Shopping about for Coloured Pencils - Derwent Coloursoft Impressions

Recently I have been on the search for my ideal coloured pencils. Currently I'm using an old WHSmith brand and a bunch of random pencils I have gotten over the years so I thought it was about time I invested in some good quality pencils.

My first thought was to buy Prismacolour since most people online agree that they have great colour pay off while not being as expensive as other brands. Unfortunately the only place they are available is on Amazon and if I was to buy them as a complete set they would put me back around £60-£70. So as you can imagine I have been looking up more reviews to see if they are actually worth the money. Even though they are great for colouring many people have said that they can break quite easily and to be honest I don't want to buy a brand I haven't tested myself.

My next option was to buy some Derwent pencils. I currently use the graphic pencils and I'm very happy with them. Derwent do many ranges but I narrowed it down to the Artist pencils and the Coloursoft ones. I came across a small tin of coloursoft skintone pencils on Cass Art's website so went ahead and bought them to test out before I took the plunge and bought a bigger set.

My initial impression of them was how waxy they seemed which makes them good for blending, as long as you don't keep layering up the colours. I did enjoy how easy it was to apply colour to the paper and the pigment was pretty good. However the texture of the colour wasn't always ideal and I was only able to get the colours I wanted if I mixed them with my WHSmith pencils. So currently I have decided not buy a big set of the coloursoft pencils for now.

The colour pay off is good and the blending is okay as long as you don't keep layering up the colours. It can turn quite waxy and patchy in parts. Also works well with other pencils.

So I have looked into the Artist Pencils but unfortunately the majority of people who have used them say that you have to lean quite hard with them to achieve vibrant colours. However the pencils will last a long time unlike Prismacolour's easily broken led and the colours are buildable.  

So I'm back to square one. Ideally the pencils I'm looking for have good colour pay off without leaning too hard and I can layer up the colours without fear of it looking strange like the Coloursoft eventually does. If only Derwent did a range inbetween the Coloursoft and Artist pencils where they are both blendable but not too soft - a Goldilocks range. But it seems that the only other ranges they do are Inktense and pastel pencils which are not what I'm currently looking for.  

My WHSmith pencils are okay for now. And really if I was able to find a bigger set of them I would be tempted to buy them. But chances are they don't make them like they used to. If anyone has suggestions let me know. I'm still looking.

Hazel, xoxo

All the Links

I thought it would be handy put all my links up all in one place. Chances are I'll probably make a separate page for this later on but for now this will do. I'm most active on my Instagram, Tumblr & Facebook currently but there are some other links in here too, in case you want to do a little nosey!

Tumblr - www.hazelstewartart.tumblr.com

Facebook - www.facebook.com/hazelstewartart

Deviantart - www.hazelstewart.deviantart.com & my old account cuteasabutton-xo

Instagram - hazelstewart93

Twitter - hazelstewart93

Pinterest - hazelstewart93

Hello and Welcome!

First blog posts are always the worst. So I may as well just delve right in!

Hello there! My name is Hazel and I enjoy drawing and painting. At least I do most of the time. Unfortunately for the last couple of years I haven't been doing art as much as I would have liked to for many reasons. But the main reason being I put too much pressure on myself for the stuff I made to be up to a particular standard. I would have never labelled myself as a perfectionist but in certain ways I probably could be called one. I see this as more of a hindrance than a help.

So recently I have embarked on getting back into the swing of things and trying to rid myself of the unnecessary pressure I have been putting on myself. So this year I decided to set myself the challenge of sketching something, no matter how big or small, everyday of 2016. Within this challenge I'm also trying to push myself slowly out of my norm so by the end of the year I'll be able to look back through my sketches and see variety, instead of the same old faces. Of course I love portraiture but it can get a little boring if that's all you make. By drawing new things I wouldn't usually think to draw and using different materials, I'm finding art to be a little more interesting and enjoyable. At the moment at least (I'm only on day eight!).

My goal is for sketching to become like second nature and for it to inspire me to go on to make bigger projects with hopefully original(ish) ideas. At the moment I'm just sketching but hopefully with time I can do more. It's almost like I'm getting in touch with my old self at risk of sounding corny. Art used to be such a big part of my life and identity but recent years took me in a different direction. I just feel the need now to get back to my roots.

If you made it through this awkward first post, well done you! I hope you stick around! :)

xoxo