My Experience with Spectrum Noir Colourblend Colored Pencils
Please Note: This post is not sponsored by Spectrum Noir in any way. This is just my personal experience with this product.
PROS:
Affordable
120 Colors available
Easy to blend
Pre-sharpened
Little breakage
Comfortable to hold
Wood casing is lightweight yet durable
Color coded ends
Each Pencil is labeled with color name (unlike previous lines from this company)
CONS:
Very waxy
White is not very opaque
Colors on color coded end not very accurate
Can be difficult to get a fine tip
Not available open stock
Some colors feel a bit scratchy
Thick leads make it harder to get fine detail
GENERAL NOTES:
The company says these pencils are lightfast but does not provide specifics on each color. I have not been able to find definitive lightfast ratings for these pencils.
These pencils are very transparent which can be a pro or a con depending on favored techniques.
Because these are wax based pencils, layers can build up quick which can help make the drawing go faster, however it can be a hindrance if the tooth of the paper fills up too fast.
There are 120 colors in this line and they are split up in 5 sets of 24. Each set is affordable and has a fun theme.
THE SETS:
Essentials
Florals
Naturals
Primaries
Shades and Tones
You can find a breakdown of each set HERE
MY EXPERIENCE:
I had been wanting to try these pencils for a long time because as most of you know, I am a fiend when it comes to art supplies so I want to try everything that's out there. These pencils appealed to me because I love the fact that they come in themed sets. They are affordable so it is easy to start with a set at a time and collect more from there. The downside is that these pencils are not available in open stock and I do not want to have to buy a whole new set if I happen to run out of one color. These are marketed towards fine artists so to me it is a big issue that they are not available open stock.
I would also like to see lightfast ratings on these pencils. The company claims that their pencils are lightfast, but they do not provide specific ratings on each pencil. As with most companies (aside from Caran d'Ache Luminance) there are bound to be a few colors that are not lightfast. It would be nice to have the statistics so that I can avoid the colors that are not lightfast ahead of time.
I chose the "Essentials" set because I like to do a variety of subjects and this set seemed to have the widest range of colors. I was quite pleased with the variety of colors that I got and was glad I chose this set to start with.
I decided to do a small 5"x7" piece just to try these out. Since this set came with three blues, three browns, and three greys I decided to do something ocean themed. I chose to draw a seagull on some rocks by the water from a reference photo that I took a couple of years ago. I did the drawing on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper, which was a mistake on my part. I love this paper for it's durability but it does not have enough tooth for wax based pencils. Silly move on my part because I knew better but I had misplaced the paper I originally wanted to use. It should be noted though that I have used oil based colored pencils on this paper before and did not have nearly the same issues.
Because of my poor choice in paper I found myself fighting to get enough layers and saturation. This is common with wax based pencils and I found myself fighting off the dreaded wax bloom. By the end of the drawing the tooth of the paper was so filled up that I was barely even able to sign my work. Since then I have done a few test swatches on Stonehenge paper which has more tooth and found the saturation to be much better. However, the waxy layers do still build up very quickly so these pencils definitely need paper with a lot of tooth. The colors did blend smoothly and are similar to Prismacolor as far as blending goes but are not as vibrant as Prismacolor saturation wise (even on Stonehenge.) I did have a few issues with some of the greys and browns feeling a bit scratchy but did not seem to have issues with the blues. These are thicker pencils which are comfortable to hold and feel similar in hand to Derwent. This thickness made it difficult for me to get a fine point using my hand held sharpener and made it difficult for me to fit them in my electric sharpener. It also made it difficult for me to get fine detail while drawing. I was able to get a fine tip with my Derwent Super Point Manual sharpener though. The cores were strong and I experienced very little breaking while sharping or in use. I think before I buy any more sets I will do another finished piece on different paper just to be sure it will be worth investing in more of these pencils. I also do not want to invest too much more without proper lightfast ratings.
BOTTOM LINE-
I think this would be a great pencil for people who are just starting out in the medium. They are affordable, easy to blend, seem to have low issues in quality control, and have a lot of appeal with their sets. However, I think long term as far as artist quality it would be important to know the lightfast ratings on each pencil. I also find it inconvenient that they do not offer them open stock.
