Lisa, Way to go. When Derwent comes to you for a review, that tells the whole story. I just finished reading all the comments to this point. Wow, Lisa. did you ever think just a few years ago that you would reach all these wonderful artists through out the world. You make such an impact. I am also amazed how you spend the time to reply and answer the many questions in the comments. when someone only has a few followers it is not a major task, but this is very valuable time that you spend to let all know that you do care that each one has their questions answered. You do great. The review and the picture is fantastic. Great job as always.
Lisa, yes, look - - almost 1500 views just after 6 hours on line. What is most impressive is the almost 60,000 subscribed viewers. It is like I comment - it is the Lachri experience. It is because of you and your total commitment. Thanks.
Thanks for the great review.. I use these pencils in mixed media pieces. I love the way I can put them on top of watercolors, and then blend colored pencils on top. I will definitely be trying some of the techniques you showed us. I also noticed that the color on the pencils does not always match the colors of the ink. I used some white medical tape and colored small pieces of tape with the pencils and dissolved the pigment with water on the lower half of the tape. Then I wrapped the tape around the top of the pencil. Instant color reference.
I purchased a set of the derwent artists and I was so disappointed that I wrote derwent who replaced my set. Their customer service is absolutely outstanding! I can't wait to pick up a set of inktense pencils!
I use derwent inktense in conjunction with their watercolour set - I have a 32 tin of each type and have found that the inktense colours supplied are different to the ones usually supplied in the watercolour or artists range - and that is something I absolutely love. They are so, so vibrant - and it does seem that derwent has addressed the lightfastness issue now, which is wonderful. I just love the silky look they have when wet, which is totally different to the look the watercolour pencils give, more of a traditional layer-upon-layer crisp feel - makes a lovely contrast when used in the same piece. Still, I have gone through so many inktense pencils - couldn't ask for a kind that suits me more! I'm glad you feel the same, your review put a smile on my face and the flamingo painting is just to die for. :)
The lightfastness really is an issue for me-- I've had a full set of blocks and a set of 24 pencils for a couple of years now (the Bark color is absolutely delicious- the richest/darkest brown ever!) and was just recently made aware of the lightfastness issue. If the pigments are anything like their Graphitint line, then fading is even going to happen in my art journals. So depressing, because I feel I am usually up on all this kind of thing before purchasing something. For what it's worth, I hope Derwent does fix the problem. Even better would be if they fixed the problem then offered replacements to those of us who invested all those dollars. As to the "issue" of your voice in another post, just wanted to get my $.02 in (lol): I did notice your fast-talking skill, but the only thought I had about it was how impressed I was that you could talk this fast AND do it with so much clarity AND how you managed to not stumble over your thoughts. Everything you say has a point, you aren't endlessly repeating the same redundant stuff and you are able to get in about three times more info than most everyone else in the same timeframe. For all of that, I thank you. :)
I give mine a s[ritz of UV s[ray and they don't fade at all. I did an ex[eriment with Derwent Coloursoft [encils and they didn't fade in 8 months of full sunshine on a windowsill with UV fix but did a little bit shut in the dark in an envelo[e! I su[[ose our UK sunshine is weak at the best of times com[ared to other [arts of the world. Also Derwent art com[any are based in the hills of Cumbria UK which has high rainfall so [ossibly they don't understand the enormity of sunshine. :)
Are they lightfast now? And which colors are lightfast? Their website claims 90% of the pencils and blocks are light fast but I haven't been able to find out which ones are lightfast and which ones are not.
@@artiskalai1970 have you found out the lightfastness? It is on the official colour chart of inktense with LF mark & a number. 6 or higher, until up to 8 is lightfast. Based on the colour chart, ca the half of the colours are not lightfast. Mainly orange, reds... But many of the yellow, blues, greens and darker colours are LF.
I paint in oils and watercolors. Watching your video, now I have to try these pencils and sticks. Thanks for the great review!! You're a great artist!!
I love love love!!! INKTENSE, I bought the full set when it was on sale ( on DISABILITY cancer..) I wish I could afford that beautiful wooden box and I have yet to try the blocks.... My fist time using these I drew a free hand daisy like flower with JUST one pencil.. A delicious red, I was amazed at how much value I got with just one...imagine the possibilities! The flower was so vibrant! I love colored pencils and all forms of water-media... And I LOVE watching you paint! ...cheers!
I've really enjoyed your tutorial about Inktense, as i'm looking forward to acquire a pencils set for myself. As non-native English speaker was very easy to comprehend, your fluency and pace was quite entertaining and fun to follow! Keep on with the good work!
That was really helpful. I couldn't really work out what inktense actually was, but I loved what I'd seen of the finished work. This explains it really clearly, and the flamingo is beautiful. I've decided to go with the blocks for now, and just enjoy learning how to do it. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this review/demo - I have a set of 36 intense pencils and have loved getting used to them, but was a tad frustrated that I couldn't find many tutorials online to offer additional tips about usage, so everything I was learning was purely through trial and error on my part. Your video covered everything I needed! For example, I wasn't aware that they weren't lightfast, so I hugely appreciated that whole discussion (and will now be investigating the uv spray thing you mentioned - are there generic brands available that could be tried with these?) and seeing how you used the blocks and pencils combined has encouraged me that I should go ahead with getting the blocks too (I'd been umming and ahhing about how much the blocks would add to the quality of my work, but seeing how you used them with the pencils showed me how they'd increase the range of results). Brilliant video, super useful. Thank you.
Your bees are making me so happy! I don't have the patience for colored pencils of any kind, but I always watch your pencil tutorials, because they are amazing
I was turned onto Inktense through a monthly art box subscription. I even tested them on fabric and it worked great but I had to use a fabric medium to make sure the colors would survive washing. I now have the fill set of pencils and a set of 12 blocks. I’ve used s mesh bottle to grind some of the blocks into powder to add water to use in large areas such as backgrounds. You can tighten the lid of the small glass bottle and save for next time.👍🏽
Beautiful! I was curious about the Inktense pencils. It's really fun to watch you work on this. I'm just starting with WC so I'll practice a bit more before introducing pencils in general (: Thank you! - Liron
Just got my Inktense 24pc pencil and 24pc block set for Christmas and I'm making my color chart to experiment with them. Really looking forward to learning this awesome medium. Keep up the good work, Lisa!
At long last, I figured out how to comment in RUclips!! Just subscribed to your channel. There are several things I love about your videos - first and foremost is you :) Your voice is just fine and I love the way you don't dilly-dally. Straight to the point and although you talk fast, you are always intelligible. The speed in which you talk is actually another reason I love your videos - they aren't hours long. So many review/tutorial videos are over an hour long. If I am wanting to see a review on colored pencils, I don't want to spend 20 minutes looking at the container. I like to see it and move on :) And your artwork is a big reason I subscribed. Your work is incredible and I love to watch you create!!
Before I make a comment I just want to make it clear I am not an artist, I love drawing and using coloured pencil, but I'm not particularly good. Any way, I love Derwent as a company, I think what they are doing with the products is so versatile, their range of pencils is phenomenal. I'm lucky to live very close to the company and have been to their museum which is wonderful. It really doesn't surprise me that they have contacted you Lisa as they are such a professional company, for Derwent, professional feed back is only going to help them enhance and improve their products, which of course is also good business. In my experience however Derwent is all about excellent customer service. I took my children to the museum and they had a fantastic day thanks to the staff, my eldest daughter who is an Art Student was in heaven once we reached the Derwent Shop at the end of the tour, not so good for my bank balance though lol. As usual Lisa fantastic video and so informative.
+Techmedia Fusion i agree, i don't like all their products and i am a big faber castell fan esp. pencil sharpeners, polychromos, albrecht durer and maped for sharpeners, erasers, but coloursoft and inktense are great products and the artists sketching (? similar dull name - www.pencils.co.uk/en/gb/4431/drawing-pencils - the ones that just come in natural colours, very soft, natural wood sides colour on tip) are excellent and unique. The Graphitint pencils are excellent, better than they look, i find them really useful sketching in nature, the colours are really realistic, i suggest perhaps sea blue or warm brown?
Oh, man! That wooden box they sent you is gorgeous! I love Derwent's products, minus the color pencils. Have you ever tried their Graphitint line? They're a cross between graphite and watercolor and they're great for moody, muted pieces. They make me think of haunted houses and graveyards whenever I play around with them. Haha!
