Derwent Artists Colored Pencils Review

Derwent is a British company producing quality art materials since 1832. They specialize in producing drawing pencils. Derwent Artists colored pencils are one of the leading pencils in the world. Products are crafted in such a manner to deliver world-class artists’ materials.

Artists pencils

When creating these, attention was paid to even the smallest details. From design to quality and usability, it’s simply impossible to find a single thing that is not perfect in Derwent artist set of coloured pencils. When using them you can really easily tell that this is a product made by the company with a long tradition and experience.

There are 120 colours in the range and since they are wax based they are ideal for blending so your pallet is endless, all that limits you is your imagination. There is also a set of 6 warm and cool tones of blacks and wites ideal for sketching, portraits and more detailed illustrations.

These definitely get one big “yes” from me.

Appearance

From packaging to the overall look of the pencil itself attention was paid to every single detail. When you get a set of Derwent Artists colored pencils you see you have a product of pure class.

Pencils come in sets of 12 pencils colours are deep cadmium, orange chrome, deep vermilion, crimson lake, imperial purple, spectrum blue, Prussian blue, mineral green, grass green, golden brown, copper beech and ivory black, set of 24 pencils containing lemon cadmium, deep cadmium, orange chrome, deep vermilion, rose pink, crimson lake, imperial purple, light violet, spectrum blue, Prussian blue, kingfisher blue, mineral green, emerald green, grass green, may green, olive green, terracotta, brown ochre, golden brown, copper beech, ivory black, blue-grey, gunmetal, Chinese white, set of 36 pencils containing  Lemon Cadmium, Straw Yellow, Deep Camium, Orange Chrome, Scarlet Lake, Deep Vermilion, Flesh Pink, Rose Pink, Crimson Lake, Magenta, Imperial Purple, Dark Violet, Light Violet, Blue Violet, Ultramarine, Spectrum Blue, Prussian Blue, Kingfisher Blue, Jade Green, Mineral Green, Emerald Green, Grass Green, May Green, Cedar Green, Olive Green, Bronze, Vandyke Brown, Brown Ochre, Raw Sienna, Golden Brown, copper Beech, Terracotta, Ivory Black, Blue Grey, Gunmetal and Chinese White, set of 48 pencils, in a beautiful wooden box containing the following colours: Lemon Cadmium, Straw Yellow, Deep Cadmium, Orange Chrome, Scarlet Lake, Deep Vermilion, Flesh Pink, Salmon, Rose Pink, Crimson Lake, Magenta, Imperial Purple, Dark Violet, Light Violet, Blue Violet, Ultramarine, Spectrum Blue, Sky Blue, Prussian Blue, Indigo, Phthalo Blue, Kingfisher Blue, Jade Green, Cobalt Green, Spruce Green, Mineral Green, Emerald Green, Grass Green, May Green, Cedar Green, Olive Green, Chartreuse, Parchment, Bronze, Burnt Umber, Vandyke Brown, Brown Ochre, Raw Sienna, Golden Brown, Copper Beech, Terracotta, Light Rust, Burnt Rose, Taupe, Ivory Black, Blue Grey, Gunmetal and Chinese White, set of 72 pencils contains Zinc Yellow, Lemon Cadmium, Gold, Primrose Yellow, Straw Yellow, Deep Cadmium, Naples Yellow, Middle Chrome, Deep Chrome, Orange Chrome, Spectrum Orange, Scarlet Lake, Pale Vermilion, Deep Vermilion, Gernamium Lake, Flesh Pink, Pink Madder Lake, Rose Pink, Madder Carmine, Rose Madder Lake, Magenta, Imperial Purple, Red Violet Lake, Dark Violet, Light Violet, Blue Violet, Delft Blue, Ultramarine, Smalt Blue, Cobalt Blue, Spectrum Blue, Light Blue, Sky Blue, Prussian Blue, Indigo, Oriental Blue, Kingfisher Blie, Turquoise Blue, Turquoise Green, Jade Green, Juniper Green, Bottle Green, Water Green, Mineral Green, Emerald Green, Grass Green, May Green, Sap Green, Cedar Green, Olive Green, Bronze, Sepia, Burnt Umber, Vandyke Brown, Raw Umber, Brown Ochre, Raw Sienna, Golden Brown, Burnt Yellow Ochre, Copper Beech, Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, Terracotta, Burnt Carmine, Chocolate, Ivory Black, Blue Grey, Gunmetal, French Grey, Silver Grey and Chinese White and set of 120 pencils containing Lime, Zinc Yellow, Lemon Cadmium, Gold, Primrose Yellow, Champagne, Straw Yellow, Buttercup Yellow, Deep Cadmium, Naples Yellow, Middle Chrome, Deep Chrome, Orange Chrome, Spectrum Orange, Scarlet Lake, Pale Vermilion, Deep Vermilion, Bright Red, Geranium Lake, Flesh Pink, LIght Sienna, Salmon, Ash Rose,  Pink Madder Lake, Rose Pink, Rioja,  Madder Carmine, Claret, Crimson Lake,  Rose Madder Lake, Plum, Grape, Magenta, Heather, Soft Violet, Imperial Purple, Red Violet Lake, Slate Violet,  Dark Violet, Light Violet, Blue Violet Lake, Delft Blue, Royal Blue, Mid Ultramarine, Teal Blue, Pale Ultramarine, Ultramarine, Smalt Blue, Cobalt Blue, Spectrum Blue, Light Blue, Sky Blue, Prussian Blue, Indigo,Ash Blue, Phtalo Blue, Oriental Blue, Midnight Blue, Kingfisher Blie, Turquoise Blue, Turquoise Green, Jade Green, Cobalt Green, Fir Geen, Spruce Green, Distant Green, Phtalo Green, Juniper Green, Bottle Green, Water Green, Mineral Green, Emerald Green, Grass Green, May Green, Sap Green, Cedar Green, Grey Green, Olive Green, Moss Green, Light Moss, Chartreuse, Green earth, Parchment,Olive Earth,  Bronze, Sepia, Felt Grey, Burnt Umber, Terracotta, Sunset Gold, Vandyke Brown, Raw Umber, Brown Ochre, Light Ochre, Yellow Ochre, Raw Sienna, Golden Brown, Burnt Yellow Ochre, Copper Beech, Burnt Sienna, Venetian Red, Autumn Leaf, Rust, Light Rust, Mahogany, Burnt Rose, Mars Violet, Taupe, Bistre, Burnt Carmine, Chocolate, Mars Black, Ivory Black, Blue Grey, Gunmetal, Storm Grey, French Grey, Silver Grey, Fell MIst and Chinese White.

