Caran d'Ache Swisscolor Review
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- So far I have reviewed almost every Caran d'Ache Water Soluble pencil, with the exception of the Fancolor, which will be coming soon. At the beginning of this video I also explain the gradation of Caran d'Ache water soluble pencils according to Caran d'Ache, even though they are reluctant to pigeon hole their products in this way. I have added this section simply because I get asked the question quite a lot and I wanted to help those people understand what I have discovered direct from the company. If you would rather skip this section and jump straight into the Caran d'Ache Swisscolor review, simply scroll to 4:23 on the timeline.
If you have any questions whatsoever on the Caran d'Ache Swisscolor, please by all means leave the question in the comments section or email or message me directly if you would rather ask the question in private, I will do what I can to answer and if need be I will contact the company on your behalf to answer your question accurately. I have also created a written review of the Swisscolor where I have added pricing etc. You can also check out my speed painting from the links below.
SPEED PAINTING - Swisscolor Speed Painting - bit.ly/3d98fo4
UA-cam REVIEW - Swisscolor - bit.ly/2IVwybr
TAGG - Written Review of Swisscolor - bit.ly/2QjCizK
AMAZON - 40 Set Swisscolor - amzn.to/2TVldP1 - £38.86
AMAZON - 30 Set Swisscolor - amzn.to/2wbJpU6 - £28
AMAZON - 18 Set Swisscolor - amzn.to/2U8W5TO - £15.84
AMAZON - 12 Set Swisscolor - amzn.to/39VAwN7 - £10.10
HOME - Caran d’Ache - bit.ly/2EdUjYt
WRITEN REVIEW - Prismola - bit.ly/2GsIctz
UA-cam - Prismola - bit.ly/2YcFJJL
AMAZON - 80 Set Prismola - amzn.to/2LBeVRw
UA-cam - Caran d’Ache Workshop Book - bit.ly/2YMR97A
UA-cam - Supracolor Soft - bit.ly/2i1Jrks
TAGG - Supracolor Soft - bit.ly/2lIpNMJ
AMAZON - 80 Set Supracolorsoft - amzn.to/2MUWK6C
AMAZON - 30 Set Supracolorsoft - amzn.to/2yH4Qgl
AMAZON - Landscape Museum Aqurelle - amzn.to/2zNFhoS
UA-cam - Museum Aquarelle Box Set - bit.ly/2IZskPn
WRITTEN - Museum Aquarelle - bit.ly/2EhqE0y
UA-cam - Caran d’Ache Palette - bit.ly/2IGV8ut
AMAZON - Caran d’Ache Palette - amzn.to/2qjVhfG
Your site is the first one I go to when I'm thinking about buying any art supplies. You are not partial to any brand and tell it like it is. I like that from a reviewer. Thank you sooooo much for what you do for us.
True that.
Brenda you are just so incredibly kind, thank you so much, when I hear or read comments like that, I know I am achieving what I set out to do and that is to help artists get the most information they can about a product before they actually spend their hard earned money. Than you so very much for your amazing words and wonderful support.
Swisscolor = soft core and no end cap on pencils, Prismalo = hard core + hardfastness . Supracolor and Museum lines are more suited for artists and professionals because lightfastness, bigger core diameter etc... Anyway, Caran d'Ache is not a "discount" brand and all their pencils are quality products made in Switzerland. That's why (@ 2:00 in your video) you had this answer from Caran d'Ache. Different products for different customers but quality products.
I totally agree with your conclusion. Great review.
Harry, it was so sweet when you called Koda to you by calling him son. I like that he has his own thoughts about the products you’re reviewing. Now I’m off to see the beautiful bird you created with these watercolor pencils. Lisa🕊
Thanks Harry, that’s awesome as always. It was nice to hear Coda’s contribution too!
absolutely love & appreciate your channel in general. the entire production is perfect for what I look for: great camera setup, methodological exam of supplies, and you come across as earnest, objective, and a nice guy!
Great video as always. Supera informative ..... as well, you really know your stuff about Caran D’Ache and all of their different lines of pencils. I have a few lines of there pencils and WOW THESE SWISS REALLY KNOW THEIR WAY AROUND A NICE QUALITY COLORED PENCIL! !!!
I have SupraColor Soft ones and I could only get the 80 set that’s all that the store carried but I’ve been filling in from online colors I’m missing that I know I would use. There were some that would be nice skin tones I had to get. My husband is great he told me to just get all of them so I have every one in the set. (He always does, in case I need it down the road).
