Without doing the chart yet, and just through my experience using both full sets in an artist capacity, Polychromos wins hands down! Lightfastness (there are literally two in 120 that are a bit dodgy so technically Polychromos have more usable colours than Prismas), the beauty of the pencil, the quality of the pencil (you don't need to see the cores because all Polychromos are centred with delicious German efficiency). Polychromos also sharpen like a boss and don't break every five seconds so even if they cost a little more, they are worth it as one tends to chew through Prismas much quicker (false economy with the cheaper ones!). In Australia they're all about the same as each other price wise anyway. In short, I ADORE Polychromos for my art pieces, but I will give it to Prismacolor that the softer waxier pencils are LOVELY for colouring books. I pulled out all the non-lightfast ones (you end up with a decent colour palette with just those) and I use them for colouring so they don't go to waste; they work well, aside from having to sharpen them entirely too often!
+Rebecca Tregear glad to hear you find a way to use the pencils that are not high on the lightfast scale. Sort of feels like they are the kids at school that don’t get picked for the team.
You're not allowed to complain about 100+ year old, world famous manufacturers. You're not allowed to speak about breakages either. That is ridiculous talk. Wood workers have shown you how to sharpen wood. You disrespect them. Wood workers have had no complaints about these pencil brands. Artists are clearly WRONG cause Wood workers don't complain about their tools. Pencils ✏️ have been getting perfectly sharpened for hundreds of years by Wood workers. Artists are sick and delusional and should shut their mouth. You never sand across the wood grain. You never sharpen against the grain. Timber may have cranky grain structure. You adjust your sharpening accordingly. You're WRONG. YOU'RE NOT ALONE in sharpening pencils. You're not allowed to complain!!!! Wood workers use pencils too and THEY don't have a problem. I'm sick of artist idiots causing trouble when it's all their fault. Every day they complain about stuff and it always is their fault.
I think you did the Polychromos a disservice in the blending test which is where they really are meant to shine. You gave it to Prismacolor because you said the colour was more vibrant but that's not what the test was for. The oil-based pigment will always surpass pure wax-based because waxes don't mix well oils do. You can see in the test you did there's very clear tide lines between the different colours from the prismacolor while the polychromos gets a smooth gradient through all 3 stages.
The most important thing for me when I consider pencil crayons is the quality and the quality control behind prismacolor is not up to my standards... the core isn't centered they break more often than I use them the wood encasing is thinner and the wax bloom bothers me to no end. Polychromos for the money you pay are better quality in my opinion and they're oil based so big plus for me.
They are is no comparison. Faber Castell is some of the best if not the best, while Prismacolour's quality is some of the worse if not the worse. It's literally night ad day...
Full disclosure: I'm a HUGE Prismacolor Premier fangirl. However, I don't (yet) own a single Polychromos pencil but I've been wondering whether it was worthwhile to buy some. This video fully answered that question. While I agree 100% with all of your results and I still feel that Prismacolor is overall the pencil for me, I am extremely impressed by the Polychromos lightfastness and smoothness. For those reasons alone, I think it's definitely worth investing in at least some key colors from that brand. Thanks so much for the information!!
+theoriginaledi, glad I could help clarify some of your thoughts. It sounds like you’re on the right track. I’m hoping some day the Polychromos will drop in price...a girl can dream.
I would try a few first, like 8-10. I find that every set has some pencils that behave better than others (really EVERY set). You may love the Polys but if you don't you will save a lot of money. I like the Indigo since it is a different color. Um, that is one out of 120... :) The yellow/orange selection is nice but every set seems loaded with those. They do erase better than Prismas.
Cool, thanks for the extra information. I agree about starting slow. I'll probably initially get only 3-5 just to see how they do. It's nice to have some insight on where I might start!
Polychromos are superior. I'm not a coloring book person. I create original artwork. I started with Prismacolors and thought there was no going back. Then I went to my favorite ART (not craft) supply store because I needed more white. I was told that Prismacolors have gone downhill and were going to be replaced in a few months by Polychromos. I don't find the Polychromos to be particularly expensive, especially when you consider how much pencil is wasted when Prismacolors break, and break and break. I found that buying the complete set of Polychromos from Europe was cheaper than anywhere else when I checked eBay too. I probably got them around 60% less than any retailer in the states. Prismacolor does make the best black. I order them by the box from my local office supply store. Where I normally shop online from US based retailer, the Prismacolors are $1.29. The Polychromos $1.69. With the latter, I get to use the whole pencil. I gave away my entire set of Prismacolors and now use Polychromos for the layers of underpinning, and Luminance (also purchased whole set from Europe cheap!) for the top layers which make my work POP! In between I used Colored Pencil Painting Textured Fixative spray to restore tooth to burnished paper. Hope this editorial helps. If you want to lust over anything, it should be the Luminance. They are the greatest colored pencil ever, but cost $3.99 each to replace! It takes so little when you're using them only to add depth to nearly completed work.
I solved the problem with which is best, I got both sets. I also have a really hard time reading Polychromos gold foil lettering on the pencils. If I had to chose between the two brands then Polychromos is my choice, it is all about the details. In very small spaces where you need control and a very fine point Polychromos wins, there are some colouring pages that I wouldn't even try to use Prismacolors to do . To get similar vibrancy to Prismacolors you have to do many light layers much more than four. So Prismacolors give you a faster lay down where you need just a little extra patience with Polychromos.
I want to get myself a nice set of pencils (for Christmas or my birthday or just a nice treat? Haven't decided yet.) and have been watching a lot of these comparison videos. I've been wanting the Polys for a while, but the Prismas have a larger set of colors and seem to blend really nicely. So I may just have to get both too! lol I currently have the Tombow Irojitens which are nice, but the colors are a bit limited.
For the people who live in America maybe Prismacolor is the best choice, but for the people who live in Europe the choice is going to be Polychromos. In Europe is very complicated to buy single Prismacolor pencils because there is not open stock, but we have Polychromos open stock, I live in Spain and I can buy a single pencil of Polychromos in several art shops of my city and online shops, but I cannot buy Prismacolor if I only want an spare pencils because they are very expensive because you only can buy them on international shops and the big problem are the shipping rates, even if you buy them in Amazon, for example a green pencil can cost more than 10 euros (around 11,76 dolars). I've Polychromos set of 120 pencils and when I've bought them I had the doubt between them or Prismacolor, I'm glad I've choose the Faber Castell. Thank you soooooooo much for your videos, I'm learning very much about coloring.
Jennifer, I'm really not hating on you but I didn't enjoy this video as much as other videos by you. Personally I think that you were a bit bias to the Prismacolor colored pencils. For example with the color wheel test polychromos deserved to win as some colors were more true than the ones of Prismacolor. One example is the yellow-green was more true for the polychromos than the Prismacolor colored pencils. Another point I'd like to make is that it's kinda unfair to compare the two because one is wax based (Prismacolors) and one is oil based (polychromos). Because polychromos are oil based they obviously won't be as pigmented as Prismacolors.
+Zakiyyah Gangat, thanks for your comment. I appreciate your thoughts on the video. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this video. I truly thought the Polychromos would win this comparison, but I was pleased to see that the score card truly did show what brand is best for me. That was the purpose of this video...not to show what brand is best overall. I want everyone to discover which brand is best for them, because it is very different for each of us. I hope you’ve had a chance to watch my color wheel videos. They explain why and how each of the colors in those wheels were selected. For this comparison, it was not so much about what colors were in the wheel but more about comparing vibrancy, saturation, and overall appeal. Remember, color is highly subjective and difficult to test especially when different pigments and dyes are involved. Again...that is what is exciting to me about providing the score card...everyone can look at those wheels and choose for themselves. Your second point regarding the core content and unfairly testing them because they are different. This could be said of almost every brand and type of colored pencil. But, in the end, people purchase them to be used for the same purpose so I think it is totally fair to compare these two brands. I did this video because I am constantly asked this question and people want to know how to make this decision for themselves. That is why I chose this format for my video. I want to educate and in the end, let the viewers make up their own mind. I hope this helps clarify my thoughts and feelings.
Coloring Pages Bliss I didn't feel you were biased. You didn't once say, "Prismacolor is the right brand for everyone." You clearly stated they were best for you, and obviously, when creating comparison videos, we can only give our own thoughts and opinions. I appreciate all of the time and effort you put into creating these videos. I learn and absorb so much useful information and utilize the techniques in my own art.
I disagree with the color wiping part. I actually had to stop using prismacolors because they smudged too much on my hand or even a white paper if I used that to rest my hand while painting... but with the polychromos I never had that problem. You should have tried on more colors.....
+dianateabag good suggestion. Maybe I could do a video just about the smudging factor. Have you tried laying down waxed paper under your hand to protect your work? It works like a charm for me.
That's interesting. I've seen on someone else's review of these 2 brands that they use paper under their hand when coloring with polychromos but not prismacolor. They basically had the opposite problem as you.
I liked the more muted colors of polychromos. The bright colors are not something that appeals to me nor does the breakage issues prismas newer sets have.
A lot of this was subjective or biased. For example, Polychromos is oil-based, so the opacity will be lesser than he wax-based Prisma that layers on thicker. Did you noticed the unevenness of the Prisma vs the Polychromos? Thinner but smoother vs thicker but uneven. And I love he Polychromos presentation, they look like they cost a lot (and admittedly they do).
tita adorno If you have the money (which I don’t), I’d say get care dache luminance (not sure if I spelt this right) or get both polychromos and prismacoour pencils, as they are both good for different things.
I have full sets of both and use my Polychromos and Luminance almost exclusively. I never use my Prismacolor any more. They are just too waxy for me. I must agree though that they are much easier to read than the Polychromos. I have worked around that by swatching and numbering all of my Polychromos pencils on the swatch chart. I then numbered my Robax pencil trays and each of the pencils using fine black Sharpies for the light colors and white gel pens for the darker ones. I then place each one in the appropriate slot. This was a fair amount of work but really pays off when I want to pull specific pencils for a project and later replace them where I can easily locate them again. These tests really made me think though and I may start using my Prismacolors more. As always, thanks for all your hard work.
Interesting to see your test. I think another 2 tests could be useful 1. long term durability of the pencils. Typically I find that I need to sharpen Prismas more often and so Polys last a longer time even if more layers are needed for saturation. This can then offset long term cost considerations. 2. coverage: I feel I can get more subtle colour graduations with Polys than with Prismas. They go down lighter. Difficult to test objectively perhaps.
