I bought the original dozen at Walmart and ALL of them are off center and the lead sometimes falls out after sharpening. I have six open stock I bought at a stationary store and was able to inspect them first. If you can I would recommend buying them individually in a store if you can for that reason.
+RBdreamsART you are 100% correct. That's what people really should do if they want to have these with less drama. I decided to just go the amazon route because of the price and because people new to pencils might not go to an art store.
I would definitely buy from amazon or an art store as Walmart employees WILL drop and treat all the merchandise horribly. Then when you put them on the shelves you have tons of people dropping and i would say more kids touching and playing and dropping things than an art store and for sure more people are handling than at amazon.
I got my 24 set from Walmart, didn't have a problem with them. As a matter of fact, I used up most of those pencils, and only had one time where the core broke. Maybe you got a bad pack?
Hi Karia, Good review. I've had a set of 72 purchased about a year and a half ago. So far, no issues with my set. They are a little off center, but maybe because of my sharpener, I don't have that issue. I use a Rapesco 64 sharpener, which used to be cheap until word got out. It gives my prismas those long sharp tips. And I'm not light handed. I've used primas for over 15 years and I can say that this formula seems different. Back in the day, all colors that had red in them would shatter and break. The formula now seems drier, but still creamy. I believe that they have been working to improve their quality. Now if only they can get their graphite pencils back to the way they used to be! Anyway, keep up the great work!
+kim b thank you so much for watching. I know a lot of people don't have any problems with them. I hope they really get that core bonded to the wood. If they do that than it's a lot easier work with even if it's off center. I will keep following their progress and if they improve again I will be happen to revisit them.
try to sharpen Prismas with a sharpener thats made for the lip- or eyepencils. They're made to cut wood with veeery soft leads and turns out that sharpene works best for most people who tried. Doesn'T change the off-center-problem but it really does help with breakage caused from the soft lead.
Maybe it was good luck, but I got my set of 132 over a year ago and it has been great. I have not had the problems other people have noted. I ordered the additional 18 colors from Blick's to round off my set. I have not had a problem with sharpening with either a manual or an electric device. If any of my pencils are off center, it has not affected my use. I do like my set for basic coloring.
My friend Laura is the same as you she has a lot of luck and no problems with these pencils. I told her to enjoy them because they are a great deal and are only getting better in price.
Hi Karia, I purchased the 150 ct and was lucky. I had no breakage. Yes I have to sharpen pencils quite frequently and I am very careful with them. But so far all is good. I love the vibrant colors. I will eventually want to get a larger set of faber castell polychromos! Thank for your reviews.
Great review - I'm curious if you've tried Jane Davenport's Magic Wands? They are made to be compatible or used as complementary to the Prismas. I am a longtime Prisma user - since high school which was before they changed (according to the many reviews I've seen/read) and became less quality. When I was in high school, they were considered the gold standard. I have a ton of newer Prismas and recently bought a 12 set of Polychromos. I have to say that the only thing I like better about the Polychromos is that I know they are lightfast. I slightly prefer using Jane's and Prismas because I have a much larger color selection, but that's not Faber-Castell's fault; I haven't bought any more Polys yet. Haven't sprung for the Luminance yet because I use a ton of mixed media and just can't justify spending that much for colored pencils - at least not yet! Curious on your thoughts? Is it worth it to buy the more expensive ones just for the lightfastness when you don't exclusively use colored pencils in your art? Sorry for the rambling comment, but I respect your opinion and would love to hear your feedback! Thank you for the great coverage on adult coloring and tools! I meant to add that the Polychromos break on me a fair amount and require a lot of sharpening. I actually have better luck in terms of breakage and sharpening with Jane's and the Prismas, interestingly enough. Anywho! xAmy
Hello, I have not tried those pencils but I can add them to the list. I dont know why the polychromos should break if you are having problems you should contact faber castell as I have many of their sets and have never had a breaking problem at all. I use the Alvin Brass sharpener and replace the blades regularly. Having said that not every pencil is a fit for everyone, you should use the ones that work best for you. But I am interested in these Jane's and will likely add them to the list and review them at some point.
I would love to see a review of the Jane Davenport pencils if you buy them!!! Her mixed media line is new but I've been a longtime fan of her as an artist. With the Polychromos, it's just one pencil that breaks. I use a metal sharpener that came in a kit (not a fancy sharpener but it does the job). I have so many Faber-Castell items that one pencil doesn't bother me. It is probably the sharpener and the way I sharpen them since I'm definitely not an expert!
I have a set of the Prismacolor ArtStix and they work fairly well for me. I haven't had them long, still testing them out in a few books. I love that I get the same "color" without all the hand aches of using colored pencils. Thanks for sharing your review!! - Faith
True, but if you're going to sell something, there should be tight quality control and assurance measures otherwise you might get a bad reputation. Especially if the product is more premium.
My prismacolor colored pencil wood cracked a bit while I was sharpening it for the second time, I sharpened it the way they recommend and I haven’t even really used that pencil. The lead was really of center. I think I’ll just continue using it till I have to sharpen it... it doesn’t break, the problem with my pencil is the wood. Is that a good idea? I hope the core won’t break... I now think that the reason why these pencils often break a lot is maybe more because of the wood, the core is not glued to the wood casing... I’m sure it’s also because of the soft core, but that’s what special about these pencils, they’re ability to blend and shade. The of center core is another really big reason... Thanks for this really helpful review!
I bought my prismas about a year ago from Office Depot and haven't had much breakage with the premiers. The verythins are making me crazy, though! Three or four of them are constantly breaking when I sharpen them. I suspect they were dropped. I have a suspicion that many sellers on Amazon are selling factory seconds without revealing the fact. My mom has the same set of prismas that I do, purchased from Amazon, and she has all sorts of trouble with breakages. I recently (finally) got a full set of polychromos from Amazon. When they arrived, most of the tips were badly chipped, and there was a duplicate pencil, which meant there was a pencil missing. Although the seller is sending me a replacement pencil, I'm still suspicious. I still love the prisma premiers, though. They don't seem to have as many breakages with the prismacolor sharpener and are great in combination with Derwent Softcolors, which are more natural colored.
+Cam L wow that really should not be the case with the polychromos I would see if you can contact Faber Castell or Amazon and see what they can do for you. The derwent are on my list to try but they'll have to wait.
+ColoringKaria Amazon said I could return them for a refund and re-purchase them, but that would have taken forever and I didn't want the hassle. They seem to be fine otherwise.
Knife-sharpened pencils are forever associated with drawing at my grand-parents', they didn't keep a sharpener around and the pencils were my mom's and aunt's old school stuff. I still have some of those. I bought Prismacolor Premier, the set of 132, for a good price on amazon but had I known, I might've gone for polychromos instead. Less colors, but better pencils. I need to find ways to use pencils more, too XP
+Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault don't worry now that I can livestream from my phone I will do live color with me. I'm doing a page with watercolor pencils now but I'll do a page with colored pencils next!
Since I got my Polychromos on Amazon, I haven't touched my prismacolors (except black). Besides the breaking while sharpening, my heavy hand and the softness of these pencils always created "dust" which wound up smearing...argh! So frustrating! Thanks for the review... "You usually get what you pay for", right?
Hi I was given your name by Simple Art for Adults (Erin) - I am having problems getting prismacolor open stock cheaply in the UK and Erin said you use a large art supplier from there who ship out to you. I would be grateful if you could let me know what company this is as I got the full set really cheaply but can't seem to find single colours cheaply here. Many thanks
+Clare Birschel hey, so I don’t know. The only place I have ordered from international is Jacksons. I know you didn’t ask but my advise to people is usually to look at other pencil options like the koh I noor Polycolor or the Lyra Polycolor or polychromos for international folks rather than trying to hunt these down. The appeal of the prismacolor is the cheap price and easy access. If it costs too much and is too hard to find look at other options. I’m sorry I could not be more help.
+ColoringKaria hi thanks so much for replying. I have polychromos too and the large art store in town has them open stock. The prismacolor are lovely colors but tbh I am completely unimpressed by the poor quality. I am really careful with them but several of them keep breaking. I may just switch back to my polychromos. Thanks 😊
I got a 72 Prismacolors set for Christmas and the amount of breakage is terrible, I was going to get the 150 set, I'm glad I didn't. Ive saved up and bought some Polycromos which are brilliant, I will be using them from now on.
ColoringKaria The Polycromos haven't broke once, and they don't need sharpening every 5 minutes. I think they need to look at improving Prismacolor, they are expensive pencils and not reliable at all.