Seeing these ... I think I would have been happy with these in the beginning. When I for started watching UA-cam people would say to buy cheap supplies. So I did but, cheap supplies bring out cheap results and cheap results can lead to frustration and some artists wanting to give up. Like you said with what will happen with kids and art supplies. As I’ve improved and I’ve slowly begun to buy better grade supplies the quality of my artwork has also improved.
So these pencils are a great investment for someone who is just starting out and if you can afford to get the largest set splurge, you’ll use it down the road. As you become more familiar with these supplies.
Hope you and your family have a great week.
Thank you so much for you comment Michelle, you are so right about the Supracolor Soft, I was lucky to get the 120 set and I love them.
You are so right about starting out with the wrong supplies, the one thing that I have started to understand since starting this channel, after over 200 videos on products, the surface you use is probably more crucial the the medium.
I started this channel telling myself that I wouldn't just review the expensive products and make sure that The Art Gear Guide catered for everyone. The first few sets of cheap pencils I tested, I almost reviewed them as terrible, but then I started testing them on various surfaces. It did turn out to be a costly exercise as I was using papers that I would have ordinarily used for special art projects, but it was so worth it. I managed to get pencils I thought to be terrible, producing beautiful test results on certain papers. I think about after the 10th or 15th video I made, you can notice a difference in my overall approach to my reviews, but that was just part of the learning curve.
All I want to do is provide the most detailed information about the products I am reviewing, not just the factual details but images and video footage of the products as well. I want the viewer or reader to feel they have the next best thing to holding and testing the product themselves.
Thank you so very much
The Art Gear Guide no thank you for all of your hard work and all of the time and effort that you put into your videos, they are very informative.
You’re so right about the surface being the most important thing about a project. In the very beginning of my journey. I wasn’t using the best paper (listening to certain UA-camrs who cater to suggesting it’s ok to use cheaper supplies) and it is but, with some guidelines. Don’t skimp on the paper.. cause like you said it makes what you put on top look so much better. If what you’re starting out with isn’t very good how can you expect that your results will be any good? They won’t and you’ll never end up disappointed and frustrated . Have a very good evening. Positive Vibes to you and your lovely Family..
Thank you harry another great review. I've never used watercolor pencils as I am not even close to talented at drawing or coloring. Love to Coda your son dog and congratulations on 13000 bot surprising given your honest reviews and marvelous personality. Hope the family is well.
Thank you for another great review. I was impressed with how pigmented they are . Certainly would meet/ exceed my needs as a hobby artist. So happy to hear you will be doing a series on school ( grades 1-12 Am guessing you mean, not college/university level)series. It will be so helpful when gifting children. Also will help adult hobby artist get supplies that meet their needs while spending less money. Looking forward to the series. Hope your Dad is coming along and can stay away from the Coronavirus at this delicate time. 🙏 to him and your whole family.
Thank you so much you are so incredibly kind with regards to my Dad. He actually starts his very first round of Chemotherapy tomorrow March the 18th, so we are all a bit concerned about the Coronavirus as his immune system will be very low. However Mum has everything under control apparently and won't let him do anything without washing his hands and she has purchased a baby steriliser to make sure all his cutlery, cups etc are clean. I vaguely remember my Granny doing this when my Uncle George had Testicular Cancer, My Mums brother. That was about 35 years ago and hi still lived at home with my grandparents so he must have been 20 odds. He could never have children as a result which is so sad because him and my aunt Norma would have made wonderful parents. Any way I am so sorry I have rambled on about my life story too much. thank you so very much
The Art Gear Guide Enjoy the rambles. Give both your parents my best wishes and please let them know I am praying for them.
Wow! Quel magnifique pigmentation. Merci pour ce swatch.
Super review.
Thanks again my friend for keeping it real and staying the course .
Love to all under your roof.
Thanks for showing me those kind of pure swisscolour colored pencil packed products!😀👍
Harry, the more I've used Dad's old Classicolor, the more I like them. They are paper dependant, but so are a lot of pencils. But they are such a pretty, clear and bright set of pigments. And the gold pencil is probably the best gold pencil I have in any brand. It's soft and its a decent colour and it most definitely has a strong sheen to it unless I add water.