+Jane Kerrigan thanks for such specific suggestions! Have you seen my full reviews of these pencils? I try to address your #1 item on that worksheet. Check it out!
First of all: thanks a lot for your very thorough testing! I really love your way to be as objective as possible to show the differences! I really appreciate that, because it gives people the right tools to base their decision on. Great work! Now, I own both pencils, I just received my Prismas this week. So I am able to compare the both of them myself. I can confirm almost all the issues and results you talked about, except for the smearing, where my personal impression was that the Prismas smeared more, but maybe that also depends on the colors that one chooses for the test, because the pigments can vary in "performance". From my point of view, most differences result from the difference in "ingredients". Most obviously, both are very good sets, with very much pigment. But while the Polychromos have oil as an ingredient, the Prismas don't. The Prismas are softer, the Polychromos harder. That's why Prismas give off more intense color with less layering, or the Polychromos slightly less intense coloring, but smoother blending. That' also the reason why Prismas tend to break faster and wear down quicker. That's the price you pay for their softness, so to speak. And the Polychromos blend nicer, but you have to work more at them. The list goes on and on. Now, I as a German should actually prefer the Polychromos, right? ;-) But to be honest, I cannot decide. While I prefer the smoother look of the blended Polychromos, I prefer the softness of Prismas. That is a draw for me, I am deadlocked (and glad about it!). Which is why I will be using both sets intensively. By the way, I only bought the Prismas because I couldn't resist. I am not much of an artist and never will be, as much as I would have wished to be one. I am just a person who likes to color every once in a while, and that is why I initially did not think about getting a second set of good pencils. Prismas and Polychromos used to be about the same price for comparable amounts of pencils a year ago (at the German Amazon). At that time, I decided to buy the Polychromos, because I was afraid of the lead breaking issues of the Prismas, since I am not experienced in pencil use. But now, the prices for the Prismas dropped so considerably, that I was able to buy a set of 72 Prismas for 35 Euros, which is almost a fourth (!) of what they were a year ago. One Euro has about the same buying value here as an American Dollar, just to give you a scale. Availability in Germany is good for both of the pencils, with the only difference that I can go to any art store and buy the Polychromos open stock, whereas the open stock Prismas are only available to me online. Again, THANK YOU for your great reviews! Even though I do not need to make any buying decisions any more, I still love to watch all of your tests, simply because they are worth watching!
+ElinT13 thank you for sharing your amazing insights. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences and your perspective from Germany. I am happy to hear that you enjoy my video so much. 😊❤️
I think that your test is quite good. I like both sets of pencils for different reasons. If I want brighter than life, I tend to lean towards Prismacolor. If I want a more natural look, I lean towards the Polychromos. I also have a big difference in crumbling than your test, mostly with the blues and reds of Prismacolor. I don't know if what their core is made of, with these colors, makes a difference or not, but this is my personal experience. All in all, the test is subjective. I can easily use either set & be happy. No, I'm not a professional artist, I'm a colorist learning ways to improve my art on a daily basis.
Luminence are better ! Luminence are the best pencils I have used and I have compared them to the Pablo's in the shop. Colors are more vibrant when applied on the same piece of paper.. all colors are lightfast...etc...
I own both and both have their space and place in my work. I never have a breakage problem with the Prismas, because I use the Derwent Fine Point Sharpener. It works wonders with the prismas. Also sharpen your graphite’s with it in order to keep the sharpener clean. I never attach it to the desk. I just hold it in my hand to sharpen the pencils. To me it’s easier.
The point about prismacolor being really easy on the hand for chronic pain is the biggest reason I went for them! I asked around about which coloured pencils are easiest on the hands and the consensus was them, so I bought some recently. Good to see that someone who has chronic pain and uses them thinks they are good for that since I haven't had much chance to use them yet! 😊
As long as you're not using a manual sharpener anyway, and by that I mean one where you have to twist your arms around. Electric or hand crank sharpeners are best for those with hand pains.
@@arcyarcanine Yeah I have a hand crank sharpener 😁. I also have a really good metal manual sharpener that I use when I'm feeling good to get the point I want but the hand crank takes a looot of work out of the process 😊
Thank you for your color pencil comparison in this video, extremely helpful on showing us the differences and tallying up our own points on which brand we should buy. I definitely was surprised on how much I liked the prismacolor's vibrancy over polychromos when you showed the color wheels side by side, this proves that price doesn't determine the preference/quality of materials.
I remember using 2/3 of a prismacolor on a background on a coloring page because it was so soft. I went to black widow and has a firmer core and I don't use up the pencil so much but I then went to using panpastels for the background because it takes forever to do those backgrounds and get the white tooth not to show. However comparing the color the prismacolor looks more velvety.
Thanks for your video, very helpful as I'm stuck between these two brands. Although Prismacolor scored more for me I think I'll go for the Polychromos as Lightfastness is important to me, also that it doesn't break easily. I also remember you mentioning in another video that the Polychromos core was welded to the barrel so would be less likely to break when sharpening. Besides that, I live in the UK, so they're easier to get hold of. Maybe will try to get a black Prismacolor online as I loved the strong darkness of it.
Prismas break way too easy when sharpening, leave dust when coloring and are not subtle when layering. I've never had a Poly break when sharpening and they don't leave dust on your work. I like that the colors are subtle when you layer, you don't end up with everything BRIGHT after two layers, so you can have nice shades of a color. I'll pay more for Poly's.
Owned both of these. I've never had so many broken pencils as i had with Prismacolor. Horrible pencils. I've only ever had one polychromos pencil break on me, and that was my fault.
I have been using both along with Derwent for a number of years now, and am fortunate that I live in an area that has many art stores that I can purchase almost any type of pencil that I want. In my humble experience , the Faber Castell is number one, the Derwent is second and the Prismacolor is third. This is my opinion only, but, I use all three equally, you will not go wrong using any of these.
Jennifer!! Wow wow wow!! I just discovered you this week and I’m subscribed and joined and TOTALLY blessed! The amount of research and impeccable detail is amazing!! Why you don’t have a million followers is a mystery to me! Your hubbin Steve and sweet pup Rose are also a delight! Blessed to be “blissed”💕👩🏻🎨
Personally cannot stand Prismacolor. I got the full set but sold them pretty shortly after after doing some colourings with them. They are just too soft for me - it's like colouring with crayons. Polychromos, hands down, are the perfect balance between soft and hard lead pencils. The one thing I did like about the Prismacolor however was the vibrant, gorgeous colours. Polychromos leans into more natural colours.
I was extremely surprised by your result. So I did the test and obtained Prisma-5 Polychromos-16. Almost all performance tests were won by polychromos. This makes me wonder if the prismacolor premier 72 set that i bought on amazon france is legit. Plus the core diameter is smaller than those of polychromos.
SuperRaeDizzle did a comparison between prisma and poly on how many sheets one pencil can fill before she ran out of led. Prisma color filled 4 sheets of paper..Polychromos filled 39. That's what tipped it for me. Yes they're more expensive BUT you get what you pay for and when you use one pencil you can just rebuy that one so if you go all in (which I recommend) for the 120 set (think of it as an investment) you'll have it for life
I just discovered your channel. Looking forward to learning some new information and techniques.I'm just now starting to branch out into other brands of colored pencils. Been using Prismacolor for 45 years.
After seeing previous reviews, and the fact that they are more readily available in the UK (if rather more expensive) I would probably go for the Faber Castell Polychromos.
Polys would be easier to read if they used a sans serif font for the printing. Also, the Prismas have teeny-tiny lettering, but that actually helps me read it more easily, because I don’t have to roll the pencil to see the whole letter.
Simply no comparison at this point. Back 15 years ago, the fight was fair. Prismas were my absolute favorite. After Prisma moved their operations to Mexico, for some reason their quality standards are just nowhere near Faber Castell's. Cheapo particle wood casings that split along the entire length of multiple pencils on every box. Off center leads in every 3rd pencil that causes the already brittle leads to break more often. Just awful, awful, awful. The color selections in prisma are great and I remember how good and consistent they used to be. As they stand now, they are definitely a defective product. Faber is SO consistent. Your pencils feel and act as robust artist quality materials. If and when Prismacolor fixes their non-existent quality control, I'll give them another chance. But as of 2021, Faber is just unbeatable for the price/quality relation.
I think it is not really a good comparison since PC's are oil based and Prisma C's are waxed based. Polychromos are by far a better quality pencil. Caran D'ache Luminance, Caran D'ache Pablos, and FC Polychromos.....all get my "best" vote. I don't think Prisma Colors are even in the running. Their quality in the last few years (even for a waxed base pencil) has severely declined. I don't know if they have outsourced their production (still Mexico made) or what, but they are definitely not the wonderful pencils they once were.The "wax bloom" they produce is also frustrating. For my money and my time , the Polychromos are, by far, the better pencil of these 2 choices. My all-time fave though, is the Caran D'ache Luminance. Sheer heaven ..............
Thank you for this demonstration, Jennifer. It's appreciated! I own both brands of pencils so that I can follow along with tutorials and have the same and correct tools that an instructor would have. Interesting that Prismacolor is proven more vibrant and had a much larger score. I don't really need to do this test myself, because I perfectly agree with your results. But I do tend to prefer Polychromos...maybe it's because the barrel is more comfortable to hold and that it keeps a sharp point longer. And lol I just wanted to add that I have and use the exact same green soap dish as an art tool, that you used in this demonstration.
It's very refreshing to finally find a yt video where we're not supposed to believe in some kind of ULTIMATELY BEST CHOICE FOR EVERYONE. I never ever had a prismacolor in my hand, and since they are extremely expensive here in middle Europe you can't get them onen stock. Most people get them from German Amazon if they want them that badly, so since they're both expensive it makes more sense to get polychromos as a long time investment. Even though they have some flaws. Lately I bought Bruynzeel Design Color pencils, which cost around 70% of polychromos' price and I'm madly in love with them.
+GreyGreenEyes yay!!! So happy that you liked how I did this video! Thanks for the suggestion on Bruynzeel. I have 1 set of their lower grade brand and I have been impressed. Their higher brand is on my wish list. Have a great day in Europe!