Karia, I'll have to get one of those nice sharpeners! Currently I have a couple plastic Kum long point sharpeners (I like that style for my blackwing and verithin pencils). For anyone on the east coast, AC Moore art stores are selling a 36 Prismacolor pencil set for a reduced price of $10.00. I just picked up a set and wanna compare to the prang and staedtler student grade sets I have. When I bought my set, I had to return them because one pencil was split down the middle, probably during shipping. Second set seems to be ok, but outside paint is peeling from the peach pencil. I wonder, what's up with the quality control on these? :P
Yes The prismacolor pencils are much more affordable these days than they once were. but you might want to see if you can get a kum sharpener with replaceable blades. those work really well.
Really well thought out and fair review! Iv'e recently been debating on getting a 48 Prismacolor set on Amazon for $21. Iv'e been using a small handful of Prisma's Iv'e collected over past few years Iv'e used them. I love their bright pigments and how well they mix together. And even after noticing some of their flaws, I still do. But I'm not as annoyed by these flaws as other are. Maybe I was lucky to find a good a batch, maybe it's because I haven't really used them long enough to really to notice their dip in quality control. But I may decide to go ahead and get them With that being said though, I want to have good set to hold me over as a I slowly build up my NEW FB Polychromos collection.
Thats awesome on all counts! I am glad that my video helped! I think too that they are a much better value since the prices have dropped so much. even since I did this review.
I am a Prismacolor devotee lol once I got an x-acto manual vacuum mount sharpener I have not had the breakage problems with the exception of some pencils I bought open stock from Dick Blick. They just kinda shoved them in a mailing envelope and sent them across three states. But the ones that I bought in sets I don't have many problems with. But yeah, if you love them go to Walmart and get that $7 rotary sharpener, it will save your sanity and your pencils.
I think I need to do some of those charts for ALL the pencils I own. I have the set of 24 prismacolors and I like them a lot. But you're right about the sharpening. My greens are so small now, I might need to buy new ones. I am not sure which set I'll get next: prismacolor, Faber-castell polychrome or Koohinoor. I do want the 100 crayola set of pencils, though. I might have an addiction 😶
Thank-you so much for this review. I won’t be wasting my money on these prismacolor pencils. What pencil do you recommend that has high density of brightness, comfortable for sore wrists and can layer and blend well with little effort.
ColoringKaria Hi. Thank-you for quick reply I will need to save a fair bit, I am tossing up between Luminance and Polychomers I have used neither. I am using Milan pencils I do like their vibrant colours they retail in Australia 15 dollars for 36. Have you tried Milan? Then there is Staedtler Ergo soft 24 pack retailed around 30 in Australia. I have not used ergo soft so I can’t compare with Milan. I have heard good reviews don’t know if they are better than Milan Spanish pencils. I am now ready for a higher end pencil. I appreciate vibrancy. I like to get either the 2 higher end pencils for later. What do you think about polychromes vs Luminance. I know Ergo soft and Milan only have 3mm barrel they are quiet small. I am now just after something easier on the hand that offers good vibrant colour. People rave about polychomers and Luminance. They are bother very expensive in Australia. I want to layer, blend and mix without too much pain on the hands. Another question what do you think of the colours of ergo soft, I know they are fairly good quality against break resistance. What do you think of their colours? How soft are they for the cheap end of the scale?
ColoringKaria Hi. I just saw another review you did on Koh-I-Noor artist poly pencils They retail in Australia pack of 48 for 100 dollars about the same price as Faber-Castell polychromers 36 for 104 dollars and Luminance is 90 dollars more for the pack of 40. In true honesty between these 3 pencils ranging from 100 to 190 for about 40 pencils which is the most bang for buck? I am looking for bright vibrancy , easy on the hand when it comes to blending. When it comes to shading, blending, mixing and colour quality out of these 3 which do you recommend? If I am going to put money in for pencils I want something that is genuine good quality.
So I have reviews (two each) of Luminance reviews (yes two) and Polychromos (yes two reviews), so I would watch at the very least the most recent one of these. but I personally would get the Polychromos 36, if you can save for the polychromos 60 thats even better. But Even though I have the polychromos 120, I got the set of 36 for traveling. It is a really well balanced set and has most of the colors you will need. The only one I would add is "Burnt Umber" Polychromos Updated review: ua-cam.com/video/p_TVy9mpiY0/v-deo.html Luminance Updated review: ua-cam.com/video/KpeWizHZbjM/v-deo.html
ColoringKaria Thank-you that was helpful, so were the other 2 reviews and I will later on invest in polychromers. I also saw your Derwent soft review yesterday, they are around 86 for their 36 I am now convinced with a few dollars more to get Fabre-Castell polychromers. I will get the black and white pencils loosely in the Luminance pencils. For a set I will go polychromers. I am sure I will see the difference from using student grade pencil to artist grade. I think you have gone to a lot of effort with your colour charts to show comparison, you have mentioned polychromers are your favourite. I am now confident in my decision. Keep up with good work your reviews have been helpful
Looking at the number of off center pencils; If 4 out of 12 are defective, then 8 of 24, 16 of 48, 32 of 96, and 45 of 150 are also defective.. That's 33% of the pencils. Not far from half. I wish the makers could understand if they improved quality, they could RULE! Karia, you say it so much more eloquently than I do. They are throwing money away and whomever is in charge of production and quality control is a dumba** And same goes for the head of marketing for "spending money on ads instead of quality". Well said! I enjoyed the speed-footage of sharpening. Listening to the sound would be cool, too. What a production. Your patience is infinite. A fair and thorough review. Good show!
+Julie M thank you so much! When I first saw the ad I cursed! I was like what the !!?!? That's insanity to me. The only think I could think of is that they decided they didn't need to compete with polychromos and would instead try to compete with Crayola which could mean even MORE quality drops to keep ads up and the price low. Sigh. Anyway thank you so much for watching and you are so right. I will try to do a voice over over the high speed if there is a next time. :)
I don't know if I've just been incredibly lucky, but I've never had a problem with breakage or sharpening. And I've used all kinds of pencil sharpeners: Wet & Wild makeup sharpener, Kum, TGal, Prismacolor. I love the softness & creaminess and how easy they are on my hands. May be in the minority, but PolyChromos are scratchy to me and not in my top 3. My other favorites are Derwent Colorsoft & Inktense, KohINoor and Blick.
I totally agree with you, I shouldn't have to buy a special sharpener for these pencils. They don't break that much for me, but they're overall not the highest quality. Pigments in the lead aren't mixed all the way, the color of the shaft doesn't always match the lead, lightfastness issues etc. They're the cheapest pencils I own, so I can live with some of the issues. Not sure I'll ever repurchase them when I run out of a color though.
+Dee Dee thank you for watching! Yes it's crazy! I can't believe it! I'm trying to get to 10k because then I would be able to film videos AT UA-cam STUDIOS NYC!! So that's the goal. Which I think you guys would LOVE!!
Hey!I have a question,my aunt is giving me a gift,its either the full set of prismacolors or full set of polychromos,(they have an $0.08 difference),so,uhhm,I can save a few more bucks for the full luminance,and I don't know what to get,so what do you recommend to me? The Prismacolor Premier 150-$210.08 The FC Polychromos-$210.00 The Caran D' Ache-$267.00 I changed it to dollahs but really it is in peso. Philippine Peso Rough Est. ₱50.00= $1.00(rough est.)
Either the Luminance or the polychromos. I like the polychromos better because it’s more colors but both are really good. Definitely NOT the prismacolors. If you want a softer pencil then the Luminance is softer. If you do a lot of fine detail than the polychromos is better. But either the polychromos or the Luminance would be amazing.
Is it possible that the quality of Prismacolor premiere has improved recently? I just purchased a set of 132 for $65 off amazon a month ago. I am using an electric sharpener and so far I've had no problems with breakage during sharpening or use. You didn't mention whether you had issues sharpening any of these new pencils....even the off centered ones. Maybe my logic is off, but if the sharpener blade is sharp, it would seem the pencil wouldn't break at all, regardless of the lead being off center. Don't get me wrong, I've seen the many videos of people claiming breakage issues, but sometimes I think some folk just jump on bandwagons for the attention. If it's not too much trouble, could you use these for a while and give us an update. Especially since you are using a manual sharpener, I'd be interested to know how you are getting along with them.
