I purchased a set of Derwent Lightfast pencils
I’ve used Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils since 1985 and I teach all my classes and courses with them. Even my Copic Marker classes have Prismacolor details on top of the marker layers.
My long-time students are reading the “I Bought Derwents!” headline here and scratching their heads. Should we worry about swarms of flying pigs?
Amy’s using something other than Prismacolors? This is strange. What’s going on?
Do you need to rush out now and purchase a set of Derwents too?
Well, let’s talk about the problem with new product and unboxing reviews.
New product and unboxing reviews are not very helpful. It’s irresponsible to rate a product with only a few minutes of use. Good art supplies reveal themselves slowly over time and with testing. Beware of fast opinions and comparison demos, they’re as misleading as paid product endorsements.
Do you watch unboxing videos?
And do you enjoy reading art supply reviews where the author tells you about a great new product they just tried for the first time?
Look, I’m right there with you. Before I buy an art supply I’ve never used before, I roam the internet looking for advice from people who have experience with the product. The more I can learn, the more demonstrations I can watch, the more confidence I have in making my own purchase.
Maybe you do the same thing, learning before you invest.
But are we fooling ourselves?
Even without the mandatory legal warnings and sponsorship disclaimers, we all know to be wary about glowing reviews for sponsored products.
What we don’t always notice is that unboxing reviews and watch-me-try-it-for-the-first-time videos are often worse than sponsored reviews.
Unboxing reviews are incredibly misleading!
More Colored Pencil Tips:
Don’t miss my previous colored pencil articles and tips!
So I bought a new set of pencils?
Yes, I’m a bit slow to the party.
Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils are not new; the line was introduced in mid-2018 to a lot of fanfare. Lightfastness is a major issue with colored pencils. Most brands have at least a few colors that fade badly over time. Derwent Lightfast are the first to be developed entirely for archival properties.
The problem is, there aren’t very many lightfast pigment and color ingredients. Many lightfast formulas are proprietary and secret.
To make a lightfast pink pencil, if a lightfast pink pigment doesn’t already exist, the Derwent chemists have to fiddle around to develop one. This process can take months, years, or even decades. Then they have to test to make sure the pencils conform to standards. Lightfast tests take time.
As a result, Derwent has been slow to create a well balanced, workable color range in the Lightfast line.
Their introductory batch was only 36 pencils and mostly dark greens, dark browns, with a circus assortment of odd colors. They pushed the easy lightfast colors out first.
Honestly, my first reaction to the original color list was “yuck!” Then I was stumped about what I could possibly color with such a weird color assortment. Maybe the introductory set was lightfast but it sure wasn’t practical.
I’ve waited to purchase a set because until now, Derwent simply didn’t make enough of my most-used colors.
With their latest expansion set, I finally felt like I could actually work with Derwents instead of mish-mashing a bunch lightfast pencils from the various brands.
Pssstttt… frankly, I don’t mind mish-mashing sets. That’s standard behavior for artists. But I can’t teach with mixed sets because the supply list would be unaffordable and unmanageable.
So this month, I took the plunge, bought the big box of 100 Lightfasts, and I colored my new Sleigh Bell digital stamp with them.
Now you’re likely wondering: what do I think of my new colored pencils?
Do I love Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils? Do I recommend them? Will I start teaching with them?
The truth is, I really don’t know.
And I won’t know if I like these pencils for many, many months.
A fresh out of the box review means nothing.
First impressions are worthless.
Good products reveal themselves over time.
The stars in your eyes…
When you buy a new art supply, you’re full of dreams, hopes, and wishes.
This product will open new worlds for me! I’ll finally make the art I’ve always wanted to make. This new set of pencils will make coloring easier-faster-smoother-vibranter-creativer-and-totally-artabulous!
You wouldn’t be buying new pencils if you didn’t have big plans.
Potential.
That’s what you’re really purchasing— the potential to make improvements to your artwork.
The feeling of infinite potential is the most wonderful part about a new art supply. It feels great to be inspired and motivated.
But that sense of invincibility makes it hard to think clearly.
So when someone tells you
“Ohmygosh! I love these new pencils look at all the pretty colors and the pretty paint dipped ends and oh they look so pretty on the paper!!!”
They’re not telling you anything about the pencil in their hand, they’re expressing excitement for the future.