GreyGreenEyes I can't be certain about posting to middle Europe but I keep my eyes open with Amazon US for Prismas as they are terribly expensive in Australia and I found them for a third of what we pay for them. Then just a week or so later they'd been increased by $30 at Amazon US after the sale. They were round USD60 for 150 set. I think that's great value or was. Amazon UK is never cheaper for me. I hope that helps you if it's possible 😊
Lo prices at US Amazon can be very low compared to ours, but there are always some shipping costs added to a cart - even when shipping is supposed to be free and I can't say I completely understand it. Also some items just don't ship to Poland at all, so German Amazon is the cheapest possible option so far. Anyways thanks for your comment!
Lo that makes sense. I once tried getting a set of 72 because there was a sale, but it turned out I'd have to pay extra ~25 to get them, so they lost my interest. Like I previously mentioned I got a set of 48 Bruynzeel Design colored pencils and I like them very very much. AFAIK they are incredibly expensive in both Australia and US, but they cost the equivalent of 40 USD, and I found them on sale and paid even less than 35. If I'm missing colours I can get some polys open stock,they seem simmiliar to one another in many ways. I seriously wish we all had simmiliar access and prices to all brands, I bet the reviews would be more helpful. Most of my art supplies are either Czech or German :P
GreyGreenEyes I so agree with you. Amazon are coming to Australia and I pray we get good pricing and that they take over the freight. I hope you manage to get whatever you need and I'd love it if we could all have what the US has. All those art suppliers with discounts and coupons and sales. Oh heaven😍😘
Alice I agree...Derwent Inktense are fantastic! But technically they are NOT a colored pencil they are solid ink. So I guess it's not fair to compare them with regular colored pencils. God Bless!
Alice Adler yeah I really love using derwent inktense and polychromos but am deciding witch set to get more of 😅if anyone does this please let me know the result 👍🏻😊
Over here in uk, polychromos are quite cheap along with the Prismacolours, and can get 100% open stock of all colours from each brand in almost any art store be it online or not. It’s great here! Only down side is that I find Strathmore Bristol board really expensive here :(
I love the polychromos the best ,they are what I like for the work that I do, there pricey, but I save my money to buy the best, sometimes it takes a few months, since I'm on a fixed income, but don't mind the wait, well I definitely don't like the wait, but you have to do what you have to do, right ?
For me personally, I wouldn't need a true black, as I would you use a fine liner pen for those really dark details. It may have been useful to see they blend out with solvents as another point for the checklist.
I haven’t used either of these pencils so my choice is based on watching your comparison. l have chosen the Prismacolor pencils because of the bright colors, how they cover the paper better and how they seem to blend. I have ordered the 72 pencil set off of Amazon. I am excited to try them out.
I'm surprised when you were courteous and asked people to share their own scores in the comments knowing you had both types and appreciated them both--yet some were not polite with their comments. You are such a lovely person and don't deserve that. A friend had these pencils for me to try. And while I know the trade off from the types of cores, my scores were the same as yours except the Prisma got an extra point for excitement. A soft cloth can can help with any bloom.
LOVE your format in that one can choose for themselves, and was surprised by the color wheel-Prismacolors are more vibrant! Very helpful, and I have subscribed, thanks so much! Nice manicure BTW :)
What is very important but left out completely is the fact that everyone has a different coloring style and most of the test categories can have very different results simply based on how hard you press the pencil to the paper, even though the test has a section for light, medium and heavy pressure, and looks for crumbs left in the process.
Good point Rachel. That’s why I suggest everyone download my worksheet and do some testing of their own. Personal preference (and the current art project you’re working on) is a huge factor.
I was trying to decide which way I wanted to go on colored pencils; I came across your video and I am going with the Prismacolor Pencils. Thank you, I was trying figure out how to decide with out spending a lot of money on a product I may not like. Thank you so so much.
I thought this was an excellent comparison, and my own results just watching it were surprising. Discovered I really really wanted Polychromos to win but... I generally concurred with your own winners and it was surprisingly.. Prismacolor for me.
+grouptherapyabq, I honestly thought the results would come out in favor of the Polychromos too. It just goes to show it truly is more about what pencils are best for each person. Thanks for your comment.
I've watched several of your videos and a few from other artists and after trying a few less than artist grade pencils, decided I "had" to have the full set of Prismacolor pencils.... So I bought them on line. I was a little disappointed that a few of them kept breaking when I sharpened them. I tried the tip of leaving them in the car for a couple hours. They didn't seem to do any mending, but they did "bloom" which really surprised me. After watching your pigment test I "had" to have a set of Blick Studio pencils. So far I like what they're doing better than the Prismacolor :-) .... Now after watching this video I "have" to get a set of Polychromos!!!! They look like they put down a very smooth, even color which I like. I've found my inner artist and am having a lot of fun drawing and coloring with ALL my pencils!!! Thank you for all your work on the videos you post!!
+MZ MRL wow...I’m worried I’m going to break your bank if I keep making art supply reviews 😉. Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time connecting with your creative side. Keep coloring and keep watching. 😊❤️
I would like to see a comparison between Marco Raffine and Prismacolor if possible. I would love to know if you think they are at all comparable. I believe Marco Raffine are oil-based, therefore have harder cores. I haven't yet used FC Polychromos, but I sort of think they would be a bit hard for my tastes and maybe a bit harder to blend, but I still would like to have a set to test them out myself. I honestly didn't like Prismas at all when I first started using them, but I was a beginner and really didn't have much experience with colored pencils and nothing to compare them to except inexpensive student grade pencils, such as Liquimark (the absolute worst in my opinion) Rose Art, CraZArt, and Crayola. I'm like you, Jennifer. I want every brand! And it's really not a matter of greed. I want to try every brand simply for experience and variety and to learn which brand works best for me.
+Crystal Franklin thanks for the suggestion and I agree...I want to try so many different kinds of tools because I keep wondering if I will find one that works better or brings me more Bliss as I create art. I am very blessed to have this passion to fill my days.
I like Prismas, they are super vibrant, but love Polychromos. You have to blend differently whether you use one or the other. Another thing to think about is how fast a pencil can be used up. Prismas tend to use up faster than Polys to me. I feel like I constantly sharpen Prismas. Which means I have to buy a new pencil faster.
Great!! Very helpful Thank you. .... one thing ..i wish you had a completed picture x2 the same pic...using the different pencils with your techniques etc to compare.... would have been fascinating. But Thank you all the same! 🤩👏👍
Hi there, many thanks for taking the time to make & share this information, it's always good to get a new perspective on colour pencils. I love using the Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils & have done for many years, the colours available, their lightfastness & overall versatility is wonderful but because they are very creamy & soft they don't do so well on great achieving nice, sharp & 'clean' edges. With this in mind I bought a set of 36 Prismacolor Verithin pencils but have been terribly disappointed as the core, (which is indeed "very thin"!!) keeps breaking, especially upon sharpening - I used one of the pencils almost down to halfway before achieving any sort of a point I could work with!!! Also several of the pencils in the set seem to be splitting down the barrel of the wood & are generally not so desirable as my Caran d'Ache set. The colour richness & lightfastness just doesn't compare between these two brands either so I was wondering if the Fabre Castell Polychromos would give me the sharp edges & ability to get colour into the tiniest of spaces? May I ask what you think please as I'd really value your opinion on this? I really would be very grateful if you would be able to give ANY guidance at all...? Thank you so much.
+paganheart The core of the Polychromos is harder so in my opinion, Polychromos will definitely give you a nice sharp point that should do better for you than the Verithins. I think you will find they will work beautifully with your Luminance pencils. You could also try the Caran d’Ache Pablo pencils. They also have a harder core. Try ordering 3 pencils of each brand open stock...a light, medium, and dark...in a color you use often. This will let you test them before purchasing a larger set. Have fun!
Coloring Pages Bliss - I am so grateful for your reply, thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I'll do exactly as you suggest as this will indeed be a good way of trying them. I shall start with the polychromos as I feel, like you, they appear to suit my purpose well. It's been great watching your videos, I've learned so much & had information clarified that I have been wondering on for ages. Every good wish. xxx
I have both and love both but they perform very differently, oil vs wax. Prismas for me are more versatile in that they lay down beautifully with any tooth. I use them both but I tend to use my Prismas more than any of my artist pencils.
For me, Prismacolor. Not a professional artist, use pencils for coloring books. Love their vibrancy and creaminess. I know some say the quality is not the same. But, since I didn't use the older version, can't miss what you never had. I've also never and hopefully never will experience broken leads or problems sharpening. And so much bang for your buck.
+carmen l, I think you and I have had the same experience with Prismacolor. I have never had any problems with my Premier pencils. Thanks for watching.
Judging by your list, the Polychromos win by far for me. But they would anyway because not every factor should be considered equally and the quality just isn't very good on the Prisma Colors (from what I've heard they were a lot better a few years ago)
I tested the Faber castells in the store and I love how smooth they lay down and not grainy at all. I've used Prisma colors and in some coloring books it could be grainy and I would have to always go behind it with a Prisma blender in certain books. Plus I've been running through them. So I'm ready to try the Faber Castells set but I hate that they're so high. I don't want to buy them and think that they're not worth it and I would have to buy the 60pc set because the 24pc don't have any pinks and purples in them. Have you tried Castle Art and if so could they compare??
Hi y'all, I am so sorry, I meant the Prismacolors. I have all the small sets as well as the full set of 150. I do like the polycromos but not as much as my Prismacolors 🖌
This is an interesting and in-depth way of scoring. You get to explore lots of areas to see which one fits better. I adore my Polychromos and those have my heart. However, I love my Prismas and they’re always a breath of fresh air when I come back to them after an absence.
I have had both polychromos and prismas since this video first aired. Nearly five years later and I still don't know which brand is better. But, they work together very nicely. I have to say to people who think the polychromos white is 'useless' try to use it as a blender while you are making a pastel gradient, or trying to blend in the blues and silvers of clouds.
More subjective (opinion) than objective (scientific). Many times I preferred the polychromos when you preferred the prismacolor, for example. Also, there is no weighting for categories that mean more, like lightfasteness.
She specifically said there are TONS of reviews that go in depth into the more “scientific” style criteria. I like hers better because she discusses the issues that actually matter to me. And of course it’s subjective, that’s why she gave a link to print your own comparison page.
