Thank you for this very honest, very in-depth review of these Castle Art pencils. Most reviews I viewed glaze over all the negatives of these pencils. I was on the fence about these pencils, I still may purchase just to play with, but I do own all the more professional pencils, Derwent, Prisma, Polychoromos, and Pablos, but sometimes you just want to play and not waste the more expensive pencils, especially on lower end books, if that makes sense. But your review as awesome, thank you.
Thank you! I totally get not wanting to use those more expensive ones. I'm jealous you have the Pablos! I'm saving up for those ones next. Honestly, the Castle Art aren't awful, I definitely don't say they are better than Prisma though haha. However, they still make great pictures.
Hi Kori, thanks for this video. I was coloring with my Castle Arts 120 set today and found that I really enjoy this set of pencils. Maybe its the strong pigments, the bright floral color options and several green colors for leaf coloring or even that the numbers are arranged in increasing order and the color name is easy to read on black color barrel. I really find myself enjoying the coloring with Castle Arts! I do have a problem blending them after 3 or 4 layers though and sometimes I wish there were more greys. Anagha
I purchased the themed sets by Castle Arts. I really enjoy working with them. I doubt they will ever replace my Prismacolor, Polychromos or Inktense, but I do use them a lot. I did run into the sharpening issue and one of my lids became unhinged, at first it was annoying but I found a work around. They didn't layer well with the Black Widows but by themselves I had no trouble.
I just got my set, a 24 set, they blend really good so far. I made green with yellow and blue, and orange with red and yellow. I would say a step above Crayola, one below Polychromos. So far so good for me.
That is a good way to put it. However, I wouldn't compare them to Polys - Polys are oil-based while these are wax-based so it is always best to compare wax to wax and oil to oil just because of how each performs. They are both definitely layering pencils though!
I have two sets; the portrait and the 120. I like these pencils a lot. There's very little wax bloom and lots of beautiful colors. I haven't had any trouble sharpening them either.
I was SOLD into the vibrancy from your swatch UNTIL I saw your picture. I’m so glad you pointed out your disappointment of the swatch vibrancy to the generic normal shading in the book. It was BRILLIANT how you came to your observation! So , for that being said,thanks for being so thorough in your evaluations of colored pencils!❤
They do blend okay with Prisma - I agree. They just aren't as buttery, so if you are okay layering, they work great. If you're an impatient colorist like me, however, they don't blend as well haha :)
I just bought these and are going to try them out thank you for this comment! I'm very patient with my colors and I wanted to test out a few coloring pencils together and I'm glad that you said prisma color is a good match. I feel like people just need to be opened minded and patient especially with cheaper products
I don't have the 129 set, I have the themed color set. I like the colors provided, Each tin in that collection contains 24 pencils per tin.. I found that they blend well with each other and other brands of colored pencils. I think it is a great purchase all around for the price.
What a great review! You covered all aspects I usually want to know about a colored pencil. I have one small set of 24 (the themed ones) and while I like them, I totally agree with you about their issues, specially about being difficult to sharpen with a hand sharpener - the wood is way too soft. But if you have a crank sharpener, they will sharpen ok.
Great review thanks. One thing on the flooring book vs search sheet, the Joanna Bs books often has OFF white paper so that would impact on the finished effect.
The off-white shade of Johanna paper is very minimal and not enough to impact the colors unless it were a true tan-toned. The color change is quite minimal.
Thanks for such a great in depth honest review. I watched many other reviews that didn't mention the negatives or sort of rushed past them as if they were not important. I wish I had seen this before purchasing the 120 set. Just swatching them killed my hand so it's unlikely I'll use them much, if at all.
I love castle art I got their gel pens and pencil too I love all the colors in my gel pens and color pencil my favorite color would be cherry pink in the pencil
I just purchased the 72 new on eBay for a half of the regular price. The tin came in a cardboard Castle Arts box. After removing the tin was sealed in a plastic wrap. The seller had shipped in a used Amazon box. I’m guessing it depends on the seller. I’m also looking at the 120 but I’m here to listen to your opinion first.