Hello, I got these pencils around the same time that you got yours. I believe the issue is one of quality control. That just means that faulty pencils are less likely to be removed at various stages of production. so its possible to have batches even long ones with no problems but it is also possible to have more problems. Having said that, If the lead is off you are much more likely to have breakage of the pencil. I do not now nor have i ever believed that manual sharpeners are a problem as long as they are well made and the blade is sharp and German made. With that in mind I change my blade as needed. ( ua-cam.com/video/gTaaul-ruWM/v-deo.html ). As I said in the video if it works for my crayola pencils I see no reason it should not work for pencils that cost 4-8X as much. I understand what you mean about bandwagons, but I think its import to remember that I dont know other peoples reality better than they do. Like wise i dont know about other people I'm speaking only from my own experience. I know for me, if it was not for this review I would not have bothered to purchase a new set of these. I love my polychromos and owning three sets every pencil has been perfect and centered. I color for relaxation so I dont want to be stressed out about a sharpener or not dropping my pencils or anything. So thats the only thing I can really speak to. I hope that makes sense and answers your question.
Thanks for the re-review! My mom had an extra set of 12 and gave them to me the other week so I was looking forward to hearing your opinions on them. Side note, i always wondered why in school sometimes you get regular pencils that have the huge wood issue when you sharpen them and it never occurred to me that the lead was off center 😂 I did want to ask, and sorry if I missed it elsewhere, why don't you use or blend an orange on your color wheel?
+In Liquid Color oh! That's to see how they blend side by side. Good side by side blending is ideal for blending if you don't want to use something like mineral spirits or paint thinner which I don't. It helps make smooth transitions between colors. :) The other thing which I mentioned only in passing because I have mentioned it more in the original review is about the bonding to the wood core. You will get more breakages if there is no bonding to the wood core.
+In Liquid Color yep. That's not good. Now what some companies have started doing is capping off the back of the pencil so you can't SEE if it's off center but it doesn't change the issues.
+Ali Dunning I know!! It was my fault. I usually film a few hours before feeding them so they are all over but when I filmed they had both just eaten so of course they didn't care what I had to say or do! LOL. I'll remember to get a clip from them to add to videos before I feed them next time!
+Ali Dunning by the way that's an AMAZING PRICE. I got a set of inktense blocks for $6 and gave them away but now I need them to review and I had no idea they cost as much as they do!!
I bought the set of 72 for $38. The only reason I bought them is because I wanted an extra set of pencils that were not too expensive that I could use regularly. I found that some were off center and one has a weird line on the bottom but so far so good. I love the blendability and the vibrancy of the pigments but to be honest I waited a full year before I bought them. I was using the Marco raffines-72 for $18 and those are fine. I also have some spectrum noirs and a 120 set of polychromos which I love but I baby them. Alot. I barely use them as dang they be expensive! But absolutely worth it. I agree with your reluctant statement though, to buy the prisma colours now. Especially when they are very affordable. I am glad that I waited a full year before contemplating to buy them. As you said its best to buy them now if you are ok with the off center leads, because the value right now is very good for the amount of pencils you are getting.
i think a Month ago i buyed prismacolor premier and i dont have any problem with breakage i dont know maybe i was lucky :) i love them they go on really smooth and blending oh my god... they blend so well im in love with them
Prismacolors. I love em, but they used to get on my dang nerves. I will say that getting the TGAAL sharpener from amazon was a lifesaver though. Sharpening those pencils to a short point has been helpful and I haven't had any breakage since! I will admit I haven't sharpened them to a long point in MONTHS because I don't think many of those pencils can make it in a long point sharpener. Thanks for your hard work!
ARK I think the T'Gaal is very much overrated after purchasing one. They are poorly made and it is pot luck when it works properly. I bought a set of Prismas after reading about the problems and have had no problems. I was that pleased with them I went on to buy the 130 set, and just recently the extra 'new' colours. The only breakage I had was down to Human error!
ColoringKaria I have a multitude of sharpeners and have found any one of my KUM ones never fail. I do use the wooden Conté for hexagonal pencils and those bordering just over 8mm. I don't have an electric one or the heli/clamp types yet though.
I got my 150 set back in August and I had breakage with one. I called Blick and they sent one right out. I love my Prismas but I also love my Polys and Luminance Pencils. I lovvvvvvve colored pencils, can't stop buying them and books!!! I never had a a problem with the smaller Prisma sets I've purchased either. I always make sure they are centered when I buy singles from art stores tho!
+Yvette Williams YES! That's what a lot of people do. And I think that all around that does yield better results. Oh I never thought to contact the retailer. I guess I just feel that they should not have too. I'm working on a review of a pencil that has been soooo bad I had to contact the maker and see what's up because I have literally gone down to 1/3 the pencil just making the swatches!!
+ColoringKaria Please see my reply to Laura Seider just 2 or 3 comments up, I think. Im too lazy to retype it, but you need this info, LOL. Thanks for the videos!
Just an FYI Karia, I called Prismacolor (U.S.A 1-800-346-3278 - Open Mon-Fri 8:00am to 5:00pm EST). They were more than happy to replace any and all the pencils I received that were "out of tolerance" (that there's manufacturing talk, lol). The leads not being centered is my big issue with them too. My last purchase was on the 150 count set & I'd say that at least 10% were not centered. I dealt with it because I was taking them on a trip with me & didn't want to have to wait to receive the replacement pencils. Thanks so much for the video!!!
thank you so much for watching and i will give them a call if i have problems. I wonder if they have new costumer service because i emailed with problems almost two years ago and never heard back but calling seems easier and faster! thanks for the tip!
PSS me again lol -. I wrote the others before you mentioned the commercial - I actually rewound the commercials about a week ago saying wait- what? Was that a Prismacolor commercial hee hee. My dad who is now 84 always sharpened our pencils - just regular old #2's - with a knife. He just loves his knife. I would probably need stitches =-O
+Adriaan van Pijkeren it alll depends on money. How much do want to get. What's your budget? It's really hard to say because 36 polychromos will get you further than 100 Crayola colors.
ColoringKaria thanks for the reply! I think I want to get prismacolors because they are quite cheap besides other colored pencils, i think qbout 24 ir 36 maybe.... wich would you recomend?
+Adriaan van Pijkeren oh I would say in that case get the 36 or if it's like it is here where the set of 48 is about the price of a movie ticket I would say get the 48. But you'll be fine with the 36.
Thank you for this review. The con is that the cards you hold keep jiggling around. Maybe lay them on the table while shooting and use fingers or a pencil to direct the eye.
I love the oil based color pencils like Lyra Polycolor, Rembrants Polychromos that are harder lead. True, they do not put on a heavy layer right away so will appear paler. But these harder lead types of pencils are created for fine layering to build the color up and achieve fine detail best. They are just as pigmented. But the hardness of the lead prevents it all to go down at once. Sorry to see this so late.
I can't believe Prismacolor is spending money on advertising! Now I dislike them even more. Your original review helped me decide to go with Polychromo's. I have nerve damage in my hands. So I drop things a lot. I've dropped every pencil at least once, stepped on them and I'm terrible at sharpening (I love the bullet sharpener :) and .... my pencils have not once broken. The point has but I mean I did drop it on the floor lol! That is such a standard of quality that allows coloring to be stress free for me and Prismacolor spends money on advertising??? I just don't get that but whatever. Just wanted to say I appreciate your reviews!
PS - by buying them that way I spent $1.79 a pencil - a few were half off but still I paid more than if I got a set and the problem really wasn't solved. Not all of them give me trouble but the diligence I picked them out with- and probably looked like a nut doing so - and the price should have assured no problems. Until I get my FC PC I like the color laydown of the Prismas and I am very happy with my Koh I Noor and Marco Raffine's. And love your videos :-)
+Laura Seiden thank you so much for watching. I don't know if you have a dick blick or jerry's art o rama near but they will give you the online price. So if you buy stuff when the have free shipping online you can save a lot of money even if you go to the store.
I got the more expensive set a couple of years ago at amazon. I always buy the damaged stuff they offer, and my prismacolors came with one broken pencil at half price. I love them, but they aren't as special as I hoped. I tend to use my old cheapies most of the time. My edit: I thought the same thing about the commercials. They are popular without the commercials. I probably would have thought of the pencils as cheapies if I had seen a commercial.