You’re not getting an accurate product review.
And experience isn’t a factor here. I get stars in my eyes over new products too. It’s a universal reaction, for everyone from newbies to seasoned pros.
Two minutes out of the box? We’re all twitterpated.
You have to wait for the romance to die down before you can tell us if you’re really in love.
Is this a “reach-for” colored pencil?
I am not writing a product review here. I can’t. I don’t know the product well enough to praise or criticize them.
The true test of a product is time and usage.
Months later, do you still reach for your new-ish colored pencils or have you slowly reverted back to your old stand-bys?
Because honestly, there’s a very good reason your stand-bys are your stand-bys.
You reach for certain products again and again because there’s something you like about the way they feel, the way they look…
Good products work their way into your mind and heart.
An expensive high-quality pencil isn’t worth the extra cost if it doesn’t become an extension of your hand.
Here’s an example: I’ve purchased Polychromos pencil sets more than once. I keep selling my sets because every time I use them, I get physically angry.
Many people love Polys but I can’t stand the way they feel. The color core is brittle, they don’t bounce, the color lays down wanly over previous layers.
The last piece I did with Polychromos had me literally in tears. I hated every minute of that project. I’m done with them. Finished.
They’re not the pencil for me and I won’t recommend them to students.
In contrast, I love Holbein Colored Pencils and I’m pretty fond of Mitsubishi Uni Pencils too. Coloring with them is an absolute joy. But like Polychromos, I also don’t reach for my Holbeins when coloring because I can’t get openstock replacements. I love them but the scarcity element means they’re also not a pencil I’d recommend.
Over time, you start thinking in terms of certain colored pencils. They worm their way into your thinking and your vocabulary. There’s a certain blue that will always be Prismacolor Indigo Blue to me and a deep wine red that is always Luminance Crimson Aubergine. I carry these colors in my heart and reach for them without thinking. These are the pencils I can honestly recommend.
You can’t accurately review a pencil you’ve only used once or twice.
You don’t know enough yet.
Don’t trust unboxing reviews and first time product demos because they haven’t used the product enough to know if it’s a reach-for product.
A professional can make anything look good!
Here’s the other issue with first-time-I’ve-used-it reviews…
A professional can make 2 broken crayons and a moldy eyebrow pencil look good.
YouTube is full of people duplicating the Last Supper and the Sistine Chapel in ball point pen. This doesn’t mean ball point pens are quality art supplies.
Skill can override the worst qualities of many products.
Sometimes the brilliance of the demonstration piece has nothing to do with the colored pencil or marker.
Be careful that you’re not blinded by talent.
SMART TIP: Investigate the products your art heroes use repeatedly in their own work. This is a better recommendation than actual product reviews.
Do you need Lightfast Pencils?
I said before that I love my Prismacolor Premier pencils and I’m very fond of Caran d’Ache Luminance too.
So why am I looking at new colored pencils anyway? What’s wrong with what I’ve got?
My work is almost always used digitally or sold as prints.
But occasionally I do give or sell original artwork. In these instances, it’s irresponsible not to use the most archival products available.
Sadly, many of my favorite Prismacolors fade over time. I switch to Luminance for archival projects but their color range is missing several key colors. Derwent Lightfast can expand my archival color palette.
But do YOU need to replace your Prismacolor pencils with Luminance and Lightfast pencils?
Probably not.
If you’re one of my Copic Marker students, please stick with Prismacolor Premiers.
Why? Because Copic Markers are NOT lightfast. It makes no sense to replace your colored pencils with an expensive brand of archival pencils. What’s the point if the markers going to fade on you anyway? Your artwork was always destined to be scanned and archived digitally.
Despite all the hair-on-fire rants you’ll hear from people about using evil, wicked, non-lightfast pencils, Copic people should keep using Prismacolors. There are wonderful benefits to Prismas, like their buttery softness, dense pigmentation, and extremely thorough color palette with no missing colors.
Plus, most brands of colored pencil won’t stick to quality marker paper! Prismacolor actually works on marker paper. Oil-based pencils do not!
If you lean more towards my watercolor + colored pencil classes, perhaps you should consider upgrading to archival pencils BUT ONLY IF YOU’RE USING LIGHTFAST WATERCOLORS!
