I hope this review helped answer any questions you might have about Arteza. Don't forget, if you'd like to draw the Pear featured in this video with me, check out my Patreon for the full tutorial www.patreon.com/gemmachambersart
I had purchased the 120 set in 2020 just "post formula change " and I absolutely love them! I had purchased them shortly after I bought my first prismacolor set, but before I had purchased any oil based sets. I do find that they work best when I go slower, put down very light layers, and also working from my darkest to lightest colors or tones. They are for me a good "gateway" pencil between oil and wax, in that if you layer them like an oil they preform more like a wax. If you treat them like a wax they get stubborn like an oil. I hope that makes sense... Thankyou for sharing your opinions on the product and sharing your process! 👍❤
Stubborn is a great way to describe them! I've not seen pencils behave like this before in my other sets, but they performed much better once I got used to them and started to figure out their quirks. Do you find that the 120 set fills in some of the colour gaps for reddish browns and dark greens I noticed in the 72?
It definitely has a more complete brown selection (umber and sienna wise) and about two or three good darker greens 👍 worth it to get the full set. Also, I've found they work better on a cheaper paper ( like an Amazon coloring book) and they really do layer forever if you allow the pigments to rest between layers.
I ADORE my Arteza pencils and their customer service is also top notch. I was missing a pencil and instead of sending me the pencil, they sent me an entire new 120 set and let me keep the old one. So I guess I'd better love them lol. There's like 4 Arteza products that I LOVE and wouldn't want to be without. The real brush pens, the twimarkers... so good. These pencils aren't perfect but are awesome for midtier. The color range and choices are nice and vibrant. I think they're a little firmer than prismas which I prefer. I love oil dominant pencils so I prefer building layers which also happens to be best for these bad boys. I also found the same as you, that the burnishing was a little off. They work wonderfully with my odorless mineral spirits or a burnishing pencil. I'm happy you reviewed them because I love them. Thank you! Hope you're well!
I got both the Arteza 72 sets (normal and watercolour) for around 18€ each in 2019 and I love them a lot. It took some practise though to learn how to work with them, but once you figure it out they are pure joy to use and will layer and blend very well. I also have the Polychromos and Albrecht Dürer and of course these are different and very good quality but you certainly won't need expensive pencils to make nice art, as long as it doesn't need to be super lightfast.
I recognise the scratchy-effect with blending. Oil-pencils do the same thing when you burnish too soon. It helps if you use Arteza on slightly toothy paper. When the paper is too smooth the colours get a bit dull (less fibrant). This matches with oil-based pencils on really smooth paper. Yes, it works, but if can be so much better. I have chronic pain so I can’t layer as much on big areas. And Arteza layering on a big area is a no-go (for me). I use the Arteza in combination with other pencils. Arteza is perfect for giving a fibrant colour to small objects. The blending on small objects is fantastic: in one (or maybe two) strike(s) lots of colour without the ‘waxy’ part or ‘streaky’ part from oil-based (when put on too thick in one layer).
Hello from Southern Ontario Canada. You are a great artist. I like your style. I own four sets of 150 Prismas, and two sets of Arteza 120 expert...I treat them as equals. I think that Prismacolor are soon going to out price them selves in the market..There are so many decent options for colored pencils now than ever before. I own approx 3500 pencils of different brands from basic kids grade to Faber Castell Polys. Gave ya a like and subbed. I look forward to watching many more of your vids. Have a good day.
