Thank you so much for your thorough review and the charts. I just got my Xmas present through Black Friday sale. A full set of prismacolor and the monarch set. After using 5 below pencils I feel like I got the wonka golden ticket!
Its fun to see how they evolved since the first set were released. My first set of black widow pencils had no name or number and the end wasn’t capped. I purchased another set when there were names on them. They live side by side in my case, and I try to use the unmarked pencils first. Thank you for sharing this video and your charts, I already downloaded and swatched mine!
I really like the Black Widow collection, it’s nice that you can build up a collection over time without having to buy it all at once or end up with duplicates if you just want to try them first. I really prefer oil based pencils but these are not too waxy, which is my main complaint about Prismacolor. Thanks for your videos, I always find them very informative
Thank you so much for the swatch chart. I have to agree, the first 3 sets are like butter, the following sets although they are nice they feel very different.
While the formula among colors might be the same, the pigments used can change the feel of a pencil. With the skin sets the Black Widows started to have a larger core and that more than anything changes the feel of the pencil for me. They are the only large wax pencil set I own (I do have a 36 color Prismacolor). The Prismacolors were the first good pencils I tried and they were too “crayony” for my taste.
I've seen everyone talk about these for the past year since getting into coloring so I couldn't decide which set to get I just bought them all and just received them haven't tried them yet tyfs great informative video. Love your artistic work❤️
Hello Emily, I just found your channel looking to check out in detail the Black Widow pencils. First I want to say,your tutorial is absolutely excellent, so detailed and very in depth. And I am really impressed how generous you are offering free swatch charts and worksheets. I only got so far the Black widow original spider set,but I’m really impressed and I want to get the rest of the sets. Although suddenly the Scorpio became unavailable on Amazon, hopefully it will come back in stock soon. I only have one other set,the 120 Castle Arts, I got it as a gift and honestly I am not all that impressed with them. I do like the Black widow how they perform. What is your opinion between those 2 brands? Actually I have a set of 36 Prismas, and although they are indeed very smooth and soft, they have too much dust and the sharpener really eats them. I don’t really use them. I colored more with markers,gel pens, the FC Pitt brush pens, so I’m just getting into colored pencils. One thing I want to ask you, the link for the 255 slot pencil case takes me actually to a 168 slot pencil case, so not even 180. You think it’s a mistake? Again thank you for sharing your knowledge, very much appreciated. 😊
I have only been colouring for a few weeks and I already want to upgrade from the noris pencils, I swear noris is the $2 steak of pencils. Or the dark souls of pencils.
I just downloaded the black widow charts. Thank you so much. They look like very nice pencils, so I will probably bite the bullet and buy them all. I like your channel, glad I found you.
First, thank you for the templates! Much appreciated. From my experience, certain pigments are less cooperative than others no matter what the medium. For instance, Red. I was a printer for years and I dreaded the days I had to run red. It just didn't want to lay down without making a mess and a lot of paper was wasted. Red yarn didn't knit as easily and nicely, red paint was not as easy to even out, and red colored pencils can get blotchy or generally uneven if not careful. Greens were a breeze. Yellow sometimes gets moody and doesn't want to cooperate. Etc. If the binder and the base (was/oil) is the same, then the only difference is the nature of each pigment; so... I'm going to say I think it is the pigment that makes the difference in behavior. JMO
Can we do a "let's talk" about coloring book paper and what pencils lay down the best in our favorite books? I do hope that the next Black Widow set will be loaded with shades of purples...
I see the Dragon set is back in stock on Amazon. Your eval helped me decide to buy them. I'm brand new to your channel. You are organized w/consistent flow of materials & info. Your voice is easy to listen to (minimal 'up speak' which is great!). I wish you would have included core size & pencil weights. I don't know if ea. set is equal. Happy New subscriber.
omg Im early this time yay! I love these videos of yours :D im on a massive binge watch lol im so glad youre doing these videos, it helps us out so much
I thought MarkArt pencils are oil based. They smoosh (lazy blend) almost as well as Prismacolor Premier on some paper though. I don't have Black Widow pencils. I prefer oil based pencils. Although, I really like some of the pastel shades in the Monarch set. I may cave some day.
This was such a helpful video for me! They don't have Black Widow pencils here in Asia yet, so I'll have to special order them. Glad to see these pencils have gotten such good reviews. PS: why do people prefer to keep their pencils in a case vs in the tins they came in?
For me, I'm incredibly clumsy. I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally dumped my whole tins over! Having them in their cases makes them uniform for storing, as well as keeping the pencils secure and in order.
