Faber-CastellArt & Graphic Polychromos Colour Pencil, Multicoloured, Tin Of 36, For Art, Craft, Drawing, Sketching, Home, School, University, Colouring

I am writing this review as a non professional novice colourist, I am a crafter not an artist and it is my opinion only.The following is my review of Faber Castell Polychromos (oil based) coloured pencils. 120 pencil set which is supplied in a metal tin.I very rarely leave reviews because to me something must be outstanding or exceptional in some way for me to do so, I do not believe in leaving reviews on items that are what they are I,e,. I've paid for an item and receive what is expected for that price, and I most certainly don't believe in praising someone or something for simply providing the service or goods for which I've paid.However having said that I feel I have to leave the following review.I have been a chronic insomniac for nearly 30 years due to chronic illness, disability and pain and am constantly looking for ways to relax enough that I can sleep, one of the things suggested/recommended is adult colouring, so I decided to purchase a pile of expensive adult colouring books and some cheap pencils.Needless to say the results were to me, very unsatisfactory, it wasn't the books because they were expensive and the images inside were printed on good quality paper. It was the cheap pencils. At that time, in my ignorance, I believed they are just pencils and a pencil is a pencil is a pencil, right, oh how wrong, naive, misguided and deluded was I. Unfortunately my dissatisfaction with my colouring results annoyed and irritated me so much it made my insomnia worse!I decided at this point to do a search online to see what other non professional amateur colourists were using and recommending. (Quite frankly there is so much info and so may views I was left completely baffled, befuddled and bewildered). However it soon became apparent that there were 2-3 brand names that kept cropping up and were getting consistently favourable reviews.One of those names/brands was faber castell's (oil based) polychromos artist grade colouring pencils, reviewers were saying how vibrant and true the colours were, the pencils were easy to blend, comfortable to hold and overall that they were good quality. I decided that I HAD to have these colouring pencils that everyone was raving about. I told myself that I didn't just want these pencils I actually needed them in my life so I continued to look online at various retailers, unfortunately they are a considered purchase and at that time I couldn't justify going into debt on my credit card just to buy pencils (however fantastic they might be) So I decided to save my pennies over the next few months (or should I say pounds)! And at the same time every so often I would buy different sets of cheapish to mid range pencils but was never satisfied with the results.I should point out that most people would say that I could or even should have bought one of the smaller sets of the FC Polychromos ie,., 12 or 24 piece sets, and I've no doubts they would probably be right, however because of my chronic OCD I am afraid to say that NO I could not do that, unfortunately when I decide to do something I HAVE to go the whole hog, I know myself well enough to know that I would not be happy or satisfied unless I had the complete range of colours.So,Periodically I would continue to look at prices for the pencils on various web sites, then one day I looked, yet again, at amazon's website and found the (complete) 120 piece pencil set of faber castell polychromos on offer from prime and even better they could be delivered by 10-30 pm that night, so I took a deep breath, crossed everything, closed my eyes and pressed buy.I proceeded to spend that day alternating between excitement at the thought of my purchase and feeling quite queasy oh my word what have I done, I've spent all that money on pencils, and then back to excitement. At 6-30pm Amazon delivered my parcel I brought it inside and with trepidation and proceeded to remove the outer cardboard packaging and bubble wrap, inside I found this gorgeous green metal box/tin factory sealed and wrapped in cellophane.I removed the cellophane and proceeded to open the tin. Upon opening it the first thing to hit me was the wonderful smell of wood from the pencils and then I beheld the fantastic array of all those beautiful colours. My OCD brain was positively singing at the sight of all those pencils so neatly lined up, all in their graduating colour order, all with the pencil lead exactly in the centre of the casing, all with the brand/manufacturers name and the colour numbers printed perfectly on the pencils. I was literally humming with pleasure at the sight of such perfection. BUT my cynical, clinical mind started shouting at me that this was too good to be true and there must be something wrong somewhere and actually I shouldn't be getting so excited about the tin and how the pencils look and smell but about the functionality of the pencils.I proceeded to spend the next hour sitting with the tin of pencils on my lap just touching, feeling and yes, I'm not too embarrassed to admit, smelling all those beautiful pencils in their tin, and just appreciating the look of them all. I think I was a bit afraid of being disappointed by the pencils so was hesitating in using them. However I took a very deep breath (or two) and decided to take the bull by the horns and get one of those very expensive colouring books that I had previously bought and proceeded to colour one of the images.Oh my, what a difference, I don't think I truly believed there could be such a marked difference in colouring pencils, but I can honestly say that in my opinion all those positive reviews were well founded and true, I have found that the pencils are smooth to use, comfortable to hold, and as a novice as long as you use the correct paper to give yourself the best chance of success, if you lay down the colour lightly you can build up multiple layers to get deep vibrant colours and they are blendable so long as you lay down the colours lightly from light to dark.As I have already stated I am crafter/hobbyist not a professional artist and so my review is given from the perspective of someone who does not have the foggiest idea of what they are doing so some readers may think I am talking out of my ear or that what I have written is complete bunkum, however I do genuinely believe that as long as you follow a few basic rules and guidelines when using them you should, hopefully get good results. However If you are a Professional artist/colourist you might not find my review very helpful as you probably have different expectations from the use of them.I can safely say I am very happy with my purchase, starting with how easy it was to place my order and pay for it all the way through to the delivery and most importantly, both the tin and the pencils arrived undamaged. I am happy with the quality of the pencils I received, they arrived well packed and in pristine condition. I would hope and expect that anyone purchasing the above from Amazon would have a similar experience and be as happy with their purchase as I am. Because for me on this occasion this has been an excellent buying experience.All of the above is my opinion only but I hope it is helpful.