+Lachri Fine Art I recommend the graphtints as well. They almost have a shimmery.smokey like quality to them..kind of like shimmery eye shadow if you will . They however aren't very vibrant..but muted..lovely colors though..
I found it smudged a bit....the pencil....vivid green. Wrote out a word then wet - let dry still perfecting how much water is needed.... love the HELP.... LOVE THE PRODUCT!!!!
This was an excellent video! I just bought a set of 12 Inktense pencils and was looking for guidance. Your instructions and tips were so helpful. The tip about using water soluble graphite to sketch out a drawing before adding watercolor was phenomenal. Never, ever considered doing that, but it makes so much sense. Thanks again! - Patti
I just got the full set as well. They are very fun to use. The issue with the actual color of the pencil not matching the color reference on the pencil is a HUGE problem for me. Most of the colors on the pencil look very close to the same as the other pencils as well, which made it hard to distinguish what one you want. There's several greens, maybe 8 different ones and the color on the ends of the pencils all look so similar that IRS even going to be hard to eventually memorize them to tell them apart too. They also look so different when you wet them from when you put them down dry on the paper that I literally feel like I'm painting totally blind. I had to make a reference chart with all the colors in gradients to see what color I want to use then I've got to dig through the pencils and read the numbers/names on them before using them. Most of the colors, when you draw a dry square (for my reference chart) all looked the same too...our VERY similar. All the reds out greens or blues look so close when dry that you have no idea what you're using unless you do a sample on a scrap paper. I wish they could put a more accurate portrayal on the pencil. I find that if I'm planning on mixing, it's quite a process since there's so many steps to go through before you know what color you're actually going to get. Unless you have experience working with a lot of these pigments to know if Hookers green is more yellow or more blue, you're going to have a hard time learning these colors. I CAN deal with them being different between wet and dry because the wet colors are shockingly bright and rich and beautiful but I can't stand having to constantly refer to my color chart and rifle through them looking for "hookers green". I find that extremely frustrating! I also noticed that although you can build up as many layers as you want, they get a bit of a plastic looking sheen on them after several layers, which is ok if it's consistent or if you're lighting is always good. I really do like the pencils but I do not like having such confusion with what color is what. In many cases it's not a slight difference, it's a completely different color on the pencil than the lead or the dry color or the wet color...It's only a suggestion of the color family it *may* be in. With all that said, I love your tutorials. you're very inspiring and helpful to me!
+daynab2 Yeah this is why I kept a spare sheet of paper next to me as I worked so I could test colors before I hit the paper. I felt like I do when I oil paint. Blues, browns, black, dark greens, purples...they all look SO similar when they're on the palette that if you don't pay attention to what you put where it's easy to grab the wrong thing and not find out till you hit the canvas. That part with these didn't bug me so much because I'm used to it from oil painting. I would like to see the colors match a bit better on the pencils. I do think that this is one medium that I'm going to make color charts for though because it is so hard to tell. It will be a lot easier if we can just glance at the chart and have a better idea of what we're looking for. One of my students made the most awesome color samples for these, so I think I'm going to copy her idea :)
Lisa........I signed up for Patreon after hearing you review about 6 things........You are fun and factual...........which is why you are a great person for us to watch. Here we find the information that most helps us save the bucks!........or spend them, as you did. I'm guilt of the same thing. In my world it's "Art supplies.......before food!" Feed the soul and then the body. Somehow, I don't think that I am alone. Thank you so much for your candor. I am new to colored pencil (but have tried Inktense and I agree, even though I know next to nothing about Colored pencil, I have used watercolor pencils).......... and was wondering if you might do a review of instructional books for beginners in traditional CP. I'm love landscapes and would really like to find a resource that I can learn from and return to......Most of what I find is focused on portraits, animals or flowers......You're the "go to gal,"............so would you give this a shot. I know that if I ask you, I'll get the what and the why, including the good, the bad, the so-so..........and.....God help the company..........the ugly. But I also know that I can take your insight to the bank. And that is what counts. Thanks so very much. You're a keeper.
+Judith A Rowland Thanks for signing up! I'm glad you like my videos :D For the books, I'm not going to be much help because I never bought them myself. If I come across any good ones that I like I will share them though :D The only one that I do have is the Colored pencil bible by Alyona Nickelsen. It's a great book but mostly still lifes and florals. The only downside to that one is that some of the explanations make things much more difficult than they need to be. The work is stunning though and there really are some great tips in that one if you've not checked it out.
Ive done some work with these a few years ago and the colors have remained as bright and vibrant as the day the art was completed. Now mind you i dont keep my art in direct sunlight by any means.
WOW...great review Lisa. You know everything you commented on was quite motivating except when you got to the "light fastness" of the product. It was disappointing, I mean artists use different degrees of saturation in most everything they do. So this is a serious issue with me and if they aren't light fast throughout all saturation levels then I'll probably just use them as a base to apply colored pencil over with. i hope Derwent is successful because these seem quite unique and popular . Selling prints as of now was also a great idea too. Thanks, another fantastic review! I like that even though they gave you full sets for free you stuck to your rigid standards of critiquing these products.
Several years ago I was working in watercolor and thought wouldn't it be great if you could lay down a color and not lift it or affect it adversely with the next layer. They say we create reality and sure enough a long comes ink tense. Pretty neat. I love them too.
My first time watching one of your videos. I have some inktense pencils and blocks and love them. I did learn some new techniques from watching this video. The finished flamingo was just stunning, it is one of my favorite birds. You really do talk fast....I have subscribed to your channel.
Lisa, I am interested in knowing how the process of working with Derwent is going? Are they working on new products, or improving their current range? Thanks!
Thank you so much for your wonderful, informative videos. I got a 24 pack of these pencils. Having a blast playing with them. So vibrant. I’m going to get the 72 set of both the pencils and blocks and play more. I’m having fun using them with my coloured pencils.
I love to use Derwent graphitint colored pencils while working with my inktense because in contrast to inktense's vibrancy, graphitint offers a more dulish muted colours which works well if you don't want an overly vibrant artwork. Also that is what I call customer service, a customer is not satisfied with a product they bought, give them $100 worth of product xD.
Thank you for the tutorial, I am about to start using this medium and it is wonderful to see the review before I use them. I am painting the many birds around my home and needed some strong colour.
Hi Lisa. I have purchased the inktentse pencils. They were out of the blocks. I am excited to try this medium. I am just getting back into my art after 30 years. I was afraid but you have explained my fears away. Thank you for sharing your talents and points of view with us. Wendi :-)
so glad to find these videos. I have Ink tense pencils and Prismacolor colors. My favorite is Venus Spectracolors I still have my set from the 70's, can't buy them anymore.
It was so shocking that derwent actually apologised about their coloursoft pencils and offered to give you a whole set of both of the inktense. That's totally amazing! Great video, gonna try them out some day! :)
Thank you for this fabulous review and sharing so much information about them! I ordered a set of 72 blocks that will be arriving soon... I'm so excited looking forward to playing with them. Love your painting... your talent blows my mind! Thank you for all that you share!
This is an awesome review, and in fact I just found what I need. I fear watercolor because of how biased my teacher was with her style (while I was in school, I believed her method is the correct way). She goes heavy with wet on wet. She create gorgeous paintings, but I have always felt that I wanted more control over how paint flows, or how to add more layers without moving the previous layer. I will try this out before I pick up watercolor again. Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am absolutely in love with the idea of these!! Your tutorial was fantastic as always, and now i am going to go and buy a set of those blocks to test out. If i had more money i would definitely be buying the full set of blocks and pencils. They look so amazing to work with. I am very interested to see what Derwent comes up with in regards to prolonging the light fastness.. keep us posted!!!
+Lachri Fine Art I went and purchased a set of "37 inktense selection" tin off ebay, which i received today! SO excited to try these out! I also may have gone and purchased a pack of those aquarelle pencils too :D Can i ask, where do you purchase those large sketch boards you use? I could only find a 18'' one at officeworks here.. I use to use an architect drafting table for my work but no longer have the room for it, so would love to try those boards out! Thank you for the inspiration!
Really enjoying your videos... thank you for sharing... I too like the Inktense - had the blocks for some time and just bought a set of the pencils. I love the intensity of the colors and you are right -- this a very unique product. I was bummed to hear about the lightfastness / lack of it, though -- hopefully Derwent will keep improving on that. I love the drawing/painting you did. Your detail and use of color just blow me away.