I've seen another colourist reviewing the Fancolor, couldn't understand it because it was in a different language, but I now don't think that the Classicolor are the same as Fancolor. I think the Classicolor have more pigment. Might be more in line with these SwissColor. I've ordered a small set of Prismalo to try to see how different they might feel/act.
It's so hard to find out much about Caran d'Ache products. Even the brochure in Dad's old tin is confusing. They will not range them in order of pigment volume or softness. Yet it does them out of sales I'm sure. A hobby artist wants to know what to choose, which is why your reviews are so good because you are so consistent in how you review pencils. But the manufacturer are not helping themselves. So I for one am very grateful for these product reviews you are doing.
Very useful review .thank you
Congratulations on 13,000 subscribers!
Really appreciate this review, very thorough and helps to know how they seemed to work versus Prismalo. Would be cool to have a video on how they work against FC Goldfaber Aqua if you are looking for ideas. :)
Thank you Harry for sharing this information, I love caran d’ache it’s one the best if the not the best brands out there. It’s a shame the their customer service doesn’t match the quality’s of their products, it’s really bad that was my personal experience.♥️
I think you have told me this before Ivone, can you tell me again what happened. I personally have always had good customer support and I would hate to think that has only happened because I am a reviewer and they are worried about back lash as I wouldn't do that in the first instance. However, for a company of their size, they should have a much better customer satisfaction approach. Unfortunately sometimes when companies get huge and financially repugnant, their customer service quality does drop because they think it is less important. Thank you so much for your wonderful comment
Thanks for another honest, in-depth review, Harry. I had never even heard of these. Quick question - if I was going to buy 1 artist quality set of watercolor pencils, would you recommend FC Albrecht Druer or CD Museum Aquarelle? Thanks.
Hi Miles mate, thank you so much for your comment and kind words. Before I answer this question I would have to ask you which genre of art do you prefer to work on, ie botanical, animal wild life, pet portraiture, human portraiture etc. The reason this might impact my decision is due to the palette.
since doing my review of the Swisscolor I have started having a closer look at all Caran d'Ache watercolor pencils and really compare them and I will be doing a comparison video for the channel soon as well. There isn't really a huge amount of difference visually between the Museum and Supracolor, but for me the Museum are slightly more vibrant, but only just. Regarding lightfast, I will go through them all tomorrow and tell you which set has the better lightfast ratings as this may also be important for you if you sell your work.
Then of course there is the issue of the Museum having 80 colors and the Supracolor Soft having 120. Let me know what you really enjoy painting and I will give you a more definitive answer, sorry this response hasn't been very helpful just yet.
@@TheArtGearGuide Thanks for the quick reply, Harry. I do mostly botanical work. Like you, I prefer to have the biggest color range available, so the Supracolor might be the better option if I go with Caran D Ache. But I look forward to your upcoming comparison video for sure. Cheers!
Hi,
I recently bought a set of Caran d'Ache swisscolor 30 pencils secondhand, but they are not watercolor pencils, I can't find on internet the same box or any information. Do you know something about?
Wow these look lovely!
Thank you so much for your comment, I was really surprised at just how good they performed. Thank you so much
Having watched this Harry, I'd say the Classicolor were perhaps equivalent to Fancolor or something different. I've found them OK on some papers and rubbish on others. I don't mean good drawing papers, but colouring books and test sheets. They are hard and lack pigment depth so if the paper is absorbent it's lost in a moment. These seem better. But of course I'll keep the Classicolor because they were Dad's.
Hi Sue thank you so much for letting me know that, I will be testing the Fancolor soon, but another thing that we might have over looked is that your Dads Classic Color are quite old and ingredients in the newer versions may have changed, but this is only a guess.
Of course you have to keep them, they are not just a set of watercolor pencils, they are a connection to your Father and we need all the connections we can get when we lose a loved one, especially a parent or child. You may not enjoy using them, but you will enjoy having them around, close by on the next art piece you create.
Thank you so much Sue and you are always in my thoughts during these tough times, my heart really goes out to you.
The Art Gear Guide
Thanks. I’m OK about his passing. His quality of life was terrible for the last year and this virus would have killed him anyway. But I am find getting rid of his stuff hard. I hadn’t considered the age of the pencils because my own 30 year old Derwent Artist pencils are fine. If Caran d’Ache were slightly less expensive I would have bought Supracolor by now I think. Some of the colours are lovely.
great. something else i cant afford that i gotta buy now. thanks. xxx
im not being salty, i just have to own all the watercolor pencils. all of them. see this pile of tins the suze of me? I NEED ALL OF THEM.
