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Oh could someone please help me jump off this bridge?!!
I want to color, learn to color and I want to buy a good set of pencils. I have crayolas and a set of Koh i noors, but I want something else since the Crayolas are so waxy and the Koh i noors so limiting with color choices! I've looked until I'm blue in the face at every single deal I can find. I am so fearful of spending the money and then not coloring enough to justify the expense. I think I'm pretty sold on the Faber Castell Polychromos since they are oil-based and I've worked with my Koh i Noors enough to know I like how smooth they are.
BUT it's that money thing again. I've found a set of 60 for $81.80 plus $5.95 shipping but I just can't seem to click "buy":mad:
I've thought of buying just a few at a time but I want at least enough to do shading with each color group..
SPEND THE MONEY!!!!! You know it will make you happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It looks like a great deal and you will be KICKING yourself if you miss out. Do it!
Unless you are totally committed to the Faber Castells, check out Prismacolor pencils. There are some 48 ct. sets on Amazon and also on ebay for about half of the price of the Faber set of 60.
I have the Prismacolor pencils and have been very happy with them. But I do admit, I don't use them as much as I thought I would when I bought them, so there is that, lol.
On the other hand, life is short. I would probably rationalize that at least I was not spending money on slots in Vegas with nothing to show for it - and order the ones I wanted.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
A good set of drawing pencils is not a frill hobby tool. It's a basic, and you should go with the largest set you can afford; buying add on pencils later is too costly. I think most would recommend the Prismacolor pencils for drawing. The craft stores and their 40% coupons are an option. I may have bought mine online when Dick Blick had a sale.
You probably want to check into the use of ordorless mineral spirits (or baby oil) for blending the pencil colors, although the Prismacolor blending pencil is an option also.
Watercolor pencils may be on your want list down the road. Different use, different look. For those, you probably will want a different brand; Prismacolors watercolor pencils are not very popular. I went with Derwent.
No, you're not hopeless. You are just trying to make a wise decision. I think it is very smart to take your time when making a puchase. I don't think that is a bad idea to buy a few. You might buy them and decide you're just as happy with what you have, or you might love them. I bought some used prismacolors to try them out and liked them, and I also bought a few loose pencils at Hobby Lobby. Over time, I got a decent selection, but it is funny to me how much more I used the crayola, Koh-i-noors and Foohy's. The Foohys and Crayolas were much cheaper. Also depends on which coloring technique I want to use also, and then sometimes, I'll use several brands on one image. I use all the pencils I have, but there are some purchases I wished I had taken a little more slowly. I think it would be good to buy a color or two of shades you don't already have; that way you are also increasing your color choices. Might also be good to chose a color that isn't in the basic set, so you won't end up with many multiples or chose a color you know you'd use a lot.
I bought just a few of the prismacolor markers, and was so glad I did. I did NOT like them AT ALL, so I was glad I didn't spend a fortune getting a whole set. I'm sure you'll probably like the pencils, but I think slow is a good thing. I tend to be too obsessive about wanting things all at once, so slow is something I am trying for myself. Gives me something to look forward to later
also.
Oops, forgot about the 40% coupons. You can use those on internet purchases also. I have a selection of the prismacolor pencils, and I like those. I hate to advise someone on whether or not to spend money, as they are the only one that knows what they can afford.
I like using the Gamsol Technique, but use GooGone instead. Some people use baby oil. There are some great tutorials on this site and also some great videos on youtube demonstrating that technique.
Sorry if I misunderstood your original post. Wasn't sure if you were wanting opinions on whether to buy them, or wanting a big push!
I agree with Bugga. Many people love the prismacolors!
Thank you, hoptownracer1, I am wanting opinions on all of it. I have spent plenty of $$ in the past only to have things sit and sit and sit and I really want to avoid that if I jump into this coloring thing. I've wrangled with whether I want the look of pencils or markers, etc. I do have OMS and have been trying on my own to learn shading (it's not working!) my perspective must be really warped because I cannot for the life of me get the "direction of the light" and "shading overlapping areas" down!! And then there's the issue of what paper to use...I have noticed some paper seems to take on a shinier appearance using my two sets of pencils over some others. I don't like the shiny look-I think they call that "wax bloom" or something?
Anyway, I think it's good advice to go with the Prismas-I can always add the Polychromos when I make my first million off of all the colored items I will surely sell (hahaha)
Okay then, Prismas it is!
Thanks for everyone's input
I love my Prisma's. I think they break too easily. Sure, I can stick them in the microwave for a few seconds. Honestly, it kind of ticks me off that these are my art pencils & I have to microwave then. Insane! I miss my older set of Prisma's. The newer ones I am just not too happy with.