+AlexandoriaART Me too! It was really easy to get bright bright colors, or tone them down. Sometimes I have a hard time getting my colored pencils as bright as I want, that wasn't a problem here lol.
Lisa - thanks so much for this amazing video! I just stumbled onto your site, as I purchased the Inktense Blocks and so needed a tutorial on how to use them to the best effect. Am sad to hear about the light fast issue; have you resolved this by adding a UV spray? I plan to use the Inktense blocks on mixed media paper for collage, and certainly do not want issues with colors fading. Also, thanks for your input re: being disappointed with their color pencils; I purchased a set of 24 and was very disappointed with the pigment and the overall 'drag' of the pencils on paper. After seeing your input, I contacted Derwent directly and told them I am a fan (and own) many of their products, but the set of 24 color pencils could not hold a candle to Prismacolor, and asked if they planned on doing a reformulation. Am certainly going to follow your channel from now on! I love that you talk fast and get right to the point!
Lachri: Thanks for showing how products work. It really help when going out and buying,to know what you are looking for. I just bought the colored graphite pencils to enhance my graphite drawing online. Then,I found also at Dick's a 9xxB graphite pencil.
Derwent have amazing customer service! They even sent me a replacement product and I'm in South Africa. The local suppliers didn't get back to me so I contacted their main website. Couldn't believe it. Amazing.
I just discovered these pencils around 3-4 months ago and really enjoyed working with them. I am from India so I had to wait for quite sometime to find a seller since they were not easily available on amazon. But I enjoy making traditional art work with these pencils and they are awesome:-)Also on your recommendation I bought a set of 12 polychromos pencils and found it easier to put 2-3 layers of intense and add more details with the polychromos on top, your work is amazing thanks so much for unloading your videos they really help me out a lot, its just like having an art teacher:-)
I used krylon uv archival spray with several of my projects . So far I have not any issues. I did apply 2 to 3 light thin layers . BTW I am from New England and your speaking speed sounds fine to me.
Hi Lisa, I mostly work in acrylics, however, you inspired me regarding Intense so I purchased the set of 24. However, I ended up returning them. As a professional artist, the lightfast issue is a problem. The other problem for me is that I don't like the look of watercolor, and the finished product still seemed to have that watercolor look. Additionally, I already have the largest wooden box set of Derwent's watercolor pencils which I only occasionally use for my commercial illustration work. Not being a watercolor pencil fan, I actually preferred the watercolor pencils instead of the Intense. I didn't feel as though the Intense offered me much difference and I don't care for their blending effect. BTW- Based on your last years recommendations for FaberCastell Polychomos I purchased the set of 120 and still very happy with them!:) I also purchased a few pencils (white and a few other lighter colors) of the Caran D' Ache Luminance. So thanks for sharing your experiences.
+Wildlife Painter Yeah, if you don't like the look of watercolor I can see where these wouldn't hold much interest for you. I personally love the look of watercolor but never enjoyed working in the medium (although I've been tempted to give them another try lately lol). I'm glad to hear you like the polychromos :D You won't have much in the way of lightfast issues there :D
So far I've not liked the Derwent pencils that I've tried (Charcoal, graphite, pastels), but I do look forward to test the inktense. I found useful that you mentioned how it's different to apply them directly on paper then wash than using a brush directly (the pencil / bar form of most water-soluble products tend to leave a texture in the paper, I wasn't sure if that was the case with the inktense too). However I think that using them with the brush might allow you to consider other products. Keeping in mind that their main property is being water resistant once dried (in contrast to, say, watercolors) and that lightfasting is a problem, perhaps using acrylic ink might be a better choice (liquitex, for example), have you tried those?
Hi Lisa, This is by far the best Inktense tutorial I have seen the information was priceless, and as an extra bonus I have all these products :) enjoyed playing with them directly to the paper, I was not quite sure of their potential so I put them away, until now, this has helped a lot. Thank you.
+Patricia Page AKA MosaicMaiden I'm glad I could help! I was surprised at how little I was able to find online using #Inktense. I get the feeling that a lot of people don't realize their full potential.
Lachri Fine Art Absolutely even on the Derwent channel those 5 minute videos just don't cut it! thank you for getting back to me quickly! All the the best Patricia
I have my first set of Derwent Inktense Pencils on their way to me as I type this... so this tutorial was wonderful to see right now. Thank you! And, who doesn't love flamingos? :)
I love these pencils & blocks & haven't had a problem w fading so far. I do always make prints for all my work anyway in recent years so I have a record of my work They r more lightfast than regular watercolor by far so....I really like your demo thanks. Jewell
I love the inktense pencils! I haven't used the blocks...got some great tips from you! :-) I totally look forward to your videos! ps...so jealous of your beautiful wooden case!!! :-)
I have both the blocks & pencils & am loving the effects on watercolor papers, & this week am doing an experiment on some terracotta clay pieces after Thay have been fired, am looking forward to seeing the results I get
I have been wondering about the best paper to use for these products. I have ordered the tin of 24 blocks. I have been looking a Yupo paper as it seems that everyone likes that for using inks but I have been given a mass of very good watercolor paper so I am going to try that first.
I know this video is not recent but I just now found it. I hope you see this comment because I was wondering what stencil that is that you used. I loved it :) Beautiful artwork and now Inktense is on my wish list!!!
I love your finished piece! I just got inktense pencils and this really helped a lot with learning how to go about using them. Thank you for sharing =).
I apologize if someone has already asked a question like this already. When reviewing the lightfastness of this product, you mentioned that you would then look for a UV resistant fixative. If I use prismacolor premier (which you know have several colors that are not lightfast), and I use a UV resistant fixative, do I not need to worry about fading? I'm relatively new to the medium and don't really have any work old enough to know from my own experience. Thanks, and I love your channel!
thanks for your review of the intense. I have a 24 block set and LOVE them. I use with both watercolors and color pencils. Funny, I had not thought of using them by themselves. I love that they are permanent and you can wash over layers. I must try your damask stencil on my artwork, love the look!
What a beautiful painting! I have the Derwent watercolor pencils. Have not really gotten to use them but once or so. Have you used these and did you like them?
Amazing piece. Interesting use of the pencils and inktense at the same time. Looks to be a very cool medium. I'm surprised the company doesn't know how to preserve the medium yet. Of course, its very early for a new medium to prove it out over time.
OMG! Love those Intense pencils, and NOW I have to get those Inktense Blocks, thanks to you! Seriously, loved your video. Very informative, and the flamingo is absolutely beautiful. I would appreciate any suggestions on the brushes you purchased to go with your Inktense products; I'm feelin' it, too. I can't go hog wild, so a basic set suggestion would be great. The one you were using on the small detail on the flamingo looked really "pointy"...great for the detail.
it's amazing to watch your videos, and "SEE" how things come to life. beautiful! when i first started watching, i felt 'talktalktalk, crap, you're fast!' lol. but, you give great reviews with a lot of information on the items. thank you for honest opinions, and the details on things! wonderful videos :)
Its amazing! Oh my God! I love this pencils! I will put them on my favorite list, to try them. I have a question... they are permanent, so you need to clean the brushes just with water...water & soap, or thinner? Because of the permanent issue???
Great review and tutorial! I have the set of 12 pencils and I love it. You mentioned that the 12 block set is great for starting out since you can mix a lot of colors easily from them. I've found that by picking up color from the tip of the pencils with your brush and using the lid of the tin as a palette you can get a large range of colors from the pencils as well. Mixing large amounts of color this way might be difficult, but it works great for working in a sketchbook! One thing that wasn't mentioned in your review and that I found out by trial and error is that although the Inktense are permanent after they have dried, you can actually reactivate them if they've dried on a non-absorbent surface. This way you can reuse the colors in your mixing area, even if they've dried up.
I got these after watching this and I absolutely adore them, I got the 37 artist set with 21 pencils and 10 blocks including the white the best set to get into this medium if you ask me, next on the shopping list is a nice big set of luminance pencils. have you already combined these two products in a piece Lisa? I'm not really interested in selling my work but I do want to be able to make high quality images for digital storage, this I can't do with my work in pastel, so I'm really looking for a way to have the same high vibrancy of soft pastel with a sturdier more manageable medium. My guess is that the combination of inktense underpainting and luminance finishing will give me just that.
Hi there. Thanks for a great review. I have no experience with watercolors, or inktense blocks, but am going to purchase a set to start playing around with. On training videos I've seen that artists soak and then stretch their water color paper. I see your paper also has the tape on it. So my question is: Do you recommend the soaking and stretching for working with inktense, or will it work fine if you just start drawing with the blocks?
