Opinions on Derwent?

[JessieNebulous]

I just bought my first set of Derwent colored pencils and I'm, shall we say... underwhelmed. For the price ($70 for 24 pencils, though I got them on sale half off) and based on what I've heard about Derwent, I expected more from these pencils. They're not *terrible*, they just aren't as vibrant in color and don't seem to layer as well as I expected. I haven't tried blending them with solvent yet, so that might be the technique they require, but I feel like I shouldn't have to go that far to get good use out of them.

So what do ya'll think? Have you tried Derwent products before, and what are your opinions on the brand? I've wanted their Lightfast series but they're *very* expensive, and if they're anything like the Procolour series, they're just not worth it.

 

[Terri]

Hi Jessie! I recently picked up a small set of Derwent Chromaflow pencils and I was surprised by how much I did like them. My Prismacolors were still packed up at the time so I splurged a bit, thinking they'd be comparable. For me, the Chromaflow glide much better over both sletchbook and nicer papers, and colors are vibrant and blended more easily than my Prismacolors. It's a small set so I can't compare colors very well.

Trying to think if I have any other Derwent products, but I don't think so.

 

[JessieNebulous]

Hi Jessie! I recently picked up a small set of Derwent Chromaflow pencils and I was surprised by how much I did like them. My Prismacolors were still packed up at the time so I splurged a bit, thinking they'd be comparable. For me, the Chromaflow glide much better over both sletchbook and nicer papers, and colors are vibrant and blended more easily than my Prismacolors. It's a small set so I can't compare colors very well.

Trying to think if I have any other Derwent products, but I don't think so.

I've heard the Chromaflow are very good. I believe they're intended to compete with Prismacolor, which i think is fantastic because Prismas are gorgeous but are such a PAIN due to all the breakage. Their quality control just absolutely sucks, and I think they need stiff competition to knock them back into shape. So I'm glad to hear you've had such a positive experience with them.

 

[Terri]

believe they're intended to compete with Prismacolor,

You could be right about that! Oddly, the breakage issue is something I've heard about with Prismacolor but hasn't happened to me. I bought my 96-piece set years ago, as another option for details in hand-painted photos. I don't know if I'd cough up the money for them now, but glad I have them.

I don't use colored pencils as much as you do (or nearly as well!) but if I wanted to expand my collection, I think I'd be getting more Chromaflow.

 

[JessieNebulous]

You could be right about that! Oddly, the breakage issue is something I've heard about with Prismacolor but hasn't happened to me. I bought my 96-piece set years ago, as another option for details in hand-painted photos. I don't know if I'd cough up the money for them now, but glad I have them.

I don't use colored pencils as much as you do (or nearly as well!) but if I wanted to expand my collection, I think I'd be getting more Chromaflow.

Aww, thanks for saying! Yeah, my first set of Prismas were from like the 90's. My ex bought them and never used them, then gave them to me when he was cleaning out his apartment to move. They were perfect pencils. Then I bought another pack of them myself, so I was able to compare the old Prismas to the current ones and there's a HUGE difference in quality. Apparently the company moved production elsewhere (I think Mexico) and made a bunch of changes, I assume for profit at the expense of quality. It's a shame. They used to be very good.

 

[Terri]

Ok - that makes sense. It seems whenever companies decide to make dramatic production moves like this, the quality changes and is rarely for the better! I guess I was lucky to have picked up old stock, back in the day.

The Derwent Chromaflow box says they're made in Britain, for whatever that's worth.

 

[Artyczar]

Never tried them. I have Prismacolor, Faber-Castells, and Caran d'Aches and am very happy with those.

 

[JessieNebulous]

Never tried them. I have Prismacolor, Faber-Castells, and Caran d'Aches and am very happy with those.

Oooh, Caran d'Ache Luminance is my dream pencil, but I can't bring myself to spend that kind of money. Maybe next time I get a commission piece I'll splurge on them. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with the Faber-Castell Polychromos series, though as an oil pencil they can be a pain for backgrounds. I really want to find a good set of wax pencils to replace the Prismacolors for the simple fact I'm getting tired of their sloppy quality control, and I was hoping the Derwent Procolours would be a good fit. Alas! It was not meant to be.

I did order a set of Black Widow yesterday. They aren't artist quality and aren't lightfast but I've heard they are otherwise pretty much comparable to the Prismas for half the price, so here's hoping!

 

[Donna T]

I hope the new pencils will be more to your liking, Jessie. I can't comment on the Derwents but I'll just say that I love the set of Caran d'Ache Supracolor II pencils that I have. They have rich colors that can give watercolor effects when wet. Sometimes it's nice to have the option.

 

[JessieNebulous]

I hope the new pencils will be more to your liking, Jessie. I can't comment on the Derwents but I'll just say that I love the set of Caran d'Ache Supracolor II pencils that I have. They have rich colors that can give watercolor effects when wet. Sometimes it's nice to have the option.

I actually was watching an art video on YouTube and the artist made the suggestion of the Supracolors, of using them for backgrounds in colored pencil drawings. So if they're not crazy expensive, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[snoball]

For brighter colors I like the Derwent Inktense and Derwent Colorsoft. They seem to be brighter than the Prismacolors.

 

[Bartc]

Havn't done any comparisons, but do like the Derwent Inktense.

 

[JessieNebulous]

Hi Jessie! I recently picked up a small set of Derwent Chromaflow pencils and I was surprised by how much I did like them. My Prismacolors were still packed up at the time so I splurged a bit, thinking they'd be comparable. For me, the Chromaflow glide much better over both sletchbook and nicer papers, and colors are vibrant and blended more easily than my Prismacolors. It's a small set so I can't compare colors very well.

Trying to think if I have any other Derwent products, but I don't think so.

So I found a 24 set of Chromaflow on sale for $17, and decided to give Derwent another chance. Quite glad I did. The Chromaflow perform the way you said, smooth with great blendability. I'm very pleased with them, and I'm willing to spend a little more for pencils that don't break all the time like Prismas do.

 

[Terri]

Beautiful Daphne!

I'm tickled that you like them, and got them for a decent price.