I am also looking at the Faber Castell pencils. Love their consistency and color lines. PolyChromo's are some of the best. If you have a good art store near you they might have both the Prisma's & Faber Castell's in open stock and you can try them to see which ones feel best to you.
Oh now you've done it...lol! I went to bed last night and thought I had a decision made but after sleeping on it, the ones I really want are the Faber Castell's. I'm no artist and don't really know if it's possible to become one but I do want to get good at coloring my stamps! I wish we did have an art store here, but no, there is nothing other than Michael's and HL. I don't think either of them carry the polychromos in open stock. I'll be going to Houston again soon so might wait til I go in and see about visiting an art store or two!
Thanks for the heads up
I primarily use colored pencils and water color pencils. I prefer prismacolors but also have the whole set of Polychoroms as well ( Faber Castell). I don't use them as often but I do like them. I also don't use a colorless blender but always use OMS ( Gamsol and that is the brand I use too). I don't use baby oil as I do large scale pieces of art as well as cards and I am not sure of the archival quality of baby oil on my paper. Paper...that is a age old topic around here LOL. I personaly use a great deal of Stratmore Bristol paper because I have a TON of it..and really you only cut the pieces down to what you need for your image. I also have good results with Georgia Pacific from wally world. Others don't always like it but ( and this is totally MHO here) it is nice, thick and has good "tooth" for your pencils ( plus it is a fraction of the cost of some other brands out there and I can easily pick it up while buying the astronomical amount of food it takes to feed a family of 6 LOL).You can see examples of both on my blog or gallery if you want). Now watercolor pencils are a whole other animal and I recommend water color paper ( once again..it can sem expensive but when you are talking about cutting out what you need for your image..then it will last a good long while), plus like a pp..I don't like the prismacolor water color pencils AT ALL( and i have use Prismacolor since HS & in college..but dislike the wc pencils) .I prefer ( & use) Derwents( water colors and Inktense).
You will also need gray paper stumps ..not totillions..but *stumps* for the OMS. Trust me..there is a world of difference in the two.
If you are unsure about getting the Prismas..( it a costly investment to begin with) you can always buy a small set then add to it with open- stcok pencils. I personally have ..oh if I were to count probably in the neighborhood of 500(+) colored pencils..( like I said I use them for art work that I sell as well as cards LOL)..plus my water colors..then my pastels..then the charcoals..ok I will stop counting now ...HA!
The moral to all this rambling is..try them. If you don't use Copics.or anything else really and have tried colored pencils and already like them..try the good ones..it will really improve your coloring..
I want to color, learn to color and I want to buy a good set of pencils. I have crayolas and a set of Koh i noors, but I want something else since the Crayolas are so waxy and the Koh i noors so limiting with color choices! I've looked until I'm blue in the face at every single deal I can find. I am so fearful of spending the money and then not coloring enough to justify the expense. I think I'm pretty sold on the Faber Castell Polychromos since they are oil-based and I've worked with my Koh i Noors enough to know I like how smooth they are.
BUT it's that money thing again. I've found a set of 60 for $81.80 plus $5.95 shipping but I just can't seem to click "buy":mad:
I've thought of buying just a few at a time but I want at least enough to do shading with each color group..
Am I hopeless?!
Kathy
So true! I LOVE my KIN pencils, but they really need to add some colours to the line - even another dozen would make a difference. A true red, a couple more shades each of pink, purple, blues & greens would help a lot.
__________________ "You may not have lost all your marbles, but there's definitely a hole in the bag." Grumpy Cat
I forgot about the newer Prismacolor pencils being different, not sure if they blend the same. Probably good that you posted about what you wanted; maybe someone will know about a good deal on some. I'm definately not an artist. None of mine turn out perfect, but I'm satisfied with pretty good. I guess it just depends on what you want; whether you want to buy a few open stock or get a full or basic set. There is a lot of info on here about the prismacolor and other pencils. I thought the newer ones (not made in the U.S. had silver lettering on the pencil, and the U.S. made ones had gold. Maybe someone can verify that for me.
Best wishes on whatever you decide to get; I'm sure you will enjoy them!
I think you should get the ones you really want. I have bought and sold several packs of prismacolor pencils. Just didn't LOVE them. I love the KIN pencils, wish they would make more of them.
Anyhow I think you know what you want. If you just need a nudge consider yourself nudged.
__________________ My BlogMy GalleryAll dog's feet smell like Fritos. I know you don't believe me, go check... See, I told you so.
Kathy - go with the Polychromos! I've had Prismacolors for years - apparently the quality of the newer sets do not measure up to the older sets. I've been coveting the Polychromos for quite some time. While I love my Copics, I would love to have these top-quality pencils.
