Faber-Castell Polychromos Artists' Color Pencils - Tin of 120 Colors - Premium Quality Artist Pencils

That brand it was very easy to blend the colors

Very good quality pencils. They hold a sharp point very nicely and blend really well.

I really would recommend these pencils to any artist out there who wants to try new brands, or kinds of pencils. They may be a little on the expensive side for someone just starting out, and it’s great that they have options for set sizes. I started out with the set of 36, and I loved how sturdy they are, they have a lot of colors, and they hold a sharp tip pretty well. I’ve gotten a few other brands, but these are by far my favorites. The colors are vibrant, they are thick and durable, I haven’t had any crumble while sharpening. I also like that the ends are covered, I think that helps with their durability.Since I got the set, these are the only colored pencils that I’ve used. They’re awesome! I have multiple Faber Castell supplies, such as the Pitt Graphite Matte pencils, and they are wonderful as well, they’re the only brand I use for my graphite drawings.

Pros:- Rich, vibrant colors that bring artwork to life- Durable leads resist breaking during use- Ideal for both beginners and experienced artistsCons:- Expensive

This is a great deal for genuine Polychromos in a huge 120 pencil set. I would buy these again from this seller.

This set is the best colored pencils ever produced. Let me explain the big reasons why, from where I'm coming from.I have been a hardcore Prismacolor fan from 2001 onward, and their quality has gone extremely downhill. Originally Prismas were made by Sanford which then became bought out by Rubbermaid-Newell. Their products are now consistently off-center (making sharpening hell- you repetitively lose segments of leads which can then only be used by fingertip and friction action), the leads are brittle, they only take 4-6 layers with extreme pressure which makes their colors harder if not nigh-impossible to blend smoothly (and the colorless blender is a joke- picks up colors, etc), and the wax bloom is *ridiculous*, which- if you're sharing your work online- makes decent scanning somewhat troublesome despite excellent DPI. (That's a whole other side topic.)I just got this set of Polychromos for Christmas as a gift, and I'm not looking back at Prisma.Polychromos (Let's call 'em FC for short after the company name) are awesome. There's a really insignificant amount of bloom, but it's an oil base so this really isn't an issue. The laydown is even more buttery than Prisma. They are softer due to the oil-base, and the colors are very rich.Quirks I discovered were the names. I'm coming from a Prisma background so to me, "Pompeian Red" is "Salmon", and "Mauve" is actually their very rich purple hue- which to my former mindset is usually that pale pink/lavender mixup color. So the names will take some getting used to since they're more in line with "painterly" names such as Pthalo Blue, Hooker's Green, etc. So that at least will benefit you if you come from a painting experience. (I do also so it's at least semifamiliar, but still something to get used to).It says something when I have six of the same colored pencil by Prisma and they're all in various states of use/disrepair/broken- and the money behind that does add up. It's frustrating to say the very least, and although that company accommodated my needs by fixing the issue every time (which was often!!) I had flawed items that were interfering with my professional work, honestly just go for the FCs- they're a lot higher quality, plus the leads are bonded and securely centered as well as 3.8mm thick- thicker than say, Crayola (*gag*) colored pencil, so you're getting more product for the money and less wood (which, let's face it: is just a disposable casing). Same amount as per Prismas, but with much less breakage/sharpening issues.To clarify: Someone called Geri B. in the Q&A says that FC don't glue their polychromos pencils. From their own website: " SV Bonding is a process of gluing the full length of the lead to the wood casing of the pencil. This strengthens the lead and prevents breakage which allows for better sharpening, and produces a fine point. SV Bonding is a Faber-Castell trademark. "They're 45c more expensive per pencil than Prismacolors (1.74 vs 1.29 as of this writing) on dickblick.com for replenishment. But considering on average I've lost at least 5 5mm-long leads per pencil (yep: terrible!), that translates to something like a half inch or more lost. One pencil is 7 inches brand new and sharpened, ie almost 178mm. After breakage, you're paying $1.29 for 153 mm (or less than 158 depending on number of breaks), and you're losing 18c per pencil. Some are outright unusable and splinter. Polychromos are the same length. .009c vs .003c; less than a penny either way, but those pennies do definitely add up- and the bottom line even after doing the numbers for the heck of it is- that you're losing product and money every time a Prismacolor pencil busts or fails to perform. I'm totally not a penny pincher. I'm providing this as a breakdown moneywise for the innately curious. And people should NOT have to pay for items to break repeatedly. Prisma tried to address this issue by making pastel-like colored pencil sticks with no lead, as long rectangles- this didn't fix the issue as they're too unwieldy for detailed use; that's a side rant.PROS:-FC are not too much more expensive per pencil than Prismas (buy 10 of each; spend only $4.50 more for world-class quality)-Outstanding laydown-Oil vs wax-based: better blending-VIVID colors, yet not overwhelmingly bad-Traditional style naming conventions as a throwback to the formal pigmentation for artistic references-More realistic results (google up some of the prisma vs polychromos showdowns on Youtube- the video with the grapes painting is what I'm referencing here in particular)CONS:-Haven't seen any yet, will update this review if I do

The pencils themselves are a dream and the color palette is perfect. I almost returned these however, due to them being obviously some one else’s return, did not arrive in shrink wrap and the tin and a couple pencils were damaged. Some of the tips were broken, but appear okay after sharpening. I’m not thrilled about the product being sold as new and not getting a new product. If I had wanted used, I would have purchased used. I ultimately decided to keep because I need them for an assignment, and replacement wasn’t an option when I started returning. So thumbs down for Amazon seller and a big thumb up for Faber Castell for making a product that survived some major abuse.

So good!!! Blending is so much easier. Definitely recommend .