Just started with the intense pencils, love them and finding the videos really helpful thankyou. What paper is best with these please, hot press or cold press
you're awesome and I'm so glad I saw this video as I'm looking for new media to play around with and you've definitely sold me on these. keep up the fantastic job you do online it's full of talented skill and practical info I love love love your work.
I bought the Inktense pencils because of you review on the earlier video....I didn't know they came in blocks too!!!! Oh no...I need to buy more LOL!!!!! Thanks for such a great tutorial!!!!
+Deborah Lynch Actually, you probably don't have to purchase the blocks, because you CAN use the pencils in a very similar way, just use water and a little tray and either scrape off some of the 'lead' or use your paint brush and water to put the Inktense into the tray. I hope that helps :)
Hi Lisa, great review! I mainly work with Polys and was wondering what are your thoughts on using the inktense as a base layer before going in with the polys... would it work or would you suggest just sticking using them separately.Would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you x
Thanks so much Lisa for all your videos! Re: Inktense Pencils, a question:It may seem obvious, but, what is the Outliner pencil actually for? And what else?
i would actually recommend the pencils over the blocks, if i wish to get a non grainy watercolor effect, i just cut out a small tab of paper and scribble whatever color blend i want right onto the tab...then put that tab into water and with a brush i just all the pigment off into the water, it works absolutely amazing.....if you want a richer color, just do another tab...and its super easy to make any color you want that way with complete control
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Very informative :) I love the brilliant colors and the fact that it's permanent. I'm definitely going to pick up a set of these!
that was so informative, thanks a lot. I am buying them one by one - it's cheaper that way and i just get what i'll use - i'm so impressed by all the uses for them i've seen online, but i still learnt a lot from your tips. I'm definitely getting the orangey colour - i've already got the poppy colour!
Lisa, thank you so much for this review. I'm, as always, In awe of your skills! Lovely flamingo, but gee those bees buzzing around would be annoying for the poor bird! Derwent products are very easy to access in Australia open stock in art stores, etc, which is great because I love them, so I pretty much have most of their products. I agree the wooden box is AWESOME, the foam and magnet board pencil holders work really well, look very smart and if I knew then what I know now, would have bought the box version versus the tin for the watercolour pencils I have. That all being said, pretty much everyone who buys the 72 tin set of any of their products comment that the plastic used is flimsy and prone to breaking. Because of the two layers the top layer is the main problem as moving it all the time the corners crack. There are many RUclips vids on how to use cardboard or foam to strengthen the plastic or build a strap to assist lifting the top tray. My suspicion is most people would like a tin or box to keep the products in and sorted from their other products, refilling with open stock as needed. How long would you reasonably expect the 'packaging' to hold up in a product? Five, ten, twenty years Is it even important to you? What is your impression of the plastic used to make the trays? After using the product for a while have you found it to be a problem? Compared to all the other products you have and have tried is it comparable to other products? All I can compare is to a 48 set of prismacolour. My suspicion is the plastic used is only part of the problem, it's the combination of the width. Pulling up the top tray the tray bends on the diagonal bias and its the twisting combined with the plastic that causes the breaks. Prismacolour larger sets come in multiple smaller trays so the twist doesn't come into play. But again I have nothing else to compare the Derwent to. Thanks.
+O2BSoLucky I think you're right. I don't think the plastic would last long term. Thanks for the tip about looking up videos to reinforce the holder, I'm going to do that for sure!! I wonder if Derwent would sell replacement plastic trays when they do break. That would be really convenient.
Lachri Fine Art I honestly fear how something so thin and long would last through the whole shipping process. I would be definately willing to pay a bit more for a better product to start with. I've thought about filling it with resin or some other selley's gap filler product, something flexible. I might one day experiment with the 12 pack insert from my Derwent metallic watercolours (fun BTW, but don't stay very metallic when wet). If I stuff up, I could live with just having 12 in a tin, 72 would drive me bonkers wanting to find the colour I like!
Thanks for the vid. I just brought a few Intense pencils to play with and I am smitten by the intensity of the color. Sad about the lack of lightfastness buta great medium to do studies with!
Omg. You're telling me these aren't lightfast? Why do companies make crap that doesn't stand up to time? These aren't cheap. You'd think they'd make them all lightfast. Ugh. I just bought a ton of these lol. I need to watch these before I spend cash. Like the caran d'ache ones. Replaced my prismas with em and I couldn't be happier. I can get more than 2 sharpenings off of a pencil now!!! WHOHOO!
Because that is not something they decide.. it is how PHYSICS work. In fact NOTHING is lightfast. All pigments.. ALL will fade eventually when exposed to UV long enough. The term lightfast is very very badly used by artists as a binary quality that either you have or have not. Lightfastness is a continuous gradient that have as many levels as there are substances in the universe. For some people lightfast enough can be 20 years of exposure.. for others it must be 400 years... (hint NO pigment ever invented can resist sunlight exposure for 400 years without a glass in front of it)
I want to get these for christmas. Lisa can you tell me if they are lightfast now, or anyone out there know anything about this issues. I'm doing a lot of paintings for my kids and I'ed love for them to be passed now threw the family. Thank you so much for any help you can give me. It's a lot of money to weight if they are not archival worthy. I love your style and art work. Sorry I should have watched the video first and then I would not have ask the questions above. So a lot of them are not lightfast, its been a little over a year sense you've made this video. Where do I go to ask if they have made improvements in their inktense products ?
I really love the Inktense pencils, they really are good fun. But, as you pointed out in the video, lightfastness with water activated ink is an issue. I still love using them, but I mainly use them for bits and pieces in my sketchbook. I wouldn't use them for any commissioned work, simply because I can't trust that what I paint/draw will last.
It looks amazing :) I have the tins for both the 72 for pencils and blocks, I really like them. I know they are different, but sometimes I combine my Caran d'Ache Supracolor Soft (120) and the Inktense; it's sort of cool looking having the watercolor effect over the permanent.
lol, contacted by Derwent - you go girl! Lucky you on getting the sets of Inktense. We need a discount these are so expensive! Couldn't you just acrylic paint to intense the white?
Lisa, Way to go. When Derwent comes to you for a review, that tells the whole story. I just finished reading all the comments to this point. Wow, Lisa. did you ever think just a few years ago that you would reach all these wonderful artists through out the world. You make such an impact. I am also amazed how you spend the time to reply and answer the many questions in the comments. when someone only has a few followers it is not a major task, but this is very valuable time that you spend to let all know that you do care that each one has their questions answered. You do great. The review and the picture is fantastic. Great job as always.
+Michael Parry No, I am in absolute awe that this channel has grown so much! :D
Lisa, yes, look - - almost 1500 views just after 6 hours on line. What is most impressive is the almost 60,000 subscribed viewers. It is like I comment - it is the Lachri experience. It is because of you and your total commitment. Thanks.
Just bought the set..can't wait to get painting! Thanks for your excellent video. Love your work!
Thanks for the great review.. I use these pencils in mixed media pieces. I love the way I can put them on top of watercolors, and then blend colored pencils on top. I will definitely be trying some of the techniques you showed us.
I also noticed that the color on the pencils does not always match the colors of the ink. I used some white medical tape and colored small pieces of tape with the pencils and dissolved the pigment with water on the lower half of the tape. Then I wrapped the tape around the top of the pencil. Instant color reference.
+fairythere That is a great idea!!
I've been waiting for a video like this! It's nice to see actual artwork done with the inktense (not stamping stuff). Awesome work!
I purchased a set of the derwent artists and I was so disappointed that I wrote derwent who replaced my set. Their customer service is absolutely outstanding!
I can't wait to pick up a set of inktense pencils!
I use derwent inktense in conjunction with their watercolour set - I have a 32 tin of each type and have found that the inktense colours supplied are different to the ones usually supplied in the watercolour or artists range - and that is something I absolutely love. They are so, so vibrant - and it does seem that derwent has addressed the lightfastness issue now, which is wonderful. I just love the silky look they have when wet, which is totally different to the look the watercolour pencils give, more of a traditional layer-upon-layer crisp feel - makes a lovely contrast when used in the same piece. Still, I have gone through so many inktense pencils - couldn't ask for a kind that suits me more! I'm glad you feel the same, your review put a smile on my face and the flamingo painting is just to die for. :)
The lightfastness really is an issue for me-- I've had a full set of blocks and a set of 24 pencils for a couple of years now (the Bark color is absolutely delicious- the richest/darkest brown ever!) and was just recently made aware of the lightfastness issue. If the pigments are anything like their Graphitint line, then fading is even going to happen in my art journals. So depressing, because I feel I am usually up on all this kind of thing before purchasing something. For what it's worth, I hope Derwent does fix the problem. Even better would be if they fixed the problem then offered replacements to those of us who invested all those dollars.
