Caran D'Ache Neocolor 2

Bartc

Well-known member
Messages
1,138
I'm thinking of adding this product to my watermedia travel kit. I realize it's wax based but also water soluble. Can you use transparent watercolor or gouache over it? How waxy is this once you have wet it on watercolor paper?
 
Neocolor 1 is wax based & not water soluble. Neocolor 2 is water based & you can use it like water colors.

Neocolor II water-soluble wax oil pastels highlight the enormous innovative capabilities of the Maison Caran d’Ache. Created in 1972 as the continuation of the famous Neocolor I range, they offer boundless creative possibilities for artists and beginners alike. Basing their work on the existing excellent qualities – exceptional coverage, smoothness and extreme lightfastness –, the craftsmen of the Manufacture added water solubility, a property greatly appreciated by connoisseurs of the Maison from all manner of artistic fields and from school age upwards. Neocolor II can be used for all forms of creativity, ranging from drawings on dry or wet materials, monotypes, impregnation, wet drawing, glazing or rainbow gradation. With 84 colours, the entire range offers almost unlimited scope for the imagination, to the point where even experienced artists once more see things through the eyes of a child, thereby liberating the purest of all creative energies: that of the sheer wonderment evoked by colours. Swiss Made Neocolor II pastels are entirely developed and crafted in the Caran d’Ache workshops, according to the highest quality standards and in compliance with environmental norms and certifications.

As per a google search.
 
Here's what I started with: colors applied to watercolor paper and dissolved with water. I brushed them off to the side a little so you can see how well they move on the paper. (Pardon the poor quality cell phone pics.)
Neo Color.jpg

When this was dry I added watercolor on top. I used Quinacridone Red in the top sample and a variety of blues and reds for the bottom one. I was surprised by how well the transparent colors worked on top of the Neo Colors! There was no indication of any waxiness or anything that prevented the watercolors from adhering to the paper. I haven't tried gouache yet but if watercolors work so well I think gouache would layer over Neo Colors as well. (Bart, the bottom example is my attempt at painting in the moonlight at one of your beaches, haha)
Neo Color2.jpg
 
Hey, Donna, thanks! That's very helpful. Donna in the moonlight on a beach, hmmmm.... 8=)

Wayne, I appreciate your attempt to help, but I had already done pretty extensive Google research myself. Was trying to get REAL feedback from artists on a specific question. Most reviews on the web don't cover everything you might want to know. Thank you for making the effort, though.

At long last we will travel abroad, Covid permitting. My little water media kit is what I take everywhere. It's a fanny pack with 6 different compatible water media included. For years my local painting was primarily acrylics, then Ceracolors (wax), and now for the past 2+ years almost exclusively pastels. For traveling I find compact water media the best. Sadly, I would not want to travel with pastels for various reasons, and my acrylic kit is way too large to lug around, though I could easily have reduced it. I got excited thinking of what I might add that is still compatible with the rest of the little "studio", adds dimension, and doesn't add significant weight or size. That's when I remembered how easily a friend traveled with original Caran D'Ache, and the appeal of a non-brush medium to replace the pastel I won't pack arose. Hence my curiosity about the Neocolor 2 setup.

I think I might like this medium, but not sure what it adds in functionality to what I already have in the pack: transparent watercolor, gouache, pencils, Inktense, pens, etc. What seems to be attracting me is the feeling of using a stick/crayon directly (as similar in feel to how one uses pastels), while having the versatility of using water and brushes with it too. That's my thinking anyway.

Anything I add needs to be small, light, versatile, compatible, and enable me to paint sitting or standing anywhere in under 30 minutes. Here's the kind of painting/sketching I like to do on the road like that:
Vernazza large.gif
Arles patio large 2.jpg
Ciak Monterosso.jpg
Aveiro Moliceiros.jpg
 
Adding my attempt to help you:





thumbnail_IMG_6694.jpg

All Neocolor II was done dry except the dark green of the side. I put a layer of blue, then green on top, then dipped the tip of the green in water and colored that space, resulting in that dark green. The black strap was heavy, Don't know how that happened...:unsure::giggle:
After it dried, I painted over lightly, I thought, with a blue WC wash. Some of the black and some of the green smeared.
This is 140Lb WC paper. Hope it helps. I've thought of getting 2-3 other colors, but haven't yet.

thumbnail_IMG_6695.jpg
 
Thank you, NTL. That is helpful to see. Especially since I'm working with similar paper.
 
Well done, guys. 👏

This why I am so glad I joined Creative Spark. I love being exposed to and inspired by different styles and techniques, even ones totally opposite to the stuff I make.
 
I've done another learning piece using mainly neocolorsII along with wc pencils.
I learned a few things I think. The background, large sky (the blue in the tin, not the best sky color) with trees along the horizon of wc pencils.
Before putting the trees in, I added some wc burnt sienna to make a rain cloud and brushed the sky with water. It was hard to add the trees with the pencils after that.
The mid ground was a field, made with yellow and warm gray pencils and brushed them too.
I found it difficult to add people with the pencils, so used the crayons.

I think I will buy maybe 2-3 more colors, probably a lighter blue, the one in the tin is really strong, perhaps a sky blue or the "light cobalt blue" hue, and a mauve. Perhaps a chromium oxide green.
 
