I compare the pencils on the following points:
- Visuals
- Composition of the pencil
- Colors & pigments
- Blending with the Holbein colored pencils
Visuals
The core of the pencil is 3.8mm in a pencil of 7.8mm. The pencil is round and has a beautiful quality. The polish on the pencils matches the color of the pencil itself well, and the pencils also have a nice "cap" on the ends.
In appearance, the pencils most resemble the Faber Castell Polychromos.
Gold lettering shows the Holbein brand on one side of the pencil and the name of the pigment on the other. On that side of the pencil, a star indicates the lightfastness of the pencil.
Composition of the Holbein colored pencils
The core of a Holbein pencil is made from a mix of pigments, wax, oil and fats. This is a unique composition for a colored pencil. The pencils are quite "creamy", so you can draw a thin layer with the pencils to create a thick layer that splatters off the paper beautifully.
A Holbein pencil is soft and in terms of hardness is in between the Polychromos and Prismacolor pencils. The color comes off the pencil easily. They are very soft, but you don't have to sharpen them every five minutes.
Pigments
The pigment of the Holbein pencils is powerful, even with the pastel shades. 150 different colors are available. There are sets of 12, 24, 36, 50, 100 and 150. What makes the Holbein pencils extra special is the large color range of pastel shades. About 1/3 of the set consists of the most beautiful pastel shades.
The pencils are made in artist quality, which means that the best quality pigments are used and that they are lightfast. The colors therefore remain bright for a long time when exposed to light. The lightfastness of the pencils is indicated per pencil in stars.
Blending with the Holbein pencils
You can blend the colors of the Holbein pencils well with each other. The pencils have a fine structure so they're able to work beautifully in layers and to mix colors with each other. Besides mixing, you can use the pencils to build up beautiful colors in layers. You can easily apply a thin layer or a very solid layer. You can see that best in the pictures.
Of course, with these pencils you can also blend with white. Holbein has two types of white. White and Softwhite, the second is extra soft so that it gives off extra color when blending.
Due to the unique composition of wax, oil and fats, they don't blend well with other brands.
An extra option with blending is to use Meltz. This is available in a jar or a brush pen. Meltz melts the colors together so that you get a watercolor effect. Meltz can only be used with Holbein pencils.
Hopefully you got a clearer picture of the pencils! Let me know if you have any questions!
You can get the pencils here.
Love,
Judith
