Detailed Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils Review and related article resources.
Adult coloring can be enjoyable if you are beginning or becoming an experienced colorist. Using colored pencils you like can be the difference between a satisfying or unpleasant experience.
This article is a comprehensive review of the Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils set of 120 pencils. The review is subjective, based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages, and sheets. My review seeks to provide as much information as possible to ask the right questions, evaluate the information, and make better decisions about the colored pencils you choose and use. I will update this article as new information becomes available.
Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils
Table of Contents
- Descriptions and First Inspection
- Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencil Review
- Other Valuable Resources
Additional Resources. The following are additional resources you can find on ColoringButterfly.com to assist you in learning more about colored pencils.
- Buying A Coloring Book: Everything You Need to Know (Guide)
- Buying Colored Pencils? Everything You Need Know (Guide)
- How to Find Colored Pencil Reviews (50+ ColoringButterfly.com)
- Guide to Amazon Colored Pencil Reviews (Fake vs. Trustworthy)
- Guide to Using Colored Pencil Set Reviews (Step-by-Step)
Farber-Castell Polychromos Descriptions and First Impressions
This section provides the facts, descriptions, and my first impressions of colored pencils. I am going to provide my subjective/personal review based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages, and sheets and answer the question; I am focused on answering the questions for the colored pencils, “What are the basic facts for Farber-Castell Polychromos?”; “What did you experience during the first inspection of Farber-Castell Polychromos?.” Let’s get started.
Go ColoringButterfly.com YouTube Channel for more videos about coloring pencils, coloring books, and more. [Return to TOC]
Colored Pencil Facts
The following are some basic facts about the Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils.
Pencils.
- Best for: Artists/Professional
- Size of sets: 12, 24, 36, 72, and 120
- Available in open stock: Yes, you can purchase replacements for individual pencils
- Lightfastness rating: Yes, the pencils have a lightfast rating.
- Cost range: High-end/expensive and premium ($1.00-$2.00-plus)
- Barrel size: 8 mm
- Core size: 3.8 mm
- Barrel type: round
- Wood: Cedar
- Where to buy online: Amazon, DickBlick, JacksonsArt, Jerrysartarama, Aliexpress
- Made by: Faber-Castell, based in the United States
- Where Manufactured: Faber-Castell has production sites in nine countries. At the headquarters in Stein (Germany), around 200 million wood-cased pencils are produced every year.
- Company URL: https://www.faber-castell.com/
- Google search term: farber-castell polychromos colored OR coloured pencil review [Return to TOC]
Barrel Description
The Farber-Castell Polychromos have a sharp look and feel. The pencil shaft is lacquered in the color of the core pigment. On one part of the pencil shaft, you will see the following printed in gold leaf “Germany,” two small icons, Polychromos, Logo, Faber Castell, a gold band
ring (for decoration), and an endcap to cover and protect the core.
On another part of the pencil shaft, you will see the pigment’s name written in German and English. Next to the color, you will see a number that correlates to the color of the pencil when seeking to order a replacement.
At the end of the pencil, next to the pencil identification number, you will find the lightfast rating indicated by stars. At the end of the pencil is a decorative gold band with an endcap that covers the pencil to protect the pencil core. [Return to TOC]
Lightfast Rating
Yes, Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils have a lightfast rating. Lightfastness is a property of pencil core such as dye or pigment that describes how resistant to fading it is when exposed to light. The lightfast rating is essential to artists, especially when they spend long hours creating art; they will want the work of art to keep its vibrancy for years to come. The lightfastness has a lot to do with the higher cost of the pencils.
Faber-Castell indicates lightfast ratings by using a star (*) icon/system to define the lightfast level for each pencil. The ratings are as follows 3***/Maximum lightfastness, 2**/High lightfastness, 1*/Reasonable lightfastness. The lightfast rating indicates the item’s resistance to fading, which has been tested under museum conditions.