On Amazon, there is a drop down with all of the departments. One of them is called Amazon Warehouse Deals. (or something like that) You kinda have to troll around for things. Also, if you put things in your save for later cart, Amazon will tell you of any price changes. I found that a good way to monitor the prices. And, if you look at the used products, sometimes the damaged things are in there. I have never been disappointed buying the damaged things. Most of the time, I can't even figure out what was wrong with it.
i bought the 72 pack for only 24 dollars and i got 2 extra blenders aswell. i have 0 problems with my prismas. maybe i got lucky and my sisters used prismas like 2-3 years back and they say they are really good. maybe you just got some defective ones. btw use a helical blade sharpener
Yes, the price of these pencils continue to drop. However, many people have had problems with these, and many people have not. thats an indication of quality control problems and inconstancy. As mentioned in the video this is my second set of prismacolor and the first set was also a problem. Having said that, because of the price cuts, it is clear that they have decided not to fight for the same market as Luminance and fight more with crayola. And in the case the sharpening and quality control problems are irrelevant as the price is so low.
The set of prismacolor pencils 150 what's costing $42 during Christmas time now the set of 72 cost $22 needless to say I have to back up 150 and for backups of the 72 I'm sorry people have had bad experience with them but I have not I do have special sharpeners and I take very good care of my pencils and I love all the pencils that I have polychromos, Derwent, Spectrum Noir, and luminance I'm going to cancel girl for sure what do you think about markers I like to see you do a video on that also thank you so much have a great day
im in australia so dont see the ads but its never a good sign if a company is doing a lot advertising. i got a refund from prima not a fan of polycromos or lyra lol. so not sure what to try now. prisma could be good if they picked up qaulity control.
+DisneyFan I have a playlist of all the different colored pencil sets I have reviewed. You can look at the list and see if anything might be something you would be interested in.
Suggestion that you add the name of the pencils brand at the bottom of the card. Its not always clear what you are referencing when you compare the brands. The top of the card is cut off in some cases.
+Nulin22 yeah it's really weird order. The back is in a different order. So I think it was just to save money because the could take the same 12 set and use it for the 12, 24.
I bought my Prismas a few at a time open stock at Michael's so I could make sure the cores were centered in the barrel. Sometimes I could not find such an animal in the color I wanted. All of the ones I do have are perfectly centered - and the MFers still split and break and get wasted during sharpening. I will not purchase any more Prismas. I started putting one dollar a day away back in mid December. I plan to do that for one year. Then I will take my boyfriend out for a steak dinner and then I will get some Polychromos! Yay :-). It's a long way away but I think it will be worth it. TFS :-)
+Laura Seiden ugh that really sucks I'm sorry! But the polychromos price has also dropped. A full set is now about $150 instead of $200. Still a lot but much better.
Laura Seidel, get a HELICAL (blade) sharpener for about $15 on Amazon. Mine is by Laneco, but there are others, they're not hard to find. No more breaking during/after sharpening problems. Seriously. That type sharpener works great on about any colored pencil that will fit. It MUST BE A "HELICAL" type sharpener. "Helical" refers to the type of blades. My Prismas had become almost unusable but changing to the helical sharpener has made them as useable as my other artist-grade pencils. I haven't had one Prisma break in several months, now, which is nothing short of miraculous. $15 or so can save your investment.
I think thats a matter of opinion. To me I should not need to get a special kind of water that to use a cup. Even if the water is "only $15" thats already a problem. a cup should be usable as a cup. likewise a pencil should be useable as a pencil. These pencils as they are, fail to be as usable as Crayola colored pencils for me. I cant tell people to buy a cup that requires a special kind of water to work correctly. Likewise I cant tell people to buy a pencil that requires any kind of special sharpener to work because it has already failed at that point. Now I wont tell people NOT to buy them but I can say as my opinion that they are defective and cant be expected to be used as a regular colored pencil let alone an artist pencil.
I don't see a problem in buying a good pencil sharpener for an expensive set of pencils. I do expect that something that they mass produce for .004 cents and sell to me for $3 is not going to be as good as something geared more toward artist and not towards kindergarteners. There are artist grade pencils so why wouldn't their be artist grade sharpeners? JMO
@@ColoringKaria i use koh-i-noor polycolor. I got 72 set fo about 40$ which i realy like (i am not professional i draw just for fun:). I would like to heve some soft coloroed pencils as well. Caran dAche Liminance are like 350$ for 76 set. Prismacolor Premier are like 95$ for 72 set. Polychromos are like 110$ for 60 set. Derwent Coloursoft are 90$ for 72 set. I know you will not tell me which are best for me, but what do you think about the value?
Prismacolor are the only colored pencils , except maybe crayola, that has an uncovered end. All the others have a closed cap. So you dont really know how centered the lead is on all the other brands. Ud have to cut the ends off for an actual fair comparison.
Actually some other brands have an uncovered end, the limited edition polychromos come to mind. I believe the Blickn pencils do as well. But you can also tell once you sharpen them. You can lay them flat, perpendicular over a sheet of paper. If the line where the wood and the sharpened pencil is relatively straight as you roll it back and forth perpendicularly over the paper (using the straightness of the paper as a guide) the line were the core and point are exposed should be relatively consistent if the pencil is properly centered. But if it is not you will see sharp hills and valleys were more or less of the wood is exposed as you roll the pencil. (This works best for a round pencil for obvious reasons). You can test it yourself by taking to two pencils from prismacolor one centered and one not at see the difference. Now you can take that same test and try others without the exposed bottom.
prismacolors are soft core pencils, they are not meant to be sharpened as a hard core, you are agressing the pencil by doing that, they are very delicate pencils for light handed artists. no need to press hard on these, they give up strong vibrant color without barely touching the paper unlike polys which are very hard and in my case hurt my hand. their pigment is also much stronger and vibrant, some pencils like polys have a dullness to them maybe closer to nature but definitely less strong and vibrant. also the way they blend and give a painterly effect without solvants or blenders is uncomparable. only negative point is the quality of the design of the external aspect of the pencil but again..they are also more affordable and I refuse to pay just for design. some of the polys are so scratchy and hard and give up so little pigment I was shocked...felt likr a cheap school grade pencil with a nice design
I would contact Faber Castell and seek a replace for your pencils. Faber Castell pencils are harder than the prismacolor but are as or more pigmented color for color. Because Polychromos are not as soft the paper that one uses makes a huge difference. Extra smooth papers are not a good mix for Polychromos because being a harder pencil they need the tooth of the paper. If you are experiencing problems with your pencils not having pigmentation and you are using a paper with tooth to it. I suggest that you contact Faber Castell directly because they, unlike the folks at prismacolor, will respond to your concerns. And either replace or address any issues you might have.
I bought the original dozen at Walmart and ALL of them are off center and the lead sometimes falls out after sharpening. I have six open stock I bought at a stationary store and was able to inspect them first. If you can I would recommend buying them individually in a store if you can for that reason.
+RBdreamsART you are 100% correct. That's what people really should do if they want to have these with less drama.
I decided to just go the amazon route because of the price and because people new to pencils might not go to an art store.
I would definitely buy from amazon or an art store as Walmart employees WILL drop and treat all the merchandise horribly. Then when you put them on the shelves you have tons of people dropping and i would say more kids touching and playing and dropping things than an art store and for sure more people are handling than at amazon.
I got my 24 set from Walmart, didn't have a problem with them. As a matter of fact, I used up most of those pencils, and only had one time where the core broke. Maybe you got a bad pack?
Hi Karia, Good review. I've had a set of 72 purchased about a year and a half ago. So far, no issues with my set. They are a little off center, but maybe because of my sharpener, I don't have that issue. I use a Rapesco 64 sharpener, which used to be cheap until word got out. It gives my prismas those long sharp tips. And I'm not light handed. I've used primas for over 15 years and I can say that this formula seems different. Back in the day, all colors that had red in them would shatter and break. The formula now seems drier, but still creamy. I believe that they have been working to improve their quality. Now if only they can get their graphite pencils back to the way they used to be! Anyway, keep up the great work!
+kim b thank you so much for watching. I know a lot of people don't have any problems with them. I hope they really get that core bonded to the wood. If they do that than it's a lot easier work with even if it's off center. I will keep following their progress and if they improve again I will be happen to revisit them.
try to sharpen Prismas with a sharpener thats made for the lip- or eyepencils. They're made to cut wood with veeery soft leads and turns out that sharpene works best for most people who tried. Doesn'T change the off-center-problem but it really does help with breakage caused from the soft lead.
Maybe it was good luck, but I got my set of 132 over a year ago and it has been great. I have not had the problems other people have noted. I ordered the additional 18 colors from Blick's to round off my set. I have not had a problem with sharpening with either a manual or an electric device. If any of my pencils are off center, it has not affected my use. I do like my set for basic coloring.
