Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencils 36 Tin, Set of 36, 4mm Wide Core, 100% Lightfast, Oil-based, Premium Core, Creamy, Ideal for Drawing, Coloring, Professional Quality (2302721)

Derwent Lightfasts are quite a joy to have, though quite an expensive joy. They are beautiful pencils and it does have a very nice yet limited color palette as a lot of colors are similar to each other. I have noticed with these Lightfasts there are certain colors that are unique that I don’t have in my other artists sets like Polychromos, Prismacolor or Caran D’Ache. It’s actually nice to have purples and pinks that are lightfast! I’ve really enjoyed using the color arctic, mars black and midnight black which I haven’t seen in other sets. Performance wise, I love these pencils. They have a thick core, they stay sharp for a little while, and they are very saturated and show up the best on black paper compared to all the pencil brands previously mentioned in this review. They blend and layer like a dream come true and it doesn’t take much pressure to get color on the page. They struggle a little bit with a lighter gradient but that’s not a deal breaker. The color of the barrel does not match the pigment put down, so swatch the pencils first before you figure out what you need to grab. The Lightfasts are a fat pencil but these pencils feel very comfortable in the hand than a standard pencil for me. I noticed there are a lot of reviews about breakages. I’ve used these for 5 drawings already and experienced little breakages, but nothing significant. It’s good to have a nice sharpener with these cause cheap sharpeners will cause issues. The packaging is very nice in terms of artwork, but not very friendly to the pencils thus causing some breakage issues with a few pencils on their first sharpening. I strongly recommend getting a case for these as they’ll have a better chance of staying safe. The tin is too large and bulky to have them used from the tin. Derwent is transparent with their industry standard lightfast testing (not in-house or made up testing that many companies tend to do) and each pencil has a true high lightfastness with the rating on each pencil. I had an issue with Amazon customer service going through 3 representatives not properly explaining to me if I had received a counterfeit set as my pencils said “Made in England”, Not “Made in Britain” as it was different on the tin. England and Britain are the same as I was told but that’s not 100 percent true, but like pocketbooks if you got a Louis Vuitton that’s made in France and one in Paris. Of course there’s danger of that one of those pocketbooks are a fake just like the set of pencils I received and speculated. Take a very close at my pencils and what it says on the tin when I got them. Upon testing these, I do believe they are real Derwents in terms of their performance cause I know how they should behave. I have a color called Flesh Pink but on the Britain version it’s supposed to be Pale Peach, I know this cause it has the same number on them from online research. I do not give credit to Amazon as all they could explain to me is that they are legit from the order number and that Derwent is a reliable trading partner. They also failed in doing what they had promised in giving a $10 credit back for their inconvenience and oblivious ignorance. I did not take their explanation for granted, so I’m glad I tested these and not take their word for it. I also did some research too and found out that I have an older set. With this complication aside, my artwork has not looked any better because these pencils supplement my other collections of pencils and I am happy to have them in my possession. I highly recommend on getting them on sale because they are not worth its full or overly high price tag. As for Amazon customer service, don’t be playing games with customer questions about authenticity without giving reasonable explanation of why. Especially with items that are expensive! Order numbers and product descriptions are not enough to prove what was actually sent. Derwent as a trading partner made a bit more sense but it took the third representative to tell me that. I’m definitely going to continue to use the pencils as I am very happy with the product but my experience with Amazon customer service concerning this product is shameful and unreliable. Thank you for the pencils, but no thank you for not handling my concern in the way it should have been handled. I have been wrote off.

Oof, this really hit the wallet hard. But, if you’re an artist that uses colored pencils and you sell your artwork. These are a “must have”. I want my patrons to have artwork that will stand the test of time. If they spend their money on one of my creations. I want them to enjoy it for as long as they can. I understand there is UV glass in quality frames for a reason. But I prefer to give my artwork every opportunity to survive as long as I can. There is no substitute for quality art supplies. These are some of the best money can buy. They are smooth. They layer and blend wonderfully. OMS works like a champ on them to get that nice painterly look. They also work well with blender pencils.

The Derwent Lightfast Coloured Pencils are amazing pencils with professional colored pencil painting results. They are creamy, cover and layer well. They seem more opaque than my other oil based colored pencils and I am excited to have this option. I was able to cover a large background area more quickly. Smears from working on other areas that couldn’t be covered with other pencils were more effectively blended over. They can be blended well with Gamsol or colorless blenders. Beautiful rich colors! Although the palette at this time is limited to 36 colors they can be blended together to achieve other desired colors and work well with Faber-Castell Polychromos. I am finding that the softer lead of the Derwent Lightfast is better for coverage and the Ploychromos for detail lines but they both blend and layer beautifully with an oil painting quality. Not worrying about lightfastness is a bonus. I use them for fine art and not for adult coloring books but imagine that they would also be very good for that use depending on the quality of the paper because they are not too hard. My experience has been that paper type and quality is very important when doing colored pencil drawings/paintings due to all the layering, blending and erasing. Love these pencils!

Thank you, Derwent! For me, the pencils and the carefully curated colors are perfect! The pencils are oil based, lightfast, and hold a point well.. They are softer than Polychromos. When I saw them swatched on youtube, I knew this color selection was what I wanted. They are beautiful, natural colors, that were so carefully selected. The swatch videos showed very dark colors, using a heavy hand holding the pencils near the point. When I did my swatch chart, I held the pencil half way up laying down light layers. Doing this showed the potential and the extensive range of colors that could be obtained from each pencil. The color range is stunning. I chose these over the Luminance because the Caran D’Ache Luminance are waxier and have brighter colors. I could supplement with my Polychromos, but will probably stick with the Derwent Lightfast range of colors when using them. They even included a sample of Derwent lightfast paper. These are very special pencils.

These are beautiful 100% lightfast colored pencils in muted tones. These are perfect for all kinds of art, but especially for art that you intend to last for a long time. The pencils are creamy and easy to blend. They are an investment in high quality art supplies.

Great for natural color art pieces. They sharpen perfectly they don’t break. I wrote a first review, now I’m re-writing. I absolutely love these pencils! I have all top brands. Even with the most expensive, Prisma is number one still. However, these are better to me than any other. They are more natural colors. But, they are smooth, layer incredibly! To know they are mostly archival is great. I really love them!

Absolutely awesome pencils! Their pigment is intense, they layer very well, sharpen nicely and can handle firm pressure without breaking. My only complaint is the lack of yellows & reds in the 36 set (haven't been able to find a larger set in US...yet). These are a professional quality colored pencil & if you're a beginner, you'll love working with these amazing pencils. I suggest a good quality paper when using these, because a good colored pencil paper has a slight tooth, which allows layering, erasing & scraping. These pencils are on the expensive side, but they have a nice sized core (4 mm) & they don't have to be sharpened every 45 seconds. They have the perfect balance of creamy, intense colors & firm core that holds a point.

I love these pencils for their artistic, creamy quality. These colored pencils layer and blend beautifully. I am taken with the neutral colors and bright pigments also. There are some unique light colors which are good for blending out a nice lighter shade instead of washing out the color with traditional use of the white pencil. It is hard to find a good white pencil which is an integral part of highlighting and this set has a good white and rich blacks for that matter. Also, the lead lasts longer than Prisma, but lays down similar in texture. I am trying to order all 100 pencils Derwent makes.