As to the "issue" of your voice in another post, just wanted to get my $.02 in (lol): I did notice your fast-talking skill, but the only thought I had about it was how impressed I was that you could talk this fast AND do it with so much clarity AND how you managed to not stumble over your thoughts. Everything you say has a point, you aren't endlessly repeating the same redundant stuff and you are able to get in about three times more info than most everyone else in the same timeframe. For all of that, I thank you. :)
current inktense have extremely high lightfast ratings.
check the website.
I'm struggling with the speed talking but I'm lowly getting used to it.
I give mine a s[ritz of UV s[ray and they don't fade at all. I did an ex[eriment with Derwent Coloursoft [encils and they didn't fade in 8 months of full sunshine on a windowsill with UV fix but did a little bit shut in the dark in an envelo[e! I su[[ose our UK sunshine is weak at the best of times com[ared to other [arts of the world. Also Derwent art com[any are based in the hills of Cumbria UK which has high rainfall so [ossibly they don't understand the enormity of sunshine. :)
Are they lightfast now? And which colors are lightfast? Their website claims 90% of the pencils and blocks are light fast but I haven't been able to find out which ones are lightfast and which ones are not.
@@artiskalai1970 have you found out the lightfastness? It is on the official colour chart of inktense with LF mark & a number. 6 or higher, until up to 8 is lightfast. Based on the colour chart, ca the half of the colours are not lightfast. Mainly orange, reds... But many of the yellow, blues, greens and darker colours are LF.
Love love love the intense blocks!!! They have opened up a whole new world for my custom pet decor!!! Can't wait to get the biggest set!!!
I paint in oils and watercolors. Watching your video, now I have to try these pencils and sticks. Thanks for the great review!! You're a great artist!!
I love love love!!! INKTENSE, I bought the full set when it was on sale ( on DISABILITY cancer..) I wish I could afford that beautiful wooden box and I have yet to try the blocks.... My fist time using these I drew a free hand daisy like flower with JUST one pencil.. A delicious red, I was amazed at how much value I got with just one...imagine the possibilities! The flower was so vibrant! I love colored pencils and all forms of water-media... And I LOVE watching you paint! ...cheers!
Lisa, you are such a great teacher. I am watching this again as it is one of my favorites.
I've really enjoyed your tutorial about Inktense, as i'm looking forward to acquire a pencils set for myself. As non-native English speaker was very easy to comprehend, your fluency and pace was quite entertaining and fun to follow! Keep on with the good work!
That was really helpful. I couldn't really work out what inktense actually was, but I loved what I'd seen of the finished work. This explains it really clearly, and the flamingo is beautiful. I've decided to go with the blocks for now, and just enjoy learning how to do it. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this review/demo - I have a set of 36 intense pencils and have loved getting used to them, but was a tad frustrated that I couldn't find many tutorials online to offer additional tips about usage, so everything I was learning was purely through trial and error on my part. Your video covered everything I needed!
For example, I wasn't aware that they weren't lightfast, so I hugely appreciated that whole discussion (and will now be investigating the uv spray thing you mentioned - are there generic brands available that could be tried with these?) and seeing how you used the blocks and pencils combined has encouraged me that I should go ahead with getting the blocks too (I'd been umming and ahhing about how much the blocks would add to the quality of my work, but seeing how you used them with the pencils showed me how they'd increase the range of results).
Brilliant video, super useful. Thank you.
Your bees are making me so happy! I don't have the patience for colored pencils of any kind, but I always watch your pencil tutorials, because they are amazing
I was turned onto Inktense through a monthly art box subscription. I even tested them on fabric and it worked great but I had to use a fabric medium to make sure the colors would survive washing. I now have the fill set of pencils and a set of 12 blocks. I’ve used s mesh bottle to grind some of the blocks into powder to add water to use in large areas such as backgrounds. You can tighten the lid of the small glass bottle and save for next time.👍🏽
Beautiful! I was curious about the Inktense pencils. It's really fun to watch you work on this. I'm just starting with WC so I'll practice a bit more before introducing pencils in general (:
Thank you!
- Liron
Just got my Inktense 24pc pencil and 24pc block set for Christmas and I'm making my color chart to experiment with them. Really looking forward to learning this awesome medium. Keep up the good work, Lisa!
At long last, I figured out how to comment in RUclips!! Just subscribed to your channel. There are several things I love about your videos - first and foremost is you :) Your voice is just fine and I love the way you don't dilly-dally. Straight to the point and although you talk fast, you are always intelligible. The speed in which you talk is actually another reason I love your videos - they aren't hours long. So many review/tutorial videos are over an hour long. If I am wanting to see a review on colored pencils, I don't want to spend 20 minutes looking at the container. I like to see it and move on :) And your artwork is a big reason I subscribed. Your work is incredible and I love to watch you create!!
Before I make a comment I just want to make it clear I am not an artist, I love drawing and using coloured pencil, but I'm not particularly good. Any way, I love Derwent as a company, I think what they are doing with the products is so versatile, their range of pencils is phenomenal. I'm lucky to live very close to the company and have been to their museum which is wonderful.
It really doesn't surprise me that they have contacted you Lisa as they are such a professional company, for Derwent, professional feed back is only going to help them enhance and improve their products, which of course is also good business. In my experience however Derwent is all about excellent customer service. I took my children to the museum and they had a fantastic day thanks to the staff, my eldest daughter who is an Art Student was in heaven once we reached the Derwent Shop at the end of the tour, not so good for my bank balance though lol.
As usual Lisa fantastic video and so informative.
+Techmedia Fusion :D
+Techmedia Fusion i agree, i don't like all their products and i am a big faber castell fan esp. pencil sharpeners, polychromos, albrecht durer and maped for sharpeners, erasers, but coloursoft and inktense are great products and the artists sketching (? similar dull name - www.pencils.co.uk/en/gb/4431/drawing-pencils - the ones that just come in natural colours, very soft, natural wood sides colour on tip) are excellent and unique. The Graphitint pencils are excellent, better than they look, i find them really useful sketching in nature, the colours are really realistic, i suggest perhaps sea blue or warm brown?
How dare you make such a personal comment classy geek. Love the art and you will love Lisa too. She has a huge talent and a huge personality.
Oh, man! That wooden box they sent you is gorgeous! I love Derwent's products, minus the color pencils. Have you ever tried their Graphitint line? They're a cross between graphite and watercolor and they're great for moody, muted pieces. They make me think of haunted houses and graveyards whenever I play around with them. Haha!
+GummyTumor No, I've not tried them yet :D
+Lachri Fine Art
I recommend the graphtints as well. They almost have a shimmery.smokey like quality to them..kind of like shimmery eye shadow if you will . They however aren't very vibrant..but muted..lovely colors though..
Hi, been an Artist myself and been from England now living in the US. The best pencil's around are the Coloursoft which is all I use
I found it smudged a bit....the pencil....vivid green. Wrote out a word then wet - let dry still perfecting how much water is needed.... love the HELP.... LOVE THE PRODUCT!!!!
