Cezanne Professional Colored Pencil Set of 120 Colors, Artist Quality Soft Core Leads for Drawing, Art, Sketching, Shading, Coloring, Layering, Blending - Metal Gift Tin Box

This pencil has a very good color payoff. It works even on smooth paper that other pencils glide over.

There was no extra padding for rough international posting! The case is pretty banged up and there are several pencils that have problems when sharpening, I suspect from the travel issue. Overall good for a budget pencil. Pigment level is good. Nice range of colours. Will take a few good layers, and blending is satisfactory for this level of pencil. I would recommend as a good starter set for the budget conscious.

These pencils aren't ever going to be as good as Prismacolors, top of the line Faber Castels, Caran d'Ache or Derwent. All those brands are expensive and have varying core strength, highest light fastness ratings, and blendability depending on preference. You get what you pay for in a lot of the art world and pencils aren't the exception. Can you make good art without them? Yes! I've seen artists use Crayola pencils for pro grade art. However, better tools make for less frustration and faster results most of the time Cezanne have been a fantastic middle ground. Pros: Good coverage. Far better than Crayola but not quite up with Prismacolor Good core strength. Unlike Prismacolors, you don't have to warm the cores before the first use to help prevent breaking. (Do a quick search for this trick, there's a number of ways). Can be sharpened with any cheap Big Box or office supply hand held sharpener. Prismacolors tend to do best with a specialized sharpener. Price. I paid $30 for 120 pencils. The same type of set would cost over $100 for any top brand Cons: Nothing in this price range will have the light fastness of the expensive brands. For work you want to last for years, these won't be your go-to. Will not cover or blend on the same level as top brands. They're good, but where Prismacolor white will cover almost anything, this white just does a good job - not an exceptional job. Final Thoughts: Great for learning/practice or art you plan to scan and keep digitally. If you end up grinding down 25% of a pencil on a project you don't want to finish, it's not as big a deal as it would be if you were using a set priced at $100-$200+ I'll buy these again for practice, coloring books, cards, other temporary art, and art ported over into a digital paint program.

I am SO GLAD I purchased these pencils! The colors are bright and beautiful, they sharpen wonderfully and they lay down color easily and blend beautifully! I always have issues with Prismas breaking when sharpening, and feeling almost “squishy” when coloring. These are the perfect texture, not too soft, but not hard and scratchy. They layer and blend perfectly. The color selection is perfectly balanced in the full spectrum. They are beautiful and a pure pleasure to work with!

I only rated this product 3 stars even though I like these pencils. The lower rating is due to the shape these were in when I got them. I opened the tin and 9 pencils in the top tray had broken tips or where missing tips entirely. 4 broken, 5 missing. I've never received a set in such bad shape. One pencil is already shortened by an inch and I haven't even swatched them yet. On checking the tin more closely, I saw a bow on the upper left side. These were probably dropped at one point. There are no other obvious problems so do I keep this set or send it back? I'm still deciding.