Add a bonus point for weighting things that extra important to you. I personally don't care about lightfastness. I am not going to display my coloring or if I do it's not going to be a major deal. Maybe on the fridge like I did my son's when he was little. *lol* Also, it was clear from the beginning, this was a subjective comparison.
1. I would have given Polychromos a point for "least wax bloom". 2. Also, an extra point for making their pencil set available in a beautiful wooden box. In my mind, that beats a tin pan hands down. 3. Polychromos might be just as vibrant on a color wheel, if you gave it more layers. Owing to the fact it's oil based, it needs more to achieve the same color intensity. 4. Your black sphere looked WAY better drawn in Polychromos. Another point for Polychromos. 5. On my score sheet, I gave the Polys the point for how they felt in hand while coloring with them. I find that a larger barrel is more comfortable in my own carpel tunnel challenged drawing hand. 6. I thought being able to get down more layers was preferable to only being able to lay down a lesser number. Point given to Polychromos. 7. I felt the Polys blended just as well as as Prismas, AND they laid down more smoothly. 8. Now I think I need the BIG set of Faber-Castell's Polychromos pencils! Obviously, it was Polychromos, for me.
So much more likely to have breakage in the tins than the cardboard. And the breakage regardless makes the "crumb" thing a moot point. Every non-wax prominent pencil will have slightly more "crumbs" but that just means your sharp point isn't being smashed down so you have to resharpen and remove even more of your core more frequently regardless. So yeah, polychromos definitely the better quality especially for fine art with its lightfastness. But I've heard so many different things about prismas lightfastness and that it's often made out to be so much worse than it is etc. But who knows. Prismas are luxurious to color with and blend, but polys are def. The better product all around for any artist. Now with that said, caran daache Luminance might as well just be the only option if your a fine artist, not prisma. And combining a wax prominent based pencil set with the oil prominent based set I think is ideal altogether.
I find a lot of these poly vs prisma comparison videos ignore the very glaring issue that their basic makeup is fundamentally different. If you come at the poly from a prisma user standpoint, you miss out on the strengths of the polys. Just sayin.
I like the feel of using Polychrome...the pencils seem to gllllllide across the paper! My other favorite is Derwent but I do have tons of other pencils but those are my favs! I have misused the "bloom" term incorrectly but what I was trying to communicate was the HUGE red flower showed shadowed on the cross page where the text of the story is. ICK!!! As I have a new grand niece, your video triggered not only the "ick" memory, but the BOOK! So I've reordered it from Amazon to do again! ("the Faeries of Waterlily Woods") Do you have a method of keeping the color on page from "bleeding" onto the facing page, I'd love to hear it! THANK YOU! I do so love all your video! O, what about doing a video on the cause of my problem and THE FIX! I'm HODGEPODGESPV on your blog.
+sandy vaughan oh yes! I love that glide of the Polychromos! I have had the same problem with colored pages that I don’t store in sheet protectors. I suggest using a spray fixative to seal your work. There are a lot of great brands and types to pick from.
Prisma score was 6 and Polychromos score was 16. The lightfast had alot to do with it. And when layering my colors on top it's smoother. I do have Prisma and I have had to throw them out do to they were not centered for the lead and the barrels where chipping and breaking when I tried to sharpen them. And some of the barrels were cracked right though.
Jennifer, I have Gout in my hands. Prismacolored pencils are my go to.I also love Marco Raffine. But I also own Poloy.Thank you for the time and energy you put into this comparison. My Art station is a desk. Can you give any suggestions on organization?
+Marie Laveee I hope you are having a low pain day so you can do lots of coloring at your desk ❤️😊. Thanks for suggesting some videos on organizing. I have lots of ideas coming very soon!
Actually the closed ending on the Polychromos is for the safety of the lead. If the lead gets lose for whatever reason the closed end prevents the lead f4om coming out when you color with the pencil. I mean yeah you can't see if the leads are centered but that doesn't matter if the lead is lose.
Maybe two questions added could be how do they respond to mineral spirits and how do they respond to alcohol as far as blendability and livening up the colors and creating more room for more layers?
I tried some Polychromos and Albrecht Durers this weekend, thinking for certain that I'd want to immediately rehome my Prismacolors. The Faber Castell pencils were fine, but honestly a tad underwhelming. I was truly shocked. It 100% defied my expectations. My choices: I like Caran D'Ache Neocolor II (an absolute joy, honestly surprisingly) and Inktense (so vibrant) for watercolor pencils and Prismacolor (vibrancy and softness) for dry pencils. If I need lightfastness, I can use the subset of Prismacolors that are light fast, or of course, I could use some Poloychromos. But just for enjoyment of use, Prismacolors all the way. We all have different needs, and the answer to the "which is better" question is all about personal preference.
Only thing I did notice was you went back over the white Prismacolor four times, only a couple on the Polychromos ! But what do I know lol I have both pencils, so not bias in any way lol my scores need out even!! I must say though I prefer the Polychromos as I like more natural shades, I also find them easier to hold in my hand as I have arthritis and other things! I haven’t got a lot of Prismacolor colours as I don’t know if I can get them in the Uk, probably can on amazon but not sure, the nine I have were given by a friend, so I just picked nine similar colours of Polychromos to do this test, luckily I have both blacks and whites! I have just become a premier member, based on what I’ve seen that you do, thank you. Huggles xxxAnnxxx
I have strongly suspected that some other pencils had cores that were not centered but there is such extensive harping on the Prismacolor. Sometimes I feel like someone should chop off the ends of the other ones :) I have both and so far do prefer Prismas. Can't say that the box really matters in the end.
Yes, but they wear down a lot faster. I find Poly's much better value if you prefer them to use. Superraedizzle channel did a "how many pages each covered." A BIG difference.
Before I even finish watching your video, let me say BRAVO. I'm paused at the color wheel portion (17.26) and HANDS DOWN it beats any other cp comparison video by a mile. Thank you for such an unbiased and thorough comparison. Btw....I already like the color wheel on the left purely for its vibrancy. If it turns out to be polys...I know which set I'm buying next. Thank you again. I love your videos.
Enjoyed video ...interesting and informative..i need a softer coloring pencil as im recovering from arm wrist surgery as i was a big sketcher and painter ive lost much of my dexterity and the doctorsuggested to color but my crayola pencils are brutual to color with as im a heavy handed artists in the first place my arm wrist and hand get weary fast using my crayola which are a great colored pencil ive always relied on to sketch out and color a first draft drawing then id sketch and then paint it out on arches im glad for your channel as its helped me decided on a small set of prisma colors then im goning to buy polychrmos to have to use on my arches or strahmore paper....thank you so much for this review......mikelle art mom✍👩🎨🎨
I would love it if you would do a tutorial on the how to use, when to use Prismacolor Verithin pencils. I just started using them and hope I am using them correctly and in the right situations.
You could do a test of the two where you are Coloring a big area to check for blooming issues. In my case it was a Coloring book for an 8yo. Your favorite set bloomed like crazy. All over the page facing it.
+sandy vaughan oh no! So sorry to hear this. I’ve researched blooming several times and get such conflicting information about what it is exactly and how to correctly prevent it and how to correctly treat it if it happens. I don’t want to pass on false info, so I haven’t done a video about it. But...if and when I finally get accurate info, I will definitely address the issue. Thanks for your comment.
Color wheel choice. Like the vibrancy on right, but may use the left for a soft beach environment, and a combination of both for other subjects. So like both for coloring effects. :)
Without doing the chart yet, and just through my experience using both full sets in an artist capacity, Polychromos wins hands down! Lightfastness (there are literally two in 120 that are a bit dodgy so technically Polychromos have more usable colours than Prismas), the beauty of the pencil, the quality of the pencil (you don't need to see the cores because all Polychromos are centred with delicious German efficiency). Polychromos also sharpen like a boss and don't break every five seconds so even if they cost a little more, they are worth it as one tends to chew through Prismas much quicker (false economy with the cheaper ones!). In Australia they're all about the same as each other price wise anyway. In short, I ADORE Polychromos for my art pieces, but I will give it to Prismacolor that the softer waxier pencils are LOVELY for colouring books. I pulled out all the non-lightfast ones (you end up with a decent colour palette with just those) and I use them for colouring so they don't go to waste; they work well, aside from having to sharpen them entirely too often!
+Rebecca Tregear glad to hear you find a way to use the pencils that are not high on the lightfast scale. Sort of feels like they are the kids at school that don’t get picked for the team.
You're not allowed to complain about 100+ year old, world famous manufacturers.
You're not allowed to speak about breakages either.
That is ridiculous talk.
Wood workers have shown you how to sharpen wood.
You disrespect them.
Wood workers have had no complaints about these pencil brands.
Artists are clearly WRONG cause Wood workers don't complain about their tools.
Pencils ✏️ have been getting perfectly sharpened for hundreds of years by Wood workers.
Artists are sick and delusional and should shut their mouth.
You never sand across the wood grain.
You never sharpen against the grain.
Timber may have cranky grain structure.
You adjust your sharpening accordingly.
You're WRONG.
YOU'RE NOT ALONE in sharpening pencils.
You're not allowed to complain!!!!
Wood workers use pencils too and THEY don't have a problem.
I'm sick of artist idiots causing trouble when it's all their fault.
Every day they complain about stuff and it always is their fault.
Prisma colors are more expensive where I live in fact more expensive than polycromos so idk should I just get the polycromos
I think you did the Polychromos a disservice in the blending test which is where they really are meant to shine. You gave it to Prismacolor because you said the colour was more vibrant but that's not what the test was for. The oil-based pigment will always surpass pure wax-based because waxes don't mix well oils do. You can see in the test you did there's very clear tide lines between the different colours from the prismacolor while the polychromos gets a smooth gradient through all 3 stages.
The most important thing for me when I consider pencil crayons is the quality and the quality control behind prismacolor is not up to my standards... the core isn't centered they break more often than I use them the wood encasing is thinner and the wax bloom bothers me to no end. Polychromos for the money you pay are better quality in my opinion and they're oil based so big plus for me.
They are is no comparison. Faber Castell is some of the best if not the best, while Prismacolour's quality is some of the worse if not the worse. It's literally night ad day...
Comparison of these two is like comparing apples to oranges waxed based pencil crayons and oil based pencil crayons work differently.
