Swatching & testing coloured pencils! Luminance vs Prismacolor vs Polychromos ✏️

Рет қаралды 6,214

Күн бұрын

Hi all! So excited to share this week's video where I compare some of the best coloured pencils, swatch them all in my sketchbook and test them all out! I compare the Caran D'Ache luminance, Prismacolor Premier and the Faber Castell Polychromos and test the bending, hardness, line thickness and layering for each. If you've been wondering what pencil would be best, then this one is for you! Hope you enjoy and thank you for watching ❤️ Katie x
🧡 M A T E R I A L S
Caran D'Ache Luminance Coloured Pencils
Individual pencils * : www.jacksonsart.com/caran-d-a...
Set of 20 * : www.jacksonsart.com/caran-d-a...
Prismacolor Premiere Coloured Pencils
Individual pencils: UK: colouredpencilshop.co.uk/inde...
Set of 20 *: amzn.to/3sP6g50
Faber Castell Polychromos Coloured Pencils
Individual pencils * : www.jacksonsart.com/faber-cas...
Set of 24 * : www.jacksonsart.com/faber-cas...
The above starred (*) links are affiliate links. I'll get a small commission if you buy using these links but at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your help supporting my channel!
💜 C H A P T E R S
00:00 Intro
00:55 The types of pencil & pricing
03:34 Faber Castell Polychromos Swatching
04:41 Prismacolor Premier Swatching
05:39 Caran D’Ache Luminance Swatching
6:56 Hardness test
10:51 Line thickness
12:44 Sharpening and durability
17:54 Blending test
22:35 Layering over gouache and acrylic
25:18 Black and white tests
27:59 Final thoughts & roundup
29:44 Extro
💛 L I N K S
Patreon: / katiemoody
Instagram: / katie_moody
Facebook: / katiemoodyart
Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KatieMoo...
Newsletter: www.katiemoody.co.uk/newsletter
Blog: www.katiemoody.co.uk/blog
💙 M U S I C
YT Audio Library
Music by Even Kicks - Il Pleut des Cordes - thmatc.co/?l=8FF95C24

Пікірлер: 72

@robertadrsvensson 7 ай бұрын

I loved this comparison, Katie! The Polys should be layered, they work differently from the wax-based colouring pencils. I like the Polychromos more as I started with them and since I am so used to layer, I do not get the wax-based pencils as much :)

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing, Roberta! That does make sense that they'd need to be built up with layers - I didn't think of that! I think it's so great that we have so much choice with coloured pencils! 😄

@melaniesalavante 7 ай бұрын

Omg thanks for this! Literally searching for videos comparing polychromos and luminance the entire weekend because looking to get some pencils that would be great to use with markers and watercolors on mixed media work. Thanks so much, Katie!

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Oh that is perfect timing!! So glad this is useful for you 🥰 thank you so much for watching 💕

@evelynevelyn107 7 ай бұрын

My Prismacolour pencils broke easily until I researched and bought a sharpener with the handle crank (I don’t know the proper name of this type of sharpener, you use the handle in a winding motion). You don’t even need an expensive one, mine is $10 from Muji and it comes to a long sharp point. Because these types of sharpeners shave tiny bits off the pencil rather than chunks, there is no breakage of the lead (unless it was already broken internally). Since then, I haven’t had a Prismacolour breakage. Hope this helps anyone frustrated with their Prisma’s. I love my Prisma’s; snagged them at a good deal on Amazon a few years ago. I have not seen it at that price since.

@janicepruitt3458 7 ай бұрын

I bought one of the small pencil sharpeners made by prismacolor pencils bc I take them with me to go to friends to do art. The prismacolor sharpener works great.

@evelynevelyn107 7 ай бұрын

Is it the cylindrical design sharpener? I have that one too but my Prisma’s still broke with that one.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Oooh this is really interesting and a great tip! One of my patrons mentioned this too, so it's good to hear another recommendation! I wonder what it is about normal sharpeners! I have a crank one somewhere so I'll definitely dig it out to use for my Prismacolors 😊❤️ Thank you!

@C0raBr0wn 6 ай бұрын

I would definitely add a few Derwent Lightfast pencils to your next art supply order. I only have three colors (Pine, Dark Honey, Light Bronze). I like them even better than Luminance. The colors feel slightly richer or more saturated and they go on very smoothly. These are oil based, so there's probably a place for both Luminance and Lightfast in a pencil collection.