It's funny but I have never had issues with the newer line of Prismacolors..that isn't saying I wont..but that i haven't so far..and I have used several of them too..They are what I have to use to replace my used up pencils now. Watch..I will be really ticked if I have issues with one..HAHHAHA
Ha! I'm feeling nudged!! My grown kids want to buy me a set for Mother's Day but that is sooo far away when I want to play NOW Let me pose a second question in this dilemma of mine...what stamps to buy to color. I have a few HA, Wplus9, and one or two PTI stamps that require coloring but don't know where to go from there. I am really not into coloring people/children (although I LOVE the way they look) I am more of a flower, tree, easy peasy type of colorer.
Although my heart longs for precision, my hands just do not deliver the results I am happy with. I think I missed out on all that fine motor skill development as a kid!!! Oh that sounds like a good excuse, huh? Blame it on the teachers.
It's funny but I have never had issues with the newer line of Prismacolors..that isn't saying I wont..but that i haven't so far..and I have used several of them too..They are what I have to use to replace my used up pencils now. Watch..I will be really ticked if I have issues with one..HAHHAHA
I would suggest buying Prismas ONLY if you know they are made in the USA. From everything I've read, the Mexican made ones are not as good.
I have bought older pencils at yard sales and old stock at Hobby Lobby and am hoarding them.
May I suggest going to Walmart and getting the Cra Z Art pencils? They are super cheap, but I tell you, they color beautifully with Gamsol. I dare say, they seem to work better than my USA Prismacolors.
I also keep thinking I should buy another "nice" expensive set, but I don't use them enough to justify it.
Then, if you find you love coloring, you can upgrade.
I have some primsa pencils, but I really like the Dick Blick pencils~there are a harder pencil than the prisma~they come in huge array of colors and they're really cheap online. They come in kits or in singles! I think I have about 50 of them! And they have a blending pencil that works great!
__________________ ~Linda~ Proud Fan Club Member My Gallery
May I suggest going to Walmart and getting the Cra Z Art pencils? They are super cheap, but I tell you, they color beautifully with Gamsol. I dare say, they seem to work better than my USA Prismacolors.
I also keep thinking I should buy another "nice" expensive set, but I don't use them enough to justify it.
Then, if you find you love coloring, you can upgrade.
Well I bought some RoseArt pencils last year and tried to work with those but the colors are so off, red is not really a good red, etc. that I let my granddaughter play with them when she's here. Are the CraZ Art pencils the same as the RoseArt?
One thing I did discover last year was that I seem to like using watercolor paper with colored pencils. I like the way the colors blend with OMS on that paper. I'm not a fan of smooth paper for colored pencils because the image looks shiny when I'm finished. But I got so confused by all the choices and not being sure that I gave up and put it all away.
Now I'm back to wanting to give it a go again! I think I must be nuts
I did not have the Polychromos at the time I put those posts together, but I have a full set now, and also a set of 36 Polycolor pencils, which are also oil-based (made by Lyra). I love my Prismacolors and I have not had any blending issues with the Mexico-made pencils, but I will say that the leads are prone to breakage. The oil-based leads stay sharp longer, and don't tend to break like Prismacolors do (some of them seem like they're just broken in the shaft, or poor quality wood makes the pencil catch in the sharpener and the lead snaps...?).
So... they are 2 different kinds of pencils, and you may prefer one over the other depending on what you're working on... we're traveling now, and my Prismas are waiting for me at home while I'm getting to know my Polychromos and my Touch markers.
If you're patient, you can find good deals on pencils on ebay - I don't mind buying used sets, and I got my full set of Polychromos (120) in a new leather case for $66 + shipping.
Paper with a little bit of texture or 'tooth' is great for pencil work! I'm with you on that.
Last week's tutorial on pencil shading might be helpful if you haven't seen it already... not just saying that because I wrote it, but all of the feedback was very positive, so I humbly trust that it will at least make sense to you! Splitcoaststampers - Tutorials - Shading with Pencils
Several years ago I started off my 'good pencil' collection by buying a couple of Prismas and a couple Faber Castell Polychromos to try them for myself and see which I preferred. In the end I far preferred the Faber Castell Polychromos pencils and have a nice collection of them now. In the long run I'm so happy that I bought the ones I preferred to use rather than basing my decision on price. Good luck with your decision.
I agree about the paper. Any coloring mediums are sucky on bad paper. Some are a pure nightmare. I am a Bristol fan too for color pencils. I get mine at the big box craft stores with my coupons.
Another fan of Cra-Z-Art pencils. Those are the only ones I use to color my House Mouse stamps. I am a blending girl so I don't use OMS or Baby Oil with my Cra-Z-Art. I heard using OMS with those pencils are amazing. I also agree Rose Art sucked. When the President of Rose Art left and sold the company the quality of Rose Art's products went down. When the President got bored with retirement and started Cra-Z-Art I was thrilled.
