Hi guys, in this video I'll be doing an in-depth review on Arteza's Expert coloured
pencils.
Just for transparency, Arteza were kind enough to send me this set to review, but rest assured
that I'll be completely honest about the product and my opinions.
So, first off, taking a look at the packaging.
These sets come in a lovely tin with a hinged lid.
I'm always happy when products arrive in a tin, as it's an excellent way of protecting
and storing coloured pencils.
As for the information on the front- there's very little to glean other than that they're
artist quality and they boast rich and vibrant colours.
I like the modern and understated packaging design, although an inspirational artwork
to show off the possibilities of these pencils would've been more exciting than the colourful
cross-hatching on the from, in my opinion.
Turning over onto the back and we're greeted with a lot more information:
"Professional grade artist quality coloured pencils".
And that they're "break resistant and have soft and thick leads".
And that they offer "smooth colour laydown for superior blending and shading".
"Unsurpassably lightfast and acid free quality pigments".
And that they're "ideal for drawing, illustrating and colouring"
So as always, I'll evaluate the claims towards the end of the video, to see if the product
lives up to them!
So taking up the bulk of the packaging we have a swatch chart- which I seriously approve
of.
The swatches aren't incredibly representative of the colours, but it definitely gives a
good impression of the range inside It would've been nice to see the lightfastness ratings
also printed on the back here.
And the remaining information is contact information and a guarantee- which is nice to see- and
some information to show that these pencils conform to American and European standards
regulations, as well as responsible use of wood.
So now taking a look inside.
The pencils are organised in three layers of plastic inserts.
Something that struck me straight away is how much these pencils smell compared to other
pencils I own- and personally I don't find it unpleasant- in fact I find it quite nostalgic
as it smells like the exciting art kits I received when I was small.
These pencils do conform to the American and European safety standards for art supplies
and toys so I'm not concerned about toxicity- but if you are sensitive to smells then you
may want to give this product a miss.
The smell has dissipated a little since I first opened them, but the smell is certainly
quite strong still.
-The trays are quite cheap and flimsy plastic, but they do the job.
Initially the pencils were organised in a strange way, so I went ahead and put them
in a colour order that felt more intuitive to me.
The pencils came pre-sharpened to a flat tip, but since unboxing them I've used them and
sharpened them myself- they certainly didn't arrive this sharp.
If you'd like to see my first impressions of these pencils I'll leave a link in the
cards in the top right, and the description box below.
But now taking a look at the individual pencils.
The build quality of these pencils is excellent.
These round pencils feel very solid and are covered in a thick glossy lacquer, including
an end-cap.
I've measured the pencil barrels to have a diameter of 7mm and a wonderfully large
core size of approximately 3.8mm.
Each pencil is printed with silver foil, showing the company's name, the colour name and
number, as well as the lightfastness ratings of each pencil.
Although the foil print is very smart looking, I found that because it's so reflective,
on some colours it's a little bit more difficult to read.
The colour of the barrel is meant to represent the colour in the pencil, but take this with
a big pinch of salt- end cap or barrel colour is rarely an accurate match to the pencil
colour, and that's certainly the case for the majority of pencils in this set.
Instead, I find it much more useful to look at the revealed tip of the pencil, or refer
to a swatch to choose colours.
So now taking a look at the properties of the pencils!
Starting off with the colours in the range of this set, I think there's a great selection
with lots of bright and vibrant colours, as well as some more muted and earthy tones.
On the other hand, I think there are quite a few colours that are very similar to others
ones.
As you can see on this black paper, some of the pencils are quite opaque, whilst most
are semi-transparent or semi-opaque.
If you'd like a closer look at these swatch charts, I'll leave a link to my blogpost
about these pencils in the description box down below.
Next, I'll demonstrate how well these pencils mix and blend on some different papers- here
I'm creating a little colour wheel using just three colours- which are Lemon, Fuchsia
and Peacock Blue - with the goal of creating as smooth as blend as possible just using
the pencils alone.
The three papers I have here are Arteza's Watercolour paper- which I figured would be
a common purchase along with these pencils.
On the right I have some Strathmore Toned Mixed Media paper, which has a smooth vellum
finish, but just enough tooth to layer easily with coloured pencil.
