in the long run, once we know. 😊
It is really something with these colored pencils. Putting a different name on them, when they could possibly be the same? No one wants to buy the same pencil. Castle Art does have their own line of art products, so this may give them more integrity. I color dark to light as well. ☺️ Works for me.🌝
Exactly Pamela! I see lots of TH-camrs buying new sets of pencils every week.. when in reality lots of them are the same products! I’m sticking with what I have now 😊
Castle Arts can get their whole line of art products from the same factory used by other companies .... in other words, it's not necessarily 'their own line'.
@@leonnehaaijman4709 yes, exactly. They’ve just sourced more products from other factories rather than sticking to pencils. It’s the same with Deli, the sell “wonderful” pencils... and now they also sell slim alcohol markers just like the Taotree markers. Broadening their range doesn’t make them a more reputable company with control of the manufacture of the products they sell. You need to go to the old skool brands who still manufacture their own products for that.
@@ArtJourneyUK Yes it is a shame. I dont buy alot of pencil sets. It is nice to have a decent budget set, to switch off with. Give my Prismacolors a rest. I think the 120 Castle Arts are just overpriced for what your getting, and they are hardly a budget friendly pencil anymore. The Prismacolor arent even made good anymore, since they changed hands somewhere. But Im like you, Ive got plenty. 🙂
@@leonnehaaijman4709 Yes, I understand now. Thank you! You dont know what your buying anymore, unless you go with a expensive artist grade product. 😟
Another great vid. I’ve got the Castle Arts pencils - I’m very happy with them and won’t be buying any other of the cheap pencils around
Same - I’m happy with my Castle Arts. I wouldn’t have bought the CreativePeak ones if I had known hubs was buying me the CAs at Christmas.
I think I’m making these types of videos as the antithesis of everyone else’s “I’ve bought more pencils/pens/stuffs”. The ‘use what you have’ and ‘only buy what you need’ genes are strong with me and I’m also not a collector of things. I feel like I’ve seen what’s out there with most colouring mediums now and am happy with what I’ve got so I’m kinda trying to warn others not to get suckered in to buying one of everything.
How come the set I got is not as what I read from the review? I guess I bought a fake set. It’s very hard and it does not blend. My index finger is still numb because of using these pencils and had to press so hard to get pigments. It is still numb after 24 hours.
@@cantranslateI’d suggest trying it on different paper and see if that makes a difference. Some of my pencils prefer smoother paper and some more toothier paper. Also make sure you sharpen your new pencils to get the factory wax or whatever it is off the pencils
It’s so confusing for me to watch your video. You should have concluded which one is which and pros and cons. But thanks anyway.
They're all the same. The black barrelled pencils all had the same pros and cons because they're the same!
They are all the same. It's all in the marketing.
Indeed.