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3/28/17 Faber-Castell Polychromos, Stillman & Birn Alpha |
(If you missed the introduction to the series, please read that first for the methodology, as such, and my
objective for these reviews.)
Years ago after my disappointing breakage debacle with
Prismacolor pencils (described in the introduction),
and after reading several books that warned about the waxy bloom that can
appear from wax-based pencils, for a while I wanted to stay away from wax
altogether, and my best option was Faber-Castell’s Polychromos. It is probably the colored pencil I have used the longest and
most often (at least before my class and all of these recent experiments).
With nicely lacquered barrels that match the core colors,
they are a standard size, so they can be sharpened easily in most of my
sharpeners.
Manufactured in Germany, these oil-based pencils are decidedly
harder than the previous four lines in my review series, yet they are still
softer than the Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor pencils (which are also oil-based) that my instructor favors. As expected with
harder pencils, they produce no dust or crumbles.
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Erasing test |
The erasing test was about the same as for the other
pencils in this review series – perhaps just a touch better.
Sometimes I still wish they were softer; in fact, I think
it was trying a few delightfully soft pencils that drove me to start looking
around to see what other pencils were out there. But when I think objectively
about the drawbacks of soft, wax-based pencils – inability to hold a point; a
tendency to crumble; the possibility of a waxy bloom – I can’t really complain
about Polychromos.
Of all the pencils I own, Polychromos probably comes
closest to being an even balance between softness (for smooth application) and
hardness (for point retention while detailing). My apple sketch shows that the
hues blend nicely, and the multiple layers covered the Alpha’s toothy surface
well. Although I always think softer pencils apply faster and simply feel nicer
(that “buttery smoothness” that always seduces me in soft graphite pencils,
too), the actual time it took me to make all the layers in this sketch was no
more than it was for the softer pencils, and the coverage was slightly better. Polychromos
pencils don’t feel quite as nice to use, but I certainly appreciate their firm points when making fine lines and details.
What’s not to love? Maybe I should have just stuck with
these. (But wait – there’s still one more review coming.)
Edited 2/8/19: See my review of vintage Polychromos pencils.
Edited 2/8/19: See my review of vintage Polychromos pencils.
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