And in the middle here I have the reverse side of Canson Mi-Teintes, which has a fine
grain and is a touch coarser than the Strathmore Mixed Media paper.
The laydown of these pencils is waxy and smooth, and the pigment distributes evenly with no
grittiness or random dots of darker pigment.
The pencils glide across the paper and feel quite soft in that respect, but they are also
firm enough to sharpen to and maintain a fine point.
I found the most effective way of blending colours was to carefully layer using a very
light hand and alternating colours.
Because these pencils pigments can't be easily pushed around the paper's surface,
and most colours are semi-transparent, I had to be extra cautious with the pressure I applied
the colours with, as haphazardly placed lines of one colour couldn't be easily disguised
with the next colour.
These properties do have their positives though!
Transparency and minimal spreading means that you have a high degree of control over your
application of colour, such as creating interesting textures and depth.
The next test is to see how well the pencils erase- so here I'm using a Tombow Mono Zero
eraser and a Derwent electric eraser to compare.
The Tombow Mono offers a lot of control when erasing, but the Derwent electric eraser requires
comparatively little effort.
Both do a good job of erasing the pencil, although the pencil has stained the paper
a little- especially at the top of these gradients where the application is heavier.
The third test is to see how pigmented and opaque the white pencil in this set is.
And as you can see it's not hugely effective on Arteza's watercolour paper, but works
best on the Canson Mi-Teintes, owing to the fine and slightly abrasive texture of the
paper, which really helps to pull pigment from the pencil tip.
The white pencil also works well on the Strathmore paper- I think the fact that this paper is
toned helps too, although the vellum finish texture of this paper isn't quite as grabby
as the Canson Mi-Teintes.
Now moving on to the next round of tests- I have some roughly coloured gradients I want
to try using some different blending mediums on to see what works best with these pencils.
First up we have Zest-It Pencil Blend, which is a liquid solvent made from orange turpentines
and is designed to be used with coloured pencil.
Mineral spirits or paint thinners will offer similar results.
The pencils dissolved well with the solvents and were able to be spread around to create
even coverage.
That being said, I didn't like how they worked on Arteza's paper, as the deep and
regular linear pattern made it difficult to obtain homogenous colour in both the valleys
and on the peaks of the paper's tooth.
Next we have the Derwent Blender pen, which uses alcohol to dissolve the waxy binder of
the coloured pencils.
The blender pen works with these pencils, but isn't particularly easy to use.
It does push the colours around a bit, smoothing out the blend, but the waxy coloured pencil
seems to stick to the nib and the make it difficult to apply the alcohol.
And finally we have a blending pencil- and I'm using the Derwent blending pencil as
I've found that it's the softest of the ones I've tried.
The pencil does a great job of pushing the pigments into the valleys of the paper's
tooth and works really well with these pencils.
The last little test is to see how well these pencils layer- and will also give an idea
of the level of pigmentation, the laydown and how waxy these pencils are.
I start off by filling the whole rectangle with a layer of coloured pencil using the
lightest hand possible, then I keep layering using this pressure until I'm no longer
having an effect on the intensity of colour, when I'll then start increasing my pressure.
The amount of layers you can distinguish and achieve will vary from person to person, but
10 layers for me suggests that these pencils offer a reasonably good level of control.
I did find that the intensity of colour was weaker on the Strathmore paper, but that paper
offered better control of even coverage during the first few layers.
So as you can see, paper choice influences the techniques that you use and the results
that you can achieve
Taking a closer look at all of these test sheets again now that the solvents have fully
dried- as you can see, the finish of these pencils is highly glossy due to the high wax
content.
These pencils have a high tendency to create wax bloom- which can show up as a glossy and
uneven streakiness in the surface, or as a milky or powdery white coating on the pencil's
surface.
I don't think Arteza's watercolour paper is a good choice for coloured pencil as the
heavy, regular texture makes it very difficult to create smooth and even coverage- especially
when blending or if you want to apply thin layers of coloured pencil.
Now moving on to the demo!
I've create a quick sketch of a tiger on the reverse side of some Canson Mi-Teintes
in a light warm grey colour.
From my experiments, I found that these pencils performed the best on paler colour paper as
they aren't opaque or pigmented enough to offer bright results on the darker paper.
