Colored Pencil Tips & Techniques:
The History and Types of Colored Pencils
It's All About Colored Pencils!
Colored pencils are a relatively new medium. Colored pencils were first introduced in the early 19th century. However, it wasn't until the early 20th century that colored pencils were of a high-quality standard. For the longest time, colored pencils were not considered a serious art medium and were scoffed upon by prestigious art galleries and fine artists. Today, however, colored pencil art is becoming more and more widely accepted in galleries and winding up in the hands of many art collectors. Renowned colored pencil artists such as Vera Curnow, Ann Kullberg, Alyona Nickelsen, Gary Greene, Jeff George, Jeffrey Smart Baisden, and Jesse Lane have helped this medium find its way into well-known art galleries. Thanks to these and many other colored pencil artists, colored pencil art is now regarded as a serious art medium.
Historical Timeline of Colored Pencil Companies
- During the early twentieth century, the colored pencil core was developed. The core consisted of a combination of pigments or dyes and a binder.
- In 1761, a small factory in Germany began making the pencils Kaspar Faber, later to become the world-famous Faber-Castell company. Over time, the company has improved the quality of its colored pencil and has created "modern techniques of industrialization" of colored pencils. In the early 1920s, the A.W. Faber Company began selling over 60 different shades of colored pencils for artists. Faber-Castell is considered one of the most popular brands of colored pencils today.
- In 1806, the German company Lyra was established by the pencilmaker Johann Froescheis.
- In 1832, the British company, Derwent, began manufacturing pencils, and in 1932 they developed their first colored pencils.
- In 1834, Staedtler produced their first oil pastel colored pencil, and in 2005, they developed a protective Anti-Break-System (A•B•S) coating for colored pencils to keep them from breaking.
- In 1855, the Schwan-STABILO Company was established in Germany. In 1925, they developed and launched the first thin-lead colored pencil.
- In 1790, L. & C. Hardtmuth Company of Austria and Hungary introduced their Koh-I-Noor brand pencils. They named the pencils after the famous diamond. Their woodless colored pencils were later developed and sold under the “Progresso” trademark.
- In 1913, the Tombow Pencil Co., Ltd. was established in Japan, and they began manufacturing colored pencils. They are known in the colored pencil world for the Tombo Irojiten Colored Pencils in which the company introduced in 1988. "Irojiten" is the Japanese expression for "color encyclopedia."
- In 1924, in Switzerland, the company Geneva Fabrique pencils changed its name to Caran d'Ache after a famous French cartoonist. In 1931, they developed Prismalo, the first water-soluble colored pencil. In 2008, they developed a high lightfast set of colored pencils called Luminance 6901. Caran d'Ache is one of the most popular colored pencil brands of today.
- In 1938, the Eagle Pencil Company introduced the Prismacolor Pencil. In 1969, the Eagle Pencil Company changed its name to Berol Limited. Later in 1995, Berol was purchased by Sanford. Sanford Prismacolors is one of the most popular brands of colored pencils today.
Types of Colored Pencils
There are many brands of colored pencils available in the art market today. Which colored pencil do you pick? Before selecting any colored pencils, there are several things to consider.
First, there are four different types of colored pencil bases available: wax-based, clay-based, oil-based, and water-soluble-based. Second, there are many pros and cons for each type of colored pencil. Last of all, each type of pencil can be applied in different ways, using various techniques.
The wax-based colored pencils can tend to leave a build-up of wax or white film on the artwork, and they can require a few coats of fixative. However, compared to oil-based colored pencils, wax-based colored pencils are more affordable, creamy, smooth, and blend well.
The oil-based colored pencils can be very expensive. In addition, oil-based colored pencils tend to smear or smudge easily, and they tend to have harder leads so, they are not as soft nor creamy as wax-based colored pencils. However, oil-based colored pencils do not require any coatings of fixative. In addition, oil-based colored pencils are water-resistant, and most brands are break-resistant.
The clay-based type of colored pencils can be very dry but are great for details.
Finally, water-soluble base pencils can be applied either dry or wet. They have a very rich assortment of colors. However, if the water-soluble pencils are going to be applied as a wet medium, they must be applied to durable paper.
My advice is to experiment and explore. Try them all! You may find you might like several.
Below are lists of Professional grade colored pencils and watercolor pencils available. I will be adding more as time allows.
Professional Grade Wax/Clay Based Color Pencils
- Caran d'Ache Luminance Colored Pencils (76 colors available, smooth, soft and lightfast, water resistant). Color Chart
- Derwent Coloursofts (72 colors available, soft, smooth, blends well, velvety, lightfast, little wax bloom, acid free, water-resistant). Color Chart
- Prismacolor Premier Soft Core Colored Pencils (150 colors available, blends well, vibrant, soft, smooth, creamy, lightfast, water-resistant, not break-resistant).