I did not have the Polychromos at the time I put those posts together, but I have a full set now, and also a set of 36 Polycolor pencils, which are also oil-based (made by Lyra). I love my Prismacolors and I have not had any blending issues with the Mexico-made pencils, but I will say that the leads are prone to breakage. The oil-based leads stay sharp longer, and don't tend to break like Prismacolors do (some of them seem like they're just broken in the shaft, or poor quality wood makes the pencil catch in the sharpener and the lead snaps...?).
So... they are 2 different kinds of pencils, and you may prefer one over the other depending on what you're working on... we're traveling now, and my Prismas are waiting for me at home while I'm getting to know my Polychromos and my Touch markers.
If you're patient, you can find good deals on pencils on ebay - I don't mind buying used sets, and I got my full set of Polychromos (120) in a new leather case for $66 + shipping.
Paper with a little bit of texture or 'tooth' is great for pencil work! I'm with you on that.
Last week's tutorial on pencil shading might be helpful if you haven't seen it already... not just saying that because I wrote it, but all of the feedback was very positive, so I humbly trust that it will at least make sense to you! Splitcoaststampers - Tutorials - Shading with Pencils
Thank you for the suggestions, Dina. I did see your tutorial and loved it! Now I'm trying to put it into practice. What a great deal on your Polychromos!! I'm not against used pencils either, would really rather do that than spend the money retail. I think I would get frustrated and quit trying to color if I spent the money on the Prismas only to have them break all the time. So I will exercise patience (ha!) and wait for a deal
Oh DeeAnn! Cute cards, great coloring!! Love the mouse...I collect mice figurines (Wee Forest Folk) so I have a weakness for mice
I was in Walmart this morning and picked up a packaged of the CraZ Art pencils. No time this morning to play but I plan to do that this afternoon. I'll let you know what I think but I can guarantee I do not color near as well as you!
One question...are the CraZ Art pencils light fast?
It's a great start! I love that image, too. You could continue adding shadows where you see some depth in the image, like where the leaves appear to be behind flowers. I have a card using that stamp in my gallery - maybe that would give you some idea of where to add shadows. I love how you made the flowers darker toward the centers.
Oh those are gorgeous Dina! Truly beautiful coloring. I doubt seriously whether I will ever achieve that level since you're an artist but hopefully my technique will improve. Thank you so much for the input!
Oh my goodness, I didn't know you designed that stamp. Just reread your description!! So I purchased it as a digi, can it be purchased as a stamp set too?
Actually, I didn't design the morning glory - I designed the other stamp sets I used on the card (Vintage Postcard and Friendship Script). It is available as a clear set though!
Oh, and just keep practicing and playing with the shading! It really does just take practice. Sometimes it helps me to find a photo that's similar to the image that I'm coloring, too, if it's an animal or flower, etc. Then I can see where the shadows would fall naturally.
Jump off the bridge. I'm a Prismacolor girl because my mom is. Get one of the big percent off coupons and buy as big a set as you can. You truly can't go wrong with the big brands...I'm mostly prismacolor but I have derwents and Fabers as well and love them all. Relax. They will all do well for you. Just remember to use a good quality paper.
I'm no artist. My skill is about what I learned at 6 when coloring. As someone told me, there is no such thing as perfection. Learn to see the beauty in imperfection.
Oh, and just keep practicing and playing with the shading! It really does just take practice. Sometimes it helps me to find a photo that's similar to the image that I'm coloring, too, if it's an animal or flower, etc. Then I can see where the shadows would fall naturally.
yes, that's what I was thinking as I was coloring. Photos just help guide a little better than a flat image. Thanks for the suggestion.
Oh DeeAnn! Cute cards, great coloring!! Love the mouse...I collect mice figurines (Wee Forest Folk) so I have a weakness for mice
I was in Walmart this morning and picked up a packaged of the CraZ Art pencils. No time this morning to play but I plan to do that this afternoon. I'll let you know what I think but I can guarantee I do not color near as well as you!
One question...are the CraZ Art pencils light fast?
Thank you for the sweet words. I don't know if CraZ Art are light fast. I guess I never thought about it. That is a really good question.
I loved your first coloring. Your doing great. Don't get nervous and psych yourself out and start critiquing. That is my best advice.
I have to weigh in for Prismacolor pencils. I am a huge fan. They are more waxy than crayola, not less, that's why they blend so well and why they break easier.
I have the Prisma colorless blender, baby oil, Gamsol and an alcohol blender pen. I prefer Gamsol. There isn't a right or wrong answer here, it's just opinion/preference. What works for one...
I don't put my prismas in the oven or microwave, I super-glue the broken tip back in. Then use and sharpen as usual. Works fine for me!
Oh could someone please help me jump off this bridge?!!