If your’e not using a lightfast base-product, you don’t need lightfast pencils.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS NOT A DERWENT SPONSORED POST. I PURCHASED MY LIGHTFAST SET FROM VIOLETA-INK.COM USING MY OWN MONEY.
My first impressions of Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils
As I said earlier, this is not a Derwent Lightfast review.
I’ll continue to use and test this product over the next few months. Maybe then, when I feel like I truly understand how the product behaves in a variety of situations, I’ll write up a true review.
But for now, I’m just testing them out. I’m learning.
So far, I really like them.
They’re firmer than Prismacolors, perhaps a tad firmer than I usually like but they felt very good on the Cryogen Curious White cardstock shown here.
Like Polychromos pencils, I don’t recommend the Derwents for use on X-Press It Blending card. Hard pencils never seem to work well on marker papers and cardstocks.
The pencils all sharpened beautifully and I’ve not found an off center core or checks in the wood.
I know I can’t use just Derwents alone; there are still too many gaps in the color palette. I had to be picky about my image, choosing something I had all the colors for. But even then, I ended up borrowing a couple of Prismacolors to finish.
The Lightfast white is pretty darned good. I used it on the cranberries with great success but for the bell, I had to pull out my trusty Prismacolor white. I still think Prisma has the best white pencil on the market but Lightfast is almost as good and better than the Luminance… at least so far. I may learn otherwise with further use.
I fell in love with Derwent’s medium green Foliage color. The closest color I can compare it to is Prismacolor’s Limepeel. Foliage has less yellow to it and the two would work well together. I plan to add Foliage to my frequently used pencil mug which never leaves my desk. I’m smitten!
Lightfast also has an excellent substitute for Prismacolor’s Indigo Blue. It’s called Denim and it has a LF1 rating (the best). Indigo Blue is only a lightfast level 2 (LFII).
Speaking of which, Lightfast has 2 pencils close to my most used Prismacolor Dark Purple which fails all lightfast tests (LFIV). Derwent’s “Purple” is LFII and is a bit more muted than Dark Purple. “Deep Rose” is a bit more magenta (also LFII). Both colors are good substitutes and almost as translucent as Dark Purple.
Derwent Palette Holes: Muted Turquoise, Greyed Lavender, Carmine… Actually, I find the reds, pinks, and yellows to be sorely lacking and there are wide gaps in the medium to light greens and medium to light blues. To be fair, Luminance has many of the same palette holes and until someone plugs them, I’ll have to use Prismacolor supplements.
Other peeves:
I’ve never liked Derwent’s color indicators. They dip just the end of the pencil in matching paint but it’s only 1/2 inch deep and it’s done on a diagonal so you lose even that half-inch if the pencil is rolled the wrong way. It’s very hard to grab the color you want at a quick glance. I much prefer deeply dipped ends or full body paint for fast identification.
There are no identification numbers on Lightfast pencils and I know this will lead to student confusion. At least they gave everything a pronounceable name (looking at you, Luminance and Polychromos!) I’m used to paint names but most students slaughter names like Anthraquinoid, Quinacridone, and Dioxazine.
The writing on the pencil is very easy to read (unlike Luminance) but there’s something weird with the way they’ve stamped the color names. On several pencils, I’ve had to use an emery board to soften a rough edge around the impression. This shouldn’t be necessary on a premium pencil.
Lightfast, like Luminance are a fatter diameter pencil. I like the feel of a chunky pencil. Unlike many students, I have a sharpener which can accommodate the width; most hand-sharpener fans will have to buy a wider sharpener for these pencils.
The wooden box looks glamorous but the trays are not well designed and I’ll be moving these to better drawers soon.
I don’t feel like I can ethically teach with a set of pencils which retails well over $200 and still has color gaps.
All in all, I’m very encouraged by my one experience with Derwent Lightfast and I’m eager to keep coloring and learning more about them.
Especially for Vanilla Arts readers!
Violeta Ink now carries Derwent Lightfast pencils!
$40 off Derwent Lightfast 100 pencil set.
Use code DERWENTVANILLA at checkout.
Sale code ends at midnight, December 24th, 2020
It’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride together…
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Class was recorded in October 2020 and featured a live student audience. Amy answers questions from the students and offers many tips for better colored pencil art.
Select Products used in Sleigh Bell:
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