So pencil addict to pencil addict... how many cases of watercolor pencils do you own? I need to know. its very important.
Don't you just love them, all of them.
@@stevemurray6543 lie i saud, I literally buy all of them. not just caran dache, so ive got some that are horrible, like the Artist's Loft ones. But Ive nebver meet a Caran D'ache that didnt end up in my roll. (which is where i put my favs)
I know exactly what you mean Angela, my wife is starting to ask is there a colored pencil anonymous group I can attend, but I think a group like that would only encourage love for all things pencil lol and I didn't think for one minute you were being salty.
@@TheArtGearGuide at least you have a youtube channel to blame it on. :)
Have you seen the Caran d'Ache SWISSCOLOR PERMANENT? I saw it on their website this week i wonder if its any good.
I have indeed seen them mate I have a set which I will be reviewing soon. If you have ever tried the Derwent Inktense, they are a bit like them. When a layer dries you can’t re-wet it and lift pigment off and the pigment is incredibly strong and vibrant much more so that the ordinary Swisscolor which I have already reviewed. I will let you know mate as soon as I have completed the review and uploaded it.
@@TheArtGearGuide I thought they were normal coloured pencils because I saw water resistant. I haven't tried the Derwent intense but I am looking forward to seeing your review.
I haven’t put them through all the tests that I normally do because I am in the middle of preparing my review of the new Caran D’Ache Luminance colors as well as another set from Castle Arts. I only lifted one pencil out to see what it looked like on paper so as soon as I have taken a proper look at them I’ll certainly drop you a line mate. The new Caran D’Ache Luminance colors are gorgeous taking that range to 100. Plus I am reviewing a new book by the amazing Colored Pencil artist Cynthia Knox so I am completely swamped but loving every minute mate.
@@TheArtGearGuide o yes I saw the luminance. I want to see your review. I have a few hoping to by the full set one day
11:00 “It’s a definite Problem for Coda” i had to laugh at that, but I am also sad ♥️🌈
I have found the Caran d’Ache individual pencils sold at JerrysArtOrama.com, and DickBlick.com.
I have museum aquarelle, supracolor, and albrecht durer and i can say there is little to no difference between the brands. Now when it comes to museum aquarelle vs supracolor. I think it’s just a marketing scheme to get u to pay more.
I have to say Tee, when I was testing them together and I got my wife to swatch them down, same color from all three, I had to really study and look hard and even then I think I only got it because I spend so much time testing and studying pencils.
the reviews I do here on the UA-cam and my site are only a fraction of the testing I do off camera. I am a bit of a nerd, I use a magnifying glass looking at the pigments of various paper, I sand of pencil cores into a power in a dish and inspect the consistency. I know it sounds crazy but I just want The Art Gear Guide to give people who search for a product the very best information I can and make sure that everything I say or write is accurate. I know they are only pencils, pastels, paints etc, but they are incredibly important to us all especially those who make a living with them.
I will be doing a comparison video very soon of all Caran d'Ache water-soluble pencils and it is going to be really interesting seeing people reaction to the test.
Thank you so much for your comment Tee I really appreciate it
The Art Gear Guide Oh, wow, I can't wait for that video. I must say when I got the Supracolors, I thought watercolor pencils couldn't get much better. I bought the Aquarelle out of sheer curiosity. The build of the pencil itself was the only real difference I saw, like a Toyota and a Lexus, basically the same car but in a nicer shell. The pigment however, did not impress me as much different, if at all.
It's not a marketing scheme. The pigments are different in same named-pencil. The lightfast rating is also different. And the binder too.
Chiara C there’s still not enough difference to justify the cost. You saying what you’re saying is the reason why they can charge more is because they switch up one of 2 little things and people are willing to pay more. Don’t get me wrong they are lovely but after having several different lines it’s not enough to justify the price jump.
Harry, please, they are called PrismA-LO not Prismola 🤣
Also, do you think you can make a comparison of the caran d'ache student/hobbyist grade colored pencils? Fancolor, Swisscolor, Prismalo, Classicolor?
Because I am confused too about the differences and what happened to the Classicolor.
I will absolutely do a comparison of the pencils you mentioned.
