Prismacolor Vs Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils w/ Lachri
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- In this video I go over the main differences I see in Prismacolor Premier and Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils and demonstrate both in a speed drawing / time lapse drawing of grapes.
Alan Woollett's amazing graphite and colored pencil work work can be found at / alanwoollettbirdart
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Time lapse and speed painting tutorials and demonstrations by award winning artist Lachri. Learn how to paint portraits, surreal landscapes, pets, lions, tigers, and birds...pretty sure a Wizard of OZ reference should be made right about now. Get tips and watch techniques for working in acrylic and oil paint, carbon pencil, graphite and colored pencil.
The background music is me playing violin.
This video was shot using a Samsung HMX-Q10BN Q10 Switch Grip Full HD Camcorder.
• How to paint a surreal...
My wonderful sister got me Faber Castell Polychromos 120 for my birthday. They are a total dream. So good. I cried.
so do you know how much they cost
Malaika Tahseen yes and the Price is Amazing too :')
thegamesman rich I got mine for a steal for $140. Hope it helps, look on Amazon!
Malaika Tahseen oh me to👍 My dad gave me them for Christmas and I absolutely love them, they are my treasure 😍
Malaika Tahseen How much does they cost?
My prismacolor vs Faber-Castell polychromos video is finally up :D
Now guess what...
Prismacolor has 3 different kinds of colored pencil as far as I'm aware:
1. Regular (Average size, creamy consistency, etc...Designed to color/fill in a drawing and add pigment to the picture, but using color and depth)
2. Verathin (Thin*, Hard-lead, Designed specifically for adding detail to what you've done with the regular pencil.
3. Color stick or something...Don't remember the actual product name but it's basically a big crayon made out of the waxy lead from the Regular pencil. This is really for coloring a picture.
*With the Prismacolor Handheld pencil sharpener and a steady hand, the Verathin pencil's lead can be sharpened to an extremely fine point, and won't break if you don't use a lot of pressure.
I think you should try the Verathin pencils. You can still color with it but can also add very precise detail. (It's what I use, but it's the only professional artist's brand product I have. I have the 36-pack.)
Hope this helped!
You should try out the verythin prismacolors
I've two issues with this critique: 1) When you did your demo time lapse you filmed each video at different angles. That's not going to show the pencils at work accurately. 2) I looked very carefully at the finished pieces side-by-side and the shapes of various objects weren't even the same! You should have drawn them both in with graphite pencil to give both brands a fair chance. Moreover, you colored them differently. That I can almost overlook because we tend to color in drawings differently and we're not photocopy machines.
Thanks for such honest review on both products. I'm planing on buying a set of artist colored pencils. It looked like most people prefer Prismacolor, but Faber-Castell has been my coloring pencils since I was little (yes, I wish I knew my dad bought me a box of high quality pencils). Not going to lie, on top of its quality, Faber-Castell also won me over for that elegant tin case design.
SAN VAL
I doubt she was trying to show that one brand produces better quality painting. She really was just upset with the Prismacolor selling out those deformed pencils, since it isn't a cheap product.
SAN VAL if you listen to the commentary closely, she does explain the pros and cons as she was coloring each piece. That is why the two, though similiar, have their differences. That was the whole point of the demo so you can see the that.
In my country Faber Castell pencils are everywhere, but Prismacolor pencils are nowhere to be found.
Same here. I'm from Germany and you?
Samee
Same. 😑
Same
same 💔
for the 17 years I lived on this planet, Faber Castell has been my best friend till this day!
i have 12 years,and me too
@Harbor Anthem yes, I've been using the brand for so long. It's everywhere here and it's popular LMAOOO
@Harbor Anthem faber castell have school/student grade pencils too
@Harbor Anthem of course, they as actually started using them before they were born because their mother ate the pencils.
Until you discovered LYRA.
I'm just gonna stick to crayola
The last bunch of crayola pencils I got were so badly made that I'm on here looking for a new coloring pencil brand. Looks like Prismas are out too. Does anyone make anything nice anymore?
Moose I really liked the derwent pencils. they're not in the top league, but they're not bad. a thousand times better than Crayola
+Tayohni prismacolors aren't terrible. ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE LEARNING!!! They're the choice of brand for art schools everywhere for a reason. keep in mind that this is an opinion video.
What're you typing at me in all CAPS for? I didn't say Prismas were terrible. I said they were 'out.' As in, "Not an option for me." I just want something better than crayola cuz those are always all bent now. I could have used the navy blue one from my last pack as an eyebrow.
+Tayohni wow you're taking extreme offence when there's no reason to. just wow.
You pretty much sold me on the polychromos over prismacolor! I was always fond of prismacolor, but from every artist came the same complaints about the breakage, and after seeing this video I am solidified on polychromos over prismacolors, I almost got the premier soft core 150 set but this video completely persuaded me otherwise. This is a wonderful video as well, not too many videos are very high quality and display a good comparison of the two brands, so thank you very much!
+terreen I'm glad I could help :)
+terreen Ha.
"Solidified" ;D
Hehehe ;) pun may or may not have been intended
Both are not substitute of each other. Just like charcoal pencil and carbon pencil look same but they are not.
so which one is better? sorry my English is so bad that I can't understand your comment 😭😂 but I think polychromos? :D please repeat :)
Oh man, i am bummed out that Prismacolor has cheaped-out because I have used their pencils since I was 5:( The thing i love about Prismacolors is that they can be used on darker paper and show up well but the Polychomos are so lovely to use as well. Great tutorial! thanks Lisa!
thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich Have you tried Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils? They are wax based, colorfast, and far FAR superior to prismas. I just got a few of them recently and am quite impressed. Even with my love of the polychromos, I'm not a fan of their white compared to prismas. I got the luminance pencils hoping to replace my prismas all together. I just hate giving money to a company that is knowingly producing and selling defective products. The luminance are really expensive but SO amazing to work with. They have the opacity of prismas, but don't crumble and break like prismas do.