Full disclosure: I'm a HUGE Prismacolor Premier fangirl. However, I don't (yet) own a single Polychromos pencil but I've been wondering whether it was worthwhile to buy some. This video fully answered that question. While I agree 100% with all of your results and I still feel that Prismacolor is overall the pencil for me, I am extremely impressed by the Polychromos lightfastness and smoothness. For those reasons alone, I think it's definitely worth investing in at least some key colors from that brand. Thanks so much for the information!!
+theoriginaledi, glad I could help clarify some of your thoughts. It sounds like you’re on the right track. I’m hoping some day the Polychromos will drop in price...a girl can dream.
I would try a few first, like 8-10. I find that every set has some pencils that behave better than others (really EVERY set). You may love the Polys but if you don't you will save a lot of money. I like the Indigo since it is a different color. Um, that is one out of 120... :) The yellow/orange selection is nice but every set seems loaded with those. They do erase better than Prismas.
Cool, thanks for the extra information. I agree about starting slow. I'll probably initially get only 3-5 just to see how they do. It's nice to have some insight on where I might start!
I would like to see you use the spectrum noir color pencils And see what you think about them.
Polychromos are superior. I'm not a coloring book person. I create original artwork. I started with Prismacolors and thought there was no going back. Then I went to my favorite ART (not craft) supply store because I needed more white. I was told that Prismacolors have gone downhill and were going to be replaced in a few months by Polychromos. I don't find the Polychromos to be particularly expensive, especially when you consider how much pencil is wasted when Prismacolors break, and break and break. I found that buying the complete set of Polychromos from Europe was cheaper than anywhere else when I checked eBay too. I probably got them around 60% less than any retailer in the states. Prismacolor does make the best black. I order them by the box from my local office supply store.
Where I normally shop online from US based retailer, the Prismacolors are $1.29. The Polychromos $1.69. With the latter, I get to use the whole pencil. I gave away my entire set of Prismacolors and now use Polychromos for the layers of underpinning, and Luminance (also purchased whole set from Europe cheap!) for the top layers which make my work POP! In between I used Colored Pencil Painting Textured Fixative spray to restore tooth to burnished paper. Hope this editorial helps. If you want to lust over anything, it should be the Luminance. They are the greatest colored pencil ever, but cost $3.99 each to replace! It takes so little when you're using them only to add depth to nearly completed work.
I solved the problem with which is best, I got both sets. I also have a really hard time reading Polychromos gold foil lettering on the pencils. If I had to chose between the two brands then Polychromos is my choice, it is all about the details. In very small spaces where you need control and a very fine point Polychromos wins, there are some colouring pages that I wouldn't even try to use Prismacolors to do . To get similar vibrancy to Prismacolors you have to do many light layers much more than four. So Prismacolors give you a faster lay down where you need just a little extra patience with Polychromos.
+Bobby John Savage good comment! Thanks for your insights.
I want to get myself a nice set of pencils (for Christmas or my birthday or just a nice treat? Haven't decided yet.) and have been watching a lot of these comparison videos. I've been wanting the Polys for a while, but the Prismas have a larger set of colors and seem to blend really nicely. So I may just have to get both too! lol I currently have the Tombow Irojitens which are nice, but the colors are a bit limited.
Hi Bobby! Have you tried the Prismacolor Verythin pencils? That could help those tiny detail spots!
For the people who live in America maybe Prismacolor is the best choice, but for the people who live in Europe the choice is going to be Polychromos. In Europe is very complicated to buy single Prismacolor pencils because there is not open stock, but we have Polychromos open stock, I live in Spain and I can buy a single pencil of Polychromos in several art shops of my city and online shops, but I cannot buy Prismacolor if I only want an spare pencils because they are very expensive because you only can buy them on international shops and the big problem are the shipping rates, even if you buy them in Amazon, for example a green pencil can cost more than 10 euros (around 11,76 dolars). I've Polychromos set of 120 pencils and when I've bought them I had the doubt between them or Prismacolor, I'm glad I've choose the Faber Castell. Thank you soooooooo much for your videos, I'm learning very much about coloring.
Polychromos actually also come in a beautiful 2 tier wooden box
Jennifer, I'm really not hating on you but I didn't enjoy this video as much as other videos by you. Personally I think that you were a bit bias to the Prismacolor colored pencils. For example with the color wheel test polychromos deserved to win as some colors were more true than the ones of Prismacolor. One example is the yellow-green was more true for the polychromos than the Prismacolor colored pencils.
Another point I'd like to make is that it's kinda unfair to compare the two because one is wax based (Prismacolors) and one is oil based (polychromos). Because polychromos are oil based they obviously won't be as pigmented as Prismacolors.
+Zakiyyah Gangat, thanks for your comment. I appreciate your thoughts on the video. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this video. I truly thought the Polychromos would win this comparison, but I was pleased to see that the score card truly did show what brand is best for me. That was the purpose of this video...not to show what brand is best overall. I want everyone to discover which brand is best for them, because it is very different for each of us.
I hope you’ve had a chance to watch my color wheel videos. They explain why and how each of the colors in those wheels were selected. For this comparison, it was not so much about what colors were in the wheel but more about comparing vibrancy, saturation, and overall appeal. Remember, color is highly subjective and difficult to test especially when different pigments and dyes are involved. Again...that is what is exciting to me about providing the score card...everyone can look at those wheels and choose for themselves.
Your second point regarding the core content and unfairly testing them because they are different. This could be said of almost every brand and type of colored pencil. But, in the end, people purchase them to be used for the same purpose so I think it is totally fair to compare these two brands.
I did this video because I am constantly asked this question and people want to know how to make this decision for themselves. That is why I chose this format for my video. I want to educate and in the end, let the viewers make up their own mind.
I hope this helps clarify my thoughts and feelings.
Coloring Pages Bliss I didn't feel you were biased. You didn't once say, "Prismacolor is the right brand for everyone." You clearly stated they were best for you, and obviously, when creating comparison videos, we can only give our own thoughts and opinions. I appreciate all of the time and effort you put into creating these videos. I learn and absorb so much useful information and utilize the techniques in my own art.
Coloring Pages Bliss It's fine. 😂 It's not like I'm gonna stop watching you. I just like to add my 2 cents to everything. 😂
+Crystal Franklin thanks! I do my best and I am glad it my efforts are helpful to you. 😊❤️
Well, you shouldn't name the video "which is best" then, as this seems to be overall for everyone. The Title is kinda misleading.
I disagree with the color wiping part. I actually had to stop using prismacolors because they smudged too much on my hand or even a white paper if I used that to rest my hand while painting... but with the polychromos I never had that problem. You should have tried on more colors.....
+dianateabag good suggestion. Maybe I could do a video just about the smudging factor. Have you tried laying down waxed paper under your hand to protect your work? It works like a charm for me.
That's interesting. I've seen on someone else's review of these 2 brands that they use paper under their hand when coloring with polychromos but not prismacolor. They basically had the opposite problem as you.
@@BeautyMommysUnite I find the polychromos smudge badly on Any paper, Love them but the smudging makes drawings look dirty
Neither is better than the other. In fact they compliment each other!
I like the polycromos best.
+joellzey awesome...did you use the score card? I’d love to know what your scores were...I’m so curious!
Yes there are The best
@@ColoringBliss hi curious
I liked the more muted colors of polychromos. The bright colors are not something that appeals to me nor does the breakage issues prismas newer sets have.
The original comment person left and didn't return.
Typical behaviour from antisocial people.
A lot of this was subjective or biased. For example, Polychromos is oil-based, so the opacity will be lesser than he wax-based Prisma that layers on thicker. Did you noticed the unevenness of the Prisma vs the Polychromos? Thinner but smoother vs thicker but uneven. And I love he Polychromos presentation, they look like they cost a lot (and admittedly they do).
Polychromos by FAR are the BEST hands down. Thanks for the video!!
I haven't used them. I hope they are better. The current Prismacolors aren't that nice. The old Berol Prismacolors were good.
tita adorno If you have the money (which I don’t), I’d say get care dache luminance (not sure if I spelt this right) or get both polychromos and prismacoour pencils, as they are both good for different things.
How long does it take for the artwork to fade with prisma
@@Mixcky_Shadow pretty quickly,many people have said it takes around a year or even a few month.
I have full sets of both and use my Polychromos and Luminance almost exclusively. I never use my Prismacolor any more. They are just too waxy for me. I must agree though that they are much easier to read than the Polychromos. I have worked around that by swatching and numbering all of my Polychromos pencils on the swatch chart. I then numbered my Robax pencil trays and each of the pencils using fine black Sharpies for the light colors and white gel pens for the darker ones. I then place each one in the appropriate slot. This was a fair amount of work but really pays off when I want to pull specific pencils for a project and later replace them where I can easily locate them again. These tests really made me think though and I may start using my Prismacolors more. As always, thanks for all your hard work.
Interesting to see your test. I think another 2 tests could be useful
1. long term durability of the pencils. Typically I find that I need to sharpen Prismas more often and so Polys last a longer time even if more layers are needed for saturation. This can then offset long term cost considerations.
2. coverage: I feel I can get more subtle colour graduations with Polys than with Prismas. They go down lighter. Difficult to test objectively perhaps.
+Jane Kerrigan thanks for such specific suggestions! Have you seen my full reviews of these pencils? I try to address your #1 item on that worksheet. Check it out!
First of all: thanks a lot for your very thorough testing! I really love your way to be as objective as possible to show the differences! I really appreciate that, because it gives people the right tools to base their decision on. Great work!
Now, I own both pencils, I just received my Prismas this week. So I am able to compare the both of them myself. I can confirm almost all the issues and results you talked about, except for the smearing, where my personal impression was that the Prismas smeared more, but maybe that also depends on the colors that one chooses for the test, because the pigments can vary in "performance". From my point of view, most differences result from the difference in "ingredients". Most obviously, both are very good sets, with very much pigment. But while the Polychromos have oil as an ingredient, the Prismas don't. The Prismas are softer, the Polychromos harder. That's why Prismas give off more intense color with less layering, or the Polychromos slightly less intense coloring, but smoother blending. That' also the reason why Prismas tend to break faster and wear down quicker. That's the price you pay for their softness, so to speak. And the Polychromos blend nicer, but you have to work more at them. The list goes on and on.