My friend Laura is the same as you she has a lot of luck and no problems with these pencils. I told her to enjoy them because they are a great deal and are only getting better in price.
Hi Karia, I purchased the 150 ct and was lucky. I had no breakage. Yes I have to sharpen pencils quite frequently and I am very careful with them. But so far all is good. I love the vibrant colors. I will eventually want to get a larger set of faber castell polychromos! Thank for your reviews.
+Olga Velazquez thank you so much for watching! And yes if you are careful and lucky these are great pencils with very vibrant colors!
Great review - I'm curious if you've tried Jane Davenport's Magic Wands? They are made to be compatible or used as complementary to the Prismas. I am a longtime Prisma user - since high school which was before they changed (according to the many reviews I've seen/read) and became less quality. When I was in high school, they were considered the gold standard.
I have a ton of newer Prismas and recently bought a 12 set of Polychromos. I have to say that the only thing I like better about the Polychromos is that I know they are lightfast. I slightly prefer using Jane's and Prismas because I have a much larger color selection, but that's not Faber-Castell's fault; I haven't bought any more Polys yet. Haven't sprung for the Luminance yet because I use a ton of mixed media and just can't justify spending that much for colored pencils - at least not yet!
Curious on your thoughts? Is it worth it to buy the more expensive ones just for the lightfastness when you don't exclusively use colored pencils in your art? Sorry for the rambling comment, but I respect your opinion and would love to hear your feedback! Thank you for the great coverage on adult coloring and tools!
I meant to add that the Polychromos break on me a fair amount and require a lot of sharpening. I actually have better luck in terms of breakage and sharpening with Jane's and the Prismas, interestingly enough. Anywho! xAmy
Hello, I have not tried those pencils but I can add them to the list. I dont know why the polychromos should break if you are having problems you should contact faber castell as I have many of their sets and have never had a breaking problem at all. I use the Alvin Brass sharpener and replace the blades regularly.
Having said that not every pencil is a fit for everyone, you should use the ones that work best for you. But I am interested in these Jane's and will likely add them to the list and review them at some point.
I would love to see a review of the Jane Davenport pencils if you buy them!!! Her mixed media line is new but I've been a longtime fan of her as an artist.
With the Polychromos, it's just one pencil that breaks. I use a metal sharpener that came in a kit (not a fancy sharpener but it does the job). I have so many Faber-Castell items that one pencil doesn't bother me. It is probably the sharpener and the way I sharpen them since I'm definitely not an expert!
I have a set of the Prismacolor ArtStix and they work fairly well for me. I haven't had them long, still testing them out in a few books. I love that I get the same "color" without all the hand aches of using colored pencils. Thanks for sharing your review!! - Faith
I love prisma. so what if they're not perfect, nobody is♡
+Kathleen Dunlap yep, different people have different needs. :)
True, but if you're going to sell something, there should be tight quality control and assurance measures otherwise you might get a bad reputation. Especially if the product is more premium.
My prismacolor colored pencil wood cracked a bit while I was sharpening it for the second time, I sharpened it the way they recommend and I haven’t even really used that pencil. The lead was really of center. I think I’ll just continue using it till I have to sharpen it... it doesn’t break, the problem with my pencil is the wood. Is that a good idea? I hope the core won’t break... I now think that the reason why these pencils often break a lot is maybe more because of the wood, the core is not glued to the wood casing... I’m sure it’s also because of the soft core, but that’s what special about these pencils, they’re ability to blend and shade. The of center core is another really big reason... Thanks for this really helpful review!
I bought my prismas about a year ago from Office Depot and haven't had much breakage with the premiers. The verythins are making me crazy, though! Three or four of them are constantly breaking when I sharpen them. I suspect they were dropped. I have a suspicion that many sellers on Amazon are selling factory seconds without revealing the fact. My mom has the same set of prismas that I do, purchased from Amazon, and she has all sorts of trouble with breakages. I recently (finally) got a full set of polychromos from Amazon. When they arrived, most of the tips were badly chipped, and there was a duplicate pencil, which meant there was a pencil missing. Although the seller is sending me a replacement pencil, I'm still suspicious.
I still love the prisma premiers, though. They don't seem to have as many breakages with the prismacolor sharpener and are great in combination with Derwent Softcolors, which are more natural colored.
+Cam L wow that really should not be the case with the polychromos I would see if you can contact Faber Castell or Amazon and see what they can do for you.
The derwent are on my list to try but they'll have to wait.
+ColoringKaria Amazon said I could return them for a refund and re-purchase them, but that would have taken forever and I didn't want the hassle. They seem to be fine otherwise.
+Cam L oh that sucks. I'm sorry they didn't have a better solution!
Knife-sharpened pencils are forever associated with drawing at my grand-parents', they didn't keep a sharpener around and the pencils were my mom's and aunt's old school stuff. I still have some of those.
I bought Prismacolor Premier, the set of 132, for a good price on amazon but had I known, I might've gone for polychromos instead. Less colors, but better pencils. I need to find ways to use pencils more, too XP
+Eve Bolt - Bolt's Vault don't worry now that I can livestream from my phone I will do live color with me. I'm doing a page with watercolor pencils now but I'll do a page with colored pencils next!
I hope I can catch it! I'll gladly doodle along :)
Since I got my Polychromos on Amazon, I haven't touched my prismacolors (except black). Besides the breaking while sharpening, my heavy hand and the softness of these pencils always created "dust" which wound up smearing...argh! So frustrating! Thanks for the review... "You usually get what you pay for", right?
Hi I was given your name by Simple Art for Adults (Erin) - I am having problems getting prismacolor open stock cheaply in the UK and Erin said you use a large art supplier from there who ship out to you. I would be grateful if you could let me know what company this is as I got the full set really cheaply but can't seem to find single colours cheaply here. Many thanks
+Clare Birschel hey, so I don’t know. The only place I have ordered from international is Jacksons. I know you didn’t ask but my advise to people is usually to look at other pencil options like the koh I noor Polycolor or the Lyra Polycolor or polychromos for international folks rather than trying to hunt these down. The appeal of the prismacolor is the cheap price and easy access. If it costs too much and is too hard to find look at other options. I’m sorry I could not be more help.
+ColoringKaria hi thanks so much for replying. I have polychromos too and the large art store in town has them open stock. The prismacolor are lovely colors but tbh I am completely unimpressed by the poor quality. I am really careful with them but several of them keep breaking. I may just switch back to my polychromos. Thanks 😊
I got a 72 Prismacolors set for Christmas and the amount of breakage is terrible, I was going to get the 150 set, I'm glad I didn't. Ive saved up and bought some Polycromos which are brilliant, I will be using them from now on.
+Hayley Wood Yep. That's about right. That was basically what happened to me. And that's why I did my first review. I'm glad you are happier now.
ColoringKaria The Polycromos haven't broke once, and they don't need sharpening every 5 minutes. I think they need to look at improving Prismacolor, they are expensive pencils and not reliable at all.
+Hayley Wood you are 100% right and that's why I switched to the polychromos. I am thinking I should re-review the Polychromos.
Karia, I'll have to get one of those nice sharpeners! Currently I have a couple plastic Kum long point sharpeners (I like that style for my blackwing and verithin pencils). For anyone on the east coast, AC Moore art stores are selling a 36 Prismacolor pencil set for a reduced price of $10.00. I just picked up a set and wanna compare to the prang and staedtler student grade sets I have.
When I bought my set, I had to return them because one pencil was split down the middle, probably during shipping. Second set seems to be ok, but outside paint is peeling from the peach pencil. I wonder, what's up with the quality control on these? :P
Yes The prismacolor pencils are much more affordable these days than they once were. but you might want to see if you can get a kum sharpener with replaceable blades. those work really well.
Really well thought out and fair review!
Iv'e recently been debating on getting a 48 Prismacolor set on Amazon for $21. Iv'e been using a small handful of Prisma's Iv'e collected over past few years Iv'e used them. I love their bright pigments and how well they mix together. And even after noticing some of their flaws, I still do. But I'm not as annoyed by these flaws as other are. Maybe I was lucky to find a good a batch, maybe it's because I haven't really used them long enough to really to notice their dip in quality control. But I may decide to go ahead and get them
With that being said though, I want to have good set to hold me over as a I slowly build up my NEW FB Polychromos collection.
Thats awesome on all counts! I am glad that my video helped! I think too that they are a much better value since the prices have dropped so much. even since I did this review.
