One of my favorite online art supply stores, Artifolk, had a ‘buy 4 get 1 free’ offer on Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils. After doing some calculations to try justifying why I should purchase them, I finally gave in (hehehe) and ordered 20 pencils, which means I received 5 pencils free. By the way, I love Artifolk because their shipping fees to Malaysia for small items are very reasonable.
After less than a week since I’ve placed my order, my pencils arrived!
The colors shown in the photo are (from the bottom): Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, Light Cadmium Red, Middle Cadmium Red, Fuchsia, Mauve, Light Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue, Prussian Blue, Light Phthalo Blue, Helio Turquoise, Cobalt Green, Phthalo Green, Leaf Green, Pine Green, Dark Naples Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Caput Mortuum Violet, Burnt Umber and Payne's Grey.
As usual, the customary color chart is a must!
Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils: Dry and Wet
I’ve left several spaces empty in my color chart because I plan on buying a few more colors. The stars beside the color names denote the lightfastness of the pigments. Faber Castell rates their lightfastness on a scale of three stars. Three stars being very permanent, and one star being fugitive. These pencils are very creamy and saturated. The first time I tested the colors, the first word that came out of my mouth was ‘WOW’. The colors are brilliant and bright! I’m in love with these pencils already.
I needed some time to get used to these pencils because I had trouble controlling the intensity of the colors. When I thought I had laid down a very light stroke of dry color, I ran it over with my waterbrush and the color became too intense for my taste. I’ve since discovered that a little goes a looooong way. By that I mean VERY little. If I wanted a light wash, I had to gently skim (almost barely touching) the pencils on the paper in large loose strokes.
After so many ruined sketches, I was finally able to produce a result that I like:
"The Moon in Her Hand", Watercolor Pencils on 9"x12" Canson Manga Drawing Paper
The sketch was done on a Canson Fanboy Manga drawing paper (a really good paper, I might add). The dots were painted with Daniel Smith iridescent watercolors.
Overall, I like these pencils. I can see them lasting a loooong time, judging from the intense saturation of the pigments. I plan to get 5 new colors in the upcoming weeks. Will update soon!
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