This was an excellent video! I just bought a set of 12 Inktense pencils and was looking for guidance. Your instructions and tips were so helpful. The tip about using water soluble graphite to sketch out a drawing before adding watercolor was phenomenal. Never, ever considered doing that, but it makes so much sense. Thanks again! - Patti
I just got the full set as well. They are very fun to use. The issue with the actual color of the pencil not matching the color reference on the pencil is a HUGE problem for me. Most of the colors on the pencil look very close to the same as the other pencils as well, which made it hard to distinguish what one you want. There's several greens, maybe 8 different ones and the color on the ends of the pencils all look so similar that IRS even going to be hard to eventually memorize them to tell them apart too. They also look so different when you wet them from when you put them down dry on the paper that I literally feel like I'm painting totally blind. I had to make a reference chart with all the colors in gradients to see what color I want to use then I've got to dig through the pencils and read the numbers/names on them before using them. Most of the colors, when you draw a dry square (for my reference chart) all looked the same too...our VERY similar. All the reds out greens or blues look so close when dry that you have no idea what you're using unless you do a sample on a scrap paper. I wish they could put a more accurate portrayal on the pencil. I find that if I'm planning on mixing, it's quite a process since there's so many steps to go through before you know what color you're actually going to get. Unless you have experience working with a lot of these pigments to know if Hookers green is more yellow or more blue, you're going to have a hard time learning these colors. I CAN deal with them being different between wet and dry because the wet colors are shockingly bright and rich and beautiful but I can't stand having to constantly refer to my color chart and rifle through them looking for "hookers green". I find that extremely frustrating! I also noticed that although you can build up as many layers as you want, they get a bit of a plastic looking sheen on them after several layers, which is ok if it's consistent or if you're lighting is always good. I really do like the pencils but I do not like having such confusion with what color is what. In many cases it's not a slight difference, it's a completely different color on the pencil than the lead or the dry color or the wet color...It's only a suggestion of the color family it *may* be in. With all that said, I love your tutorials. you're very inspiring and helpful to me!
+daynab2 Yeah this is why I kept a spare sheet of paper next to me as I worked so I could test colors before I hit the paper. I felt like I do when I oil paint. Blues, browns, black, dark greens, purples...they all look SO similar when they're on the palette that if you don't pay attention to what you put where it's easy to grab the wrong thing and not find out till you hit the canvas. That part with these didn't bug me so much because I'm used to it from oil painting. I would like to see the colors match a bit better on the pencils. I do think that this is one medium that I'm going to make color charts for though because it is so hard to tell. It will be a lot easier if we can just glance at the chart and have a better idea of what we're looking for. One of my students made the most awesome color samples for these, so I think I'm going to copy her idea :)
How have I missed this til now?!? Love watching you create magic with the Inktense! Thank you Lisa! 😍👏🏻😘❤️
Lisa........I signed up for Patreon after hearing you review about 6 things........You are fun and factual...........which is why you are a great person for us to watch. Here we find the information that most helps us save the bucks!........or spend them, as you did. I'm guilt of the same thing. In my world it's "Art supplies.......before food!" Feed the soul and then the body. Somehow, I don't think that I am alone. Thank you so much for your candor. I am new to colored pencil (but have tried Inktense and I agree, even though I know next to nothing about Colored pencil, I have used watercolor pencils).......... and was wondering if you might do a review of instructional books for beginners in traditional CP. I'm love landscapes and would really like to find a resource that I can learn from and return to......Most of what I find is focused on portraits, animals or flowers......You're the "go to gal,"............so would you give this a shot. I know that if I ask you, I'll get the what and the why, including the good, the bad, the so-so..........and.....God help the company..........the ugly. But I also know that I can take your insight to the bank. And that is what counts. Thanks so very much. You're a keeper.
+Judith A Rowland Thanks for signing up! I'm glad you like my videos :D For the books, I'm not going to be much help because I never bought them myself. If I come across any good ones that I like I will share them though :D The only one that I do have is the Colored pencil bible by Alyona Nickelsen. It's a great book but mostly still lifes and florals. The only downside to that one is that some of the explanations make things much more difficult than they need to be. The work is stunning though and there really are some great tips in that one if you've not checked it out.
Since I watched this almost a year ago I would like to know how light fast you found the Inktense to be. As always, love your beautiful work!
Yes! I would like to know this as well.
Ive done some work with these a few years ago and the colors have remained as bright and vibrant as the day the art was completed. Now mind you i dont keep my art in direct sunlight by any means.
WOW...great review Lisa. You know everything you commented on was quite motivating except when you got to the "light fastness" of the product. It was disappointing, I mean artists use different degrees of saturation in most everything they do. So this is a serious issue with me and if they aren't light fast throughout all saturation levels then I'll probably just use them as a base to apply colored pencil over with. i hope Derwent is successful because these seem quite unique and popular . Selling prints as of now was also a great idea too. Thanks, another fantastic review! I like that even though they gave you full sets for free you stuck to your rigid standards of critiquing these products.
Several years ago I was working in watercolor and thought wouldn't it be great if you could lay down a color and not lift it or affect it adversely with the next layer. They say we create reality and sure enough a long comes ink tense. Pretty neat. I love them too.
My first time watching one of your videos. I have some inktense pencils and blocks and love them. I did learn some new techniques from watching this video. The finished flamingo was just stunning, it is one of my favorite birds.
You really do talk fast....I have subscribed to your channel.
Love your site and Intense is my FAVORITE Medium to use! SO MUCH FUN to Create with Inktense!!!!
Lisa, I am interested in knowing how the process of working with Derwent is going? Are they working on new products, or improving their current range? Thanks!
Thank you so much for your wonderful, informative videos. I got a 24 pack of these pencils. Having a blast playing with them. So vibrant. I’m going to get the 72 set of both the pencils and blocks and play more. I’m having fun using them with my coloured pencils.
I love to use Derwent graphitint colored pencils while working with my inktense because in contrast to inktense's vibrancy, graphitint offers a more dulish muted colours which works well if you don't want an overly vibrant artwork. Also that is what I call customer service, a customer is not satisfied with a product they bought, give them $100 worth of product xD.
+Zul Harun Yeah, I was SO impressed with how they handled that. I love when companies care about the products they are making!!
Thank you for the tutorial, I am about to start using this medium and it is wonderful to see the review before I use them. I am painting the many birds around my home and needed some strong colour.
Hi Lisa. I have purchased the inktentse pencils. They were out of the blocks. I am excited to try this medium. I am just getting back into my art after 30 years. I was afraid but you have explained my fears away. Thank you for sharing your talents and points of view with us. Wendi :-)
You will have so much fun!! :D
so glad to find these videos. I have Ink tense pencils and Prismacolor colors. My favorite is Venus Spectracolors I still have my set from the 70's, can't buy them anymore.
I love how fast you speak Lisa ❤️
I really appreciate the amount of information you fit into one video and the time and effort you take to make these!
It was so shocking that derwent actually apologised about their coloursoft pencils and offered to give you a whole set of both of the inktense. That's totally amazing! Great video, gonna try them out some day! :)
+X3MiniDoraemon I think the apology was more for me not liking them, not so much for the product itself :D
Haha maybe? XD But all we know is that they will definitely try to work on it and make sure the pencils improve! :)
They must know that they're not the favorite brand when it comes to soft colored pencils.
Thank you for this fabulous review and sharing so much information about them! I ordered a set of 72 blocks that will be arriving soon... I'm so excited looking forward to playing with them. Love your painting... your talent blows my mind! Thank you for all that you share!
This is an awesome review, and in fact I just found what I need. I fear watercolor because of how biased my teacher was with her style (while I was in school, I believed her method is the correct way). She goes heavy with wet on wet. She create gorgeous paintings, but I have always felt that I wanted more control over how paint flows, or how to add more layers without moving the previous layer. I will try this out before I pick up watercolor again. Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
+Catherine OAO I'm afraid of watercolor for the same reason lol.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! I am absolutely in love with the idea of these!! Your tutorial was fantastic as always, and now i am going to go and buy a set of those blocks to test out. If i had more money i would definitely be buying the full set of blocks and pencils. They look so amazing to work with.
I am very interested to see what Derwent comes up with in regards to prolonging the light fastness.. keep us posted!!!
+bioncadonk I will :D
+Lachri Fine Art I went and purchased a set of "37 inktense selection" tin off ebay, which i received today! SO excited to try these out! I also may have gone and purchased a pack of those aquarelle pencils too :D
Can i ask, where do you purchase those large sketch boards you use? I could only find a 18'' one at officeworks here.. I use to use an architect drafting table for my work but no longer have the room for it, so would love to try those boards out!
Thank you for the inspiration!
Inktense with a reservoir type brush is another great method to use. Very well made video, thanks
Really enjoying your videos... thank you for sharing... I too like the Inktense - had the blocks for some time and just bought a set of the pencils. I love the intensity of the colors and you are right -- this a very unique product. I was bummed to hear about the lightfastness / lack of it, though -- hopefully Derwent will keep improving on that. I love the drawing/painting you did. Your detail and use of color just blow me away.
Man, I love how vivid the colors are! That's amazing.
+AlexandoriaART Me too! It was really easy to get bright bright colors, or tone them down. Sometimes I have a hard time getting my colored pencils as bright as I want, that wasn't a problem here lol.