Lachri Fine Art Thanks for the resource. I went to my Prisma pencil box and looked at my pencils, most of them were stamped USA but wouldn't you know I had 3 new white ones with Mexico stamped on them that I had ordered a few months ago from Blick because I seem to go through the whites a lot and they tend to be the more breaky ones. I have been taking pencils that break when I sharpen them and microwaving them for 6-8 seconds on high, letting them cool and they sharpen fine after that. I was a bit leery because they were the older ones with the gold stamped color # but they were fine and no more breaking! The pencils with mexico stamped on them were NOT well centered, I will make sure to get replacements in store where I can look at them now. Dervent Colorsoft pencils are good too, you might like their white, it is a thick lead and very opaque. I just did a review of the new Spectrum Noir pencils which behave much like polychomos but not as creamy and more transparent but you can do a lot of layering and they are ideal for stampers for those reasons plus they are much cheaper, no open stock though, I recommend replacing with polychromos when you use up a color. I have not had breakage with those either. I will put a link to your video in my blog post tonight in case folks want to learn more about the Polychromos vs. Prismacolor. It was a mutual subscriber stephinOK Bush who told me about this video today :) BTW I see we both contributed to the NEW Video Creators Course, cool!
thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich Haha small world! We are both in that video :D I microwaved one of my prismas as well. I left it in too long and caused bubbling of the casing, but the pencil was fixed after that. I've been told that heating them up on a heating pad or under a heat lamp works better. I've not tried it myself though. My thing is that when I'm working on a piece, I don't have time to stop and remelt the core every time it breaks. The ones that are off center are more likely to break down in the casing while sharpening so you don't even have to drop them to have the issue. I've not tried the Spectrum Noir pencils, I will need to look up your review :D Your mention of stamping with colored pencil just gave me a great idea for a future piece. I love airbrushing stencils for patterned backgrounds on paintings, now I want to try a stamp for the same thing with CPs. I'm going to have to educate myself with some of your videos :D
Lachri Fine Art yes, 10 seconds and you get bubbled paint on the casing (don't ask me how i know LOL!) I have not had any microwaved pencils rebreak though so hopefully the trend lasts but I have all but 3 USA pencils. I just posted my review with a link to go to your video on my blog: thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/are-spectrum-noir-pencils-worth-the-money/ you may not feel the need for the Spectrum noirs since you have the PolyChromos unless you want to conserve the pricier pencils by using the SNs for an under-painting. They do not offer open stock currently but i think it is a great bet for a stamper or beginner.
thefrugalcrafter Lindsay Weirich That is really good to know. I do have people ask me regularly for less expensive options to polychromos. Thanks for the link! :D
As my Prismas die out, I'm definitely going to gradually shift. I'm tired of the lead breaking, the dull points, losing half a pencil to make one line, it's getting ridiculous. The differences between the two grape drawings is astounding. Thank you for making this!
:D
Polychromos are better than Prismacolor. The fact that you can sharp them to the max without breaking it is a huge advantage. I also think Polychromos are more saturated. I own both, I recomend the Polychromos to anyone !
Polychromos are also more lightfast and you can layer very very well with them
I've never used Faber Castell and I don't really plan to. I did find your video informative. But I must be lucky because I've never had any of these problems, save one orange pencil I never use anyway. I received my set of 120 four years ago, and fell in love with them almost instantly. At first I didn't care for them, honestly. Because of the soft, creamy leads I couldn't color the way I had with my previous harder pencils, so I had to adapt. It was a wonderful transformation that improved my work significantly. I havent looked back since.
It saddens me to hear people getting defective products, because they really are wonderful pencils.
I use both brands and I have seen its plus and minuses between the premier and polychromos. One thing to keep in mind is, both brands have *different color palettes*. It varies from the style of work you do. For example, the premiers have a *Tuscan Red* hue, while the polychromos don't. So if you find that not having that type of hue to be a disadvantage, then its best to buy both Prismacolor and Faber-Castell rather than just sticking to just one brand.
but I have both as well but I found you can make better colors
WTFPikaFacts
Yeah, that's true. Mine though, I like to keep it using one brand and not mix both. It varies from any user anyway. If that style works, then good for you.
I'm reading and doing exercises with a botanical illustration book. Your point in accurate with accurate plant portraits. The author preferred to work with FC because the oil allows for better blending and texture, but she had a collection or purple-reds from Prismacolor. She also used Prismacolor for verithins.
I use both pencils too. I like how much color you can lay down fast with prismas and then go over the top with a poly and blend it all out and make it smooth. And I don't know if it's my paper or me or the polychromos pencil itself, but sometimes I think the poly is scrubbing off the wax bloom that the prismas make.
If you had to recommend only one brand which would it be? I don’t have enough money to buy both, I’m currently saving up to at least buy one pack.
I've used Prismacolor since they were made by Eagle, Beryl, and now Sanford. My Verithins are Eagles and I have some Beryl metallics. With that said, I stopped using Prismacolor a few years after Sanford bought them. When I went to find a substitute for them I tested quite a few until I found Faber-Castell Aquarelles. Since then, I've preferred the FB Aquarelles hands down over the Sanford Prismacolors.
If Sanford ever goes back to the original formula from Eagle days and brings up their quality control to where the garbage they have been selling never makes it out of manufacturing, I might give them a second chance. Otherwise, I will stick with Faber-Castell and will look up the Polychromos.
Thanks for your side-by-side comparison. Its helped a lot in my decision making for the next wax based/oil based color pencil purchase.