Now, I as a German should actually prefer the Polychromos, right? ;-) But to be honest, I cannot decide. While I prefer the smoother look of the blended Polychromos, I prefer the softness of Prismas. That is a draw for me, I am deadlocked (and glad about it!). Which is why I will be using both sets intensively.
By the way, I only bought the Prismas because I couldn't resist. I am not much of an artist and never will be, as much as I would have wished to be one. I am just a person who likes to color every once in a while, and that is why I initially did not think about getting a second set of good pencils. Prismas and Polychromos used to be about the same price for comparable amounts of pencils a year ago (at the German Amazon). At that time, I decided to buy the Polychromos, because I was afraid of the lead breaking issues of the Prismas, since I am not experienced in pencil use. But now, the prices for the Prismas dropped so considerably, that I was able to buy a set of 72 Prismas for 35 Euros, which is almost a fourth (!) of what they were a year ago. One Euro has about the same buying value here as an American Dollar, just to give you a scale. Availability in Germany is good for both of the pencils, with the only difference that I can go to any art store and buy the Polychromos open stock, whereas the open stock Prismas are only available to me online.
Again, THANK YOU for your great reviews! Even though I do not need to make any buying decisions any more, I still love to watch all of your tests, simply because they are worth watching!
+ElinT13 thank you for sharing your amazing insights. I really appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences and your perspective from Germany. I am happy to hear that you enjoy my video so much. 😊❤️
I think that your test is quite good. I like both sets of pencils for different reasons. If I want brighter than life, I tend to lean towards Prismacolor. If I want a more natural look, I lean towards the Polychromos. I also have a big difference in crumbling than your test, mostly with the blues and reds of Prismacolor. I don't know if what their core is made of, with these colors, makes a difference or not, but this is my personal experience. All in all, the test is subjective. I can easily use either set & be happy.
No, I'm not a professional artist, I'm a colorist learning ways to improve my art on a daily basis.
How about a review on Caran d'Ache Pablo and Caran d'Ache Luminous
Luminence are better ! Luminence are the best pencils I have used and I have compared them to the Pablo's in the shop. Colors are more vibrant when applied on the same piece of paper.. all colors are lightfast...etc...
Lmao they are a waste of money
@@dbachris8075 how?
K S They’re expensive!
I heard the Pablo was like the Prismacolor Verithins.
I own both and both have their space and place in my work. I never have a breakage problem with the Prismas, because I use the Derwent Fine Point Sharpener. It works wonders with the prismas. Also sharpen your graphite’s with it in order to keep the sharpener clean. I never attach it to the desk. I just hold it in my hand to sharpen the pencils. To me it’s easier.
The point about prismacolor being really easy on the hand for chronic pain is the biggest reason I went for them!
I asked around about which coloured pencils are easiest on the hands and the consensus was them, so I bought some recently. Good to see that someone who has chronic pain and uses them thinks they are good for that since I haven't had much chance to use them yet! 😊
As long as you're not using a manual sharpener anyway, and by that I mean one where you have to twist your arms around. Electric or hand crank sharpeners are best for those with hand pains.
@@arcyarcanine Yeah I have a hand crank sharpener 😁. I also have a really good metal manual sharpener that I use when I'm feeling good to get the point I want but the hand crank takes a looot of work out of the process 😊
You can get the full set of Polychromos in a wooden box. Very luxurious ... I love mine very much.
That sounds fab. I will have a look for that.
Thank you for your color pencil comparison in this video, extremely helpful on showing us the differences and tallying up our own points on which brand we should buy. I definitely was surprised on how much I liked the prismacolor's vibrancy over polychromos when you showed the color wheels side by side, this proves that price doesn't determine the preference/quality of materials.
I love your thoroughness and calm, soothing voice!
I remember using 2/3 of a prismacolor on a background on a coloring page because it was so soft. I went to black widow and has a firmer core and I don't use up the pencil so much but I then went to using panpastels for the background because it takes forever to do those backgrounds and get the white tooth not to show. However comparing the color the prismacolor looks more velvety.
Thanks for your video, very helpful as I'm stuck between these two brands. Although Prismacolor scored more for me I think I'll go for the Polychromos as Lightfastness is important to me, also that it doesn't break easily. I also remember you mentioning in another video that the Polychromos core was welded to the barrel so would be less likely to break when sharpening. Besides that, I live in the UK, so they're easier to get hold of. Maybe will try to get a black Prismacolor online as I loved the strong darkness of it.
Prismas break way too easy when sharpening, leave dust when coloring and are not subtle when layering. I've never had a Poly break when sharpening and they don't leave dust on your work. I like that the colors are subtle when you layer, you don't end up with everything BRIGHT after two layers, so you can have nice shades of a color. I'll pay more for Poly's.
Owned both of these. I've never had so many broken pencils as i had with Prismacolor. Horrible pencils. I've only ever had one polychromos pencil break on me, and that was my fault.
I had my prisma colors break in half and struggle when sharpening them. I do like the vibrancy but its not worth the risks. A shame
I’d be interested in a review of the 150 Holbeins ❤️
I have been using both along with Derwent for a number of years now, and am fortunate that I live in an area that has many art stores that I can purchase almost any type of pencil that I want. In my humble experience , the Faber Castell is number one, the Derwent is second and the Prismacolor is third. This is my opinion only, but, I use all three equally, you will not go wrong using any of these.
Thank you for finally producing this video, Jen!
It is highly appreciated!
I do think they work best together though! ;)
+Andrea Guatato you’re welcome and thanks for sharing your opinion.
For me it's Prismacolors: 8 and Polychromos: 12, but since I already have Prismas, I'm gonna stick with them! At least for now... :)
+rovenka great to hear your scores...thanks for sharing.
Jennifer!! Wow wow wow!! I just discovered you this week and I’m subscribed and joined and TOTALLY blessed! The amount of research and impeccable detail is amazing!! Why you don’t have a million followers is a mystery to me!
Your hubbin Steve and sweet pup Rose are also a delight!
Blessed to be “blissed”💕👩🏻🎨
Personally cannot stand Prismacolor. I got the full set but sold them pretty shortly after after doing some colourings with them. They are just too soft for me - it's like colouring with crayons. Polychromos, hands down, are the perfect balance between soft and hard lead pencils. The one thing I did like about the Prismacolor however was the vibrant, gorgeous colours. Polychromos leans into more natural colours.
+Renlish thanks for your feedback...wouldn’t it be great if these manufacturers would release some fun new colors?
I love Prismacolored pencils
I completely agree!
I was extremely surprised by your result. So I did the test and obtained Prisma-5 Polychromos-16. Almost all performance tests were won by polychromos. This makes me wonder if the prismacolor premier 72 set that i bought on amazon france is legit. Plus the core diameter is smaller than those of polychromos.
SuperRaeDizzle did a comparison between prisma and poly on how many sheets one pencil can fill before she ran out of led. Prisma color filled 4 sheets of paper..Polychromos filled 39. That's what tipped it for me. Yes they're more expensive BUT you get what you pay for and when you use one pencil you can just rebuy that one so if you go all in (which I recommend) for the 120 set (think of it as an investment) you'll have it for life
I just discovered your channel. Looking forward to learning some new information and techniques.I'm just now starting to branch out into other brands of colored pencils. Been using Prismacolor for 45 years.
After seeing previous reviews, and the fact that they are more readily available in the UK (if rather more expensive) I would probably go for the Faber Castell Polychromos.
Polys would be easier to read if they used a sans serif font for the printing. Also, the Prismas have teeny-tiny lettering, but that actually helps me read it more easily, because I don’t have to roll the pencil to see the whole letter.
Simply no comparison at this point. Back 15 years ago, the fight was fair. Prismas were my absolute favorite. After Prisma moved their operations to Mexico, for some reason their quality standards are just nowhere near Faber Castell's. Cheapo particle wood casings that split along the entire length of multiple pencils on every box. Off center leads in every 3rd pencil that causes the already brittle leads to break more often. Just awful, awful, awful. The color selections in prisma are great and I remember how good and consistent they used to be. As they stand now, they are definitely a defective product. Faber is SO consistent. Your pencils feel and act as robust artist quality materials. If and when Prismacolor fixes their non-existent quality control, I'll give them another chance. But as of 2021, Faber is just unbeatable for the price/quality relation.
I think it is not really a good comparison since PC's are oil based and Prisma C's are waxed based. Polychromos are by far a better quality pencil. Caran D'ache Luminance, Caran D'ache Pablos, and FC Polychromos.....all get my "best" vote. I don't think Prisma Colors are even in the running. Their quality in the last few years (even for a waxed base pencil) has severely declined. I don't know if they have outsourced their production (still Mexico made) or what, but they are definitely not the wonderful pencils they once were.The "wax bloom" they produce is also frustrating. For my money and my time , the Polychromos are, by far, the better pencil of these 2 choices. My all-time fave though, is the Caran D'ache Luminance. Sheer heaven ..............
Thank you for this demonstration, Jennifer. It's appreciated! I own both brands of pencils so that I can follow along with tutorials and have the same and correct tools that an instructor would have. Interesting that Prismacolor is proven more vibrant and had a much larger score.
I don't really need to do this test myself, because I perfectly agree with your results. But I do tend to prefer Polychromos...maybe it's because the barrel is more comfortable to hold and that it keeps a sharp point longer.
And lol I just wanted to add that I have and use the exact same green soap dish as an art tool, that you used in this demonstration.
+Paperdreamer Art wow! The same soap dish?! I can’t even remember where I got it! But I do love it and I think it looks pretty on camera.
It's very refreshing to finally find a yt video where we're not supposed to believe in some kind of ULTIMATELY BEST CHOICE FOR EVERYONE.
I never ever had a prismacolor in my hand, and since they are extremely expensive here in middle Europe you can't get them onen stock. Most people get them from German Amazon if they want them that badly, so since they're both expensive it makes more sense to get polychromos as a long time investment. Even though they have some flaws.
Lately I bought Bruynzeel Design Color pencils, which cost around 70% of polychromos' price and I'm madly in love with them.
+GreyGreenEyes yay!!! So happy that you liked how I did this video!
Thanks for the suggestion on Bruynzeel. I have 1 set of their lower grade brand and I have been impressed. Their higher brand is on my wish list. Have a great day in Europe!