Lachri Fine Art Exactly, it's amazing.
Too bad they haven't developed it enough for it to be light fast though.
Lisa - thanks so much for this amazing video! I just stumbled onto your site, as I purchased the Inktense Blocks and so needed a tutorial on how to use them to the best effect. Am sad to hear about the light fast issue; have you resolved this by adding a UV spray? I plan to use the Inktense blocks on mixed media paper for collage, and certainly do not want issues with colors fading. Also, thanks for your input re: being disappointed with their color pencils; I purchased a set of 24 and was very disappointed with the pigment and the overall 'drag' of the pencils on paper. After seeing your input, I contacted Derwent directly and told them I am a fan (and own) many of their products, but the set of 24 color pencils could not hold a candle to Prismacolor, and asked if they planned on doing a reformulation.
Am certainly going to follow your channel from now on! I love that you talk fast and get right to the point!
Lachri: Thanks for showing how products work. It really help when going out and buying,to know what you are looking for. I just bought the colored graphite pencils to enhance my graphite drawing online. Then,I found also at Dick's a 9xxB graphite pencil.
Thanks for actually using these for a painting, very refreshing.
Derwent have amazing customer service! They even sent me a replacement product and I'm in South Africa. The local suppliers didn't get back to me so I contacted their main website. Couldn't believe it. Amazing.
+Pippa Nice!
I just discovered these pencils around 3-4 months ago and really enjoyed working with them. I am from India so I had to wait for quite sometime to find a seller since they were not easily available on amazon. But I enjoy making traditional art work with these pencils and they are awesome:-)Also on your recommendation I bought a set of 12 polychromos pencils and found it easier to put 2-3 layers of intense and add more details with the polychromos on top, your work is amazing thanks so much for unloading your videos they really help me out a lot, its just like having an art teacher:-)
+Aakankschit Nandkeolyar I'm glad I could help!! :D
Wow! I’m sooo jealous of the box of pencils!! So awesome! 💚. Beautiful flamingo! 💕
Love the intense pencils! Your artwork is amazing!
+DB's artworks Thanks!
I used krylon uv archival spray with several of my projects . So far I have not any issues. I did apply 2 to 3 light thin layers . BTW I am from New England and your speaking speed sounds fine to me.
Hi Lisa,
I mostly work in acrylics, however, you inspired me regarding Intense so I purchased the set of 24. However, I ended up returning them. As a professional artist, the lightfast issue is a problem. The other problem for me is that I don't like the look of watercolor, and the finished product still seemed to have that watercolor look. Additionally, I already have the largest wooden box set of Derwent's watercolor pencils which I only occasionally use for my commercial illustration work. Not being a watercolor pencil fan, I actually preferred the watercolor pencils instead of the Intense. I didn't feel as though the Intense offered me much difference and I don't care for their blending effect. BTW- Based on your last years recommendations for FaberCastell Polychomos I purchased the set of 120 and still very happy with them!:) I also purchased a few pencils (white and a few other lighter colors) of the Caran D' Ache Luminance. So thanks for sharing your experiences.
+Wildlife Painter Yeah, if you don't like the look of watercolor I can see where these wouldn't hold much interest for you. I personally love the look of watercolor but never enjoyed working in the medium (although I've been tempted to give them another try lately lol). I'm glad to hear you like the polychromos :D You won't have much in the way of lightfast issues there :D
So far I've not liked the Derwent pencils that I've tried (Charcoal, graphite, pastels), but I do look forward to test the inktense. I found useful that you mentioned how it's different to apply them directly on paper then wash than using a brush directly (the pencil / bar form of most water-soluble products tend to leave a texture in the paper, I wasn't sure if that was the case with the inktense too).
However I think that using them with the brush might allow you to consider other products. Keeping in mind that their main property is being water resistant once dried (in contrast to, say, watercolors) and that lightfasting is a problem, perhaps using acrylic ink might be a better choice (liquitex, for example), have you tried those?
Hi Lisa, This is by far the best Inktense tutorial I have seen the information was priceless, and as an extra bonus I have all these products :) enjoyed playing with them directly to the paper, I was not quite sure of their potential so I put them away, until now, this has helped a lot. Thank you.
+Patricia Page AKA MosaicMaiden I'm glad I could help! I was surprised at how little I was able to find online using #Inktense. I get the feeling that a lot of people don't realize their full potential.
Lachri Fine Art Absolutely even on the Derwent channel those 5 minute videos just don't cut it! thank you for getting back to me quickly! All the the best Patricia
I have my first set of Derwent Inktense Pencils on their way to me as I type this... so this tutorial was wonderful to see right now. Thank you! And, who doesn't love flamingos? :)
I love these pencils & blocks & haven't had a problem w fading so far. I do always make prints for all my work anyway in recent years so I have a record of my work They r more lightfast than regular watercolor by far so....I really like your demo thanks. Jewell
I love the inktense pencils! I haven't used the blocks...got some great tips from you! :-) I totally look forward to your videos! ps...so jealous of your beautiful wooden case!!! :-)
I have both the blocks & pencils & am loving the effects on watercolor papers, & this week am doing an experiment on some terracotta clay pieces after Thay have been fired, am looking forward to seeing the results I get
I would love to see the results on that! I've never tried anything but paper.
I have been wondering about the best paper to use for these products. I have ordered the tin of 24 blocks. I have been looking a Yupo paper as it seems that everyone likes that for using inks but I have been given a mass of very good watercolor paper so I am going to try that first.
I know this video is not recent but I just now found it. I hope you see this comment because I was wondering what stencil that is that you used. I loved it :) Beautiful artwork and now Inktense is on my wish list!!!
Great review and awesome painting.
+Val Bisson Thank you :)
I love your finished piece! I just got inktense pencils and this really helped a lot with learning how to go about using them. Thank you for sharing =).
I apologize if someone has already asked a question like this already. When reviewing the lightfastness of this product, you mentioned that you would then look for a UV resistant fixative. If I use prismacolor premier (which you know have several colors that are not lightfast), and I use a UV resistant fixative, do I not need to worry about fading? I'm relatively new to the medium and don't really have any work old enough to know from my own experience. Thanks, and I love your channel!
thanks for your review of the intense. I have a 24 block set and LOVE them. I use with both watercolors and color pencils. Funny, I had not thought of using them by themselves. I love that they are permanent and you can wash over layers. I must try your damask stencil on my artwork, love the look!
+ebeth0944 I got that stencil from amazon if that helps. I'm spreading my damask obsession! haha!
What a beautiful painting! I have the Derwent watercolor pencils. Have not really gotten to use them but once or so. Have you used these and did you like them?
Amazing piece. Interesting use of the pencils and inktense at the same time. Looks to be a very cool medium. I'm surprised the company doesn't know how to preserve the medium yet. Of course, its very early for a new medium to prove it out over time.
OMG! Love those Intense pencils, and NOW I have to get those Inktense Blocks, thanks to you! Seriously, loved your video. Very informative, and the flamingo is absolutely beautiful. I would appreciate any suggestions on the brushes you purchased to go with your Inktense products; I'm feelin' it, too. I can't go hog wild, so a basic set suggestion would be great. The one you were using on the small detail on the flamingo looked really "pointy"...great for the detail.
it's amazing to watch your videos, and "SEE" how things come to life. beautiful! when i first started watching, i felt 'talktalktalk, crap, you're fast!' lol. but, you give great reviews with a lot of information on the items. thank you for honest opinions, and the details on things! wonderful videos :)
Its amazing! Oh my God! I love this pencils! I will put them on my favorite list, to try them. I have a question... they are permanent, so you need to clean the brushes just with water...water & soap, or thinner? Because of the permanent issue???
Great review and tutorial! I have the set of 12 pencils and I love it.
You mentioned that the 12 block set is great for starting out since you can mix a lot of colors easily from them. I've found that by picking up color from the tip of the pencils with your brush and using the lid of the tin as a palette you can get a large range of colors from the pencils as well. Mixing large amounts of color this way might be difficult, but it works great for working in a sketchbook!
One thing that wasn't mentioned in your review and that I found out by trial and error is that although the Inktense are permanent after they have dried, you can actually reactivate them if they've dried on a non-absorbent surface. This way you can reuse the colors in your mixing area, even if they've dried up.
+Luikatjie I noticed that too! I kept reusing the areas I had mixed on the palette. It was really nice!!
