Art Q&A - Were Prismacolor Colored Pencils a waste of my money? - Lachri

Maybe "buttery" or "velvety"?

I personally didn't really have that problem with colored pencils because Faber Castell's Albrecht Durer series are a very good brand that I can easily find here in Greece and they are reasonably priced. However, i did have to face this problem when I decided to try acrylic painting. So, the way I solved it was to buy a medium quality of acrylic paints that was recommended to me as a beginner so that I could afford to buy a variety of colors for a start that I would need anyway and then, as I worked with the medium and needed more or new colors, I would buy good quality brands. That way as I get better I will have good quality paints to paint with and I won't have waste a ton of expensive paint on beginner's projects.

So many people mention 'breakage' but I have never had a problem with breakage. I think the type of sharpener one uses is very important. I use the school type with handle. I love my Prismas.

I love Prismas! They do have the occasional breakage and lead displacement but don't let that discourage you from creating. You can achieve just about whatever you want no matter what pencils you have (well, not so much with cheap pencils).
Also, you said in another video that you really didn't like Artist Loft paints. I have a small (I think it was a 24 set) of their pencils and they are really pigmented, they also blend well. I enjoy using them but I would like to know if you have ever had experience with them?
Thanks Lisa,
J10

I'm pretty sure the quality issues have been sorted for at least the past several months. With the previously well-earned negative rep, they're really value priced these days....

Luscious, pliable, malleable, supple, mushy.
That is a tough word to replace.

I gave my prisms colors to my daughter to use. Once I went polychromos, I never went back.

Maybe, I bought a bad batch of prisma colors, because they weren't creamy at all.

Hi Lisa, I really love your art. Could you mention how long each piece takes you as you add new work to your channel? I think it's important for people to know how much work goes into this to get this level of result.

Thanks

I saw the video u made about using color pencils and heating them to make sea water splash.   I loved it.  Please tell me the heating element u used for the water splash and stars.  What is the name of the heating element and where can I get it?  Love your work. Thanks, Jan

If the worst happens and you have a duff set try going back to basics and using a good knife, (AAAAGH! they screamed). Be smart, make sure the knife is really sharp (injuries occur a lot more frequently with dull/blunt knives) and always sharpen away from yourself, keeping your fingers away from the blade. Don't razor blades, they are for shaving beards not pencils and bend too easily to be safe. Oh, a Rhambo style hunting knife is definitely not recommended either.

I got them and call them buttery

I have a set of Steadtler charcoal pencils that just did not want to sharpen without breaking. Even my favourite Carl Angel-5 pencil could not help. I ended up using a snap-off blade knife. But then I discovered the M+R desktop sharpener. It is a full plastic one and not the cast metal one. It is the same one as the Dahle 133. It also has rubber jaws so the wood is not shewed up. I love this little sharpener.

I love my prisma colors, they are my go to pencil. Haven't had the breakage problem.

I have prismacolor and faber castell polychromos and I definitely prefer prismacolor colored pencils more. I just find polychromos harder to blend idk y

i personally LOVE derwent color soft pencils. they are soft but not to soft.

I've bought two sets, the last 8 months and use them heavily for art and coloring. The leads have improved and seem a bit firmer. I haven't had one lead break. I use a 72 on the go and a full set at home. I think that the company is trying to correct the problem. I use electric and a manual sharpener. No problems, even with the reds.

I don't think it's a waste when I bought my set of Prismacolors. Very honestly, they are nice pencils to work with if you like creamy very pigmented pencils.
Lead breakage isn't a problem in my set of 12, 24 and 48, and I bought 3 sets because I just wanted to test them with a set of 12, but then I wanted more color, I really like the tin design for the 24, but I meant to get a set of 48, so i bought both. Used all 3 sets, and never a single problem, except I'm not a fan of creamy crayony pencil. So it doesn't really matter to me if it's Luminance or Prismacolor. I won't like them both as much as my Polychromos.
People also said Derwent pencils are bad, due to its lack of pigments. But it's not about what's bad, it is about if you have use for those pencils or not. I personally find the lack of pigments useful for creating some very pale colors, and the very hard lead can create a finer finish, because the point of the pencil can really get into the teeth of the paper.

yeah I seriously got lucky with them I am clumsy and drop them all the time and they still don't break

I'm not wasting my money I got a set of 72 of the cost of 32 they sound like good pencils I had one black on and it never broke but when I drop it the tip snapped off so i just have to re sharpen

The 150 set goes for like $75 average on amazon now. Its ridiculous

Eventhoug I love prismacolor, they are still been my favorite and derwent too, but I had tried steadtler and are so good too but prisma's texture is the best for me.

I like Prisma colour pencils better than Faber Castell polychromos but it's better together but I use my polychromos for small things

if you want a alternative to prismacolor, you can try Colleen its a used to be made is Japan brand and now its made in thailand. get the one that is red and white box, the only issue with this is that they dont have any lightfast ratings and hrmm....like prismacolor they have some quality control issues, so not every batch and colour feels the same.

I love my Prismas even moreso than my Polychromos! I enjoy using both, in fact. Polychromos over Prismacolor is 👍

Have you ever tried Prismacolor Col-Erase pencils? I'm curious what your thoughts are - I heard they feel more like graphite and don't have the snapping issues that the Premier pencils have...

