Is Polychromos what I need?

[Rikard]

I have some pencils called Supracolor II Soft Aquarelle. They are quite nice if used as intended, with brush and water. Just used dry they are not "rich" enough. So now I'm looking for a substitute. I want to quickly lay in color in my sketchbook. Not really any delicate work. Just to test ideas. If pastels was less messy I would probably want to use those. I hope I make some sense

 

[txomsy]

I use Koh-i-Noor Mondeluz and Progresso watercolor woodless pencils and do quite like them. In particular, I love my 12 color tin box of Progresso woodless watercolor pencils that I find quite handy for sketching on the go when traveling. Generally, KIN makes very good quality products at very affordable prices (at least in the EU).

YMMV of course and what I find pleasing may fall short of your needs. Beware.

 

[Rikard]

I use Koh-i-Noor Mondeluz and Progresso watercolor woodless pencils and do quite like them. In particular, I love my 12 color tin box of Progresso woodless watercolor pencils that I find quite handy for sketching on the go when traveling. Generally, KIN makes very good quality products at very affordable prices (at least in the EU).

YMMV of course and what I find pleasing may fall short of your needs. Beware.

Thank you. Those woodless pencils do look intriguing. I will have a look at what colors are available.

 

[txomsy]

I think that up to 72 but I prefer limited portable sets.

 

[Donna T]

Rikard, I love my Polychromos and have the set of 60. As hard pastels go, they have rich colors and not too much dust. Mostly I use them underneath soft pastels on sanded paper. If you were to use them in a sketchbook they might do better if the paper wasn't too smooth - like a mixed media paper or something with a little bit of tooth.

 

[TK H-H]

I use Polychromos. I have the full set and love them. Nice color selection, and the colors are rich. They feel smooth to use despite being considered a harder core, and I find them easy to blend. I've also never had one break when being sharpened (which was a huuuge problem with a prior brand I'd used). And if you use them for finished works, you don't get the wax bloom you sometimes get with other brands because they're oil-based rather than wax-based. I definitely recommend them!

 

[Rikard]

Rikard, I love my Polychromos and have the set of 60. As hard pastels go, they have rich colors and not too much dust. Mostly I use them underneath soft pastels on sanded paper. If you were to use them in a sketchbook they might do better if the paper wasn't too smooth - like a mixed media paper or something with a little bit of tooth.

I went by the local art supply store where I live. They had a full selection of Polychromos. I bought 12, same ones as I normally use with my watercolours. Have yet to try them out. I have nice sketchbooks from fabriano with interesting paper. Those should work I think. Will report back when I've had a go

 

[Rikard]

Gave the Polychromos a try in my fabriano vergatone sketchbook. Sketch from life of some flowers in a very nice vase.
The paper surface is quite rough. Maybe too much so. But it does take up a lot of pigment and is fine for sketching out ideas I think.

If someone is interested in the sketchbook. I can say it takes charcoal and sanguine extremely well. Watercolor is ok, but no heavy washes. Here are a spread with a sanguine drawing and a sketch using water soluble pencils.