GreyGreenEyes
I can't be certain about posting to middle Europe but I keep my eyes open with Amazon US for Prismas as they are terribly expensive in Australia and I found them for a third of what we pay for them. Then just a week or so later they'd been increased by $30 at Amazon US after the sale. They were round USD60 for 150 set. I think that's great value or was. Amazon UK is never cheaper for me.
I hope that helps you if it's possible 😊
Lo prices at US Amazon can be very low compared to ours, but there are always some shipping costs added to a cart - even when shipping is supposed to be free and I can't say I completely understand it. Also some items just don't ship to Poland at all, so German Amazon is the cheapest possible option so far. Anyways thanks for your comment!
Lo that makes sense. I once tried getting a set of 72 because there was a sale, but it turned out I'd have to pay extra ~25 to get them, so they lost my interest. Like I previously mentioned I got a set of 48 Bruynzeel Design colored pencils and I like them very very much. AFAIK they are incredibly expensive in both Australia and US, but they cost the equivalent of 40 USD, and I found them on sale and paid even less than 35. If I'm missing colours I can get some polys open stock,they seem simmiliar to one another in many ways.
I seriously wish we all had simmiliar access and prices to all brands, I bet the reviews would be more helpful. Most of my art supplies are either Czech or German :P
GreyGreenEyes I so agree with you. Amazon are coming to Australia and I pray we get good pricing and that they take over the freight.
I hope you manage to get whatever you need and I'd love it if we could all have what the US has. All those art suppliers with discounts and coupons and sales. Oh heaven😍😘
Derwent Inktense???? Vs both Polychromos & Prismacolor. I have Derwent & Prismacolor Premier. I am lusting after Polychromos. 🦄🦄🦄
+Alice Adler oh! I am lusting after the Derwent Inktense lol 😂
Alice I agree...Derwent Inktense are fantastic! But technically they are NOT a colored pencil they are solid ink. So I guess it's not fair to compare them with regular colored pencils. God Bless!
I have the Inktense , I love them so much. Jennifer they are so easy on you hands.
I love them all, but sometimes I use Inktense along with Prismacolor or Polychromos to get a finer line.
Alice Adler yeah I really love using derwent inktense and polychromos but am deciding witch set to get more of 😅if anyone does this please let me know the result 👍🏻😊
Thank you for the lightfast info. Many do not give lightfastness the attention it needs and I think it's vital.
Over here in uk, polychromos are quite cheap along with the Prismacolours, and can get 100% open stock of all colours from each brand in almost any art store be it online or not. It’s great here! Only down side is that I find Strathmore Bristol board really expensive here :(
I love the polychromos the best ,they are what I like for the work that I do, there pricey, but I save my money to buy the best, sometimes it takes a few months, since I'm on a fixed income, but don't mind the wait, well I definitely don't like the wait, but you have to do what you have to do, right ?
For me personally, I wouldn't need a true black, as I would you use a fine liner pen for those really dark details. It may have been useful to see they blend out with solvents as another point for the checklist.
Yes plz include core content on the test. To me, I prefer oil based vs wax base colored pencils.
I haven’t used either of these pencils so my choice is based on watching your comparison. l have chosen the Prismacolor pencils because of the bright colors, how they cover the paper better and how they seem to blend. I have ordered the 72 pencil set off of Amazon. I am excited to try them out.
Thank you so much for all your useful infos. I learned so much from watching these awesome videos and from reading comments!x
+Tracylee Marcotte you are very welcome. 😊
I'm surprised when you were courteous
and asked people to share their own scores in the comments knowing you had both types and appreciated them both--yet some were not polite with their comments. You are such a lovely person and don't deserve that. A friend had these pencils for me to try. And while I know the trade off from the types of cores, my scores were the same as yours except the Prisma got an extra point for excitement. A soft cloth can can help with any bloom.
LOVE your format in that one can choose for themselves, and was surprised by the color wheel-Prismacolors are more vibrant! Very helpful, and I have subscribed, thanks so much! Nice manicure BTW :)
What is very important but left out completely is the fact that everyone has a different coloring style and most of the test categories can have very different results simply based on how hard you press the pencil to the paper, even though the test has a section for light, medium and heavy pressure, and looks for crumbs left in the process.
Good point Rachel. That’s why I suggest everyone download my worksheet and do some testing of their own. Personal preference (and the current art project you’re working on) is a huge factor.
I was trying to decide which way I wanted to go on colored pencils; I came across your video and I am going with the Prismacolor Pencils. Thank you, I was trying figure out how to decide with out spending a lot of money on a product I may not like. Thank you so so much.
I thought this was an excellent comparison, and my own results just watching it were surprising. Discovered I really really wanted Polychromos to win but... I generally concurred with your own winners and it was surprisingly.. Prismacolor for me.
+grouptherapyabq, I honestly thought the results would come out in favor of the Polychromos too. It just goes to show it truly is more about what pencils are best for each person. Thanks for your comment.
I've watched several of your videos and a few from other artists and after trying a few less than artist grade pencils, decided I "had" to have the full set of Prismacolor pencils.... So I bought them on line. I was a little disappointed that a few of them kept breaking when I sharpened them. I tried the tip of leaving them in the car for a couple hours. They didn't seem to do any mending, but they did "bloom" which really surprised me. After watching your pigment test I "had" to have a set of Blick Studio pencils. So far I like what they're doing better than the Prismacolor :-) .... Now after watching this video I "have" to get a set of Polychromos!!!! They look like they put down a very smooth, even color which I like. I've found my inner artist and am having a lot of fun drawing and coloring with ALL my pencils!!! Thank you for all your work on the videos you post!!
+MZ MRL wow...I’m worried I’m going to break your bank if I keep making art supply reviews 😉. Sounds like you’re having a wonderful time connecting with your creative side. Keep coloring and keep watching. 😊❤️
Thanks for this comprehensive comparison. I own full set of both brands. I agree with your findings 100% and I love my Prismas!
+ml benson thanks for watching. I’m glad the comparison was interesting to you.
I would like to see a comparison between Marco Raffine and Prismacolor if possible. I would love to know if you think they are at all comparable. I believe Marco Raffine are oil-based, therefore have harder cores. I haven't yet used FC Polychromos, but I sort of think they would be a bit hard for my tastes and maybe a bit harder to blend, but I still would like to have a set to test them out myself. I honestly didn't like Prismas at all when I first started using them, but I was a beginner and really didn't have much experience with colored pencils and nothing to compare them to except inexpensive student grade pencils, such as Liquimark (the absolute worst in my opinion) Rose Art, CraZArt, and Crayola. I'm like you, Jennifer. I want every brand! And it's really not a matter of greed. I want to try every brand simply for experience and variety and to learn which brand works best for me.
+Crystal Franklin thanks for the suggestion and I agree...I want to try so many different kinds of tools because I keep wondering if I will find one that works better or brings me more Bliss as I create art. I am very blessed to have this passion to fill my days.
I like Prismas, they are super vibrant, but love Polychromos. You have to blend differently whether you use one or the other.
Another thing to think about is how fast a pencil can be used up. Prismas tend to use up faster than Polys to me. I feel like I constantly sharpen Prismas. Which means I have to buy a new pencil faster.
+2felix7felicis2 good comment thanks. If I had the arm strength, it would be fun to test how many pages each kind of pencil would color.
Great!! Very helpful Thank you. .... one thing ..i wish you had a completed picture x2 the same pic...using the different pencils with your techniques etc to compare.... would have been fascinating. But Thank you all the same! 🤩👏👍
Hi there, many thanks for taking the time to make & share this information, it's always good to get a new perspective on colour pencils. I love using the Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils & have done for many years, the colours available, their lightfastness & overall versatility is wonderful but because they are very creamy & soft they don't do so well on great achieving nice, sharp & 'clean' edges. With this in mind I bought a set of 36 Prismacolor Verithin pencils but have been terribly disappointed as the core, (which is indeed "very thin"!!) keeps breaking, especially upon sharpening - I used one of the pencils almost down to halfway before achieving any sort of a point I could work with!!! Also several of the pencils in the set seem to be splitting down the barrel of the wood & are generally not so desirable as my Caran d'Ache set. The colour richness & lightfastness just doesn't compare between these two brands either so I was wondering if the Fabre Castell Polychromos would give me the sharp edges & ability to get colour into the tiniest of spaces? May I ask what you think please as I'd really value your opinion on this? I really would be very grateful if you would be able to give ANY guidance at all...? Thank you so much.
+paganheart The core of the Polychromos is harder so in my opinion, Polychromos will definitely give you a nice sharp point that should do better for you than the Verithins. I think you will find they will work beautifully with your Luminance pencils. You could also try the Caran d’Ache Pablo pencils. They also have a harder core. Try ordering 3 pencils of each brand open stock...a light, medium, and dark...in a color you use often. This will let you test them before purchasing a larger set. Have fun!
Coloring Pages Bliss - I am so grateful for your reply, thank you for taking the time to respond to me. I'll do exactly as you suggest as this will indeed be a good way of trying them. I shall start with the polychromos as I feel, like you, they appear to suit my purpose well. It's been great watching your videos, I've learned so much & had information clarified that I have been wondering on for ages. Every good wish. xxx
I have both and love both but they perform very differently, oil vs wax. Prismas for me are more versatile in that they lay down beautifully with any tooth. I use them both but I tend to use my Prismas more than any of my artist pencils.
+Yvette Williams good feedback, thanks!
For me, Prismacolor. Not a professional artist, use pencils for coloring books. Love their vibrancy and creaminess. I know some say the quality is not the same. But, since I didn't use the older version, can't miss what you never had. I've also never and hopefully never will experience broken leads or problems sharpening. And so much bang for your buck.
+carmen l, I think you and I have had the same experience with Prismacolor. I have never had any problems with my Premier pencils. Thanks for watching.
Judging by your list, the Polychromos win by far for me. But they would anyway because not every factor should be considered equally and the quality just isn't very good on the Prisma Colors (from what I've heard they were a lot better a few years ago)
I tested the Faber castells in the store and I love how smooth they lay down and not grainy at all. I've used Prisma colors and in some coloring books it could be grainy and I would have to always go behind it with a Prisma blender in certain books. Plus I've been running through them. So I'm ready to try the Faber Castells set but I hate that they're so high. I don't want to buy them and think that they're not worth it and I would have to buy the 60pc set because the 24pc don't have any pinks and purples in them. Have you tried Castle Art and if so could they compare??