Very nice video and review. Just what I was looking. I thought it was going to be long and forward from time to time but end up watching it all. Very organized and I like the way you talk. I felt I was having a conversation with you. I got this set for 45 euros and so far I like them. I enjoyed coloring when I was a teenager and now at 40 I’m coloring again!. My pencils were also randomly placed on the box and when organizing I noticed number 087 was not labeled :p .
I'm starting to think the Castle Arts pencils are a little similar to Black Widow. You have to buy the other sets if you want a specific type of pencil. So if you want more skin tone pencils, buy the portrait set. Want more green, buy the landscape set. And lighter tone pencils, the pastel set.
Hmmm the issue is those "sets" from Castle Arts are all here in the big set, while Black Widow sets are curated individually and you buy them to build up. You will have overlap if you were to buy this 120 set and smaller Castle Art sets.
@Prisca Reid the pastel set is completely different than this set. They released those as their own set and they're not in this 120. They also have a different formula.
I am on the fence as to whether or not to take the plunge and buy Prismacolors. Everyone raves about how good they are & they do seem to the best at blending but then there's the quality issue, which concerns me. I have many professional pencils including Lightfast, Luminance, Pablos & Polychromos all of which are excellent quality. When I spend over £150 on a set of pencils, I expect them to be excellent quality. Is the quality of Prismacolors still really bad or have they sorted it?
So, that's a really good question. There are issues AT TIMES with Prismas, but I still keep buying them. I spend less in the long run than hassling with budget brands, get amazing results, and they are my favorite. That said they aren't for everyone. I haven't encountered tons of quality issues. You get one here and there. I would just make sure you aren't buying them from a third party on Amazon and only stick to the good ones so that you can return them if you ever hit a snag. Avoid the SUPER discounted Prismas on Amazon. Those have had a ton of issues.
@@ColorfullyOptimistic Thank you so much for responding. Good to know about avoiding the super discounted ones. Unfortunately in the UK there isn't much of a choice for buying them, they all appear to be third party on Amazon. I can get them delivered on Prime but all the people selling them are based in the US so if I need to return them, I'll have to pay for the shipping I assume. It's one of those things, I don't need them, like I said I have a lot of top quality pencils, but I want them because I love soft pencils and Prismacolor do seem to be the softest. Thanks for the information, it's very helpful.
They wood they use is basswood. I'm curious, are the pencils actually cracking, or is it the place where the two halves of the wood casing come together and are misaligned a bit? Perhaps you've used them a bit more since this review went up. Can you tell? I'm not having a bit of trouble with mine.
I do plan to do an updated review on these actually! No its the actual wood splintering. I will be using these a lot more when we get to the Letter C month for my challenge
But remember that Castle Arts has a 48 tin of pastels as well as metallic too. Yes, I did notice the quality of the wood too. This is the reason I won’t pay more than €30.00 for a new 120 tin from eBay.
I have the 120 set and absolutely love them. Johanna Basford did a review comparing them to Prismas and felt they were almost as good. I was pleased as I couldn't justify the expense of the Prismas. They layer beautifully, go on smoothly and aren't prone to just breaking. The only problem I have is that if I want to follow a tutorial or colour-along, I struggle to match the colours because almost everyone uses Prismas and so far nobody has done a comparison chart. Many people have asked that someone does one because there are a lot of us out there who have the CA pencils. If this sounds like a hint....er.... 😊
Haha. I have worked on a comparison chart, but it is hard. A lot of these don't match the same. Now, they layer like Prisma, but they don't have the same buttery blendability as Prisma, and the colors just don't pop as much. That said, they are still great pencils for sure!
So saying if it does well depends on what you're comparing it too. You can use the white as a blender, but honestly I don't think it does that well. I prefer to use my Prismacolor white for that.
It is not meant to say Prisma is superior, it just tends to be the one people want to know. So, that's why I often compare. Plus, Prisma is one I'm familiar with and use the most. therefore, most of my subscriber base wants to know how I feel these compare to a brand I'm very familiar with.
