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We’ve been working through the Characteristics of a Quality Colored Pencil. It’s a big list and we’re almost done.

Last Saturday, we covered how the legendary smell indicates quality.

Today, let’s talk about you.

JUSTIFICATION

This pencil series covers what I look for when I open a box of prospective pencils.

I hope you can forgive the me-me-me quality of it all. My Quality list is a personal point of view. I can only tell you what I value in the hopes that you’ll look deeper than whatever’s trending in your social media feed today.

But you know what?

List schmist!

None of it matters if the colors aren’t right for YOU.

Now before we go any further, let me point out something very important:

It has taken me TEN FREAKIN’ WEEKS to finally get to the thing you probably do first.

You open a box and once the fairy dust settles, you start to go pencil by pencil…

I can use this color for tulips and then this color for teddy bears and I’ll use this color for pumpkins and OMG, this color is perfect for Santa’s left nostril!

I’ve heard people do this, right in front of me— I show you a box of expensive pencils you start naming potential projects for every color.

You think you’re being smart and logical but it’s really just justification.

You’ve already decided you want them, now you need 16 reasons why.

And they’ve gotta be good excuses, the kind that’ll stand up in court when your husband sees the credit card bill.

So yes, this week, coming dead last on my list, we’re finally looking at the individual colors in the box.

But instead of doing it your way, let’s try it backwards.

Here’s our sample rainbow set again, the one you thought was pretty good until I ripped it to shreds five weeks in a row…

Sorry about that.

But if I haven’t said it enough, this set wasn’t chosen as a ringer. I honestly went through Amazon looking for a set that looked pretty good from a distance, something we all might buy.

Now instead of looking at quality, let’s judge the practicality of the colors.

Okay, we’re doing this backwards, remember?

Instead of starting with the bottom-left red pencil and coming up with 25 reasons why you need that particular shade of red…

You’re better off thinking about what you like to color.

Let’s say we color nothing but flowers. Roses. Daisies. Peonies. Pansies.

I think I’d use everything in the red tray with the exception of the last few teals. A little teal is good but we don’t need that many, especially three that similar.

How many pencils from the second tray will you use for flowers?

And before you say “backgrounds”, bite your tongue. We’re coloring flowers, not mythical backgrounds.

So how many pencils in the middle tray will you use for flowers, eh?

Darn.

Okay, the tray at the top. How many flower colors are we looking at?

13?

Okay, if my math is correct, half the set is good for flowers and the rest are rubbish.

But hang on because if you’re a flower person, there’s something important we need to look at…

What’s the green count?

See, I actually do color a lot of flowers and I see five greens. Of those greens, I like the Apple Green on the left and I like the Sap Greens on the right…

But I don’t need two Sap Greens!

And in-between? I’ve gotta say, I’d probably never touch the middle light greens. They’re too blue.

So should a flower fan buy a set of pencils with only two functional greens?

I’m gonna side with your husband on this one.

Okay, how about you animal lovers? How many pencils will you use?

Now don’t start dreaming of peacocks in party hats and painted tree frogs— most animals are brown or at least neutral in color.

What’s the count for animal projects?

Three fur colors in the bottom tray. Twelve in the middle. Six up top in the brown section and even that’s being generous because those are some wild browns.

So this set is worse for animals than flowers? Huh.

Okay, how about landscapers or urban sketchers?

Lest you call me a Debbie Downer, I actually think I’d use a lot of this set for scenery.

The lack of greens is still a problem but I could manage it.

Same for foodies. I may not like the browns for animals but they’re not bad at a bakery.

A food fan doesn’t need so many blues but as I said a few weeks ago, nobody needs that many blues.

I could use this set for food illustration, could you?

What about the people who color people?

As much as I hate the term “skin tones” because frankly, if an art supply says “flesh” on it, I’m highly unlikely to ever use it on actual flesh… but hey, I’ll play along.

How many flesh tones do you see for portraiture?

Uhhh… I think you can color me and Boo Radley but you’re gonna have issues coloring anyone darker than Revlon’s #02 Freakishly Fair.

Are you into fan art, super-heroes, or manga?

This set might work. It’s low on realistic skin tones but that’s generally not an issue for these genres.

And there’s plenty of bright-brights to cover every color of spandex.

Look at the rainbow backwards.

Instead of justifying each pencil, color by color— justify the set by your genre.

Because intention is not enough to complete a project. We all have drawers full of great intentions gathering dust. Some of you have a closet full plus a box in the attic you’re hoping they won’t find until you’ve left this mortal coil.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how amazing the quality of a colored pencil is.

And it doesn’t matter what a great price you’ve found.

If you can’t use the colors or if it’s missing what you need, it’s not a good fit for YOU.

Is this pencil available openstock?
Is the laydown thick, smooth, and generous?
Is the pencil hard or soft and do you have a balance of both?
Solvents, Bloom, and Sharpening
Are there pointless colors in the box?
Are there warm and cool versions of every major hue?
How many repeats and near-repeats are in the box?
How many magic pencils are in the box?
Is the pencil made from cedar or another protective and stable wood?
What do you color most and does the set provide your key colors?

We’re done with the Quality List but we’re not done with colored pencils yet.

Next week, we’ll talk about reach.

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It’s spring and we’re all in pastel mode again.

So you grab your three lightest pinks or sub-zero purples and… well…

Why do pastels sound pretty in theory but look so darned boring on paper???

Delicate Tulips explores several ways to add your unique artistic voice to the same ol’ pastel combinations everyone uses. Once you see how easy it is to personalize your pastel blends, you’ll never go back to the standard method again!

Our monthly Wonkstream broadcast covers the entire tulip coloring process.

Tulip printables are available for download in May. Watch the livestream recording any time over the next 12 months.

JOIN COLOR WONK NOW