Is it why, mine has never broken, even when I press hard

How abot the lightast of the prismacolor? I cannot find information about it anywhere... thanks!!

How long did it take you to become a master artists?"

Here is a fix for Prismacolor pencils breaking. This works really only in the summer or in a warm climate in the winter. Turn your car so that the windshield is facing towards the sun. Put your pencils on the dashboard in the sunlight and let them set for about 3-4 hours. Take them back into the house and let them cool for about an hour. This melts the wax within the wood casing and then the cooling resets them. One can do this to just the pencils that are prone to breaking or put the whole set in the sun. That fixed both my 24 portrait set and my 36 color set. Later I finally bought the big 150 set and so far, I have not had any breakage from this set. I'll keep my fingers crossed anyway! :)

I tried the microwave heating method that some users have suggested, it busted my wood casing and totally ruined the pencil. I only put on for 10 seconds. I won't go that route again.

Having recently bought some open stock Prismacolor I was in dread of the issues I felt I was going to face. That being breakage and general fragility. In general I was very pleasantly surprised. Breakage in use has been almost nil. When sharpening almost zero and with a manual sharpener (Prisma's two hole). The other big problem with Prisma's and all wax based pencils of wax bloom. That's a whole different issue. The main reason I needed the Prisma's was I just could not get light enough color on very pale items with Polychromos on the project I wad working on. The project was based on the ruined French chatue Mothe-Chardeniers with its setting covered in a late spring or early fall snow storm. The light blues in the shadows in the snow and the very pale stone I just couldn't get with Polys.
For any beginner looking to move up from store brand or the cheaper name brands I would recommend a small set of Prismas. And then build on the techniques you learned with them by experimenting with Prismas. Blending, layering etc.
As an aside I think that it is possible that Prismacolors QC problems originated in the increased sales due to Adult Coloring. Increased demand means increased production which can lead to QC problems. When Pridma is being sold at Wally World you know demand has to be up. Plus Wally World beats on suppliers to cut costs. Given that Sanford is owned by Rubbermaid-Newell and Rubbermaid almost went under due to Wally World's cost cutting presures I'm surprised they deal with them at all

Man u are so fast. But great advice!

I have the 150 set and I have never had a breakage! Out of all my pencils, (and I have them all), Prismacolors are my favourite.

I absolutely adore this girl and love her work, but dang, she can easily get a part time job as an auctioneer!! Wow! I can't even THINK that fast!! LOL . ..keep up the great work, Doll, and thank you for your time!!!

well, now they sell 48 set for 16$ on amazon, I think it's worth it

Lol...the word creamy is up there with the word moist. 😒

This woman is so disingenuous. The reason I say this is she’s used prismas for so many years and she has turned out beautiful work. Polychromos may very well be a better pencil. The way she went overboard with her bashing of prisma makes me wonder if Faber Castell is paying her

I love prismacolo premier color pencil and I stand by 💯👍 prismacolo premier color pencils there my favorite

‘Creamy’ works. I have HUNDREDS of them. The later batches (after they started being made by a company other than Berol) started to have ISSUES-BREAKAGE being the worst. The latest batch-made by Newell-Rubbermaid, are BY FAR the CHEAPEST-and NOT in a GOOD WAY. The pencil itself is THINNER, the leads are NOT CENTERED in the casing, and the CASING is made from wood halves that are CUT OPPOSITE GRAIN-half cut LENGTHWISE, the other CROSSWISE!!!! WTH??!!!!!! NO MORE!!! Failing that they have a smooth lay down with good saturation. I’m just not going to purchase any more of them.

i got a set of 72 prismacolor for my bday :)

I love prismacolor, they don’t break , they paint so perfect , eve though I use other brands, derwent are amazing too, steadtler and faber too. Lyra are fantastic too. But my favourite are prismacolor.

I love Prismacolor Premier pencils. I have many different brands of colored pencils including other top brands such as FC polychromos, etc. I will not buy Holbein simply because one cannot buy open stock. I do not have trouble with breakage since I bought the Sharpener: dahle 133. That solved the breakage issue problem once and for all. Of course, I also handle my Prismacolor pencils with care. With the sharpener, one can sit it on the corner of where you are working and lock it in or it is a stand alone and you can move it around. That is what I do. It is a manual sharpener and sharpens to a fine point. It took a bit to figure out how it works to get the fine point but figure I did. I now love my pencils as they are easy to blend, hardly no breakage and the beautiful colors.

My prismacolors don’t break with my electric sharpener the key is to give them a slight twist while sharpening ..and they require a real light amount of color per layer also .. but i love them i do super bright very pretty work with them ..love them

Hands up prisma colour lovers they r the best colour pencils and most realistic drawings are done by prisma colours 😍😍😍

Have had PP for over two years and have had ZERO quality issues with them - includes purchases of the 150, 132, and singles. Give them a chance on a smaller purchase. Hope you have the same experience as I have.

Mine never break. I find prisma colours to be more vibrant sometimes than other brands. I just dislike I can't get a fine sharp line with them. That's when the creamy becomes an issue

I have a set of Prisma colors of 48 pencils. And I have the color chart, download on the Internet, and show which colors are not lightfast...that is the problem with this pencils, and the wood its not a good enough. But this colored pencils are very smooth...you just check it out this chart of Prisma colors, and buy the pencils with more lightfast. You can find it in Blick online shop.