You can find out more about these pencils and buy a set HERE
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PROS:
Affordable
120 Colors available
Easy to blend
Pre-sharpened
Little breakage
Comfortable to hold
Wood casing is lightweight yet durable
Color coded ends
Each Pencil is labeled with color name (unlike previous lines from this company)
CONS:
Very waxy
White is not very opaque
Colors on color coded end not very accurate
Can be difficult to get a fine tip
Not available open stock
Some colors feel a bit scratchy
Thick leads make it harder to get fine detail
GENERAL NOTES:
The company says these pencils are lightfast but does not provide specifics on each color. I have not been able to find definitive lightfast ratings for these pencils.
These pencils are very transparent which can be a pro or a con depending on favored techniques.
Because these are wax based pencils, layers can build up quick which can help make the drawing go faster, however it can be a hindrance if the tooth of the paper fills up too fast.
There are 120 colors in this line and they are split up in 5 sets of 24. Each set is affordable and has a fun theme.
THE SETS:
Essentials
Florals
Naturals
Primaries
Shades and Tones
You can find a breakdown of each set HERE
MY EXPERIENCE:
I had been wanting to try these pencils for a long time because as most of you know, I am a fiend when it comes to art supplies so I want to try everything that's out there. These pencils appealed to me because I love the fact that they come in themed sets. They are affordable so it is easy to start with a set at a time and collect more from there. The downside is that these pencils are not available in open stock and I do not want to have to buy a whole new set if I happen to run out of one color. These are marketed towards fine artists so to me it is a big issue that they are not available open stock.
I would also like to see lightfast ratings on these pencils. The company claims that their pencils are lightfast, but they do not provide specific ratings on each pencil. As with most companies (aside from Caran d'Ache Luminance) there are bound to be a few colors that are not lightfast. It would be nice to have the statistics so that I can avoid the colors that are not lightfast ahead of time.
I chose the "Essentials" set because I like to do a variety of subjects and this set seemed to have the widest range of colors. I was quite pleased with the variety of colors that I got and was glad I chose this set to start with.
I decided to do a small 5"x7" piece just to try these out. Since this set came with three blues, three browns, and three greys I decided to do something ocean themed. I chose to draw a seagull on some rocks by the water from a reference photo that I took a couple of years ago. I did the drawing on Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media Paper, which was a mistake on my part. I love this paper for it's durability but it does not have enough tooth for wax based pencils. Silly move on my part because I knew better but I had misplaced the paper I originally wanted to use. It should be noted though that I have used oil based colored pencils on this paper before and did not have nearly the same issues.
Because of my poor choice in paper I found myself fighting to get enough layers and saturation. This is common with wax based pencils and I found myself fighting off the dreaded wax bloom. By the end of the drawing the tooth of the paper was so filled up that I was barely even able to sign my work. Since then I have done a few test swatches on Stonehenge paper which has more tooth and found the saturation to be much better. However, the waxy layers do still build up very quickly so these pencils definitely need paper with a lot of tooth. The colors did blend smoothly and are similar to Prismacolor as far as blending goes but are not as vibrant as Prismacolor saturation wise (even on Stonehenge.) I did have a few issues with some of the greys and browns feeling a bit scratchy but did not seem to have issues with the blues. These are thicker pencils which are comfortable to hold and feel similar in hand to Derwent. This thickness made it difficult for me to get a fine point using my hand held sharpener and made it difficult for me to fit them in my electric sharpener. It also made it difficult for me to get fine detail while drawing. I was able to get a fine tip with my Derwent Super Point Manual sharpener though. The cores were strong and I experienced very little breaking while sharping or in use. I think before I buy any more sets I will do another finished piece on different paper just to be sure it will be worth investing in more of these pencils. I also do not want to invest too much more without proper lightfast ratings.
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| Finished piece "Beach Bum" © Shana L Rowe Jackson 2017 |
BOTTOM LINE-
I think this would be a great pencil for people who are just starting out in the medium. They are affordable, easy to blend, seem to have low issues in quality control, and have a lot of appeal with their sets. However, I think long term as far as artist quality it would be important to know the lightfast ratings on each pencil. I also find it inconvenient that they do not offer them open stock.
You can find out more about these pencils and buy a set HERE
My Print Site
Follow me on:
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