The answer to that question....Polychromos of course!!! 🤗👍
+Melody Jones did you do a score card? I’d love to know your scores?
Coloring Pages Bliss I learned from the experience of using both pencils.
Hi y'all, I am so sorry, I meant the Prismacolors. I have all the small sets as well as the full set of 150. I do like the polycromos but not as much as my Prismacolors 🖌
This is an interesting and in-depth way of scoring. You get to explore lots of areas to see which one fits better. I adore my Polychromos and those have my heart. However, I love my Prismas and they’re always a breath of fresh air when I come back to them after an absence.
I have had both polychromos and prismas since this video first aired. Nearly five years later and I still don't know which brand is better. But, they work together very nicely.
I have to say to people who think the polychromos white is 'useless' try to use it as a blender while you are making a pastel gradient, or trying to blend in the blues and silvers of clouds.
your presentation on comparison of prismacolor vs polychromos was great.
More subjective (opinion) than objective (scientific). Many times I preferred the polychromos when you preferred the prismacolor, for example. Also, there is no weighting for categories that mean more, like lightfasteness.
+Nat Ford like is said...this score card is for finding the best pencil for you...not necessarily the best pencil in the world. 👍😊
She specifically said there are TONS of reviews that go in depth into the more “scientific” style criteria. I like hers better because she discusses the issues that actually matter to me. And of course it’s subjective, that’s why she gave a link to print your own comparison page.
Add a bonus point for weighting things that extra important to you. I personally don't care about lightfastness. I am not going to display my coloring or if I do it's not going to be a major deal. Maybe on the fridge like I did my son's when he was little. *lol* Also, it was clear from the beginning, this was a subjective comparison.
1. I would have given Polychromos a point for "least wax bloom". 2. Also, an extra point for making their pencil set available in a beautiful wooden box. In my mind, that beats a tin pan hands down. 3. Polychromos might be just as vibrant on a color wheel, if you gave it more layers. Owing to the fact it's oil based, it needs more to achieve the same color intensity. 4. Your black sphere looked WAY better drawn in Polychromos. Another point for Polychromos. 5. On my score sheet, I gave the Polys the point for how they felt in hand while coloring with them. I find that a larger barrel is more comfortable in my own carpel tunnel challenged drawing hand. 6. I thought being able to get down more layers was preferable to only being able to lay down a lesser number. Point given to Polychromos. 7. I felt the Polys blended just as well as as Prismas, AND they laid down more smoothly. 8. Now I think I need the BIG set of Faber-Castell's Polychromos pencils! Obviously, it was Polychromos, for me.
Agreed!
So much more likely to have breakage in the tins than the cardboard. And the breakage regardless makes the "crumb" thing a moot point. Every non-wax prominent pencil will have slightly more "crumbs" but that just means your sharp point isn't being smashed down so you have to resharpen and remove even more of your core more frequently regardless. So yeah, polychromos definitely the better quality especially for fine art with its lightfastness. But I've heard so many different things about prismas lightfastness and that it's often made out to be so much worse than it is etc. But who knows. Prismas are luxurious to color with and blend, but polys are def. The better product all around for any artist. Now with that said, caran daache Luminance might as well just be the only option if your a fine artist, not prisma. And combining a wax prominent based pencil set with the oil prominent based set I think is ideal altogether.
I find a lot of these poly vs prisma comparison videos ignore the very glaring issue that their basic makeup is fundamentally different. If you come at the poly from a prisma user standpoint, you miss out on the strengths of the polys. Just sayin.
+froggy art studio That´s a very valid and important
observation!
I like the feel of using Polychrome...the pencils seem to gllllllide across the paper! My other favorite is Derwent but I do have tons of other pencils but those are my favs! I have misused the "bloom" term incorrectly but what I was trying to communicate was the HUGE red flower showed shadowed on the cross page where the text of the story is. ICK!!! As I have a new grand niece, your video triggered not only the "ick" memory, but the BOOK! So I've reordered it from Amazon to do again! ("the Faeries of Waterlily Woods") Do you have a method of keeping the color on page from "bleeding" onto the facing page, I'd love to hear it! THANK YOU! I do so love all your video!
O, what about doing a video on the cause of my problem and THE FIX!
I'm HODGEPODGESPV on your blog.
+sandy vaughan oh yes! I love that glide of the Polychromos!
I have had the same problem with colored pages that I don’t store in sheet protectors. I suggest using a spray fixative to seal your work. There are a lot of great brands and types to pick from.
Prisma score was 6 and Polychromos score was 16. The lightfast had alot to do with it. And when layering my colors on top it's smoother. I do have Prisma and I have had to throw them out do to they were not centered for the lead and the barrels where chipping and breaking when I tried to sharpen them. And some of the barrels were cracked right though.
Awesome test. I have struggled with which of these two sets I should buy. This test was so perfect! Thank you so much!
I prefer Derwent. Have you done a comparison. With watercolours I have always preceded Faber castel.
Would a larger barrel giveI little more protection if it’s dropped?
I think so!
I think this was a great compare. I enjoy your talent and knowledge!!
Hello! Thank you for your great work and so smart testing and rewiev. That was brilliant!
Jennifer, I have Gout in my hands. Prismacolored pencils are my go to.I also love Marco Raffine. But I also own Poloy.Thank you for the time and energy you put into this comparison. My Art station is a desk. Can you give any suggestions on organization?
+Marie Laveee I hope you are having a low pain day so you can do lots of coloring at your desk ❤️😊. Thanks for suggesting some videos on organizing. I have lots of ideas coming very soon!
Your right, this is the best way to test out color pencils much different too
How about a review on Caran d'Ache Pablo and or vs Caran d'Ache Luminous
Actually the closed ending on the Polychromos is for the safety of the lead. If the lead gets lose for whatever reason the closed end prevents the lead f4om coming out when you color with the pencil. I mean yeah you can't see if the leads are centered but that doesn't matter if the lead is lose.
Maybe two questions added could be how do they respond to mineral spirits and how do they respond to alcohol as far as blendability and livening up the colors and creating more room for more layers?
I tried some Polychromos and Albrecht Durers this weekend, thinking for certain that I'd want to immediately rehome my Prismacolors. The Faber Castell pencils were fine, but honestly a tad underwhelming. I was truly shocked. It 100% defied my expectations. My choices: I like Caran D'Ache Neocolor II (an absolute joy, honestly surprisingly) and Inktense (so vibrant) for watercolor pencils and Prismacolor (vibrancy and softness) for dry pencils. If I need lightfastness, I can use the subset of Prismacolors that are light fast, or of course, I could use some Poloychromos. But just for enjoyment of use, Prismacolors all the way. We all have different needs, and the answer to the "which is better" question is all about personal preference.
Only thing I did notice was you went back over the white Prismacolor four times, only a couple on the Polychromos ! But what do I know lol I have both pencils, so not bias in any way lol my scores need out even!! I must say though I prefer the Polychromos as I like more natural shades, I also find them easier to hold in my hand as I have arthritis and other things! I haven’t got a lot of Prismacolor colours as I don’t know if I can get them in the Uk, probably can on amazon but not sure, the nine I have were given by a friend, so I just picked nine similar colours of Polychromos to do this test, luckily I have both blacks and whites! I have just become a premier member, based on what I’ve seen that you do, thank you. Huggles xxxAnnxxx
Still waiting for the review of the Caran d'ache Pablo and Blick Studio colored pencils.
I have strongly suspected that some other pencils had cores that were not centered but there is such extensive harping on the Prismacolor. Sometimes I feel like someone should chop off the ends of the other ones :) I have both and so far do prefer Prismas. Can't say that the box really matters in the end.
+Diana Mc I’ve actually thought about chopping off the end...but I think a small part of me may die inside, lol
I like both sets, but I do have both. The one thing I like about Prismacolor is they are less expensive.
Yes, but they wear down a lot faster. I find Poly's much better value if you prefer them to use. Superraedizzle channel did a "how many pages each covered." A BIG difference.
Before I even finish watching your video, let me say BRAVO. I'm paused at the color wheel portion (17.26) and HANDS DOWN it beats any other cp comparison video by a mile. Thank you for such an unbiased and thorough comparison. Btw....I already like the color wheel on the left purely for its vibrancy. If it turns out to be polys...I know which set I'm buying next. Thank you again. I love your videos.
+Danelle Olson so happy to hear you enjoyed the video so much. I’m glad you like the format I came up with.
Enjoyed video ...interesting and informative..i need a softer coloring pencil as im recovering from arm wrist surgery as i was a big sketcher and painter ive lost much of my dexterity and the doctorsuggested to color but my crayola pencils are brutual to color with as im a heavy handed artists in the first place my arm wrist and hand get weary fast using my crayola which are a great colored pencil ive always relied on to sketch out and color a first draft drawing then id sketch and then paint it out on arches im glad for your channel as its helped me decided on a small set of prisma colors then im goning to buy polychrmos to have to use on my arches or strahmore paper....thank you so much for this review......mikelle art mom✍👩🎨🎨
Thanks for this in depth information. I'm justified in my love of Prismacolor!
this is so insightful. you deserve more likes on this and also you got yourself a new sub (: keep up the great videos!
Holbien v prisma colour please! (I love holbien pastels particularly)
+Jane Kokoszko great suggestion. Thanks.
I second that
I have not used either pencils, but I I would sure love to try them.
I would love it if you would do a tutorial on the how to use, when to use Prismacolor Verithin pencils. I just started using them and hope I am using them correctly and in the right situations.
You could do a test of the two where you are Coloring a big area to check for blooming issues. In my case it was a Coloring book for an 8yo. Your favorite set bloomed like crazy. All over the page facing it.
+sandy vaughan oh no! So sorry to hear this.
I’ve researched blooming several times and get such conflicting information about what it is exactly and how to correctly prevent it and how to correctly treat it if it happens. I don’t want to pass on false info, so I haven’t done a video about it. But...if and when I finally get accurate info, I will definitely address the issue. Thanks for your comment.
Color wheel choice. Like the vibrancy on right, but may use the left for a soft beach environment, and a combination of both for other subjects. So like both for coloring effects. :)
Clearly from the start, you prefer Prisma. Lol