I also found the Mi-Teintes to perform the best out of the papers I tried.
For many of my previous coloured pencil reviews, I've used pastelmat to demonstrate the product
on- however, as these pencils are most certainly budget friendly, I decided to test them on
a paper that I'd also consider kind on the wallet.
I've started out by blocking in some of the highlights and shadows- and as the tiger
has a lot of blue in his white fur I've decided to put some light base layers of this
in as well.
As I work, I mix lots of different colours into his fur to create depth and interest
and I really focus on building up contrast.
I think I use all of the browns in this collection on his orange fur, as well as all of the peachy
colours, as well as some blues, greys and yellows too.
These pencils layer very well!
They mix nicely with the mineral spirits, and I can easily work over the top of these
blended layers to refine colours and detail.
These pencils have very quick lay-down.
At 24x24 centimetres (or 9.5x9.5 inches), this piece is quite a bit larger than what
I usually create.
However, I managed to complete this piece in only 3 hours, but the 15x15cm tiger I completed
in a video a few months back- which I'll link to in the description and the cards-
took around double this.
That being said, I do feel like some of the speed was due to the fact that I didn't
go quite as detailed in this piece as I did in the previous tiger, as most of the colours
weren't opaque enough to stand out on top of the darker layers underneath.
The laydown was also sped up because the pencils are waxier, and the paper I used here is less
abrasive than the pastelmat that I used for the previous drawing.
For that drawing I had to apply a lot more layers to achieve a smooth finish, whereas
here it took comparatively few.
This could be seen as a positive or a negative- although the process is quicker with these
waxy pencils, there is also less room for lots of layers to build up depth and subtleties
in the colour.
Something I do want to mention though is that the white was surprisingly opaque- most white
pencils are disappointing, but this one was great.
It even stood out ok over the top of lots of darker layers- and worked especially well
if I dipped the sharpened tip into a little solvents before applying it- and I did this
for some of the details and whiskers at the end of the progress of the piece.
I used a crank sharpener to get a fantastically long tip to my pencils, and they also do well
to maintain this sharp point.
This makes them an excellently versatile pencil- good for coverage and good for detailing.
It also appears that the core is glued all the way down the length of the pencil too,
as although I've tried, the wood doesn't peel or flake away from the core.
This will help prevent breakage- especially if the pencils are dropped, as then the core
shouldn't just fall out the end of the pencil.
This range comes in two different sizes- the 48 set and the 72 set.
And as for the cost of these sets, excluding any shipping costs, on Arteza's website-
excluding any shipping costs- the 48 set sells for around £15 or $27 USD , and the 72 set
for £24 GBP or $33 . Prices appear to be around the same on Amazon and on other websites-
but I always recommend checking different sites out as prices can fluctuate by a few
pounds or dollars.
Moving on to a pet-peeve of mine- I explain this in more detail in the first impressions
video, but the "original" price for these products on Arteza's website appears to
be overinflated and not representative.
As far as I know the pencils have never been sold at this hugely expensive "original"
price, so don't be fooled by the sales tactic- although these pencils *are* good value for
money at the prices I previously mentioned.
So going off the prices these sets actually sell for, the pencils work out to cost roughly
40 pence or cents each- which is very inexpensive.
Unfortunately, these pencils don't currently sell open-stock, so if you run out of your
favourite colour your only choice is to purchase the whole set again.
As for lightfastness ratings, I managed to get a definitive answer from Arteza.
The lower the amount of plusses on the pencil barrel, the more lightfast the pencil is.
This follows the ASTM-D standard rating system for lightfastness- a I or a II is acceptable
for work produced for display and should last at least 50 years under museum conditions.
In this set of 72, 31 score a 1 or a 2.
And if you're interested in seeing how the ratings of these coloured pencils compare
to other brands, I'll leave a link to a blog post in the description box down below.
Something I thought was interesting is the way the colours are named- they all have quite
poetic names which I find to be quite memorable and quite descriptive.
I think the choice of names is particularly useful for newer artists, compared to the
more complicated and overwhelming names that high-end products often have- for example
"Moss" is a bit more relatable than "chromium green oxide"
Moving on to evaluating the packaging claims.
So the tin stated that these are professional grade and artist quality.