Sorry, but my opinion ain't that positive... Scratching sticks, overpriced, wax-bloomers! the good things are; or could be: Well, there good looking and in my experience the wood-quality is super (for there price!), and the lead is not breaking. They should change the series name from "soft series" to "hard waxy series"' and put the word "scratching" before almost each pigment name. The beatle-tin pencils are softer! Don't the islanders have heard of brands here on the mainland that are cheaper and better? I will give the set away, make a child happy. Luckily I only bought a 24 set! I was sceptic, but curious. I know now that I won't be waiting for the Castle arts medium or hard series. Lol
I totally get that. I too rarely purchase budget pencils, just because I know they won't be the same as the higher end ones I have, but sometimes there are those ones out there I just have to try and see what they are. I have been surprised by budget-friendly ones in the past.
Yes! Back when I did this review, only the 72 set was available in the case. Even so, I am rather picky with my pencil cases, so I still would have opted for the tin and using my own case. It is a great deal though to get a free case!
Unfortunately, I have never tried the Cool Bank ones, but I have seen a few others that have tried them, and Castle Art is better for sure. That said, everyone has a different preference - so it comes down to your coloring style and budget too.
I cannot say, as I have not re-purchased them yet to see if they've made improvements. However, I have seen some colorists recently swatch theirs and seem to be about the same.
So, I used to use Astrobright paper, which you can get here and that's what is in this video: amzn.to/33u6oa5 However, I recently switched to this Neenah cardstock (a tiny tiny bit of tooth while the other is super smooth): amzn.to/3vPQvqq So depends on if you prefer a little tooth, but still a smooth surface, or just super smooth. I don't like the other cardstock a lot of colorists use, but that's because it has way too much tooth for my preference.
I have a few friends who purchased the case version and had similar issues - I don't think the case affects the pencil quality themselves. Now if you're talking about the flimsy storage, then definitely! However, the pencil quality not so much. They also still come out of order in case and tin - just an FYI for those who get the case.
You should! They are a great starter pencil option and not expensive (unless you need to replace a single color, and that's when it can get a little pricey).
![АЛАУДИНОВ у Скабеевой: эти их ВСУ нас НЕ ДОГОНЯТ 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/an0anqU4WGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Thank you for this very honest, very in-depth review of these Castle Art pencils. Most reviews I viewed glaze over all the negatives of these pencils. I was on the fence about these pencils, I still may purchase just to play with, but I do own all the more professional pencils, Derwent, Prisma, Polychoromos, and Pablos, but sometimes you just want to play and not waste the more expensive pencils, especially on lower end books, if that makes sense. But your review as awesome, thank you.
Thank you! I totally get not wanting to use those more expensive ones. I'm jealous you have the Pablos! I'm saving up for those ones next. Honestly, the Castle Art aren't awful, I definitely don't say they are better than Prisma though haha. However, they still make great pictures.
They have improved a lot since this review. They now come with a tester sheet. Each tray has handles.
I haven't purchased another set since, but might to compare.
Hi Kori, thanks for this video. I was coloring with my Castle Arts 120 set today and found that I really enjoy this set of pencils. Maybe its the strong pigments, the bright floral color options and several green colors for leaf coloring or even that the numbers are arranged in increasing order and the color name is easy to read on black color barrel. I really find myself enjoying the coloring with Castle Arts! I do have a problem blending them after 3 or 4 layers though and sometimes I wish there were more greys.
Anagha
That's great! They aren't bad pencils at all, and I've seen sooooo many pretty pictures created with them.
I purchased the themed sets by Castle Arts. I really enjoy working with them. I doubt they will ever replace my Prismacolor, Polychromos or Inktense, but I do use them a lot. I did run into the sharpening issue and one of my lids became unhinged, at first it was annoying but I found a work around. They didn't layer well with the Black Widows but by themselves I had no trouble.
Yes, I have tried layering these with Prisma and BW and they don't play nice. They are harder than the others, which may be one reason.
@@ColorfullyOptimistic Just for for fun I'm going to test them with other pencils and see how it goes. I might be surprised.
I just got my set, a 24 set, they blend really good so far. I made green with yellow and blue, and orange with red and yellow. I would say a step above Crayola, one below Polychromos. So far so good for me.
That is a good way to put it. However, I wouldn't compare them to Polys - Polys are oil-based while these are wax-based so it is always best to compare wax to wax and oil to oil just because of how each performs. They are both definitely layering pencils though!
I wouldn't be complaining if I had a set, feel like king of the castle.
