Very pretty! I wonder if the reason for their hardness is cultural? Like, maybe a special japanese pencil or art technique? I feel like they could also be good for writing letters or something. They'd certainly be hardy in a classroom!

I randomly picked them up.

I appreciate your review. I was so attracted to the colors in the Irojiten sets and bought all of them. I tried to make them work, but they were just too hard for me. Hard, scratchy, and hardly any color saturation meant I ended up gifting them to my niece. I don’t regret that choice. They were not the pencils for me.

I've been using Black 3.0 for a few years in home cinemas for touching up reflective items such as visible screws heads that just can't be physically hidden. It's superb and sensible money.

Wait...I think there's an error. It says you have 2.76k Subscribers...not 2.76 Million. The production quality is too good to be that undersubscribed. Welp, let's add one really quick!

I really like their lightest (pastel) pencils to use in combination with other brands in my mixed media pieces - possibly because of their hardness, they deliver a light colour no other brand I own really gets (when used at higher pressure). Also because of this, I like using them as 'blending' pencils in combination with my Polychromos. But I have to admit, I haven't used the more 'vibrant' hues in the pack as much, because for those colours, other brands are just better.

I prefer the barrel to resemble the lead color. Easier to find what color you need.

I bought these pencils years ago and never used them past swatching them because I hated them so much. Besides the blending issues, they are so hard and scratchy. So if you like hard and scratchy consistency pencils, I would recommend them. If you like a creamier softer core, you will hate these like I did and I would recommend POSCA or Prismacolor pencils instead. I also really love my Holbein pencils, but those are incredibly pricey and if you sell your art, Holbein has questionable light fastness. I just use them in my sketchbook so light fastness doesn't matter to me. I really wanted to love the Irojiten pencils though so it was such a disappointment when I tried them out and they were so hard, scratchy and difficult to blend and layer.

What would be a better substrate to mix with musou? alcohol could be an alternate as it could hydrate more than distilled water could. Also would a primed and scuffed surface provide better adhesion while getting more outputs from the bottle?

Your show is amazing and knowledge is impressive. Why this show should isn't number one on KZfaq is beyond me. Can you do the Derwent Drawing pencils next please thanks 😊

I think I would like these in combination with the polychromos, especially after seeing how your drawing with these turned out.

The Tombow watercolor markers also come in Kits and individually. The kits are purposed for a style, look, mood, of painting (like your painting of death). The lack of reds and browns is to restrict those colors in the creation of a picture to stay true to the look, however there are blending techniques to get around that, which I am certain they had in mind as well. Tombow colors do have a lot of similar colors, it’s relating to the style of kits, however the similar colors do blend significantly differently. With Tombow colors I put the light color down first, then blend over with the darker colors. It looks to me Tombow applied the same color schemes with their pencils as they did with there markers. Looking like a traditional Oriental style art supply I’m assuming the color pencil style of painting it is designed for light application to begin with then layer in the dark patches. The watercolor marker kits seem designed for western watercolor painting. I find the Tombow brand to be a lot like Faber-Castle, hit or miss.

I personally love these pencils, even if admittedly they are very hard. Up until 2024 before the expansion of the Chromaflow line, they were Derwent’s line with most hues (126), though unfortunately the only 120 set comes in a wooden box, and there is a separate six set for shades of black and white (whose body is not green but black). So you have to go through hurdles to get the full range. It also seems like Derwent is slowly phasing them out, as you can rarely find them open stock in most outlets.

I was supper excited when I received my set they look so pretty.However a bit disappointed with the vibrancy of colour and poor blending. However as you commented Sunshine they are a joy to use.

I own the limited edition Landscape set of 24 that came in a wrap case. The case design is almost like a fabric version of the dictionary book and was my reason for buying it. At first, I didn’t love the pencils because of how hard they were, but I was always drawn to play around with them simply because they are so gorgeous and feel nice in the hand. After a lot of trial and error, I’ve found the papers that they perform best on, and I’ve started to really enjoy them, especially as a travel set for urban sketching. If you own these pencils, try using them on Midori MD Cotton paper and you might enjoy using them more. That paper works well with even the cheapest, hardest leads.