PhoenixCustomPrimiti Oh that is interesting, I didn't realize they had switched makers so many times, I only knew about them moving their manufacturing facilities to Mexico.
I wish you had a chance to play with the Eagle and Beryl Prismacolors. What they have degraded to would fuel a much louder lament and likely a total boycott across the artistic landscape.of such inferior product.
I'll use what's left of my vintage pencils and look up the Polychromos to replace them as they go.
I have the ones back in the Eagle days (hand me downs) and man do I prefer them much over the Polys. But now the qualify control is like running around in a kids playground now :( I only have the 12 set though *crys*
Kyandifully Me I'm still looking for a good replacement that isn't going to break the bank and is open source.
I was going towards watercolor pencils but the jury is still out on which meet my wants and desires.
I have been using Prismacolor since 1970. I think they had just become part of Eagle. I am still using some of the vintage I have left. I will probably always keep Prisma in my stash.
Price is not an issue for me when buying new pencils. I only color for relaxation. I wanted to try the oil base pencils so I ordered the FC 120 set - bad decision. 2 days later I sold them on eBay for half the purchase price. I bought the Holbein thinking you get what you pay for and they are considerably more expensive than FC. They're exactly worse and the are not even oil based. Uck. EBay to the rescue - good bye Holbein. Back to Amazon for a set of Lyra Polycolor - finally - oil based pencils that layer and blend like Prisma. They are truly the quality leader by a very long mile.
Because of your review I just bought my own set of polychromos pencils and I LOVE them. Thank you so much for the review it gave a lot of technical details that helped my make an informed decision. Thanks!
I also have both sets and the prisma pencils are so frustrating because of breakage. They sharpen poorly and I am with you on the polychromo pencils. Just love them. And I will use the prisma's together with the poly's until they are used up but I will not purchase any more prisma's. Thank you for the video on this, now I know I am not the only one experiencing this.
Your observations regarding the quality of prismacolors is spot on. When Berol manufactured Prismacolor premier colored pencils they were top of the line pencils. The leads were well made, glued in the casing and the quality of the wood of good. Now a different company owns Prismacolor and they are manufactured in Mexico. So, if you still have Prismacolors that say Berol, keep them! If they just say Prismacolor, buyer be ware!
I love both brands. I use Faber Castell for my graphite pencils, and prismacolor for my colored pencils and watercolor pencils. I've been using prismacolor for years and none of the pencils have ever broken! I guess I'm just lucky.
Yeah, I guess it's pretty unusual. I take care of them ok, and sharpen them with the prismacolor sharpener if that makes any difference...
J Shapiro so would you recommend prismacolor ?
art0matic 7 Yes! Absolutely! :)
+art0matic 7 Lachri is payed by Fab to say this
+Azad Dilek That is absolutely not true. I bought these pencils myself and shared my own opinions...which as you can see from comments are issues that are very common.
Huh...I guess I'm really lucky cuz I've never had a problem sharpening my prismas.
Jack Off Same!
Jack Off you might have just gotten a better batch of pencils
Me too. Not a single breakage since I've used them. I use a Staedtler sharpener.
@@carIIl I have two issues with Faber Castell Polychromos, the najor one being the lack of portrait colors (i.e skin tone variations) which I didn't realize until I bought them and the pointless white. Which to me makes it an incomplete package.
Andrew Frankovic ???
I've been living a lie ! Haha wow thank you for this video. In the side by side grape piece you can really see the difference in detail between the prismacolor and the polychromos. The polychromos had more of a defined and crisp feel to them and I don't know if it was the lighting or something but the prismacolor peice looked less sharpened than of the polychromos' and it was obvious that it was pencil quality. You do amazing work and thank you for this video! I will be switching right away.
I switched to Fabre Castell years ago after getting tired of prisma colors breaking on me. I don't push hard when I colour and I love that I can do so many layers with them.
I agree the white isn't very bright. I have a Caran d'Ashe white watersoluable crayon I do for highlights.
Lachanna I've been using a luminance white by Caran d'Ache myself. I am a huge fan of that company :D
Because I'm drawing a lot with colored mechanical pencils, I thought after watching this video: "I really want to try these pencils and blend them. I need to buy a couple!" Then.........I just realized I've already got them for a couple of months in my drawer.:) So happy, thanks for sharing that they can blend.
Most of my teachers in university (I study graphic design in mexico) had a fine art education, and Prismacolors are the traditional "proffessional" choice for colored pencils, so we are always encouraged to get them cause they've been taught they're as good as it gets, but I do agree that the quality has decreased with time.
I have the Prismacolor Premier 132 set, at first I was experiencing a lot of breakage but then I switched to sharpening them with a cutter or blade instead of a pencil sharpener, and I've had no problem whatsoever. You can control how much of the wood you chop off, so you don't wear down inches of pencil trying to get a sharp point.
For the sharpness issue, I've seen that Prismacolor has put out the "Verithin" line of pencils, which are nothing but a series of finer pencils that sharpen to a thinner point, so you can reach those little details. But it IS a drag having to buy a whole new set of Prismas (considering their price) to solve an issue that shouldn't exist on the first place.
Great job recognizing the quality of other brands so people don't just trust the names they know already and invest in lower quality products.
c:
I am SO HAPPY I watched this. I am getting back into sketching and drawing after some years of abstinence and I was going to get myself a big set of Prismacolors because I used to use them while and after living in the US and I had very fond memories of them. Especially considering they are much easier to get here in Germany think I will opt for Faber Castell.
I've always wanted to try polychromos because Faber Castells were my favorite colored pencils when I was a child. I like my Prismacolor premier, I guess it's because I have maybe the old ones, the set of 120 and they're great, but my mom later bought me a set of 24 and they were very different. I do notice those things when I try to mix colors from my two sets, I thought I was just crazy because it's prismacolor, why would one set be different than the other? Well now I know!
