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Writer's pictureEliza

Prismacolors, Are They Worth It?

I asked my family for two things

for my birthday last year, Wicked

Tickets, and Prismacolor colored

pencils. Who wants to take a

guess at which one I got? I was

fortunate enough to get the 72-Pack

of Prismacolors, which has a pretty

hefty price tag. But you get what you

pay for, these coloring pencils being

no exception, they are phenomenal,

from the way they look to the way

they blend on the page, they’re amazing

in almost every way, but nothing is perfect.

Before we get started I have NO affililiation

with Prismacolor whatsoever.

{+}

Starting with packaging, first impressions are important, and Prismacolor hits the nail on the head their packaging. Every single package comes with a creation done with the pencils in that set, so you know what you are capable of with that certain set of colors. In the 72-Pack, there are three layers with 24 colored pencils on each row. The lid is kept on by two metal push-outs on the right and left side, keeping the lid secure without any effort. I love this design because if I'm in a hurry I can pack up quickly and set the set in my bag for my next class.


Secondly, the pencils themselves. Everyone in the art community eventually wants a set of Prismacolor pencils, they’re those pencils. We’re first going to focus on how well they perform on the page. They are very pigmented, the lightest stroke on the page leaves some color behind, and it takes very little pressure to get a healthy, non-streaky patch of color.


However, they do not blend well on a page, they blend well on a medium. Good, high quality sketchbook paper is what these pencils are made for, which means they’re made for more advanced artists, not saying that beginners can’t experiment, but I would recommend using cheaper, less quality colored pencils to start out with, and then advance to Prismacolors. I would get the 12 pack to begin with, they aren’t for some people, I’ll admit, which is why I suggest starting out small, and growing in the brand as you grow as an artist.


While Prismacolors are very high quality pencil, there are only a few miniscule things wrong with them. For example, the color on the ouside of the pencil do not always match the actual color put down by the pencil. In the 72-Pack you get 72 pencils, but do you get 72 unique colors? No. Some of the colors are very very similar to one another. It was kind of aggrivating at first, eventually swatching all the colors out to get a proper feel for the color, but it can easily be overlooked in the grand sceme of these pencils.


In my opinion Prismacolors are worth investing in, but when? That's for you to decide.


Do you have Prismacolors, if so, what pack do you have and what is your favorite color you have?

~Eliza

Prismacolor Pencils and my personal swatch sheet

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