@KatieMoody 6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for the recommendation! That's really helpful to hear your thoughts on them, I'll keep my eye out and try those! 😄

@emmaneary6120 7 ай бұрын

I think your results were exactly how I found them to be as well 😁. But for me the Polychromos win as I want the harder nib for building up layers and they keep a sharper point for longer. I was really put off Prismacolor by how easily they crumbled when sharpened.

@KatieMoody 6 ай бұрын

Glad we're on the same page, Emma! I can totally see why Polychromos suits some artists, especially for a more detailed style like yours 😄 I've heard in the comments that the Prismacolors break more depending on the pencil sharpener!

@impish22 7 ай бұрын

There goes Katie again, making my weekend more fun and colorful.. Thanks again, I love these comparisons, great information Katie !!! Great timing with Black Friday coming up

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Aah you are the sweetest! Thank you so much 🥰

@monikaazariah9237 7 ай бұрын

What a detailed video....thankx so much for Katie....i simply love your work ❤

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, that means a lot 🥰

@AngelicscalliwagsArt 7 ай бұрын

Wow, this was so comprehensive! Thank you 🧡

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that 🥰

@miiaproductions 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for making this video, been waiting for it since you got the polychromos 😄 I have a small set of prismacolor, I live in Norway and they are not available at all here. So I have been really interested in trying the polychromos or the luminance, but they are really expensive here so I don’t want to buy both. Thank you for your thorough review and I love seeing all the experiments you do, it’s really helpful 😄🧡

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching and for your patience! 🥰 I do wish they were cheaper (I wish that for all art supplies really 🤣) so I'm glad this was helpful!

@xAlluraWhite 7 ай бұрын

I love color pencils! Thank you for making this video! ❤️❤️❤️

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

You're very welcome! Thank you so much for watching 🥰

@evelynevelyn107 7 ай бұрын

My Prima’s blend perfectly when I start with light gentle overlaps then slowly press harder. There are some professional colouring KZfaq channels that teach this well. One of them is Colouring Bliss.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

I am always so amazed with some of these colouring channels - the blending is mind blowing! I think I need more patience to do it myself 🤣

@Janartable 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this review Katie!! I have a set of 24 Prismacolor but would like more colors. I think, after this review I will buy Luminance, by the color to add to it!

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching! The Luminance are definitely my favourites 😍 I hope you love them as much as I do!

@bandzis 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this comparison! Always new discoveries :) I did animal drawings a while ago and Polychromos were considered the ultimate 'workhorse' - price, quality and traits balance working in layers on animal fur and such. I guess their relative hardness is what made them so great for doing the layering almost endlessly without overworking the animal depiction. Now when I am doing more mixed media I find that I use them very rarely apart from a few pencils because as you show in the video some softer pencils (like Luminance, Prisma, Holbein, Derwent) just work much better on different media surfaces and are much better suited for a mixed media layering.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I can definitely see why - I think the Polychromos will last for ages and like you say, would be super useful for animals and the details in fur etc! I think the thin line would be really useful for that. Glad to hear you agree about the others with the use of mixed media too! 🥰

@abundantwildflower1276 7 ай бұрын

What a great test, Katie! I've never tried Luminance, but I can see why you love them. I have an old set of Karismacolor by Berol, which have now been superceded by the Prismacolor. I've had all the same issues with breakage and sharpening with those, but the vibrancy is way better than Ploychromos. I have a full set of Polychromos as they were more available and affordable than other professional grade pencils so seemed a good investment. I do love the longer lasting sharpness of their leads but there is a loss of vibrancy. If I may add here about Arteza colour pencils, their artist grade ones, I bought a set in lockdown and I would say they are really good Prismacolor dupes and I actually use them more than my Polychromos because they are more vibrant and easier to blend. Again, there have some sharpening issues but Arteza are really good at replacing free of charge items if you have any problems.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Vicki! A few comments have said that it depends on the sharpener with the Prismacolors and how that helps for them not to break! The Polychromos work so well for detailed work so I can definitely see them working with your style! Interesting about the vibrancy but very helpful to know about the Arteza brand too! They sound like a fab alternative 💜 Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts 🥰

@ViviGonzalezArt 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for this wonderful video Katie! 🙏🏻☺️🌺

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Viviana! 🥰❤️

@felinefurkin4275 7 ай бұрын

I hadn’t realised the Luminance are perhaps softer than Prismacolor, good to know. Thorough comparison, this is interesting to see.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much 😊 I'd definitely say the Luminance is the softest coloured pencil I've tried so far!