- Prismacolor Premier Verithins (36 colors available, hard thin lead, great for details).
- Tombo Irojiten Colored Pencils (100 colors available, many soft pastel colors, smooth blending, medium hard waxy leads, some colors are extremely light, great for detailed work).
Professional Grade Oil Based Colored Pencils
- Caran d'Ache Pablo Colored Pencils (120 colors available, dry lead, water-resistant, lightfast). Color Chart
- Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils (120 colors available, lightfast, smooth, break-resistant, water-resistant, smudgeproof).
- LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor Premium Oil-Based Colored Pencils (78 colors available, lightfast, blendable, water-resistant, no wax build-up, mixes well with Prismas, great for detailed work, hard lead).
- Marco Raffine Professional Colored Pencils (72 colors available, vivid colors, smooth, soft lead).
- Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils (100 colors available, soft to medium lead, smooth, velvety, vibrant colors, lightfast, strong points). Color Chart
- Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Colored Pencils (72 colors available, water-resistant, are wax-based but contain special oils in the pencil lead, smooth, lightfast, dense strokes, not break-resistant, great for detailed work). Color Chart
Professional Grade Water-Soluble Based Pencil Brands
- Caran d'Ache Supracolor Soft Aquarelle (120 colors available, water-soluble, lightfast, soft). Color Chart
- Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle (76 colors available, water-soluble, lightfast, soft). Color Chart
- Cretacolor Marino Watercolor Pencils (36 colors available, water-soluble, lightfast, soft, blendable).
- Derwent Watercolor Pencils (72 colors available, water-soluble, smooth, creamy, soft, lightfast, blends well).
- Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils (120 colors available, smooth, water-soluble, lightfast).
- LYRA Rembrandt Aquarell Artists' Colored Pencils (72 colors available, lightfast, smooth, water-soluble, bright colors, blendable).
- Prismacolor Premier Water-Soluble Colored Pencils (36 colors available, smooth, creamy, water-soluble, blends well, lightfast).
- Staedtler Karat Aquarell Premium Watercolor Pencils (60 available colors, smooth, soft, water-soluble, blends well, break-resistant, vibrant, lightfast).
Discontinued Colored Pencils
Design Spectracolors was once a popular brand of pencils that were discontinued in the year of 1997. Design Spectracolors were first made by the Venus Pencil Company (established in 1956). In 1973, the Venus Pencil Company was purchased by the company Faber-Castell. Then, in 1994, Design Spectracolors were discontinued when the company Berol Prismacolors bought them out. The Prismacolor product line was expanded soon after the company acquired Design Spectracolors. I still have a partial set of these pencils that I continue to use. They are very rich, smooth, soft, and creamy. The only con of this brand was that the core pencil lead tended to fall out on some of them. From time to time, you can find them listed on eBay.
Berol Verithin Colored Pencils (manufactured by Berol) or Eagle Verithins Colored Pencils (manufactured by Eagle Pencil Co.) are a rare vintage find. In 1995, they were switched to Prismacolor Verithins when Sanford purchased Berol. I still have some of these pencils from when I attended art college back in the early 1980s. They certainly have improved color pencils since then. These tend to lean more towards the student/scholastic grade and are very similar to present-day Prismacolor Verithins with a wax-based firm hard lead.
References
CARAN D'ACHE. A Century of Know-how. CARAN D'ACHE, The House, Our History. Web.1 May. 2020.
Derwent. Our Story. Derwent, About, Company. Web.1 May. 2020.
Fila Group. History. Lyra, About Us. History. Web.1 May. 2020.
KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH. Quality Since 1790. KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH, About us. Web.1 May. 2020.
Prismacolor. About Us. Prismacolor, About, Eagle Prismacolor. Web.1 May. 2020.
STAEDTLER. STAEDTLER® and the Coloured Pencil. STAEDTLER, Company, Tradition and Innovation. Web.1 May. 2020.
Tombow. Company History. Tombow, Corporate, About Tombow, Company History. Web.1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Berol." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 2 Apr. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Caran d'Ache (company)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Mar. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Colored pencil." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Mar. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Cretacolor." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Oct. 2019. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Derwent Cumberland Pencil Company." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Dec. 2019. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors."Faber-Castell." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Apr. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Feb. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Schwan-Stabilo." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Apr. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Wikipedia contributors. "Staedtler." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Apr. 2020. Web. 1 May. 2020.
Keep on Creating!