Thanks for the kind words! That's an impressive pencil collection. I have to agree, especially when it comes to wax-based pencils the gap for quality is getting tighter all the time. There are some fantastic budget options now that are highly pigmented and vibrant. It's really just lightfast certification that separates out the artist-grade pencils from the rest.
wow great review. I have the 120 set and I am really liking them. I am a total beginner do and have never tried any other pencil sets besides the bruynzeel . I enjoy both sets of pencils, but would love to try prismacolor and polychromos one day when I can afford them
I recently got Arteza pencils and am a bit dissapointed. I find them very difficult to layer, although I don't press hard. Maybe this is because of the wax in them, not sure. If I try to put on few layers of different colours, I finish with the muddy mess. Also I find it difficult to add small details. Not sure about them, I had really high hopes from the reviews, however I am actually much more happy with Brutfuner square pencils which I also purchased recently. EDIT: after using Arteza for a bit longer I start to enjoy them. The quality of pencils and wood is really good. I just need to know where to put each colour. And tbh colour payoff is pretty amazing. Edit:.after using them for longer I can say they are not for me. I tried, but don't like working with them at all.
I have this mood when I color in Johanna Basford books, the brutfuners are slower but I like the end result better where I feel like I'm struggling in that book with both my artezas and black widows. I needa experiment in more books to see which set suits which brand book better, my artezas felt better doing it on artezas sketchbook
It's not random, it's by value, but it's not an order that I prefer either. You'll notice one tray would have been Muted looking, another will look bright and bold, etc.
I like your videos 👍 The main reason is that you draw at least one picture with the respective pens that are in the review. Almost everyone else just holds their pens up to the camera and colors in boxes ..I also generally like the results of your pictures 😊.
Great video. When you draw do you use other brands or focus just on one? Reason I ask is that when I draw I use prismacolour and also arteza together and get good results.
That's quite interesting, maybe Prisma fills in some of the gaps I was finding. I've never used more than one brand for a drawing but that's more to keep things easier to follow on the Patreon drawings. I'll sometimes bring in other materials like Gelly Roll pens for highlights, oh and I often use black Polychromos for the darkest areas on graphite work. I'll have to experiment off camera and see what happens!
If I remember correctly, they are not so cheap in Canada. I wanted to buy color pencils for my nephew who likes drawing a lot. Of course I did not wanted to pay for professional brand as he is only 10 years old. Living in Paris and visiting him for Christmas, I ordered Some Arteza and bring them in my luggage. Perfect match! Cheap but good pencils for a small artist, happy with European exotic brand 😃I think the price in Canada was more expensive for the same 72 box.
Wow, you're absolutely right - they're actually more expensive than 72 Prismacolor in Canada right now. It goes to show, these things are only good value if the price is right!
This is a good review. I find I'm in agreement with just about all of it. I had Prismacolors in the set of 72 that were stolen (long story, not worth hearing), so I replaced with what I could afford at the time, Arteza 72 set. They were similar for feel, brilliance or vibrancy, and some colors. I immediately missed the Prisma deep tones, like black grape and cherry, and most of the really deep blues and greens, which I really do use. I also missed the wonderful range of greys warm and cool, and other light neutrals like ginger root or cream. The lay down was harder to control, too fast, not enough layers before filling up, and so it was harder to layer subtly. I'd say this set is nice for hobbyists, bright and rich coloring book applications, and to be fair, I'm not a professional but I pitch my learning toward the pro techniques so generously available on youtube. But maybe Arteza is not for pro artists. You gave me a little chuckle about the order of colors in the tin. When I first started to do this, I religiously kept the order the pencils came in without knowing why. I figured it was something to do with the science of color theory or something. Now of course I please myself, mostly rainbow logic.
There's also nothing in the real pale blue range to do a nice subtle sky gradation, and while there's a lot of greens, they aren't very natural or subtle either, so nature drawings aren't a real choice unless there are a lot of blending options, and as I mentioned, the light neutral are scant too. 🤔😶
I don't see where you have reviewed Amazon Basics Colored Pencils. I have heard that they are comparable to Prismacolors so I would appreciate your input.
I would really like to review Amazon Basics, I think it would be really interesting to see how they perform. For some reason they're almost impossible for me to get hold of in the UK though - they are never in stock and the listing is hidden on Amazon.
@@GemmaChambersArt - I had heard from members of various coloring groups that they are unavailable in UK. The 72 set costs less than $25 in the 🇺🇸. I am amazed at the difference geography makes in pricing.