Well there's nothing wrong with always being positive :)
I have two sets; the portrait and the 120. I like these pencils a lot. There's very little wax bloom and lots of beautiful colors. I haven't had any trouble sharpening them either.
I haven't tried the portrait set, but I assume those colors are in the 120 set - or are they different ones?
@@ColorfullyOptimistic Yes they are but I wanted to try the pencils out so I opted for the smaller set first.
I was SOLD into the vibrancy from your swatch UNTIL I saw your picture. I’m so glad you pointed out your disappointment of the swatch vibrancy to the generic normal shading in the book. It was BRILLIANT how you came to your observation! So , for that being said,thanks for being so thorough in your evaluations of colored pencils!❤
Yup, a swatch is only half the test :)
I find these blend very well with prismacolor. None of mine were cracked and I find them really good on many papers.
They do blend okay with Prisma - I agree. They just aren't as buttery, so if you are okay layering, they work great. If you're an impatient colorist like me, however, they don't blend as well haha :)
I just bought these and are going to try them out thank you for this comment! I'm very patient with my colors and I wanted to test out a few coloring pencils together and I'm glad that you said prisma color is a good match. I feel like people just need to be opened minded and patient especially with cheaper products
I don't have the 129 set, I have the themed color set. I like the colors provided, Each tin in that collection contains 24 pencils per tin.. I found that they blend well with each other and other brands of colored pencils. I think it is a great purchase all around for the price.
I saw the themed ones - haven't tried them myself just yet.
What a great review! You covered all aspects I usually want to know about a colored pencil. I have one small set of 24 (the themed ones) and while I like them, I totally agree with you about their issues, specially about being difficult to sharpen with a hand sharpener - the wood is way too soft. But if you have a crank sharpener, they will sharpen ok.
Yes! I recently purchased a crank sharpener and it works so much better on these ones. Thanks for watching!
I agree they do blend very well love them and mine came with a case
Yes! I had a case already, so I didn't go with the case option. I'm glad you enjoy them :)
Great review thanks. One thing on the flooring book vs search sheet, the Joanna Bs books often has OFF white paper so that would impact on the finished effect.
The off-white shade of Johanna paper is very minimal and not enough to impact the colors unless it were a true tan-toned. The color change is quite minimal.
Thanks for such a great in depth honest review. I watched many other reviews that didn't mention the negatives or sort of rushed past them as if they were not important. I wish I had seen this before purchasing the 120 set. Just swatching them killed my hand so it's unlikely I'll use them much, if at all.
Awe I'm sorry to hear about that! Are you able to return them?
I love castle art I got their gel pens and pencil too I love all the colors in my gel pens and color pencil my favorite color would be cherry pink in the pencil
I haven't tried their gel pens. Do they clog?
Not really only when they are getting low
I just purchased a set for my channel - the colors blend so well!
They aren't too bad, but not my favorite.
I just purchased the 72 new on eBay for a half of the regular price. The tin came in a cardboard Castle Arts box. After removing the tin was sealed in a plastic wrap. The seller had shipped in a used Amazon box. I’m guessing it depends on the seller. I’m also looking at the 120 but I’m here to listen to your opinion first.
Yeah the seller will matter, but not sure with Ebay.
What the... why are they so cheap in the US! Theyre $112 in Canada.
On Amazon? What if you order from Castle Arts directly?
@@ColorfullyOptimistic their website doesnt ship to Canada
@@Lemonade_Stand_ I see. Well, that is a bummer. Sorry to hear that!
@@ColorfullyOptimistic woop they dropped the price $50. Probably because i sent them a message asking why theyre triple the price in Canada 😂
@@Lemonade_Stand_ Oh wow, that is interesting. At least they are cheaper now!
Very nice video and review. Just what I was looking. I thought it was going to be long and forward from time to time but end up watching it all. Very organized and I like the way you talk. I felt I was having a conversation with you. I got this set for 45 euros and so far I like them. I enjoyed coloring when I was a teenager and now at 40 I’m coloring again!. My pencils were also randomly placed on the box and when organizing I noticed number 087 was not labeled :p .