Roselin Estephanía I
Thank you so, so much for this! I just got a set of Prismacolor scholar pencils to see if I would enjoy them enough to consider investing in a nicer set. I've fallen in absolute love, and imagine that would only get better with better tools. You just explained everything I DON'T like about the pencils, and from when I worked with Prismacolors in school. Now I know what pencils I'll be trying next.
+Laynie Fingers Glad I could help :D
I got the 72 set of Prismacolor pencils for Christmas this year but (I know I know it bad) I have been eye balling the Faber Castells for weeks because I've been having the same issues with the Prismas! I do love them though I can't lie but I too am frustrated with them! All though my birthday is coming up I wouldn't dare ask my mom for new colored pencils when she just bought be some for Christmas! So maybe with some saving up of my own I will get the Polychromos! I wish I did more research before buying the Prismas! Ugh the way thy are portrayed as the best I assumed they were! I will be more careful with things like these next time! Thank you so much I really enjoyed this video!
Yep, the frustration with the prismas and their horrid casings are what pushed me away from them. Because the faber castells work with prismas, you could always tell your mom that you are just expanding your set :)
That isn't a bad idea! Thank you so much!
I've been working with Prismas for about 10 years now. My high school art teacher taught me all the great ways to use them. Through out the years i loved and acquired many many pencils from most sets. I always thought maybe it was my bad luck but the more i bought the more they broke. I had no idea that this issue was on their be half. I thought maybe it was me. I'm glad i found this video.I always wanted to try out Faber Castell but stayed loyal to my roots. I think it's time to change i up. I feel cheated. Thank you so much for this great review.
Am I the only one who likes the polychromos cause of the golden line?
Ur not alone..😂
they look so much like neater when i got my set i couldnt stop looking at them because they look so lovely with the glossy paint and the golden line
I been using Faber - Castell for over 4 years and there pencils, inking pens, and markers are very very good, I really love them. I wasn't a huge fan of Prismacolor, but this comparison between Prismacolor and Faber - Castell, the Castell pencils worked so much better than the prismacolored pencils. This was an indeed good review.
I just got a 72 set of prismas because they're a lot cheaper and I'm just starting out with coloured pencils and I love them! I also have watercolour pencils by faber castell and i personally like prismacolor better...
tbh idk what to buy like I want prismacolor bec. I found it cheaper but I am scared that it will break and it's waste of money..
o.o I’ve used mine for a few months(almost a year) it didn’t break, dont order off amazon unless you’re getting some sort of premium shipping, I assure you, it WILL break. I got mine off artfriend in Singapore. They’ve been a delight, a lot of people recommend using prismacolors and polychromos together so I am waiting for my 120 set to arrive xx
In my country we don’t have Prismas at all ..we only had them 3 years ago and they were twice more expensive than the polychromos
Which sharpener is the best for Prismacolour?
Maddy S the water color pencils from faber castell are wax not oil based
During my childhood I was given nothing but Faber - Castell materials to work with and can't change my mind until this day, that Faber Castell is the best brand for art materials out there. Not to forget, they make amazing fountain pens and pen of the year.
Very good, informative, and helpful video.
I can totally see the difference. I actually stopped working traditionally because I got tired of my prismacolors breaking the SECOND i had to sharpen them.... It was just too frustrating. I'm definately going to look into the faber castels instead. The drawing you did with them is so much more vibrant and clear.
Thanks, you really helped me to decide here. Faber Castell it is. I love the colour range of the Prismas, but I prefer quality over quantity. Also the Prismas are harder to get here in the UK, whereas the Fabers are easy to pick up and cheaper. I love you and I've subscribed :)
TheVeyron81 Glad to have helped :D
Hey Lisa, I picked up my Fabers today, and the first colour I tried was Black, which I tested against the Black Prismacolor. I found that even though the Faber is harder and produces less mess than the Prisma, it is the Prisma that will remain my favourite, as it produces a noticeable darker shade of black than the Faber. Have you tried the blacks against each other yet?
Hi! I'm a beginning colorist, but it didn't take me long to notice the problems with Prismacolor pencils, and I was so excited to receive my set of 120! It was such a disappointment to me when they kept breaking on me, and talk about having problems with sharpening! I finally saved up enough money to buy a full set of Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils, and I'm so happy that I did! What a difference! And I'd just like to say that your work is absolutely beautiful! Thanks for the great video!
I still love how prismacolor work and the difference in price justify the quality. I have Caran D’Aches and I still love using prismas b cause they are much creamier and easy if you are working on a big piece. Haven’t try Faber but looking forward to it after all the more the merrier.
100℅ agree
Omg lisa!! I love you. When my prismacolors kept breaking I thought it was just me and that I wasn't sharpening them right. Omg I've heard of polychromos but didn't know musch so thank you sooo sooo much for sharing this video. I love alll of your videos!! You are truly an inspiration masha Allah
im using polychromos for years now, and i was really wondering if i should get a set of prismacolor, cause everybody is like "they are the best pencils ever" but i love polychromos so bad!. im glad i saw this video, im sticking with them :)
thank you! they are really expensive here, so i'm glad that i didnt bought them
***** I think that's because you pressed the toooo hard, prismacolor premier pencils work layering. Or maybe you sharpened them wrong. I have a really good experience with prismacolor premier soft core pencils. But everyone has different opinions.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I've been out of the art scene for 20yrs following a career change...and now dabbling again for my own pleasure. I've been trying to decide between Prismacolours and Faber's - torn as to which to buy. This video was PERFECT in helping me to decide. It's exactly what I needed to know. I'll be going for the Faber Castels. Your comments on the quality of Prisma's was very interesting - and great to know. I definitely notice the difference in the finished results of your two identical artworks....using the same piece to enable a direct comparison was so helpful! Thank you! Great video...brilliant work. :) (from your new Aussie fan!)
i love your tutorial videos! and thanks for this one! i have been using prismacolor for 15+ years but im totally going to try out those polychromos! but i just want to say that i use an x-acto knife to sharpen all my pencils including my prismacolor and have had no problem with breaking the core or splitting the wood. its easy to get a nice point on the prismacolor using a knife but with a sharpener its almost impossible. anyways, thanks again for the video :)
Love your raw honest comments. It’s really refreshing to see a review that doesn’t beat around bush.
