Derwent Artists Colouring Pencils, Drawing & Colouring, Set Of 24, Professional Quality, Ideal For Layering & Blending, 32093

I've recently become keen on using coloured pencils as a medium and have treated myself to several sets. I was keen to try this little set out as they aren't included in the other ranges, are lightfast and thought the tinted blacks and whites might be useful.On opening them I wasn't very impressed by the build quality or presentation. The painted ends were lumpy, chipped and grubby and the ends looked chewed up by being sharpened very roughly. This seemed careless and odd for a set that claimed to be "of finest artists quality" on the pack.They did sharpen well to a good point with the included sharpener but I was underwhelmed by their performance. The whites are very hard leaded so it is almost impossible to shade with them without indenting the paper but are very transparent which makes them unsuitable for final details. The blacks are slightly softer but of equally low pigment. The Raven is more like a dark grey, the Midnight is lighter than other brands Indigo and the Forest is far more green than black. Not "highly pigmented pure colour" as it says on the box. (Even my inexpensive Lyra set of blacks, greys and white are far more highly pigmented than these.)This left me in a bit of a quandary as I find they are too hard to layer easily but far too transparent for final details as far as I am concerned. Plus the tinted blacks go noticeably bright green or blue if you layer white over them. The only upside I can dredge up for this set is they came in a nice sturdy tin with a flimsy but effective plastic sharpener.I had hoped that Derwent had decided to return to the high standards that they had when they were owned by Rexel Cumberland but this sadly does not seem to be the case. ( This isn't nostalgia, I own some vintage sets I bought from their factory shop and have been horrified by the smaller size and lower quality of the current open stock I've recently bought to replace favourite shades. )Oh well, I will stick with European brands who manage to produce nicely presented, good quality pencils for a better price rather than being disappointed by Derwent and recommend others do the same.

i wanted some good pencils which could give me realistic results. i had some Derwent pencils as a teen in the 90's and they were really good so i bought these and 3 other sets but i was really disappointed the quality is nothing like it was. i found it hard to get good detail with these. shortly after buying them i bought Faber Castel Polychromos they are about the same price but far better quality. You need to up your game Derwent you are supposed to improve products.

I purchased these pencils after doing a fair amount of research on them. Full disclosure - I'm not a professional artist so my skills are at a beginner level but I have several artist grade sets of coloured pencils so I think I have a sense of what makes a good pencil. I think my true score would be 4.5 stars as many of these pencils are not lightfast.I didn't think I would like a pencil with a harder core but these are an exception. I don't find them to be that hard actually - they are firm but still have loads of pigment in them and don't bother my slightly arthritic hands. Not like cheap student grade coloured pencils do. I like the size of the pencil. And especially the colours are quite different from my polychromos and Prismacolor. All in all, very happy with my purchase. Just wish I could get open stock in Canada!Pros :Lovely soft colours not found in other setsAbility to blend using light layersA harder core so maintains a point well with almost no breakageVery sturdily madeColours seem more natural than many other sets - good for landscapes, portraitsIf you purchase the 120 set the wooden box is to die forReasonable costConsMany pencils not lightfastNot as good for colouring books (in my opinion)

These pencils are a lovely extra selection to add to my Derwent Drawing pencil set. They have a creamy laydown and lovely for blending, this is packaged in a lovely wee metal tin and 4 are subtle coloured shades, 2 blacks, a green and blue tinted pencil, and 2 white which are very lightly tinted, with blue and pink, the other 2 pencils are just original black and white. These are lightfast too, which for artists, is an important consideration when purchasing pencils. I have given a star less than full marks, not for the pencils which are great, they certainly would score 5 stars, but the sharpener provided, though it can be used for normal sized graphite sketching pencils, this doesn't fit these pencils.

I just love these. My favourite coloured pencils. Such a great range of earth tones and muted greens. And they blend so well. They work on so many different papers for me and are an amazingly versatile pencil! Love them!

Excellent quality, colours are amazing. My only issue is that they should say on the package for delivery, fragile !!! as mine were posted through the letterbox (I was in) and I’m extremely worried the leads may have broken THEY ARE NOT CHEAP

Thanks, these are the pencils I wanted they arrived all right and was left with a neighbour. I have used them before and there are good pencils to me.

I was happy that the coloured pencils arrived promptly. However, the tin containing the pencils had 3 small dents and a couple of minor scuff marks on the lid. No other items within my delivered package appeared to be damaged. The pencils inside the tin were in excellent condition. Thus, I believe the defects to the tin's lid must have occurred during storage. Fortunately, the pencils were not intended as a gift. As I had purchased them at a good price, I accepted the coloured pencils for my own use.