Glad you liked it! That's crazy one wasn't labeled at all, but I guess that just comes with a budget pencil. Thank you for watching :)
I'm starting to think the Castle Arts pencils are a little similar to Black Widow. You have to buy the other sets if you want a specific type of pencil. So if you want more skin tone pencils, buy the portrait set. Want more green, buy the landscape set. And lighter tone pencils, the pastel set.
Hmmm the issue is those "sets" from Castle Arts are all here in the big set, while Black Widow sets are curated individually and you buy them to build up. You will have overlap if you were to buy this 120 set and smaller Castle Art sets.
@@ColorfullyOptimistic so just buy the pastel set, I'm not seeing much of the lighter tones?
@Prisca Reid the pastel set is completely different than this set. They released those as their own set and they're not in this 120. They also have a different formula.
I am on the fence as to whether or not to take the plunge and buy Prismacolors. Everyone raves about how good they are & they do seem to the best at blending but then there's the quality issue, which concerns me. I have many professional pencils including Lightfast, Luminance, Pablos & Polychromos all of which are excellent quality. When I spend over £150 on a set of pencils, I expect them to be excellent quality. Is the quality of Prismacolors still really bad or have they sorted it?
So, that's a really good question. There are issues AT TIMES with Prismas, but I still keep buying them. I spend less in the long run than hassling with budget brands, get amazing results, and they are my favorite. That said they aren't for everyone. I haven't encountered tons of quality issues. You get one here and there. I would just make sure you aren't buying them from a third party on Amazon and only stick to the good ones so that you can return them if you ever hit a snag. Avoid the SUPER discounted Prismas on Amazon. Those have had a ton of issues.
@@ColorfullyOptimistic Thank you so much for responding. Good to know about avoiding the super discounted ones. Unfortunately in the UK there isn't much of a choice for buying them, they all appear to be third party on Amazon. I can get them delivered on Prime but all the people selling them are based in the US so if I need to return them, I'll have to pay for the shipping I assume. It's one of those things, I don't need them, like I said I have a lot of top quality pencils, but I want them because I love soft pencils and Prismacolor do seem to be the softest. Thanks for the information, it's very helpful.
@@BlueKungFu ah yea being in the UK makes it tough but you do have cult pens and Jackson's to buy from
I got these in the sale so excited
Hope you enjoy it!
@@ColorfullyOptimistic They are so cool :)
Got my 120 in a zip case,numbers right colours a little mixed, do buy the zip case or go buy one so much better for choosing the colours.
The case is a good deal for sure. I didn't like the case it came with so I opted to buy my own case.
Good,there are some great pencil vases on the market
They wood they use is basswood. I'm curious, are the pencils actually cracking, or is it the place where the two halves of the wood casing come together and are misaligned a bit? Perhaps you've used them a bit more since this review went up. Can you tell? I'm not having a bit of trouble with mine.
I do plan to do an updated review on these actually! No its the actual wood splintering. I will be using these a lot more when we get to the Letter C month for my challenge
Thank you for this in depth video.
Of course! Thank you so much for watching.
But remember that Castle Arts has a 48 tin of pastels as well as metallic too.
Yes, I did notice the quality of the wood too. This is the reason I won’t pay more than €30.00 for a new 120 tin from eBay.
So, please note the date of this review. This is well before they released those. I do have separate videos on the pastels. But just note the date :)
I got the 120 castle art color pencils in the flip case I love them so much like their gel pens mine cost my aunt fifty four dollars
That's great!
I have the 120 set and absolutely love them. Johanna Basford did a review comparing them to Prismas and felt they were almost as good. I was pleased as I couldn't justify the expense of the Prismas. They layer beautifully, go on smoothly and aren't prone to just breaking. The only problem I have is that if I want to follow a tutorial or colour-along, I struggle to match the colours because almost everyone uses Prismas and so far nobody has done a comparison chart. Many people have asked that someone does one because there are a lot of us out there who have the CA pencils. If this sounds like a hint....er.... 😊
Haha. I have worked on a comparison chart, but it is hard. A lot of these don't match the same. Now, they layer like Prisma, but they don't have the same buttery blendability as Prisma, and the colors just don't pop as much. That said, they are still great pencils for sure!
Hi , thinking about buying these but I’ve got a question, can the white go over the colours well or not? 🌸💗
So saying if it does well depends on what you're comparing it too. You can use the white as a blender, but honestly I don't think it does that well. I prefer to use my Prismacolor white for that.