One minor note as someone who's used em for a long time, the writing has started fading off the barrel as I pull em out and put em back in my 120 slot pencil case
Yeah I wish they'd find some international distributors, but I imagine it's not cheap to ship solvents. I need to make a video soon testing all the alternatives
A few seconds into this video and I can't help but be THAT person: Yes, you will buy twice (at least) if you buy cheap, simply because they don't offer open stock replacements.
There is nothing stopping you from finding a brand that does offer open stock, and buying a similar colour. Which open stock brand you choose would depend if your cheaper pencils are hard or soft, or was or oil based.
@@angelawossname OK I get the concept of using these as a stepping stone while you build a collection of good Quality colored pencils.. However, in my opinion these pencils are too expensive to simply be something that gets you by until you can afford better pencils. I'd recommend getting a set of pencils that's half the price and investing the rest of the money into the pencils that you actually want to use long term.
![UPDATED...Best CHEAP Colored Pencils on Amazon in 2024 [Now Includes Arrtx, Arteza & Castle Arts]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bfLe-fS7X3I/mqdefault.jpg)
I hope this review helped answer any questions you might have about Arteza. Don't forget, if you'd like to draw the Pear featured in this video with me, check out my Patreon for the full tutorial www.patreon.com/gemmachambersart
I had purchased the 120 set in 2020 just "post formula change " and I absolutely love them! I had purchased them shortly after I bought my first prismacolor set, but before I had purchased any oil based sets. I do find that they work best when I go slower, put down very light layers, and also working from my darkest to lightest colors or tones. They are for me a good "gateway" pencil between oil and wax, in that if you layer them like an oil they preform more like a wax. If you treat them like a wax they get stubborn like an oil. I hope that makes sense... Thankyou for sharing your opinions on the product and sharing your process! 👍❤
Stubborn is a great way to describe them! I've not seen pencils behave like this before in my other sets, but they performed much better once I got used to them and started to figure out their quirks. Do you find that the 120 set fills in some of the colour gaps for reddish browns and dark greens I noticed in the 72?
It definitely has a more complete brown selection (umber and sienna wise) and about two or three good darker greens 👍 worth it to get the full set. Also, I've found they work better on a cheaper paper ( like an Amazon coloring book) and they really do layer forever if you allow the pigments to rest between layers.
Paper matters too. I had best results on smoother paper for these.
I ADORE my Arteza pencils and their customer service is also top notch. I was missing a pencil and instead of sending me the pencil, they sent me an entire new 120 set and let me keep the old one. So I guess I'd better love them lol. There's like 4 Arteza products that I LOVE and wouldn't want to be without. The real brush pens, the twimarkers... so good. These pencils aren't perfect but are awesome for midtier. The color range and choices are nice and vibrant. I think they're a little firmer than prismas which I prefer. I love oil dominant pencils so I prefer building layers which also happens to be best for these bad boys. I also found the same as you, that the burnishing was a little off. They work wonderfully with my odorless mineral spirits or a burnishing pencil.
I'm happy you reviewed them because I love them. Thank you! Hope you're well!
That happened To Me As Well, I haven't Got In Touch With Them, Didn't No How To.
I got both the Arteza 72 sets (normal and watercolour) for around 18€ each in 2019 and I love them a lot. It took some practise though to learn how to work with them, but once you figure it out they are pure joy to use and will layer and blend very well. I also have the Polychromos and Albrecht Dürer and of course these are different and very good quality but you certainly won't need expensive pencils to make nice art, as long as it doesn't need to be super lightfast.
7:17 I actually like the red, maybe its the lighting? At any rate you did a fab job reviewing these, thank you so much for the effort!
I recognise the scratchy-effect with blending. Oil-pencils do the same thing when you burnish too soon. It helps if you use Arteza on slightly toothy paper. When the paper is too smooth the colours get a bit dull (less fibrant). This matches with oil-based pencils on really smooth paper. Yes, it works, but if can be so much better.