I would like to apologise for the mispronunciation of Prismalo, however I will just copy to you what I mentioned to another commenter and hopefully you will understand my situation a bit better.
I am on UA-cam reviewing art supplies, I served in the British Army after leaving school and joined at 16. I left school with Dyslexia but was called thick by my teachers until almost 25 years later when our eldest daughter was given an IEP and diagnosed Dyslexic, I was tested also and diagnosed Dyslexic.
Dyslexia has never really hindered me, I didn’t need English to protect people’s lives in foreign countries, lay explosives, laser guide an air strike. When I started doing this on UA-cam I really didn’t think that I would need English for that either. To make matters worse, Dyslexia with an Irish accent, I am afraid I am going to pronounce words wrong more than occasionally. I can’t sound out the letters, and the letters and sentences move all over the place when I am reading. I use software to help me with anything I am writing however there is nothing that I know of that will help me to sound out words properly. I am sorry if this bothers or frustrates you, I know that those who are fortunate enough to be intelligent without any academic impediments can get frustrated by people such as myself reading terribly, mispronouncing words and spelling mistakes all over the place. I do try my best and that I am afraid is all I can do. I do apologise if this offends or upsets you but it really is not my intention.
I found this as I was sleuthing to find out which @carandache pencils are.contained in the recently launched #keithharing collection. Your video gave me the answer: they are Swisscolor 👍. You are right, even the student grade pencils are if such high quality that they do not deserve any demerit for being considered "student grade". They mix and blend without leaving a trace of the dry pencil and the colours are beautiful. Thanks Harry!
Color names are very important for color blind artists. I watch another youtuber that can't tell what color he's coloring with if it doesn't have its name printed right on it. Makes for the occasional funny picture though.
Hey friend, how you handle on the other side of the world with COVID19? I hope you and your family are coping well. Tell your daughter and dad that there is someone in the country of Belize that wish for there best health
Thank you so much Dawn for your incredibly kind comment, I always pass on well wishes to Amelia or my Dad or whoever they are left for because the wonderful comments that I get from you guys for my family really helps them. Knowing that such generous strangers to them say these things really is quite uplifting.
So far we are riding out the Coronavirus but if my wife work shuts down we will be in serious trouble financially, but I don't even want to think about that just yet.
@@TheArtGearGuide I'm so sorry, that the virus is affecting you. Continue keep your spirit up. In Belize my country is in hysteria, although there no confirm cases as yet. The government is closing borders, denying entry to European and Asians and closing schools. I'm nurse and they are planning to place us on quarantine even though they are no confirm cases. The major referral hospital is on strike because the worker's union there don't think it is prepared for anyone infected with COVID19. Just hysteria shops are emptied just hysteria.
😎
Prismola?
Dont you mean Prismalo?
I am on UA-cam reviewing art supplies, I served in the British Army after leaving school and joined at 16. I left school with Dyslexia but was called thick by my teachers until almost 25 years later when our eldest daughter was given an IEP and diagnosed Dyslexic, I was tested also and diagnosed Dyslexic.
Dyslexia has never really hindered me, I didn’t need English to protect people’s lives in foreign countries, lay explosives, laser guide an air strike. When I started doing this on UA-cam I really didn’t think that I would need English for that either. To make matters worse, Dyslexia with an Irish accent, I am afraid I am going to pronounce words wrong more than occasionally. I can’t sound out the letters, and the letters and sentences move all over the place when I am reading. I use software to help me with anything I am writing however there is nothing that I know of that will help me to sound out words properly. I am sorry if this bothers or frustrates you, I know that those who are fortunate enough to be intelligent without any academic impediments can get frustrated by people such as myself reading terribly, mispronouncing words and spelling mistakes all over the place. I do try my best and that I am afraid is all I can do. I do apologise if this offends or upsets you but it really is not my intention.
@@TheArtGearGuide it was just an honest question. No need to get defensive. English is not my first language, sir.
I’m sorry if you thought I was getting defensive, I definitely wasn’t. I have had many people correct my pronunciation on words and so I know my pronunciation can frustrate viewers and that is not my intention. I don’t want people to think I am messing up on purpose to annoy anyone.
@@TheArtGearGuide well, I wasn't frustrated. I was just asking cause I wanted to look them up on Google and wanted to be sure, cause I use the close caption option to better understand the English videos. 😉