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Have you looked happily at the Holbein pencils? The colors are beautiful, but they aren't cheap! Chances are that you would like to read about it before you perhaps buy the pencils. In this blog I would like to show you some more of the pencils. I compare the pencils on the following points: Visuals Composition of the pencil Colors & pigments Blending with the Holbein colored pencils VisualsThe 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 pencilsThe 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.  PigmentsThe 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 pencilsYou 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

Fluorescent colored pencils are a great addition to your stash of creative materials. With these bright colors you can add accents, or make complete works in bold colors. Good to know is that the neon colors are a bit less lightfast, which means that they can fade in time. Let's start comparing!  Comparison neon colored pencils In this blog I compare three different brands that carry neon pencils: the Fluo pencils from Caran d'Ache, the neon colors from Tombow Irojiten, and the Luminous series from Holbein. Which one will win the comparison? Caran d'Ache Fluo This brand is known for their high-quality colored pencils. The Fluo colored pencils from Caran d'Ache are no exception: these pencils are real bright neon colors. The pencils have a soft texture, transfer the pigment easily, and are easy to blend. The only downside to these pencils is that the color 'rolls' a bit when layering.   Tombow Irojiten Neon With their colored pencil collection 'Tombow Irojiten', Tombow also added neon colors. They are packaged in beautiful booklets, but also separately available. The pencils have a fairly hard core compared to the two other colored pencils. The neon colors from Tombow are bright, but miss the intensity that the Holbein and Caran d'Ache pencils have. These pencils are loved by artists that want slightly more subtle shades of neon.   Holbein Luminous My personal favorite neon pencil are the Holbein luminous colored pencils. Beautiful bright colors and wonderful to work with. With these pencils you can easily build up color, and the pigments are intense. The colored pencils from Holbein have a very good color release and blend easily. These pencils are available in six different colors, I accidentally swatched only five ;). They are available in a set, or as individual pencils. Conclusion If you are looking for the most powerful neon colours, the Holbein luminous pencils are the best choice. If you like to work with a slightly oilier pencil, the Caran d'Ache Fluo is ideal. For subtle neon colours, the Tombow Irojiten is suitable! Until next time, Love, Judith