These are great quality coloured pencils. They are nice and soft, and blend well. There is a good variety of colours and show up well on both dark and light paper. They give a professional finish.They are a high price point product, however you are getting a high quality product. For me, definitely worth the price asked. Would recommend.

Lovely set - good quality!

Good colouring pencils. Great for layering. Each pencils feels a good thickness and weight. Sharpen well, and minimal crumb while colouring. Would recommend

Great colouring pencils. Rich in pigment and soft enough to blend. Great value

I think, oh alright, I know, I should have just bought these in the first place! So far since December I have bought three sets of pencils and none of them were really that great.I balked at forking out well over £100 for pencils. However, 120 pencils worked out at £1.07 each and individually they are £1.49, so a fair saving and meant I got all colours in one go and what an amazing colour choice there is. A lot of books I am colouring at the moment seem to require a lot of greens and browns and these come in abundance.Compared to previous pencils these are a joy to use, hard strokes for darker depth, light strokes for main body colouring.They are in a great case with 3 layers, quite heavy, but means you can have them all out at the same time and I like that the pencils are coloured all the way on outside. My others were only coloured at ends, which made it difficult to pick which colour in lamp light.I already have a faber castell pencil sharpener for use with these. Because they are quite soft leaded I would not use a standard sharpener.I have only given 4 stars because a couple of the pencils are damaged with broken leads.My advice - if you have the money to invest in these first off do so. Cheaper alternatives mean you end up spending more in the longer term and may end up with these at the end anyway.

Ok so I'm going to start by saying. I grew up with an artist uncle, whos father was an artist. I have a first hons in fine art. I have a studio and I work on commissions as a professional artist. From the age of 4, I've never liked coloured pencils, I'm incredibly fussy with art materials and I can tell when theres wax binder in them. So, tried faber gold student range of pencils recently and I didn't like them, because they were so shiny they hurt my eyes. So, went to the city art store to try testers of different brands of coloured pencils and I chose these, however, they were out of stock in the city store. I took a gamble and bought them off amazon instead. They came in immaculate condition, still in the packaging sealed, in an immaculate cardboard box. When I opened the tin, they smelled brand new. Not one of the pencils tips cracked, as I drew little squares testing out. I tested 37 pencils, having taken the tin up to the studio the tips stayed completely break proof. I haven't tested all of them, but they feel lovely, the ones I've tried. They have the names of all the colours on the pencils as well. The colours are very vivid, smooth and creamy. I've never liked coloured pencils since I was a child, but I can honestly say, they have made me very happy today. They are oil based which is probably why they feel creamy. You get what you pay for, these don't disappoint.Update: Having tested every single pencil, and used them to draw the bridge on my Venice painting, every pencil is faultless, they are all beautiful. Not a crack, or a splinter from any of them. It actually pays to buy the more expensive postage if buying something expensive. The packaging is better, they are handled with even greater care and the arrive the next day, directly from the manufacturer.