Faber-castell uses the The Blue Wool Standard to determine lightfast ratings. This standard utilizes eight scales to evaluate lightfast colors and it has been used for Artist paints for many years. 8 is the level of the highest lightfastness. The Blue Wool standard relates to our star icons as follows:
- *** = 7, 8 Blue Wool Scale
- ** = 5, 6 Blue Wool Scale
- * = 3, 4 Blue Wool Scale
| Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils | ||
| Lightfast Rating | No. Pencils in Rating | Est. Longevity/Years |
| One star (*) | 2 Pencils | Maximum fade resistance (100 + years) |
| Two stars (**) | 16 Pencils | Very good fade resistance |
| Three stars (***) | 102 Pencils | Good fade resistance |
| Source | ||
Range of Colors
The Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils are a oil-based core broad range of rich, beautiful, and unique/highly concentrated pigments that are creamy and easy to blend. The color saturation and lightfastness are consistent. You have the color pallet to color any
theme coloring book or scene. There does not appear to be any gaps in the color range. The pencils come pre-sharpened with a sharp point.
Before using the colors on a project, I would recommend that you swatch the colors for the set (and for every pencil you own) rather than relying on the color printed on the pencil barrel. This will help you make wiser and more appropriate color choices. [Return to TOC]
Container Description
The pencils come in a shrink-wrapped hinged tin case. In the tin, there is 3 set of 40 pencils that are easy to remove from the tin with elastic straps on each side of each tray. The tin is perfect for mobility. You can get the 120 set in a beautiful box if you want to spend more. I chose the tin because I transferred the pencils to a sturdy caring case to protect them. [Return to TOC]
First Inspection
As a habit, when I first open the box of pencils, I like first to check pencil duplications and missing pencils. Check to make sure the cores are centered. Next, I will check them for pencils for imperfections (e.g., shaft spits, broken cores, light printing).
The Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils were a set of 120 pencils. The pencils come in a shrink-wrapped hinged tin case. The pencils are professional looking and have an excellent range of bright and vibrant colors. There is 3 set of 40 pencils that are easy to remove from the tin with elastic straps on each side of each tray. The tin is perfect for mobility. The pencils come pre-sharpened with a sharp point. Every aspect of the pencil quality, from lead to printing, appeared sharp, without a flaw. There were no broken tips or dust. Overall, I was delighted with the presentation and quality of the pencils. [Return to TOC]
Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils Review and Summary
In this section, I move beyond the description and facts of the colored pencils. I am going to provide my subjective/personal review based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages and sheets and answer the question; I am focused on answering the questions like
- What do you think about Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils?
- Are the Farber-Castell Polychromos better than other colored pencils?
- What are the Farber-Castell Polychromo’s pros and cons?
- What are some tips on making the best purchase decision? [Return to TOC]
How the Colored Pencils Performed
The Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencil is a beautiful pencil to look at, hold, and use for coloring. I did not experience any cramping in my hands while coloring for several hours.
The colors are rich and creamy. I especially like how I can use the pencil to keep its point under pressure and not break or become dull. I was incredibly impressed with the ease of layering. When it came to blending, I was able to effortlessly dry blend the pencils by themselves, blend with solvents, and use a colorless blender to achieve smooth gradients.
As I tested the layering, I purposely was heavy-handed and had a thick application in one drawing. I applied a lighter touch and gently applied layer upon layer until I had the thickness I desired. The Farber-Castell Polychromos performed well in both cases, producing a beautiful, vibrant color without a waxy bloom or tackiness. Because of the firmer core, I could color small details easily.
They perform better at layering with a lighter touch and glide across the page. I feel like the color palette is sufficient to allow me to color an image in any themed, any themed colored book. During my use, I have not experienced broken tips or crumbling cores. Because the pencils are oil-based, it makes it easier to shade and blend.
As an oil-based pencil, Farber-Castell injects a resin into the mixture of pigment and binder to give the extra core strength. This help protects the pencil from excessive sharpening and shaft loss. I have several sharpeners, and I like using the Farber Castell Sharpener. Because of the expense of the pencils, I highly recommend that your pencil sharpener has a sharp blade so as not to cause undue waste of the pencil. I could sharpen the pencil to a fine point without breakage and did not experience shaft splitting.
The pencils work well on different types of coloring book paper toothy but thin paper found in self-published Amazon books, the thicker paper found in Johanna Basford’s books to the smoother paper found in Joseph Catimban and Kirby Rosanes coloring books. Overall I think the pencils do best on paper with some teeth. A paper’s tooth describes the surface feel of paper. Generally, the more tooth a paper has, the rougher it feels.