Yes....I totally agree with you. Just give us one full set!!! I like to keep my pencils in the tins they come. I don't want a bunch of small tins that equal a whole set. Also I don't like that they don't sell the pencils individually.😩
Great vid. I bought the origional Black Widow when they first came out ( they came in a cheap cardboard box, Dollar Store quality ), and the quality of these pencils were terrible. Many of them broke. I gave them away. I bought the 5 other sets and I am more impressed with the quality. I am not sold on the colors in the dragon set from what I can see from just watching some reviews. I am debating on re-ordering the origional Black Widow set, as now I notice that they come in a tin, though on Amazon Canada, some idiot third party seller has listed them at more than double the price ( only the origional set ) There is no way in hell I will pay that.
I think the formula definitely changed..I just got the Dragon set & couldn't believe how ashy, dry & patchy those pencils were..I couldn't believe there was a hype around this brand...they are my first black widow set...I couldn't blend or layer any colors at all they were horrible quality!!
I would say the cobra set secondly, because it has more purples. 😊 Unless, you’re wanting to try some skin tone coloring, then either of the light or dark tone sets would be great as well!
May I ask what are the purple bandages on your fingers for? I am suspecting it is because you hold your pencil tightly. I have that issue and then my hand hurts. Where can I find them if that is the case? Thank you.
The Dragon set really needs to come to Canada... any day now would be nice. At least with Can. being late to get them it means I can watch some reviews and make sure that I want them. I WANT THEM lol. I really like the Black Widow brand, I might even like them more than my Prismas, though I wish that they came open stock.
Pre Covid lockdown/postage issues, you could get Black Widows open stock directly from Albert by either emailing or messaging via the Facebook page. ATM they're not sending any out because postage costs have spiralled.
Im having a terrible time swatching these on bristol vellum too much white showing thru after 5 layers then went to astrobright smooth terrible lay down You can see every pencil stroke on this swatch I guess is why I don’t like this watching why I don’t watch this is frustrating as hell
Well, let me tell you. It was something. It was a breezy, sunny day. Oddly warm for December, and I thought, “I should go out and enjoy the weather.” So, I went for a walk. As I was strolling along, I happened upon a horse. I stared up in awe, as this horse was the tallest I had ever seen and it was fully dressed in horse armor. That wasn’t the most surprising part. The horse could talk! He said, “Come with me! The kingdom needs protecting!” I quickly replied, “Why of course!” Off we rode! He galloped so fast that we flew up into the air, and just before we entered a time portal to travel to said kingdom, a can of beans came out of nowhere and attacked my hand! At least that’s what I tell myself, rather than the reality of I was clumsy in the kitchen, and cut my finger on the lid of a can of beans… Also, I'm glad you enjoyed the video
@@EmilyIllustrator LMAO 🤣😁😁 still at it making the stories even bigger each time!! Love it!!! I have purchased the Dragon set an the Monarch set. I'll be adding the rest of the set's after the first of the year.. I am loving them.. an I have been using my oil based pencils for a while now and was preferring them. But I'm really loving the Black Widow's
@@EmilyIllustrator You're right, stick with the horse story!! =D That must have been painful. I think you said in the video that it was all healed? Do that's good news.
Great video. It’s so nice of you to offer the swatch sheets for free. Not every influencer would be kind enough to do that.
Of course! Everyone should be able to enjoy nicely organized pencils.
Thank you so much for your thorough review and the charts. I just got my Xmas present through Black Friday sale. A full set of prismacolor and the monarch set. After using 5 below pencils I feel like I got the wonka golden ticket!
Its fun to see how they evolved since the first set were released. My first set of black widow pencils had no name or number and the end wasn’t capped. I purchased another set when there were names on them. They live side by side in my case, and I try to use the unmarked pencils first. Thank you for sharing this video and your charts, I already downloaded and swatched mine!
Yes! When I was doing my research, I saw the original one. That's so cool! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Loved the history and seeing them all together. Excellent swatch chart. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Thank you for doing something different than what everyone else is doing.
I really like the Black Widow collection, it’s nice that you can build up a collection over time without having to buy it all at once or end up with duplicates if you just want to try them first. I really prefer oil based pencils but these are not too waxy, which is my main complaint about Prismacolor. Thanks for your videos, I always find them very informative
Yes, I agree. It's nice that you don't have to buy them all to experience them.