@user-kc9dn9lj3o 7 ай бұрын

Thanks Katie - that was an excellent video!

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! 🥰

@teresabarroso.oficinac 7 ай бұрын

Great review Katie! From the brands I tried, Luminance are still my favourite 🤩 I also like Holbein.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Teresa! I've not tried Holbein before!! 👀 Which would you say they are the most similar to?

@annefeuermann8395 7 ай бұрын

@@KatieMoody Hi Kathie, i tried the Holbein and they are similar to.... i don't know! i would say a mix between neocolor and luminance. Really, ! They are reallllly creamy and the colors are lovely. I bought a little set second hand, to try, and now i think i will try to buy some pencils to replace my old polychromos (i don't like poly, i have a set of 24 for ages! i use them because i don't like wasting things). i saw on jacksons art you an buy some holbein pencil one by one. maybe in your next order you can add 1 or 2 pencils to make your own opinion. I am a big fan of Luminance!!

@kathyhackney7950 6 сағат бұрын

Man, if prisma would up their game a bit they could charge more. Ooooh i got it! They should make a jumbo pencil like cretacolor! That way, it could still be sharpened but the lead wouldnt break nearly as easily ❤

@alicecilepin9370 4 ай бұрын

Yea this was very helpful thanks. I was thinking about getting the Prisma but like you said you can’t get them open stock and they wear down a lot, I have a few open stock of each of the luminance and the poly and I like the strength of pigments in both but probably enjoy the feel of the softer lead of luminance more, but like the polys for sharper lines all in all I think I’ll be adding more to my luminance collection. I’m using my brutfuner squares and macarons atm aswell which are a nice budget pencil but the pigments are much stronger in the luminance so yea I’ll build them up slowly here and there….. 👌👍

@KatieMoody 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts! Sounds like we have the same preferences with coloured pencil types 😊 The polys definitely work best for sharp lines and I can see how they're used for precision work! I've not heard of Brutfuner squares or macaron brands before!

@alicecilepin9370 4 ай бұрын

@@KatieMoody Yea I heard about them through Lindsay the frugal crafter on KZfaq. She recommends them as being a great budget pencil. Brutfuner do make different sets but from what I hear, only the brutfuner squares (which come in a 120 set) have the soft core and are more wax based and the brutfuner macrons are also similar but not quite as soft. Where as other sets by them are harder from what I understand….

@ChantelleArts 7 ай бұрын

sch a good video, loved it ❤❤

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much Chantelle! 🥰🥰

@bethmegansmith4642 7 ай бұрын

Hello Katie , thanks for sharing .I have the 120 set of the Poloychomos and 20 set of Luminance. Got mine in a Sale for £40 from cult pens they had a sale …..I want the 100 set of Luminance. as I color and sketch hahahaha but they are very expansive ekkk . in 2022 I sold a full set of 150 Prisma Colors on eBay to buy Polychomos. I got all mine open stock from cult pens . I love my polys they are good to use for details. Great for blending .I use the white poly for blending . thanks for sharing Happy Art xxxxxxx

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Oh that is such a good price for Luminance! Definitely worth looking in the sales, I'd love to build up my Luminance collection more too 🥰 Great to hear about the white polychromos being good for blending - thanks for the tip!! 🧡

@bethmegansmith4642 7 ай бұрын

@@KatieMoody hope it helps xxxxxx

@kathyhackney7950 6 сағат бұрын

I've only ever used one polychromos that I bought to replace a light green pencil I had in another brand and I'm wondering if I just got a dud because it's sooooo scratchy and I have to press so hard. I typically use prismacolor and derwent drawing though so I'm used to the creamy smushiness of those. I have been wanting to give Holbein and luminance and derwent light-fast a try. I wonder which is the smushiest of those three 😂?