Prisma are great for large, open pictures such as cartoons, manga type work. For detailed and small work the harder tip pencils would be better.
Its a shame about Prismacolor. Unfortunately a company that worries more about quantity over quality will downgrade their products hoping to make a higher profit.
+OoieGooie They moved their production to Mexico.
Faber castell can do that just as good but if i had to choose a specific pencil from each the prisma color white is way better then the fb white other then that for me fb wins everyday of the week
I honestly thought I was alone when trying to sharpen a Prismacolor pencil. It was so nice to hear that was farthest from the truth. I tried to use other pencils as well and found that there were even more waxier pencils that don't allow for the color to come on the paper not without a lot of pressure. I haven't drawn in awhile trying to do more research and other things to get back to it. This video does help. Thanks for sharing.
@kenyon K Isn't that the most frustrating thing ever? I totally know what you're talking about!!
I really love your product reviews because you really go in depth with the products and save us all a ton of money by not buying inferior products because we don't have as much experience with them. Great job!
Thank you for taking the time to do such a detailed and honest review. By the way,, your art is amazing!
Great video and beautiful art work! I just bought a set of Faber-Castels and wasn't sure it was worth the investment. I feel better now.
Very nice review :) I have a Polychromos set of 120 colours and I ABSOLUTELY love them and strongly recommend them :) The fact that I am from Bulgaria (which is in Europe) justifies my possibility to get access to the Prismacolors anyway.
A few years ago when I was in the US I bought a set of Prosmacolor markers, and last year I bought a set of Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pens and I have to say that the FC PITT Artist pens are sooo much better! They do not bleed through the paper and the colors are so much more vivid :) They are just amazing so I just want to recommend them in case somebody is wondering whether to buy a set of Prosmacolor markers or not.
In my opinion Faber-Castell are THE BEST!
DISCLAIMER: I have not been paid for this review and I am not going to receive any benefits or whatever from it! I am talking from the perspective of my own personal experience!
First I would like to say that you do beautiful art work (either brand). In addition, I want to thank you for the comparison and for giving some tips on how to deal with breaking on Primsmacolor Pencils.
I grew up with Faber Castell (they are pretty much the only pencils you can get outside the US) but trying to find them in the U.S. (at any local art store anyway) seems pretty challenging and very $$$.
I have a combination of Prismacolor Pencils and because of the layering (and by no means am I to your level of expertise) I seem to get that waxy film (never thought of using a solvent). So I have been eyeing the Faber Castell which is made in Germany and follow great standards.
I am glad I stumbled across your channel and thank you.
Great video. The polychromos grapes look beautiful. They both look good tho
Polychromos here I come. Thanks so much for this tutorial Lisa. I will definitely be picking up a set of the polychromos pencils.
I have the Prisma Premiers full set of 150 and I've never had any problems with breakage or pencil lead not being centered. They are perfect! I got them this year. I can't help but think that there was a period in the past that inferior companies were making them.
This seems to be an issue of luck. Some people still get brand new boxes that have the problems I talked about in this video. I see it all the time in colored pencil groups. Some people, like you, are lucky and get a good batch.
Such a pity one cannot post pictures in the comments section of RUclips!!
I just bought the 150 set of prismacolor pencils for my wife and I did not see any of the defects that were described in the video. Thank goodness because I would have been really bummed.
Adam Pierce I'm so glad to hear that. It breaks my heart to be working with such wonderful pencils and to listen to all the complaints about them. I still think there had been a bad period of manufacturing that had been rectified in the meantime. I think there are still batches of the old stock going around.
I have been using them for almost 20 years. It's truth that they have gotten really bad these last couple of years. =*(
Thank you for sharing your experience with these two brands of color pencils. I'm fairly new to this form or art, started drawing again in 2009 after a 40 year delay, however, I've experienced the exact same issues you have with the Prismacolor Premier pencils. Unfortunately I purchased the 120 color set along with multiples of the ones I expected to use the most and they just sit in a drawer. We have a Blick's store here in Columbus, OH so access to the various brands is easier. They don't sell the Caran d'ache sets, but they seem to be a good brand too, which you seem to agree as you use them instead of the Prismacolors now. Love your work and look forward to watching more in the future.
This was a brilliant video to watch! I couldn't decide for ages if Prismacolor or Polychromos were better but this has helped me decide. Thanks!
+SummerDays_ Glad I could help :)
I can totally see the difference, beautiful work on both, glad I found this video!!!! very helpful!!!
You do beautiful work. Thank you for taking the time and trouble to make this video. It is very helpful.
Wandering Wade Thanks :D
I am happy to announce that--thanks to you, Lisa-- I finally (saved my pennies and) purchased my first set of (only 24 for now) Polychromos. I am happier than a cat in a catnip factory and can't wait for the UPS guy to knock on my door. Seriously, I . Am. So. Tired. ...of the breakage and cracking of my Prisma's. I feel bad; my husband just bought me a new set of 72 Prismacolors, and, sad to say, 70% of these new pencils look they've been used for a year or two due to breakage. Thank you again, Lisa, for the great product review and recommendation. Much appreciated!
