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I don’t remember when I heard of the Holbein colored pencils for the first time, but I do remember being interested in them for a long time.
A few years ago, they weren’t easy to find, but when I did find them, they were way too expensive. I couldn’t afford them and thought I’d never get my hands on them, until I found them on Amazon.jp. They were almost half the price there compared to other online stores, so I decided to buy them.
If you want to see what they look like, feel free to watch my swatch video.
MY THOUGHTS ON HOLBEIN COLORED PENCILS
The first thing that struck me when I opened the box the pencils came in was how beautiful and colorful they were. The box contained three rows of pencils. Row one was filled with stunning yellow, red, blue, purple, and green pencils. The second row contained earthy colors and the third row was filled with beautiful pastel colors.
They were like candy for the eyes.
There are two white colored pencils – White and Soft White. It’s recommended to sharpen the Soft White with a knife.
The pencils have similar thickness to the Caran D’ache Luminance and coloring with them is a lovely experience. They are creamy and smooth, and they blend well, but they aren’t the pencils I reach for whenever I want to color in my adult coloring books.
They do work in adult coloring books, but I find other pencils, like the Faber Castell Polychromos, more suitable.
WHO ARE THE HOLBEIN PENCILS FOR?
If you like using Prismacolor Premier pencils, and are looking for something in a higher price range, then the Holbein pencils might be for you. They don’t require a lot of layering and their creaminess reminds me of the Prismacolor pencils. Yet, I don’t think they are the best-suited pencils out there for adult coloring books.
They are easy to use and come in 150 different colors, and if you love pastel colors, then you have an entire row of pencils just for you. The pencils come in many different sets, and they even have a set just with pastel colors.
I do not regret buying them and I mostly use them for coloring manga and cartoonish pictures. I find them to be a great asset to my steadily growing colored pencils collection.
AVAILABLE AT:
Jackson’s Art
My husband just purchased the 150 set of Holbeins. I’m very excited! I got a small tin of pastels months ago, and I do love the pigmemtation in them, and the smoothness and creaminess of the application.
Currently, I color in books, but the ultimate goal is to illustrate a book.