I am a Prismacolor devotee lol once I got an x-acto manual vacuum mount sharpener I have not had the breakage problems with the exception of some pencils I bought open stock from Dick Blick. They just kinda shoved them in a mailing envelope and sent them across three states. But the ones that I bought in sets I don't have many problems with. But yeah, if you love them go to Walmart and get that $7 rotary sharpener, it will save your sanity and your pencils.
thanks for the tip!
I think I need to do some of those charts for ALL the pencils I own. I have the set of 24 prismacolors and I like them a lot. But you're right about the sharpening. My greens are so small now, I might need to buy new ones. I am not sure which set I'll get next: prismacolor, Faber-castell polychrome or Koohinoor. I do want the 100 crayola set of pencils, though. I might have an addiction 😶
+Márcia Leal I am working on a review of the koh i noor polycolor. I was really impressed by them. And of course polychromos are my favorite.
Thank-you so much for this review. I won’t be wasting my money on these prismacolor pencils. What pencil do you recommend that has high density of brightness, comfortable for sore wrists and can layer and blend well with little effort.
What’s your budget? What country are you in? And do you want softer or holding a point longer pencils?
ColoringKaria Hi. Thank-you for quick reply
I will need to save a fair bit, I am tossing up between Luminance and Polychomers
I have used neither. I am using Milan pencils I do like their vibrant colours they retail in Australia 15 dollars for 36. Have you tried Milan? Then there is Staedtler Ergo soft 24 pack retailed around 30 in Australia. I have not used ergo soft so I can’t compare with Milan. I have heard good reviews don’t know if they are better than Milan Spanish pencils. I am now ready for a higher end pencil. I appreciate vibrancy. I like to get either the 2 higher end pencils for later. What do you think about polychromes vs Luminance. I know Ergo soft and Milan only have 3mm barrel they are quiet small. I am now just after something easier on the hand that offers good vibrant colour. People rave about polychomers and Luminance. They are bother very expensive in Australia. I want to layer, blend and mix without too much pain on the hands.
Another question what do you think of the colours of ergo soft, I know they are fairly good quality against break resistance. What do you think of their colours? How soft are they for the cheap end of the scale?
ColoringKaria Hi. I just saw another review you did on Koh-I-Noor artist poly pencils
They retail in Australia pack of 48 for 100 dollars about the same price as Faber-Castell polychromers 36 for 104 dollars and Luminance is 90 dollars more for the pack of 40. In true honesty between these 3 pencils ranging from 100 to 190 for about 40 pencils which is the most bang for buck? I am looking for bright vibrancy , easy on the hand when it comes to blending. When it comes to shading, blending, mixing and colour quality out of these 3 which do you recommend? If I am going to put money in for pencils I want something that is genuine good quality.
So I have reviews (two each) of Luminance reviews (yes two) and Polychromos (yes two reviews), so I would watch at the very least the most recent one of these. but I personally would get the Polychromos 36, if you can save for the polychromos 60 thats even better. But Even though I have the polychromos 120, I got the set of 36 for traveling. It is a really well balanced set and has most of the colors you will need. The only one I would add is "Burnt Umber"
Polychromos Updated review:
ua-cam.com/video/p_TVy9mpiY0/v-deo.html
Luminance Updated review:
ua-cam.com/video/KpeWizHZbjM/v-deo.html
ColoringKaria Thank-you that was helpful, so were the other 2 reviews and I will later on invest in polychromers. I also saw your Derwent soft review yesterday, they are around 86 for their 36 I am now convinced with a few dollars more to get Fabre-Castell polychromers. I will get the black and white pencils loosely in the Luminance pencils. For a set I will go polychromers. I am sure I will see the difference from using student grade pencil to artist grade. I think you have gone to a lot of effort with your colour charts to show comparison, you have mentioned polychromers are your favourite. I am now confident in my decision. Keep up with good work your reviews have been helpful
Looking at the number of off center pencils; If 4 out of 12 are defective, then 8 of 24, 16 of 48, 32 of 96, and 45 of 150 are also defective.. That's 33% of the pencils. Not far from half.
I wish the makers could understand if they improved quality, they could RULE! Karia, you say it so much more eloquently than I do. They are throwing money away and whomever is in charge of production and quality control is a dumba** And same goes for the head of marketing for "spending money on ads instead of quality". Well said!
I enjoyed the speed-footage of sharpening. Listening to the sound would be cool, too.
What a production. Your patience is infinite. A fair and thorough review. Good show!
+Julie M thank you so much!
When I first saw the ad I cursed! I was like what the !!?!? That's insanity to me. The only think I could think of is that they decided they didn't need to compete with polychromos and would instead try to compete with Crayola which could mean even MORE quality drops to keep ads up and the price low. Sigh.
Anyway thank you so much for watching and you are so right. I will try to do a voice over over the high speed if there is a next time. :)
I don't know if I've just been incredibly lucky, but I've never had a problem with breakage or sharpening. And I've used all kinds of pencil sharpeners: Wet & Wild makeup sharpener, Kum, TGal, Prismacolor. I love the softness & creaminess and how easy they are on my hands. May be in the minority, but PolyChromos are scratchy to me and not in my top 3. My other favorites are Derwent Colorsoft & Inktense, KohINoor and Blick.
I totally agree with you, I shouldn't have to buy a special sharpener for these pencils. They don't break that much for me, but they're overall not the highest quality. Pigments in the lead aren't mixed all the way, the color of the shaft doesn't always match the lead, lightfastness issues etc. They're the cheapest pencils I own, so I can live with some of the issues. Not sure I'll ever repurchase them when I run out of a color though.
+Ramo completely agree!
Awesome video. Thank you for sharing.
And damn, you're over 8k subscribers! Too cool.
+Dee Dee thank you for watching! Yes it's crazy! I can't believe it! I'm trying to get to 10k because then I would be able to film videos AT UA-cam STUDIOS NYC!! So that's the goal. Which I think you guys would LOVE!!
ColoringKaria I'll get my pals to sub
+Dee Dee thanks! Every little bit helps!
Hey!I have a question,my aunt is giving me a gift,its either the full set of prismacolors or full set of polychromos,(they have an $0.08 difference),so,uhhm,I can save a few more bucks for the full luminance,and I don't know what to get,so what do you recommend to me?
The Prismacolor Premier 150-$210.08
The FC Polychromos-$210.00
The Caran D' Ache-$267.00
I changed it to dollahs but really it is in peso.
Philippine Peso Rough Est.
₱50.00= $1.00(rough est.)
Either the Luminance or the polychromos. I like the polychromos better because it’s more colors but both are really good. Definitely NOT the prismacolors. If you want a softer pencil then the Luminance is softer. If you do a lot of fine detail than the polychromos is better. But either the polychromos or the Luminance would be amazing.
Is it possible that the quality of Prismacolor premiere has improved recently? I just purchased a set of 132 for $65 off amazon a month ago. I am using an electric sharpener and so far I've had no problems with breakage during sharpening or use. You didn't mention whether you had issues sharpening any of these new pencils....even the off centered ones. Maybe my logic is off, but if the sharpener blade is sharp, it would seem the pencil wouldn't break at all, regardless of the lead being off center. Don't get me wrong, I've seen the many videos of people claiming breakage issues, but sometimes I think some folk just jump on bandwagons for the attention. If it's not too much trouble, could you use these for a while and give us an update. Especially since you are using a manual sharpener, I'd be interested to know how you are getting along with them.
Hello,
I got these pencils around the same time that you got yours. I believe the issue is one of quality control. That just means that faulty pencils are less likely to be removed at various stages of production. so its possible to have batches even long ones with no problems but it is also possible to have more problems.
Having said that, If the lead is off you are much more likely to have breakage of the pencil. I do not now nor have i ever believed that manual sharpeners are a problem as long as they are well made and the blade is sharp and German made. With that in mind I change my blade as needed. ( ua-cam.com/video/gTaaul-ruWM/v-deo.html ). As I said in the video if it works for my crayola pencils I see no reason it should not work for pencils that cost 4-8X as much.
I understand what you mean about bandwagons, but I think its import to remember that I dont know other peoples reality better than they do. Like wise i dont know about other people I'm speaking only from my own experience. I know for me, if it was not for this review I would not have bothered to purchase a new set of these. I love my polychromos and owning three sets every pencil has been perfect and centered. I color for relaxation so I dont want to be stressed out about a sharpener or not dropping my pencils or
anything.
So thats the only thing I can really speak to. I hope that makes sense and answers your question.