PS- don't have a clue what happened in the above message that resulted in a cross-out of "thanks to you, Lisa..." Oops, sorry. Because, seriously, thanks to you, Lisa, I am on my way to being a much happier camper :-)
I hadn't realized I could use a paint thinner to blend the polychromos. Duh! This was so professional and informative. Thank you! Subscribing!
Try Gamsol as a liquid blender, been around for years. Didn’t watch the video, my Prismacolor pencils were made by Berol made in USA. Circa 1989 quality controlled.
Bought my first set of Prismas 25 years ago and still have a few of the pencils today. The quality back then was outstanding, today it's really bad. I've had the same problems with them and don't buy them as often because of it. I have some of the Polychromos and love them too. Also have a good sized set of the Lyra Rembrandt Polycolors that go very well with the Polychromos. The detail you achieved with them really showed. Makes me want to work with mine more.
I was confused with prismacolors, I thought they were the best, glad you made this video
They used to be one of the best pencils you could get, but the production was moved from the USA to Mexico a few years ago and that brought a drop in quality control. So nowadays you don't know what you get with Prismacolors. The whole set might be good or it might be bad with breaking lead and split wood, or some of the pencils in the set might be good and some bad. It's a gamble and just not worth the money anymore.
When did this happen?
Lillendandie Art ñ
I received the set of 120 Polychromos for my birthday!! Sooo excited and inspired!
Lol I still bought Prismacolor pencils. I've had problems but it doesn't change how drawings look. I love my Prismacolor pencils. They have broke. But they are fixable, it is irritating though. People if multiple of your pencils are faulty then they will replace them for you. The rant was extremely true though at times. The pencils brake and some leads are not centered. But the coloring is still amazing. Faber Castell is my favorite art company I love their Pitt artist pens. Prismacolor still in my opinion is better quality than Faber Castell depending on what you are drawing. I might get a set of Faber Castell because they work really well but I don't have money. I use almost half of the money I earned working with drywall. But with the rest I used it on other things.
I had 180 dollars. My set costed 56 dollars US
I love the drawing of the grapes behind you they have such beautiful colors in them very nice 👍🏼
Once i got a pack of 12 prismacolors (I love them) but 2 were defected. The light blue was nearly broken in half and the dark blue had white specks in the lead. So i sent a pic to the company and they sent me 2 new ones :)
The picture with the polychromos looks way more vibrant and I could see how much layering you can do! I'm thinking of getting colored pencils and I actually almost bought prismas and I'm glad I didn't! Thank you so much!
contagiouscuteness I'm glad I could help :D
Lisa, great comparison critique with these pencils. It must have been hard for you to shift from a product that you used for several years and liked to an unknown product. It must have taking you one drawing. It is too bad that a product that was once great has shifted in quality. We all appreciate this video and the information. It may be a good thing if the Prismacolor Quality control department happened to receive the link to this demonstration. Maybe they would remember that "quality maintains loyalty". We always appreciate your help and information. :)
It was an hard thing to accept that what I was so sure was the best wasn't anymore. After my flamingo piece where I was spending as much time fighting with breaking pencils I couldn't take it anymore. That was my breaking point for sure. Luckily the Faber-Castell pencils are not only good pencils, I feel they are superior to prismacolor in almost every way, so this story had a happy ending lol. It drove me to find a pencil that can do more :D
Lachri Fine Art The flamingo drawing was great. I don't think any of us could know or understand your pain with the defective pencils. I know that I and believe that all that watch your videos appreciate that you test and try many supplies and tools and find what works best for you. We thank you for making course corrections when needed. We all need to have good quality supplies and tools so that all our efforts can be placed upon the creative processes. Thanks again :D
I really need to get some polychromos. Every single prismacolor colored pencil I bought in a set is broken. I've also never dropped any. I've also had it where the entire piece of lead falls out because they made the wooden barrel to big. I'm happy to see I'm not the only who was having these same problems. Thanks for the video helped a ton :)
I'm sort of an artist (lack practice and talent ) but I could easily tell the difference, one is so much brighter and so much more define thank you I will be able to invest in the right kind.
I notice the HUGE difference between both grapes' canvases. That's why I love Fabercastell.
Amazing work by the way!
When i look at the end result , the polychromos just had more depth, and the coloring was so much more...... it's just so hard to explain, but the prismacolor ended up looking like a bunch of olives, while the polychromos actually made it look like grapes.
I appreciate what you are saying.Thank you for the info. I have never had a Prismacolor pencil off center, nor has the wood split.Of course, I do use an electric sharpener, which I don't know how anyone could do without! I recently started using more Faber Castell though and discovered that they do fine detail much better than Prismacolor. SO I am not giving up my Prismas, but am adding more of other brands.I love your work, btw! Thank you again!!
I just bought a bunch of prismacolor pencils, they are all perfect. I've had no problem sharpening them either (I just have a little $6 sharpener) I have a lot of polychromos too. I also like the Derwents.I guess I care most about the color.
Thank you so much for the comparison; by far the best I have seen. Doing them side-by-side REALLY made the difference. It's obvious you are miles ahead of me as far as talent goes so enjoyed watching your creative process. The only problem I have with the whole thing is that if I wanted FC's before, I'm LUSTING after them now. I have a good set of Prismas, but you know how that goes. But someday I will have my FC's. Thanks again for this fine video! Also...I was in Office Max yesterday eyeballing a Prisma set, but between the hermetically sealed display case, the plastic shrink wrap and the anti-theft device, I could not tell if it was a good set or not. I'll get them from Amazon from now on.