Moreover, Arteza rank their Expert range to be artist grade, whilst their Premium products
are considered student grade.
But..
I don't entirely agree that these are professional or artist grade supplies.
I think that the pigmentation is on the low end of being professional or artist grade,
and then there's also the issue that more than half the set isn't deemed to be highly
lightfast.
I would personally consider these to be on the high end of student grade, which certainly
isn't bad given their cost.
That being said, this is purely personal opinion, and there are no real objective requirements
for something to be considered professional or artist grade.
Moving on, the packaging claims that the leads are thick- which I can certainly agree with
given that I measured them to be 3.8mm, which for a 7mm pencil is very good.
They are also relatively soft- although just a touch firmer than other artist grade pencils
that are branded soft- which for me is certainly not a bad thing as a bit of firmness helps
for fine detail.
I've found them to be very break resistant and the tips very rarely snapped as I worked.
Like most coloured pencils, they do produce some dust as you colour, so make sure to pick
that up with a kneaded eraser as to avoid smudging it onto your paper.
Looking at the the next set of claims- these pencils do indeed offer smooth colour laydown
and do work well for blending and shading too, and they are great for drawing, illustrating
and colouring like the tin says.
The final packaging claim I'd like to cover- and be a bit nit-picky about- is the claim
that these pencils are "unsurpassably lightfast".
I dislike the term as I've found it to be easily misinterpreted- by myself and others!
Although it might sound like it, this phrase doesn't mean that these pencils have the best
lightfastness ratings compared to other brands.
Instead, I believe this term technically means that Arteza don't offer a more lightfast pencil
than this- that the scores are unsurpassable or unbeatable.
And this is true on a technicality- the Premium coloured pencils that Arteza offer share the
same range of colours and the same ratings.
Anyway- "Unsurpassably lightfast" is a phrase many companies use- and perhaps I'm
in the minority who find it misleading- so I don't think I can be too critical of this
claim.
But I'd love to know what you guys think in the comment section down below!
So to summarise with some pros and cons.
Overall, I think these pencils are absolutely ideal for practice work- they are fantastic
value for money, have excellent build quality as well as great pigmentation and laydown.
And in the 72 set there is a selection of colours that are lightfast enough to create
work to display and sell too, which is impressive seeing as the sets are so affordable, and
many budget brands don't give their colours lightfastness ratings at all.
However, if you're only interested in using the lightfast colours then you'd be discarding
over half of the pencils in the collection.
I think Arteza should've made the lightfastness rating system easier to understand by providing
information on or in the tin- or at least on their website!
I was only able to find a clear answer after directly contacting the company.
What's more is that the lightfastness scale for some of their other products also uses
plusses, but the ratings go in the opposite way.. which is unnecessarily confusing!
And just some minor issues for me- I feel like some of the colours are very similar
to each other- so although the colour range is wonderful and versatile, I can't help
but feel that the range could've been even broader.
It also would've been of real benefit to see these pencils available in smaller sets,
and open stock.
And my last little complaint is the smell- which whilst it doesn't bother me, I know
it's strong enough to cause an issue for others.
So who do I recommend these pencils for?
I'd recommend this range for students and hobbyists particularly, or to any artist that
may want to try out coloured pencil without breaking the bank.
The fact that these pencils aren't available open stock also solidifies my opinion that
these pencils are an excellent "gateway" coloured pencil, as it seems natural to then
upgrade to a higher quality pencil line which does offer single pencils open stock, as repurchasing
whole sets to replace a handful of colours isn't an efficient way of maintaining a
collection.
If you're an artist with an expansive collection, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this set
purely for the lightfast colours as their pigmentation is likely outcompeted by what
you already own, although these Arteza Expert pencils are great for sketchbook studies!
So here's my finished piece, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!
I can honestly say I'm impressed with the performance of these pencils and their value
for money.
I'd love to hear what you think about these pencils- whether you've tried them out or
if you're planning on buying them.
And if you have any questions, leave them down below in the comment section as that's
where I respond the fastest, and you might also get some help from another friendly viewer.
Thank you very much for watching!
If you found this video helpful or interesting, please leave it a like!
Don't forget to subscribe if you'd like to stay up to date with my future arty videos.
Hope you have a lovely week and I'll see you in the next video.
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