@@ColorfullyOptimistic thank you for your help! 💗🌸✨
@@cschannel8911 No problem at all. Please feel free to reach out any time :)
Why does every review compare to prismacolor?????
It is not meant to say Prisma is superior, it just tends to be the one people want to know. So, that's why I often compare. Plus, Prisma is one I'm familiar with and use the most. therefore, most of my subscriber base wants to know how I feel these compare to a brand I'm very familiar with.
Sorry, but my opinion ain't that positive... Scratching sticks, overpriced, wax-bloomers!
the good things are; or could be: Well, there good looking and in my experience the wood-quality is super (for there price!), and the lead is not breaking.
They should change the series name from "soft series" to "hard waxy series"' and put the word "scratching" before almost each pigment name. The beatle-tin pencils are softer!
Don't the islanders have heard of brands here on the mainland that are cheaper and better?
I will give the set away, make a child happy. Luckily I only bought a 24 set! I was sceptic, but curious. I know now that I won't be waiting for the Castle arts medium or hard series. Lol
I'm with you! I've quit buying cheap pencils. They always disappoint.
I totally get that. I too rarely purchase budget pencils, just because I know they won't be the same as the higher end ones I have, but sometimes there are those ones out there I just have to try and see what they are. I have been surprised by budget-friendly ones in the past.
As far as I know, the 120 set also has softer and generally higher quality than the lower count sets.
You can get the 120 set in a zipper case instead of the tin!
Yes! Back when I did this review, only the 72 set was available in the case. Even so, I am rather picky with my pencil cases, so I still would have opted for the tin and using my own case. It is a great deal though to get a free case!
Hi! I want to buy it. What do you think about Cool bank colored pencils? I don’t know which is better.
Unfortunately, I have never tried the Cool Bank ones, but I have seen a few others that have tried them, and Castle Art is better for sure. That said, everyone has a different preference - so it comes down to your coloring style and budget too.
Colorfully Optimistic thank you so much ☺️ I will buy castle art 🙊
They cost now $ 55 in 120 set I hope that they have more quality now ...
I cannot say, as I have not re-purchased them yet to see if they've made improvements. However, I have seen some colorists recently swatch theirs and seem to be about the same.
What paper did you use for the printing the color chart??
So, I used to use Astrobright paper, which you can get here and that's what is in this video: amzn.to/33u6oa5
However, I recently switched to this Neenah cardstock (a tiny tiny bit of tooth while the other is super smooth): amzn.to/3vPQvqq
So depends on if you prefer a little tooth, but still a smooth surface, or just super smooth. I don't like the other cardstock a lot of colorists use, but that's because it has way too much tooth for my preference.
In case I die not mention: Well done! Thanks.
Thank you so much :)
Do they have a lightfast rating?
Not on these ones, no. But I've heard the newer ones do?
Can you use water with these pencils?
No, but Castle Arts does have a water color set similar to this one! You can find them here: amzn.to/3sLGgCE
I would replace with a high end pencil as these wear out.
I do have high end pencils. Not everyone can afford those though so I try and use budget ones as well
just ordered now. 80$ CAD
Gosh I can't believe how much things are for Canada.
Have you since tried the Castle Arts Gold set?
I do have a first impressions on the channel. I have not finished a review yet. I take my time and get to them when I feel ready to share my opinions
Would not had all them cosmetic issues if you got zip case version for same price.
I have a few friends who purchased the case version and had similar issues - I don't think the case affects the pencil quality themselves. Now if you're talking about the flimsy storage, then definitely! However, the pencil quality not so much. They also still come out of order in case and tin - just an FYI for those who get the case.
Why did you hide the likes? 😢
I didn't?
@@ColorfullyOptimisticit doesn't tell me how many people liked or disliked the video. 😢
No one has commented... so IM FIRST
Always great to be first in line! :)
I want to but them
You should! They are a great starter pencil option and not expensive (unless you need to replace a single color, and that's when it can get a little pricey).
Colorfully Optimistic thx
Pls don't make too long videos. I beg of you.
Haha sorry. To give a real review, I needed a few extra minutes :)