Thanks for your comment about not buying all at once. That's what I was wondering about these
Thank you so much for the swatch chart. I have to agree, the first 3 sets are like butter, the following sets although they are nice they feel very different.
I’ve got all the sets and I love them all xx there so smooth and they blend beautifully xx 😘
Thank you for the blackwidow chart I just found your channel
I love my black widow pencils! I would highly recommend these pencils to anyone looking to buy a good quality set!
While the formula among colors might be the same, the pigments used can change the feel of a pencil. With the skin sets the Black Widows started to have a larger core and that more than anything changes the feel of the pencil for me. They are the only large wax pencil set I own (I do have a 36 color Prismacolor). The Prismacolors were the first good pencils I tried and they were too “crayony” for my taste.
Ooh! I didn't notice the larger core part!
I can’t stand prismacolor pencils either. Really don’t understand what the hype is about
I've seen everyone talk about these for the past year since getting into coloring so I couldn't decide which set to get I just bought them all and just received them haven't tried them yet tyfs great informative video. Love your artistic work❤️
Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Black widow pencils are one of my favourite pencils.
One of my favorites too!
Hello Emily, I just found your channel looking to check out in detail the Black Widow pencils. First I want to say,your tutorial is absolutely excellent, so detailed and very in depth. And I am really impressed how generous you are offering free swatch charts and worksheets. I only got so far the Black widow original spider set,but I’m really impressed and I want to get the rest of the sets. Although suddenly the Scorpio became unavailable on Amazon, hopefully it will come back in stock soon. I only have one other set,the 120 Castle Arts, I got it as a gift and honestly I am not all that impressed with them. I do like the Black widow how they perform. What is your opinion between those 2 brands? Actually I have a set of 36 Prismas, and although they are indeed very smooth and soft, they have too much dust and the sharpener really eats them. I don’t really use them. I colored more with markers,gel pens, the FC Pitt brush pens, so I’m just getting into colored pencils. One thing I want to ask you, the link for the 255 slot pencil case takes me actually to a 168 slot pencil case, so not even 180. You think it’s a mistake? Again thank you for sharing your knowledge, very much appreciated. 😊
I have only been colouring for a few weeks and I already want to upgrade from the noris pencils, I swear noris is the $2 steak of pencils. Or the dark souls of pencils.
I just downloaded the black widow charts. Thank you so much. They look like very nice pencils, so I will probably bite the bullet and buy them all. I like your channel, glad I found you.
Thank for all the info Emily! I like the Black Widow sets too. 💜
You're welcome Deb!
Thank you for the wonderful swatch sheets! They are awesome!
First, thank you for the templates! Much appreciated. From my experience, certain pigments are less cooperative than others no matter what the medium. For instance, Red. I was a printer for years and I dreaded the days I had to run red. It just didn't want to lay down without making a mess and a lot of paper was wasted. Red yarn didn't knit as easily and nicely, red paint was not as easy to even out, and red colored pencils can get blotchy or generally uneven if not careful. Greens were a breeze. Yellow sometimes gets moody and doesn't want to cooperate. Etc. If the binder and the base (was/oil) is the same, then the only difference is the nature of each pigment; so... I'm going to say I think it is the pigment that makes the difference in behavior. JMO
@angies6311 Ooh, I love that! Thank for your insight, I never even considered that!
Can we do a "let's talk" about coloring book paper and what pencils lay down the best in our favorite books? I do hope that the next Black Widow set will be loaded with shades of purples...
I'll add it to the list!
I'm hoping they bring out a pastel set
I see the Dragon set is back in stock on Amazon. Your eval helped me decide to buy them. I'm brand new to your channel. You are organized w/consistent flow of materials & info. Your voice is easy to listen to (minimal 'up speak' which is great!). I wish you would have included core size & pencil weights. I don't know if ea. set is equal. Happy
New subscriber.
Kind of shocking that there's 180 pencils but almost all of them are saturated midtones
omg Im early this time yay! I love these videos of yours :D im on a massive binge watch lol im so glad youre doing these videos, it helps us out so much
Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying them!
I thought MarkArt pencils are oil based. They smoosh (lazy blend) almost as well as Prismacolor Premier on some paper though.
I don't have Black Widow pencils. I prefer oil based pencils. Although, I really like some of the pastel shades in the Monarch set. I may cave some day.
Go for it! They're so fun!
Thank you for this review.
This was such a helpful video for me! They don't have Black Widow pencils here in Asia yet, so I'll have to special order them. Glad to see these pencils have gotten such good reviews.