I've done another learning piece using mainly neocolorsII along with wc pencils.
I learned a few things I think. The background, large sky (the blue in the tin, not the best sky color) with trees along the horizon of wc pencils.
Before putting the trees in, I added some wc burnt sienna to make a rain cloud and brushed the sky with water. It was hard to add the trees with the pencils after that.
The mid ground was a field, made with yellow and warm gray pencils and brushed them too.
I found it difficult to add people with the pencils, so used the crayons.

I think I will buy maybe 2-3 more colors, probably a lighter blue, the one in the tin is really strong, perhaps a sky blue or the "light cobalt blue" hue, and a mauve. Perhaps a chromium oxide green.
Which tin did you buy? My concern was that the 10 unit one had a very weak blue to my eyes.
 
Soccer game (time out) 1 neo II and watercolor pencils. Those lines in the blue cart and purple shirts are areas I had tried to scratch in the field, before applying the people.
next is a sample of the colors in the ten box:
thumbnail_IMG_6705.jpg

I did both a light and a heavy application of each color except black, then drew down. The LEFT side of each square was not wetted. The last 2 are a blue base with scarlet on top, then scarlet base with blue on top.
thumbnail_IMG_6707.jpg


The next 3 are the soccer time out:
The first is just neocolor II blue sky white added near horizon, I left white spaces for the clouds, the yellow and the light brown fields. The green grass was added last, around the figures. These were all wetted and had a bit of dry time--not much.
second, left side trees and figures including coach are old Prang watercolor kids school set. Coach's hat is gouache
Third, right side trees and figures are gouache. My gouache has been dried out for a long time, fresh might work better. The grass, a mix of yellow and green neo II was colored in, then wetted.
thumbnail_IMG_6708.jpg




thumbnail_IMG_6709.jpg






thumbnail_IMG_6710.jpg


I hope this helps. It's a learning curve for me, but I'm getting to like it better. With a few more crayons, I think I can do quick sketches maybe easier than with the wc pencils, because to me, they cover more easily. Your mileage will vary.
For the price, the 15 box may be to your liking with it's 3 blues and 2 purples and the others. They're $2 per crayon...
 
Last edited:
Really good experiments Bart. I've been interested in the Neocolor IIs for a while now mainly for plein air sketches and have bought black, white plus the three primaries. Still, it's good to see actual sketches done with them (there's not many out there from what I've seen).
 
I've done another learning piece using mainly neocolorsII along with wc pencils.
I learned a few things I think. The background, large sky (the blue in the tin, not the best sky color) with trees along the horizon of wc pencils.
Before putting the trees in, I added some wc burnt sienna to make a rain cloud and brushed the sky with water. It was hard to add the trees with the pencils after that.
The mid ground was a field, made with yellow and warm gray pencils and brushed them too.
I found it difficult to add people with the pencils, so used the crayons.

I think I will buy maybe 2-3 more colors, probably a lighter blue, the one in the tin is really strong, perhaps a sky blue or the "light cobalt blue" hue, and a mauve. Perhaps a chromium oxide green.
Which tin did you buy? My concern was that the 10 unit one had a very weak blue to my eyes.
Really good experiments Bart. I've been interested in the Neocolor IIs for a while now mainly for plein air sketches and have bought black, white plus the three primaries. Still, it's good to see actual sketches done with them (there's not many out there from what I've seen).
Hobbartist, those are not my experiments. They're ntl's.
 
Really good experiments Bart. I've been interested in the Neocolor IIs for a while now mainly for plein air sketches and have bought black, white plus the three primaries. Still, it's good to see actual sketches done with them (there's not many out there from what I've seen).
Hobby, coming back to this Neocolor 2 idea. Since you bought just 5 crayons, how well do you feel you can mix a full range of colors with a limited set? I know I can do that remarkably well in acrylic, oil, watercolor and gouache, but have no idea if Neocolor 2 mixes to that degree of nuance. Do you? Would make a difference to me between buying a 15 crayon set or a 30 crayon one!
 
Your questions interested me.
Today I started a color wheel using my small set of crayons. red, blue, yellow, orange, green, and violet, purple, white, black and brown. And I, who knows almost nothing about making a color wheel, decided that with your experience level, and what I think your goal is, that you would not be happy with these, for the extra weight, space, and results. My wheel is quite rudimentary, and maybe I'll post it tomorrow, but in a nutshell, what I did was make a wheel, and for the tertiary colors, I did a swatch of both secondary colors, one on top, then the other. ie, for red orange, for 1 swatch, I first laid red with orange on top, then orange with red on top, both dry. Any difference was subtle, and for me, not worth considering. Then I drew a portion down, and was disappointed with the results. For most of them. Then I tried it by dipping the crayons in water before laying the color, and the results were more pleasing, but for the few I did, really bold hues. One of them I repeated it and added white, also dipped in water first to see a tint. Not worth it. I don't think you would be pleased either. In fact, I won't be buying any more. I probably won't proceed with my wheel, either.
 
NTL, thanks for trying and reporting on it. What you are experiencing seems to run counter to what I see on YouTube vids by independent artists (not the manufacturer). So either I'm reading your experiment wrong, or I'm missing something. I am ordering a 30 stick set to play with as a holiday present. Not the worst investment to give it a try, but by other advice that does hint at your results on mixing, a smarter move than the 10 stick bottom set.
 
Back
Top