I got these after watching this and I absolutely adore them, I got the 37 artist set with 21 pencils and 10 blocks including the white the best set to get into this medium if you ask me, next on the shopping list is a nice big set of luminance pencils. have you already combined these two products in a piece Lisa? I'm not really interested in selling my work but I do want to be able to make high quality images for digital storage, this I can't do with my work in pastel, so I'm really looking for a way to have the same high vibrancy of soft pastel with a sturdier more manageable medium. My guess is that the combination of inktense underpainting and luminance finishing will give me just that.
Hi there. Thanks for a great review. I have no experience with watercolors, or inktense blocks, but am going to purchase a set to start playing around with. On training videos I've seen that artists soak and then stretch their water color paper. I see your paper also has the tape on it. So my question is: Do you recommend the soaking and stretching for working with inktense, or will it work fine if you just start drawing with the blocks?
glad you give it a try... love the colors after adding water to the mix..
+Noel Nolazco Me too :)
Tried both of these again after your tutorial !!! LOVE these now, I just didn't know how to use em..... Thanks a lot !
+Sarah Kashuba I'm glad to have helped! :D
You can get a non reflective uv protective glass to have your work framed with for the ones you are keeping just FYI
Just started with the intense pencils, love them and finding the videos really helpful thankyou. What paper is best with these please, hot press or cold press
That was great. I'm excited to try them. Would using watercolour in the background and inktense in the foreground work?
you're awesome and I'm so glad I saw this video as I'm looking for new media to play around with and you've definitely sold me on these. keep up the fantastic job you do online it's full of talented skill and practical info I love love love your work.
I bought the Inktense pencils because of you review on the earlier video....I didn't know they came in blocks too!!!! Oh no...I need to buy more LOL!!!!! Thanks for such a great tutorial!!!!
+Deborah Lynch Actually, you probably don't have to purchase the blocks, because you CAN use the pencils in a very similar way, just use water and a little tray and either scrape off some of the 'lead' or use your paint brush and water to put the Inktense into the tray. I hope that helps :)
+Loren Ipsum thank you for the tip.....more money for other supplies LOL!!!
Hi Lisa, great review! I mainly work with Polys and was wondering what are your thoughts on using the inktense as a base layer before going in with the polys... would it work or would you suggest just sticking using them separately.Would love to hear your thoughts! Thank you x
You should try the ph martins hydrus fine art watercolors, they don't lift up after applying multiple layers.
Great review and GORGEOUS artwork. Thank you for all your wonderful videos.
Thanks so much Lisa for all your videos! Re: Inktense Pencils, a question:It may seem obvious, but, what is the Outliner pencil actually for? And what else?
i would actually recommend the pencils over the blocks, if i wish to get a non grainy watercolor effect, i just cut out a small tab of paper and scribble whatever color blend i want right onto the tab...then put that tab into water and with a brush i just all the pigment off into the water, it works absolutely amazing.....if you want a richer color, just do another tab...and its super easy to make any color you want that way with complete control
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Very informative :) I love the brilliant colors and the fact that it's permanent. I'm definitely going to pick up a set of these!
Very informative and detailed review. Thanks for such a thorough review and your artwork is wonderful!
Wow.....your great! Just love your art style! I have the 36 set....learning what they can do....you helped me a lot. Thank you!
Thank you :)
*You're
that was so informative, thanks a lot. I am buying them one by one - it's cheaper that way and i just get what i'll use - i'm so impressed by all the uses for them i've seen online, but i still learnt a lot from your tips. I'm definitely getting the orangey colour - i've already got the poppy colour!
+Josephine Winter :D
Lisa, thank you so much for this review. I'm, as always, In awe of your skills! Lovely flamingo, but gee those bees buzzing around would be annoying for the poor bird!
Derwent products are very easy to access in Australia open stock in art stores, etc, which is great because I love them, so I pretty much have most of their products. I agree the wooden box is AWESOME, the foam and magnet board pencil holders work really well, look very smart and if I knew then what I know now, would have bought the box version versus the tin for the watercolour pencils I have. That all being said, pretty much everyone who buys the 72 tin set of any of their products comment that the plastic used is flimsy and prone to breaking. Because of the two layers the top layer is the main problem as moving it all the time the corners crack. There are many RUclips vids on how to use cardboard or foam to strengthen the plastic or build a strap to assist lifting the top tray.
My suspicion is most people would like a tin or box to keep the products in and sorted from their other products, refilling with open stock as needed. How long would you reasonably expect the 'packaging' to hold up in a product? Five, ten, twenty years Is it even important to you?
What is your impression of the plastic used to make the trays? After using the product for a while have you found it to be a problem? Compared to all the other products you have and have tried is it comparable to other products? All I can compare is to a 48 set of prismacolour. My suspicion is the plastic used is only part of the problem, it's the combination of the width. Pulling up the top tray the tray bends on the diagonal bias and its the twisting combined with the plastic that causes the breaks. Prismacolour larger sets come in multiple smaller trays so the twist doesn't come into play. But again I have nothing else to compare the Derwent to.
Thanks.
+O2BSoLucky I think you're right. I don't think the plastic would last long term. Thanks for the tip about looking up videos to reinforce the holder, I'm going to do that for sure!! I wonder if Derwent would sell replacement plastic trays when they do break. That would be really convenient.
Lachri Fine Art
I honestly fear how something so thin and long would last through the whole shipping process. I would be definately willing to pay a bit more for a better product to start with.
I've thought about filling it with resin or some other selley's gap filler product, something flexible. I might one day experiment with the 12 pack insert from my Derwent metallic watercolours (fun BTW, but don't stay very metallic when wet). If I stuff up, I could live with just having 12 in a tin, 72 would drive me bonkers wanting to find the colour I like!
Thanks for the vid. I just brought a few Intense pencils to play with and I am smitten by the intensity of the color. Sad about the lack of lightfastness buta great medium to do studies with!
Omg. You're telling me these aren't lightfast? Why do companies make crap that doesn't stand up to time? These aren't cheap. You'd think they'd make them all lightfast. Ugh. I just bought a ton of these lol. I need to watch these before I spend cash. Like the caran d'ache ones. Replaced my prismas with em and I couldn't be happier. I can get more than 2 sharpenings off of a pencil now!!! WHOHOO!
Because that is not something they decide.. it is how PHYSICS work. In fact NOTHING is lightfast. All pigments.. ALL will fade eventually when exposed to UV long enough. The term lightfast is very very badly used by artists as a binary quality that either you have or have not. Lightfastness is a continuous gradient that have as many levels as there are substances in the universe. For some people lightfast enough can be 20 years of exposure.. for others it must be 400 years... (hint NO pigment ever invented can resist sunlight exposure for 400 years without a glass in front of it)
I want to get these for christmas. Lisa can you tell me if they are lightfast now, or anyone out there know anything about this issues. I'm doing a lot of paintings for my kids and I'ed love for them to be passed now threw the family. Thank you so much for any help you can give me. It's a lot of money to weight if they are not archival worthy.
I love your style and art work.
Sorry I should have watched the video first and then I would not have ask the questions above. So a lot of them are not lightfast, its been a little over a year sense you've made this video. Where do I go to ask if they have made improvements in their inktense products ?
I really love the Inktense pencils, they really are good fun. But, as you pointed out in the video, lightfastness with water activated ink is an issue. I still love using them, but I mainly use them for bits and pieces in my sketchbook. I wouldn't use them for any commissioned work, simply because I can't trust that what I paint/draw will last.
+Anonymous I'm SO curious to see how they hold up under the Krylon UV protecting varnish/spray. It would be great if that would keep them safe.
You've inspired me to buy a 12 pack :) Just ordered, and it should be here next week, yay! Thanks for the excellent review!
+Becky G Have fun with them!! :D
It looks amazing :) I have the tins for both the 72 for pencils and blocks, I really like them. I know they are different, but sometimes I combine my Caran d'Ache Supracolor Soft (120) and the Inktense; it's sort of cool looking having the watercolor effect over the permanent.
+nezzers79 :D
you did super great job on this video explaining the pros and cons good job on adding the demonstration of this product 🙌
+george valentine Thanks :)
Your welcome now I'm going to have to get a set of this product
lol, contacted by Derwent - you go girl! Lucky you on getting the sets of Inktense. We need a discount these are so expensive! Couldn't you just acrylic paint to intense the white?
How do they compare to Faber Castell's artist's grade watercolor pencils? They are called albrecht durer.
You can't compare them because they're not the same medium