Thanks for the re-review! My mom had an extra set of 12 and gave them to me the other week so I was looking forward to hearing your opinions on them. Side note, i always wondered why in school sometimes you get regular pencils that have the huge wood issue when you sharpen them and it never occurred to me that the lead was off center 😂 I did want to ask, and sorry if I missed it elsewhere, why don't you use or blend an orange on your color wheel?
And yep, half of my set of 12 is off center.
+In Liquid Color oh! That's to see how they blend side by side. Good side by side blending is ideal for blending if you don't want to use something like mineral spirits or paint thinner which I don't. It helps make smooth transitions between colors. :)
The other thing which I mentioned only in passing because I have mentioned it more in the original review is about the bonding to the wood core. You will get more breakages if there is no bonding to the wood core.
+In Liquid Color yep. That's not good. Now what some companies have started doing is capping off the back of the pencil so you can't SEE if it's off center but it doesn't change the issues.
Interesting indeed! And thanks for letting me know about the side by side! Good to know :)
My daughter lucked out during the Back to School clearance and got a set of 24 for $5. ;) BTW - major pout here - no Stewie or Bella!?!?
+Ali Dunning I know!! It was my fault. I usually film a few hours before feeding them so they are all over but when I filmed they had both just eaten so of course they didn't care what I had to say or do! LOL. I'll remember to get a clip from them to add to videos before I feed them next time!
+Ali Dunning by the way that's an AMAZING PRICE. I got a set of inktense blocks for $6 and gave them away but now I need them to review and I had no idea they cost as much as they do!!
Ali Lunar_Leveret WOWOWO! where did u get that price??? on Amazon during back to school? or like a store?
I bought the set of 72 for $38. The only reason I bought them is because I wanted an extra set of pencils that were not too expensive that I could use regularly. I found that some were off center and one has a weird line on the bottom but so far so good. I love the blendability and the vibrancy of the pigments but to be honest I waited a full year before I bought them. I was using the Marco raffines-72 for $18 and those are fine. I also have some spectrum noirs and a 120 set of polychromos which I love but I baby them. Alot. I barely use them as dang they be expensive! But absolutely worth it. I agree with your reluctant statement though, to buy the prisma colours now. Especially when they are very affordable. I am glad that I waited a full year before contemplating to buy them. As you said its best to buy them now if you are ok with the off center leads, because the value right now is very good for the amount of pencils you are getting.
+M Robinson well said!
Yes I need to review the Marco Raffines. I heard great things about them.
i think a Month ago i buyed prismacolor premier and i dont have any problem with breakage i dont know maybe i was lucky :) i love them they go on really smooth and blending oh my god... they blend so well im in love with them
+MadziaxxYT that's awesome! Keep using them as long as they work for you. Just don't drop them!
Prismacolors. I love em, but they used to get on my dang nerves. I will say that getting the TGAAL sharpener from amazon was a lifesaver though. Sharpening those pencils to a short point has been helpful and I haven't had any breakage since! I will admit I haven't sharpened them to a long point in MONTHS because I don't think many of those pencils can make it in a long point sharpener. Thanks for your hard work!
+ARK thank you so much for watching. I do have that sharpener but I don't use it often because the blade is not replaceable.
ARK I use a helical sharpener and it works great
ARK I think the T'Gaal is very much overrated after purchasing one. They are poorly made and it is pot luck when it works properly.
I bought a set of Prismas after reading about the problems and have had no problems. I was that pleased with them I went on to buy the 130 set, and just recently the extra 'new' colours. The only breakage I had was down to Human error!
+capyboppy I'll review the taagl at some point but you are right I do think it's a little over rated.
ColoringKaria I have a multitude of sharpeners and have found any one of my KUM ones never fail. I do use the wooden Conté for hexagonal pencils and those bordering just over 8mm. I don't have an electric one or the heli/clamp types yet though.
I got my 150 set back in August and I had breakage with one. I called Blick and they sent one right out. I love my Prismas but I also love my Polys and Luminance Pencils. I lovvvvvvve colored pencils, can't stop buying them and books!!! I never had a a problem with the smaller Prisma sets I've purchased either. I always make sure they are centered when I buy singles from art stores tho!
+Yvette Williams YES! That's what a lot of people do. And I think that all around that does yield better results.
Oh I never thought to contact the retailer. I guess I just feel that they should not have too. I'm working on a review of a pencil that has been soooo bad I had to contact the maker and see what's up because I have literally gone down to 1/3 the pencil just making the swatches!!
+ColoringKaria Please see my reply to Laura Seider just 2 or 3 comments up, I think. Im too lazy to retype it, but you need this info, LOL. Thanks for the videos!
Just an FYI Karia, I called Prismacolor (U.S.A 1-800-346-3278 - Open Mon-Fri 8:00am to 5:00pm EST). They were more than happy to replace any and all the pencils I received that were "out of tolerance" (that there's manufacturing talk, lol). The leads not being centered is my big issue with them too. My last purchase was on the 150 count set & I'd say that at least 10% were not centered. I dealt with it because I was taking them on a trip with me & didn't want to have to wait to receive the replacement pencils. Thanks so much for the video!!!
thank you so much for watching and i will give them a call if i have problems. I wonder if they have new costumer service because i emailed with problems almost two years ago and never heard back but calling seems easier and faster! thanks for the tip!
PSS me again lol -. I wrote the others before you mentioned the commercial - I actually rewound the commercials about a week ago saying wait- what? Was that a Prismacolor commercial hee hee. My dad who is now 84 always sharpened our pencils - just regular old #2's - with a knife. He just loves his knife. I would probably need stitches =-O
+Laura Seiden I know! When I was doing the editing and I saw myself I kept wanting to yell at Past Me "BE CAREFUL!! Looks sharps!"
Could you do a comparison between prisma and fantasia premium color pencils, please?
I will add them to list.
how big of a set would you recommend for beginning with collored pencils?
+Adriaan van Pijkeren it alll depends on money. How much do want to get. What's your budget? It's really hard to say because 36 polychromos will get you further than 100 Crayola colors.
ColoringKaria thanks for the reply! I think I want to get prismacolors because they are quite cheap besides other colored pencils, i think qbout 24 ir 36 maybe.... wich would you recomend?
+Adriaan van Pijkeren oh I would say in that case get the 36 or if it's like it is here where the set of 48 is about the price of a movie ticket I would say get the 48. But you'll be fine with the 36.
Thank you for this review. The con is that the cards you hold keep jiggling around. Maybe lay them on the table while shooting and use fingers or a pencil to direct the eye.
I love the oil based color pencils like Lyra Polycolor, Rembrants Polychromos that are harder lead. True, they do not put on a heavy layer right away so will appear paler. But these harder lead types of pencils are created for fine layering to build the color up and achieve fine detail best. They are just as pigmented. But the hardness of the lead prevents it all to go down at once. Sorry to see this so late.
lyra polycolors are very soft, polychromors are made by fabercastell not rembrant which makes lyra
I can't believe Prismacolor is spending money on advertising! Now I dislike them even more. Your original review helped me decide to go with Polychromo's. I have nerve damage in my hands. So I drop things a lot. I've dropped every pencil at least once, stepped on them and I'm terrible at sharpening (I love the bullet sharpener :) and .... my pencils have not once broken. The point has but I mean I did drop it on the floor lol! That is such a standard of quality that allows coloring to be stress free for me and Prismacolor spends money on advertising??? I just don't get that but whatever. Just wanted to say I appreciate your reviews!
+Tmarie2u thank you so much for watching! You speak truth. And I'm glad you love your bullet!
They do have a light fast rating you can find the info/pdf on their website under FAQs.
I love the color charts, great idea!
+Art Supply N Spaces I'm glad it helped.
PS - by buying them that way I spent $1.79 a pencil - a few were half off but still I paid more than if I got a set and the problem really wasn't solved. Not all of them give me trouble but the diligence I picked them out with- and probably looked like a nut doing so - and the price should have assured no problems. Until I get my FC PC I like the color laydown of the Prismas and I am very happy with my Koh I Noor and Marco Raffine's. And love your videos :-)
+Laura Seiden thank you so much for watching. I don't know if you have a dick blick or jerry's art o rama near but they will give you the online price. So if you buy stuff when the have free shipping online you can save a lot of money even if you go to the store.
I got the more expensive set a couple of years ago at amazon. I always buy the damaged stuff they offer, and my prismacolors came with one broken pencil at half price. I love them, but they aren't as special as I hoped. I tend to use my old cheapies most of the time.