And you can also purchase each of the pencils separately which is great if you want to start with the smaller set and add colours you need later on.

Sets of 48 and 120 come to you in a classy wooden box which is definitely worth having, while other sets come in a tin box. The pencil case is made out of high-quality Cedar wood it is 8mm wide coloured in racing car green.

The casings are round which some artists may find as a disadvantage because they can easily roll off the drawing table and some think they are less comfortable to use. I do not see that as a disadvantage at all they lay very nicely in the hand, maybe for some, it just takes a bit of getting used to the shape. On the pencil, you will see several details written in gold letters.

First, there is written the name of the country in which the pencils are produced which is  England followed by the name of the company and brand name of the pencil, the name of the clour and at the end the number which makes it really easy for you to find any individual pencil if you ever need to restock. The end of each pencil is coated in the colour which is exactly the same as the colour you get while drawing with that particular pencil.

Derwent Artists pencils are wax based meaning the pigments in the lead are tied with wax. Lead is 4mm wide. Pigments are really rich and lightfastness is good. Even tho the lead is wax based it is very resistant, you can sharpen your pencils to a very thin point and it will never break even with a lot of pressure applied while drawing.

Performance

Led is nice and wide covers a lot of surface while you draw but it is also good for detailed work because it is break resistant and you can sharpen your pencil to a very thin point. They are ideal for layering and blending so even if you buy a smaller set you can blend them and get all the colours you need.

Like with any wax based pencil you get a bit of blooming if too many layers are applied but that can easily be avoided if you use some solvent. Also, you should be careful when working because they tend to flake a bit which is not a problem if you use a nice clean and dry brush to clean the drawing from time to time. When sharpening the pencils, which you really wouldn’t have to do very often I recommend you use the electric pencil sharpener.

Pigments are nice and bright. Good resistance to light. Price is more than acceptable for artist range pencils. There is not one single bad thing I could tell you about Derwent artists pencils. If you are looking for quality and longevity you should definitely go for Derwent.