PS: why do people prefer to keep their pencils in a case vs in the tins they came in?
For me, I'm incredibly clumsy. I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally dumped my whole tins over! Having them in their cases makes them uniform for storing, as well as keeping the pencils secure and in order.
Yes the black widow
Don’t hv any Black Widow set.. yes it bothers me too w diff designs 😅 if they come up 1 full set might be interested
Yes....I totally agree with you. Just give us one full set!!! I like to keep my pencils in the tins they come. I don't want a bunch of small tins that equal a whole set. Also I don't like that they don't sell the pencils individually.😩
Oooh, like a special re-release of the whole set! That'd be gorgeous!
Great vid. I bought the origional Black Widow when they first came out ( they came in a cheap cardboard box, Dollar Store quality ), and the quality of these pencils were terrible. Many of them broke. I gave them away. I bought the 5 other sets and I am more impressed with the quality. I am not sold on the colors in the dragon set from what I can see from just watching some reviews. I am debating on re-ordering the origional Black Widow set, as now I notice that they come in a tin, though on Amazon Canada, some idiot third party seller has listed them at more than double the price ( only the origional set ) There is no way in hell I will pay that.
Web sites address for swatch sheet pls great review have all sets except dark skin set is it worth getting 👌 😀
I think the formula definitely changed..I just got the Dragon set & couldn't believe how ashy, dry & patchy those pencils were..I couldn't believe there was a hype around this brand...they are my first black widow set...I couldn't blend or layer any colors at all they were horrible quality!!
I love my black widow pencils
Me too!
I am thinking about buying a set so u are saying the black widow would be your first set to buy, what set would be second?
I would say the cobra set secondly, because it has more purples. 😊
Unless, you’re wanting to try some skin tone coloring, then either of the light or dark tone sets would be great as well!
May I ask what are the purple bandages on your fingers for? I am suspecting it is because you hold your pencil tightly. I have that issue and then my hand hurts. Where can I find them if that is the case? Thank you.
Haha, no I happened to film this after I injured myself. The wraps were a splint on my fingers. 😊
@@EmilyIllustrator oh no. I hope you are feeling better.
@@nikkissmallwonders8087 I am, thank you!
The Dragon set really needs to come to Canada... any day now would be nice. At least with Can. being late to get them it means I can watch some reviews and make sure that I want them. I WANT THEM lol. I really like the Black Widow brand, I might even like them more than my Prismas, though I wish that they came open stock.
Seriously! We can't even pre-order, at least from Amazon.
Pre Covid lockdown/postage issues, you could get Black Widows open stock directly from Albert by either emailing or messaging via the Facebook page. ATM they're not sending any out because postage costs have spiralled.
Lovely video
Thank you!
Im having a terrible time swatching these on bristol vellum too much white showing thru after 5 layers then went to astrobright smooth terrible lay down You can see every pencil stroke on this swatch
I guess is why I don’t like this watching why I don’t watch this is frustrating as hell
Thank you! This is very informative. What happened to your fingers?
Well, let me tell you. It was something. It was a breezy, sunny day. Oddly warm for December, and I thought, “I should go out and enjoy the weather.” So, I went for a walk. As I was strolling along, I happened upon a horse. I stared up in awe, as this horse was the tallest I had ever seen and it was fully dressed in horse armor. That wasn’t the most surprising part. The horse could talk! He said, “Come with me! The kingdom needs protecting!” I quickly replied, “Why of course!”
Off we rode! He galloped so fast that we flew up into the air, and just before we entered a time portal to travel to said kingdom, a can of beans came out of nowhere and attacked my hand!
At least that’s what I tell myself, rather than the reality of I was clumsy in the kitchen, and cut my finger on the lid of a can of beans…
Also, I'm glad you enjoyed the video
@@EmilyIllustrator LMAO 🤣😁😁 still at it making the stories even bigger each time!! Love it!!! I have purchased the Dragon set an the Monarch set. I'll be adding the rest of the set's after the first of the year.. I am loving them.. an I have been using my oil based pencils for a while now and was preferring them. But I'm really loving the Black Widow's
@@EmilyIllustrator You're right, stick with the horse story!! =D That must have been painful. I think you said in the video that it was all healed? Do that's good news.
@@TeriHermans Pretty close! It’s still pretty stiff, as it happened right on the knuckle, but I’m hoping to be significantly healed by Monday. 🤞🏻🤞🏻
You know, if you purchased all their sets, you would have spent the same amount of money as it would cost to buy a set of luminance caren dache