@artiskalai1970 7 ай бұрын

This was really helpful. Thanks for doing this! I am curious about the lightfastness of them. Especially the Prismacolor (if they were lightfast, I would choose them because they are so much cheaper for me). I know it doesn't matter in a sketchbook but for finished artwork that is meant to hang, it makes a difference. Love to hear your thoughts on that.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching, so glad it was helpful! I very rarely think about lightfastness when it comes to my art because I'm mostly doing it for the action of creating, rather than the result and most of my art is in my sketchbooks. Having said that though I do create some originals too! I often assume most artist-grade pencils have good lightfastness, but I've done some research and found a helpful article that I'll link below by Veronica'sArt! It seems that it varies depending on the pigments, but most brands I've shared have good lightfastness overall - except for the Prismacolors which is interesting! veronicasart.com/lightfastness-ratings-of-the-best-colored-pencils/

@artiskalai1970 7 ай бұрын

Yes, that explains why prismacolors are so much cheaper (in the US) than any of the other well known brands. I love their softness and the price so I will still use them in my sketchbook but will stay with luminance, Derwent lightfast and polychromes for any art that is meant to be hung@@KatieMoody

@Julie-vy3oz 7 ай бұрын

I’ve bought luminance, derwent lightfast, and prismacolors. Honestly I love my prismas! And at least in the US they’re so much more affordable. I’m not a big fan of the Polychromos but I know people like them. Great comparisons. Thank you!

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Oh that's great to know! I've not tried Derwent lightfast before but I do have a few Derwent Drawing pencils! Thanks so much for watching and commenting 💜

@marielouiseweeksb33attitud33 4 ай бұрын

Thank you for this Katie. I’ve already got the polychromos and a small set of primacolor and was toying whether to spend as much on the luminance. This was helpful.

@KatieMoody 4 ай бұрын

So glad it was helpful and hopefully explained a bit more about the differences with Luminance! Thanks for watching 😊

@agentxp0749 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video, love pencil comparisons! :-) The Derwent Lightfast pencils are my faves, followed by Luminance and Polychromos. To me, the Lightfast feel the softest next to prismas, followed by the Luminance, and the Lightfast also blend together beautifully.

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! The Derwent Lightfast are a brand I've yet to try but have heard really great things! So interesting that you say they're even softer - I'll have to try it out! Love that you can blend between the different brands too. Oh yes, I do!! I have an old set of the 100 Polychromos pencils I bought at an auction recently. I have that much coveted light violet! How lucky 🥰🍀

@agentxp0749 7 ай бұрын

@@KatieMoody In that case you might also have the 2 other discontinued colours, light blue and soft black ✏️ :o Oddly when I first used the Lightfast I didn’t think they were that soft, but after using them for a while, I find them very creamy. They have less crumbs than Luminance, and they blend together to mix new colours beautifully. Their natural colour palette also compliments the luminance very nicely imho. :) If you do try them, I heartily recommend the colour ‘Foliage’ its a beautiful natural sap green colour 💚

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

@@agentxp0749 I do, I have all three!! I had no idea they were discontinued - now I want to hoard them and not use them 🤣 Thank you so much for that recommendation, I'm keen to try them out and see how they compare! Foliage sounds like a beautiful colour 😍

@ericapickering8101 6 ай бұрын

@@agentxp0749 I have the Prismas, Lumis, Lightfast, and Polys…I agree with you on the Lightfast! To me they almost seem like a happy balance between the Luminance & Polychromos. Luminance felt more…almost chalky when I first started using them, but they’re growing on me! If I had to rank those 4…it would be Polys, Lightfast/Luminance (I combined my sets), Prisma. I like the harder leads because it forces me to have a lighter hand & think more. With Prismas I would go in too heavy & not be totally happy with the end results. So interesting how different brands complement different styles! I started with adult coloring books to learn blending, shading, etc…just starting to experiment with original drawings & mixed media.

@cheataview 7 ай бұрын

❤❤❤❤❤

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

Thank you for watching 🥰

@devanshi2193 17 күн бұрын

Have you tried the derwent lightfast?

@KatieMoody 16 күн бұрын

I have a couple of them and I really like them! I'd like to expand my collection but I do not need any more pencils 🤣

@devanshi2193 16 күн бұрын

@@KatieMoody haha! I completely feel you. I got the set on discount, I just wanted to know how they compare to luminance in terms of layering, I completely understand on what you mean that the polychromos are too transparent

@bethmegansmith4642 7 ай бұрын

I learned to color in with polychomos and them got Luminace hahahahah

@KatieMoody 7 ай бұрын

I always think I have enough but then I still buy more 🙈

@bethmegansmith4642 7 ай бұрын

@@KatieMoody Hahahahah Yes More hahahah