April 25, 2016
6 Comments
Thank you for joining me again for another colourful start to the week! If you missed my first pencil related post last week, make sure you check it out HERE to see some tips on using your coloured pencils together with alcohol based markers.
Today I’ve got a little 2-for-1: Stamping Bella’s adorable and fun Nice to See You Petunia stamp coloured using two different popular coloured pencil brands. I chose this image so you would get some colour combo ideas for both Petunia Pig and the Cool Chicks (they honestly pop up everywhere, getting into mischief) whether you’re a Prismacolor or Polychromos lover! You can find this stamp in the Woodsies section on the Stamping Bella website, along with more Petunia Pig images and some other A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E animals.
If you’re a devoted Copic user you may want to refer to the following posts for colour combos:
Prismacolor Pencils Vs Polychromos Pencils
The main difference between the two brands is that Prismacolor pencils are wax based and Polychromos pencils are oil based. Polychromos pencils will not build up a wax bloom and so can be layered more than the Prismacolors. This is probably more evident if you are colouring larger detailed pieces with lots of layering.
As I mentioned in last week’s post, my first attempts in the wonderful world of colouring were made with Prismacolor pencils. I was gifted a full set around nine years ago, and I still have that same set (ditching them for markers does increase the lifespan of your pencils significantly 😉 ). They are great pencils, and I have loved them, except for one thing: breakage. I often feel like I only have to look at them the wrong way and the leads break. Sharpening them has always been an exercise in anger management, and I gather from reading various forum threads and blog posts in recent years that the problems have increased due to what appears to be poor quality control.
Faber-Castell’s Polychromos pencils do not have similarly brittle leads. They are easily sharpened to a very fine point and they hold the point well (obviously if you are very heavy handed, you will break the point on any pencil). This is one advantage that is great for stampers, as we often work in small detail areas. The glasses on the chicks in today’s image would be a good example. Overall the Polychromos are my personal preference and are the pencils I reach for most often.
To keep the images as similar as possible for comparison purposes I used Zest-It Pencil Blend as a solvent on both images, however my general preference when working with the Polychromos pencils is to colour purely with the pencils, using them to blend rather than solvent and blending stumps. This is also very achievable with the Prismacolor pencils, but because of the points mentioned above, I don’t enjoy the process nearly as much.
Join me next week for a fun look at colouring with pencils on a budget. You may be surprised at the results!
MWAH!
~Elaineabella
Thanks for the tips on colored pencils that I’m going to try using again!
too cute, love the glasses.
So fun.
Hi Elaine! Petunia and the Cool Chicks–Great post! I too am a Copic junkie, but when I need to switch it up, I use Caran D’ache Pablo colored pencils. Great color and virtually no breakage. Love these for this medium. Give them a try!
Hey Jane!
I do have a selection of Pablos. 🙂 They are very nice!
I’ve never broken a colored pencil before so I don’t know what you are talking about although I have broken a crayon or 2 in my day. I find I need to sharpen them a lot because I use them a lot. I used to do color by number kits when I was a kid. I never used up all the pencils and I still have some of them! I looked on-line and they still make those kits by the way in case anybody is wondering. Most of my colored pencils are Caran d’Ache and some are Prismacolor. Some of them I bought 2 years ago or so and some I bought in an art supply store in my town in the 70’s! They closed up about 5 years ago but they sold the individual pencils and I loved going in there. Another fave of mine are colored pencils that are big and fat. I guess they are for children’s hands. Even though my hands are child sized, it took a little getting used to but now I love, love, love them! The colors are amazing and the come with their own sharpener. The company is called eeBoo and I found one set in a children’s toy store, on in the gift shop of our hospital and one while I was on a day trip with my sister. I have to check out their website which I am sure they have because maybe they have more colors then just the ones I have. One batch is Florescent colors, one is 3 or 4 colors in one pencil and one is shimmery colors like gold and silver. Check them out and if you can get used to the fact that they are big and fat you will love them. I guarantee you the points won’t break! I also have 2 boxes of General’s Pastel Chalk Pencils that someone gave me. They have erasures on the end of them, a sharpener and a blender thing! Last but not least for Christmas last year my sister gave me a tin of 12 Stabile CarbOthello chalk pastel colored pencils. Oh yeah, I have 64 Crayola colored pencils because Crayola sent me some coupons when I told them how wonderful their crayons were. I have every color I could possibly need and even though the pencils are small compared to all my other ones, I figure if I have some colored pencils from the 60’s and 70’s and didn’t use them all up yet, what are the chances I will use these up? They also have a sharpener in the back. Check them all out as I recommend them all very highly. Sorry if I rambled on to much!
I have the Prismacolor pencils and have the same problem….breakage of the led. Ugh! I have one pencil that I never even got to use as when I sharpened it, the lead kept breaking until there was nothing left. Ugh! I was wondering about the Polychromos as I’ve seen a lot of other crafters using them. I just might have to order a few and give them a try….although I always seem to go back to my Copics…LOL! Thanks so much for sharing this information! It is good to know that I am not alone in my wondering about the Prismacolor pencils! 🙂