These pencils are designed for both the artist and creative professionals. I thoroughly enjoy using these pencils; an adult colorist who loves to spend time and effort creating beauty and using imagination in coloring books. 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 consciously decided to use these pencils for the artist coloring books I enjoy, such as Hana Karlzon, Johanna Basford, Joseph Catimban, Kirby Rosanes, Maria Trolle, Millie Marotta, and Rachel Reinert. [Return to TOC]
Review Summary and Rating
The Farber-Castell Polychromos are among the finest pencils I have ever used. The pencils are beautiful to look at, hold, and use for coloring. I did not experience any cramping in my hands while coloring for several hours.
The colors are rich and creamy. I especially like how I can use the pencil to keep its point under pressure and not break or become dull. I was incredibly impressed with the ease of layering. When it came to blending, I was able to effortlessly dry blend the pencils by themselves, blend with solvents, and use a colorless blender to achieve smooth gradients.
These were my first choice when it came to investing in the more expensive brands, and I later invested in the other sets, such as Caran D’Ache Pablos and Caran D’Ache Luminance which I also enjoy. Do I need them for coloring books? No, not for my adult coloring.
Nevertheless, they are a fantastic splurge. I am especially extra proud of my coloring with these pencils, and I have never regretted my investment. If you are an artist/professional, these pencils are high on your acquisition list.
Overall, the coloring experience was superb and delightful. The important takeaways are as follows:
User Experience (Pros & Cons) Considerations
- Oil-based, firm and durable core (+)
- A broad range of bright and vivid/vibrant colors (+)
- Pencils are lightfast rated (+)
- The texture feel was firm and smooth (+)
- Smooth and creamy when applying (+)
- Pencil design/visual appeal is professional (+)
- Quality layering and blending for coloring books (+)
- Sharpens fast with minimal breakage and can sharpen to a point (+)
- The pencil holds the point well after sharpening (+)
- Smudge-proof (+)
- Colored pencil points are break-resistant and shatterproof (+)
- No waxy bloom (oil-based core) (+)
- Colors match the Farber Castell watercolor and pastel pencils (+)
- Ergonomic design and sharp-looking design (+)
- Works well with different quality coloring books (+)
- Packaging and presentation are professional (+)
- Pencils feel good in the hand (+)
- Enjoyable adult coloring experience (+)
- Recommend for adult coloring (+/-)
- Hi-end/expensive colored pencils (-)
- Best for artists and professionals (-)
- All colors are available in open-stock (-)
Tips for Purchasing
Before I purchased the Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils, I purchased five open-stock pencils (e.g., about $2.50-plus U.S. DickBlick.com) to get a feel for the pencil in colori
ng, 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 for Open-stock. Try DickBlick.com. Once I was convinced that I liked the pencils, I went ahead and purchased the Farber-Castell Polychromos 120 colored pencil set.
I suggest getting the most extensive set you can afford to avoid duplicates and give yourself a full pallet of colors. 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.
If the pencils are too expensive, but you still would like to have the pencils, you can always purchase a small set, add a few open-stock pencils each week or so, and build your set up over time. [Return to TOC]
Other Valuable Resources
The following are a few more resources to support your review of Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils.
Free Farber-Castell Polychromos Color Swatch Downloads
To give back to the adult coloring community, I have developed color pencil swatches for all the colored pencil sets I own and have reviewed. Note below two listings for each swatch, “Blank” and “Filled-in.” These terms mean. “Blank” is a swatch version you can download and fill in yourself, and “Filled-in” refers to a version of the swatch I filled in when I reviewed the pencils. You can also use these as a reference to see what the colors will look like before purchasing. Also, see the article ” Free Color Pencil Swatch Charts for Adult Coloring (Detailed).”
- Farber-Castell Polychromos 120 Pencil Swatch-Blank
- Farber-Castell Polychromos 120 Pencil Swatch-Filled In
Suggested Farber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils YouTube Reviews
I encourage you to seek other written evaluations, YouTube discussions, and Amazon-like reviews. I want to suggest a few of the YouTube reviews/opinions.
If you would like to find other reviews, do a Google search query on ” farber-castell polychromos colored OR coloured pencil review.”
Thank you for taking a moment to view and read the article. Feel free to provide your comments.
Don’t forget to share the post. [Return to TOC]
