Caran d'AcheCaran D''Ache 80 Color Pablo Set (666.380)

I’m a painter- that’s my preferred medium- but I recently decided I wanted to expand my artistic repetoire with colored pencils and pastels. Years ago I purchased a full set of Prismacolors and hated them, then picked up some Polychromos and felt ho hum about them. When my interest in colored pencils was renewed I quickly found a deep appreciation for Polychromos. I like to work in many, many feather light layers and Polys are amazing at just that. But I knew there was more out there. Better? I don’t know, but I’m the kind of artist that really HAS to try every variation of a medium I can get my hands on until I find the one that fits just right. Enter Caran D’ Ache. Given my preference for a firmer core, I knew I would rather invest in a large set of Pablo’s over the softer and more expensive Luminance, and I expected something very similar to Polychromos, but I wasn’t prepared for how creaminess of the Pablo’s. I don’t really get all the comments about grittiness or scratchiness of Pablo’s. I find it falls somewhere between Polychromos and Prismacolor in texture- buttery smooth, with a velvet like lay down that take multiple layers. And when I say multiple I mean, I easily lay down a minimum of 20 layers. I don’t burnish- I hate burnishing- but I did give it a good test try and it’s easily accomplished with the Pablo’s but they are so creamy, and I don’t mean waxy which is how I would describe Prismas, that you really do not have to burnish if you have the patience to build up and blend thinner layers. I also find they are excellent for detail work. Not as good as the Polychromos, but close. I’m absolutely in love with Pablos, and I couldn’t be happier with my investment. I don’t consider them another brand of Polychromos, but I think the two greatly compliment each other, and work well together also. I couldn’t see myself only settling on one or the other.As for the color selection with the set of 80, it’s pretty good, but I do find that it’s short of flesh/portrait tones, which is really where my interest lies. Portraiture. I’m okay with that, because I tend to start with a foundation of pastels and I do have the range of skin tones from the Polychromos, but if you are purchasing your first set of artist quality pencils and plan to work with people and skin, I would supplement this set with a handful of shades from another line. Either the Polys or Luminance. That is the ONLY reason I have to rate the Pablo’s with four stars instead of five, and I understand it that stands true for the entire range of Pablo’s. There is a very limited number of traditional skin tones, and that’s very surprising, though I doubt it is an oversight of any kind. Still, I wish Caran D’ache would amend the palette. It’s a shame really to make such a hefty purchase on quality materials and still have to spend more to graze from another line. That said they are beautifully opaque and easy to mix with careful layering/blending techniques.The over quality is excellent. Some people may not love the hexagonal shape but it makes no difference to me. They’re very light in weight and feel which makes it even easier for me to work as I normally do in ultra thin layers. The pencils hold their point for quite a long time, and to avoid waste, after I sharpen it as well as I can in an electric sharpener I continue to maintain the sharpness with sandpaper as I work instead of sharpening it again with a sharpener.Finally, I have to say I think I found my favorite pencils thus far in my foray into the realm of colored pencils. I think they are a superb option that falls somewhere in middle of the Polychromos and Luminance price range, with a several advantages over the Polychromos and one or two disadvantages. I will recommend them to every artist I know.On one last point, I have to say if you are researching pencils for adult coloring in coloring books, these aren’t the pencils for you unless you have money to throw away. These are artist quality pencils and I believe they are most suitable and beneficial to people who are creating original artwork. There are less expensive options for coloring books that will meet your basic needs if that is your goal.

Bought these as a gift for a casual artist. He is very impressed with quality of these pencils. Far exceeded both of our expectations for quality. Not what I would consider inexpensive, but you definitely get what you pay for here. I did end up purchasing a larger set than I initially was looking for, but that was to get a higher variety of color and tone. The smaller sets didn't seem to cover the color spectrum enough. This one, so far, has met his requirements. He has used these for hours with barely any wear of the wax color. I/he would definitely recommend.

one of the best brands of colored pencil out there- you should spring for the full set and use this 80 set as back up so you can have the widest color palate possible- spendy but if youre serious about art or coloring these are the pencils you want! and if you run out of just a few colors open stock is available so you can just replace the pencils you use most and have a complete set again. There is no wax build up with this brand; I have used up to thirty layers (yes 30) of shading on card stock paper with no 'wax bloom' at all; Pablos allow you do an amazing amount of shading and blending on your pictures with the right quality paper. The colors are smooth but keep a firm lead even when sharpened to a very fine point.

I have been Caran d’ache for over 30 years and they are my absolute favorite color pencil brand !They are very creamy , if you are looking for a sharper color pencil this is not the one .I was looking for a sharper color pencil and I will try wax based next .I am keeping this box since they are wonderful creamy pencils .

It was a present for my daughter on her 39th birthday and she loves them.

I use these pencils for animal and botanical sketches. I find that they are better for my application on animal fur and textures, but less appropriate for delicate flower rendering (these, for me, work out better with watercolor pencils and brush). The pencils hold their tip and do not break easily, and there are several really excellent shades like cocoa which work very nicely in different applications.

I have wanted a set of these for a long time. I was a little hesitant because they are wax and oil based and I usually do not like wax pencils. These did not disappoint. They feel so smooth on paper and just like an oil pencil. Fine quality pencil in a nice tin. Amazing colors bright and vibrant. The only regret is I did not purchase the larger set. Wonderful product and i would recommend.

I was a bit hesitant purchasing this set after reading some reviews and seeing the pictures that came attached. Despite the title clearly showing "Pablo 80", it seemed as if some people got a full 80 set while others did not. I chose to take that gamble, and all I can say now is that I should have trusted my gut.The set I received only had 40 colors-- an entire tray was missing. My concern, even greater than the fact that I would have paid double what the set was worth, is the fact that the item was shrink wrapped and new, meaning that it was not a set that someone had stolen the second half from. What makes that particularly concerning is that it may suggest that the pencils are counterfeit in some way. This sounds silly, but there is actually some truth behind the idea of counterfeit art supplies. So given that, I wasn't willing to even try the pencils and see if I can purchase the full set elsewhere.So please be wary as I am not the only one to have met with this issue! If you get a set of 40 colored pencils as opposed to 80, return it right away! This is not the correct set and you are definitely overpaying for the item.

Excelente qualidade e investimento. Para quem conhece lápis de cor profissional e aprecia a construção de camadas, pintura uniforme, paleta de cores lindas e durabilidade, vai gostar com certeza. Cores fortes, maciês e textura artística perfeita! É o lápis pro mais clássico e equilibrado. Funciona bem sozinho e razoável para técnica mista.

Nulla da dire, eccellenti

Déçu de ces crayons. Les Faber castel sont excellents et beaucoup moins cher.

I love Caran D'ache as a brand and I own the Watercolor 80 color set Supracolor Soft Pencils and love them. The Pablo pencils are great on trying them and I'm looking forward to coloring and learning colored pencils drawing skills. I would have given a perfect score but my package came damaged. The tin of pencils was dented in the right hand corner to the extent that the tin wouldn't click shut on the right hand side and one of the pencils arrived broken. With pencils with this kind of pricetag I don't want pencil wasted in bringing it to a point again without even getting to use it. Im pretty sure this damage happened during shipping and had nothing to do with the manufacture or quality of the pencils themselves.

Beautiful colours. Lie down so we’ll. Excellent blending