OMG CECIL!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🦜🦜

I got the full set at a really great price (a third of their usual price) but they were still quite expensive, so I was really disappointed the first time I tried them. I had decided I would resell them, but then I talked myself into testing them once more before parting with them and suddenly things clicked and I really loved them. You have to put them down in quite small, delicate motions, and build them up layer after layer. It takes longer to do than with creamier pencils but the results are beautiful and can get quite saturated. Now I love them and would never part with them. For me the only negative is the lack of lightfastness. But they are a pleasure to use in my sketchbooks

I didn't know that Japan had colouring pencils! That's a shame that they didn't blend well! But now I'm tempted to get these pencils! Also a wild dinosaur was spotted! Hallo Cecil <3

I had a feeling these would end up being a middling pencil when you started testing these - not because they're bad, but because I think they fill a little bit of a niche that most other pencils don't do. While I probably wouldn't reach for these to do an art piece, they have been working wonderfully in one of my colouring books (Hanna Karlzon's Daydreams) and I feel like the intention is to use a couple of sets together. It does require buying more than one of the assortments, but I feel like you're _meant_ to use the pale tones 1 and 2 together same with the dull tones 1 and 2, and then the others fill in gaps to allow for gradients within the colour families. Working outside of the colour families is a lot more tricky, so I agree with you in that these seem to be "colouring book" pencils as you can create some nice blends so long as you keep to that rule of using most colours from the same set type, but for more specific works where you want (and _need_) to create those gradients from different families, there are many other options around

These pencils are so interesting! Honestly, despite the limitations you'd identified, I thought they seemed cool and inexpensive enough to possibly check out... and for some reason on the UK site, the same set is £65! (That's AUD $123, can you believe?!) Guess I'll stick with my bland but functional Derwents 🙃 As always, love your thoughtful and rigorous testing and review process! x

Love this series. Would you review Caran d'Ache?

I own all 100 colors but have transferred them into a case. I love the looks of the boxes they come in but it wasn't very practical and took up a lot of space. I also needed a place for the extra 10 that I picked up from Cult Pens when I was ordering some other things. The yellow that you picked is one of the lightest ones. I do wish there was a white. There is a black, its not terrible. I like that they are hard since I can be a little heavy handed. They look and feel really nice and there is a lot of different colors that don't come in other sents that I have. I really like them over all, though they are not like my other pencil sets. I kind of think of them as their own art supply.

It’s strange and frustrating that there are 10 colors not included in these three sets, and yet tombow doesn’t offer a good storage solution for them. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to not care about storage and display when one of the main selling points of the irojiten is their book-shaped containers.

Wouldn't it be a 200% increase?

Very cool pencils, pity they dont blend well but I sorta just want them to play with that box!

Thank you I wanted to know which was the blackest but not enough to pay for the Culture Hustle paints. Also feel I should say, I haven't noticed a smell with my Musou maybe it changes from jar to jar.

I'm starting to think that black 3.0 and 4.0 are just coffee grounds that are burned in an oxygen free environment (until only carbon remains) combined with as little binder as possible so that the binder doesn't shine through. I honestly want to try and make it now and save myself 99% of the cost.

I've used all three of them EXTENSIVELY on multiple surfaces and varied applications and I agree... Musou is the clear winner. However, I must disagree with you on the smell. I haven't really noticed it much at all and I certainly don't wear a gas mask using it.

Can whe meet

Follow the direction: USE A PRIMER and you'll have no problem with the paint sticking

Hot little hands? Get a reality check

Are these different to the Eco range? I find they are aweful to color with

First I loved this video I actually subscribed quickly in to it Ty and very entertaining. Second. I have used black 3.0 and had very good results that last for years on canvas. One thing I suggest you try is thinning it down and do multiple thin coats with even a sponge brush to reduce brush marks. As these are able to be thinned extensively for airbrush they work were well thin. Every layer seems darker than before. I do have airbrushes now but oddly have not used the 3.0 ( I guess I will give that a try soon)

I love how you test the pencil pressure results using a scale. Your channel is very professional. So glad I found it!

Im a graphite guy just now dipping my toes into color. Saving up for a set of prismacolors and set of polychromos. I feel like im cheating using colored lol.