My edit: I thought the same thing about the commercials. They are popular without the commercials. I probably would have thought of the pencils as cheapies if I had seen a commercial.
basically! I need to dind out more about this damaged products from amazon thing! i have heard others getting it but i dont know how you find it.
On Amazon, there is a drop down with all of the departments. One of them is called Amazon Warehouse Deals. (or something like that) You kinda have to troll around for things.
Also, if you put things in your save for later cart, Amazon will tell you of any price changes. I found that a good way to monitor the prices.
And, if you look at the used products, sometimes the damaged things are in there.
I have never been disappointed buying the damaged things. Most of the time, I can't even figure out what was wrong with it.
I got it! thanks for the heads up!
i bought the 72 pack for only 24 dollars and i got 2 extra blenders aswell. i have 0 problems with my prismas. maybe i got lucky and my sisters used prismas like 2-3 years back and they say they are really good. maybe you just got some defective ones. btw use a helical blade sharpener
Yes, the price of these pencils continue to drop. However, many people have had problems with these, and many people have not. thats an indication of quality control problems and inconstancy. As mentioned in the video this is my second set of prismacolor and the first set was also a problem. Having said that, because of the price cuts, it is clear that they have decided not to fight for the same market as Luminance and fight more with crayola. And in the case the sharpening and quality control problems are irrelevant as the price is so low.
The set of prismacolor pencils 150 what's costing $42 during Christmas time now the set of 72 cost $22 needless to say I have to back up 150 and for backups of the 72 I'm sorry people have had bad experience with them but I have not I do have special sharpeners and I take very good care of my pencils and I love all the pencils that I have polychromos, Derwent, Spectrum Noir, and luminance I'm going to cancel girl for sure what do you think about markers I like to see you do a video on that also thank you so much have a great day
im in australia so dont see the ads but its never a good sign if a company is doing a lot advertising. i got a refund from prima not a fan of polycromos or lyra lol. so not sure what to try now. prisma could be good if they picked up qaulity control.
+DisneyFan I have a playlist of all the different colored pencil sets I have reviewed. You can look at the list and see if anything might be something you would be interested in.
ColoringKaria hi karia whats the play list? are you on titter or insta?
ColoringKaria i tried looking which one is it sorry? can i tag me? id to figure out what a playlist is 🤣
The last time I looked at Amazon a full set of 150 Prismacolor pencils were $80. At Christmas time I bought a set for $95.
Yes i would like to see you do a viedo on sharpening your pencil with a knife thank you
No problems I’ll add it to the list.
Suggestion that you add the name of the pencils brand at the bottom of the card. Its not always clear what you are referencing when you compare the brands. The top of the card is cut off in some cases.
The 132 set is under $77. The only set that is over is the 150
+Nulin22 yep. I think that was my guess. I figured it was all or most sets. Thanks for the clarification. :)
Prismacolor are my favorite bes ideas lyra poliycolor i love them.
Great review. Thanks.
+Bonnie A. Thank you so much for watching!
thank you I'm checking all my pencils never knew that
PS: I love your reviews - you make me laugh!
+Cam L thank you!
OMG they're are great offers on amazon.
+ThisIsHannah _ yep always check Amazon for any sets of art supplies. Individual pencils are more on amazon but for sets amazon is usually cheaper.
Interesting they put in the second set of colors in the wrong order
+Nulin22 yeah it's really weird order. The back is in a different order. So I think it was just to save money because the could take the same 12 set and use it for the 12, 24.
great unboxing
+brandon smith thank you for watching!
I bought my Prismas a few at a time open stock at Michael's so I could make sure the cores were centered in the barrel. Sometimes I could not find such an animal in the color I wanted. All of the ones I do have are perfectly centered - and the MFers still split and break and get wasted during sharpening. I will not purchase any more Prismas. I started putting one dollar a day away back in mid December. I plan to do that for one year. Then I will take my boyfriend out for a steak dinner and then I will get some Polychromos! Yay :-). It's a long way away but I think it will be worth it. TFS :-)
+Laura Seiden ugh that really sucks I'm sorry! But the polychromos price has also dropped. A full set is now about $150 instead of $200. Still a lot but much better.
Laura Seidel, get a HELICAL (blade) sharpener for about $15 on Amazon. Mine is by Laneco, but there are others, they're not hard to find. No more breaking during/after sharpening problems. Seriously. That type sharpener works great on about any colored pencil that will fit. It MUST BE A "HELICAL" type sharpener. "Helical" refers to the type of blades. My Prismas had become almost unusable but changing to the helical sharpener has made them as useable as my other artist-grade pencils. I haven't had one Prisma break in several months, now, which is nothing short of miraculous. $15 or so can save your investment.
Gooey Gooball Thank you for the 4-1-1 -. I will try it :-)
I think thats a matter of opinion. To me I should not need to get a special kind of water that to use a cup. Even if the water is "only $15" thats already a problem. a cup should be usable as a cup. likewise a pencil should be useable as a pencil. These pencils as they are, fail to be as usable as Crayola colored pencils for me. I cant tell people to buy a cup that requires a special kind of water to work correctly. Likewise I cant tell people to buy a pencil that requires any kind of special sharpener to work because it has already failed at that point. Now I wont tell people NOT to buy them but I can say as my opinion that they are defective and cant be expected to be used as a regular colored pencil let alone an artist pencil.
I don't see a problem in buying a good pencil sharpener for an expensive set of pencils. I do expect that something that they mass produce for .004 cents and sell to me for $3 is not going to be as good as something geared more toward artist and not towards kindergarteners. There are artist grade pencils so why wouldn't their be artist grade sharpeners? JMO
if you don't want them shipping to Portugal . we don't have that pencil in art store. lol
Can you do a review on crayola crayons?
Dingus she has!
+Dingus oh! I haven't. I did do one on the colored pencils though.
ColoringKaria my mistake! I was thinking of the pencil review.
+Dee Dee no biggie. But I guess I should do a review of them.
In Poland 24 pcs set is 40$
Yeah I don’t think that’s worth it at all
@@ColoringKaria i use koh-i-noor polycolor. I got 72 set fo about 40$ which i realy like (i am not professional i draw just for fun:). I would like to heve some soft coloroed pencils as well. Caran dAche Liminance are like 350$ for 76 set. Prismacolor Premier are like 95$ for 72 set. Polychromos are like 110$ for 60 set. Derwent Coloursoft are 90$ for 72 set.
I know you will not tell me which are best for me, but what do you think about the value?
Prismacolor are the only colored pencils , except maybe crayola, that has an uncovered end. All the others have a closed cap. So you dont really know how centered the lead is on all the other brands. Ud have to cut the ends off for an actual fair comparison.
Actually some other brands have an uncovered end, the limited edition polychromos come to mind. I believe the Blickn pencils do as well. But you can also tell once you sharpen them. You can lay them flat, perpendicular over a sheet of paper. If the line where the wood and the sharpened pencil is relatively straight as you roll it back and forth perpendicularly over the paper (using the straightness of the paper as a guide) the line were the core and point are exposed should be relatively consistent if the pencil is properly centered. But if it is not you will see sharp hills and valleys were more or less of the wood is exposed as you roll the pencil. (This works best for a round pencil for obvious reasons).
You can test it yourself by taking to two pencils from prismacolor one centered and one not at see the difference. Now you can take that same test and try others without the exposed bottom.
prismacolors are soft core pencils, they are not meant to be sharpened as a hard core, you are agressing the pencil by doing that, they are very delicate pencils for light handed artists. no need to press hard on these, they give up strong vibrant color without barely touching the paper unlike polys which are very hard and in my case hurt my hand. their pigment is also much stronger and vibrant, some pencils like polys have a dullness to them maybe closer to nature but definitely less strong and vibrant. also the way they blend and give a painterly effect without solvants or blenders is uncomparable. only negative point is the quality of the design of the external aspect of the pencil but again..they are also more affordable and I refuse to pay just for design. some of the polys are so scratchy and hard and give up so little pigment I was shocked...felt likr a cheap school grade pencil with a nice design
I would contact Faber Castell and seek a replace for your pencils. Faber Castell pencils are harder than the prismacolor but are as or more pigmented color for color. Because Polychromos are not as soft the paper that one uses makes a huge difference. Extra smooth papers are not a good mix for Polychromos because being a harder pencil they need the tooth of the paper. If you are experiencing problems with your pencils not having pigmentation and you are using a paper with tooth to it. I suggest that you contact Faber Castell directly because they, unlike the folks at prismacolor, will respond to your concerns. And either replace or address any issues you might have.