I have chronic pain so I can’t layer as much on big areas. And Arteza layering on a big area is a no-go (for me). I use the Arteza in combination with other pencils. Arteza is perfect for giving a fibrant colour to small objects. The blending on small objects is fantastic: in one (or maybe two) strike(s) lots of colour without the ‘waxy’ part or ‘streaky’ part from oil-based (when put on too thick in one layer).
Yes, I also re-arrange the colored pencils in the color order that I prefer.
Hello from Southern Ontario Canada. You are a great artist. I like your style. I own four sets of 150 Prismas, and two sets of Arteza 120 expert...I treat them as equals. I think that Prismacolor are soon going to out price them selves in the market..There are so many decent options for colored pencils now than ever before. I own approx 3500 pencils of different brands from basic kids grade to Faber Castell Polys. Gave ya a like and subbed. I look forward to watching many more of your vids. Have a good day.
Thanks for the kind words! That's an impressive pencil collection. I have to agree, especially when it comes to wax-based pencils the gap for quality is getting tighter all the time. There are some fantastic budget options now that are highly pigmented and vibrant. It's really just lightfast certification that separates out the artist-grade pencils from the rest.
wow great review. I have the 120 set and I am really liking them. I am a total beginner do and have never tried any other pencil sets besides the bruynzeel . I enjoy both sets of pencils, but would love to try prismacolor and polychromos one day when I can afford them
I recently got Arteza pencils and am a bit dissapointed. I find them very difficult to layer, although I don't press hard. Maybe this is because of the wax in them, not sure.
If I try to put on few layers of different colours, I finish with the muddy mess. Also I find it difficult to add small details. Not sure about them, I had really high hopes from the reviews, however I am actually much more happy with Brutfuner square pencils which I also purchased recently.
EDIT: after using Arteza for a bit longer I start to enjoy them. The quality of pencils and wood is really good. I just need to know where to put each colour. And tbh colour payoff is pretty amazing.
Edit:.after using them for longer I can say they are not for me. I tried, but don't like working with them at all.
I have this mood when I color in Johanna Basford books, the brutfuners are slower but I like the end result better where I feel like I'm struggling in that book with both my artezas and black widows. I needa experiment in more books to see which set suits which brand book better, my artezas felt better doing it on artezas sketchbook
It's not random, it's by value, but it's not an order that I prefer either. You'll notice one tray would have been Muted looking, another will look bright and bold, etc.
Now I know why arteza didn’t work for me 😅 I tend to be heavy handed & smoosh to burnish, found they’re no good on Amazon paper. thanks for sharing
Best swatches I have ever seen!
You Are So Talented.
Thank You For This Video
I like your videos 👍 The main reason is that you draw at least one picture with the respective pens that are in the review. Almost everyone else just holds their pens up to the camera and colors in boxes ..I also generally like the results of your pictures 😊.
Great video. When you draw do you use other brands or focus just on one? Reason I ask is that when I draw I use prismacolour and also arteza together and get good results.
That's quite interesting, maybe Prisma fills in some of the gaps I was finding. I've never used more than one brand for a drawing but that's more to keep things easier to follow on the Patreon drawings. I'll sometimes bring in other materials like Gelly Roll pens for highlights, oh and I often use black Polychromos for the darkest areas on graphite work. I'll have to experiment off camera and see what happens!
If I remember correctly, they are not so cheap in Canada. I wanted to buy color pencils for my nephew who likes drawing a lot. Of course I did not wanted to pay for professional brand as he is only 10 years old. Living in Paris and visiting him for Christmas, I ordered Some Arteza and bring them in my luggage. Perfect match! Cheap but good pencils for a small artist, happy with European exotic brand 😃I think the price in Canada was more expensive for the same 72 box.