This is helpful because with my allowance money I am going to save up for art supplies and since I haven't started high school (still in middle school) and don't have much experience this really helped me out on what brand to buy. Although I do have a 60 pack of prismacolors, and one of my favorite greens split SO FAR DOWN. I was really dissapointed that day. :( but this is really helpful thank you!
shaina Grewal I'm glad to help :)
I know this is an old video but I wanted to thank you. I am a crafter, not an artist. I bought the polychromos pencils open stock. I bought 12 or 13 in September and just bought another 12. I didn't buy a set because I wanted colors for floral stamps and sea creature stamps more than anything else.
I am LOVING them!!! My images are MUCH nicer!
the polychromos drawing looks more sharper and realistic than the prismacolor.
I've been waiting for this video for forever! I first got prismacolors and loved them to bits.... until I started sharpening them. The tip would break, and I would literally go through 1/4 of the pencil each time. I just got a 36 set of the polychromos and I LOVE them! I agree that prismas have better white but the faber castell is such a pleasure to sharpen! I love the look of the paint thinner.... it blends the pencil so good!
I've just ordered Faber-Castell Polychromos and hoping to have fun too! :). Just need to learn how to use them properly. My first drawing that I'm planning is Conchita. :))). And lots of other people/things. Because I'm bored of drawing only black&white drawings. I need to let my imagination break free :D.
Akvile Ne They are awesome pencils! Just do lots of layers :D
Ok, thank you so for advice! Can't wait to get them! :).
You have an amazing talent. I've just started and I'm avidly consuming all your videos! Just purchased a full set of Polychromos... You make it look so annoyingly easy!!!!
Shush-shush... Don't cry Prismacolor... I still use you 😊
LOL!! :D
Me too! I have had very few problems.
Lachri Fine Art How have I not gotten a notification from you since 2 months ago?
I have an older set of Prismacolors, older being from around 20 years back, so I have not experienced any breakage, however this is a very helpful video, especially since I only have a few of the pencils and I need more. I will definitely be buying Polychromos, thanks!
amazing work. I can't draw and didn't know you could do this impressed
Wow, what a gifted artist you are Lisa. I only have the Faber Castell Classic student pencils ATM, I have recently just started my colouring in journey, up until this point I have been a quilter. I have been doing loads of research before spending big money on good quality artist pencils. Your video has helped so much, I've been a little confused with some of the reviews I've watched. So thank you for being so clear and concise, finally someone not afraid to tell it like it is. Hopefully Prismacolor will do something about their quality control. The colour pencil industry is booming and word will quickly get around, but for now, Faber Castell it is. Thanks again and have a great day. Cheers
I don't know why people say prismacolors pencils break. the only time mine have broken is when I over sharpened one...THE ONLY TIME. Other than than, mine have never broken and they work fine (BTW I have the soft core ones)
+iztapasalsa People say they break because they do. You're in the minority of people who have not had issues. I'm guessing you just got lucky in that your set was better. The quality control is the issue, some are ok, and some ar trash.
+Lachri Fine Art Well yeah i was a bit anxious buying my prismacolors because i heard of the led breaking. I plan on getting a larger set since i have kind of a small set but, great review by the way i might save up to get maybe a small set of faber castell because i have never tried them and heard good reviews from that product.
I've never had that problem either. I press fairly hard on my pencils and have been used prismacolors for about 5-6 years, and I've never had one break on me. Just lucky I guess.
+iztapasalsa I agree with you. I am a artist and personally am in LOVE with prism color. The soft core is the best and they honestly don't break that easily unless you really automatically not manually sharpen them
+sky sky good luck next time you need to buy prismas. They duck since Rubbermaid bought them
I started out with Prismacolor and purchased my Polychromos set about a ago year now and I'd say your assessment is spot on. I love the comment you made about feeling like the pencils were giving you the finger every time you tried to sharpen them. Made me LOL. I've felt the same way but I never found such an eloquent way to express it.
LOL :P
Finally, a frank and honest review of prisma pencils. They're garbage if you ask me. I got the full set, and right out of the box the leads were broken. I sharpened over half my pencils to little 4 inch things trying to get a single use out of them. They're bent. The color cores are always broken. They don't sharpen well at all. And to top it all oFf they're expensive and don't layer well. Id assumed their pencils would be of the same high quality as their markers because of their price, but that was a mistake. An expensive one.
Wow you must've got a bad set...I got 72 for xmas and mine are all fine!
+M May that's the point though, there shouldn't be any bad sets. Something very wrong with quality control of a product so expensive. I got the 120 set of polychromos for Xmas and they're emaculate.
+jpwoody76 see the polychromos are sooo expensive! I have a couple and there's nothing oh so special about them
+M May nothing special maybe, but not broken or broken easily like the Prismacolors. Regarding pricing I think its a question of where you are based.
I used to think same but prisma can do polychoromo can't and what polychoromo do prisma can't. Draw hair with prisma is easier and time saving than polychoromo. And for face details are done best by polychoromo.
Im SERIOUSLY GLAD to find out that it wasnt MY technique in sharpening because I know ALL TOO WELL about the breakage & splitting edges from prismas... I used them in highschool & I always preached that they were the best also. Lately that is just NOT the case. Im just soo glad to see Im not the only one having these problems. I would get furious after exactly like you said, sharpening a WHOLE PENCIL, JUST to get one use out of it. This absurdity just blew my mind everytime. THANK YOU for making this video, I love your Faber Castel drawing much more tham the Prisma one. The FC one was much darker, & brighter where it needed to be. Also more profound in depth & detail like you said. Im a fan of FC before even using them Im heading to Amazon right now to get them :)
So glad I found this video before I bought Prisma color pencils
I know right! I was just about to order Prismacolors and found this video. It's helps so much. I guess Fabre Castell are batter to use! Aha
Dragon Republican :D
Wow, excellent comparison video. Thank you so much for doing this. I thought I was going crazy with my Prismacolor pencils. I recently started drawing after decade or so of not doing any artwork. I decided to give colour work a shot and was so frustrated with my inability to sharpen the Prismacolor without them breaking. I was wondering if it was me, the sharpener, the brand or maybe I just got a bad batch, but I'm interested to see others have had the same issue.
