When to use artist-grade colored pencils for adult coloring.
I enjoy adult coloring, and I love exploring all the different ways I can express myself with the pages of a coloring book. One day I am in a jungle, and the next, I am in a fairyland. I can use the same colored pencils for each coloring book. Examples of the pencils used in adult coloring include Prismacolor Premier, Derwent Procolour, Castle Art Supplies, Arteza Expert, and Black Widow.
- Also see the article: “Buying Colored Pencils? Everything You Need Know (Guide)“
Others in my coloring community have often asked, “When do you think I should get artist-grade pencils?” My answer surprises them when I say, “probably never.” Don’t get me wrong; I thoroughly enjoy my Caran D’Ache Pablos, Caran D’Ache Luminance, Farber-Castell Polychromos, Holbein Pastels and Derwent Lightfast. Do I need them for coloring books? No, not for my adult coloring.
I think these pencils are designed for both the artist and creative professionals. I thoroughly enjoy using these pencils. I am an adult colorist who loves to spend time and effort creating beauty and using imagination in coloring books. These pencils were a want, a splurge, a binge, and I read a few reviews, watched a few videos, purchased a few open-stock pencils, and the rest is history.
Before I started using these pencils, I did a lot of practicing to upgrade my skills, and I just wanted to ensure I was getting the most from my efforts in using the pencils. I don’t use these pencils for just any coloring book. I made a conscious decision to specifically use these pencils for the artist editions coloring books from my collection like:
- Hana Karlzon-Daydreams Artist’s Edition
- Johanna Basford-Enchanted Forest Artist’s Edition
- Johanna Basford-Secret Garden-Artist’s Edition
- Maria Trolle-Twilight Garden Artist’s Edition
- Rachel Reinert-Botanical Wonderland-Artist’s Edition
- Millie Marotta-Millie Marotta’s Wild Savannah-Deluxe Edition
I can be extra proud of the coloring I do with these pencils. If you are an artist/professional, I am sure these pencils are high on your acquisition list.
You can achieve the same results with Prismacolor Premier, Derwent Procolour, Castle Art Supplies, Arteza Expert, and Black Widow. I chose to use the artist-grade pencils in this book.
How can you decide if an artist-grade set is suitable for you? Most artist-grade coloring pencils have what is called open stock. When a color in a set needs to be replaced, you can purchase that one color from online stores, like DickBlick, Amazon, HobbyLobby, JerrysArtarama, CheapJoes and more. Here is what you do.
If you are trying to decide on whether to purchase a particular artist-grade set, I would suggest that you purchase 3-5 five open-stock pencils of that set (e.g., about $2.50-plus U.S. DickBlick.com) to get a feel for the pencil in coloring, layering, feel in my hand, sharpening and so forth. The open-stock prices can be costly, so look around. I thought Amazon was the most expensive. I have followed this method often. In other cases, where the sets were not as expensive, I purchased a small set of 12 to get a feel for the pencil in coloring, layering, feeling in my hand, sharpening and so forth.
Once I was convinced that I liked the pencils, I went ahead and purchased the most extensive set I could afford. You avoid duplicates and give yourself a full pallet of colors to work with. In the long run, I feel like I save the most, and I especially look for special promotions during the holiday seasons and put out price watches on my favorite eCommerce sites.
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