Wow, you're absolutely right - they're actually more expensive than 72 Prismacolor in Canada right now. It goes to show, these things are only good value if the price is right!
same here in Brazil. They cost almost like Prismacolor :O
This is a good review. I find I'm in agreement with just about all of it. I had Prismacolors in the set of 72 that were stolen (long story, not worth hearing), so I replaced with what I could afford at the time, Arteza 72 set. They were similar for feel, brilliance or vibrancy, and some colors. I immediately missed the Prisma deep tones, like black grape and cherry, and most of the really deep blues and greens, which I really do use. I also missed the wonderful range of greys warm and cool, and other light neutrals like ginger root or cream. The lay down was harder to control, too fast, not enough layers before filling up, and so it was harder to layer subtly. I'd say this set is nice for hobbyists, bright and rich coloring book applications, and to be fair, I'm not a professional but I pitch my learning toward the pro techniques so generously available on youtube. But maybe Arteza is not for pro artists.
You gave me a little chuckle about the order of colors in the tin. When I first started to do this, I religiously kept the order the pencils came in without knowing why. I figured it was something to do with the science of color theory or something. Now of course I please myself, mostly rainbow logic.
There's also nothing in the real pale blue range to do a nice subtle sky gradation, and while there's a lot of greens, they aren't very natural or subtle either, so nature drawings aren't a real choice unless there are a lot of blending options, and as I mentioned, the light neutral are scant too. 🤔😶
I don't see where you have reviewed Amazon Basics Colored Pencils. I have heard that they are comparable to Prismacolors so I would appreciate your input.
I would really like to review Amazon Basics, I think it would be really interesting to see how they perform. For some reason they're almost impossible for me to get hold of in the UK though - they are never in stock and the listing is hidden on Amazon.
@@GemmaChambersArt - I had heard from members of various coloring groups that they are unavailable in UK. The 72 set costs less than $25 in the 🇺🇸. I am amazed at the difference geography makes in pricing.
arteza expert or castle art in same price, which is better?
I dont think lightfast on this arteza are real, to me just are random numbers
So are these water-soluble pencils if she's using the Zest it(sp)??
What paper do you use for your colored pencils?
I use Bristol Board from a UK company Seawhite of Brighton
Michaels just did a video with Lindsay the Frugal Crafter that covers paper .
I like my arteza pencils but I've noticed looking it's gone up in price, like I got the 120 set for £33, now I never see em dip below £59
One minor note as someone who's used em for a long time, the writing has started fading off the barrel as I pull em out and put em back in my 120 slot pencil case
I can't get zest it in Canada....it sucks ☹️
Yeah I wish they'd find some international distributors, but I imagine it's not cheap to ship solvents. I need to make a video soon testing all the alternatives
Zest It is not available in any stores I have seen either . I use Daler Rowney Odorless Mineral spirits that Walmart carries.
A few seconds into this video and I can't help but be THAT person: Yes, you will buy twice (at least) if you buy cheap, simply because they don't offer open stock replacements.
Arteza offers open stock. You do have to buy three at a time.
There is nothing stopping you from finding a brand that does offer open stock, and buying a similar colour. Which open stock brand you choose would depend if your cheaper pencils are hard or soft, or was or oil based.
@@angelawossname OK I get the concept of using these as a stepping stone while you build a collection of good Quality colored pencils.. However, in my opinion these pencils are too expensive to simply be something that gets you by until you can afford better pencils. I'd recommend getting a set of pencils that's half the price and investing the rest of the money into the pencils that you actually want to use long term.
Would like to know what u use on the qtip for blending
I'm using called Zest-It Colour Pencil Blend
Are these similar to Arrtx pencils?
When arteza pencils first came out they were like $25 for a tin of 48 but I wouldn't recommend them when u can get Prisma for just a little more
Are they similar to oil basef
Do they still dissolve with water?
No. Not since they changed formula in 2020. The last few tins I've bought haven't been water soluble.
what type of solvent do you use? thank you
I don't use them that often, but I only use Zest-It Colour Pencil Blend
Have you tried other budget brands that you were more impressed with
Büşra🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Prismacolor has sone pretty hard blues and greys
Alev🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝
Welp. I need those now. 😂