I remember enjoying using the Faber-Castell previously, so maybe I'll give them a shot again.
Keep up the great videos. I am definitely subscribing :D
Thanks! That frustration with breakage is what REALLY pushed me to try something else. I'm so glad I did. I mostly use the polychromos and Luminance now and am SO glad I made the change! I almost gave up on colored pencil all together because I was so sick of the problems I was having!
I really don't mean this as in the people, I'm talking about the FDA actually, but since prismacolors are now made in Mexico now, instead of the US. using cheaper ingredients, could that be the problem with how the pencils perform?
Thank you so much for this comparison! I've been frustrated with Prismacolor pencils, lately, since I've started up again with artwork. I've noticed the issue with quality control and there is a huge difference now compared to the set I bought in 2008, which are still in excellent shape. I was hoping there is a better option out there and thanks to you informing us, I've found the answer I was looking for. For white, I've noticed, Stabilo, brand 'all' pencil, is far more powerful than the, Prismacolor, white pencil. Not sure if you've heard of em so thought I'd mention it. I'm still curious about the Stabilo brand, as I only have their white, which I needed for bunny whiskers. They are designed for coloring on glass, metal and other hard surfaces and their opacity is insane. That is if their quality hasn't changed since years ago when I bought it.
Impressive! I was searching info in this subject and your video is PERFECT! Very useful! Thank you very much! ***** I am new to colored pencils (I'm the kind of people that all her life thought "I can't draw') Now, when I'm learning that I CAN I was having doubts about which colors would be the best investiment. All the online courses keep mentioning this Polychromos that I never know before and in my country (Uruguay) only have Faber Castell -kind of the only ones, because they are produced in Brasil, our border country-, Polychromos is a new arrival, thanks to chinese market online, I suppose.
About the white Faber pencil, I'm trying using a white Pastel pencil or crayon in the really white spots, but I wasn't successful in blending it in other places so I reverted to my old fathful Faber, any suggestions? Thank you again ;)
Hola Paty M. Has tentado usar aceite mineral para mezclar? Funciona super bien con los lápices polychromos. Saludos.
+BEATRIZBARRUETO Voy a ver qué consigo... aceite para bebés tengo, también voy a probar. Gracias!
Usa un haste con algodón pero sin encharcarlo en aceite (solo un poquito) y prueba en una hoja mezclar 2 tonos. En libros de colorir (dependiendo del tipo de papel) puede manchar el otro lado. Buena suerte! Paty M.
I have been a die hard Prisma user, but upon your recommendation, and my frustration with Prismacolors' tendancy to break (grrrrr) I purchased a set of 24 Polychromos in April. And yes, I love them, especially for detailed work... they sharpen to a wonderful fine point with no breakage. Love them so much that I just purchased and am awaiting the arrival of a larger set of 60. [Sigh...} Someday I hope to be able to afford the biggest," bestest" set Faber Castell manufactures. Thanks again, Lisa, for your superb comparison videos.
New subscriber. I am a beginner artist + I mostly draw portraits. New subscriber.
Idellle Welcome :)
***** ey vete a amazon i busca prismacolors ai te salwn diferente sets :)
I couldn't agree more! Having used Prismacolor for many years, I am disgusted by their lack of quality control and customer service. I have switched to Poloychromos and have had my students switch as well. It is so good to be working with cooperative colored pencils and well worth the price difference. What a relief!
I just got PRISMACOLORS for Christmas and I was really excited. My pencils all seem to be centered and none of them have broken. I am quite confused on what everyone else is saying about them. I'm really getting disappointed and I'm just looking at the price of faber Castell and they are so expensive :0. I would just like to know if I should invest in them or just keep my PRISMACOLORS because mine seem like they are in perfect condition.
There's nothing wrong with prismacolors. I like them and they are the only colored pencils I have besides the aquarelle Faber Castell. My only downside that I've experienced with prismas are that the picture does turn up a bit waxy and somewhat takes away from the realism. Perhaps try blending with oil pastels so the reflection isn't so harsh?
Yeah I got mine for Christmas and they are working just fine. Never really had a problem with them. The only problem I had was blending but then I actually found out how to bled properly lol
Thank you for another great video review. 😊
I'm not an artist, but have been adult coloring for over 30 years and for most of that I used Prismacolor Premiers. I got so fed up with the volume of breakage that a couple years I switched to to Faber-castell Polychromos as my go to brand. I wish they had a 150 like the Prismas and I still prefer the nice sheen the latter uses, but vastly prefer the quality of the Polychromos.
I still use my Prismas, along with some other brands, but again, for all of the reasons you mentioned in this video, Polychromos are so far my absolute favourites. I'd really love to try the Caran D'ache Pablos, but they're just too expensive here in Canada.
Anyway, thanks again. I love your channel and your art. I hope you and your loved ones all manage to avoid contracting Covid-19.
Your area hard to buy Faber castell ,my place hard to buy prisma color
You're lucky!
Very good video, very informative! When I first became interested in colored pencils a few years ago, it was suggested that I buy the Best colored pencils I could afford. Extremely glad that I was able to get Faber Castell Polychromos 120 at the tine!! My husband wanted to try colored pencils recently and bought Prismacolor pencils. HUGE difference in quality!!! Hubby's pencils had broken leads right out of the box, split wood galor and even warped pencils. You get what you pay for.
another superb video Lisa :)
I love the texture that the Prismacolors have but I'm like you I hate it when they constantly break. Love the Polychromos so much better. Thank you for your tutorials; being a new artists I'm learning a lot from you. Thank you.
Katrina Bigg Glad to hear it =D