Review: Filgo Colored Pencils – Sunset

Filgo colored pencils from Argentina

It’s not what you think! I didn’t fall off the wagon yet again. I can explain!

Back in the fall when the Urban Sketchers Symposium took place in Buenos Aires, I saw a few sketchers showing the contents of their goodie bags on social media. One item that caught my eye was Filgo colored pencils, which I had never heard of. Then one sketcher showed what she was doing with them, raving about how much she loved them. Ooo, that got me curious!

(Incidentally, if you’re wondering if I was able to add a symposium-logo pencil tin to my beloved collection, I would have – except there was none to be had from Buenos Aires! ☹ Long before the symposium, I had asked a friend who was planning to attend if I could have the Cretacolor tin, assuming one would be included in the goodie bag, and she kindly agreed. When she returned, though, she gave me the sad news, which I had already suspected from images of the goodie bag that I had previously scrutinized. If the Auckland symposium tin was the last of the series, I suppose I should be relieved that my collection is complete [other than the mysterious Barcelona tin, of course], and I won’t have to beg anymore. Sigh. I’m going to miss the hunt.)

My Googling had indicated that the Argentinian Filgo brand wasn’t impossible to get in the US, but difficult and pricey . . . and oh yeah, I’m supposed to be downsizing.

Fast-forward to the November Gab & Grab, where the pencil fairies were looking out for me! Another friend who had attended the symposium was offering her Filgo pencils – which I promptly grabbed!

"Black & White" refers to the color opacity that works well on dark papers as well as light.

Filgo’s Black & White Supersoft Sunset Tones includes 15 colors. Since most of the product information on the package is in Spanish, I used Google to help me translate from an image. That’s how I learned that “black and white” indicates that the colors are opaque enough to use on black or dark papers as well as white.

Made in China, the simple, round pencils are capped with color indicators. No color names or numbers are printed on the barrels. Distinctively, the entire wood barrel is dyed black. The well-centered cores sharpen well, too.

The soft cores produce little dust. I would not say they are “supersoft,” but soft enough to be pleasant to use and relatively well pigmented for pencils that are likely to be a budget-priced set for students.

The color range is, by definition, limited to “sunset tones” (which I found to be limiting, indeed, for my test sketch). I’m assuming that other color-themed sets are available to cover the rest of the spectrum. My swatches were made in a Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook and a black Uglybook. I found that my scanner seemed to dull the colors on black paper, so I also photographed the page (which is marred by glare, but that’s the tradeoff).

Filgo swatches made in Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook

Swatches in black Uglybook (scanned)

Swatches in black Uglybook (photographed)

Making my test sketch on Christmas day, I chose this Santa-looking guy (though with much better hair than Santa’s) from Earthsworld’s reference photos. Although the sunset hues worked well for his skin tones, I missed having a cool violet or blue to dig into those dark shadows. I made do with the darkest maroon.

12/25/24 Filgo colored pencils in S&B Zeta sketchbook

While not as soft or high in pigment as the recently reviewed iBayam colored pencils (which are likely to be in the same general price and quality range), Filgo colored pencils are pleasant enough to use. But I’m glad I didn’t hunt them down and pay international shipping rates to buy a set.

Curiosity satisfied, I can sleep at night again, and I’ll happily take this set to the next Gab & Grab. (I wish I knew more hardcore colored pencil geeks in Urban Sketchers Seattle. We could all save money and keep our stashes manageable by continually passing around our pencils for others to try.)