Can I get this for hair and beard? 🧔🏻‍♂️

Your video was spectacular as always so charming so fashionable like those gorgeous ladies presenting products on the tv for auction or selling the news thing on the 📺. 💘💗😍🫠. I didn’t know Lyra existed, now that I know I will get one. Thanks to you and your amazing well organized and fashionable video all is perfect 😍. I want to see more of your content. Color pencils war also graphite in The future if possible…. Step by step no rush. 🐇

Not a painter but I love the testing set-up and feel you did a great job showcasing the differences. Great work!

The "4" on the Black 4.0 box looks like a middle finger to Anish Kapoor. I do not believe that is just my imagination

I'm getting that set and the 150 prismacolor set I'm getting back to my arts roots and loving it!

Thanks for the review, the pressure with a scale is interesting to see. It is a way to review different pencils I have not seen done by other artists online. One tip/suggestion is you should post shorts of this video maybe the first or last test sped up with the pencil type and a link to this full review. I think it would help people looking at certain aspects of art supplies and help people find your review! A request I would have liked to see in this review (regarding pressure) how hard you would need to push with a blending stump to spread the pigment and if the pencil smudges if you rub it with your finger. Now I'm off to look at your other videos.😊

Her dress was the blacker

every prop-maker says that to make the best metallic paint finish, you need to use a gloss black primer.

If you do ever try/test out the Holbein Pastels, I'd highly recommend getting the Soft White pencil as well. It's not part of the set, it's a separate pencil, but it is a very unique white - and yes, make sure it is the _Soft White_ as there are two whites from Holbein

I find that Derwent Lightfast does brilliantly in the really dark and really light colours - and with the whole 100 set it really shines with its vast range of values, but the set of 36 is definitely a curious choice and indeed consists of LF1 rated pencils and honestly there was no good mid-value green you could have chosen. Spruce green and Forest are similarly dark, and Mallard Green is turquoise. Mid Ultramarine is the same, no good mid-value blue to choose from With the full 100, or even the 72 set, Vivid Green and Denim would have been good options but naturally that wasn't possible here; and going down to 48 would mean swapping Vivid Green for Grass Green but still allow for nice mid-value colours. Curious as to your thoughts on the Tombow Irojiten as I just bought those myself, and wondering if Caran D'ache Luminance will ever get a look-in, expensive as those are

I was looking for this. Gosh I've never watched such an amazing and detailed product review!! You're amazing! Maybe you wanna try out some Indian brands of colored pencils? Doms and Brustro! Thank you ❤And you're so beautiful 🥺❤️ Edit: I checked out your website and all your artwork is so cute and beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for creating these wonderful videos! I love the scientific unbiased approach!

Hi, I'm from Brazil, I was looking for some reviews to buy and your video was awesome Tks!

Hii, Nice review! Well done! I also have this koh i noor progresso and i also might do a review about them sooner or later. From now i am still having fun using them and testing in Multiple ways.I bought them in a trip to Croatia and there they were surprisingly cheap for their quality. Your review is technical, you actually Talk about the most important topics we should consider when chosing a pencil color. Very complete, well done for that! I would add something to this review, once on my tests i am not that technical- testing them in a colorful paper (example Kraft). They are truly amazing and actually pop comparatively to other pencil colors. I think their potencial is in this and in the fact that the pencil is woodless (and you can use similarly to pastels or charcoal ) - i think you referred this last One. The way they blend, is different from other brands - for example, in the case of caran d'ache luminance or on the case of bruynzeel, the colors really blend and transform In other color - you really get green from mixing blue with Yellow. With progresso blending is not that smooth, but it works somehow. I really love to work with them - a thing that i dont like that much in them is the color selection - i would expect to have more difference between the light blue/green to the dark blue/green. But white helps a lot getting different Shades. They are amazing! Try them on different paper 🙂

For some *really* strange and niche Koh-i-Noor pencils, try the Tri-Tone (wood pencils) or "Magic" (both wood and woodless pencils in several formats) line: they're pencils with a mix of 3 colours in each pencil so as you lay colour it keeps changing. Some of the mixes are less surprising like lighter to darker greens or blues, some other mixes are more exotic like red-purple-black or grey-orange-red.