Moral Dilemma Evaded: New Colors of Derwent Drawing!

 

72 colors at last!

Once in a rare while, my blog pays off in unexpected ways.

When I first reviewed Derwent Drawing Pencils back in 2018, I mentioned what many fans of these pencils have long complained about: Why hasn’t the British pencil manufacturer expanded the color range of this long-standing, unique line of colored pencils? (Though with good humor, some of us regularly pestered the company on social media whenever they promote the Drawing line.) With a muted, earthy palette that’s great for landscapes and animals, the range is still lacking some obvious natural hues – greens, a few yellows, one or two blues. Don’t landscapes usually include skies, foliage or water? Not to mention flowers! And wildlife sketchers might as well forget about birds!

With so many colored pencil lines offering a full range of hues, why do we care whether Derwent Drawing stays with its 24 earthy hues? I care because these pencils are unique in having a whopping 5mm core – thicker than any colored pencil I’ve used. And not just thick – it’s also amazingly soft and creamy. Because of that super-soft core, it’s my favorite for life drawing. At times, it’s almost like crayon or lipstick in its smooth richness of application.

A whopping 5mm core

Derwent Drawing Chinese White:
used more than any other single color of any line.

In addition, based on my stubs, I’ve used Derwent Drawing Chinese White more than any other single colored pencil (although I have a couple of greens in the Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle line that might come close). It’s still my most opaque white pencil. If only Derwent would add just a few more useful hues to the line, I would reach for these luscious pencils way more often.

You can imagine my ecstasy a couple of months ago when I saw Derwent’s announcement: The Drawing line has been expanded to 72 colors! Finally!

Then immediately following my initial excitement, I was beset with a moral dilemma: With my commitment to downsizing and staying downsized, could I justify buying the complete set of 72? I looked closely at the new colors, which I knew would be available open stock. When I started checking off the ones I “must” have, hardly any would be left behind! I might as well buy the complete set! But is that excessive? Would I be sliding back down the slippery slope? But how could I not buy all 72 colors of pencils I love so much! Aughh, the turmoil!

Blick’s website said the new colors and set of 72 would not be in stock until January, so that gave me time to wring my hands a while longer.

That’s when the most astounding colored pencil miracle occurred:

An image that probably caught the rep's eye

I received a message through Instagram from a Derwent representative in the UK who provides product training to retailers. She had found my 2019 blog post in which I talked about how vintage Derwent (called Rexel Cumberland then) Drawing pencils were the same high quality as contemporary ones. This was unusual, as most contemporary colored pencils are better than their vintage predecessors. The Derwent rep asked permission to use some of my images “in a training presentation about the heritage of the range.” I blushed with pride at that; it’s not often that my colored pencil history geekiness is acknowledged that way! I happily granted permission (with credit, of course).

As we further exchanged messages, I couldn’t help but express my excitement that the Drawing color range had been expanded. That’s when it happened: She offered to send me the full set of 72 in appreciation for the use of my images! (Thank you so much, Justine and Derwent!) 

Ahhh...that Good & Plenty scent!

So here I am, delighted owner of the complete set, moral dilemma evaded (at least this time). It’s been so long since I unwrapped a brand new set of pencils that I nearly swooned! The scent when I first opened the lid was very close to the intoxicating scent of vintage Prismacolors – which I can only describe as Good & Plenty. Since they are both soft, wax-based pencils, perhaps there’s something about the wax binder that evokes licorice (which I don’t like to eat but I love to smell)?

The original palette included lots of browns and
and other earth tones. (I've used these pencils for many
years; they show what I think of as Derwent's main
appearance flaw: The end caps chip with very little use.)

OK, enough about their scent – let’s talk about the new colors. Other than my daily-carry Chinese White, I hadn’t used Drawing pencils in a while – maybe since the last time I went to life drawing. It was like being reacquainted with an old friend to swatch all the colors. Included in the grid below are the original 24 along with the new, but you can see from my small “bouquet” image (at right) that the original range was mostly earth tones and white. 

I’m most excited about all those new natural greens in the bottom row – and not a single recycle bin green or traffic light green that so many large colored pencil sets include! All of these greens could be used directly for foliage and fir – a beautiful selection.

A few much-needed yellows are included, as well as several blues. With a couple of pinks, a lavender and a few orangey reds (some of which are questionably similar), even florals are now possible. I can also see that several skin tones have been added for portraiture. (All those new grays are the only ones I would have skipped if I had bought the new colors open stock.)

The complete 72-color range (swatched in Stillman & Birn Epsilon sketchbook)

In addition to the original Chinese White, two new whites are included: a cool Arctic and a warmer Oyster. On black paper, they look quite similar, but their differences show better on white paper (in the fifth row). All three are equally opaque.

Two new whites, plus the original Chinese white (swatched in Uglybook)

As I’d hoped and expected, Derwent is keeping the Drawing line focused on a natural palette. Although an urban sketcher might still need recycle bin and traffic light greens (though one of those new yellows could easily pass for heavy equipment), if all you sketch is nature studies, landscapes, animals and portraits, I daresay that the new Drawing collection is the only colored pencil set you would need. 

(Maybe it’s the only color range any of us need? I’m curious; I think I’ll make some mixing swatches to see how these natural hues come together. With such a limited range, the Drawing pencils had never been an all-purpose line, but now with a full palette, how do they compare with other favorite colored pencils? Hmmm . . . some interesting testing ahead!)

My new pencils arrived only a few days before I had received a commission to draw Ginger, a friend’s Papillon. I had never done a pet portrait using Drawing pencils, and it was a bit risky to do a commission with pencils I hadn’t used in quite a while, but I couldn’t wait to use them. I shouldn’t have worried; they were just as creamy, thick and wonderful as ever. Without the new colors, I couldn’t have sketched Ginger without supplementing from other sets: All four pencils I used on her are from the new selection.

I’m looking forward to using these on more pet portraits this winter.

12/7/25 Ginger (Derwent Drawing colored pencils and ArtGraf water-soluble graphite on Lenox Cotton paper;
reference photo by Bob Flor)

For historical reference: From top, oldest to newest (Apologies for the strange lighting in this image; the barrel color is brown as in the previous photos, not orange.)